Xia Lei and his party were placed in Rheinmetall AG’s internal guestrooms. Mark Armin got some people to clear a level out, and there were many rooms. Tang Yuyan couldn’t stay in the same room as Xia Lei, of course. She had just been joking around when she had said the she was going to stay in the same room as Xia Lei.
The guestrooms were not open to the public; the only people who could stay there were Rheinmetall AG’s important clients, or important guests from other countries who had come to visit, so it was in a very cozy and peaceful environment.
Xia Lei chose a room at random, and Long Bing and Tang Yuyan took rooms to his left and right, respectively. This was the same arrangement as when the two women had sat on the sofa with him, squeezing him in the middle. Annina didn’t even get the chance to stay next to him, so she took the room next to Long Bing, while Liu Zhengnan chose a room to the right of Tang Yuyan.
Actually, these arrangements were unwanted safety precautions. Xia Lei was crucial to the success of this exchange. No mishaps could occur to him. In addition, he also had the responsibility to do the research on the Alloy X Project. He was practically a Chinese national treasure now. Shi Boren had put Long Bing and Tang Yuyan next to him so that they could protect Xia Lei.
After dinner, Xia Lei received a call from Ling Han.
“Xia Lei, how are you doing on your end?” Ling Han got straight to the point.
Xia Lei said, “There were some problems in the beginning, but they have all been resolved.”
“Problems? What problems?”
“We were assigned to work with Rheinmetall AG. The other CEO wanted to stall for time and he was very arrogant, but it has all been resolved.”
“Rheinmetall AG is a world-class military factory. It’s quite normal for them to be arrogant. You don’t need to take it to heart.”
“I know how important this is. Don’t worry, Brother Ling,” said Xia Lei.
“You are someone who can see the big picture, so of course I’m not worried. On the other hand, you said the other CEO was trying to stall for time? I don’t understand what his motive is, but I must remind you to keep the engineering on your end simple. You need to stall for time, or their people won’t necessarily keep their word on this end and give us the completed technology if you finish early. Do you understand me?” This was why Ling Han had called him.
Xia Lei replied, “I understand. I know what to do.”
“On another note, I have also called you to let you know that you don’t have to worry about your personal affairs. Your wife is taking care of your company, and we will offer some definite preferential treatment policies. In short, your company will not suffer any losses,” said Ling Han.
Xia Lei laughed. “Brother Ling, you called me just to set my mind at ease, huh?”
“I set your mind at ease when you were in China too. Right now, I’m reassuring you so that you will do your job properly, and do it well.”
“I will. I guarantee that I will complete my assignment.” Xia Lei thought for a moment before saying, “Bro Ling, I want to ask a favour of you.”
“What’s the matter?”
“You know I have a lot of people after me, including my biggest enemy, the CIA. I’m in Germany right now so I’m a little worried that some people will hurt the people close to me. I want you to put some people near them to protect them in secret. Can you do that?”
“Of course, just give me a list of names.”
Xia Lei said, “My wife, Shentu Tianyin; my little sister, Xia Xue, and…my good friend Jiang Ruyi.”
“Your good friend, Jiang Ruyi?”
“Yes, my good friend, Jiang Ruyi.”
“Heh heh.” Ling Hao laughed. “All right, then. I already have people protecting your wife and your little sister. This Jiang Ruyi, you mentioned now, though... I will get people to protect her as well.”
“Thanks, Brother Ling.”
“Contact me if anything happens on your end. All right, that’s all for now. Goodbye.” Ling Han hung up.
Xia Xue put the satellite phone away and muttered to himself, “Why did he laugh when I told him about ‘my good friend Jiang Ruyi’?”
Ling Han’s random laughing had made Xia Lei a little speechless. However, Ling Han had reassured him this time, and completely resolved the worries in his heart. The bodyguards Ling Hatn assigned were definitely the most elite Chinese bodyguards as per Ling Han’s status. The professionalism and capabilities of the bodyguards he assigned would more than likely surpass those of the special agents of Bureau 101. Now that Shentu Tianyin, Xia Xue, and Jiang Ruyi had this type of protection, he could let go of his worries and do what he needed to do.
Xia Lei walked to the window and opened the curtains to look at the factory production area in the distance. Even though it was at least 1,000 metres away, and it was dark, his left eye could see the factory production area clearly. He saw workshop after workshop, some for the assembly of the Leopard 2 tanks, some for assault vehicles, and some automatic cannons. Even though those workshops were lit up, there wasn’t anyone else working overtime besides a few security guards.
The labor cost in Europe was very high. Even in a military factory like Rheinmetall AG was not willing to pay their employees expensive overtime wages. This contrasted sharply with China, where few workers didn’t work overtime. Some factories had three shifts, and there were workers always working around the clock, and it was tough.
Xia Lei’s left eye swept over those workshops, and a thought suddenly came to him. ‘Rheinmetall AG’s cannon technology is unrivalled in the entire world, as well as their metal forging and precision processing technology. Since I’ve come all the way here, I can’t return empty-handed, can I? I have to walk away with something at least, and take some advanced technologies with me, right?’
Metal forging and precision processing were China’s weak points. If he could make off with someone, it would definitely be a huge gain. Who knew, maybe these technologies could be used in the future when expanding Thunder Horse Military Factory, and turn Thunder Horse into a true military factory that didn’t just produce light weapons. It would manufacture rockets, tanks, and automatic cannons, and more!
This thought filled Xia Lei with excitement, so much so that he even wanted to go into Rheinmetall AG’s workshops right now to use his X-ray vision on their machinery, and learn their technologies secretly. However, he reigned in his urge in the end and did not do so.
However, right when Xia Lei was about to stop using his night vision and go wash up, a black man suddenly entered his field of vision from one of the workshop’s corners. The black clothing he wore made him blend in ingeniously with his surroundings. If it wasn’t for Xia Lei’s super left eye, he probably wouldn’t have discovered that black person’s presence.
The black person was holding a pair of military-grade binoculars and observing the guesthouse.
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‘Is he watching me?’ Xia Lei was instantly on the alert, and his left eye focused on that man.
That black guy evidently didn’t think that Xia Lei could see him hidden in the darkness from such a distance, so he didn’t hide himself. Instead, he continued to hold his binoculars up to look at Xia Lei. What he didn’t know was that Xia Lei didn’t just see him — he could even see his eyes hidden behind the binoculars.
After ten seconds, Xia Lei looked away and drew the curtains closed. However, his left eye was still looking through the curtains, at the black person about 1,000 metres away.
After ten more seconds, that black person put his binoculars away and left along the wall.
Xia Lei was in deep thought. ‘Who is he? Could he be someone from Rhinemetall AG, working for Mark Armin? Did Mark Armin send him to observe me? But that’s not very possible. I am in Rhinemetall right now. If Mark Armin wanted to have me watched, he could just let the staff in the guesthouse do it, and save a lot of effort. If he’s not from the Rhinemetall, then who is he? A special agent from the CIA? Or someone from the FA Organization?’
These two guesses made his heart grow heavy.
Knock, knock, knocking came from the door.
Xia Lei glanced back and saw that it was Tang Yuyan. He said, “Come in, the door isn’t locked.”
Tang Yuyan closed the door after walking in. “Boss Shi contacted me just now. He said we have to protect you more closely. We can’t let anything happen to you. From now on, Long Bing and I will be dividing our work into shifts. I will protect you for the first part of the night and she will protect you for the latter half of the night. Whether it’s Long Bing or me protecting you, you cannot leave our sight while you are under our protection.”
Tang Yuyan came in to tell him of the increase in their security measures right after he discovered an intruder. Xia Lei couldn’t help having some suspicions. “Did you receive any information?”
“We suspect that the CIA already knows your whereabouts. As of now, we are not sure how they received that news, but we must adopt safety measures,” said Tang Yuyan.
Xia Lei frowned. “We came to Germany in secret. Even when we went to Werden, we had the Special Forces from the German military protecting us, and blocking off roads for us. How would the Americans know of our movements?”
Tang Yuyan shook her head. “I don’t know that. Boss Shi will let us know when there’s more information. In any case, Long Bing and I will split up the work and protect you 24/7 from now on.”
Xia Lei thought for a bit and said, “I spotted a very suspicious black person outside the guesthouse earlier. He seemed to be observing me. Could he really be from the CIA?”
“Where is he?” Tang Yuyan walked towards the window.
“Don’t look. He’s already gone,” said Xia Lei.
Tang Yuyan paused. “Then it seems that the information that we received is probably true. The CIA has already begun to move. For your safety, no matter what you do, you can’t leave my sight.”
“Wait… did you say that I can’t leave your sight, no matter what I do?”
“Of course. This is the highest level of protection measures.”
“Then what if I want to bathe?”
“You can’t leave my line of sight, but you can wear pants while you bathe,” said Tang Yuyan.
“Then what if I want to relieve myself?”
Tang Yuyan bit her lip. “Then you can relieve yourself with your back towards me!”
“What if it’s a number two?”
“You…” Tang Yuyan’s puffed her cheeks. “Are you doing this on purpose?”
Xia Lei laughed. “You should still return to your room to sleep. I don’t need a bodyguard to stick to me. It’s fine as long as you and Long Bing are more careful at night, and listen for any movement. It’s not as if we haven’t fought together before. You know how my strength.”
“Hmph! I don’t even want to protect you! Fine, I’ll leave then!” Tang Yuyan fumed as she left Xia Lei’s room.
Xia Lei then breathed a sigh of relief. He lay on his bed, thinking about that black person.
Long Bing really did come in the latter part of the night. She locked the door behind herself once she entered and went under Xia Lei’s blankets.
“I’ve come to protect you.”
“How do you want to protect me?”
Long Bing got close to Xia Lei and breathed warm air into his ear. “I’ll swallow you. You’ll go straight down to my stomach, safe and warm. What do you think of that?”
Xia Lei pushed her down fiercely, pressing her down under himself…
Even though they were both section chiefs of Bureau 101 with the same mission, Section Chief Long and Section Chief Tang received different treatment.