Chapter Ninety: Old Master Huo Has Passed Away!

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Unexpectedly, by evening we received news about Old Huo. The message was sent by the few warriors secretly protecting him, directly to the commander-in-chief’s phone.

The commander-in-chief hurriedly gathered us for a meeting.

“I have some unfortunate news,” he said. “Old Huo did not get hired.”

Old Lin chuckled, “That old Huo, a bit too confident. At his age, how could they possibly want him?”

The commander-in-chief replied, “However, we now suspect this might be a test from the other side, to see if Old Huo would contact us, which is why they didn’t reach out directly. Let’s wait a bit longer; I believe they will find Old Huo again.”

Old Lin sighed, “Let’s hope so.”

For two consecutive days, Old Huo received no further messages from the chemical plant. To maintain the illusion, Old Huo proposed leaving the place.

The commander-in-chief agreed immediately, thinking that if Old Huo was about to leave, the other side might act desperately.

Surprisingly, this tactic worked. The warrior assigned to secretly follow Old Huo reported at once, “We spotted someone. They found Old Huo overnight and took him away.”

The commander-in-chief sneered coldly, “Keep the surveillance as discreet as possible.”

Then we patiently waited for news. I feared this would be a tug-of-war, with the other side deliberately stalling. And the longer the delay, the worse it would be for us.

For the first three days, Old Huo familiarized himself with the company’s procedures while we investigated the chemical plant. It was a factory producing raw materials for export, known within the industry. Old Huo worked in the process department and was accompanied by someone for factory tours, just to get accustomed.

As for the “core content,” Old Huo hadn’t obtained any useful information.

But we knew it was only a matter of time before he accessed the crucial details.

It wasn’t until the fifth day that good news arrived: “Old Huo seems to have been taken to a secret location where there’s no signal.”

The commander-in-chief’s order was to closely monitor Old Huo’s movements without any slack.

Those days felt like years as we lost all contact with Old Huo. We couldn’t rush in recklessly; otherwise, his fate would be sealed—death.

Before any updates came from the surveillance team, Li Xingchen first reported a special situation.

Old Huo seemed to have sent them a message.

We immediately instructed Li Xingchen to forward it to the commander-in-chief’s office, then hurried there ourselves.

The commander-in-chief asked, “What is it?”

Li Xingchen said, “It’s a job posting from that chemical plant. The posting itself was unpopular, with no comments, but yesterday someone used the factory’s network to post a comment. It was a high school geometry problem, quite difficult. I couldn’t understand its meaning.”

“Oh?” The commander-in-chief frowned and asked us to look at the geometry problem to see what it meant.

Old Lin cursed, “What the hell is Old Huo up to? Is this some kind of code or pictogram? It’s all dense and incomprehensible.”

Tang Jingjing looked at me, “Xiao Yang, you’re a college student. You must know something about this.”

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, “I can solve it, but are you sure solving it is the point? Feels like a waste of time.”

The commander-in-chief said, “You figure it out. We can’t afford any slack.”

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I awkwardly scratched my head again, “Math’s always been my weak spot. The stuff the teacher taught me, I’ve long since returned it to them.”

Tang Jingjing rolled her eyes, “Another poser.”

The commander-in-chief could only order someone to quickly find a university professor to solve the problem.

I said, “Commander, no need to make a big fuss. When I was in school, if I couldn’t solve a problem, I’d post it online and get answers within minutes.”

Li Xingchen agreed that was a good idea.

So, the commander-in-chief both contacted a professor and had Li Huai post the question online.

I added, “This looks like a traditional problem. Maybe someone has posted it online before. Just copy it onto the web; you might find the answer directly.”

Li Xingchen did so immediately.

Sure enough, we found the problem. When we saw its title, we were all stunned, as if our blood had frozen.

Especially Old Lin, who gripped the keyboard tensely.

The title read: “Help Me!”

Below it was the solution method for the problem.

“Help me, help me!”—this was the real message Old Huo was sending us.

Old Huo was in danger?

The commander-in-chief jumped up with a snap, “Damn it, the agents are fully armed, and they’re about to tear down the chemical plant.”

Old Lin broke into a cold sweat, “Commander, don’t act rashly. Acting impulsively now is irresponsible toward Old Huo’s life and will only put him in greater danger.”

The commander-in-chief said, “No, I can’t just stand by and watch Old Huo die.”

Old Lin said, “Then let’s not make a fuss yet. Let’s be discreet. Send those warriors protecting Old Huo to sneak in and gather information. We can act once we know the situation.”

Only then did the commander-in-chief sit down, panting, “Alright, let’s do that.”

He contacted the team and asked for any news about Old Huo.

They replied they had no information.

The commander-in-chief immediately ordered them to sneak inside, find any clues about Old Huo. Even if it meant blowing up the chemical plant, they had to bring Old Huo back.

The warriors knew the situation was serious and agreed, hanging up.

We also assembled a team and headed toward the chemical plant. In the car, the commander-in-chief was silent, and his expression showed he was ready to go all out.

About two kilometers from the plant, we received a startling reply from the warriors: “Found Old Huo, ten kilometers outside the chemical plant in the wilderness. No signs of life. He’s been rushed to the nearest Red Cross hospital for emergency care.”

The commander-in-chief’s phone slipped from his hand, and even Li Hong, the driver, slowed down.

Old Lin sighed, closed his eyes, lying back as tears streamed down his face.

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The commander-in-chief’s fists clenched so tightly they creaked. “Damn Old Huo! You died too soon. You won’t live to see me tear this chemical plant apart.”

I hurried to console them, “He’s still being treated. Let’s go to the hospital. Maybe there’s still a miracle.”

The commander-in-chief sneered, “Old Huo’s been unlucky all his life. Miracles never happen for him. Forget it. I’m going to take down the chemical plant right now! We’ll wipe out those villains.”

Of course, I tried to stop him, but you can’t control the mind of a seasoned battlefield veteran.

I pleaded and pleaded, but he wouldn’t listen.

Just as we neared the chemical plant, suddenly a car blocked our path.

The commander-in-chief exploded with anger; already furious, now he was ready to ignite. Clenching his fists, he opened the door and stormed out, “Who’s driving?”

The door opened, and to our surprise, it was someone we all knew—Yu Tian.

The commander-in-chief was stunned, “Why are you here?”

Yu Tian said, “Commander, are you going to tear down the chemical plant?”

The commander-in-chief asked, “How do you know? Are you trying to stop me?”

Yu Tian said, “I’m not the one stopping you. It’s my superiors.”

Then Yu Tian pulled the commander-in-chief into the car and handed him a phone.

The commander-in-chief glanced at Yu Tian, puzzled, then listened.

After the call, his face turned pale and flushed. “You... how did you contact your superiors? You’re well hidden.”

Yu Tian smiled, “Don’t be so modest, Commander. There’s no deep hiding. I can tell you—Old Huo is still alive. There’s still time to save him.”

“Have you seen Old Huo? How do you know he can be saved?”

“I have an insider,” Yu Tian said, “Let’s go.”

The commander-in-chief pressed Yu Tian for details, but Yu Tian only smiled bitterly, “Commander, you’re forcing me. This is a direct order from above. I can’t say more.”

The commander-in-chief swore at his superiors for being so secretive, hiding it even from him.

Yu Tian laughed, “Don’t be mad, Commander. This mission started years ago, back when you were fighting pirates in Somalia.”

The commander-in-chief coldly said, “You’ve done your homework on me.”

Yu Tian realized his mistake and quickly fell silent.

We arrived at the hospital, where the warriors stood and apologized to the commander-in-chief: Old Huo had passed away; the hospital had already declared his death.