Chapter 154 Return

Sometimes one has to admit that encountering an enemy in a mission who is extraordinarily adept at playing it safe, hiding out, and enduring to the end is simply an irresistible force of nature.

Gao Ning's subordinates bloomed everywhere. Emulating the methods of Marshal Zhang, they struck a step ahead, relying on two core tactics: daring to spend money and being willing to kill. With these, they made a massive splash throughout the three northeastern provinces.

Because of Gao Ning's intervention, the development of the Zhu family was profoundly affected. Guarding over two thousand acres of land while enjoying guaranteed peace and absolute safety, they naturally did not choose to abandon Fangniugou once again and travel far to Harbin to open a restaurant, as they did in the original plotline.

Twenty years passed. Gao Ning not only sent people to search every corner of China but even used his connections to purchase an ocean-going fishing vessel from a Nanyang merchant. After militarizing it with British armored vehicle production lines, he dispatched it across the oceans to Europe, Australia, North America, and numerous other countries.

Although Gao Ning's primary objective was to occupy mines and yet-to-be-discovered oilfields, his worldwide gallivanting made extensive use of the Red Alert radar map to scan everywhere. Regrettably, without a global spy satellite, this kind of drive-by reconnaissance ultimately failed to flush out his opponent.

Watching Zhu Kaishan grow older year by year, watching Chuanwu, once again coerced by his parents into marrying another woman he disliked, and watching Chuanjie grow up alongside Manager Xia's daughter as childhood sweethearts, Gao Ning knew that the mission time was drawing to a close.

There might still be some leeway in terms of time, but at most it amounted to just a few years.

With Gao Ning's intervention, the faction at Heishankou developed at a blistering pace. When it was first established, it could assemble an army of one hundred thousand within a year. Now, twenty years later, the total number of troops across the three northeastern provinces, if not one million, easily exceeded eight hundred thousand.

Financial backing, combined with the miraculous storage cards, meant that food was never an issue. Consequently, the military strength in the three northeastern provinces was exceptionally formidable compared to other provinces.

The founding of the Republic of China shifted slightly ahead of schedule. For reasons unknown, it was advanced by an entire year.

It was precisely because of this unexpected variable that Gao Ning suddenly woke up to the realization that this was merely a parallel world with a similar background, not the true history of his own world.

Having realized this, Gao Ning acted without any further inhibitions. Under the heavy surveillance of the High-Tech Furnaces, Yuanbaozhen and Fangniugou had become the safest places on earth. Even if atomic bombs were invented ahead of time, they could never touch Yuanbaozhen.

Grand Cannons were not to be trifled with. The emergence of Grand Cannons and the armored legions that had successively appeared within the ranks over the years vastly increased the strength of Gao Ning's Heishan bandits.

During the process of expansion, these new types of weapons had been deployed on a small scale. Although on the surface they did not alert anyone, countless observing eyes lurked in the shadows, and overt and covert probings were never in short supply. Gao Ning ignored them all, forever relying on money to pave the way and brandishing a massive club overhead.

Here is some money, now obediently shut your mouth. You live, I live, everyone lives. If you disobey and remain insatiably greedy, then don't blame me for being ruthless and cutting the weeds by the roots.

Whenever his temper flared, no matter which faction's envoy or which country's representative you were, he would slaughter them all first and discuss matters later.

Consequently, people from other countries, including the Japanese, harbored a certain degree of wariness toward this faction in the Northeast.

With intelligence organizations from all sides frequently active over the years, Laojinggou—which had become a vital military base—was forced to eliminate at least five or six hundred spies or individuals with ulterior motives every year.

Moreover, internal betrayals to steal critical intelligence were by no means rare.

The minds of the Chinese people in this era were not yet fully formed, and the psychological influence of foreign propaganda often conditioned them to believe they were inferior. If someone even possessed a basic regional concept, they were already considered remarkable. As for the concept of a nation? They had none whatsoever.

Gao Ning had no inclination to correct this. However, with such a vast operation, his subordinate departments were meticulously subdivided. The public opinion department, upon hearing the news the very previous night, had already issued counter-measures.

Therefore, within Guandong, the reputation of the Heishan bandits remained consistently positive. Furthermore, every few years, Gao Ning would parade his troops out for a grand military review to test their combat readiness and incidentally put on a show for everyone to see.

The sheer number of tanks, which unfailingly caused a sensation across the entire city each time, made the little Japanese deeply apprehensive. The Kwantung Army even orchestrated numerous petty schemes attempting to target the Heishan bandits.

All of them were directly neutralized by Second Master Gao.

Consequently, the Kwantung Army's vigilance toward the Heishan bandits was entirely unlike their attitude toward the Fengtian clique in history.

However, just in case, Gao Ning had always been actively preparing for war. Regrettably, things unfolded just as he anticipated: the very moment the Japanese prepared to launch their offensive, the three of them were simultaneously kicked out.

...

The three of them sat on their respective sofas in silence, evidently still trying to gather their wits.

The intrinsic weakening function of the mysterious train had gradually transformed the memories of the twenty-odd years they had personally experienced into a movie, leaving the three of them to watch it from beginning to end merely as bystanders.

After a long while, the three of them slowly opened their eyes.

Ye Zimei looked somewhat depressed and said, "The mission ended in failure after all!"

Zhang Shaolong let out a melancholic sigh, his gaze somewhat hazy. "Xiuer and my children... I wonder what will happen to them now!"

Gao Ning couldn't help but retort, "Big Brother, we merely went to the *闯关东* plane to execute a mission. Everyone there was an NPC, equivalent to an embedded panoramic game. Aren't you taking this a bit too far? I won't even mention getting married and having children, but you went and had eight kids in a row with Han Xiuer? Are you playing house?"

Zhang Shaolong smiled faintly. "No matter its duration, this was still my life after all. Since it was my life, I must take responsibility for it. Regardless of whether Han Xiuer is an NPC or not, she is now my wife, and those children of mine are my flesh and blood. If I have the chance in the future, I will go back to see them!"

Gao Ning shook his head. "Forget it, anyway, I have no standing to lecture you!"

Gao Ning remained relatively rational. Although he had previously encountered Nawen—the legitimate wife of Chuanwen from the storyline, a fallen Manchu princess who had known only privilege—she looked identical to the character in the story, and her life of pampered luxury made her exude immense feminine charm while keeping her exceptionally well-preserved. Compared to rural women, she seemed to belong to an entirely different world.

Even so, Gao Ning never made a move. To him, this world was merely a mission zone, and there was truly no need to embroil himself in such troublesome matters.

Even if one built a family and left behind descendants, what of it?

Once they left, wouldn't this world simply reset, wiping away every single foreign element directly?

In the end, it would only cause oneself agonizing pain; why bother?

Glancing at Zhang Shaolong, Gao Ning gave a slight shake of his head, offered a farewell, and stood up to return to his exclusive carriage.