Chapter 164: Force Their Way In
Jingwei almost dismissed the alert without opening it.
He had spent too long watching Qinghe cross the medical room, trying to decide whether the doctor looked more worried than he had ten minutes earlier to really be paying attention to the tablet in his hands.
Apparently, a man could spend a fortune on security equipment and still find himself studying another man’s eyebrows for information.
The second alert brought his attention back to the tablet.
Vehicles had entered the approach to Xiling.
He opened the camera feed, expecting someone who had taken a wrong turn around the damaged roads. Then the first military vehicle passed beneath the camera, followed by another and a medical transport.
Jingwei straightened so quickly that Zeyu looked up.
"What happened?" Zeyu asked, his hands dropping from his knees as he watched Jingwei’s expression.
"The military is outside," Jingwei replied. He enlarged the image, counting the soldiers climbing out beside the vehicles. "And they seemed to have brought a medical transport."
Hanchuan looked away from Zhiyi. For a moment, his hand remained wrapped around hers, and Jingwei could see him taking in the words.
Then he carefully placed her hand on the blanket.
"Qinghe stays here," Hanchuan instructed as he stood. His voice was quiet, but Shichen had already put down his coffee. "Everyone else, come with me."
Jingwei was moving before Hanchuan reached the door. Anger had begun working its way beneath his ribs, made worse by the realization that he hadn’t expected this.
He knew they had been looking for her before. He had listened to that officer question Hanchuan himself.
But somehow, he had still expected another call.
By the time they reached the main room, someone had pressed the request button at the entrance.
Jingwei transferred the feed to the communications wall and found a uniformed man waiting beneath the camera.
Two soldiers stood behind him. Further back, someone opened the rear doors of the medical vehicle.
"They know she’s hurt. They came prepared to take her," Jingwei muttered, watching a folded stretcher being lifted out.
"Find out who sent them," Hanchuan ordered. He stopped beside the controls, his gaze fixed on the transport.
Jingwei opened the intercom. "State your business," he demanded, keeping his voice level despite the growing urge to tell them exactly where they could put that stretcher.
The man outside looked up toward the speaker.
"Captain Du Cheng, acting under Commander Zhao Mingyuan’s orders," he replied. Sweat darkened his collar, and he wiped his forehead before continuing. "We’re here to assess Qiao Zhiyi and transfer her to government protection. Open the entrance."
Jingwei glanced at Hanchuan.
His friend hadn’t moved, although something in his expression made Jingwei grateful the captain couldn’t see into the room.
"My wife is receiving care," Hanchuan replied, stepping closer to the microphone. "She isn’t being transferred."
Captain Du’s gaze shifted toward the camera. Recognition replaced the impatience on his face.
"Mr. Pei, we have a medical team with us," he explained, gesturing toward the vehicle. "They’ll determine whether she’s fit to travel. Let them inside, and we can discuss the arrangements."
Jingwei disliked how easily the man moved past the refusal.
Apparently, Hanchuan had been invited to discuss how they would take his wife, and nothing else.
"You aren’t entering," Hanchuan told him. His tone remained flat. "Take your men off the property."
The captain pressed his lips together before turning away to speak into his radio. Jingwei closed their microphone, leaving the incoming audio active.
"Keep watching them," he instructed Shichen, pushing the controls toward him. "Tell me if anyone approaches another entrance."
Shichen nodded and took his place. Jingwei headed for the weapons storage, with Zeyu following close behind.
He had chosen those weapons imagining desperate strangers, thieves, and people who would see their supplies as something worth killing for.
In other words, he had chosen what would make most people second guess the idea of taking them on.
What he hadn’t prepared for was the uniforms.
That bothered him more than he wanted to admit. He unlocked the storage and looked at the rifles waiting inside, each one purchased because he had promised himself nobody would get near her.
Behind him, Zeyu stopped in the doorway.
"Are we really doing this?" Zeyu asked quietly. His gaze moved from the weapons to Jingwei’s face, and there was none of his usual humor to soften the question.
"We’re getting ready," Jingwei replied, taking down a rifle. He turned toward his friend, unwilling to pretend he felt nothing. "I’d rather hold one of these while they leave than wish I had it after they get inside."
Zeyu swallowed, then stepped forward to help him.
When they returned, Captain Du was facing the camera again. Hanchuan stood exactly where Jingwei had left him.
"Commander Zhao has authorized us to recover Miss Qiao," the captain announced. His voice had become firmer, and the soldiers behind him were no longer standing at ease. "You need to cooperate, Mr. Pei."
Jingwei placed the weapons within reach. Hanchuan took one without looking away from the screen, and the familiarity of the movement caught Jingwei’s attention.
He had expected another instruction first.
"You’ve been given my answer," Hanchuan replied after opening the microphone. He held the rifle comfortably, as though the conversation had finally reached a subject he understood.
On the screen, the captain stepped away from the entrance. He spoke to one of his men, who hurried toward the vehicles.
Jingwei felt Shichen move beside him.
"They can’t seriously intend to force their way in," Shichen murmured, staring at the soldiers gathering around the rear of a truck.
Jingwei wanted to agree. Instead, he watched them lift down a heavy case and carry it toward the gate.
"They intend to take her," he replied, tightening his hold on his rifle. "We just told them they couldn’t."
The captain returned to the speaker while his men opened the case.
"Keep everyone clear of the entrance," he instructed, looking directly into the camera. "We’ll have our medical personnel inside shortly."
Jingwei reached for the controls and secured the inner barrier. The confirmation appeared while two soldiers brought equipment up against the outer gate.
For the first time since arriving, they stopped asking anyone’s permission.
Metal shrieked through the speaker as the tool bit into the gate, and Shichen flinched beside him.
Jingwei watched Hanchuan lift his eyes toward the next camera.
"Where do we meet them if that opens?" Hanchuan asked softly.