After two days of negotiations, Zuo Yang and Meng La agreed on a meeting place, a small private hospital in C city, T country.

Both Nine Eagles and Gunfire had a base and forces stationed in C city, so they weren’t afraid of the other party turning hostile without warning. They purchased the hospital together after finishing the negotiations. It had nothing to do with either side before that point, excluding the possibility of it being a trap.  Moreover, it was in a very good location—it was close to the highway and surrounded by open space, so it was easy to notice anyone’s approach. All this made the hospital a place hard to attack and easy to escape.

“They really found a good place,” Gua Two gave an objective evaluation after looking at the map. “It’s unsuitable for open attack. Should we send someone to mix in with Zuo Yang’s troops, Jun-shao?”

Lian Jun shook his head. “No. Zuo Yang is slippery, I wouldn’t be at ease sending any of you into his hands. This time, our main goal is to save Old Ghost’s people. We don’t have to wait for Meng La to enter the hospital—as long as we make sure he brought them, we can attack when he approaches and snatch them.”

Gua Two nodded in understanding.

“Let Gua Three keep up his attacks on Gunfire’s hidden organizations, and call back Gua Five and Gua One,” Lian Jun continued. “Except for Gua Three, you’ll all follow me to T country. This time, we’re going deep into the territory controlled by Nine Eagles and Gunfire. Whether our operation is successful or not, we’re likely to encounter counterattacks from both sides, so we must be especially careful.”

Shi Jin put down his tablet at once and turned to look at him.

“You’re staying here. Gua Nine will accompany you.” Lian Jun seemed to know what Shi Jin was thinking and blocked his words before the teenager could even open his mouth.

Shi Jin frowned. “That doesn’t reassure me.” 

“I want you to stay. It’s not because I want to protect you, but because I need you to guard the rear. Meng La is cunning and cautious, and fond of making plans with many layers to them. Whether or not he has doubts about this cooperation with Zuo Yang, after having learned about your importance to me, he’s likely to make a back-up plan and look for an opportunity to get to you. If Gunfire really targets this place, then with my and Gua Two’s absence, you’ll need to step forward to take the lead, try to fend off their attack, and protect yourself,” Lian Jun explained seriously. “This is the first task I’ve given you where you’ll be fully in charge. This time, there will be no one you can fall back on—all our people in the hospital will be at your disposal and you will be responsible for everyone’s safety. You’ll have to be more careful than ever. Can you do it?”

Since Lian Jun had said so much, Shi Jin suppressed the idea of following him to T country and nodded, despite knowing the situation he’d described wasn’t likely to happen at all. “Yes. I will guard the rear and do my best to protect everyone.”

“Uhm, I believe you will.” Lian Jun took his hand, the wrinkle between his eyebrows smoothing.

That same night, Zuo Yang and Meng La settled on the time—they decided to meet in the lobby of the private hospital at eight o’clock in the morning three days later. If either of them hadn’t arrived by the appointed time, it would mean their cooperation fell through and they openly became enemies.

During these three days, the members of Gunfire and Nine Eagles stationed in C city would empty the hospital, turn it into a temporary base, and prepare everything needed for cooperation, then wait for the two leaders’ arrival.

At the same time, there was a movement in several of Gunfire’s hideouts that Phantom was keeping watch over. Some hideouts transported people out in secret, but since they did it in multiple batches, Old Ghost was unable to determine which group were the real hostages. Afraid that a hasty action would alert the enemy, he could only suppress his impatience and hold himself back.

Upon receiving both of these pieces of news, Lian Jun didn’t linger and asked someone to pack up his luggage straight away, preparing to set off for T country on the same evening. Meng La was too cunning to let them save the hostages during transition—it seemed they had no choice but to wait near the meeting place.

At that time, Shi Jin was attending class. Learning that Lian Jun was about to leave, he hurried to excuse himself with Mr. Feng and rushed to the doctor’s office Lian Jun was using as a temporary study. 

“Are you going?” he blurted out the moment he entered the door.

Lian Jun was in the middle of a phone call to Gua Seven about the arrangement of personnel, but concluded the conversation when he saw Shi Jin. Wheeling his chair from behind the desk and taking the younger man’s hand, he asked, “Gua Two told you?”

“Yes, when he came to pack your luggage.” Shi Jin squatted down and put his head on Lian Jun’s lap. His heart was bursting with things he wanted to say, but at the moment, he couldn’t utter a single word.

Right now, rather than give him an affectionate send-off, what he wanted was to lock Lian Jun up and not allow him to leave.

All of a sudden, he understood why Lian Jun had subconsciously avoided assigning him any tasks. When you liked someone, it was instinct to want them to always be by your side, to keep them protected and safe, close enough that you could touch them with a stretch of your hand. 

Lian Jun touched the space between the teenager’s furrowed brows, leaned down, and called, “Shi Jin.”

Shi Jin looked up and couldn’t help but reach out and hug him. This position was quite uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to let go at all.

“I’ll hurry up and finish what needs to be done, then come back right away,” Lian Jun comforted, stroking his back. “I’ve been too busy lately. I haven’t taken a good look at you, or accompanied you properly for a long time… Shi Jin, I miss you very much.”

Somehow, Shi Jin immediately understood what he meant.

Although they’d met every day during this period, they hadn’t really been together for a while—because of everything that was happening, their nerves were tense 24/7, without a moment to relax. They needed time which belonged only to the two of them, to properly feel and indulge in each other.

“Come back safely.” Heart sour, Shi Jin kissed him, then held him tighter and said, “When we’re done here, you have to take a good rest and have a detailed physical examination. Remember that bet we made on the ship? This is my request. You gave your word you’ll do anything I want—you’re going to honor it, right?”

Lian Jun touched his head. “Okay, I promise you.”