I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 621 The Crackdown on Drug Traffickers is Underway
Baron was now like a ticking time bomb. Everyone knew trouble would come sooner or later. But everyone was covering up this time bomb, covering their ears and saying, "I don’t know, I don’t know!" Only that one councilman dissected the time bomb in front of everyone, telling the citizens that it might explode and that he must defuse it.
One had to admire the councilman’s courage, but unfortunately, while he possessed courage, he lacked the corresponding power. Was the time bomb there because of the gangs? No, it was because of the disconnection between the government’s management and the impoverished at the bottom. If the government’s reach could not extend to the lowest level, others would inevitably take root.
And to change the status quo, could one rely solely on exterminating drug traffickers and gang forces? No, one must also improve the government’s control over the ordinary people at the bottom. Controlling people meant providing them with employment, education, medical care, and other preferential resource allocations, which encroached upon the interests of the upper class.
So in Wang Lan’s view, the councilman’s idea was so naïve it was almost wishful thinking.
"TAP TAP TAP—"
The sudden knocking on the door made the four of them pause their conversation. Xu Xiangwen activated his Heavenly Eye. "It’s a Caucasian man, unarmed. I’ll get the door."
Xu Xiangwen stood up and opened the door. A Caucasian man instructed his subordinates to wait outside, then entered the room alone. He gave a very formal salutation to Wang Lan and the others, saying, "Mr. Fire Phoenix, thank you very much for coming to help us. I am Haqi, Baron’s drug enforcement commander."
"Are you sure you’re not called Husky?" Xu Xiangwen muttered under his breath. Fortunately, Haqi didn’t understand the Huaxia language, so he didn’t react.
"Mr. Haqi, what brings you here so suddenly?" Wang Lan asked.
"We need your help."
"Well... aren’t we already here to help you with those assassin incidents?"
"No, not that kind of help. It’s something else." Haqi pulled a stack of photos from his briefcase. Wang Lan glanced at them; they were all pictures of dead people, most of whom had been shot.
"What do you mean, Mr. Haqi? Who are these people?"
"These are some of Baron’s most notorious drug dealers, each a top-ranked villain on international blacklists. A year ago, Baron introduced a drug isolation act, which squeezed the living space of these drug dealers.
Since then, these drug lords started attacking each other for opium fields and territories. They were all killed in the ensuing firefights."
"Isn’t that a good thing?" Xie Sisi asked, confused.
"It would have been, but half a year ago, a previously little-known drug lord named Night Hawk began to rise rapidly. His ascent exceeded our wildest expectations. In just three months, he swallowed up the territories and forces of all the other drug lords. Now, they are entrenched in the complex terrain of the Aigel Mountain Range, an area surrounded by dense forests and rolling mountains. It’s easy to defend but hard to attack, and the government forces have been powerless against them."
"A nation’s armed forces powerless against a bunch of drug dealers... What a joke," Xu Xiangwen said with a faint smile.
"Do you know how many drug dealers Night Hawk commands now? A full 30,000! They possess advanced weapons and are even equipped with heavy armaments."
"What about your Star Martial Warriors?"
"They also have Star Martial Warriors, and they can move Unpredictably thanks to the complex terrain. The president organized three encirclement campaigns, but all ended in failure with heavy losses. Councilman Brown gave a fierce speech about this, but he was quickly killed," Haqi said, his face filled with grief and anger.
"Councilman Brown? The one killed by an assassin?" Wang Lan suddenly asked.
"Yes."
"Why wasn’t this information in the materials sent by the Police Department?"
"There must be scum among government officials bought by the drug dealers; they wouldn’t include such detrimental intelligence. But I believe Councilman Brown’s death is definitely related to those drug dealers."
"What do those assassinated millionaires and the former head of the Police Department have to do with this group of drug dealers?"
"I’m not sure about that. Probably nothing?" Haqi ventured.
"What do you need us to do?"
"Councilman Hosi has convinced Parliament. In three days, they’ll send a 30,000-strong army for one final assault on the drug trafficking gang. We hope you can assist us in completely annihilating Night Hawk’s forces."
"Mr. Haqi," Wang Lan said sternly, "don’t blame me for being blunt, but Baron’s biggest problem isn’t just the drug dealers and gangs."
"Councilman Hosi also told me that the biggest issue is the system’s structure. The government’s inability to care for the poor created fertile ground for these gangs and drug dealers. Councilman Hosi’s political goals are actually the same as Councilman Brown’s, but he isn’t as naïve. He won’t reveal his true intentions prematurely."
"How do you know those oligarchs are willing to support you in this? None of them are fools."
"Night Hawk’s power has frightened them. A terrorist force of 30,000 armed men is enough to divide Baron. The oligarchs are now even more anxious than we are to eliminate them. Besides, the assassination of the four businessmen has terrified them."
"We can take this task, but it would be an additional mission..." Wang Lan stated.
"I understand. Facing 30,000 armed drug dealers... What about the price of an A-level task?" Haqi proposed.
An A-level task was a multimillion-level mission with a minimum remuneration of ten million. S-level tasks started at a hundred million.
"No problem. We agree. Notify me before the action," Wang Lan confirmed.
"Okay, then I will take my leave for now..." Mr. Haqi quickly stood up to express his thanks, then turned and left.
The other three had no objections to Wang Lan accepting this mission, although they could have declined it. Wang Lan’s reason for accepting was very simple: All drug traffickers deserve to die.
For the next three days, the hidden assassins made no further moves, as if they knew Wang Lan and his team had arrived. Of course, it was also possible they simply had no assignments during this period.
「Early on the third day」
Wang Lan and the others changed into their black cloaks with red clouds, put on masks, and their figures vanished from the room in a flash. Elsewhere, the 30,000-strong drug enforcement force had already boarded transport vehicles, ready to depart.
Mr. Haqi kept glancing at his watch. The agreed time is almost here, why haven’t Mr. Fire Phoenix and his team arrived yet? Just as this thought arose, four figures suddenly appeared before Mr. Haqi like ghosts.
"Ah—!" Mr. Haqi screamed in fright, collapsing to the ground. The surrounding soldiers reacted instantly, raising their guns and aiming them at Wang Lan and his team.
"What’s wrong? Are we that scary?" Wang Lan’s displeased voice rang out.
"Mr... Mr. Fire Phoenix?" Mr. Haqi stammered nervously, catching his breath.
"Yes!"
"Lower your weapons! They’re allies, allies!" Haqi shouted.
"When can we depart?" Wang Lan asked.
"Right away! We can leave now!" Mr. Haqi said hurriedly, wiping sweat from his forehead. The army set out as soon as Wang Lan boarded Mr. Haqi’s command vehicle.
Each transport truck carried 150 soldiers. With 200 trucks for the 30,000 soldiers, the convoy stretched for miles, resembling a train.
The drug traffickers’ stronghold was in the northwest of Baron, with the Neo River to the north. The Neo River is one of North Africa’s largest rivers, more than three times the length of the Yangtze River. Dense primeval jungles flanked both sides of the river, and beyond them lay complex mountainous terrain.
Gorges and basins served as natural havens for opium poppy cultivation. Besides these, hidden opium fields were also carved out within the dense primeval jungles. Only those who cultivated them knew their exact locations.
The 30,000-strong army seemed vast, but once they entered the dense primeval jungle, they quickly became spread thin.
The main force had just reached the outskirts of the primeval jungle. They would rest briefly for the night before starting their crossing the next day. It would take three days to traverse the 200-kilometer stretch of primeval forest, all while remaining vigilant against ambushes from the Unpredictable drug trafficking gangs lurking in the dense woods.
Wang Lan and his team split into four groups, each providing escort in a different direction. Given their individual strengths, even if there were sneak attacks within the larger army, they wouldn’t need to be overly concerned. Especially Xu Xiangwen—it was a blessing if he didn’t ambush you; how could anyone dream of ambushing him?
「Today was already the second day of entering the dense forest.」
They had traveled 80 kilometers on the first day, but their pace noticeably slowed on the second. After yesterday’s forced march, everyone was exhausted.
The previous day had passed without incident. The troops advanced quickly and faced no ambushes. However, the small creatures within the primeval jungle were quite ferocious and venomous. A dozen or so warriors died from the bites of venomous insects and snakes, and many more were covered in stings and bites.
Mr. Haqi, drawing on his experience from three previous encirclement campaigns, speculated that they would start encountering sneak attacks from the drug traffickers today. The army was weary from the previous day; their strength and reaction speed would be greatly diminished.
Xu Xiangwen silently followed the two commanders, who spoke to him from time to time. However, their attempts at his language were of a kind that not even they seemed to fully grasp. In any case, while the commanders thought they were communicating adequately, to Xu Xiangwen, it all sounded like gibberish.
To avoid embarrassing them, Xu Xiangwen had to pretend he understood, constantly nodding. It was pure torture.
Suddenly, Xu Xiangwen grabbed one of the commanders beside him and threw him backward. Everyone else was too slow to react. A moment later, a burst of woodchips exploded from a nearby tree.
"Ambush—!"
"Sniper! Everyone, on alert—!"
While the army quickly adjusted their combat formation, Xu Xiangwen had already vanished like a streak of light. The sniper was 900 meters away. Although the sniper’s rifle posed little threat to Xu Xiangwen himself, it was a significant danger to the army’s commanders and had to be eliminated immediately.
The sniper knew he was exposed after missing his shot. Just as he stood up to relocate, a gust of wind swept over his head. Looking up, the sniper saw a black cloak with red clouds and a mask with a smiling face.
SWISH—
A blade swept past, and a head soared into the sky.
At that moment, intense gunfire erupted from behind the main army. Dozens of armed men were attacking the force of several thousand soldiers. Hidden and familiar with the terrain, the attackers instantly threw the Baron government’s troops into disarray.
Xu Xiangwen’s figure suddenly darted back, flitting through the forest like a Ghost. With each appearance, he took the life of an armed attacker. In less than a minute, the gunfire dwindled to sporadic shots.
Xu Xiangwen reappeared beside the commanders, giving an "all clear" gesture.
"Oh, my respected Observed Listen!" one of the commanders exclaimed. "You are like a god! With you here, I am full of confidence in this operation!"
