Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 119 - 114 Mysterious Village

"Sure!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been preparing for the altar all along, but the project was incredibly expensive. It also had to be done in secret, which meant spending even more time and labor.

Mr. Chen was clearly not reassured and emphasized again, "I appreciate your hard work. This is very important to both of us, as you know. If we succeed, we both stand to benefit. This is nothing like simply maintaining your body with Gu Poison. A chance to live again isn’t something you find just anywhere. You should understand the importance of this opportunity better than I do."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Mr. Chen’s tone grew increasingly stern, yet the excitement in Gao Yang’s eyes became more and more apparent, eventually bordering on madness.

Seeing the two hang up, the men surveilling Gao Yang exchanged a look.

Cai Kai swallowed hard. "Captain, those two are up to something big."

"Get Qiangzi and Jia Dong ready. We’re about to dig up something useful." Feng Yan patted Cai Kai’s shoulder, his eyes fixed on the surveillance feed. "Damn it," he said lightly, "I thought we’d be waiting forever... Looks like our luck isn’t so bad. Finding something in just three days is much easier than other missions."

"Hahaha, our luck really is good this time. On the last mission, the target was too cautious. We staked him out for half a month before he made a move. I was dead tired." Cai Kai chuckled in agreement, but his hands never stopped moving as he quickly sent a message to Wang Deqiang and Jia Dong, who were out.

Stakeouts like this really came down to luck.

As soon as Gao Yang went downstairs, he called over his two underlings from before. The trio got into a car and left the residential complex without any delay.

Not long after they drove off, a Volkswagen Santana began following them. They were exceptionally cautious, dropping back even further as the traffic thinned. With their level of meticulousness, even a fellow professional would have struggled to spot them, let alone a small-time thug like Gao Yang.

Everything was going too smoothly—so smoothly that Feng Yan started to feel something was wrong.

Noticing Feng Yan’s frown, Cai Kai quickly asked, "What’s wrong, Captain? You don’t look so good."

Feng Yan shook his head. "It just doesn’t feel right."

"Hahaha." Cai Kai gripped the steering wheel and laughed heartily. "Captain, I think you’re just used to being tense from past missions. Now that one is finally going smoothly, you’re not used to it. Honestly, they’re just a bunch of small-time thugs. What can they possibly do? They don’t even have security cameras. How could they know about listening devices, much less how to guard against them? If you ask me, they just haven’t noticed us."

Cai Kai’s logic was sound, but Feng Yan frowned when he heard the part about them not even having cameras. That feeling of unease grew stronger.

"Impossible," Feng Yan said gravely. "How could anyone in this day and age be unaware of such things? Especially Gao Yang—he’s monopolized an entire industry in Shanghai City and has a mysterious power backing him. How could he possibly have no precautions at all? It gives me the impression that even though they’re being discreet, they aren’t afraid of being followed."

Cai Kai was taken aback. "That’s not logical. If they aren’t afraid of being followed, why be so discreet?"

"It’s different," Feng Yan explained. "They have immense power in Shanghai City, so they aren’t afraid of being followed. They’re probably confident they can handle anyone who tails them. But what they *are* afraid of is their activities causing a huge stir. If that happens, it will lead to chaos, and it won’t be just a Shanghai City issue anymore. If outsiders got involved, it would be beyond their control."

"So, what about us..."

"What, are you scared?" Feng Yan gazed at the road ahead and suddenly asked, "Were you frightened by the sight of Zhao Chunyang covered in bugs?"

Cai Kai shook his head, but he couldn’t stop the goosebumps from crawling up his skin.

Noticing his reaction, Feng Yan patted his shoulder. "I’ve never asked you, why did you join the army?"

"Me?" Cai Kai touched his head, slightly embarrassed. "Captain, you know my story. I was originally brought into the fold. I never thought about it too much; I was just looking for a stable life."

Feng Yan laughed. "Right, I forgot about that. Technical personnel like you don’t have to go through the rigors of training."

"Actually, I’ve thought about training," Cai Kai said. "I’m especially envious of Wang Deqiang’s skills."

"In that case... after this mission is over, how about I help you apply for a round of special training?"

"No, no..." Cai Kai quickly waved his hands, then patted his stomach. "I’m just talking. With my physique, intensive training would kill me. I’d rather spend the time improving my hacking skills."

"Then what do you think Wang Deqiang would say if I asked him?" Feng Yan smiled, continuing without waiting for a reply. "Don’t let his quiet exterior fool you. He’s actually very passionate. One time, he’d had a bit too much to drink, and he told me through his tears that soldiers were so damn cool. He wanted to be just like them, going to dangerous places to protect his home and country. He’s an only child, so he didn’t hesitate. As soon as he was old enough, he joined the army and has been on this path ever since."

So Qiangzi, that quiet guy, cries too. Cai Kai thought to himself, a sentiment he didn’t really share.

"So if you asked Qiangzi," Feng Yan continued, "he would definitely say he does it to protect his home and country."

"What about you, Captain?" Cai Kai had only been a soldier for two years, so he didn’t have such profound thoughts. He was curious why his captain had suddenly brought all this up.

"Me?" Feng Yan shook his head. "I didn’t think that much about it. Back then, I wasn’t a good student, so I joined the army. After a while, I got used to it. And once I was used to it, my perspective broadened. So, if you had asked me back in the day, I probably would have said it was for the pay. But if you ask me now, I just want to deal with as many of these instabilities as I can, so my family can live their lives without a care in the world."

At this point, Feng Yan turned to look at Cai Kai. "The main problem with Gao Yang and his crew... is the force behind them."

"Captain," Cai Kai asked abruptly, "do you think something like Gu Technique really exists in this world?"

"It does!" Feng Yan nodded. "Scientists have specifically studied these things."

"So when I was captured back then..." Cai Kai had a sudden realization. "That intel was actually real. Then why not bring in specialists to handle this, like a..."

"A Taoist? Then what would be the point of us? Besides, very few of them have any real abilities. It’d be useless to find one; we’d be better off getting a doctor."

Feng Yan was about to say more when the red dot on the monitor stopped moving. It was the tracker they had planted in Gao Yang’s car. He immediately cut himself off. "Gao Yang’s group has stopped."

After checking the coordinates, Feng Yan cross-referenced them with a military map and said in a low voice, "They picked a pretty good spot. If we hadn’t been tailing them the whole way, we might never have found it."

Cai Kai also marveled, "Damn, they’re almost outside Shanghai City, aren’t they? This area is deserted. The nearest village is several kilometers away. What are they doing out here?"

"It looks like what they’re planning is seriously problematic." After saying this, Feng Yan remembered to use his headset to contact his teammates. "Qiangzi, we have a confirmed location. You two get over here, fast."

When they arrived, Feng Yan realized that what the map showed as a small hillock was actually a hillside surrounded by mountains. Only a single road, overgrown with weeds from long neglect, connected it to the main highway. A village was situated on the hillside, full of houses but utterly devoid of people. It was dead silent.

The moment they stepped out of the car, both Feng Yan and Cai Kai felt that something was wrong.

Less than five minutes later, Wang Deqiang and Jia Dong arrived. Not far away, at the entrance to the village, was Gao Yang’s car. Even from a distance, they could tell it was empty.

On the surface, it looked simple—an undefended base. But a place with so many obvious flaws, combined with the deserted houses, felt incredibly eerie. It magnified the feeling of unease that Feng Yan had been harboring all along.

Although his gut screamed that something was strange, it wasn’t a reason to turn back.

Feng Yan made the final decision: he and Wang Deqiang would be the assault element and scout ahead, Cai Kai would handle communications and intel from the rear, and Jia Dong, the sniper, would find a vantage point.

...