"If they get enraged, it could lead to even worse consequences."

He paused and continued, "Since these guys have taken us back, they probably won't do anything to us for the time being, we are temporarily safe."

"Besides, the family must have already noticed that we are missing. Just patiently wait for rescue; there's no need to take risks."

Ji Kai thought it over and felt that the other party made sense, so he didn't speak further.

Just then, a fierce gunfight erupted outside, the sound of rifle fire incessantly ringing.

Old Wang quickly instructed everyone to bury their heads to avoid being hit by stray bullets.

"Rat-a-tat!"

The sounds of gunfire outside drew closer, accompanied by screams echoing, and the faces of several Brother Heizi inside showed panic, realizing something was amiss.

A few exchanged glances, then each made their way toward the door, disregarding the hostages inside.

"Bang bang bang!"

As they barely poked their heads out, they were caught off guard by bullets coming from somewhere.

With two muffled thuds, the two leading Brother Heizi fell, while the remaining one hurriedly retreated inside.

Swift footsteps followed as the dilapidated wooden door was kicked open, and several members wearing desert camouflage stormed in with rifles, led by Abdou.

The only remaining WZ member immediately dropped his AK, squatted down, and surrendered.

Abdou scanned the dimly lit room, spotted Ji Kai and others squatting in the corner, and called out with an odd accent, "Who's Ji Kai?"

The bemused Ji Kai blinked, seemingly hearing his name being called.

However, he didn't hurry to stand up, uncertain of these individuals' intentions and choosing to wait and see.

At this moment, Old Wang recognized these special forces' uniforms, showing a hint of joy in his eyes, and nudged the playing-dead Ji Kai: "They're from the Oil Country, probably here to rescue us!"

"Huh? Oh, oh, I'm Ji Kai!" Realizing, Ji Kai quickly stood up and raised his hand, "I'm Ji Kai!"

Upon hearing, Abdou took a phone from his pocket, glanced at the photo on the screen, and looked at Ji Kai to confirm his identity, then waved to his subordinates.

One quickly stepped forward, removed his own bulletproof vest, and put it on Ji Kai.

Abdou raised his gun and immediately eliminated the WZ member, then announced to everyone, "We're personnel from the Oil Country, here to rescue you all, please follow us."

Upon hearing his declaration, the hostages inside erupted in long-suppressed joy.

"They're here to rescue us!"

"Hell yeah, we're saved, we're saved!"

"Quick! Follow us, hurry up! It's dangerous here!" Abdou gestured, and the team immediately formed a protective formation, keeping the hostages in the center and swiftly moving outside.

The sounds of gunfire continued to echo outside, with WZ forces starting to reinforce and engaging in fierce street fighting with the special forces between the adobe houses.

The "rat-a-tat" of gunfire sounded in succession, and the already shabby residential houses were riddled with holes.

After Ji Kai and others were safely escorted onto the helicopter, Abdou signaled, and five helicopters quickly flew away.

"Have you found our men?!" Abdou shouted into the communicator while observing the drone footage. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The hostages rescued from inside were all from Hua Country, and the Oil Country had assigned a support team of over thirty people who had not yet been found.

"Report! A prisoner was captured who said... the support team was all executed... bodies buried in the pit on the west side," a team member's somber report came through the communicator.

Abdou's face instantly sank, eyes burning with rage.

"These bastards... an immediate team goes to confirm!"

"Yes!"

The fighting continued, and on the west side, Brother Kettle was also intensely fighting, throwing countless gas cylinders into the Z Mansion Army's area, with explosions occurring one after another.

This thing not only packed a punch, but the cost is far cheaper than regular heavy artillery; a single shell's cost is enough to buy a truckload of gas cylinders.

Brother Kettle was already tight on budget, making this homemade heavy weapon all the more suitable.

A few minutes later, Abdou's earpiece echoed with a choked voice: "Reporting to the commander, confirmed to be the support team... all sacrificed."

Abdou suddenly closed his eyes, fury almost bursting from his chest.

He took a deep breath and quickly reported the situation to his superiors.

Inside Riyadh's mansion, when Salaman heard the news, his face turned extremely grim.

Normally, even if given a hundred guts, those WZ forces wouldn't dare do such a thing.

The only possibility is that someone is pulling strings from behind...

This also corroborates some of his previous suspicions.

"Do they really think I'm weak and easy to bully..."

Salaman's eyes flashed coldly, picking up the phone on the table, and when the other side answered, he coldly uttered a sentence: "Order the troops to deploy immediately, advance a hundred kilometers south across the border, eliminate any resisting units!"

"Make sure to completely sweep out every WZ member you encounter!"

The officer on the other end dared not hesitate and immediately responded, "Understood, Your Highness!"

In the southern Oil Country military base, fighter jets roared into the sky, and ground forces composed of tanks and armored vehicles charged forth like a steel flood, crossing the border in a rush toward Helad Town.

This Crown Prince, who always appeared mild-mannered and humble, revealed his iron-clad measures for the first time.

Perhaps the world had forgotten how he ascended to this position.

...

Shanghai, Skyline Group headquarters.

The large conference room was filled with people; besides over a thousand employees of the group company, Chairman Yu Wanhe had invited many media outlets.

On the podium, facing such a big setup, Qi Yun internally smiled bitterly.

He originally thought Yu Wanhe's announcement of the appointment was for some mid-to-high-level meeting, but it turned out to be even more extravagant than a Xiaomi press conference, catching him somewhat off guard.

Yet Qi Ting had weathered significant storms; facing a thousand pairs of eyes and countless camera flashes below, he remained poised.

"I'm very happy to meet everyone here today, and honored to join Skyline Group, to fight alongside you all in the future..."

"Thank you **, thank you **, thank you..."

With so many media present, today would certainly make the news. Although Qi Yun disliked these official speeches, he still had to follow protocol...

After he finished speaking, Yu Wanhe took the microphone and babbled on for an hour, a nomination meeting that felt exceedingly dull to Qi Yun finally ended.

Zhou Fangchun, overseeing logistics, prepared a very spacious office for him, right beside Yu Wanhe's office on the top floor.

The space was at least over a hundred square meters, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view of Shanghai's bustling skyline. The desk was a solid piece of ebony wood, accompanied by a rest area, tea station, and private bathroom, so luxurious that Qi Yun felt a bit uncomfortable.

"President Qi, are you satisfied with the office? If you have any other requirements, feel free to let me know."

Qi Yun casually nodded: "Quite satisfied, Minister Zhou had put in effort, thank you."

"You're welcome, President Qi, since you've just arrived, the chairman instructed me to take great care, both in living and work aspects, to ensure you are well attended to." Zhou Fangchun stood across the desk, face full of smiles.

Qi Yun smiled wryly; he truly was here to be treated like royalty.

After sending them off, his female secretary knocked and entered, handing over a folder, "President Qi, here's your schedule for the week, all subsequent meetings and engagements have been arranged."

Qi Yun took the folder and flipped through it casually, full of densely packed meeting arrangements, such as progress seminar and observation learning meetings...he couldn't help but frown.

"Do I need to attend all these meetings?"

He didn't have time to come to the office every day.

The female secretary explained with a smile: "Not all are mandatory; if you find them too frequent, I can immediately streamline less important ones for you."

Qi Yun put down the folder, shaking his head: "No need to streamline, I won't attend any."

"I won't be at the company often in the future; if there's something important, contact me directly by phone."

With that, he took his coat and left the office amidst the secretary's stunned gaze.

ps: Couldn't publish last night, sent together with today's.