Ning Ge pinched out the cigarette in his hand, crushed it under his foot, and then put his duckbill cap back on and picked up the toolbox to head towards the engineering department of the villa.
He walked through the garden, passed the pavilions and towers, seemingly wandering aimlessly, but if you looked closely, you would find his gaze frequently checking each corner of the main building and every hidden spot in the garden.
What was he trying to do?
Qi Taiguo came out of the meeting room, stood under the window sill, and took out a cigarette and started smoking.
He cast his gaze downwards and fixed his eyes on a corner, where a man in blue overalls and a cap was carrying a toolbox.
For some reason, he felt this person looked familiar.
Qi Taiguo furrowed his brows and moved his steps, just about to get a clear look, but the person had disappeared.
His eyes scanned around, but he could not find the person anywhere.
Why did he always feel something was off?
Qi Taiguo cared a lot about this feeling; his experience from multiple missions told him that such a feeling was a bad sign.
"All units be aware, if you spot any suspicious individuals, conduct a full search upon discovery," Qi Taiguo said into the walkie-talkie.
"Yes!"
Most of the missions Qi Taiguo had been on before were filled with gunfire and direct confrontations; he rarely dealt with security tasks like this one.
With such security assignments, there wasn’t the rush of moving through fire like usual, but alertness had to be maintained all the same because there might be spies lurking, waiting to strike.
Therefore, Qi Taiguo found everything suspicious.
This was somewhat frustrating; he preferred actual combat to such missions where, like a wild cat, one had to remain continuously on high alert.
"Old Qi!"
Someone slapped his shoulder, and Qi Taiguo, like a startled bird, swung a sharp elbow backwards.
"Hey, hey, it’s me!" the person stepped back, hands raised.
Qi Taiguo turned around and saw it was Ren Yang, a fellow company commander from a different military region assigned to the mission, who was about the same age as him.
"Oh, it’s you," Qi Taiguo relaxed and pulled out a cigarette to offer him.
Ren Yang took it, lit it, and said, "Who did you think it was, the enemy?"
Qi Taiguo looked back towards the garden below and said, "Sorry, I’m just a bit too on edge."
"First time on this kind of mission? I get it. I’ve been there too, finding everyone suspicious and everything problematic," Ren Yang laughed, joining him at the window sill to overlook the garden below, "You’ll get used to it after the first time."
Qi Taiguo gave a wry smile and said, "Honestly, I’d rather be fighting a war."
"All the lads in the military feel that way. Security work like this does seem like overkill, but it’s good for training your vigilance," Ren Yang raised an eyebrow, "I’ve heard about your past deeds. You earned more military merits in direct combat than you would in tasks like these."
"It’s not all about the military merits, just that it feels more satisfying, I guess!" Qi Taiguo replied.
"True!"
The two of them smoked and chatted while looking down at the swaying coconut palms in the garden, which was tough for Ning Ge, hidden in the bushes—damn, why was he so unlucky?
How long were these two going to chat, and did they know how many mosquitoes were here?
Ning Ge swept a glance left and right, then looked up at the window where Qi Taiguo and his companion were, gritted his teeth, and crawled from beneath the pavilion behind him.
Damn it, if he hadn’t been worried about Qi Taiguo noticing him, why would he have to crawl like a snail? That guy’s keenness was just too intense!