Fatal Strike: Mercenary Road of Gunfire Ranger-Chapter 10 - : Shangri-La

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

The Mekong River is known as the "Nu River" within the borders of Hua Country, and once it crosses the national boundary, it serves as the border river among Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand.

The renowned Golden Triangle is located at the juncture of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand.

Previously, the Golden Triangle's area encompassed Myanmar's Shan State, Kachin State, the Chiang Rai and the northern part of Chiang Mai Province of Thailand, as well as the Luang Prabang, Feng Shali, and Udomsai Provinces of Laos, comprising over 3000 villages and towns in total.

However, since the major Mekong River case, the three countries have been caught by domestic authorities and started a high-pressure crackdown on drug crimes and the development of alternative economies.

By the year 2014, various states around the perimeter of the Golden Triangle, under pressure, had announced the abandonment of the drug trade and began cultivating agricultural crops in place of poppies using the fertile local land.

Even Laos's Golden Triangle Special Zone, with the support of several large companies, began to flourish, and it is said that a film specifically about the major Mekong River case will be assisted there this year.

However, where there is suppression, there is resistance...

This year, Thailand submitted a "2014 Southeast Asia Poppy Survey Report"...

The report shows that continuous high-pressure crackdowns have led to an increase in international drug demand, which in turn, promoted the increase in the poppy cultivation area in the core region of the Golden Triangle.

What's worse, those drug lords have also started walking on two legs: not only are they producing opium, but they have also begun producing meth.

Naokan is a new meth kingpin who has emerged after the famous Nuokang, and this guy, learning from his predecessor's lessons, is even more secretive and ruthless!

While Mountain Eagle was chasing a human trafficking route, he ran into a human smuggling line and just happened to encounter people sent by Naokan for scouting within the country, and even neatly killed them all!

Seeing the condition of those anti-drug cops, you know there's nothing to messing with these big drug lords, but the consequences of blowing their cover are extremely serious.

Mountain Eagle trusts that his wife, as someone within the police force, even if dismissed due to his involvement, would definitely be able to understand the situation immediately and make appropriate responses.

But he doesn't want to gamble!

If initially Mountain Eagle proposed himself as the bait and was seeking bargaining chips, now he wants to resolve the problem once and for all.

In fact, killing is actually the simplest part of the whole process; the hardest part is how to locate the other side, figure out their operational habits, and then formulate an evacuation plan.

Now that Mountain Eagle, this glaring bait, is out there; the rest is not so difficult...

Of course, "not so difficult" is relative...

...

Mi Lu drove a speedboat for about 2 hours, then turned into a tributary, refueled midway, and after meandering for nearly 4 more hours, they finally moored.

When the speedboat docked, two armed young men ran up to the simple pier, enthusiastically helped Mi Lu secure the speedboat in the optimal mooring position, and then tied the front and rear of the speedboat firmly to the pier...

One of the young men wearing a worn baseball cap pulled Mi Lu onto the pier, smiling and speaking in fluent English, "I thought you guys wouldn't be back for a few days, did something happen? Do you need our help?"

Mi Lu disdainfully waved away the young man and said, "With so many people eyeing the gold mines occupied by your dead grandfather, what will happen to your tribespeople if you leave?"

Saying this, Mi Lu turned back and pointed at the speedboat, "Clear out a room for me and call the doctor..."

The young man glanced at the speedboat and his eyes swept over two people who were obviously captives, pausing on Mountain Eagle for a few seconds before nodding as a greeting, then turned to speak a few words in Lao to his fellow...

Soon, seven or eight young men ran over to help lift the captives and escorted them into the village.

Mountain Eagle really wasn't accustomed to being supported by others. He took a walking stick handed by a young man with dark skin and a radiant smile and followed behind the group for about ten minutes, then they entered a village built on the hillside...

Walking out of the jungle into a sudden clearing, Mountain Eagle was stunned. He hadn't expected to find such a paradise just about a kilometer away from the riverbank.

The surrounding hills were covered with orderly terraced fields, and on a relatively steep slope, a Zhuang-style village had been constructed.

Uniform wooden houses with black tiles were layered on the hillside in a fish-scale pattern, surrounded by a circle of stone walls.

Mountain Eagle noted the absence of roads, and the scale of construction here was clearly beyond what the local economy could support.

As he stepped onto the first bluestone step, Mountain Eagle curiously asked Blood Fox, "What exactly is this place?"

Blood Fox glanced at the curious Mountain Eagle and explained, "This is the hometown of our old comrade 'Pangolin'...

10 years ago, after he retired, he discovered a gold mine nearby and took it over with the people from the village, using the proceeds from selling mining rights to gather a large amount of capital to build this village."

As they talked, Blood Fox looked at the young men ahead, smiling and saying, "These young men were trained by that old guy, Pangolin...

Don't underestimate them; they deal with warlords and drug lords all year round and have maintained control over the gold mine with formidable combat capabilities."

Mountain Eagle remarked admiringly, "Selling mining rights instead of mining themselves is a very smart business strategy.

Your comrade must be quite remarkable!"

Blood Fox listened, nodded slightly, and spoke a bit gloomily, "Being able to survive decades on the battlefield without dying is indeed remarkable, but old age is still old age..."

Mountain Eagle was a bit confused by Blood Fox's sudden melancholy...

However, when he followed the troop up a dozen steps and entered a large house, he began to understand...

Mi Lu, clearly more anxious, held a skinny old man who seemed to be only skin and bones, shook him joyously for a moment and then set him down on a bear skin-draped lounge chair, began loudly calling over the first young man in a baseball cap to prepare food and drinks...

Blood Fox led Mountain Eagle to the old man, smiling and saying, "Pangolin, meet my new apprentice, Mountain Eagle. From now on, if there's any errand, we won't have to use my old bones."

The gaunt Pangolin glanced at Mountain Eagle and extended his hand...

Mountain Eagle, not knowing when he became an apprentice, instinctively shook hands with Pangolin, then heard the old man speak in a voice like glass scraping a blackboard, saying, "Welcome..."

Mountain Eagle instinctively replied, "Thank you," and suddenly realized that Pangolin was speaking Chinese, albeit with a southwestern accent, but it didn't prevent him from understanding.

Seeing Mountain Eagle's surprised expression, Pangolin laughed gleefully as if a prank had succeeded, saying, "The dramas from the north are quite interesting; I hope the people from the village will go there to work and live in the future..."

Mountain Eagle didn't think his hometown would welcome a group of Lao natives who took over the hills, so he gave a dry laugh and said, "Indeed, the development over there is good; it's definitely worth visiting..."

While Mountain Eagle was exchanging pleasantries with the host, the impatient Mi Lu loudly said, "Stop the chatter, set up the camera quickly, get the confessions out, and find a place to bury these people so we can eat...

Let's stop taking crappy jobs from the International Intermediary Company; no money to be made and all troubles..."