0123 The Arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Teemo

Under close observation, Hou Rui noted that the lead vehicle in Lieutenant Colonel Timo’s convoy was a Chilean-made Alacran S1 medium troop carrier. The Colonel had gone as far as mounting a U.S.-made M2 heavy machine gun onto the turret of this antique. Following the Alacran was a fleet of Toyota pickups; three of the four were equipped with large-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns, and the last one featured a recoilless rifle that appeared to be roughly 60mm in caliber.

The off-road vehicles trailing at the rear were more conventional, though each door was flanked by fully armed Coalition soldiers brandishing rocket launchers, exuding the fierce aura of an elite unit. In short, this convoy possessed several times the combat power of Captain Mulu’s.

Hou Rui committed every detail to memory. He concluded that Lieutenant Colonel Timo was a cautious man who valued his own life above all else—otherwise, he would not have kept his entire force close by to protect him. When dealing with such a person, the most important rule was never to let him feel threatened.

No sooner had this thought crossed Hou Rui’s mind than the Alacran in Timo’s convoy stalled, stripping the Lieutenant Colonel of his grand entrance and leaving him visibly embarrassed.

The awkward stalemate lasted two or three minutes until the pickup behind the Alacran lost patience, reversed, and bypassed the broken-down armored vehicle, finally delivering Lieutenant Colonel Timo to Captain Mulu and Hou Rui.

When Timo finally stepped out, he appeared to be a short, gray-haired black man in his mid-forties. At first glance, he looked no different from the local elders struggling to survive in town. However, as Hou Rui observed him more closely, he noticed something unique: the Lieutenant Colonel had light blue eyes, suggesting mixed ancestry. At this moment, those rare eyes were smoldering with dissatisfaction and rage.

"Welcome, Lieutenant Colonel Timo. We have prepared a welcome banquet for you. Please, come inside!" Among the greeting party, only Captain Mulu was qualified to speak. But the grinning Mulu never expected that Timo, standing right before him, would pull a long face, remain silent, and reach for the sidearm at his waist.

"Colonel, you, you, you—" The "Hand-Cutter" panicked, backing away and stuttering.

"Do not be afraid. You are not the one I am looking for." Timo turned, shouting toward the stalled Alacran, "Driver!"

"Sir!" A voice immediately rang out from the vehicle, and a Latin American man scrambled out, jogging over to the Lieutenant Colonel.

"What did I tell you before we set out?" Timo asked, fiddling with his pistol.

"Reporting, Colonel. The armored vehicle stalled due to a lack of parts, I..." The man began to tremble, his eyes tracking the muzzle of the gun in Timo’s hand.

"I am asking you, what did I say?"

"Colonel, you said that if the armored vehicle broke down again, then—"

"Then what?"

"Then you would execute me. But Colonel, I am the only one among your men who knows how to drive—"

"Then go to hell!" Timo cut him off, indifferent to the man’s technical value, and fired a single shot directly into his eye socket.

As the body slumped to the ground, Timo turned back, tucked his pistol into Captain Mulu’s holster, and said, "You mentioned a welcome banquet. Let us go see it."

"Yes, Colonel!" A startled Mulu replied loudly, stepping aside to clear the path as Timo strode into the fortress.

As they walked, Timo inspected the food, wine, women, and other amenities Mulu had prepared, finally nodding in satisfaction. Once he had seated himself comfortably on the central sofa in the hall, he told Mulu and the accompanying officers, "Sit, all of you."

"Yes, Colonel." More than twenty officers, including Hou Rui, took their seats around him.

"Gentlemen, I have two purposes for being here today: first, to inspect the defensive situation along the Baka Town line, and second, to meet the famous Sergeant Douglas." Timo did not beat around the bush. As he spoke, the eyes of every officer in the room converged on Hou Rui.

Realizing everyone was watching, Hou Rui stood up and said, "Greetings, Lieutenant Colonel Timo. I am Douglas Wang."

"Heh heh heh, just as the rumors suggested. Sergeant Douglas is a wise man from the East. Your proposal was highly effective; the negotiations in New York are proceeding smoothly. The Liberation Coalition no longer needs to fear an offensive from government forces in the short term. The Americans, British, and French are all willing to act as mediators. Even General Garcia is quite satisfied."

Timo finally looked at Hou Rui directly. Though his words were complimentary, there was no sign of true approval in his eyes.

*What went wrong?* Hou Rui’s heart tightened.

"Colonel, I merely offered a few suggestions. It is not worth mentioning," Hou Rui replied, maintaining the expected humility.

"No, Sergeant Douglas. The Liberation Coalition is never stingy with those who serve it well. I hereby announce that, effective immediately, Douglas Wang is promoted to Second Lieutenant and will be transferred to the Coalition headquarters to receive a new assignment." Timo dropped a bombshell, shocking everyone in the room.

According to Coalition custom, reaching officer rank meant entering the inner circle of power. While a Second Lieutenant did not hold the same regional authority as a Captain, it opened the door to rapid advancement and greater responsibility. As Timo made the announcement, the eyes of the other officers were filled with undisguised envy and jealousy. As for Sergeant Kun, his hatred was naked; he looked as if he wanted to pounce on Hou Rui and tear the appointment from his hands.

Yet, to Hou Rui, this promotion was trivial. It was the phrase "transferred to headquarters to receive a new assignment" that he had truly been hoping for.

"However," Timo’s tone shifted, turning from jovial to sinister, "before Second Lieutenant Douglas assumes his new post, I have a small question that requires an answer." The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. Even Captain Mulu could not guess the Lieutenant Colonel’s true intent.

"Please, Lieutenant Colonel Timo. I will provide you with an answer," Hou Rui said, drawing a breath to steady his racing heart while maintaining a smile.

Timo stood up slowly, poured two drinks with practiced ease, and walked over to Hou Rui. He handed one to Hou Rui, took a sip of his own, and asked with a smirk, "Is Second Lieutenant Douglas British?"

"Yes, I am from the East End of London."

"And before joining the Coalition, you were a..."

"That is correct! I—"

"Lies! Nothing but lies!" Timo, who had been pacing the hall, suddenly spun around and hurled his glass at Hou Rui’s face.

*Thwack.* The glass struck Hou Rui’s forehead. It did not break the skin, but a welt immediately began to swell.

Summoning every ounce of his willpower to suppress the urge to bolt, Hou Rui stood his ground, clutched his forehead, and curled his body slightly. "Colonel, I... I do not understand what you mean."

"You really don't?" Timo sneered and snapped his fingers. *Click, click.* The officers accompanying him immediately drew their weapons, disengaged the safeties, and leveled them at Hou Rui. Meanwhile, Captain Mulu’s men scrambled away as if fleeing a plague, leaving Hou Rui isolated in a ring of leveled guns.

Watching the dozen muzzles pointed at him through his fingers, Hou Rui’s heart hammered against his ribs. It was too late to resist; he knew he could not dodge bullets from so many angles. Even if a miracle occurred and he survived, he had no hope of fighting his way out of the fortress and the town with only his P229.

*What now?*

*What do I do?*

Hou Rui’s mind descended into chaos as cold sweat rolled down his neck.