Light Speed ​​War

Chapter 251: A Difficult Mission

The next morning, Zhou Yuan's mother woke him up without asking when he had returned the night before.

"Son, did you see Xiaomei yesterday?"

"I saw her. We walked around outside for a while and didn't come back until very late."

"I've packed everything for you. Now you can see if you need to bring anything else. The chicken noodle soup is ready."

"Okay, thank you, Mom."

After washing up, Zhou Yuan ate chicken noodle soup, then went to his room, took out about ten books from the bookshelf, and put them in his suitcase.

Zhou Yuan's mother packed only clothes and simple daily necessities, knowing that the army would provide them. Zhou Yuan saw Xiao Mei's floral umbrella placed by the door and put it into his suitcase as well.

Zhou Yuan started moving his suitcase into the yard and saw his mother still doing something in the kitchen.

"Mom, I have to go."

"Son, wait a minute."

After saying that, Zhou Yuan's mother carried a bag out of the kitchen. "Son, I boiled seven or eight eggs. You can eat them on the way if you get hungry."

"mom."

Zhou Yuan's mother touched Zhou Yuan's cheek, her eyes brimming with tears.

Zhou Yuan wiped away his mother's tears. "Mom, I told Xiaomei yesterday that she will come to visit you and take care of you when she has time. Just treat her as your daughter-in-law."

A strange expression flashed across Zhou Yuan's mother's face, but she quickly recovered and said, "Son, I understand."

Zhou Yuan dragged his suitcase and walked out with his mother.

“Son, around seven o’clock last night, Panna came to see you.”

"Oh."

"She came to say goodbye to you, but I told her you had something to do outside."

Zhou Yuan remained silent for a while.

"Son, you've grown up. I won't interfere in your affairs; you just need to handle things yourself."

"Mom, I know."

At the entrance of the alley, there were five or six young men pulling suitcases. Zhou Yuan's mother greeted the parents of these young men, and Zhou Yuan walked with his friends.

The young men remained silent. Zhou Yuan simply walked with them. They all knew in their hearts that if he left, some of them might never come back, or perhaps none of them would ever return.

As the group walked out of the alley, two large trucks were parked across the asphalt road, and some youthful, slightly naive young people were already standing on them.

Next to the large truck, a small car with military license plates was parked, and the minister was standing next to the car. When the minister saw Zhou Yuan and the others coming, he quickly went to greet them.

"You've arrived?"

"Hello, Minister."

Everyone greeted each other.

Zhou Yuan was about to head towards the big truck with his friends, but the minister stopped him. Zhou Yuan looked at his friends.

"Minister, aren't you with them?"

"Xiao Zhou, you're a talented person. The higher-ups have taken notice of you. Don't forget me when you become successful."

"Minister, how could that be?"

The minister took the suitcase from Zhou Yuan's hand and personally put it in the trunk of the car.

Zhou Yuan and the minister walked to the car. The back door opened, and Zhou Yuan climbed into the back seat. He was stunned when he saw what was happening. "Xiao Lu?"

“Great talent, it’s me. Look who’s up ahead?” Chu Xiaolu, still in her military uniform, smiled at Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan looked at the driver, a young and capable man in military uniform, then glanced at the passenger seat and was startled.

"General Chu?!"

General Chu turned around and said, "Little Zhou, we meet again."

"General Chu, aren't you...?"

"Xiao Zhou, let's talk when we get there."

Zhou Yuan wondered, didn't General Chu and his family of three return to Sutang by train last Sunday night? Had they come back, or had they never gone back at all?

As the car started, Zhou Yuan saw the minister salute the car.

Two trucks were driving east. Zhou Yuan saw his friends looking at the car and couldn't help but wave. He knew they couldn't see inside the truck. The car then turned around and sped west.

Zhou Yuan had stayed up late the night before, so he leaned back in his chair and dozed off. Chu Xiaolu didn't say anything, but just glanced at Zhou Yuan occasionally.

After driving for about an hour, Zhou Yuan woke up and looked out the window. He saw rolling mountains and knew that this was Xishan, a suburb of Beining City.

"Zhou Yuan, I'm sorry, but according to the rules, I have to blindfold you." After saying that, Chu Xiaolu took out a black blindfold from her pocket. Zhou Yuan turned to the side, and Chu Xiaolu covered his eyes with the black blindfold from behind and then carefully tied it.

The car stopped after about half an hour, and Chu Xiaolu removed the hood from Zhou Yuan's face.

"Get out of the car."

Zhou Yuan blinked a few times to adjust his vision.

The car door opened, and a soldier with a gun appeared, saluting the car.

Zhou Yuan and Chu Xiaolu got out of the car one after the other. General Chu was already waiting at the car door. As soon as Zhou Yuan got out, General Chu extended his right hand and the two shook hands.

"Zhou Yuan, the fate and future of our country depend on you."

Hearing General Chu describe the situation so seriously, Zhou Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

"General Chu..."

"I'm not saying anything more. I have faith in you. Let's go."

Led by six soldiers, the three men boarded a military vehicle, which soon entered a huge cave and stopped.

The three of them rode the elevator, which took quite a while to stop. Zhou Yuan thought they must be very deep underground; based on the elevator's speed and the time taken, he estimated it to be 1,800 meters deep.

The elevator stopped, and the three of them stepped out. Zhou Yuan was immediately struck by the bright lights around him. He found himself in an open, well-lit area. A jeep was parked at the elevator entrance, and a soldier saluted the three of them. The jeep opened its door, and the three of them got in. The jeep drove slowly for about twenty minutes before stopping. The three of them then walked for another five minutes until they reached a house.

General Chu knocked on the door. "Come in," a deep, resonant male voice came from inside.

General Chu gently pushed open the door and entered. Chu Xiaolu and Zhou Yuan followed behind him. A square-faced man with five blue planet gold badges on his shoulders, wearing a military uniform, looked up. General Chu and Chu Xiaolu saluted the man, and he returned the salute.

"Commander, this is Zhou Yuan. Zhou Yuan, and this is General Chu, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission."

Zhou Yuan approached General Chu and said, "Greetings, Commander."

"Hello." General Chu extended his hand, and the two shook hands.

"General Chu, Xiaolu, Zhou Yuan, please have a seat."

The three sat down on the sofa in turn, with General Chu sitting opposite them.

"Zhou Yuan, General Chu strongly recommends you. I think you should also know the current situation, which is extremely dire. Zhou Yuan, do you think we can win this war?"

"Sir, may I ask a few questions first?"

"You said."

"What criteria did you use to conclude that the Western Kingdom was going to attack us?"

"Our military satellites have captured images of a 25-ship carrier strike group from the Western Turks assembling, with their target being the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. In the past two days, Western Turks living in our country have been returning home in droves."

"Do you know why the Western Kingdom is attacking us?"

General Chu glanced at Zhou Yuan and shook his head. "Some of our military strategists believe that the Western Kingdom wants to test its absolute military strength. The wars it has waged against smaller countries in recent years have given them practical experience and allowed them to test their weapons, but these smaller countries cannot prove their absolute strength."

"Sir, this test of strength is just a facade, or rather, an additional result of their grand conspiracy."

"Why do you say that?"

"With so many aircraft carriers deployed this time, I estimate that the Western Turks have made a major breakthrough in landing technology on the horizon," Zhou Yuan said. The horizon he was referring to were two blue planets on the eastern and western horizons of Earth.

"Landing on Horizon?"

"Yes."

General Chu's expression suddenly changed, as if he understood Zhou Yuan's meaning.

"Chief, the Western Kingdom simply wants to monopolize the resources of the Pacific Star."

"If the Western Kingdom can really land on the horizon, then our technology is far behind theirs."

"Since the Western Turks aren't worried about our intercontinental ballistic missile attacks, they must be able to intercept them 100%. Can we destroy their satellites?"

"Experts are developing technologies to attack satellites, including missile strikes and spacecraft collisions, but these are still in the research and development stage."

"What about attacking aircraft carriers?"

"We have a missile specifically designed to target aircraft carriers, but to be honest, its accuracy is insufficient. In the best-case scenario of a saturation attack, it can only take down four or five aircraft carriers."

"Sir, if I may ask, what is my mission?"

"We have forged your and Xiaolu's nationalities and identities. You two will pretend to be husband and wife and go to the Western Kingdom to obtain valuable intelligence."

Spy? That was the first thing that came to Zhou Yuan's mind.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Chu Xiaolu, whose face was very calm, suggesting that Chu Xiaolu had already accepted the task.

“Xiao Zhou, we know this mission is very dangerous for you, but you should know that we lack all-around agents, especially those with high-tech skills.”

"Sir, I understand."

"Your two missions are to gather intelligence on all aspects of the Western Turkic Kingdom, including important information and trends in military, technology, aerospace, and society. Based on your strengths, we will try our best to place you in the Western Turkic Kingdom's science and technology departments, universities, or research institutes to utilize your expertise. Xiaolu's mission is to protect you and absolutely guarantee your personal safety. Zhou Yuan, are you confident in accepting this mission?"

After a moment's thought, Zhou Yuan replied firmly, "Commander, I accept this mission. Please rest assured."

General Chu and General Chu nodded.

"Xiao Zhou, Xiao Lu, all your files and information in our country will be destroyed. For the next week, you two will undergo special training by both the special forces and the intelligence agencies. I hope you can successfully overcome all the difficulties this week. A week later, you two will depart from the Kingdom of Rissa to the Kingdom of Western Tu."

"Sir, I have a request."

General Chu looked at Zhou Yuan and said, "Little Zhou, what are you saying?"

"I have many of my own manuscripts under my bed, mainly on science and technology. I hope you can send someone to retrieve them and hand them over to our country's scientific research departments. Also, Professor Ye at Qing Teng University has some of my manuscripts." After saying this, Zhou Yuan opened his suitcase. Chu Xiaolu was surprised to see a floral umbrella inside. Zhou Yuan picked up a book, and there were a few pieces of paper tucked inside. He looked at them, then took out paper and pen from the suitcase and copied them down.

"Sir, this is my home address, and below is Professor Ye's home address and phone number." After saying this, Zhou Yuan handed the copied paper to General Chu, who glanced at it and nodded.

"Xiao Zhou, don't worry, we will take good care of your mother."

"Thank you, sir." Zhou Yuan's eyes welled up with tears.

Zhou Yuan thought of Xiao Mei and felt a sense of bewilderment.

General Chu straightened up, extended his hand, and shook hands with Zhou Yuan and Chu Xiaolu. Zhou Yuan felt that General Chu's hand was firmly gripping his, and his face was full of expectation.

"Xiao Zhou, Xiao Lu, please be careful."

"Thank you for your concern, sir."

"General Chu, you take them with you."

"Yes." General Chu and Chu Xiaolu saluted General Chu. Zhou Yuan hesitated for a moment, then also saluted General Chu.

General Chu also saluted the three men.

Zhou Yuan picked up his suitcase, and the three of them turned to leave. Zhou Yuan looked back at General Chu, who was staring intently at him. General Chu smiled at Zhou Yuan, and Zhou Yuan smiled back.