Chapter 1748: Chapter 1748: It’s Complicated
(Chapter 28)
Ziling often worries unnecessarily, but this time his concerns are justified.
Before leaving the warship, Phoenix received an order from Li Haiyang: If anyone comes to meet them and provides a helicopter, their own team members must pilot the aircraft for the return trip. Understanding the seriousness of the situation, Phoenix insisted on this demand.
As the captain of Dragon Rise, Phoenix possesses some political awareness.
She is aware of the struggle over control of Dragon Rise and understands the difficulties Li Haiyang has encountered recently.
She is also somewhat familiar with the conflicts among the elite in Yanjing and even at the highest levels.
Particularly after meeting Luo Ziling, she learned about the deadly rivalries between Yanjing’s elite families.
The disputes among these top-tier families are essentially battles at the highest levels—Phoenix even feels that she has unwittingly been drawn in. All of this is due to Luo Ziling.
This time, Li Haiyang’s warning is undoubtedly related to Luo Ziling and may even involve his father, Luo Xusheng.
Therefore, Phoenix must act with extreme caution.
The subordinates accompanying her this time are all individuals she trusts.
Moreover, these subordinates are all capable elites, and piloting a helicopter is a minor task for them.
Though refusing the assistance of the pilot assigned by the Fang Family might break some rules and offend those providing convenience, Phoenix resolutely made the decision for the greater good, to avoid trouble.
Before boarding, she ordered her subordinates to carefully inspect the two helicopters to eliminate all potential hazards.
She is determined not to let mechanical failures or other safety hazards result in an aerial disaster.
“Many bones lie beneath the path to glory”—some people will not consider the lives of these elite soldiers when pursuing success and may commit unimaginable acts to achieve their purposes.
What Phoenix thought of, Luo Ziling also quickly realized.
However, what surprised him was that after ordering her subordinates to take over and inspect the two Dauphin helicopters, Phoenix announced another decision to him.
“I hope you’ll take a different mode of transportation and not leave with us.” Wishing to prevent Luo Ziling from being upset or misunderstanding, after announcing this decision, Phoenix explained, “If you don’t leave with us on the helicopter and don’t return to Yanjing with us, some people who want to cause trouble will have no way of doing so.”
Although Luo Ziling was surprised, after careful consideration, he accepted Phoenix’s arrangement.
“Then you all take the helicopter back to Yanjing, and my companions and I will take the high-speed train back. I’ll return to treat Lin Lan when we get back to Yanjing tomorrow. Before leaving the ship, I gave her another treatment. These medicines, just have her take them tonight.” Luo Ziling smiled at Phoenix, took out two types of medicines from his bag, selected a few pills to give to Phoenix, and explained the dosage.
Phoenix accepted them and said no more.
Under Phoenix’s arrangements, Luo Ziling left the navy port with Yang Xiaodong and Wang Zhenjun.
After leaving the port, ensuring no one was following them, the three flagged down a taxi to the high-speed train station.
This famous seaside city, known for its beer production, is the headquarters of a fleet located nearly seven hundred kilometers from Yanjing. The fastest high-speed train takes four and a half hours. While heading to the train station, Wang Zhenjun bought three high-speed train tickets on his phone.
The nearest train departs at 4:12 PM, and if the train is on time, they’ll arrive in Yanjing around 9 PM.
When they arrived at the train station, prepared to wait at the ticket gate, Yang Xiaodong received a call from Jinling on his phone.
Upon answering, Yang Xiaodong was slightly surprised.
The call was from Luo Xusheng.
Luo Xusheng didn’t ask to speak to Luo Ziling, instead inquired about some matters to Yang Xiaodong over the phone.
When Yang Xiaodong mentioned they had parted ways with the people from Dragon Rise and were preparing to return to Yanjing by high-speed train, Luo Xusheng clearly breathed a sigh of relief.
He only instructed them to be careful along the way without saying anything further and then hung up the phone.
“What does he mean?” making a call and yet not speaking to him, Luo Ziling did not understand Luo Xusheng’s purpose in calling.
“Perhaps they all realized something was unusual, someone might want to take advantage of this situation to make a move or stir up trouble, so they intended to remind you to be cautious. Your dad saw that we have already taken precautionary measures, so he didn’t say much more. He apparently approves of our arrangements.”
“It seems the situation is very complicated,” frowned Luo Ziling after hearing Yang Xiaodong’s reply. “We also need to be on guard against any ambushes when we are on and off the train.”
“They would definitely have reservations about doing anything on or off the high-speed train as it would have too much impact,” Yang Xiaodong speculated, “What’s most likely is that they’ll try something when we get off the train. Nevertheless, knowing what we do now, we’ll just have to act cautiously.”
Luo Ziling didn’t say anything further, knowing Yang Xiaodong and Wang Zhenjun would handle these matters well.
He also thought about the reasons behind today’s unusual events.
It must be that Ling Jinhua and Ling Mingrui’s agreement to have Luo Xusheng return to Yanjing has been discovered by others. Upon hearing this news, some people find it unacceptable and thus want to create trouble.
“Who could be behind this?” Luo Ziling asked himself.
Given the power struggles among the upper echelons, anything could happen. Whoever might make a move, for whatever reason, could be the culprit.
The Yang Family, Fang Family, Chen Family, Ling Family, and other families possibly have a hand in this situation, with significant possibilities. Though the Fang Family treats Luo Ziling and other Luo Family members well, Luo Ziling feels their enthusiasm is somewhat insincere, fearing they might cause mischief.
However, he suspects the Ling Family the most.
With Luo Xusheng’s return, the Ling Family faces the greatest threat. For the Yang Family, Luo Xusheng’s return might just damage their pride, but it does not result in substantial loss of interests. Yet for the Ling Family, the loss in interests is considerable.
If Luo Xusheng returns to Yanjing, Ling Ruonan gains more confidence, enabling her to pursue actions she once hesitated about. Many of the benefits Ling Ruonan seeks are related to the Ling Family, such as those pertaining to the Northern Group and other assets and social standings.
If Ling Ruonan lets go, they would benefit. If Ling Ruonan becomes more aggressive, seeking more, their profits diminish further, making it impossible to challenge Ling Ruonan’s position or reclaim assets once belonging to the Ling Family. Thus, they least want to see Luo Xusheng return to ally with Ling Ruonan.
It must be known, Luo Xusheng is now very powerful, commanding a group of loyal followers.
Additionally, Luo Xusheng, upon returning to Yanjing, aims to control what could be a national strategic asset—Dragon Rise Special Task Force.
Thus, Luo Ziling believes the Ling Family to be the most likely to cause sabotage.
Of course, he didn’t dream that the situation would become even more complex than he imagined.