Seeing their superior trying to exterminate Qin Shilei at all costs, the adjutant became anxious, his forehead beaded with sweat.
His eyes flickered, and he suddenly recalled a piece of information from their intelligence.
"Intelligence reported that the Commander-in-Chief's daughter also went there. This is his most beloved daughter; if anything were to happen to her, he would likely pursue this to the bitter end."
Commander Fan, recalling Kong Zhendong, who always outranked him, felt a pang of apprehension.
After a moment of contemplation, he coldly ordered, "Keep a close watch on him. Once you find an opportunity, blast him to hell."
The adjutant wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly agreed.
His commander was truly too insane, intending to bomb over a thousand people in one go.
The situation in Nanzhuang City was currently extremely complex. If he were to act like this, the commander would inevitably face a joint attack from others. If he fell, the adjutant wouldn't fare any better.
For the sake of his own future, the adjutant racked his brain for a moment and then suddenly suggested, "We can find an excuse to lure Qin Shilei out. Once he enters the ambush, we can bombard him with concentrated shells."
Without satellite navigation, all sorts of artillery had almost no accuracy in targeting moving objects.
For fixed, close-range targets, however, accuracy was high.
The destruction of the several bridges was achieved with precise calculations by the artillery.
Commander Fan nodded in agreement, "Alright, you handle it."
Soon, an officer departed from the military camp and headed towards Chi Yuan Hao Ting.
"Major General Qin, the military headquarters requests your presence to discuss the specifics of recapturing Nanzhuang City," the officer stated, directly conveying the military order.
"A military order?" Kong Qingshu asked, bewildered. "How come I'm not aware of this military order, and why is it being relayed through you?"
The officer explained, "This is an urgent order from the military headquarters. As we were temporarily unable to contact Lieutenant Colonel Kong, I was dispatched to deliver it."
"Is that so?" Kong Qingshu eyed the officer suspiciously and then turned to Mu Ziping, saying, "Company Commander Mu, go and ascertain the specific situation."
Mu Ziping acknowledged with a sound and turned to run back to the military camp.
Upon seeing this, the officer secretly thought, "This is bad." He could only feign composure and say, "The military order has been delivered. I shall return to report now. Farewell."
With that, he hastily departed from Villa Number Five.
More than half an hour later, Mu Ziping rushed back, reporting that there was no such meeting.
Qin Shilei quickly understood the motive, "This must be Commander Fan's ploy."
He then briefly recounted the grievances between himself and Commander Fan.
Kong Qingshu was so angered that she immediately stood up, "I'm going to find my father right now. What exactly does this Fan fellow want?"
Qin Shilei stopped her, "Don't go. Although your father is the Commander-in-Chief, Fan hasn't done anything wrong yet, so your father can't do anything to him."
An Qian chimed in, "Qin Shilei, we need to be careful. This Fan fellow definitely has ill intentions."
Zhang Xiaoli added, "Perhaps they've installed a large amount of explosives in that meeting room."
Qin Shilei considered it and realized it was highly possible.
Being resented by someone with such significant power, he wondered what tricks the other party might employ.
Not only was he in danger, but it was likely that those around him were also in peril.
Qin Shilei's heart hardened, and he had the urge to immediately go to the military headquarters and kill the Fan fellow.
He turned to ask Kong Qingshu for Commander Fan's whereabouts, but then, not quite trusting her, he stopped himself.
Kong Qingshu asked, "What are you hesitating about?"
"Nothing. I'm going out for a walk."
Qin Shilei then turned to An Qian and the others, reminding them, "Be careful. Arrange for guards to patrol the perimeter."
After speaking, he summoned Xiao Qiang and flew off into the distance.
"He's not thinking of going to kill that Fan fellow, is he?" Kong Qingshu asked, watching Qin Shilei disappear into the horizon.
"How could that be?" An Qian immediately denied, "He's just going to check on the zombies by the bridge."
"No, don't try to fool me. He's definitely going to kill someone," Kong Qingshu stated with certainty.
"Sister Qingshu, you've read too many novels. He's a powerful Deputy Commander-in-Chief, stationed in a heavily guarded military camp. How could Brother Qin go and kill him?"
Zhang Xiaoli chuckled lightly, as if chiding Kong Qingshu for her wild imagination.
"You two are really something. Why didn't you stop him?" Kong Qingshu became a little anxious. "It's a sensitive military area. Even if he could kill Fan, how could he get out unscathed?"
"We've told you, stop imagining things. Qin Shilei wouldn't be so irrational."
Although An Qian said this, she couldn't help but feel a flicker of worry for Qin Shilei's safety in her heart.
She knew that Qin Shilei had indeed gone to investigate Commander Fan's movements.
As for whether he would have the chance to kill that Fan fellow, she didn't know.
An hour and more later, Qin Shilei finally returned amidst everyone's concern.
He had been flying above the Commander-in-Chief's headquarters on Xiao Qiang the entire time, but he hadn't spotted Commander Fan.
Instead, he had almost attracted the attention of helicopters, so he had to return for now to make other plans.
Kong Qingshu proactively asked, "You were trying to find out Commander Fan's whereabouts and residence, weren't you?"
Qin Shilei chuckled and deflected, "No, I just went out for a bit."
"Commander Fan and my father don't get along, so you don't have to worry about me snitching."
Kong Qingshu stated frankly, "He usually stays at the Commander-in-Chief's headquarters, but it's heavily guarded. You shouldn't risk it."
Qin Shilei frowned, "Does he never leave the military camp?"
Besides the difficulty of breaching the military camp, even if he could kill the opponent, it would likely incite hostility from the military, which was not a wise choice.
"His family is all inside the Commander-in-Chief's headquarters, so he rarely comes out."
Kong Qingshu paused and then added, "He occasionally inspects other military camps, but the timing is unpredictable."
Qin Shilei pondered for a moment and then asked, "Can you give me a map of his residence?"
"Assassinating him inside the military camp is too dangerous," Kong Qingshu suggested. "It would be better to use my father's influence to bring him down. Once he loses his position as Deputy Commander-in-Chief, you won't have to lift a finger; he'll have no good end."
"I don't want to and am unwilling to get involved in the power struggles of you powerful figures. Let's leave it at that."
Qin Shilei directly ended the topic.
Kong Qingshu opened her mouth but eventually said nothing more.
Just then, Mu Ziping entered from outside.
"Major General, in twenty minutes, it will be our turn to defend Luyang Bridge. Who do you think should be sent?"
Qin Shilei replied, "I'll take the Eighth Company Commander and the others. You all can rest first."
After giving further instructions, he led the Eighth Company Commander towards Luyang Bridge.
Kong Qingshu, however, insisted on following.
She claimed that as his adjutant, she naturally had to stay by the Major General's side.
In reality, she wanted to witness Qin Shilei's true strength.
Kong Qingshu was very curious about the person rumored to be the number one expert in Nanzhuang City.