“How many pieces should we break it into?” Lin Wan looked at the fifteen-metre-long, over four-metre-high aircraft in front of her. “How do we dismantle it, by hand?”
“With a flying sword,” Lu Zheng replied, then turned to glance at the surrounding surveillance equipment. “It’s too open here, too much noise when we make a move.”
Lin Wan said, “There should be planes stored in the hangar, right?”
“There should be. Let’s look for them,” Lu Zheng nodded. “Also, let’s find the ammunition depot. Besides the plane, I want some high explosives, the more the better, the stronger the better.”
Lin Wan gave Lu Zheng a curious look, not understanding why he needed so many high explosives.
“Solid explosives? Or thermobaric bombs? I’m not sure. Let’s see if this base has any. After all, weapons nowadays are probably in the form of missiles or bombs, right?”
“No high explosives for demolishing solid structures?”
“No idea…”
“Forget it, let’s look for everything. As long as it’s powerful enough, bombs will do!”
Lin Wan nodded. “Then let’s search. The base hasn’t shut down yet, so we can look around.”
The two of them wandered through the base, following the signs, heading towards the ammunition depot.
They didn’t find the ammunition depot but stumbled upon the hangar first, spotting four F-35s.
“Perfect, we’ve got our baseline!”
They continued searching. The base was filled with large equipment, so the space was vast, and most doors were left open.
“This military base doesn’t seem as strict as they show in movies,” Lin Wan remarked.
“That’s because it’s peacetime. This route is used for frequent transport.”
“Maybe.”
As they walked and talked, groups of Beacon Country soldiers occasionally passed by, completely unaware of them.
A mighty Beacon Country military base, yet completely defenceless against these two amateurs.
“This is thrilling!” Lin Wan said, unable to hide her excitement. “I feel like I’ve been corrupted by you ever since we met.”
Lu Zheng was speechless. “Who was it that wanted to wander around the base and casually steal a plane?”
“Hehe! That was me, me!”
As they chatted, they arrived at a large warehouse.
“There must be ammunition inside, but I’m not sure what kind.”
“Let’s go in and find out.”
“Alright, but here’s the problem. How do we get in?”
They stood at the entrance of the ammunition depot, guarded by soldiers, with the gate fully closed.
“That’s a problem,” Lu Zheng said, tapping his foot on the ground.
He could use the Earth Travel Technique, but it would create a complete tunnel of crushed stone underground.
The Beacon Country would surely notice a newly carved path.
Lu Zheng didn’t want to expose the existence of the Earth Travel Technique over something so trivial. He’d rather knock out the two soldiers and force his way in.
“How about trying the ventilation ducts?” Lin Wan suggested. “That’s how they do it in movies.”
“Worth a try!” Lu Zheng nodded.
They left the gate and began searching for the warehouse’s ventilation ducts, soon finding a vent at a corner.
“There’s a camera,” Lin Wan pointed at one in the corner of the corridor.
“Doesn’t seem to cover the vent,” Lu Zheng observed, checking the camera’s angle.
“It doesn’t. The vent is above it.”
“Good enough,” Lu Zheng nodded, using his Transportation Technique to remove the iron grate over the vent.
“Up we go!”
The vent was small, only wide enough for one person to crawl through. Lu Zheng helped Lin Wan up first, sending her into the vent, then followed, restoring the grate behind them.
“Head east.”
As they moved, they used their true qi to erase any traces they left.
They moved lightly, silently, through the ventilation ducts above, while Beacon Country soldiers walked below, all unaware, peaceful.
“No cameras in the ducts,” Lin Wan noted. “We’re at the ammunition depot.”
Lu Zheng nodded, sensing the surroundings. “No cameras outside either. How are they so careless?”
Lin Wan said, exasperated, “They probably didn’t expect anyone to smuggle munitions through the vents.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
That makes sense!
Lu Zheng pulled Lin Wan out of the duct, landing inside the warehouse.
“Lots of stuff here.”
“Let’s see what it is.”
“Thermobaric bombs,” Lin Wan said. “The most powerful kind.”
“Lucky us!”
The thermobaric bombs were in crates. Lu Zheng could take the contents, leave the crates, and the base likely wouldn’t notice until routine maintenance.
“How are you taking them?” Lin Wan asked.
Lu Zheng placed his hand on a crate, his true qi surging.
“Click!”
The crate’s mechanical lock popped open.
Lin Wan, “…”
Storage, invisibility, lockpicking. You still claim you’re not a natural…
One crate opened, all the thermobaric bombs taken.
Two crates opened, all the thermobaric bombs taken.
Besides the thermobaric bombs, there were some high-tech-looking missiles.
“Let’s take a few samples, treat them as bonuses with the F-35.”
“Buy one, get one free, huh?”
Lu Zheng gleefully played his crate-opening game, collecting nearly half the warehouse, then realised… he couldn’t fit any more.
Not that he couldn’t, but any more, and the plane wouldn’t fit.
“Fine, that’s enough,” Lu Zheng said reluctantly, restoring all the crates to their original state.
“Leave?” Lin Wan asked.
“Leave!” Lu Zheng nodded.
They retraced their steps, returning to the hangar.
By the way, Lu Zheng also swiped a few hundred kilograms of TNT and bomb detonators along the way.
At the hangar, just past ten o’clock, it was brightly lit, with workers bustling about. The two found a corner and waited quietly.
At eleven sharp, the workers gradually left, and the last soldier locked the hangar door from outside.
“Time to work!”
Lu Zheng stretched lazily.
“Swish!”
The Red Jade Sword appeared, transforming into a three-foot slender blade, hovering in the air. With a surge of true qi, the sword’s energy extended.
“Whoosh!”
“Crack!”
“Done!”
Two slashes for a wing, three for the nose, four to detach the tail.
“Finished!”
In just a dozen breaths, an F-35 was dismantled into several large pieces, stored in Lu Zheng’s gourd.
Even though Lin Wan had seen Lu Zheng take the bombs, watching a massive fighter jet vanish like that was still shocking.
“Alright, let’s go!”
They exited through the hangar’s vent, quietly leaving the Osaka Naval Base.
…
Back at the hotel, Lin Wan couldn’t hide her excitement, her eyes practically blazing as she looked at Lu Zheng.
“You…”
Before Lu Zheng could finish a word, Lin Wan lunged forward, pushing him onto the sofa and straddling him!
