Chapter 212 Tracked
Zhou Qingfeng had to admit, things were not going according to plan.
It was already the end of September 2030, two months since the cataclysm. Zhou Qingfeng had been working as the commander in the logistics center of Skull and Bones for two weeks. Except for the Brotherhood of Steel that was extremely unlucky, everyone was generally satisfied with him.
However, according to Zhou Qingfeng’s plan, by now he should have already gotten the hold of the Polarlys. He was supposed to have left the hell that was New York, traveling freely and carelessly on the sea with his Polarlys, fighting against the waves, leaving all his worries behind and partying all day.
That was what he had planned. However, Polarlys was gone right after the poison gas attack.
“Do you think Fernando Rethnor had the same thought as you? Maybe he planned to leave New York in the first place?” Butcher frowned and looked at the huge map that hung on the wall.
“Impossible.” Zhou Qingfeng thought in his mind, “Unless he knows that a nuke is going to hit New York. Otherwise, who would leave all their properties behind to go to another place to struggle? Even Lena was unhappy about leaving New York. Fernando Rethnor would not leave everything behind.
“I’ve searched all over New York. It’s not in the river bay or the gulf. I’ve searched within a thousand kilometers but I can’t find it. That’s the range limit for the drones I have. I sacrificed two of them just to find that b*stard.”
Zhou Qingfeng had no idea why did the ‘Poser’, Fernando Rethnor, left. It was not just him; Lena and Angie, who were on Staten Island, were also thinking about that question.
Angie reminded Zhou Qingfeng over the wireless radio, “Victor, since you have searched within a thousand kilometers, the Polarlys must be somewhere else further than a thousand kilometers.”
“Further?” Zhou Qingfeng laughed, raised his head and looked at the map, “How far can he go? It’s ocean everywhere, or South America, or… wait!”
Zhou Qingfeng stood up from the chair and stared at the map. The nuclear-powered expedition ship Polarlys was a ship that one could travel on without any worries. The other diesel-powered ones could not travel for long because the fuel would eventually be exhausted. However, Polarlys could travel more than thousands of kilometers or even up to ten thousand.
“He’s in South America.” Zhou Qingfeng said in low voice.
“What?” Butcher was surprised.
“Fernando Rethnor is Brazilian, and all his men consist of mercenaries from South America. Currently, there are around six hundred mercenaries in Queens and there’s even a soldier camp next to this logistics center. The camp is strictly guarded and well-equipped. In fact, that area was the launching point of the poisonous gas bomb from the other day.
“Those mercenaries are emotionally stable, and it seems like they didn’t mind that Fernando was out for so long. So there’s only one possibility — Fernando thought his forces weren’t enough, so he used Polarlys to go to South America to recruit more people.
“South America is at least six thousand kilometers away from New York, which explains the period of time that he went missing. I bet he was worried that we’d track him with the triangular radio. That’s why he cut off the radio connection.
“It has already been two weeks. If he was well-prepared and departed early to head to South America, he should be on his way back now.”
Everyone was shocked by Zhou Qingfeng’s idea. If it was true that Fernando Rethnor was bringing back a large number of mercenaries from South America, their plan to escape New York would be ruined.
Angie asked worriedly, “What should we do now? Leave New York with ‘Bird-of-Paradise’ immediately? Actually, all the resources and members on ‘Bird-of-Paradise’ are already complete, we could leave anytime.”
“The ‘Bird-of-Paradise’ will not last long because it uses diesel. We must get the Polarlys.” Zhou Qingfeng felt relieved after he somewhat determined Fernando Rethnor‘s possible location. “I’m not afraid of those mercenaries. Instead, I’m afraid that he’s not coming back.”
After a day of waiting, Zhou Qingfeng and his team started thinking about what to do when encountering Fernando Rethnor. Meanwhile, more news came in: the Brotherhood of Steel was defeated in Manhattan and they were stuck on Staten Island. However, David Lawrence, who had been missing for two years, appeared once again.
David returned and heard from Angie that Zhou Qingfeng snuck into Skull and Bones. When David the hero just returned from the warfront and heard that Zhou Qingfeng did not help destroy the logistic center but actually helped them, he yelled at Zhou Qingfeng through the wireless radio.
“Victor Hugo, whose side are you on? You’re supposed to help us destroy that logistics center, not recruit more people to help the Skull and Bones. Do you know that a lot of people from the Brotherhood of Steel are dead because of you?!”
“We were holding well at the Bronx and even planned to get through their defenses. They were losing but their backup just showed up all of a sudden. Six of our assault teams were eliminated and we can’t even hold Manhattan. We lost more than four thousand men.”
“It’s all because of you. You’re a murderer, I really wanna kill you!”
David Lawrence sounded outraged through the wireless radio but he could not do anything to Zhou Qingfeng. Zhou Qingfeng continued to provoke him, “Uncle Lawrence, I’m not on either side. You think a Chinese person like me would work for the Brotherhood of Steel that consists of white supremacists?”
“Do I look like I care about how many people from the Brotherhood of Steel died? I just wanna get enough resources and get out of New York. So don’t judge me on what I’m doing.”
“You…., I’m so disappointed, Victor Hugo. You son of b*tch, …..” David Lawrence was confounded because his mates, his brothers, and most of the white soldiers were killed at the frontlines. Before he could continue, Zhou Qingfeng stopped him.
“Uncle Lawrence, I know where your wife is.” Zhou Qingfeng remained calm.
“What?” David Lawrence instantly shut up.
As David’s voice got lower, Zhou Qingfeng’s voice became louder, “Uncle Lawrence, don’t simply insult people with that word. It just shows that you lack demeanor. I’ve never called you a son of b*tch even though I think you were one.”
“Can we calm down and talk properly now? We’re talking about the person who caught the beautiful and sexy aunt Rachel, alright?”
David Lawrence was outraged and he could not let it out. He could only force himself to calm down. He took a deep breath and said in low voice, “Alright, I apologize, I shouldn’t have said that. Please tell me where my wife is.”
“Your apology doesn’t sound sincere enough.”