"That's it? I make her happy? Well, now, slather me in butter and call me a biscuit; I would like to think there is more to me than that," smirked Lonnie as she strolled over to where the men were standing. "Is she okay?"
"Making her happy means that we will put up with you as long as she wants you around," replied Liu Wei, not really caring about the other woman's feelings.
"She'll be fine," added Chen Zi Han, answering the second part of her question. "And once the rest of you guys get on board, we can leave."
"Understood. I'll tell them to hurry up," said Lonnie as she turned around and went to supervise the men and women from the Country M submarine. The boat was soon packed, but everyone who was supposed to be on it was on it, and the rest… well, they were feeding the zombies right about now.
-----
"Country M's military?" asked Wang Chao as he raised an eyebrow and looked at the other three men whom he didn't think he would ever see again.
"New armor?" replied Liu Wei, not bothering to answer the other man's question.
"Apparently, Ares and I got an upgrade," smiled Wang Chao with a shrug. However, he would not admit that he didn't know how to get out of it. For now, he would pretend that this was all part of his grand plan.
"Nice upgrade," nodded Liu Yu Zeng, still holding Li Dai Lu. The five of them were huddled in a corner by the back of the boat. There was not enough room for anyone to move, so whoever was closest to the wheel got the directions back to land, and the rest just stayed where they were. Besides, was there really any place to go?
"Did you know that we almost died a couple of times?" pressed Liu Wei, not willing to let Wang Chao get away with the same bullshit as before. "The next time you agree to help the military in any capacity, I will kill you myself. Do you understand?"
"Understood," nodded Wang Chao seriously. And he did. If any of the other guys had done the same thing, he would have lost his shit long ago.
"Do you have yourself under control?" demanded Chen Zi Han from where he stood between Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng.
"Completely," answered Wang Chao with a smile. "There is only me in here now."
"So, you are officially War?" asked Liu Yu Zeng curiously.
"I am, thus the upgrades."
"Nice," replied the other man. There was no point in asking how he did it. Each one of them would have to take that step on their own. However, that didn't mean that he was happy to be behind his brother and Wang Chao.
"Now that you are back, what is our next move?" asked Liu Wei as he looked at Li Dai Lu. He reached out to take a lock of her wet hair out of her face and gently placed it behind her ear.
"Whatever Li Dai Lu decides. I did stop into the ranch for about 20 minutes or so, and everything was exactly how she had it before. Our men didn't even step foot into her house. We can go back there to regroup until we can figure out our next step," said Wang Chao.
He had taken Bin An Sha to the ranch just to see what was going on there. He didn't want his woman to be upset by walking into an unknown situation. However, seeing that things were the exact same as when they left months ago, he was pleased.
"What about Bin An Sha?" asked Liu Wei. "How did he factor into all of this?"
"I went to him to get some medication to suppress War until I could find a way to destroy him," shrugged Wang Chao nonchalantly. However, the other men knew how much that confession would have cost him. Wang Chao was not the type to take medication if he didn't absolutely need to.
So, to know that he had left on his own to get a prescription to help him with the voice just went to show how hard War must have been impacting him.
"At least he is destroyed now," replied Liu Wei as he gripped the other man's shoulder. "And it is nice to have you back, brother."
"It is nice to be back," admitted Wang Chao with a smile. He would have a long journey to make up for what he did, but at least now, he stood a chance.
"So did you manage to get the meds?" asked Liu Yu Zeng cocking his head to the side.
"No, apparently, they aren't effective against that type of voice."
"Really? How did you find that out?"
"Because Bin An Sha has War in him as well."
---
Li Dai Lu was still unconscious by the time the boat made it back to the docks at the Country K Navy base. Everyone slowly got off the boat as the realization that they were alive and safe started to sink in. Some of the men and women fell to their knees and started to cry.
Whether it was in relief to be alive or because they would never be able to go home again, Liu Wei didn't know.
"What are your plans?" he asked Lonnie as she walked toward their group, flanked by a few men.
"Find a place to live, I guess," replied Lonnie with a casual shrug of her shoulders. "Are you sure she is going to be okay? We owe her a lot. No point in having her meet the Devil before we can pay her back."
"She'll be fine," said Liu Wei. "And if you need a place to live, you can stay here. I don't think there is anyone inside. It should provide you with food and shelter. I suggest sending out teams to gather supplies. Or, if this place isn't to your liking, there are a lot of other places in the country you can go to."
"If I didn't know better, I could swear that you were trying to wash your hand of us."
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