novelsite Chapter 55 An Encounter
Chapter 55 An Encounter
After driving two blocks, Lin Luo'er was still immersed in the emotions she had just experienced: "They... are actually very capable people," she said softly, with a hint of regret.
"In someone else's territory, ability alone isn't enough," Wang Zhengyang said calmly, looking at the road ahead. "You need opportunity, and even more importantly, you need someone willing to give you that opportunity."
Ahead was a parking lot for a small supermarket. The truck slowly slowed down, preparing to turn right.
Just then, a discordant commotion arose. Four or five German teenagers, dressed in flamboyant streetwear and with their hair dyed in various colors, were shoving and arguing around an elderly Asian man. The man, who appeared to be in his sixties, was thin and carrying a bag of freshly purchased groceries. He was trying to squeeze through the crowd with his head down.
"Hey old man, where's your money? Use it to buy some beer!" A blond boy with a lip piercing deliberately bumped him with his shoulder.
The old man stumbled, and the shopping bag slipped from his arms, scattering apples, bread, and milk all over the floor. The teenagers burst into laughter, and one even kicked an apple away.
"Look, the Chinese eat this garbage!" another freckled teenager sneered.
The old man didn't say a word, but trembled as he squatted down to pick it up. Blood seeped from the rough ground where he had fallen.
Lin Luo'er's expression changed, and she was about to push open the door and get out of the car.
But someone was faster than her.
A tall, lithe figure darted out of the supermarket's side door like lightning. It was a girl, seemingly in her early twenties, nearly 1.75 meters tall, with long, flaxen hair tied back in a neat ponytail. She wore a simple grey sports vest and black tactical trousers, with a pair of well-worn military boots on her feet. Her figure was exceptionally striking; her full breasts and long, straight legs outlined powerful curves in her swift movements.
What's most striking is her speed. In just a few steps, she covers the distance of the parking lot and cuts between the teenagers and the elderly.
"Get out of here." Her German, with a slight Eastern European accent, was cold and clear.
The blond youth at the head of the group was taken aback for a moment, clearly not expecting such a beautiful girl to suddenly appear. But he quickly recovered, revealing a lewd grin: "Wow, give me the spicy one! What, is this old man your lover?"
The girl didn't waste any more words. The moment the blond boy reached out to grab her shoulder, she blocked with her left hand, and with lightning speed, grabbed his wrist with her right. Leaning forward, she executed a clean and swift joint lock—the blond boy screamed and fell to his knees.
Seeing this, the other teenagers surrounded her, cursing and swearing. The girl remained calm, nimbly taking a half-step back to avoid the punch coming straight at her, and then delivering a sharp side kick to the second teenager's knee. The man cried out in pain and fell to the ground.
A third boy lunged at her from the side. She ducked to avoid him, and her elbow struck him precisely in the ribs. With a dull thud, the man clutched his ribs and curled up in pain.
The whole process took less than ten seconds. Three teenagers collapsed to the ground groaning, while the remaining two, pale-faced, dared not approach.
The girl then turned around and squatted down to help the old man pick up his things. Her movements, which had been swift and decisive, became unusually gentle. She asked softly in fluent but accented Chinese, "Uncle Chen, are you alright? Where are you hurt?"
"It's nothing, just a minor injury." The old man, known as Uncle Chen, waved his hands repeatedly, looking at the girl gratefully. "Natasha, I'm sorry to have troubled you again."
"They're the ones causing trouble." The girl called Natasha shook her head, her gaze falling on the old man's bleeding hand, her brow furrowing slightly. She quickly pulled a small first-aid kit from her waist bag, skillfully disinfected the wound with iodine swabs, and then applied a band-aid. The whole process was professional and swift.
At this moment, Wang Zhengyang and Lin Luoer also came over.
"Do you need any help?" Lin Luo'er asked with concern, her gaze lingering on Natasha's face for a moment, seemingly surprised by the other's beauty and skill just now.
Natasha raised her head, her azure eyes quickly sweeping over Wang Zhengyang and Lin Luoer, her gaze lingering on Wang Zhengyang for a half-second longer—an instinctive, assessive look at a potential threat or one of her own. Her pupils were a pale color, like an icy lake, but deep within her eyes lay a resilience honed by hardship.
"It's resolved." Her voice returned to its previous calm, even somewhat indifferent tone. "Thank you."
"Your fighting skills are very professional," Wang Zhengyang said calmly, as if stating a fact. "It's a military system, but with modifications, focusing more on quick close-range combat."
Natasha paused slightly, then looked at Wang Zhengyang again, this time with a more scrutinizing gaze. "Served in the army?" she asked, but before he could answer, she helped Uncle Chen to his feet. "I'll take Uncle Chen home. He lives in Chinatown nearby."
"We have a car, we can give you a ride," Lin Luo'er suggested.
Natasha hesitated for a moment, glanced at Uncle Chen's still trembling legs, and nodded: "Thank you for your trouble."
The atmosphere in the carriage was somewhat awkward. Uncle Chen kept thanking her, while Natasha mostly remained silent, gazing out the window, only speaking briefly when answering Lin Luo'er's polite questions. She introduced herself as Natasha, from Ukraine, living in Berlin, and occasionally helping out at Uncle Chen's Chinese restaurant. As for her clearly professionally trained skills, she only vaguely said that she had "trained at a security company before."
Wang Zhengyang didn't press further. But his mechanical intuition allowed him to glean more details: Natasha sat upright, her core always tucked in, a posture honed through long-term military training; her right hand had extremely thin calluses on the web of her thumb and index finger, the result of frequent use of a particular type of firearm; she carried no obvious metal weapons, but in the side pocket of her tactical trousers at her waist, there was a regularly shaped hard object—possibly a stun gun or some kind of tool.
More importantly, as the truck happened to pass through a graffiti-covered neighborhood, Natasha's gaze lingered for a moment on an inconspicuous symbol on the wall, her body tensing slightly. Wang Zhengyang had seen that symbol in his previous life—it was a code used by some Eastern European resistance fighters active in Berlin to mark safe houses or contact points.
Was he one of Andrei's men? Or someone connected to him? Wang Zhengyang wondered. Did Andrei Sokolov, the Ukrainian wanted by the Iron Hand Gang, have a daughter? The fragments of intelligence from his previous life didn't seem to explicitly state it, but it wasn't impossible. If it were true… then today's chance encounter would be incredibly valuable.
After dropping Chen Bo and Natasha off at an old but tidy apartment building in Chinatown, Chen Bo insisted on giving Lin Luo'er a box of dumplings he had made himself.
"Homemade, with mutton filling, it's warming." The old man insisted on handing it over. "Thanks to you all today. Natasha is a good girl, just unlucky... You are all good people."
Natasha whispered something in Ukrainian, then nodded to Wang Zhengyang and Lin Luoer, saying, "Thank you." She then helped Uncle Chen into the building.
Back in the car, on the way to the marshalling yard, Lin Luo'er held the box of warm dumplings, lost in thought.
"That Natasha... is not simple," she said softly. "The way she looks at people, and the way she moves, is definitely more than just security training."
"Everyone has a story." Wang Zhengyang looked at the road ahead. "In Berlin, knowing how to protect yourself is not a bad thing."
He didn't say much. Whether Natasha is Andrei's daughter needs to be verified. But in any case, a thread has been planted today. A thread that may, in the future, connect to that Ukrainian avenger who is giving the Iron Fist a major headache.
As for Zhang Hao's group of skilled workers, the equipment installation three days later will provide a more direct window for observation. Skills, character, teamwork, performance under pressure... the 200 euros a day wage buys not only labor, but also firsthand information for assessing potential future "passengers".
The Longyuan needs to expand, requiring more reliable and specialized "components" to integrate into the emerging system. Before the order collapses, screening and laying the groundwork under the guise of legitimate projects is the most covert and effective method.
The freight cars returned to the marshalling yard close to noon. The Longyuan, gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster in the sunlight, awaited an upcoming, deeper transformation.
Meanwhile, Wang Zhengyang's "list" has grown to include a few more names that need to be observed.