CHAPTER 948: CHAPTER 948: STEPPED ON A LANDMINE

Here, He Chen was still observing Yin Mo, while Zuo Xuan’s voice came through the phone, "Madam, I’ve found the remote control."

As soon as the words were spoken, Zuo Xuan pressed the red button as per Li Qiao’s instructions.

A faint sound came from the receiver, and Li Qiao slightly relaxed, "Did the trunk pop open?"

"Yes, Madam." Zuo Xuan’s tone was fairly calm. He turned back to the car’s tail and asked, "What do you need me to do next?"

Li Qiao stared into the thick darkness of the night and said faintly, "Open the storage cabinet on the right side of the trunk."

Zuo Xuan held the phone between his shoulder and ear, opened the small cabinet door, and saw a black box inside.

Soon, he heard Li Qiao instruct, "Bring the box up."

About three minutes later, Zuo Xuan rapidly climbed up from the cliff using the soft ladder, with the black box hanging from his waist and his pockets full of things.

Zuo Xuan crossed the guardrail, patted the grass and dirt off his body, and quickly walked up to Li Qiao, "Madam, here’s what you asked for."

Li Qiao placed the box on the car hood, and He Chen, Yin Mo, and others gathered around.

The black leather exterior of the box looked quite ordinary, with no distinguishing marks.

Yin Mo examined it closely and pointed to an inconspicuous spot on the front of the box, "This looks like a fingerprint scanner."

Then Li Qiao already stretched out her index finger and pressed it on the small panel.

Shang Yu curled his thin lips, his gaze focused on Li Qiao beside him.

He Chen and the others held their breath, curious about what might be inside the box.

It couldn’t be an antique, right?

Three seconds later, the fingerprint sensor panel lit up with a red light, followed by a low alarm sound.

Li Qiao frowned and tried another finger, but it still wouldn’t open.

Running out of patience, she couldn’t help but clench her fist and pound it on the panel.

Seeing this, Shang Yu chuckled in his throat and ruffled her hair with a magnetic voice, comforting, "Take your time."

He Chen lazily leaned sideways on top of the car light, cheek puffed out, leisurely watching the scene.

Just then, the phone in his pocket rang.

Li Qiao saw the incoming call display and directly turned on the speaker, "Did you touch the mine-clearing toolbox?"

He Chen abruptly raised his brow, a mine-clearing toolbox?

Wu Minmin’s weak voice came from the other end, "Upgraded last year. I received an alarm notification. Are you opening the box?"

"Yes, I’m opening it." Li Qiao said with a cold look, "Why didn’t you record my fingerprint?"

Just then, the box’s panel conveniently lit up with a green light.

Wu Minmin was silent for two seconds, then muttered word by word, "Did you forget that the box has a voice command system? Do you have any idea how lazy you are? I asked you to input your fingerprint, and you said it was troublesome. Li Qiao, I think you..."

"Doo-doo-doo—"

Li Qiao forcefully ended the call.

The awkwardness was only temporary.

Li Qiao scratched her nose, looked down at the slowly opening box cover, ignoring the few teasing glances around, and handed the mine clearing robot to Zuo Xuan, "Place this at the jungle entrance."

Zuo Xuan accepted the robot, lifted his eyes, and saw Li Qiao already holding a remote control panel.

He turned around but suddenly stopped himself, nodded, and said, "Madam, there are other things in the trunk. I brought them out with me."

Zuo Xuan supported the robot with one hand and pulled out a bunch of small items from his pocket.

Infrared night vision, a shotgun, a walkie-talkie, a small signal light, and a delicate first aid kit.

He Chen picked up the shotgun thoughtfully, glanced at Li Qiao, "Sister-in-law, calling it an armored car wouldn’t be a stretch, would it?"

Whose bulletproof car comes equipped with a mine clearing toolbox and infrared night vision as armament gear?

Her past in Myanmar merits some investigation.

Li Qiao glanced at He Chen but didn’t speak.

She picked up the infrared night vision and tinkered with it for a moment before casually handing it back to Zuo Xuan, "Take someone to check out the jungle entrance. The night vision effective distance is 200 meters. If you spot a target, report immediately."

Zuo Xuan shot a glance at the shotgun in He Chen’s hand, hesitated slightly, as if wanting to say something.

Li Qiao raised her eyes, following his line of sight, then shook her head on her own, "Liao Mountain is the location of the Military Department’s training camp. Firing a shotgun will draw the strike team."

The shotgun could indeed make Xia Siyu and the others visible, but it would also bring crisis.

Just then, He Chen walked to a nearby open space, pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, and asked in a muffled voice as he lit it, "Are you sure they’ve entered the jungle and weren’t captured?"

Yin Mo looked at Li Qiao, pondered and spoke, "Lao Wu isn’t stupid; he likely entered the jungle."

He Chen blew smoke at her face, "Entering an unmanned minefield, and he’s not stupid?"

Yin Mo noticed Li Qiao had no intention of speaking, so she frowned and looked into He Chen’s eyes, "In this special situation, Lao Wu would rather be blown up than become a bargaining chip threatening Qiaoqiao."

He Chen raised his eyebrows in surprise, "You know him that well?"

Yin Mo nodded emphatically, "All the Seven Sons would do the same."

He Chen said no more, and even Zuo Xuan had regained his hold on the mine clearing robot, preparing to descend on the cable at the guardrail.

Li Qiao opened the remote screen, glanced sideways at Shang Yu, "Should we go down and take a look?"

The man responded with silence, his dark eyes fixed on her.

Li Qiao pursed her lips self-consciously, "I was just saying."

Climbing down the soft ladder was easy for her.

But given her current health condition, making a rash descent might cause Shang Yu to worry excessively.

In no time, Zuo Xuan’s figure had vanished beyond the cliff’s guardrail, and Li Qiao’s screen soon lit up with a red location dot.

Before leaving, Zuo Xuan had tuned the walkie-talkie to the right channel, after a rustling noise, he reported in real-time, "Madam, the robot has entered the mountain."

Immediately, Li Qiao took a few steps back, sat on the car hood, and began to skillfully operate the robot remotely.

As time ticked away, a thin sweat broke out on Li Qiao’s nose. The robot had advanced only fifty meters, and the sensor had already returned detection results.

In the fifty-meter area, two mines had already been found.

Once again, Zuo Xuan’s voice came through the walkie-talkie, "Madam, the night vision cannot observe the situation in the forest. Miss Xia and Luoyu have likely gone beyond effective range."

Li Qiao didn’t respond immediately, and as the screen showed more and more mines, her expression grew increasingly tense and grim.

Yin Mo sat quietly beside, while He Chen and Shang Yu stood a few meters away smoking.

No one spoke, only the night wind broke the surrounding silence.

Because too many mines were buried in the jungle, the mine clearing robot was moving very slowly.

After another half-hour, the night grew darker and thicker.

Li Qiao’s hand skidded suddenly on the screen as she sighed with a hoarse voice, "Still hit a mine."

Yin Mo’s eyes twitched, "Found something?"

Li Qiao looked at the robot’s scan results and pointed at a symbol emitting constant ripples, "This one, the safety pin has been tampered with, could explode at any time."