Chapter 42: The Tung Oil Covert War, He Yuzhu Takes Down Two Fierce Bandits

He Yuzhu’s deliberate question felt like a sharp slap across Li Huaide’s face.

The door to Li Huaide’s office remained tightly shut all morning, and no one dared to go near it.

Acting as if nothing had happened, He Yuzhu chaired the morning team meeting as usual.

After the meeting, He Yuzhu followed Sun Jianguo into his office and pulled the door shut behind him, the casual expression on his face now completely gone.

"Xiao He, I just received an urgent notice from the Ministry." Sun Jianguo handed over a document stamped with a red seal, his tone heavy. "Affected by the international situation, the quota for imported lubricating oil has been slashed by seventy percent! Fuel depots everywhere are sounding the alarm! For our factory... even next month's production oil supply is hanging by a thread!"

He Yuzhu took the document and scanned it, his brows knitting tightly together.

"Director Yang is under immense pressure; he just pounded the table during the meeting, demanding that logistics and procurement come up with a solution immediately!" Sun Jianguo lowered his voice. "Vice Director Li... brought up your recycled waste oil project during the meeting, implying that the progress is too slow and is holding up production..."

"He certainly knows how to find a scapegoat." He Yuzhu sneered, placing the document back on the desk. "Waste oil recycling takes time; we need to find another way out right now."

The door was knocked on, and Technician Chen poked his head in. Though his face showed the exhaustion of staying up all night, his eyes were bright. "Team Leader He! We've got a lead! Looking through the records, I found that tung oil from the Diannan region, when mixed and processed properly, can partially replace the anti-wear performance of industrial lubricating grease! There is a strategic oil reserve depot down there!"

"Tung oil?" He Yuzhu stood up instantly. "Can we get in touch with them?"

"We've contacted them! The municipal industrial bureau has specially approved a five-ton emergency quota! But there's a huge problem!" Technician Chen spoke at a rapid pace. "The oil is stored in a warehouse in a border county of Diannan, and transportation is a major headache! Not only are the road conditions terrible down there, but I've heard recently that it's quite lawless, with highway robbers specifically targeting transport trucks! Even the municipal transport team didn't dare take the job!"

"If nobody else will take it, we'll transport it ourselves!" He Yuzhu said decisively. "Section Chief Sun, could you please help issue a transfer letter and a special transit pass under the factory office's name? Technician Chen, get the pickup documents and oil drum specifications ready! I'm going to find the drivers."

Under the shed of the factory's vehicle fleet, Wang Meng, a demobilized military truck driver, was bent over inspecting the chassis of his old Jiefang truck.

After hearing what He Yuzhu had to say, he straightened up, wiped the grease from his face, and grinned. "Diannan? That mountain road known as the ghost-fear-mountain? Alright! Count me in! I helped suppress bandits down there back in the day, I know the roads!"

"Just the two of us?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Two people are enough! The truck will carry the oil drums, and the jeep will scout ahead and provide escort! Too many people make a big target, which is actually less safe." Wang Meng patted the tire of the Jiefang truck. "This old buddy has run the Burma Road; you can trust it!"

Two days later, a grass-green military jeep leading the way, followed closely by a Jiefang truck covered with a thick canvas tarp, drove out through the gates of the rolling mill. He Yuzhu sat in the passenger seat of the jeep while Wang Meng drove. The truck was driven by another experienced veteran, Zhao Qiang.

Heading south all the way, the urban scenery gradually receded, replaced by rolling mountains rushing into view.

The roads grew narrower and increasingly bumpy.

Entering the territory of Diannan, the road conditions deteriorated drastically. The narrow, winding mountain dirt roads hugged the cliffs closely, and the surfaces were pitted with potholes and strewn with loose stones.

On the evening of the third day, the sky turned gloomy and overcast.

The convoy entered a perilous mountain col where there were no villages ahead or behind for miles. The cliffs on both sides were steep and the dense forests gloomy. As the jeep rounded a sharp curve, Wang Meng slammed hard on the brakes!

Twenty minutes ahead, three tree trunks the thickness of a rice bowl lay scattered across the road, completely blocking the way forward!

"Damn it! It's an ambush!" Wang Meng, highly experienced, reacted instantly. He growled in a low voice and his right hand reached beneath his seat toward a hidden crowbar!

Almost simultaneously, seven or eight burly men rushed out from the slopes on both sides, every single one of them wielding machetes and iron clubs, their faces covered with dirty rags, shouting wildly as they charged directly at the two vehicles!

"Grab your weapons! Protect the trucks!" He Yuzhu shouted sharply, pushing open the door and leaping out! He had no weapon in hand, only a large adjustable wrench from the vehicle!

A fierce-looking robber brandishing a firewood chopper was the first to rush to the jeep, hacking straight at the windshield!

Wang Meng swung the crowbar to parry. With a deafening "clang," sparks flew in all directions!

Another robber seized the opportunity to lunge from the side at He Yuzhu, who had just stepped out of the vehicle, an iron bar whistling through the air as it smashed toward the back of his head!

He Yuzhu moved as if he had eyes in the back of his head, sidestepping abruptly! The iron bar whistled through the air, missing him by a hair's breadth. The robber, overcommitting with the momentum, lunged forward.

He Yuzhu gave him no time to recover; using his left foot as a pivot, his right leg executed a lightning-fast back-spinning kick, the heavy heel of his military boot smashing viciously into the robber's lower back!

"Ugh-ah!" The robber let out a miserable scream and was kicked flying like a sack of broken rags, slamming against a roadside boulder before curling up and failing to get back on his feet.

Seeing his companion suffer, a third robber let out a strange cry and slashed wildly with his knife at He Yuzhu's face! The blade gleamed with a chilling light!

Instead of retreating, He Yuzhu pressed forward! His left hand swept the wrench upward in a sharp diagonal arc, precisely blocking just beneath the hilt of the blade! "Clang!" Metal struck metal with a resounding crash! The tremendous force sent a numbing vibration through the robber's web of the thumb, and the chopper almost flew from his grip!

At the exact instant the robber's knife momentum was checked and his defenses lay wide open, He Yuzhu's right hand formed a fist, moving with lightning speed. With a standard thrust punch, the protruding joints of his middle finger struck viciously into the hollow point one inch below the robber's Adam's apple!

"Hk..." The robber's eyes bulged wide, every sound choked off in his throat. The firewood chopper hit the ground with a clatter, and both hands clutched at his throat. Opening his mouth wide like a fish out of water, he fell backward in a stiff straight line, left with nothing to do but convulse.

In the blink of an eye, He Yuzhu had taken down two men! His movements were clean, crisp, and entirely composed of the ruthless close-combat and one-strike-neutralization techniques honed in the military!

Over on Wang Meng's side, he had already dealt with two more.

Zhao Qiang jumped down from the truck, holding a heavy iron mallet from the cabin to guard the rear of the truck. The remaining few robbers were stunned by this fierce counterattack, and looking at their companions writhing in agony on the ground, they dared not advance for the moment.

"Get lost!" He Yuzhu held the dripping wrench, his cold gaze sweeping across the remaining robbers. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an aura of deadly intent.

The remaining robbers let out a shout, scrambling and dragging their two heavily injured accomplices along as they fled in disarray into the roadside thicket, vanishing from sight.

The mountain wind swept past, leaving only heavy gasps and the lingering stench of blood from the robbers.

"Team Leader He... your combat skills..." Wang Meng panted heavily as he looked at He Yuzhu, his eyes filled with shock and admiration.

Those moves just now were definitely practiced! And they were techniques designed to kill!

Without a word, He Yuzhu walked over to the robber who had been struck in the vital spot and was now completely unconscious, squatting down beside him.

Frowning, he quickly patted down the man's pockets. The timing and location of these people's appearance were far too precise; they didn't look like ordinary highwaymen.

His fingers brushed against a hard piece of paper tucked inside the inner lining of the robber's jacket. He Yuzhu pulled it out and took a look.

It was a transit pass stamped with a bright red official seal! It clearly stated:

Purpose: Transport Vehicle Transit (Diannan Section)
Issuing Unit: Logistics Department of the Red Star Rolling Mill
Signatory: Zhang Degui (Signature of Department Head Zhang)
Validity: Within three days from date of issue

He Yuzhu pinched the travel permit, which still retained the body heat of the robber, and his gaze instantly turned icy cold.

He raised his head to look at the continuous mountain ranges in the distance, as if he could pierce through the peaks to see that gloomy face back at the logistics department of the rolling mill.

"Master Wang, Master Zhao, clear the roadblock! Let's make up for lost time and get moving!" He Yuzhu's voice carried a chilling edge. "Down at the oil depot, I'm afraid there are still some 'surprises' waiting for us."