Strongest Soldier King

On the evening three days later, the plane landed in Gambling City of Sam Country. After going through customs, Luo Zheng and Lan Xue hailed a taxi and arrived at the Migao Hotel located on Gambling City Avenue. According to the information provided by Mr. Li, the target was last seen at this hotel, which boasts the most hotel rooms in the entire Gambling City and is also the favorite accommodation of people from Huaxia Country. One reason is the luxury; the show venue inside the hotel alone cost nearly 200 million Mijin.

The lion is the hotel's symbol. It is said that when the hotel was first completed, the lion's mouth was wide open to show its might. However, business wasn't good. Analysts deduced that the wide-open mouth of the lion gave a bad feeling, causing people to avoid it. Thus, the hotel's owner modified the lion's mouth to slightly open, which brought in a continuous flow of fortune.

To emphasize the lion theme, the hotel lobby has a special corner with a lion park and lion trainers playing with the lions for tourists' entertainment. The tropical rainforest restaurant is also a major feature of this hotel; although the taste isn't great, it is quite expensive, yet the crowd keeps coming, mainly to experience the unique environment.

The hotel houses the largest casino in Gambling City, known for its huge event spaces. For instance, the adventure amusement park is the largest and most popular entertainment center for adults and children in Gambling City. The swimming pool at the hotel is the most expensive in the entire Gambling City. To cater to children's needs, the hotel has specially set up a 10,000-square-meter youth video game center, Lion City, and additionally, there are also chapels, nightclubs, shopping malls, beauty and fitness centers, etc.

However, Luo Zheng and Lan Xue were preoccupied and not very interested in sightseeing. After booking a room, they strolled around the hotel in casual attire. Once familiar with the surrounding geography, they both went to the casino, appearing to be a couple on vacation, which was common in the hotel and wouldn't easily raise suspicion.

Gambling City is arguably the best place to find someone. The casino is almost always packed with a sea of people, all immersed in gambling, alternately screaming, sighing, and lamenting, creating a vivid scene of human comedy and tragedy.

Luo Zheng had no interest in gambling; he roamed around but did not find any suspicious targets. The two headed to the relaxation area near the entrance and ordered a cup of coffee as they observed. Finding someone in a foreign land was like searching for a needle in a haystack; they had no choice but to hope for good luck.

"It's already past one in the morning," Luo Zheng pointed to his atomic watch. Other weapons and equipment couldn't be carried, but non-lethal weapons like the atomic watch were fine.

Both wearing silicone masks, they sat casually in public without worrying about being recognized. However, the designated contact failed to appear within the set time, which made Luo Zheng somewhat apprehensive. He glanced at Lan Xue, who was also deep in thought with a calm expression. The contact was an intelligence collector stationed by the Intelligence Team in Gambling City, reliable and loyal, and also the one who discovered the target. But why hadn't they arrived at the agreed time?

"Could something have happened?" Luo Zheng whispered in concern. Punctuality is a principle for an intelligence collector; there's no reason to breach such a principle, so Luo Zheng couldn't help but be extra cautious.

"What do you mean?" Lan Xue asked in surprise and doubt.

"I don't suspect the contact of betrayal, but it's always good to be prepared. You should be careful too," Luo Zheng whispered, while discretely holding a small knife under his palm and sliding it up his sleeve, cautiously eyeing the entrance and scrutinizing every incoming person, missing no detail.

"Are you worried we've been exposed?" Lan Xue asked, surprised, becoming cautious herself. Seeing Luo Zheng nod gently, she stood up and headed towards the service desk. As she passed a table, she subtly swiped a small knife from it.

This time, they hadn't brought any weapons, so they had to make preparations. At the service desk, Lan Xue took out a bank card to exchange for some chips, waved Luo Zheng over, and, holding onto his arm, led him to an empty spot at the gaming table across from them, placing the chips in front of Luo Zheng.

Luo Zheng realized this spot allowed a view of the entrance and the lounge area, immediately understanding Lan Xue's intention. Pretending to be a gambler, he casually placed two chips, betting on his own number. Pretending to inadvertently glance at others at the table and seeing everyone eyeing Lan Xue, attracted by her stunning beauty, Luo Zheng felt no concern as long as they had no ill intentions, feeling a bit smug inside.

The croupier opened the cover — small. Some won, some lost. Luo Zheng continued to bet big with the chips; as long as his identity was concealed, winning or losing didn't matter. Lan Xue, lovingly leaning on Luo Zheng's arm, didn't focus on winning or losing either, instead, her ears were perked, listening to the surrounding noises, subtly stealing glances at the entrance, observing new arrivals.

Several rounds passed, with Luo Zheng consistently betting big, with mixed results. Half an hour flew by, and the chips on the table increased. The contact hadn't arrived, and there were no suspicious figures. Lan Xue discreetly tightened her grip on Luo Zheng's arm, and understanding her signal, Luo Zheng collected the chips and left the table.

They exchanged the chips and surprisingly realized they had made a small profit. After the exchange, they headed to their room, passing through the resplendent corridors. Numerous couples walked by; Luo Zheng noticed a western restaurant ahead and signaled to Lan Xue to go inside. They sat at a window seat, which also offered a view of the entrance.

Ordering some coffee and fruit, they chatted casually. Luo Zheng, seeing no one around, leaned forward slightly and quietly suggested to Lan Xue seated opposite, "The situation is peculiar. If we are exposed, the room must have been tampered with, making it inconvenient to speak. Let's contact your grandfather here and see if there's any news from his side."

Lan Xue nodded in understanding, took out her phone from her small bag, and dialed a secret number. Once connected, she softly said, "Grandfather, sorry for disturbing your rest. The contact has not appeared."

After a moment of listening, Lan Xue's expression became serious. She hung up and looked at Luo Zheng, then glanced around. Seeing no one paying attention, she whispered, "Headquarters lost contact with the contact as well. The last connection was an hour ago, inside the hotel—here."

"Lost contact?" Luo Zheng's expression grew serious, pondering in silence. After a while, he suddenly whispered, "There are three possibilities: one is that the Song family has also found the target, fearing exposure, they acted to silence and it involved the contact. Another possibility is that the contact got entangled in other disputes, framed by someone else. The third possibility is that our operation is completely exposed, and the Song family preemptively silenced."

"The likelihood of our exposure is slim; only a handful of people know we came. The odds of the target being discovered by the Song family are not high, especially since we found it as station intelligence collectors by chance. There's no reason the Song family happened to do the same, right? The likelihood of getting entangled in other disputes is greater," Lan Xue whispered.

"It's hard to say, anything is possible," Luo Zheng opposed, his gaze gradually becoming sharp, a sense of unease surging in his heart.