Chapter 18: The Assailants

"What's happened? Why are we setting out in the middle of the night?" Upon hearing Old Piers' words, both Liang En and Piers became instantly tense.

Setting aside their initial plan to depart after finishing lunch the next day, the very act of leaving in the dead of night carried its own inherent risks.

After all, among them, only Old Piers could drive, but given that he was almost 50 years old now and had been busy all day, it wasn't advisable to drive through the night from various perspectives.

"Start eating first, I'll explain as you eat," Old Piers said, handing burgers and drinks from plastic bags to Liang En and Piers. He then began recounting what he had discovered at the German-themed fast-food restaurant.

It turned out that after leaving the storage area earlier, Old Piers had headed straight to the nearest fast-food joint to grab a quick meal. Unexpectedly, he stumbled upon a group of far-right individuals having dinner there.

In Germany, these people were easily recognizable due to their attire featuring symbols associated with WWII-era Germany.

Upon spotting this troublesome group, Old Piers naturally retreated to a corner to avoid being noticed.

Fortunately, at that moment, these individuals were engrossed in discussing something while dining, and with plenty of other patrons in the restaurant, Old Piers was able to eavesdrop on their conversation without much difficulty.

"These far-right folks got wind of the upcoming auction and are planning to set up checkpoints nearby for extortion," Old Piers relayed to the two young diners.

"However, assembling their manpower will take some time. So, if we leave now, we should be able to break through their encirclement with our spoils from this operation."

While these guys were only talking about extortion, given their notorious reputation, nobody believed they'd limit themselves to mere financial demands without resorting to more extreme actions.

Hence, for Liang En and the others, in order to ensure their personal safety and the security of their gains, they needed to take action to address this situation.

"Should we inform the others?" After swallowing a mouthful of burger, Liang En inquired of Old Piers.

"You can discreetly inform the Balkan guys at the warehouse ahead, but leave the others out of it," Old Piers suggested after a moment of thought.

"Based on their conversation, it's apparent they have an insider among us, so to avoid tipping them off, we should be cautious."

For Old Piers, he adhered to a philosophy of doing good and lending a hand whenever possible. Thus, he was more than willing to assist others when he could.

Furthermore, there was a benefit to notifying the others at this point – having others to share the firepower during their escape would help reduce pursuers.

"Understood," Liang En nodded. After the three finished dinner and rested for a bit, Liang En took advantage of the cover of night to quietly approach the three Balkan men who were cleaning up the warehouse. He then discreetly informed them of the situation.

"Thank you so much," the blonde leader expressed his gratitude to Liang En in broken German and proceeded to provide his phone number and radio frequency.

"We need half an hour to gather our things. After that time, decide on the departure time and let me know. We'll leave together from here."

This group of people were Slovenians who had been dealing in antiques and vintage items over in Austria. Upon hearing about the warehouse auction on this side, they had driven all the way from the south of Austria to be here.

Clearly, they were also the targets of the German far-right forces. Therefore, upon learning that this group intended to attack them, they were willing to sacrifice some benefits in order to quickly leave this dangerous area.

After 40 minutes, Liang En and the others, who had taken a short nap, boarded the trucks and notified the group of Slovenians via phone. Then, they set the trucks in motion.

Soon, the two container trucks started moving. One after the other, they swiftly sped out of the warehouse gate and plunged into the darkness.

Due to the remote location, most of the roadside streetlights were out of order. Nonetheless, Old Piers stepped on the gas pedal with determination, and the vehicle behind him did the same.

The two vehicles gradually accelerated on the dark streets and quickly exceeded a speed of 50 km/h.

Of course, this speed was quite slow on a highway, given that most German highways had no speed limits. However, on such dilapidated and poorly lit roads, this speed was already considerable, even somewhat dangerous.

"At this pace, we'll be able to leave the warehouse area and enter the city within seven to eight minutes," Liang En said, glancing at the speedometer, then turned to Piers.

"By the way, Piers, where do you think those guys would choose to intercept us for a robbery if they were to do it?"

"It should be at that fork in the road about two kilometers ahead." Looking at the real-time updated electronic map on his phone, Piers replied with a nervous expression.

"Because once we pass that fork, we can directly access the highway. Once we're on the highway and blend into the traffic, they'll have a hard time tracking us."

"So, they'll definitely try to block us at that crucial point and make us stop. If we keep going, they'll resort to dangerous driving maneuvers on the highway to force us to stop."

At this point, Liang En helplessly glanced at the truck he was riding in. In Germany, vehicles weighing less than 12 tons were exempt from highway tolls.

However, their truck clearly exceeded 12 tons, so stopping at a toll booth for payment could easily make them a target.

The two-kilometer distance passed in an instant. At that fork in the road, as expected, they saw two rare pickup trucks blocking the road. Two individuals wearing blue jackets waved flashlights emitting red light.

"These guys are Neo-Nazi, not the police. So, ignore them and charge through." Recognizing that they weren't police, Liang En yelled into the intercom in the truck. Both trucks almost simultaneously accelerated and rushed past the checkpoint.

"They're catching up—" Glancing at the rearview mirror, Piers shouted loudly. Indeed, after failing to intercept Liang En's group, the assailants didn't give up; instead, they planned to pursue and attack them on the highway.

"It seems we'll have to figure out a way to shake these guys off on the highway." Liang En muttered quietly. However, deep down, he was relieved that Germany didn't have the kind of comprehensive surveillance system that China did in public places.

In the absence of surveillance, he believed that the special abilities he held in his hands could resolve the problems they were currently facing.

Soon, they stopped in front of a toll station on the highway. As they were preparing to complete toll-related procedures, the two pickup trucks arrogantly passed through the toll station and parked a bit ahead, waiting by the side.

"Should we call the police now?" Piers looked at the people in the two trucks, who had rolled down their windows and gestured rudely, and asked nervously.

"Call the police, and then what?" Old Piers griped the steering wheel. "If we wait here, those far-right guys will definitely come to attack us. This way, not only will we be in danger, but we'll also be putting the toll booth attendant at risk."

"And if we leave, the situation won't change much from now. Because the police are bound to locate us only after dealing with those guys."

"So, what should we do?"

"Don't worry, it's not as dire as it seems." Liang En said seriously, "My intuition tells me that we won't encounter any real danger next. We'll be able to return home safely."