Elizabeth Lake is not located on a major thoroughfare, roughly 30 kilometers away from the nearest town, making the surrounding forests exceptionally quiet.

Except for the occasional camping and hiking enthusiasts, it is quite rare to see human activity.

Camel contributed his ancestral home as the first foothold for Mountain Eagle, a move akin to putting everything he had on the line.

Mountain Eagle really enjoyed this mountainous lifestyle; aside from the absence of people, the inconvenience of shopping, and the scariness at night, it was an ideal vacation spot.

Of course, this is under the assumption that you can find suitable recreational activities for yourself, because staying in a place with unstable signals and even unstable power supply for three days could become torturous.

Mountain Eagle wasn't in a hurry. Apart from instructing Daria to keep an eye on the outside world from time to time, he let go of his worries and immersed himself in tuning his own condition…

His physical condition had returned to its peak, but he could clearly sense that this was not the limit.

Moreover, as his physical fitness and strength increased, his shooting skills also began showing slight fluctuations, which necessitated training for balance!

Waiting is waiting, whether anxiously or calmly, it doesn't affect the outcome, so Mountain Eagle pulled Tiffany to train every day.

A warm-up of 10 kilometers in the morning, then a comparison of shooting skills, some strength training with Butcher and Post Box, yoga with Daria, and another 10 kilometers at night to help with sleep.

This training volume was no pressure for the current Mountain Eagle, but for someone like Tiffany, who had long indulged in strength training while neglecting or even scorning aerobic exercises, it was sheer torture.

The whole world was learning from the United States, where big muscles and bulkiness are thought to make a soldier's figure, and a certain military aesthetic has even developed to the degree that many modern soldiers seem unable to move without their vehicles.

Indeed, bigger size does have certain advantages in strength and even explosive power, but only those who have truly fought in harsh environments know that in all forms of non-systematic warfare, endurance is the core quality of a soldier.

Tiffany felt both pain and humiliation…

Because during running, she would be empty-handed, while the boss would carry a 30-kilogram load.

During shooting, she could calm down, while the boss would raise his heart rate with burpees before firing.

What stimulated Tiffany the most was that she was even outperformed by the boss in flexibility; while doing yoga with Daria, she couldn't complete many moves, but the boss did them effortlessly.

The extensive strength training over the past few years had caused her to lose many of her advantages, which became particularly apparent over these two days.

For Tiffany, it wasn't embarrassing to be completely outmatched by her own boss in physical fitness and strength—no one on the team could compare with the boss in these aspects.

But falling behind in shooting skills, flexibility, attention, and reaction speed was something the strong-willed Tiffany couldn't accept.

She felt stronger than the others on the team, but at the same time, she often felt utterly useless…

When the boss was at the core of the fight, Pigeon possessed superior sniping skills to the boss, Post Box had more refined suppression skills, Butcher was more focused, and Pirate was adept at driving various vehicles and could even act as the Bomber…

Daria, who seemed to be merely a decorative presence, was good at everything and could provide sufficient emotional value. Her cheerleading alone could motivate the team.

Unable to find her place—that was the issue Tiffany was currently facing, so her mood had become increasingly gloomy and even began to doubt herself.

Mountain Eagle was acutely aware of Tiffany's problem, but he didn't say anything, just enduring along with her…

Rebuilding confidence is a process; she needs to feel the changes in herself and realize the benefits before the rebuilding can happen naturally.

For a strong woman like her, it's pointless for others to try convincing her until she feels the tangible benefits.

Mountain Eagle and his team spent a week in the mountain cabin, and from the third day, Mountain Eagle's mood gradually began to improve, getting better as time passed…

Within that week, the underworld of Los Angeles witnessed severe conflicts that extended to the Haitian Gang, the El Salvador Gang, and the Mexican Gang…

Two elusive teams kept pressuring these gangs through persistent attacks and sabotage, finally reaching a tipping point on the fifth day…

Other gangs coveting the territories and businesses of these gangs began launching their moves…

What does it take to strike a gang with some scale?

First, hit their money reserves…

These gangs, mainly profiting from drug trafficking, generally have a lot of cash on hand that cannot be banked immediately. This cash is also the payroll for gang members.

Destroying the cash reserves temporarily cuts off the gang's financial lifeline, causing them trouble.

Second, destroy their production factors that they depend on for survival…

Gangs convert benefits through bars, nightclubs, drug warehouses, and goods storages.

In the movies, gang conflicts involve smashing each other's strongholds, and police actions involve raiding these places.

But in reality, to seriously cripple a gang, it's not enough just to smash their sites; their goods must also be destroyed.

Drugs, alcohol, pirated goods, stolen property, smuggled goods—these sources of illicit profits all need to be stored in warehouses.

Destroying their financial resources and then obliterating these goods can completely paralyze a gang!

After completing the first two steps, the third step of killing becomes meaningful. Otherwise, if the roots of the opposition remain, the newly elected leader may likely opt for retaliation to consolidate their position, resulting in an endless cycle of violence.

Blood Fox is a true old gun. Despite his issues with Arctic Fox, he is actually very meticulous and ruthless. He knows how to destroy a gang and plunge a district into chaos...

Arctic Fox is responsible for hitting the money vault, Round Table Knight for hitting the warehouse. Within just 5 days, gangs in Southern Los Angeles began to feel insecure...

More than 20 million US Dollars in cash were either burned or scattered onto the streets of the slums.

And a rumor began to circulate in the market...

"These gangs have attacked someone they shouldn't have for money!"

At this time, the Haitian Gang couldn't care less about the rumors. Their members, trying to recover the money, clashed violently with the local poor. They didn't get much money back but lost all respect and credibility.

Blood Fox then saw his opportunity. He had Arctic Fox scatter the cash they robbed from the Mexican drug dealers onto the Salvador Gang's territory, and then spread the Salvador Gang's cash onto Haitian Gang's territory.

Initially, the Mexican Gang, with their greater power and wealth, demanded that the Salvador Gang retrieve the money from the poor.

The Salvador Gang did as asked, but after their own misfortune, they attempted to follow the approach of the Mexican Gang and demanded the Haitian Gang do the same...

At this point, the Haitian Gang, already feeling pressure from the locals, firmly rejected the demands of the Salvador Gang.

Seeing their approach unsuccessful, the Salvador Gang withheld the money they had collected from the Mexican Gang to supplement their cash flow...

These people stalled Mexicans while sending out men to attempt to extract money from the Haitian Gang's territory, thereby opening Pandora's Box and causing the entire area of Southern Los Angeles to be engulfed in covert turmoil.

Gang conflicts, conflicts between gangs and the poor, regional conflicts, ethnic conflicts, all sorts of disputes mixed together plunged Southern Los Angeles into profound chaos.

Southern Los Angeles was already impoverished, with insufficient policing in its communities. The police had to be redirected from other areas. At the same time, the renowned Los Angeles SWAT was called in for suppression.

Then two mysterious teams went into action again, destroying several key warehouses of the Mexican Gang, Salvador Gang, and Haitian Gang...

Drugs, firearms, contraband goods were all reduced to ashes.

At this point, the situation was uncontrollable!

With most of the cash and resources destroyed, the gangs began to disintegrate internally. What's worse, other gangs started to move in to fill the market void.

After dinner on the eighth day, Mountain Eagle watched through the old TV in the cabin the newscaster's bereaved expression and the burning streets in the background, picked up a beer with a pleased smile, and took a sip...

"It's about time. If the FBI hasn't found us by tomorrow, we'll leave here and head to the safe house in Los Angeles city center."

Speaking of which, Mountain Eagle turned to Tiffany with a smile and said, "You can take your phone out of the foil and turn it on now..."

Tiffany, feeling downcast, listlessly pulled out her phone from the backpack at her feet and turned it on, saying, "What are you trying to do? Expose our location to the FBI?"

Mountain Eagle shook his head with a smile and said, "Of course not. If they really wanted to find me, they should have come a few days ago.

The FBI agent in charge of this case is smart. He's waiting for a signal from us."

Tiffany spoke feebly, "You're saying the FBI following us can be trusted.

But you have to know there are many people and factions within the FBI. By doing this, I'm effectively exposing our location to the FBI's tech division.

If our enemies are really that powerful, no one can guarantee our location won't be leaked to others."

Mountain Eagle was amused by Tiffany's dispirited demeanor and laughed, "If that's what you think, then those FBI agents behind us must think the same.

So far, they've been smart. Now let's see if they are truly smart and are indeed sincere about collaborating with us."

At this point, even someone as naïve as Tiffany realized Mountain Eagle was conducting a final test...

Reveal their position to see if enemies would come knocking, while also watching the FBI's reaction.

If they were truly intelligent, they would keep to the contract previously signed with Mountain Eagle, using him as bait to arrest or kill those who attacked him.

If enemies did show up, the FBI could launch a surprise attack from behind and trap them.

If no enemies came knocking, it would prove that the FBI's internal intelligence control was solid, and Mountain Eagle could then extend his trust a little further.

This was a level of cunning Tiffany hadn't seen in her twenty-eight years...

The feeling of being intellectually overwhelmed only deepened her despondency...

Seeing Tiffany's expression, Mountain Eagle couldn't just watch her struggle. He chuckled and said, "Don't sleep tonight. I want you to think about what we should do if we are surrounded.

Give me a defense plan, personnel assignments, evacuation scheme, and routes, I need them all...

You grew up here, so you're more familiar with the area than any of us outsiders."

Mountain Eagle looked at the astonished Tiffany and said with a smile, "Captain Tiffany, our enemies could arrive at any time...

Our safety is now in your hands!"

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