Chapter 5

Gao Yang was so eager because when the boss of Jinbaozhai relayed a message from Liu Sandao, the Origin Point suddenly issued a new task: "Within 60 Earth days, eliminate the illegal armed organization led by Liu Sandao. This organization has illegally existed for over 12 Earth years in a timeline where you have not appeared. If you eliminate it within 60 Earth days, the resulting temporal disturbance will provide at least 3,300 energy points. The shorter the time, the more points you collect."

Before the Origin Point finished speaking, Gao Yang had already risen to take his leave, completely ignoring the curious gazes around him. Such impolite behavior was something Gao Yang couldn't afford to care about; nothing was more important than energy points.

He used heavy-handed methods to sweep away the thugs, opium addicts, and beggars with unknown backgrounds. He directly spent a large sum of money to recruit good families from the countryside.

"In the middle of winter, if a family's food supply is running low, or if they have many children and little land, as long as they are not missing limbs, blind, deaf, or mute, they can all be recruited. They will be paid on the spot, including a settlement fee and three months' advance pay," Gao Yang said to Yang Dong.

In the afternoon, snow began to fall, and a long line of people appeared on the road to the security regiment.

Gao Yang estimated that there were about 200 people. "There aren't many who are truly willing to join the army," he muttered to himself.

"In these times, as long as a family has enough food, they won't let their children join the army. Good men don't join the army," Gao Youcai said softly, coming to Gao Yang's side.

"Good men don't join the army, my ass. Our country's men are the most hardworking and resilient on this planet, the best soldiers. They are unwilling to join the army because there is no security, and they don't know why they are joining. I will change all of this," Gao Yang said firmly.

Time waits for no one. To get energy points, Gao Yang did everything with money.

In the middle of winter, with snow falling, the masons didn't work, but he paid them to build new barracks. He bought eight large pigs, and paid for the delivery of oil, grain, and other daily necessities.

New recruits registered and pressed their fingerprints, not because they couldn't sign. Out of 237 new recruits, only two could write their own names. The illiteracy rate was so high that they weren't even qualified to be cannon fodder. There was no time to solve this issue now.

He gave the escort team double pay, and the lieutenant in charge stayed due to the snow, feeling justified. The new recruits were all appointed as squad leaders and deputy squad leaders, and they were all very excited.

The cargo convoy returned to Bengbu, and Wang Dafu left with the convoy to bring over the families of the officers who had joined Gao Yang.

The masons worked diligently, enviously watching the new recruits slaughter chickens and pigs. The county town sent new cotton quilts, coal stoves, and two large carts of coal.

Gao Yang sat in the only complete room, roasting by the fire, and laughed happily at the sight of the black coal on the cart. Why did he come to Feng County to be the security regiment commander? Besides the vacancy, the main reason was that this was the largest coal base in the entire East China region!

About 100 kilometers south of Ma'anshan, there were over 1 billion tons of industrially exploitable iron ore underground, making it a complete steel base.

Li Zhengcheng came to Gao Yang's side and reported softly, "The people from Jinbaozhai went west along the Huai River towards the Dabie Mountains."

He paused and continued, "The county magistrate is also very dissatisfied and has already sent people to Bengbu."

Gao Yang smiled and said, "Ignore him; he won't last long. Keep an eye on Liu Sandao's base."

Li Zhengcheng responded and turned to leave. He was introverted and didn't like to talk, but he seemed suitable for intelligence work. Gao Yang didn't know if he was right, but he decided to use him for now.

As night fell, the new recruits outside were laughing and enjoying themselves. They had enough rice and two slices of fatty pork each. The Beiyang Army soldiers even had chicken legs.

After dinner, they hugged their new quilts, and each room received a coal stove for heating. They all went to rest.

When it was quiet outside, Gao Yang ordered everyone to rest, closed the windows and doors, and returned to the original timeline.

He called his parents to report his safety, set a time to return home for the Spring Festival, and made an appointment with the immigration agent. Lying in bed, he silently looked at his phone.

Since the day he traveled through time, his girlfriend had not contacted him. No calls, no messages, as if she had disappeared. The bank had sent him a message, changing their joint savings account to his name alone.

"Is this compensation?" Gao Yang smiled silently, filled with helplessness. Nearly ten years of relationship, how could it be so easily let go!

Endless loneliness overwhelmed Gao Yang, making it hard for him to breathe. He needed a date, with anyone, as long as it was a woman.

After a few deep breaths, Gao Yang found the number of a flight attendant on his phone and called her. Fortunately, she was on leave in Beijing. They agreed to meet at a high-end bar in Beijing, and Gao Yang put on new, high-quality clothes and left the hotel.

He had wanted to buy a good watch, but on this planet, there probably wouldn't be a better watch than the Origin Point.

Entering the bar, the seductive music and dim lighting provided a strong sensory stimulation. Sitting at the bar, he ordered a beer and watched the bodies moving in the dance floor. Gao Yang felt his heart slowly come alive, humming along with the music.

Before long, the flight attendant came over, wearing a decent but not overly glamorous short skirt, with a delicate makeup that made Gao Yang's eyes light up.

The flight attendant's name was Li Yuan, tall and not much shorter than Gao Yang, with elegant speech and proper manners. Gao Yang had a good impression of her.

They found an empty table next to the dance floor, drinking and chatting, which calmed Gao Yang's heart, still affected by his breakup. When they were having a good time, Li Yuan invited Gao Yang to dance.

Gao Yang smiled and pulled Li Yuan's hand, walking into the dance floor. Not knowing how to dance? No problem, he had the Origin Point. For 15 points per hour, Gao Yang became a dance king. Soon, everyone around them had dispersed, leaving Gao Yang and Li Yuan dancing in the center of the dance floor.

When the song ended, applause and cheers erupted around them. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Gao Yang pulled Li Yuan back to their seats. Li Yuan was also having a great time, and the atmosphere between them quickly heated up. However, Gao Yang's good mood didn't last long.

"Two men and one woman at the 10 o'clock position have been observing you for the past three minutes." Gao Yang's gaze swept over, and his face darkened.

Lu Lingxue sat on the sofa, looking embarrassed and surprised. She knew how Gao Yang danced, so when did he become so good?

The man sitting next to her held her left hand and gently patted it, smiling at Gao Yang.

Gao Yang withdrew his gaze, not knowing what he felt. Anger? He should, after all, he was dumped and almost had his legs broken. Heartache? After all, his girlfriend had fallen into someone else's arms. What else? Gao Yang didn't know. He fell silent.

Li Yuan sensed the change in the atmosphere and asked softly.

"Nothing, I'll go to the restroom," Gao Yang smiled and said to Li Yuan.

In the restroom, he lit a cigarette and quietly calmed himself.

After a short while, footsteps sounded. "Friend..." The voice came with a hand on his shoulder.

Gao Yang's expression turned cold, and he instantly activated his temporary combat ability. He grabbed the hand on his shoulder and threw the person over his shoulder. The other person was also skilled and remained calm, using his other hand to push Gao Yang's waist to counter the throw.

Ten seconds later, Gao Yang spat at the man lying on the ground, who was probably a secretary and bodyguard, "Damn, wasted 50 points." Gao Yang felt much better.

Returning to his seat, he said to Li Yuan, "I have to go, something came up."

"Let's go together, I'm also leaving." Li Yuan smiled and got up, walking out with Gao Yang. Gao Yang didn't look at his ex-girlfriend, and as they left the bar, he quietly exhaled, "Goodbye, good luck."

The rich man laughed softly, his eyes following Gao Yang until he left, then his cold gaze returned.

At the Hilton Hotel entrance, Gao Yang awkwardly touched his nose and said goodbye to Li Yuan. Gao Yang didn't have a car; the flight attendant had driven him back in her BMW.

Back in his room, he took a hot shower and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, after breakfast downstairs, he returned to his room and activated the time travel to 1924.

The Beiyang Army, trained by the German Army, started the new recruits' training early in the morning.

Gao Yang left the training to his subordinates, delegating tasks to professionals and focusing on personnel and finances.

For the next two days, the masons built houses, the new recruits trained, and Gao Yang traveled back and forth between the original timeline and 1924. On the third afternoon, someone from the province arrived.

Entering the county office, the county magistrate, a fat man with a prominent mustache, greeted him with a smile. His face immediately turned dark when he saw Gao Yang walk in.

The unannounced departure at the welcome banquet was just a pretext; the main reason was that after the previous security regiment commander died, the county magistrate had hoped his brother-in-law would take over and had even spent money in the city. However, Gao Yang had beaten him to it.

The county magistrate was afraid that this unknown person would ruin his relationship with Liu Sandao, who paid him a significant amount every year. Therefore, he contacted the gentry of Feng County and sent a complaint to the city, but unexpectedly, someone from the province arrived.

Gao Yang smiled lightly, completely ignoring the county magistrate's cold gaze.

"Ha ha ha, Zihou, it's been only a few days. I came to see you," the fat man's eyes lit up as he extended his hands to greet Gao Yang.

In the county magistrate's stunned gaze, Gao Yang smiled and stepped forward, holding the fat man's hands, "Director Liu, you finally came. I've been waiting for you, my hair has turned white."

This fat man was the brother-in-law of the Anhui military governor, Ma Lianjia. They met at a banquet in Bengbu, where Gao Yang had introduced himself and given him a large check, asking for help to become the county magistrate of Feng County, promising more rewards if successful. The fat man had promised to take care of it.

The nephew of President Cao was no longer useful, as he would be stepping down in a few months. Gao Yang had found a new, temporary patron.

The county magistrate and his brother-in-law were kicked out. The military governor's brother-in-law, after a hearty meal and a full drink, left with the check. Now, in Feng County, Gao Yang had full control over both military and political affairs.

After resolving these minor issues, Gao Yang arranged everything and set off for Bengbu, boarded the Jinpu Line train to Pukou, and took a British company's riverboat to Shanghai.

---

**End of Chapter**