Chapter 2: A Thrilling Journey

  "Xingtian!" A loud shout cut through the thick morning fog, shaking the basketball hoops in the stadium. A figure quickly chased from behind the track. No need to look—it was clearly our dorm’s “big brother,” Ding Xiang. Old Ding definitely lived up to his nickname—he was six or seven years older than the rest of us. He had done a few years of business before coming back to hit the books again and became our classmate. As he said, in this day and age, if you don’t know computers, you’re basically illiterate. So he returned to learn how to type. I really respect him. His “two-finger zen” typing style is almost as fast as the “Master of Lanterns.” I have no idea how he manages to type 90 characters a minute with just two fingers—amazing. But he’s never had the habit of morning runs, so today must be the day pigs fly.

  “What’s up, Old Ding?” I looked up at this guy who was half a head taller than me. Damn, what’s the point of being that tall? At 195 cm, he was a good 15 cm taller than me. I wasn’t short by any means, but standing next to him made me feel like a second-class cripple.

  “May Day holiday is coming. We’ve got several days off. What’s your plan? Going home or staying on campus?”

  “Not going home. It’s too far and no one’s covering the train fare, so I’m staying.” Our school’s in Yunnan, my home’s in Henan. A one-character difference, but a world apart.

  “Perfect. Come travel with me! I’ll introduce you to some beautiful girls. All usable.”

  “No thanks. The girls you introduce probably all do drugs—might even have HIV. I’m scared!”

  Honestly, Old Ding really had connections from his years out in the world. A few days ago, we went to a dance hall and met a few pretty girls. Turned out Ding knew them. While introducing them, he told us they were very open. His words: “all usable!” We were all excited, eager to impress the ladies. The girls were quite flattered. Right then and there, they decided to go get rooms. But too many guys, not enough girls. Ding gave up his spot, and the rest of us played rock-paper-scissors. I got knocked out. At the time, I was pretty bummed. It was a blow to my pride, but I had to admit it—I was still a virgin. Watching the others walk off to the hotel with girls on their arms, I was nearly drowned in tears and saliva. Heartless bastards!

  The next day, the guys came back looking shaken. Turns out, after everything was done, the girls pulled out syringes and shot up right in front of them. The guys were terrified. We’re all from out of town, and back home we’d only heard of drugs—we’d never seen this kind of stuff before. This time, we got a real eye-opener. Watching those girls get high and pass out, our guys went pale. First thing that came to mind was HIV and AIDS. They freaked out and ran before dawn. Xiao Bai even forgot to wear underwear—he just held it in his hand and took a cab back. For a whole week, I was in a great mood. I told them, “That’s karma. Ha!”

  So today, Old Ding brought it up again. No way I’m falling for it this time.

  “That was a fluke! I barely knew those people. Who knew it would go south like that? This time’s different. I know all of them well. They’re classy office ladies. I guarantee satisfaction,” Ding said, patting his chest with confidence.

  “Yeah, right. You’re such a hustler. What’s the catch this time?” I looked at him with a face full of disbelief and knowing.

  “Haha, Xingtian sees right through me… Well, it’s just… this time… heh… it’s about the final projects for SQL databases and Java programming. You see…” Ding gave an innocent smile.

  “Oh, that’s a serious issue. And these days, the policies are kind of sensitive. It’s really tricky to handle…”

  “We’re brothers, right? If you don’t help me, I’m screwed. These are the last two practical courses I need. If I pass, I’ll have no more worries. Besides, I saw you already finished your graduation project. Just make me a copy, please? I promise to cover a month of your meals and fetch all the hot water for the dorm. Whatever you say, I’ll do it.” Then he looked at me with his supposedly cute, pitiful eyes.

  “Seeing that Comrade Ding has such a sincere attitude in serving the people, I’ll grant your humble request.” I patted his shoulder generously. For me, it wasn’t a big deal, and I was happy to “help.”

  “Ha ha.”

  “Ha ha.”

  We both laughed.

  Looking at the sweat all over Ding’s head, I stopped running and let him rest.

  “Xingtian, you’re amazing. We’ve run like four or five kilometers and you’re not tired at all? Great stamina!”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “That’s just because you’re out of shape. I trained with my brother—he’s even better. He’s a member of the Armed Police, stationed in Zhongnanhai. I only trained with him for less than a month, mostly just tagging along. Haha.”

  “Damn! A bodyguard in Zhongnanhai? That’s badass!” Ding was genuinely impressed.

  “That’s him, not me! But we both love weapons. He joined the military—I didn’t.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “I’m afraid of hardship. And death.” I said it openly—no shame.

  “Wow, you’re really okay saying that?” Ding looked at me with contempt.

  “What’s there to be ashamed of? If you’re not afraid, why don’t you join the army?”

  “I’m contributing to economic development!” Ding replied solemnly.

  “You’re even more shameless than me—making excuses like that.” I looked even more scornful.

  “Alright, alright. For real though, let’s go to Tengchong over the holiday—check out the volcanoes and hot springs.”

  “Sure, if you pay, I’ll go. But I heard it’s close to the border—will it be safe?”

  “Don’t worry! Yunnan’s not as chaotic as you think. And it’s still far from the border—way far!”

  “Alright. Are the others coming too?”

  “Yeah, the more, the merrier!”

  “Cool. We leave tomorrow!”

  Looking back, it was such a casual decision. I had no idea that trip would change my life.

  The train arrived at Baoshan. There were seven of us: Xiao Bai, Zhao Gang, Meng Guang, Old Ding, Xiao Bai and Zhao Gang’s girlfriends, and me. We got off the train. Originally, we planned to head straight to Tengchong, but it was packed with tourists. All the hotels were full. No one wanted to risk it, so we decided to stay in Baoshan for the night.

  Century Hotel. Five stars. Nice! Even better, I didn’t have to pay. But seeing Xiao Bai and Zhao Gang each with a girl in their arms was kind of annoying. Thankfully, I had my fellow bachelors with me.

  We agreed that we couldn’t let those two off easy, so we planned to play cards all night to keep them from sleeping—haha.

  But they didn’t fall for it. After dinner, they used the excuse of going to the bathroom and disappeared, leaving the three of us heartbroken.

  That night, the phone by the bed rang. Strange—we didn’t know anyone here. I answered: “Hello?”

  “Sir, would you like some service?”

  Damn! That freaked me out. I quickly hung up.

  But the phone wouldn’t stop ringing—harassed all night. None of us got upthe next morning. Seems everyone had a “rough” night.

  Since we still didn’t have a place to stay in Tengchong, we had to stay another day. Bored, I went out with Old Ding to look around, and we ended up at the World Trade Building in the city center.

  Over 20 stories tall, twin towers—the tallest and largest building in Baoshan. From the outside, it looked like “two chopsticks stuck into a loaf of bread with a string in between.” Inside, it was huge. The basement was a supermarket. Floors 1–6 were commercial, and the upper floors were offices and a hotel.

  We wandered around for three or four hours. It really lived up to its status as a border tourist city and shopping hub—“accommodating all things.” After finishing our rounds and returning to the first floor, I decided to buy some snacks for Xiao Bai and the others (for their girlfriends). I asked Old Ding to wait while I went down to the supermarket.

  The supermarket was huge. I spent over half an hour shopping. While weighing candy in a staff room with an electronic scale, a series of deafening explosions startled me. The staff ran out. I peeked out—huge mistake.

  On the escalator stood a dark-skinned guy in a T-shirt, backpack on his back, holding an AK, firing at the ceiling. Gunshots echoed from upstairs too.

  I froze—completely stunned. What the hell was going on? A movie shoot?

  But when a staff member trying to stop him was shot like a fishnet, I knew this was real—this was a robbery.

  Screams snapped me back to reality. More armed men came down, herding people upstairs. Anyone who resisted got beaten bloody with a rifle butt. Two of them started patrolling, looking for anyone left behind. One bald guy headed straight toward me.

  What now? Panic overwhelmed me. I couldn’t let them find me—that’s all I could think. But where to hide? I looked around frantically.

  Footsteps got closer. Sweat dripped from my forehead. The staff room was small and cluttered. Nowhere to hide—except the row of metal lockers. I yanked open doors one by one. Thankfully, one was unlocked. I dove in and gently shut the door.

  The bald guy entered, scanned the room, and checked boxes near the door. Then he came to the lockers. My heart nearly stopped. I imagined him finding me—what would I do? Surrender? Fight?

  He started banging on locker doors with his rifle—BANG! BANG! I trembled. I decided—if he found me, I’d surrender. When he reached my locker, he was panting. He tugged on my door—it was locked. I thought he’d smash it, so I closed my eyes and raised my hands to surrender. But he only kicked it hard, denting it, cursed in some language, and moved on to the last locker, which was open. Seeing no one inside, he left. I stayed frozen with my hands up, breathing only after he was gone. I was lucky—unbelievably lucky. Relief came with exhaustion. My clothes were soaked.

  I waited a while. Just as I was about to exit, more footsteps approached. Crap! He was back! I hid again. This time it sounded different—maybe another guy. He walked around, flipped through things, stood in front of my dented locker, laughed, and cursed in the same foreign language. Wait—he wasn’t speaking Chinese?

  Then a sound from outside caught his attention. He bolted, fast and smooth—a trained pro. He reminded me of my brother—a soldier. “Military” popped into my head. Just then, I heard someone outside laugh: “Haha, nice hiding spot—inside the rice bags.”

  Then—gunshot.

  Dead. No chance to surrender. That was brutal. If they found me... My brain played scenes of my head exploding. No—I couldn’t die. I had to survive. That willpower surged through me, filling me with strength. My heavy limbs felt lighter. Clenching pale fists, I held my breath.

  Minutes passed. Even the gunshots upstairs stopped. The building was silent—a tomb. I finally dared to push the door open. Slowly, carefully, I crept out and checked the mirror by the door—no one around. I exhaled in relief.

  Damn. What kind of vacation is this? I really picked a “thrilling” trip. Just my luck.

  Now what? I was lost again...

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