Chapter 23: Escape

  Huang Guohui left a note for me with a line of words: Yi Hua University student, Zhang Shuang. Behind it was a phone number, and it said that whoever finds me please contact Zhang Shuang in time, she will be grateful.

  I suddenly remembered that among the people from Yihua University who came to our school for the poetry creation competition last time, there was a girl named Zhang Shuang. This Zhang Shuang was hit by a car and lost too much blood, her life was in danger, I even donated blood to her.

  What could Zhang Shuang want from me? It can't be just to say "thank you", right? I still don't understand what this Zhang Shuang wants from me.

  Huang Guohui smiled and said: "Is she your girlfriend? Then why don't you quickly give her a call to let her know you're safe?"

  I shook my head: "We just know each other, and we haven't even spoken a word. What's weird is how she found me?"

  Huang Guohui smiled: "Maybe Zhang Shuang had a crush on you at first sight, although she didn't talk to you, but she still wants to find you and get in touch with you."

  I couldn't help but laugh: "You really know how to joke, you also believe in love at first sight?" Paused for a moment: "But I still have to give her a call and ask what she wants from me."

  Huang Guohui nodded: "Then you wait a while and give her a call. Now let's get down to business first. I asked you guys here, there is something I want to talk to you about."

  I glanced at Feng Dayuan and thought: Is it that our sneaky trip to the computer room to go online was discovered by Huang Guohui, and he wants to criticize us?

  Feng Dà Yuān's face was also tense, and he seemed to have thought of this matter as well.

  Huang Guohui, however, did not notice our expressions and continued to say, "So, we interrogated several high-ranking members of the Wanlong Association last night and obtained some astonishing information." He suddenly stopped and thought for a moment before saying, "All officers and soldiers in our unit must leave here as soon as possible and head to the next combat target. In that case, we can no longer take care of Jin Cang. Therefore, we have decided that Feng Dayuan will lead five soldiers to escort Jin Cang back to our unit's garrison. The military region's leadership has arranged for a special car to come and pick you up, and I believe you won't be able to walk far before someone comes to meet you."

  Feng Dà Yuàn was taken aback: "Captain, you mean we head back from this side and they also send people out to meet us. Then where will we rendezvous?"

  Huang Guohui said: "The specific location will be told to you by Little Li later, and you can contact him yourself. For now, go back and pack up, get ready to leave at any time. Remember, this matter must be kept confidential, all personnel must wear casual clothes. The car is also temporarily arranged by us, not our military vehicle."

  Feng Dà Yuán stood at attention and gave a slight bow, then pulled me along, indicating that we should hurry to get ready.

  I'm so puzzled, didn't I just get here? Why do I have to transfer again? When can I finally settle down? I was about to get familiar with this place and make it convenient for me to live here for a while.

  But I also know that for now, I can only follow Huang Guohui's arrangement and go back to pack up and prepare to head to the 1008 Brigade's permanent location.

  The permanent residence of the 1008th unit is not too far from our school, about thirty kilometers southeast of our school. At present, almost all the assistants of the 1008th unit are here, and the troops left in the headquarters must be small in number, plus some personnel from the logistics support department, the number will not be too small either.

  Huang Guohui arranged for us a Land Rover, which was neither new nor old and didn't draw much attention.

  The driver was an older veteran who looked at least thirty years old, spoke very little and only said "My name is Sun Huan" before falling silent again.

  Feng Dayuan knew the people who came to escort me, apart from driver Sun Huan, there were four soldiers. Feng Dayuan didn't mention their names, he simply told me: "They all have their own numbers, remember them, from left to right, they are 8005, 8007, 8009, and 8000. Sun Huan is the leader of this escort group."

  I didn't dare call them that, and whispered: "Why don't they have a name?"

  "Feng Da said in a low voice: 'They were originally the captain's guards, and their names are confidential. We temporarily gave them a number, you can just call them by their number. Names are just codes, right? As long as they understand.'"

  I nodded and counted it as a greeting with the four of them, then got on the car first. Because I get carsick, I insisted on sitting in the front.

  Feng Dà Yuàn thought it was unsafe up ahead, but seeing me insist, he didn't say much more.

  This Land Rover had obviously been modified, the glass replaced with bulletproof glass, and the seats in the back changed. Feng Da-yuan and his four companions got in, and surprisingly didn't feel cramped. There was even space to stow the various weapons they'd brought along.

  Of course, for secrecy and convenience, all the soldiers only brought pistols and a small number of other easily hidden weapons. As for those large ones that cannot be hidden, none were brought.

  I don't use guns and I haven't received any training on using weapons so I wasn't given any.

  There were seven of us in total, and we quickly left the temporary base of the 1008 troops, got on the highway, and sped towards the direction of our school's location.

  Our school is not very famous, and it's located in a small city called E Dong City, which is at least over 3,000 miles away from where we are now, and it's not a place that can be reached in a short time.

  Originally taking a plane would have shortened the time by a lot, but for some reason, when Huang Guohui set our route and mode of transportation, he chose to take a car on the highway.

  I don't think about these things, with so many soldiers around me, I believe I won't be in any danger.

  Ordinary little thieves wouldn't dare to mess with people in our line of work. As for those others, not a single one knows that we're heading to the 1008 Team's usual haunt.

  This time the 1008 troops were ordered to attack the Wanlong Association thousands of miles away, which was actually quite hard. Long-distance warfare, at least in terms of personnel and material transportation, is much harder.

  But the 1008th squad did not disappoint everyone, successfully destroying the Wanlong Society's base at sea, which was also a great achievement and did not waste this hard work.

  We traveled along the highway all day, and by nightfall, we would find a nearby inn to stay for the night. After dawn broke, we set off again, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that we were roughing it.

  After two and a half days of driving, we finally arrived at a small place about 1,300 miles away from E Dong City. This was where we had arranged to meet the people sent by the 1008 Brigade to pick us up. One of them was waiting for us at a hotel called Yue Lai Hotel in this small town.

  We were supposed to arrive here last night, but our driver, who is also the team leader Sun Huan, thought it was too hasty, so we found a home inn on the road and stayed overnight. This morning, we deliberately waited for three hours before setting off again to rush here.

  Yue Lai Hotel is not a hotel in the true sense but rather a small inn that combines dining and accommodation.

  The reason for choosing this place as a meeting point is that Sun Huan said he was born in this very place and is very familiar with the people here, so it's unlikely to go wrong.

  I don't object to Sun Huan's proposal, no matter what the real reason is, I will support him. Soldiers are often away from home for many years and have few opportunities to return home. As an old soldier, he would naturally miss his hometown even more. We're just looking for a place to meet up anyway, so why not? If it can also allow Sun Huan to see his parents and friends on the way, then all the better!

  It is said that the people sent by the 1008 squad should have arrived at the Yue Lai Hotel earlier than us. Firstly, they are much closer to here than we are; secondly, we deliberately waited for a while, and their time was more abundant than ours.

  Sun Huan was indeed familiar with this small place and quickly found the Yuelai Hotel located on a street of about three kilometers long by driving.

  This place is just a small town, originally a bit remote, and the houses in the town are uneven and not very neat. It's really not easy to find such a place.

  Of course, it's even harder to find an inconspicuous hotel in such a place. Unless you're a local, it's almost impossible to do so.

  Sun Huan stopped the car in front of a house with a sign that read "Yue Lai Hotel" and said to us, "I'll get out first and take a look. When I come out and call you, you can get off."

  Feng Dayuan and I, along with six others, nodded in unison, patiently waiting for Sun Huan to enter the Yue Lai Hotel. I took a look around and found that not far ahead, a military jeep was parked, but this jeep had been repainted and changed into an ordinary black color.

  Two minutes after Sun Huan went in, he came out and signaled us to get off the bus. As we got off the bus, some people in the small town who were originally playing cards or chess, or doing other things, looked over one by one, their faces revealing surprise, as if they had seen something unbelievable.

  We hastily slipped into the Yue Lai Hotel, afraid of drawing more attention.

  "Sorry, I didn't think it would be like this. I just thought this place was relatively secluded and should be safer, but I forgot that people here rarely see people like us coming... Ah, hopefully nothing happens."

  I felt a bit nervous and wanted to leave here as soon as possible.

  Feng Danyuan comforted Sun Huan: "It's nothing, just a few country folks being curious, no big deal."

  Sun Huan furrowed his brow, seemingly having some opinion about Feng Dayuan's disdain for country folk, but he didn't say anything and instead headed towards the second floor of this small hotel.

  We followed upstairs and a waiter was already waiting at the corridor entrance. Seeing us, he pointed to the innermost room and said in somewhat stiff Mandarin: "In the room inside."

  Sun Huan said in his local dialect: "Thank you, we know, you can go down first."

  I could only vaguely hear what was being said and it wasn't convenient for me to speak, so I followed Sun Huan into the innermost room.

  It seems that Sun Huan came up just now and has already contacted the person who is here to pick us up.

  When Sun Huan opened the door, I saw three soldiers at a glance. They were all in military uniforms and didn't wear casual clothes.

  Feng Dà Yuán introduced: "These three are here to pick us up. The one on the left is the battalion commander of the 1008th Regiment, Qi Yan Jun; the one in the middle is the deputy commander of the third company of the first battalion of the 1008th Regiment, Yu Yin Yu; and the one on the right is their driver, Xiao Lü." He pointed at me: "This is Jin Cang, the person we are escorting this time. He's still a student, but also our hero. I'm sure everyone knows him already, so I won't introduce him further."

  I shook hands with each of them one by one, and now we know each other.

  Sun Huan said little, he simply said: "We will have dinner soon, and set off after dinner, striving to arrive at the headquarters before 12 o'clock tonight."

  Everyone had no objection, so we sat down together and waited for the waiter at Yue Lai Hotel to serve the dishes.

  At this time, I saw Sun Huan leave the Yue Lai Hotel alone, don't know where he went.

  Feng Dayuan and Qi Yanjun, Yu Yan, and Xiao Lü had known each other for a long time. Now that they were meeting again, there was naturally a lot to talk about. I listened in on their conversation from the side and learned that Qi Yanjun and the others had indeed arrived here yesterday at noon. This was because they weren't familiar with the roads and got lost multiple times, wasting a lot of time before finally arriving here yesterday afternoon. Otherwise, they would have been able to arrive here yesterday morning.

  On this road, neither of us encountered anything unusual, it seems that the confidentiality measures taken this time were very good, and our itinerary was not leaked.

  Half an hour later, Sun Huan returned. His expression was calm, so we didn't ask him much.

  The waiter at the hotel brought up the dishes soon, because we still had to rush on the road, so no one drank wine, everyone just simply drank some boiled water and ate quickly before rushing on the road.

  As the saying goes "the longer the night, the more dreams", we are also worried that if time drags on, something unexpected will happen and it will be too late to regret.

  I don't know what this town is called and I don't care about these things. I just eat a lot, then prepare to set off with Sun Huan and the others.

  At this time, Zhen Yan Jun also stopped talking, and everyone buried their heads to eat. The only sound on the dinner table was the sound of chewing.

  After dinner, we didn't stay and everyone got back on their respective vehicles, speeding away from this small town towards the permanent residence of the 1008th Brigade, also where the brigade headquarters is located.

  This time we had two cars and ten people. It can be said that the team is expanding, the strength is increasing, and the safety should also be enhanced.

  After our car had been driving for five hours, the sky had already darkened. Now it's December in the solar calendar and many mountainous areas have started snowing. Although the area we are currently in hasn't seen any snow, the temperature has clearly dropped and I can feel a hint of winter.

  Sun Huan directed Xiao Lü to drive the car into a gas station to refuel, then had the soldier with the number "8000" go buy some bread and water, which he distributed to everyone.

  He planned to continue on his journey at night and intended to return to the headquarters of the 1008th Regiment before midnight. So we simply ate some bread to fill our stomachs, not wanting to waste any more time getting off the bus to eat.

  Although Zhai Yanjun was a battalion commander, he did not object either. Instead, like us, he simply ate some bread and continued on the road.

  After refueling, we hit the road again. Perhaps it was getting closer and closer to the headquarters of the 1008th Brigade that made Feng Daoyuan's expression more and more relaxed. However, I found Sun Huan's expression becoming heavier and heavier, as if he was worried about something.

  I suddenly also have a feeling of unease, as if something bad is really going to happen.

  Sun Heng suddenly said at this time: "Everyone be careful, I feel that the road below will not be as smooth as before."

  "Feng Dà Yuán suddenly said with a strange tone: "Won't happen, right? We're almost at the team headquarters, what else could happen? Would the Wan Long Men people dare to make a move near our team's headquarters?"

  Sun Heng furrowed his brow: "This is not easy to say, haven't you heard the saying that the closer to the end, the more careful one must be? Everyone being cautious can't hurt."

  I couldn't help but say: "Yes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but it's often at the last moment that one loses the state of Jingzhou due to carelessness."

  So we all started to get nervous, and several soldiers even pulled out their pistols and began to be on guard.

  Sun Heng immediately contacted Qi Yanjun, the commander of the Qiyan army who was following behind us, and asked them to be more careful.

  Our car continued to drive on the highway, because it was evening, the traffic on the highway had obviously decreased, so our speed became even faster. I took a rough glance at the speedometer and it had already reached 100 kilometers per hour. At this speed, it could be said that we were speeding.

  I was a bit carsick, and seeing the car's speed so fast, I said with some concern: "Director Sun, can't we slow down a bit? At this speed, if we really encounter an ambush, it'll be dangerous."

  Sun Heng seemed to have thought of this too, and immediately slowed down the car: "You're right, if we were ambushed on the highway, it would be even more dangerous."

  I smiled: "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, we're almost at the team department, nothing will happen."

  Sun Heng nodded and stopped talking, focusing on driving instead.

  Feng Dà Yuān also smiled at this time: "I said, we're almost at the team headquarters, even if Wan Long Hui is powerful, they wouldn't dare make a move in front of our army's gate..."

  Before he could finish speaking, I heard Sun Heng shouting loudly: "Something's going on!"

  As I rushed to look ahead, I saw that not far in front of me, a BMW and a Chery were lying across the middle of the road. It seemed like there had been an accident, with both cars' fronts emitting fog, looking like they had collided quite forcefully. However, no one was seen getting out of the cars, making things seem somewhat mysterious.