Chapter 26: Pursuit and Slaying (Three)

  Until we got off the bus, this lady in red didn't really believe us. However, after I returned the keys to her when we got off the bus, she suddenly came forward and handed me several hundred yuan bills, saying "Take it and use it, return it if you don't need it".

  I was both amused and touched, and hastily thanked her, saying: "If you don't have anything important to do, then don't go back to that road we met on for the next few days. It's not safe there lately."

  The lady in red nodded and smiled: "I see, you guys have a good trip!"

  As we watched the lady in red drive away, Sun Heng and I walked into a small supermarket in town, using the few hundred yuan she gave us to buy some cheap clothes to change into. We also bought some food and water to take with us, asked for directions to the local police station, and then headed straight there.

  In the big yard of the police station, there were actually a dozen or so police cars lined up. We were overjoyed and at least had hope for transportation.

  I don't know if it's because I've been chased for too long, but I've actually had a lot of ideas that I didn't dare to think about before: I plan to directly ask the police station for a police car and then drive with Sun Heng to the headquarters of the 1008 team. Of course, before that, I need to use the police station's landline phone to contact the commander of the 1008 team to confirm that there are no more people from the 1008 team who want to harm me. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to go to the headquarters of the 1008 team again so easily.

  Sun Heng thought more comprehensively than I did, and he whispered to me: "I have the documents, don't speak later, I'll say you're my subordinate, and I'll talk to them about everything."

  I nodded and walked into the police station with Sun Heng. On the first floor of the police station, there was a convenience hall for the people, where two policemen were on duty.

  As we entered, one of the female police officers stood up and said: "Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"

  Sun Heng stepped forward a few steps, took out his ID and said: "I am a soldier, this is my ID."

  The female police officer took over the documents and looked at them for a moment. She saluted and said, "Hello, Comrade Sun Heng, is there anything we can help you with?"

  Sun Heng looked at me and said, "Can we see your strengths?"

  The female police officer turned her head and looked at another male police officer, asking: "Captain, is the director in the office today?"

  The male police officer came over and said: "Director is having a meeting! If there's anything, just tell me..."

  Sun Heng nodded: "We need you to get us a car, our car broke down on the road and we have an emergency, so please help us out and give us a car."

  The male police officer exclaimed: "What's wrong with your car? What's broken?"

  Sun Heng pointed to the road we came from and said, "It's on that road, about thirty kilometers away from here... We came by car with a lady, please send us a car immediately."

  The male and female police officers exchanged a glance and said, "Sorry, the cars in our station can't be lent out. How about this, you go outside to rent a car, okay?"

  Sun Heng was stunned, not knowing what to do. His combat experience was richer than mine, but his life experience was relatively lacking. Someone as polite as him would have a hard time even asking for a cup of water, let alone borrowing a car at the police station.

  I calmed down the tension in my heart and stepped forward a few steps, saying in a low voice: "Can't the police station's car be lent out? Who stipulated that?"

  The female police officer smiled and said: "This is a rule in our station, please be more understanding."

  I laughed: "If this regulation delays our official business, who will be responsible?" After a pause, I frowned and said in a deep voice: "Is your superior here? Call him over immediately!"

  The female police officer was taken aback for a moment, then said: "Okay, I'll go call our captain right away."

  The male police officer also hurriedly smiled and said: "Please wait a moment, our captain is having a meeting with several senior leaders, we will go and report immediately."

  I nodded: "Our time is very tight, you guys hurry up."

  The female police officer hastily turned around and ran upstairs, while the male police officer quickly offered us seats and tea.

  But soon after, a female police officer and a slightly stout policeman came down.

  The stout policeman asked loudly: "Who is looking for me? I'm in a meeting, what's the matter, speak quickly..."

  I looked at this policeman with a proud expression, and I couldn't help but feel angry. I stepped forward and said: "It's us who are looking for you. What's with the big attitude, Director? You're having a meeting? What kind of meeting is it? Can we go listen?"

  Sun Heng, however, wanted to stop me and quietly pulled on my clothes from behind.

  The squad leader's face turned slightly greenish, he looked at me and said coldly: "Don't think that just because you're a soldier you're something big, I used to be a soldier too..."

  I won't say more, I pulled out the gun that was still in my hand, looked at the muzzle and slowly said: "You look down on soldiers?"

  The director immediately took a step back, his face changed greatly, and stuttered: "You... what are you going to do..."

  I laughed: "I originally just wanted to borrow a car, but now I've changed my mind. For those who look down on soldiers, I want to do something else..."

  The director's face turned bright red and he said in a low voice, "It's just one car, okay, okay, I'll have our department's best car driven over for you right away..."

  The female and male police officers on duty were also startled by me at this time, standing aside and not daring to interrupt. I pointed at the female police officer and said: "You go get the key, remember, it's the best car, your superior has already agreed."

  The female police officer seemed to be startled by me and was in a somewhat flustered state, hastily rushing out.

  I put away the gun, patted the team leader's shoulder and said: "Next time when we have a meeting, don't eat anything, look at your clothes, they're all stained with oil. Even if you did eat something, it's not a big deal, but stop lying about it. Otherwise, next time you meet some people who look down on you, you might not even have the chance to attend another meeting!"

  The director stared at me in shock, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

  Sun Heng continued: "The director's capacity for wine is also good. This time, I'm afraid he has drunk at least a kilogram of wine."

  I looked at the long-faced person in front of me, whose face was red with embarrassment, and spoke on his behalf: "The superior has arrived, eating and drinking is a matter of course, it's not a big deal. This time we owe you a favor, next time we'll definitely thank you properly."

  The director hastily shook his head and said proactively: "You two haven't eaten yet, right? Why don't we eat together before leaving?"

  I smiled and said, "No need, we've already eaten."

  Sun Heng said: "Forget about lunch, if it's convenient, fill up the gas tank so we don't delay on the road."

  "No problem," said the director, "our cars are usually filled with gas, so you can rest assured."

  At this time, the female police officer had already brought over the car key. Sun Heng took the key and said: "Thank you, when we return to our unit, we will send someone to deliver the car back to you."

  We don't have much time left, let's get on the bus and leave quickly.

  After we walked for about a kilometer, Sun Heng suddenly said: "It seems that you are more capable than me. You know that the police stations nowadays do not have guns, so you use a gun to indirectly prove our identities. If it were me, I wouldn't have done this. I couldn't point a gun at my own people."

  I smiled: "Isn't that helpless? You didn't see the director's official appearance, without using some tactics, how can we borrow a car?"

  Sun Heng smiled: "This time is fine, it's forced by the situation. But next time can't be like this again, we're all comrades..."

  I nodded, handing the gun back to him: "It's better for you to hold the gun, I'm afraid I'll make a mistake if I get impatient." After a pause, I suddenly thought of a question: "We didn't manage to contact your unit earlier, how can we be sure that no one else in your unit will harm us?"

  Sun Heng's face changed, and he said: "Let's find another police station to use their phone to contact them. If there really are people who want to harm us, I'm afraid I can only take you to that place."

  "I exclaimed: 'What kind of place is that? Doesn't anyone else know about it?'"

  Sun Heng nodded: "Don't ask for now, it's not a situation where I'm allowed to go to that place unless absolutely necessary. This time is also considered an absolutely necessary situation, if we really have nowhere else to go, let's first go to that place to hide and wait for rescue."

  I let out an "oh" and said: "So it seems that the place you mentioned is like a safe house as seen on TV, right?"

  Sun Heng looked at me and said, "What you said is right. It's a place equivalent to a safe house. That's our last resort for survival, and we can't go there under normal circumstances."

  I understand, but I also have some expectations. There are too many people who want to kill me now. If I can go to a safe house and hide for a while, maybe things will turn around. However, Sun Heng also said that unless it's absolutely necessary, we cannot go to the safe house, so I can only endure it.

  Sun Heng and I drove a police car around the detour, not taking the road closest to the 1008 Brigade headquarters.

  After walking for about three hours, we finally encountered another small town. In the police station of this small town, we borrowed a phone to contact the headquarters of the 1008th regiment and learned some information before setting off again.

  This police station was very cooperative with us, after seeing Sun Heng's military ID, they lent us the phone.

  Sun Heng and I drove until 6 pm in the evening, when it was already dark, before we arrived at a place less than one kilometer away from the headquarters of the 1008 Regiment.

  We deliberately waited until nightfall, because during the daytime when we contacted the headquarters of the 1008th Regiment, we said that we were marching on foot to the headquarters of the 1008th Regiment and would not arrive at the headquarters of the 1008th Regiment until after dark.

  Sun Heng meant that after dark, we would get off the car not far from the headquarters of the 1008 Regiment, and he would first enter their headquarters to report the detailed situation to their leader, then come out to take me in.

  This can prevent someone within Team 1008 from harming us for money, and also prevent those assassins from ambushing us again after finding out our whereabouts.

  To sum it up in one sentence, we no longer dare to completely trust the people from 1008 team.

  So we got off about a kilometer away from the 1008 Brigade headquarters and Sun Heng went back alone to check out the situation before making further plans.

  I hid about three hundred meters away from the police car we borrowed, in a desolate area with many scattered rocks. I was hiding among the rocks, staring at the police car we borrowed, and by the light of the police car, I could see everything on that side.

  I was running away at the time and almost lost everything, so I don't know the specific time. When I waited for about an hour, I started to get anxious. Speaking of Sun Heng's speed, from here to the headquarters of the 1008th regiment and then back, it wouldn't take half an hour, plus the time he needed to report to their leader, it shouldn't exceed one hour. But now it's clearly been more than an hour, and Sun Heng still hasn't appeared, something must have happened.

  I couldn't help but stand up and look over at the police car. Except for the police car standing alone on the side of the road, there was nothing else.

  This is a mountainous area, with the barracks of nearly 1008 troops nearby, so generally vehicles will not pass through this road at night. Let alone pedestrians, after all, pedestrians who need to pass through here at night have to undergo checks by military personnel, how troublesome it is.

  Time slowly passed by, and I felt that at least another hour had gone by. I knew things must have changed, otherwise Sun Heng wouldn't still not be here to pick me up.

  So I prepared to leave the pile of rocks where I was hiding and also leave this place.

  Sun Heng handed me his gun as he was about to leave, in case of any unexpected situation. However, he repeatedly warned me not to fire carelessly unless absolutely necessary, because there were only three bullets left.

  I originally wanted to ask him about the location of the safe house, but he refused to say, saying that they had a rule, and it was a hard and fast rule, whoever broke it would be punished.

  I didn't want to make it too difficult for him, so I didn't insist on making him tell me. Now I'm a bit regretful, if I had forced Sun Heng to tell me the location of the safe house, I could have gone there to hide and might even have gotten some supplies.

  I was pursued and killed all the way, almost all of them were able to escape several times with Sun Heng's help. Now that Sun Heng is unknown, I am at a loss.

  I forced myself to calm down and thought carefully, and finally did not return the way I came, but walked towards the direction of the 1008th regiment's headquarters.

  Of course, I wasn't walking on the highway, but rather slowly sneaking through the woods and bushes along the side of the road.

  This is the method of night outdoor stealth that Sun Heng taught me. He said this can prevent enemies hiding in forests and grasslands from launching a sneak attack, and also allow oneself to hide at any time in case of an emergency, ensuring one's own safety.

  I did what Sun Heng said, but instead of leaving this dangerous place, I headed towards the danger.

  I walked cautiously, three steps at a time, five steps and then stopped, observing the surroundings, especially the situation on the highway, while following the highway towards the headquarters of the 1008th Regiment.

  An hour later, I saw the lights and barbed wire, then I also saw the headquarters building of the 1008th Regiment, as well as the soldiers standing guard at the gate.

  My current location can almost see everything in the 1008 unit, if it were daytime. Unfortunately, it's nighttime now, so I can only see a part of it under the light. I don't dare to move forward anymore, because I'm afraid there might be sentries, and also afraid that if I get too close, I'll be discovered by the soldiers on guard duty.

  I sat down on the spot, leaning against a big tree, quietly waiting for dawn and quietly observing my surroundings. I didn't dare to sleep, nor could I fall asleep, as I was worried about Sun Heng's safety.

  After a long wait, the sky finally began to have a hint of brightness, and for an entire night, Sun Heng did not appear. I was already quite certain that Sun Heng had been trapped.

  I hastily climbed up a big tree and looked out at the headquarters of the 1008th Regiment from this big tree.

  The headquarters of the 1008th unit was built in a depression in the mountains. This depression is about one kilometer in diameter, not too big but also not small, and surrounded by large mountains, making it a very secluded place, which is quite suitable for a unit's headquarters. In this depression, many barracks were neatly established, as well as training grounds, shooting ranges, etc., almost filling the entire depression.

  I quietly observed for a while and found that there were at most only one company's worth of troops here. Even adding in some logistical personnel and some leaders who had stayed behind, there wouldn't be more than 150 people.

  This gave me a new idea: in such a large place, there are less than 150 people, so can I quietly sneak in and see if Sun Heng is in danger? If it goes smoothly, maybe I can even rescue Sun Heng - if he's really trapped inside.

  I thought of this, but still shook my head and thought to myself: No way, the current troops don't have high-tech surveillance equipment and early warning devices? If I rashly go in, I will definitely be discovered, and there is even a possibility that I will be caught by them...

  Besides, it's so hard to find a person among so many buildings! Moreover, I'm completely unfamiliar with this place.

  Contrary to my first thought, I secretly felt a headache, thinking that it's really hard to save Sun Heng. At least for me alone, it's very difficult to do so, unless...

  Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck me and I thought of a solution.

  I immediately slid down from the tree, took a look at the already yellowing forest, and whispered: "Sorry, to save people, I had to sacrifice you..."

  I carefully found some dry leaves under a cedar tree, took out the lighter bought with the money given by that red-clothed woman whose name I didn't know, and lit the leaves.

  This lighter was bought on impulse when I thought we might need it on the road. Unexpectedly, it has now come in handy and helped me a lot; without it, my plan would have been impossible to carry out.

  In autumn and winter, mountainous areas are prone to forest fires. Sometimes a small spark can cause a big fire, let alone intentional arson.

  I watched as the flames gradually ignited in front of me, adding some withered branches and leaves to them. After the fire had grown larger, I turned around and ran off quickly in one direction.

  When I was a thousand meters away from the mountain fire, I heard someone shouting loudly in the depression at the foot of the mountain: "It's bad, there's a fire on the mountain, everyone come quickly!"

  I stared intently at the depression below the mountain, watching as a group of people rushed out from some barracks, while others were shouting loudly, calling on everyone to put out the fire.

  Most people in the 1008 team rushed out quickly, and only a few people were left in the team to direct the outside. The others all took various fire extinguishing tools and rushed towards the mountain where I was on fire just now.

  At this time, the mountain was filled with thick smoke, and flames several meters high shot up into the sky, making a "crackling" sound, which was very intimidating.

  I watched as most of the soldiers rushed halfway up the mountain before quietly making my way along the mountain slope towards the headquarters of the 1008th Regiment.

  I soon found myself outside the barbed wire, only to realize that I had no tools to destroy it. Forcing my way through was not an option, as the barbed wire was covered in sharp iron thorns and I didn't dare to collide with them head-on using my body. Moreover, I was also worried that these barbed wires might be electrified.

  As the saying goes "necessity is the mother of invention", at this moment I was anxious and really thought of a way.

  The iron wire mesh here is not too high, generally about 1.5 meters, and ordinary people can't jump over it. However, there are tall trees everywhere here, and many branches of these trees stretch out from above the iron wire mesh. As long as you climb up a big tree, you can flip over along the branches of the big tree.

  As soon as I thought of it, I looked for a little while and saw a big tree with branches stretching over the iron wire net. Without hesitation, I climbed up and easily crossed over the iron wire net.

  I carefully observed the surroundings as I entered the 1008 team's department, noticing many surveillance cameras. However, if one is careful, it's still possible to evade these cameras. After all, I'm just one person, not a large troop, so avoiding them shouldn't be too difficult.

  As for whether there are more advanced surveillance devices, I don't have time to care about those now, finding Sun Heng is the priority.

  It's unlikely for me to search through those neat barracks one by one alone, but I had thought of it earlier. If Sun Heng was really caught and locked up here, he would definitely be locked in the isolation room. There are no prisons in the troops, and the place where people are usually locked up is the isolation room, this point I still know.

  I carefully avoided those surveillance cameras and walked along to check the signs on the doors of the barracks. The signs usually indicate what each barrack is used for, so it's easy to tell at a glance.

  And I'm sure the solitary confinement cell won't be in a central location of the whole regiment, it must be set up in a more secluded place. So I followed the barbed wire counterclockwise and saw places like "Dormitory of Certain Company", "Canteen of Certain Battalion" along the way, each battalion's gate had a sign indicating its purpose.

  My thinking was correct, when I found the direction of twelve o'clock, on the gate of a row of relatively shorter barracks, there were signs clearly written "First Isolation Room", "Second Isolation Room"......

  I quickly looked around and found that there were fewer surveillance cameras here, perhaps because there was nothing important here, so the installation of surveillance cameras was relatively rare.

  I pushed open the doors of each isolation room in sequence, calling out softly: "Sun Heng, where are you?"

  I just called out and heard a voice coming from "the fifth sealed room": "I am in the fifth sealed room..."

  I rushed over and flung open the large door of "The Fifth Sealed Room".

  Sun Heng was inside, and when he saw me, his face was full of surprise.

  "Hurry up and don't just stand there, follow me..."

  Sun Heng suddenly remembered he should run and hastily rushed out, following me as I left the isolation room.

  All the way we no longer avoided those monitors and just ran with all our might towards where I came from.

  Sun Heng was a clever man and knew that if I could sneak in to rescue him, I must have a way to take him out, so he didn't ask any questions.

  I brought him to the edge of that big tree, took a look at the branches of the big tree extending into the iron wire net, and said: "Can you jump up and grab the branch?"

  Sun Heng took a glance, nodded, and suddenly ran a few steps, jumped with force, easily grabbed the branch, did an aerial flip, and landed on top of the branch.

  I secretly admired his agility, knowing that I couldn't possibly jump up so easily. So I said bluntly: "Use your belt to pull me up."

  Sun Heng immediately untied his belt and pulled me along, and we managed to escape smoothly.

  The personnel of the 1008 Brigade who were left behind to guard the place were still busy putting out the fire and didn't notice that we had escaped. So, Sun Heng and I easily left this place and headed towards my school.

  I'm not thinking of going back to school because both Sun Heng and I think it's definitely not safe there now, and many people will be waiting for me to fall into their trap.

  We just want to go see if that police car we borrowed has been towed. If it hasn't, then we're going to keep using it.

  The police car was parked in the direction of our school from here. When we rushed there, fortunately, the car was still there.

  Maybe because it's a police car, nobody dared to tow it away, which brought us some convenience.

  Sitting in the police car, we sped all the way. By noon, we had already arrived at a place at least 600 kilometers away from the headquarters of the 1008th Regiment. We stopped the car on a muddy road and simply ate some biscuits we had bought earlier. After looking at each other, we burst out laughing together.