The border of Myanmar.
On the top floor of a five-star hotel, the mirrored elevator doors opened with a ding. A-Jie strode out, walked through the corridor covered in thick carpets, and came to the door of a guarded suite at the end. His subordinates immediately opened the door for him respectfully.
A few Burmese people sat in the study, talking in low voices. Seeing that the business was concluded, the faces of all the big shots were full of joy. The two suitcases were opened and spread flat on the ground. Inside the suitcases were two large bags of gold wrapped in black cloth, which looked very eye-catching. The King of Spades beckoned for a bodyguard and ordered in a low voice, "Put it away."
The bodyguard stepped forward in response, but at this moment A-Jie walked in quickly: "Big brother!"
"Hm?"
When the Burmese saw him coming in, they couldn't help but whisper to each other; obviously, they all knew such a ruthless character. But A-Jie ignored the group of locals. He leaned over the King of Spades' ear and whispered for several minutes. The King of Spades raised his eyebrows: "Oh? He really said that?"
"The news came from our people in Jianning. There was a microphone installed, so these were what the original words were." A-Jie took a breath, his brows and eyes were mixed with unwilling resentment and fierce eagerness. He gritted his teeth for a long time before saying, "That Jiang Ting is really… a ruthless person."
The King of Spades glanced at him.
A-Jie quickly asked, "What should we do now, big brother?"
The King of Spades tore a piece of paper and wrote down an address, and A-Jie quickly took it.
"The old man used to have a transaction point halfway up the mountain, and one of the largest shipments in the Southwest had the Yuanlong Gorge behind it. Six months ago, I had people keep an eye on several nearby villages. "You take some people there personally, and remember to tell me every detail of everything that happens—even if you have a feud with the old man's people," the King of Spades said slowly under A-Jie's bright eyes.
A-Jie turned around to leave.
"Come back!"
A-Jie suddenly stopped and turned around, only to see the King of Spades smiling and pointing at the note in the air:
"Young man, keep in mind the previous lesson and don't act rashly. Do you understand?"
A-Jie rubbed his short hedgehog-like hair, smiled, and hurried out.
...….
"Hey, I asked if you were alright?"
Sitting in the bumpy car, Qi Sihao almost regretted that he'd wolfed down three steamed buns in the orphanage. The rugged mountain road almost forced him to throw up the contents of his stomach. Throughout the whole journey, he kept his mouth tightly shut to fight against his rolling esophagus, but when it was getting dark, he finally couldn't help it anymore and asked this question to the driver as calmly as possible.
There was nothing unusual about Yan Xie's side face, but from the brow bone to the bridge of his nose, and even the drooping corners of the lips, it was like a whole block of black rock carved out by a sharp knife, exuding a sharp and gloomy aura.
Qi Sihao secretly glanced at him and really regretted that he didn't just sleep in the orphanage for a night like that driver sent by the county government.
"No, Captain Yan, look, it's really going to be dark. With these road conditions, we will definitely not be able to go back to Tongshan County at night, and it's too dangerous to drive overnight. Why don't we go back to Yongkang Village for the night? Let's talk about it tomorrow, alright?"
Qi Sihao said earnestly, only to hear the wheels rumble over the ground, but Yan Xie didn't say anything.
After a long while, suddenly: "Screech——"
The brakes were almost stepped on completely, and the wheels almost slipped. Qi Sihao was caught off guard and leaned forward, almost being strangled by his seat belt.
Yan Xie didn't even look at him; he turned the car around and drove toward the village that he had already passed.
Yongkang Village was located at the foot of the mountain, in an extremely remote location, far from Tongshan County. But unexpectedly, the economic development here was very good, and every house was built with cement. Outsiders were probably rarely seen here. When Yan Xie's broken car had just entered the village, it had attracted the onlookers' attention. There were ignorant children with snot following behind, looking at them curiously.
Yan Xie carried the county government's documents on poverty alleviation projects. After meeting with the village committee, he was personally arranged by the village chief to live in the only guest house at the head of the village.
Even if the conditions were simple, at least there was a good bed to sleep on.
Qi Sihao had been pampered for the past few years, and he was not used to this simple environment. Yan Xie ate slowly, put on his coat, and left the guest house, sitting in the yard with a heavy heart while lighting a cigarette.
Once it was dark in the countryside, and if there were no stars and no moon, then there would be no light at all, especially in Yongkang Village which was backed by vast mountains and forests. Here, the wind blew, cranes sang, and wild animals howled with no other sound at all. People who were used to living in cities would have no idea what lay ahead on such a dark night.
Yan Xie was wearing a windbreaker, sitting on the stone steps in the dilapidated courtyard. The red light from the cigarette butt between his fingers was very faint.
"…I didn't have a guardian at the time, and I lived alone in an old-fashioned villa next to the school…"
"When I was able to investigate my files through various means, I discovered that the so-called 'adopter' didn't actually exist…"
Jiang Ting's narration that night, accompanied by the sound of the river, resounded in Yan Xie's ears again, only this time had he finally heard the irony and self-mockery that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time.
Maybe Jiang Ting didn't lie; what he said was the truth.
——It's just that the part he didn't say has the power to debunk all false superficial appearances.
The so-called adopter really didn't exist, because as a Myanmar drug dealer, it was impossible for "Ace of Clubs" to register for adoption through real information. Jiang Ting knew this very well when he grew up. In other words, when Jiang Ting showed that he didn't know anything about his past experience, he actually knew very well how intricately connected he had been with the drug cartel over the years.
So, was he really "planted" in the public security university?
Was it really a coincidence that he had become the most promising new police star in the anti-drug department in the Southwest region?
It was impossible for fate to set up so many coincidences when a person was completely ignorant. Unless the person's every step followed the rhythm that had been arranged, there was just no clue on the surface.
And the turning point in Jiang Ting's fate—the 1009 explosion three years ago—was it really betrayal by some insider in the police? or a well-prepared script?
For the first time in his life, a shudder suddenly rose in Yan Xie's heart.
"The reason for hiding was not because I was afraid you would get involved in this troubled situation Yan Xie, but because I don't believe you—"
If a person was still unable to give him his trust after experiencing several life-and-death situations together, then after ruling out all dramas such as Arabian Nights, there was only one option left:
He knew he couldn't afford the same amount of trust.
Something suddenly flashed in the dark night in the distance. Yan Xie raised his head subconsciously, only to see faint spots of light swaying on the mountainside a few kilometers away, like rows of car lights.
In such a dangerous place, there were still people driving at night, either because their driving skills were good or because they were really desperate.
He breathed out, his temple throbbed painfully, and he was not in the mood to think about anything else. He threw the cigarette butt by the bushes, stood up, and walked back to the guest house.
When he came here to stay in the evening, he didn't look carefully, but this time he saw the two sons of the owner of the guest house had invited a few young people of the same age, who were sitting in the hall, drinking and playing games. When Yan Xie passed by, they smelled the smoke and came up to ask for cigarettes. Yan Xie was a little surprised but still threw half a pack of cigarettes, turned around, and went upstairs.
The thin walls and door panels couldn't block out Qi Sihao's snoring at all. Just as Yan Xie was about to push on the door, his hand paused.
Why are there so many young men in their twenties in this village who are idle at home and not going to the city to work?
A little doubt flashed in his heart, making him feel that this was not in line with the current situation of the countryside he usually saw. But then he thought that maybe this village had a large focus on agriculture, so he opened the door and entered the room without thinking carefully.
...….
The temperature in the mountains was extremely low at night, and the tap water was even colder. Yan Xie washed his face hastily with the water and sat by the bed with his clothes on, holding his mobile phone. The long whistle of the north wind came from behind the window, and the cold wind hissed from the window lattice.
The moonlight finally emerged from the dark cloud, passed through the frosted glass of the shabby room, and reflected on half of Yan Xie's face, reflecting his pale complexion.
He looked at the two words "Consultant Lu" in the phone's address book, his eyes gleaming under the light.
Qi Sihao's snoring next door stopped. He probably turned over, causing the bedboard to creak, and then the snoring began again.
Yan Xie took a deep breath and slowly stretched his thumb toward the dial button, but at this moment he stopped slightly.
At some point, a roar sounded in the distance. The movement was very light at the beginning, but it quickly came closer, becoming especially clear in the silent night of the mountain forest. Then it followed the mountain road to the head of the village in a blink of an eye.
—It turned out to be the engines of several cars.
Yan Xie forcibly pressed down his chaotic thoughts, leaned his upper body back, and approached the window sill where the dust had accumulated, squinting his eyes and looking out. The night was dark and heavy, and from a distance, it was impossible to see anything at all. After a while, at the end of the only winding dirt road in the village, suddenly several big headlights flashed at the same time!
Yan Xie's eyes were pierced by the high beam, and he turned away immediately.
For a moment, the engine roared loudly, and his eardrums buzzed together. Hundreds of dogs barked one after another all over the village. There were scattered lights in the distance, and people from the village pushed the door and scolded them. It took a few minutes for the movement to subside a little, and the car engines were turned off one after another. Taking advantage of the brief commotion, he pushed open the rusted window and looked out from the gap.
The lights of the village committee next door were turned on, and several pretty good off-road vehicles were parked on the dirt road in front of the door. A lot of figures got out of the car door and walked back and forth. Out of professional habits, Yan Xie made a rough count, and there were no fewer than ten people.
…What are they doing in the middle of the night?
He didn't make a sound and continued to peek at the gap in the window. The group of people seemed to be very familiar with the local area and were very open. The noises of talking, yelling, laughing, and walking around came at night, but their accent was unclear. After a while, the movement of the dozen or so people subsided, and they formed a group and walked toward the guest house.
The dark clouds gathered and dispersed silently, and the pale moonlight cast on the bluestone reflected the figures of the first two or three people. The old man leading the way in front was no stranger; it was the village chief, whom Yan Xie had just met in the evening.
Behind him, dressed in black, with one hand in his pocket, smoking a cigarette without saying a word was——
Yan Xie's eyes suddenly changed.
It was A-Jie!
If it were anyone else, his brain would have exploded at that time, but Yan Xie's first reaction was: F*ck!
Then he reacted like lightning; these people were coming for him!
He submitted the documents through his family's poverty alleviation project; the procedures went all the way from the provincial party committee to the county government, then he drove hundreds of kilometers to the orphanage with great fanfare and dug up the image data from more than 20 years ago to investigate. It was impossible to count just how many people passed through the process. As long as the King of Spades deliberately inquired about it, this matter would never be hidden, and it was reasonable to follow the clues to find out.
But how did they come so quickly? How was it possible?!
Yan Xie didn't have time to think about it. He quickly got up and put on his clothes, grabbed the car keys, opened the door, and rushed to the next door, knocking on the door heavily a few times: "Old Qi! Wake up!"
Inside the door, Qi Sihao was snoring loudly and showing no sign of waking up.
F*ck your ancestors, Yan Xie thought in his heart. He didn't have time to hesitate, so he grabbed the doorknob with both hands and put his foot against it. That posture was at the level of a police academy textbook. There was a dull click, and the door latch cracked from the pressure. Then he pushed the door open and broke in!
"Wha—"
Qi Sihao finally woke up, and before he could say half a word in a daze, his mouth was blocked by Yan Xie, and he almost lost his breath.
"Hmmmm! …hmmm?!"
Yan Xie put his index finger to his lips, which was an extremely severe gesture to keep silent, and then let go under Qi Sihao's horrified gaze.
"You are…"
"Shut up and follow me." Yan Xie lowered his voice, and every word that followed made Qi Sihao's heart skip a beat: "The King of Spades' people are here."
...…
"In the past two days? There haven't been many people passing by in the past two days, and no cars have been seen halfway up the mountain. Every household in our place is doing well…"
The door of the guest house was opened, and the village chief nodded and bowed to invite the group of people in, and the owner's family welcomed them nervously. A-Jie stepped over the threshold wearing hard-soled short boots, sniffing as soon as he entered the room, and said casually, "It smells like smoke."
The boss's son had put down his cell phone, fumbled out the cigarette case, and offered a cigarette with a smile.
"As I said earlier, the annual goods are quantitative. Big Brother said that it doesn't matter if you want to sell mixed or not; it will not affect the quantity we can ship. Business is not easy to do these days. Several roads in the southwestern region are sealed; fortunately, you are surrounded by mountains… hey," A-Jie took two puffs of the cigarette, keenly aware of something, and raised his eyelids: "—everyone in your village smoked soft Chinese? Too much money, ah."
The village chief was trembling at his meaningful tone and just about to defend himself when the young man who offered the cigarette interrupted: "No, no, how dare we play tricks? The cigarettes are given by the lodgers in the county today!"
There were always a lot of tricks in the shipping channels. A-Jie was just casually frightening them, but when he heard the word county, his expression changed immediately: "Is there someone?"
He turned to the village chief, frowned, and said, "When I asked you just now, didn't you say that no strangers had entered the village for the past two days?"
"Yes, yes, not a stranger; he is the leader of the poverty alleviation project from the county, and he also has a secretary." The village chief immediately explained: "He looked very young. He'll only stay for one night and leave tomorrow morning, it's fine!"
Young?
The atmosphere seemed to have cooled down. A-Jie squinted his eyes and stared at the village chief suspiciously: "…What does he look like?"
A-Jie's face itself had a bit of a Southeast Asian look; maybe he had been on the road for a long time, and his brows gave people a cold and fierce feeling. The village chief was stared at by his fixed gaze, and cold sweat dripped from his back; he gestured hurriedly: "Probably… about this tall, very tall. In his thirties, he looks quite tough…"
A-Jie breathed out silently.
Not to mention his "tough" appearance, he couldn't be Jiang Ting with his height.
"The secretary is quite old, wearing leather shoes with a bloated stomach… Oh yes, the car they drive is still parked in the yard! Look!"
This description of the appearance dispelled A-Jie's last doubts, but out of caution, he followed the village chief out of the gate and saw a Wuling Hongguang parked next to the kitchen outside the yard. It seemed pretty old, and the tires were all splashed with mud.
The village chief stood beside him, rubbing his hands uneasily. A-Jie lit up the flashlight and glanced into the car.
There was obviously nothing, but his eyelids suddenly began to twitch slightly.
It just so happened that Jiang Ting left Jianning there, and a leader from the county came over here?
He stood there without saying a word. No one dared to move around him, and only the sound of wind whistling from halfway up the mountain could be heard for a while. After about a few minutes, A-Jie finally moved and turned around heavily: "Ask someone to…"
Click.
It was actually just an extremely slight sound, but it was slightly noticeable in the silence. A-Jie raised his head instantly:
"Who?"
No one except him had noticed the sound. The air froze for a while, and under the watchful eyes of the people, A-Jie held the gun in his lower back, like a beast smelling the scent in the dark night and hurrying forward gently——