I tried to ignore her, but she wouldn't leave me alone, constantly chattering and trying to guilt-trip me.
She kept saying that since we're all Chinese and in this together, we should help each other and share our food.
She even scolded me for being a man, claiming I should give all the food to the women.
Listening to her nonsense made me speechless.
Does she not understand the law of the jungle, or is she just pretending not to?
Or is she just mentally off, trying to guilt-trip people in a place like this?
Moreover, her own heart is so dirty—what right does she have to judge others?
Her behavior is no different from internet trolls and keyboard warriors.
"You're too old for him, but you can sleep with me. I'll give you some paste to eat—it's good for your skin, haha!"
The middle-aged men on the opposite bed shouted suggestively at the woman.
Every man knew what "paste" meant.
"Shut up and look at yourself! You want to sleep with me? Keep dreaming," the woman snapped, stomping her foot in frustration and giving me a dirty look.
"What's all the noise? Go to sleep!" Two lackeys came over, carrying guns, and stood at the door.
"This woman wants to sleep with someone and is arguing with us," one greasy-looking man pointed at her.
"Shut up! Who cares about you," the woman huffed, swaying her hips as she walked to her bed.
She didn't get any food and was mocked by the men, making her face turn red with anger. Her ample chest heaved with rage.
Even at forty, she maintained an impressive figure, a testament to good care.
"Looks like Auntie's feeling lonely! We're bored too—wanna play cards with us? Haha!"
"Who wants to play cards with you... Ah, what are you doing?" The lackeys ignored her protests, grabbed her by the arms, and dragged her to the back of the hill.
Half an hour later, she returned disheveled and crying but still scolding us for another half hour.
"You're all useless, not helping when I'm being bullied. You're a disgrace to Chinese people!"
Her words made no sense to us, and the more confused we looked, the more she yelled, trying to guilt-trip us further.
Some people, annoyed by her noise, buried themselves in their stinky blankets and tried to sleep.
Two other girls, already too scared to sleep, watched her from their beds.
I was getting a headache from her yelling, so I jumped out of bed to get some fresh air.
Meanwhile, Bayi was sleeping like a log on the lower bunk. I worried that he might get kidnapped and sold without waking up.
"What are you doing wandering around so late? If the patrol catches you, you'll be in trouble."
As I wandered to the back hill, where the temporary huts were, Wrench appeared, carrying an AK.
"Are you on patrol tonight?" I asked, relieved to see it was just him.
"No, I just finished some business. I heard the noise from your dorm and came to check."
"There's a weird woman in the dorm who loves to judge us from a moral high ground. She was too noisy, so I came out for some peace."
"She's an idiot; she'll die sooner or later."
"Hey, I wanted to ask you something." I leaned closer, lowering my voice. "In the small camp in Kokang where I was before, did everyone get killed after the fight?"
Wrench looked at me suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?"
"Don't get me wrong. I just want to know what happened to some enemies."
"Okay." Wrench thought for a moment, then sat down on a rock. I quickly joined him.
"I heard from Supervisor Liu that many people died, and a lot of the pigs ran away. Those who didn't run were sold off. The management killed more than a dozen people, including a perverted supervisor named Beauty."
"Great! She forced me to sign a shady contract. Now that she's dead, I have one less huge debt."
"That's your main concern?" Wrench looked at me like I was an idiot.
"Well, can you tell me more about the KK camp?" I asked, unsure what else to say. After all, we had just met, and I didn't know if I could trust him yet.
"Maybe later. The camp changes every day. People wake up to find their friends gone... For now, focus on your work and boosting your performance. That's the only way to stay alive."
Wrench seemed to hold back, his eyes flashing with something unsaid.
"Brother, Chinese don't cheat Chinese. I really don't want to be a scammer!"
I almost blurted out my plan to escape.
"Don't be naive. Many people deserve to be scammed! Some even come to Northern Myanmar willingly to make money. I've seen it all in my three years here!"
"How did you end up in Northern Myanmar?" I was curious about how he became Liu Eleven's right-hand man.
"Let's not talk about that. Tell me about your fight. The technique you used to kill Black Ghost wasn't like any traditional kung fu I know."
Wrench seemed to dislike talking about his past and changed the subject quickly.
"It's a unique technique created by my master's master. When you're furious, you channel your energy to strike your opponent's weak points..."
I explained the technique to him, demonstrating it with energy.
"Your moves are unorthodox and different from traditional kung fu. They're quick and deadly. Your master's master must have been a reclusive master of Tai Chi or Bagua Palm!
I practiced martial arts since childhood, but it's all external techniques like punches, staff, and kicks—not internal techniques like yours."
Wrench was more interested in martial arts than women, especially my internal martial arts.
This interest built a level of trust between us.
Later, he even became my right-hand man.
"Can't reveal his name—he insisted on that. My skills are for self-defense and taking on a few people."
I smiled modestly, feeling a sense of kinship in this hellish place.
"You should be careful and improve your performance, or you'll end up a tool for underground fights!"
Wrench's words sent a chill down my spine.
I thought my duel with Black Ghost was just for entertainment, but...