Dozens of eyes stared at me and Chen Weiqiang, filled with confusion and fear.
They probably thought "going to work" meant being sold again.
Being sold meant facing another round of extortion for ransom or more abuse.
This is a painful ordeal that none of the captives wanted to endure repeatedly.
"To clarify, your camp is now under the unified management of the Victory Camp. I'm taking three girls just to fill the numbers, not to sell them!"
Seeing no one responded, I raised my voice to explain, suddenly feeling guilty like a trafficker rounding up captives.
Hearing that only girls were being taken, the men secretly breathed a sigh of relief and went back to typing on their keyboards.
A few young boys looked at me with longing eyes, hoping to escape, but being male, they were desperate to the point of tears…
The girls wanted to leave but were too afraid of Yang Lianting's power to make a move, just staring blankly at me, waiting for me to call their names.
Screwdriver sat in the farthest corner, not surprised by our arrival but unsure why we were picking people.
"If no one steps forward, I'll choose randomly."
Not wanting to waste time, I pointed out three fair-looking girls at random.
"Deputy Supervisor Yang, I need a man to assist me and take the blame."
I put my arm around Yang Lianting's neck and whispered in his ear.
This seemingly intimate gesture actually nearly choked him to death.
"Cough, cough."
Yang Lianting broke free from my grip, rubbed his neck, and said, "As you wish!"
Then he quickly stepped back a meter, keeping a safe distance from me.
Last time, I beat him so badly that he still shudders at the memory.
I deliberately laughed loudly, "Good, next time I'll go easier!"
Yang Lianting's face turned red and white as he looked at me, almost wanting to bite me.
"Haha!"
I exaggeratedly laughed, then walked around the workshop, pretending to pick someone.
"You, come out and help me take these three women to the Victory Camp."
I walked to Screwdriver, tapped on the table, and said.
"Oh, understood."
Screwdriver cooperatively stood up, lowered his head, and walked to the three women.
"Let's go, time to report in. Tomorrow you start working at the Victory Camp workshop."
I had Screwdriver take the women out. When we reached the corner, Chen Weiqiang took the three women away while Screwdriver and I sneaked back to the dormitory.
"These are clothes. We each get a set. We might need to act later tonight because the truck carrying the crocodile seedlings comes at random times. So, we need to be fully prepared to ensure success."
I opened the black bag and handed him a set of green uniforms.
Under the clothes was a disassembled AK-47 and two magazines.
"One magazine holds 30 bullets. For just five people, two magazines are more than enough!"
Seeing the gun, Screwdriver got excited, threw the clothes on the bed, and immediately started assembling the gun and ammo.
"It's for backup. An extra magazine is extra insurance. Besides, I'm not good at shooting, so I might need you to cover me."
I smiled, quickly took off my shirt, and changed into the green uniform of the Karen Border Guard.
Screwdriver loaded the magazine and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, I'll protect you even if it costs my life."
I patted his right arm, "Don't talk like that. We're in this together."
"Mm!"
He pulled the bolt back and then released it, nodding firmly.
After we changed and got everything ready, Bayi and the others finished their shift.
"I've contacted Abu. He'll be waiting for you in the jungle two kilometers from the camp."
As soon as Wrench entered the dormitory, he eagerly drew a route map on white paper.
He said it was at a corner of an uphill road. The truck would slow down at that bend, giving us a chance to jump off and enter the jungle to meet Abu.
The three of us might have to stay hidden there for a day until Boss Cai and the others come out, and then we'd deal with them before leaving.
"Will they travel together?"
I bit my pen, worried that Lulu might return to Guogan with him.
If there were too many people, it would be difficult for us to ambush, so we needed to prepare for the worst.
"They won't. Liu Shiyi promised to take Lulu to the casino. Boss Cai is eager to go back and torture the auction item, so he won't stay in town."
Wrench marked the route from the camp to the casino, saying, "If they travel together, we'll just take them all out. Abu is a good shot, don't worry. Tomorrow night, Maodinglun and I will follow Liu Shiyi to the casino, leaving Elu to guard the camp. If you don't show up by midnight, I'll come to find you. Worst case, we die together!"
Wrench forced a smile, but to us, it felt heavy.
Screwdriver suddenly asked, "Are you scared?"
"Yes!" I smiled, "But being scared is useless. If we want to survive, we have to overcome fear."
"Now that's a man. If you said you weren't scared, I'd look down on you."
"You guys get some rest, I'll patrol tonight."
Wrench got up, said a few words, and left the dormitory.
"What about me?" Bayi felt neglected and wanted to make his presence known.
"Do well in your job, wake us up in the middle of the night."
I patted his shoulder and lay down on the bed to rest.
Screwdriver, holding the AK he longed for, lay on Bayi's bed beside me.
Saying I'm not scared would be a lie. Fear is real.
But I know that in this hellhole, fear and tears are the cheapest things. Only strength can save oneself!
A night passed without a word.
At 5 AM, Screwdriver and I simultaneously got out of bed.
Bayi was still snoring.
With AKs and knives, we quietly slipped out the door and sneaked along a path without surveillance to the crocodile pond.
"Rumble"
Two blinding headlights approached—it was the truck.
Wrench and his security team were there too, but Yang Lianting was absent.
His presence would have aroused suspicion, so having Wrench patrol was enough.
The original head of the security team was supposed to handle the crocodile seedlings, but he called in sick yesterday, so Wrench took over.
Who knows what bribe Yang Lianting used on that person. He's hiding his true self even better than Liu Shiyi.
"Brothers, park here and unload the seedlings, then go to finance for the paperwork."
Wrench shouted while handing out cigarettes.
"Thanks, sorry for the trouble."
The driver was local, accompanied by two others.
They took the cigarettes and happily unloaded the big barrels of crocodile seedlings.
After unloading seven or eight barrels, the person in charge followed a lackey to the finance office.
Wrench sat on the steps, chatting and smoking with the driver. A few lackeys stood in front of them, blocking the driver's view.
Screwdriver and I crawled out of the greenery, ran, and jumped into the truck's cargo hold.