Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 854 Photographer Xiao Zhao's Thoughts Are in Disarray
A week ago, in the middle of the night.

A river separates China and Myanmar; its surface ripples, and the sound of its waves is faint and gentle.

A damp night wind swept across the river, and the mist, carrying the smell of diesel fuel from the old, dilapidated boats, came in waves, impossible to block.

Standing at the stern, photographer Xiao Zhao looked in the direction they had come from, and the receding shore made him feel a little reluctant to leave.

Once you leave the shore, you're abroad, and there's no longer any protection.

Xiao Zhao suddenly felt anxious. As he fumbled for the waterproof case clips on his beloved camera for the third time, Zhang Yang, who was sitting next to him, asked with concern, "Xiao Zhao, what's wrong?"

Xiao Zhao chuckled awkwardly, "Sister Yang, to be honest, this is my second time in Myanmar. You could say I'm a semi-experienced one. But for some reason, I'm even more nervous this time than the first time."

He kept his head down, and his unease was obvious to everyone.

Zhang Yang knew why, of course. Last time, it was Officer Chen Shu, a star police officer from Dongzhou City, who took him to northern Myanmar, so he naturally felt much safer.

Now, besides her, a frail woman, there is also a smuggler with ties to organized crime in the team. This strange combination, without any preparation, directly trespasses into a notorious lawless area. How can Xiao Zhao feel at ease?

Zhang Yang crossed his arms over his chest and suddenly felt a little cold.

"Xiao Zhao, turn off the lights!" Li Xia's low shout suddenly rang out at the stern of the boat.

"Ouch!"

The old boat was unstable, and as Xiao Zhao staggered towards the hanging lamp to turn it off, his knee accidentally hit the side partition.

As the hanging lamps were turned off, darkness poured down like a thick curtain, instantly enveloping the small boat completely.

Xiao Zhao clutched his aching knee and looked around, but couldn't see anything.

Apart from the breathing of a few people and the sound of the river waves, there was no other noise at the scene. Even the vibration of the diesel engine underfoot had stopped at some point.

The fear of being swallowed by darkness inexplicably enveloped Xiao Zhao's entire body.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Yang's voice was calm, without the slightest hint of panic.

“There’s a boat ahead, probably a patrol team. Well, we can only wait for them to pass first.” Li Xia spoke a little fast, but his speech was still relatively steady.

Xiao Zhao slowly sat down, a sudden thought popping into his head: how wonderful it would be if the patrol team discovered them right now.

Although Xiao Zhao knew it was a very wrong idea, and that if they were caught in the act, they would be suspected of committing a crime, namely illegally crossing the border, he didn't know why, but that's what he was thinking.

Xiao Zhao shook his head, unwilling to think about it anymore, but his thoughts kept running wild.

Now that we're already on board, what else can we do?

At this moment, Xiao Zhao suddenly understood something. What he was afraid of was not the foreign land, nor was he nostalgic for his hometown on the other side of the river, but rather the person he once knew.

Xiao Zhao couldn't help but sigh again. This was probably the umpteenth time he had sighed all night. He looked back at the shore he had come from, leaned against the gunwale, and closed his eyes without realizing it.

"Xiao Zhao, wake up, wake up, we're about to get ashore."

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Zhao, who was asleep, was woken up by someone pushing his arm.

Xiao Zhao rubbed his sore and numb arms and his dizzy head, shook himself a few times before he could stand up. When he looked up, he was suddenly dumbfounded.

The small boat was still dozens of meters from the shore across the river. Several quick-moving passengers jumped off the boat and waded through knee-deep water towards the shore.

"Xiao Zhao, what are you thinking? Still think we're here for tourism? Come on, this is already pretty good. It's only a two-hour walk from the shore. Hang in there, let's try to get into the park before sunrise. Then you can get a good night's sleep!"

As Li Xia spoke, he nudged Xiao Zhao's shoulder and then jumped into the river to wade towards the shore.

Are you kidding me? It's going to be another two hours' walk?

Xiao Zhao suddenly felt a little discouraged.

"Xiao Zhao, if you regret it, go back. I won't blame you." Zhang Yang, who had already jumped off the boat, stood in knee-deep water, her tone calm, just like when she usually called Xiao Zhao to work overtime, ordinary and unremarkable.

The faint moonlight reflected off the water in the dead of night, obscuring her expression. Xiao Zhao patted her cheeks, stretched, and smiled, "Sister Yang, we're already here, there's no turning back. Besides, if Brother Xia hadn't led us straight to our destination, the two of us would probably have wasted so much time wandering around countless parks in northern Myanmar."

"Li Xia said he can take you back from the bow of the boat, free of charge."

"Gone!"

With a splash, Xiao Zhao jumped into the water.

The moment the soles of the shoes sank into the mud, river water mixed with sticky sand poured into the boots from all directions, instantly turning the once dry and comfortable feet into a sticky and cramped mess.

boots.

To lift up and to lower down.

Lift it up again, then lower it down again.

Pfft pfft
The boots walking on the riverbed made a constant, sucking sound, which sounded particularly jarring in the peaceful night.

For Xiao Zhao, who always washes and wipes his feet clean before going to bed, this experience at this time and place made him feel indescribably depressed and uncomfortable.

The group walked silently toward the shore.

After reaching the shore, the people who had gone ahead were nowhere to be seen. These elderly people who knew to travel to Myanmar at night all had a clear purpose in mind; they were decisive and wouldn't waste time on such trivial matters.

Li Xia took a flashlight out of his bag, turned it on with a snap, and shone it forward, illuminating an area of ​​about five or six meters ahead; it wouldn't be able to reach any further.

"The toll is two thousand per person, and I won't take a cut, but you'll have to transfer the money to me later." Li Xia was walking at the front again, perhaps feeling a bit excited because he was retracing his steps, and he even started joking.

Of course, it's more likely that they wanted to break the dull atmosphere in the team.

"Okay." Zhang Yang, sparing with words, quickly followed behind.

The path was rugged and uneven, with traces of previous travelers. Li Xia, who was walking at the front, was an excellent trailblazer. However, thorns along the roadside would still occasionally stick out and block the faces and bodies of the group.

Click.

Xiao Zhao broke off a thin twig blocking his way and slapped it on his body to ward off the ubiquitous mosquitoes. Sweat mixed with river water, and his wet pants were soaked through; now even his clothes were stuck to his back.

He began to wonder why he had set foot on this disgusting land again.

Is it his deep-seated male chauvinism at play?
Or has some hidden heroism resurfaced?

Or perhaps, they see themselves as someone like Officer Chen?

Do you also want to be manly in front of Sister Yang?

Xiao Zhao couldn't quite sort out the tangled thoughts in his mind. Even though he had long since left China, for some reason, there seemed to be some strange force pulling him toward Officer Chen.

The heat and stuffiness brought by the rainforest were amplified in the darkness, and sweat mingled with the river water, while small branches and leaves blocking the road continued to bother everyone.

After impatiently tearing away the tree branches blocking the road once again, Xiao Zhao suddenly realized that he understood Officer Chen's expression before leaving.

While in Kunming, Sister Yang took them to meet Officer Chen, who happened to be there on a business trip.

What started as a discussion eventually turned into a debate.

Xiao Zhao couldn't understand why two such good people would argue over irrelevant people and things.
As expected, Yang Jie was not persuaded by Officer Chen and insisted on going to northern Myanmar.

Finally, before leaving, Officer Chen patiently saw them to the door.

After following Sister Yang for quite some time, Xiao Zhao subconsciously looked back and saw Officer Chen still standing at the hotel entrance watching them leave, looking somewhat haggard.

Now, as Xiao Zhao walks along the bumpy, remote forest path, far from China, and as he looks around at the shadowy figures, his thoughts drift far away.

He thought: the core of a good policeman must be a weary soul.