Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 894 Even Small People Have Big Ambitions
People can lie when they speak and fake their expressions, but these subconscious little movements are impossible for most people who haven't received professional training to hide.

Ah-Cai's fleeting glance at the car keys as he closed the door, though brief, revealed his unusual interest in them.

If he was just going to the toilet and would be right back, why would Ah Cai possibly care about the car keys in this desolate wilderness where there were no other outsiders?
The only problem was that he was worried the people in the car might tamper with the key.

Having grown up struggling in the lower rungs of society, Li Xia was extremely sensitive to reading people and situations, so he immediately noticed something was wrong.

"Phew, that scared me to death! I thought we'd been spotted." Xiao Zhao patted his chest, leaned back in his chair, and looked outside. "Brother Xia, we've been driving for over an hour now, we should be almost in town, right? What's our next step?"

Li Xia stared intently in the direction Ah Cai had left, and that direction led directly to the spot where the officer in charge was crouching in the woods.

Li Xia spat out the cigarette from his mouth and whispered, "He didn't turn off the engine when I went down to make the call, but he only turned it off after I came back. Look, Ah Cai is heading towards where that officer is. I reckon he's already noticed our unusual behavior and is going to report it!"

We have to run right now!

The three people in the back row felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.

Xiao Zhao was still hesitant and started stammering, "Brother Xiaxia, could it be... a mistake?"

In this urgent situation, Zhang Yang immediately chimed in: "Brother Xia, does this driver know that officer? Could it be that he's just going over to say hello?"

Li Xia's face was grim, his eyes fixed on Ah Cai's retreating figure: "Who calls to let you know before using the toilet? I just answered a phone call, and he noticed something was off."

As he spoke, Li Xia quickly took out Big Dog's phone, and saw that there were a few bloodstains on the back, which must have been accidentally spilled when they were causing trouble in the private room earlier.

At this point, everyone lost all hope.

If it weren't for the fear of being discovered by Li Xia and the others, Ah Cai would probably have run away as fast as he could. Instead, he's now pulling up his pants and slowly making his way over the military vehicle, then crept into the old woods where the officer was squatting.

However, this is also good, as it gives Li Xia and the others a lot more buffer time.

Unconsciously, Xiao Zhao's fingernails were picking at the metal buckle on the seatbelt. The clicking sound reminded him of the pigsty at the entrance of the park, and those big pigs that could eat anything.

Gurgling.

Its gaping maw opened and closed repeatedly, chewing and swallowing without stopping.

Xiao Zhao's hands, which were fiddling with his fingers, trembled slightly.

Li Xia spoke quickly as he began to plan their escape route: "Luckily, I haven't found any checkpoints or sentries for a long time, which means we're out of their control. We'll get out of the car and rush into the mountains. As long as we shake off these soldiers, I'm confident we can get back to China."

"Brother Xia, grab some soldiers and exchange them for money."

Xiao Zhao opened his mouth with difficulty, but was immediately interrupted by Zhang Yang: "Brother Xia, I don't think these soldiers will let us run away easily. There are only a few of us, and it's broad daylight. Do you think we can escape? Why don't we just drive over them?"

Xiao Zhao's Adam's apple bobbed repeatedly in his neck, and cold sweat soaked through his collar down the back of his neck.

Those terrifying memories from the park flooded Xiao Zhao's mind: his hoarse pleas for mercy while locked in the water dungeon, his fawning licking of the back of his hand like a dog, and so on.

"I'm not afraid of driving and crashing."

Xiao Zhao was very scared, but he wanted to appear less scared.

Li Xia interrupted without hesitation, shaking his head and refusing, "No, this is a commercial vehicle with a low chassis. It can't outrun their pickup trucks on mountain roads at all. They'll catch up with us before we get very far."

Li Qin interjected, "Brother, I think we need to leave someone behind to cover our retreat."

Li Xia suddenly turned his head and looked over, his stern gaze seeming to nail Li Qin to his seat.

Li Qin whispered, "Brother, I'm good at scamming. They need to keep me around to make more money. If I get caught, it just means I'll go back to my old life. They won't do anything to me. It's okay, I'm used to it."

Under his brother's stern gaze, Li Qin's voice grew softer and softer.

Having crossed borders to this godforsaken place, and having already prepared for his brother's death, Li Xia suddenly found his brother alive and well. With such good fortune, how could Li Xia possibly let him leave again?

Li Xia was willing to risk his own life to cover everyone's retreat without hesitation, but there was absolutely no chance of letting his younger brother stay unless he died. Zhang Yang naturally understood this.

She pulled Li Qin over, scratched her younger brother's hair like Li Xia had done, and chuckled, "Li Qin, at your age in China, you should still be in university, right? Do you prefer science or humanities? What do you want to be after graduation? Do you have a girl you like?"

Before Li Qin could answer, Zhang Yang turned to Li Xia and said solemnly, "Li Xia, coming here was my decision and my dream, and it is my duty to end this nightmare. I hope you can respect my choice."

"Reporter Zhang."

Li Xia once again used the formal title of his position. The last time was probably when they were by the fence next to the Chinese port, listening to Zhang Yang explain his "righteous views".

It was that time that made him decide to help this woman.

Recalling that day, Li Xia murmured, "Perhaps there will be great risks for us to go to northern Myanmar today, but we cannot stop because of that. All we can do may be this little bit, but I believe that this little bit today will definitely become the starting point for changing the fate of most people at some point in the future."

These words were spoken by Zhang Yang; they were the vow he made while standing at a safe Chinese port.

Hearing it again in northern Myanmar now has a different feel to it.

Photographer Xiao Zhao, a person who even felt he had little presence, recalled how he had hidden behind Zhang Yang, behind Li Xia, and even at this moment, behind Li Xia's younger brother, Li Qin.

This guy has only just come of age.

Xiao Zhao recalled that in the courtyard of the disciplinary room, Zhang Yang was taken away by a group of menacing soldiers. At that time, he was so scared that he didn't react at all and just stood there in the courtyard.

On the contrary, Zhang Yang, who was being taken away, kept turning back to hint to him to run away quickly.

Ah, that time he collapsed on the ground, looking at the starry sky above, and he even missed his mother back in his hometown.

Mom, your son is going to be unfilial.
"Reporter Zhang, our video has just started circulating in China, and we'll need your guidance to steer the course of public opinion in the country. Now that we've come this far, how can we let it all fall apart at the last minute?"

Li Xia took a deep breath, pulled out the US dollars and cell phone he had taken from Da Gouzi, and solemnly pointed east, saying, "I'll drive and hold them off. You can take my brother and Xiao Zhao away. Head that way, don't sleep tonight, keep going until you reach Thailand. Use this if you need money along the way; the password is all 6s."

"You...you...go...go..." Xiao Zhao's face turned red, and his voice gradually grew louder.

Zhang Yang smiled and shook her head, looking towards the military vehicle: "Brother Xia, how could I, a woman, possibly lead them away? Without you, we wouldn't even be able to get out of this forest."

As he spoke, Zhang Yang pointed towards the military vehicle. Ah Cai emerged from the woods first, followed by the officer. The two quickly approached the military vehicle filled with soldiers.

"You should leave now, or there won't be any time left."

At this moment, Xiao Zhao unbuckled his seatbelt, climbed from the back seat to the front driver's seat, gripped the steering wheel tightly with one hand, and pointed outwards with all his might three times with the other.

"go!"

Xiao Zhao, holding back his anger, roared in a way that left no room for argument.

He finally managed to utter a sentence, even if it was just a single word.

The van sped toward the military vehicle like an arrow. The soldiers standing in the back of the van yelled and jumped off, some dropping their guns and hats, scrambling to get back.

boom!
The van crashed into it, and after a few seconds of pause, the car tightened its tires and reversed about ten meters away, revving the engine but not going any further.

A naked provocation.

But as soon as the military vehicle showed any sign of moving, the van veered to the side of the road, rammed into the front of the military vehicle again, squeezed through the side road, and sped away into the distance.

The soldiers raised their guns and fired a volley of bullets at the van, then, amidst the officer's shouts and curses, jumped back onto the truck bed and chased after it.

In the swirling dust.

A butterfly fluttered its wings and took flight, chasing the taillights of the car until it disappeared into the blood-red sunlight of northern Myanmar.