money player

Houqiao, northern Tengchong.

The Wolf Fang Platoon of the Steel Seventh Company of the Hard-Bone Battalion, Night Tiger Regiment, 41st Division of the 14th Army is on duty at the border crossing. Their main task is to guard against remnants of the Kuomintang and smuggling activities.

Squad leader He Baoguo suddenly noticed several streaks of light flashing by in the east. He picked up his binoculars and looked over, then heard gunshots. He quickly shouted, "Fan Shitou, tell everyone to be on alert!"

"Yes."

A series of rustling sounds rang out as the grease guns and Type 38 rifles were all cocked, and then, thud, a flare shot into the air.

In a fleeting flash of light, He Baoguo saw several mortar shells explode, and several dark figures crouched low as they rapidly approached a cavalry unit. These men were carrying unidentifiable automatic rifles, but the gunfire was clearly in bursts. As soon as the gunfire started, men on the cavalry fell. Just as the flare went out, the men collided with the cavalry.

"Fan Shitou, fire another flare."

Thump! Another flare shot into the sky, but when it illuminated the location of the cavalry, no one could be seen standing there, and the horses were nowhere to be seen either.

He Baoguo was shocked. Which team was this? They had such high combat skills, ending the battle in just over ten seconds and then disappearing without a trace.

the other side.

The Wood Rat Team unloaded baskets from their horses in a low-lying area. They picked out the unopened jadeite rough stones from the baskets and piled them up, while the semi-finished products were placed on the other side.

Zeng Peiyu, general manager of Golden Triangle Mining, a subsidiary of Gold Coast Industries, shone a flashlight on a semi-finished jadeite to observe its texture and clarity. Those worth taking were put back in the basket, while those not worth taking were left aside. Two members of the Wood Rat Team were digging a pit, burying the jadeite they wouldn't take on the spot, to be dug up later when they had the chance.

Zeng Peiyu is a descendant of the second branch of the Zeng family, a renowned jadeite family in Tengchong. Forty years ago, the first and second branches of the Zeng family separated. The second branch left Tengchong and went to Mandalay to develop their business. After decades of hard work, they established the Zeng family brand in Mandalay and became a large family engaged in the jadeite business.

The Zeng family is very traditional and strictly adheres to the ancient precept of passing down knowledge to sons but not daughters. Zeng Peiyu is an outstanding member of the new generation in every aspect, but because she is a girl, she is not valued by the family. For the Zeng family, her greatest role is marriage alliance.

What is worthless to them is valuable to us. Gold Coast Industries absorbed her and entrusted her with important responsibilities.

In five minutes, Zeng Peiyu finished looking at all the semi-finished products, pointed to the basket, and said, "Take these with you; they can fetch sixty or seventy thousand silver dollars."

The leader of the Wood Mouse Squad, Field Mouse, made a gesture. Two team members carried the basket back to their horses, half of the team mounted their horses and left first, while the other half stayed behind to bury the things.

The cavalry moved silently through the jungle, quickly heading towards the jungle on the outskirts of Kamai.

The Golden Triangle mining industry's strategy in Myanmar is not focused on jade, but the current reality is that jade mines are the easiest to interfere with.

Myanmar currently has two gemstone mining areas: the Mogok gemstone mining area in northern Mandalay Region, which produces rubies and sapphires, and the Hpakant jadeite mining area in northern Kachin State. The former is controlled by the Myanmar federal government and is one of its important sources of revenue, so there is no possibility of government intervention. The situation with the latter is more complicated.

Kachin State does not have a powerful warlord armed force. Nominally, it belongs to the Union of Myanmar, but in reality, it is in the twilight of the feudal chieftain system, with chieftains controlling various regions of Kachin State.

In the case of the Hpakant mining area, federal government officials are only stationed in the outer towns such as Kamai, and adopt a policy of control over the interior of Hpakant. The hereditary rulers of the Hpakant mining area are the Kensi chieftain family. In the minds of the locals, the jade mines are the private property bestowed upon the chieftain by the mountain gods.

The Kensi chieftain family controlled the mines, and anyone who wanted to mine jade in the mountains had to pay a mining tax to the Kensi chieftain. The chieftain had the right of first choice or a cut of the best jade produced. The chieftain had a private family armed force responsible for maintaining security in the mining area and resolving disputes.

The economic lifeline of the mines is in the hands of Chinese businessmen, led by the Tengchong gang. Although the stones in Hpakant grow on Kachin territory, the technology, capital, and sales channels are all in the hands of the Chinese.

Chinese businessmen formed guilds and established rules for the mines, such as how to divide jade when it is found and how to punish those who steal jade. Their rules were more effective than Burmese law.

The main components of the Chinese business community were the Tengchong gang, the Yunnan Guild Hall in Wacheng, the caravan leaders, and the forces and companies of the remnants of Li Mi's army, who were also hidden shareholders.

The Tengchong gang is the absolute hegemon of Hpakant. More than 90% of the miners, jade appraisers, and mine owners come from Tengchong, and the Tengchong dialect is the common language of Hpakant.

The two largest forces were the Cun family of Cun Haiting, the "King of Jade," and the Zhang family of Zhang Lanting, who was also a "King of Jade." Both men have passed away, but their descendants are still active.

With the change of regime in mainland China, some of the Cun family's influence remained in Tengchong, but its main funds and business backbone have been transferred to Mandalay. Today, the Cun family is still the benchmark in the industry, owning mining rights to multiple old mines in Hpakant. They are the pillar of Hpakant, setting industry rules and possessing the most outstanding jade appraisers.

The Zhang family's influence in the mines is waning, leaving only two "Zhang Family Factory" mines that produce high-grade colored jadeite, still controlling the high-end jadeite distribution channels through Myitkyina.

The Mandalay Yunnan Association was originally headed by Liang Jinshan, a patriotic overseas Chinese. Last year, he returned to his roots in mainland China, leaving behind a vast business network, a caravan, and mining rights in Hpakant, which are still managed by his steward and partners.

This group has the most abundant funds and the best relationship with the upper echelons of Myanmar.

In these chaotic times, there is no jade without guns. Business tycoons usually don't go into the mountains themselves; instead, it's the well-connected caravan leaders who go, usually from Tengchong or Longling, who have hundreds of mules and horses and dozens of fast guns under their command.

They were responsible for transporting jade from Hpakant to Mandalay. Along the way, they had to negotiate with Kachin soldiers and deal with remnants of the Kuomintang army.

Among the caravan leaders, the Li family caravan and the Dong family caravan were the most powerful. The caravan that the Wood Rat Squad attacked belonged to the Li family caravan.

Taiwan's greatest support for Li Mi's remaining troops was sending Li Mi himself, along with a letter of appointment that was too weak to even wipe his own backside. The actual supplies for the remaining troops came from the CIA, but the quantity was extremely limited, and they had to rely on themselves to get enough to eat.

As the saying goes, "those who live near mountains live off the mountains, those who live near water live off the water, and those who live near jade live off jade." Jade from Hpakant, when transported to Thailand by land, needs to pass through the area controlled by the remnants of the enemy, and paying a "tariff" is unavoidable.

In addition, the remaining soldiers also formed caravans to provide transportation services for jade merchants, and their rewards included silver dollars, gold, and shares in the mine.

The company was formed by various jade merchants holding shares. The investors were located in Mandalay, Hong Kong, and mainland China, while the factory was located in the Hpakant mining area to supervise the work. They were responsible for dealing with the Kensi chieftain, and the jade appraisers were responsible for judging whether the stones should be cut, which determined the direction of the billions of dollars in wealth.

The company has the least influence in Hpakant, but other forces will not provoke them because they represent the big spenders who face end customers. If you offend them, no matter how strong your influence is in Hpakant, as long as the big spender says they will not accept "whose" jade, your influence will collapse within three months.

Jade has always been a very niche item, and only Chinese people truly understand and appreciate it. In 1951, the traditional jade markets in Beijing and Shanghai had shrunk, and the consumption center had undergone a huge geographical shift, with Hong Kong becoming the heart of the global jade trade.

Shanghai industrialists, remnants of the Republic of China, and wealthy Southeast Asian merchants who fled to Hong Kong bought jade not only for decoration, but also to "store assets." In turbulent times, gold and high-grade jade were hard currencies that could be carried with them at any time.

Chinese families in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand have preserved the aesthetic traditions since the Qing Dynasty, favoring bracelets and beaded necklaces with high-quality jadeite and vibrant green color.

Besides these two groups, Western high society also had a fascination with jade. During the Art Deco period of the 1920s and 1930s, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Tiffany & Co. used jade extensively to make high jewelry.

Although this trend has somewhat subsided, it still exists among the ultra-wealthy. Barbara Hutton and the Duchess of Windsor, Waris Simpson, are well-known figures who consume jade.

However, Westerners' aesthetics differ greatly from those of the Chinese. They value color and design, preferring dark green and not caring much about the quality of the stone. They also prefer Western jewelers to set the stones with gold and silver to make them into brooches, powder boxes, cigarette holders, or geometric rings. They do not like bare stones.

To put it bluntly, what attracts Westerners is the "mysterious oriental gemstone." Once the curiosity fades, jade will be ignored in the West.

As for other Asians, they are not interested in jadeite. Even the Burmese do not like jadeite. They prefer the rubies and sapphires produced in Mogok. In the eyes of the Burmese, jadeite is mainly "a stone to be sold to Chinese people for money".

Without a doubt, in 1951, the real bigwigs who determined the jade market were in Hong Kong, and because of Sin Yiu-man's unintentional actions, these bigwigs were basically concentrated on Canton Road.

Meisai.

The dim light of the oil lamps made the red soil on the road to Pahong Ruoting appear as dark as dead blood. The air was filled with the stench of mule sweat, the bitter smell of unprocessed opium, and the gasoline fumes from American jeeps.

The streets are mostly lined with two-story wooden stilted houses with tin or thatched roofs. There are only a few brick and tile buildings, which are the police station, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and warehouses of a few large trading companies with connections.

In the Yunnan Guild Hall teahouse on the street corner, several men in khaki shirts were playing mahjong. They weren't speaking Thai, but rather Mandarin with a Tengchong accent. On the table weren't chips, but stacks of heavy Yuan Shikai silver dollars and several Browning pistols.

A few gunshots occasionally rang out from Tachileik on the other side of the river. The people in the teahouse didn't even lift their eyelids, only cursing, "Damn it, another accidental discharge."

A Thai vendor wearing a conical hat walked by carrying a load of Lucky Strike cigarettes instead of fruit, intending to sell them to a group of dusty, wounded soldiers who had just crossed the bridge.

At this time, Messai was a family home and vacation spot for the wounded soldiers. Many mid- to high-ranking officers settled their wives and children here. There was no fighting here, and supplies were plentiful. On the streets, you could see officers dressed in neat military uniforms and wearing sunglasses, driving Willys Jeeps to teahouses for tea.

Mae Sai was also a transit point for caravans and drug traffickers, and a gathering place for spies and intelligence brokers. CIA informants, Taiwanese spies, Thai plainclothes police officers, and Burmese spies all exchanged intelligence at KMT guesthouses or Chinese inns.

The stilted houses along the Messé River are half-suspended above the water.

Liu Hanguang, the leader of the Water Rat Squad, and Bai Changkong, the Brocade-haired Rat, sat on the floor in the corner of the building, their feet immersed in the river water.

Bai Changkong leaned against a bamboo pillar, humming a lullaby, "The orphan of Asia weeps in the wind, his yellow face stained with red mud, his black eyes filled with white fear, the west wind sings a sad song in the east..."

How many people are searching for answers to those unsolvable questions? How many sigh helplessly in the dead of night? How many wipe away their tears in silence? Dear mother, what truth is this?

As the music ended, Bai Changkong said softly, "Commander, I miss my father and mother."

Liu Hanguang took a drag of his cigarette. "The higher-ups are handling it. You'll be able to see them soon."

Bai Changkong realized he had said the wrong thing and touched on Liu Hanguang's painful memories, so he said, "Commander, is there still no news of the Madam?"

“She was found, remarried, and went to another city with her husband.”

"There are plenty of beautiful women everywhere in the world..."

"Don't try to comfort me. It's good that she remarried. She had attachments and was reluctant to leave home. She went to another city, and it's not easy for outsiders to know about our relationship."

Bai Changkong was silent for a moment, then said, "A few prostitutes have recently come to town."

"Go if you want, I'm not interested in this kind of thing."

"I dont go."

"Without taking a nap, we may act at any moment."

"Commander, do you still remember Xiao He?"

"Which Xiao He?"

"That female student."

"You saw her at the guesthouse this afternoon?"

Bai Changkong nodded. "Yes, I saw her. She came out of a room."

Liu Hanguang remained silent for a long time. "She shouldn't rot here. Once the mission is complete, we'll find a way to send her away."

"Take her back to Rat Village?"

"Why take her back? A ship will come from Hong Kong in a few days, we'll take her on board."

"They're not on the same side, would they really help?"

Liu Hanguang exhaled smoke, "We're all working for the same boss, so even if we don't care about the monk, we'll care about the Buddha."

Bai Changkong slammed his fist on the bamboo pillar and cursed under his breath, "Damn it, we've fought several battles, killed dozens of people, and we still don't know who we're working for."

"What good will it do to know?" Liu Hanguang said quietly. "They haven't treated us badly, they've given us everything they promised. If you're tired of it, just wait until the contract expires and then leave."

“Where can I go if I leave? I joined the army at thirteen and fought for ten years. What else can I do if I don’t carry a gun?”

Liu Hanguang chuckled and said, "You silly boy, don't you know your age?"

“This time it’s for real, I’m twenty-three years old this year.”

"Twenty-three," Liu Hanguang muttered, chewing on his lips. "Find a good woman, start a family, and leave yourself an heir."

"It's either training or missions, how can I have a chance to find a woman?"

"Before we set off, the captain talked to me about something. He said that I would be transferred after this mission was completed."

"Where are you being transferred to?"

"I'm not going anywhere else, I'll stay in Myanmar and be in charge of forming the God of Wealth Combined Brigade."

"A full-strength brigade?"

Liu Hanguang nodded. "Extra staff, not just a claim."

Bai Changkong asked in surprise, "The higher-ups want to seize power in Myanmar?"

"Mining."

"Oh." Bai Changkong took out a cigarette and lit it. "The God of Wealth Synthetic Brigade, what a direct name, but it doesn't fit with rats at all."

"The rat is the Gray Immortal, one of the Five Great Immortals. In some places, the rat is regarded as the god of granary, the god of children, and the god of wealth."

"Oh." Bai Changkong suddenly realized, "It's still a rat."

"I plan to take you with me and have you become the battalion commander of a special battalion."

"Me, a battalion commander?" Bai Changkong exclaimed in surprise. "I've never even been a platoon leader, let alone a regimental commander or brigade commander."

"The God of Wealth Combined Arms Brigade comprises six battalions: an artillery battalion, a tank battalion, a ranger battalion, a motorized infantry battalion, a supply battalion, and the absolute main force, the pacifier battalion. I want you to be the battalion commander of the pacifier battalion."

"Pacifier Camp," Bai Changkong scoffed. "What a terrible name."

Liu Hanguang calmly said, "Pacifiers are something Westerners put in their children's mouths."

"Are the pacifier battalions all child soldiers?"

“It’s very expensive to maintain a brigade. The God of Wealth Combined Arms Brigade is different from the infantry brigades we knew before.” Liu Hanguang did not explain the difference, as that was a secret and could not be revealed. “Human life is cheap in Myanmar. Child soldiers are easy to find. They are young and highly malleable. If they survive a few battles, they are elite.”

Bai Changkong recalled the past with lingering fear, saying, "Child soldiers are prone to mutiny."

Liu Hanguang looked up at the sky and asked, "Do you remember the assault ingots we captured from the Japanese devils before?"

"Japanese opium?"

"The pacifier battalion would distribute assault pills and would also set up a special logistics unit, 9527, just like the Japanese comfort stations."

Bai Changkong asked with a dark expression, "Where do women come from?"

“The captain isn’t a Japanese soldier.” Liu Hanguang pointed to the next room. “He’s not hard to find as long as you’re willing to spend the money.”

The stilted house was almost completely soundproof; you could hear every cough and whisper of the neighbor next door.

None of the residents of the stilted houses were good people. They were wanted fugitives, exiled soldiers who had not yet found a backer, and low-level henchmen responsible for picking up goods by the river. They were restless and violent. As long as they had a few coins in their pockets, they would take care of the prostitutes who wandered by the river soliciting customers when night fell.

Will they kill you after you've used it?

Liu Hanguang chuckled and said, "The combined arms brigade is not a rat camp. How can you hide a few thousand people gathered together? The pacifier battalion's camp will be separated from the other battalions."

"That's not bad."

Slightly off the pier area, along the most scenic and well-ventilated section of the riverbank, are several teak villas that combine Thai stilt house and British colonial styles. The villas are stilted at the bottom and spacious on the upper floors, with wide verandas with louvered windows and courtyards enclosed by bamboo fences, where banana or mango trees are planted.

This is the residence of the demobilized officers. The officers usually serve in Myanmar and come back to stay for a while when they are on leave.

In a teak villa, Deng Kebao, the heart-stealing rat, was embracing a military officer's wife. His upper body was slumped on the edge of the bed, his four legs were tangled together and hanging off the floor, and they were both panting heavily.

After resting for a while, Deng Kebao scratched his feet on the floor a few times, hooked his trousers, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, shook out one, lit it, took two puffs, and stuffed the cigarette into the officer's wife's mouth.

The officer's wife took a drag of her cigarette, arched her back slightly to signal Deng Kebao to let go, and then climbed onto the bed, sitting up at the head of the bed.

Deng Kebao followed and lay down next to her.

The officer's wife rested her head on his shoulder and put the cigarette back in his mouth. "The last message I received said you were on Phu Quoc Island. Where did you go after that?"

"I was rescued, and now I'm working for someone else."

"Why didn't you come to find me sooner?"

"You eat other people's food and are subject to their management; you can't just come and go as you please."

"what's your plan?"

"what?"

"I."

"Will you come with me?"

“There are eyes everywhere here. I might have been seen bringing you back. Luckily, he’s on a mission and won’t be back for at least ten days to two weeks.”

"There's plenty of time, I'll see you off."

"Where?"

"Hongkong."

"Aren't we going together?"

"I can't leave."

The officer's wife took the cigarette from Deng Kebao's mouth, put it in her own mouth, and took a deep drag. "Can I wait until you come home?"

Deng Kebao put his arm around the officer's wife and gently comforted her, "The work I do is not as dangerous as you think. When you get to Hong Kong, someone will take care of you. The money I earned before is enough for you to start a small business in Hong Kong."

"Promise me, nothing can happen to you."

"Will not."

After a while of lingering affection, Deng Kebao said, "Help me with something."

"doing what?"

"I want to bribe someone at a guesthouse."

The officer's wife was shocked upon hearing this, "What are you going to do?"

"I have been ordered to come to Messai to eliminate the jade merchants..."

"The two Hong Kongers who checked into the guesthouse this afternoon?"

“Not just these two, but also those who come later. Jade merchants usually stay in guesthouses, and I need someone to provide information.”

The officer's wife breathed a sigh of relief. "That's easy. I'll help you make the connection. Oh, why did you want to get rid of the jade merchant?"

"I don't know, I'm just doing my job for money."

During the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Wenxiu Rebellion failed. In order to escape the Qing army's pursuit or to make a living, a large number of Hui people migrated south in caravans. They monopolized the southern section of the Tea Horse Road, a trade route between Yunnan and the inland Southeast Asian countries of Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos.

Thais call them Chin Haw.

In Messai, besides the officers who drove jeeps and lived in teak buildings, there was a large group of "wandering ghosts"—the exiled stragglers among the remnants of the Nationalist army.

They were low-ranking soldiers who were scattered by the main force, left behind due to injuries or illnesses, or fled the camp in despair of the war. In the eyes of the locals, they were also known as the Qin-Huo people, who were both frightening and pitiful.

Their upper bodies might be dressed in faded, khaki-colored Nationalist army uniforms or grey cotton tunics, all buttons missing and held together with wire or rattan. Their lower bodies might be dressed in local longyi (traditional long robes) or wide-legged shorts from leftover American supplies. They rarely wore leather boots, mostly straw sandals, American tire-soled sandals, or were barefoot.

Ninety percent of them had sallow complexions, suffered from malaria, and had festering, foul-smelling leg ulcers caused by the heat and humidity of the rainforest and leeches. Their black eyes held a white fear—a wary, empty, yet wolf-like hunger in their gaze.

Although they are called skirmishers, they would never abandon their weapons, even if they were just old Hanyang rifles with worn-out rifling, pistols wrapped in cloth, or even broadswords. In northern Myanmar, not having a gun meant certain death.

They wore dirty Yuan Shikai silver dollars around their necks; these were their life-saving coins, which they would never spend unless absolutely necessary.

They carried a bamboo opium pipe on their waist to smoke raw opium for pain relief or to numb themselves.

Those who were still in good health and had their guns still intact squatted at the docks along the Mae Sai River or in front of Yunnan teahouses, waiting for caravan leaders or big opium merchants to come and recruit them.

"Boss, where are you going? As long as you provide food and a cigarette, I'll sell my life to you."

They were the best bodyguards, experienced in conventional warfare, and had killed people; they were far more ruthless than the local bandits.

If someone is missing an arm or leg, or is shivering from a malaria attack, lying under the eaves of a temple or in the back alley of a Chinese shop, they won't beg for money like beggars. Instead, they'll take out a medal of victory in the War of Resistance, which is useless at the moment, or a yellowed military officer's ID card, and try to exchange it for a bowl of rice noodles or a shot of penicillin.

"Brother, which way is that? I can't go back. If you can go back in the future, please burn some paper money for my mother."

Another group consists of desperate intellectuals or student soldiers, wearing broken glasses, with a soaked copy of "Guanzi" or a letter from home in their pockets. They are students who were conscripted or lured out by a surge of enthusiasm, but now they have woken up from their dreams, with no hope of a counterattack and no way to go home.

Some could teach Chinese in elementary schools in Messai in exchange for speaking skills, or write letters home for illiterate disabled soldiers. Although they could not send them, most of the disabled soldiers carried letters home with them, carrying their illusory homesickness.

They are the most tormented group of people because they are consciously watching themselves sink into depravity.

In December 1950, Lu Dingbang, nicknamed "Drilling Rat," was a high school senior. On New Year's Eve, he was conscripted and forced to flee to northern Myanmar.

In the back alley of the shop, his left hand covered the mouth of a wounded soldier, while his right hand gripped a dagger and plunged it into the soldier's stomach again and again.

"Damn it, it's not you guys, I'm a college student now."

The wounded soldier's stomach was stabbed open, and his intestines spilled out onto the ground. Lu Dingbang released his grip, wiped the dagger a few times on the tattered cloth covering the wounded soldier's body, put the dagger away, and rummaged through the wounded soldier's body until a crumpled, smelly letter from home came into his hand.

Lu Dingbang stared into the still-closed eyes of the surviving soldier. "I know where your home is. I'll help you send the letter home."

The remaining soldier looked relieved, slowly closed his eyes, and had no more worries.

Lu Dingbang took out his cigarette case, took four cigarettes, put them in his mouth, lit them all at once, stuck three on the ground, and left one in his mouth.

He stood there silently smoking, the melody of "On the Songhua River" emanating from his Adam's apple.

His feelings toward the remnants of the army who conscripted him were complex. They were the culprits who led him to this place and into becoming an executioner, but they were also pitiful people who obeyed his orders.

After finishing his cigarette, he left the dimly lit back alley and walked into the dimly lit front street. He came to the door of a rice noodle shop and called out to the proprietress, "Auntie, give me a bowl of rice noodles!"

"Alright, kid! Do you want sour soup or clear soup? And chili peppers?"

"Sour soup, Mom! Add lots of chili, the spicier the better!"

"Yes, yes! I'll give you plenty of chili peppers, and I'll ladle out the hot sour soup for you~ I'll also give you a couple more handfuls of pickled cabbage, I guarantee it'll make you sweat from the spiciness and you'll really enjoy it!" The proprietress replied as she deftly wiped the bowl, ladled out hot sour soup, and stuffed pickled cabbage from the earthenware basin into the bowl with her hands.

Lu Dingbang sat at a table, took off his non-prescription glasses and wiped them with the corner of his clothes. After wiping them clean, he put them back on and looked around at the street.

He was secretly saddened. In a few days, he would leave the Rat Village, part ways with his brothers who had been with him day and night, abandon the code name "Sky Rat," and adopt a new code name, "Bald Rat," to become an intelligence agent.

bang bang bang
Suddenly, several gunshots rang out from the opposite bank.

Lu Dingbang listened carefully and heard the sound of an M1 carbine. Then he heard the sound of a grease gun splashing water, mixed with the sound of an M1 Garand gun and the sound of a grenade exploding.

This rhythm sounds like a rat-like assault tactic; I wonder which squad is attacking the cavalry.

On the opposite bank, the Fire Rat Squad was finishing off the corpses. After carefully confirming that all the cavalrymen were dead, they led their horses away from the battlefield.

Hong Kong.

Zhao Shiying was sending a telegram when Qi Weiwen sat in front of her, holding a list of jade merchants. Some names had two horizontal lines drawn under them, indicating that these were people who were suspected or confirmed to have some influence or connections in Hpakant. Mosquito needed to track their movements so that they wouldn't have to return to Hong Kong once they went to Myanmar or Thailand.

After sending the message, Zhao Shiying took off his headphones, lit a cigarette, and asked, "Are there any internal discounts for buying jade in the future?"

"Who knows what those foreign devils are thinking?"

"Isn't this just imitating the diamond cartel to establish a jade cartel and control jade prices?"

“That’s a matter for later. Gaining control of the conversation won’t be that simple.” Qi Weiwen put down the list in his hand. “Send a telegram to the Rotten Chrysanthemum Research Institute and ask Huangfu Huafeng about the plans for the Rhino Renewable Nature Reserve and the Longevity Human Laboratory.”

Zhao Shiying was slightly taken aback. "Isn't it a bit too ambitious for the boss to be thinking about immortality right now?"

Qi Weiwen said calmly, "The little foreign devils don't want to live forever."

Zhao Shiying, understanding the implied meaning, asked, "Prepared for the powerful and wealthy?"

Qi Weiwen said quietly, "Power is addictive. How many people pick it up and are willing to put it down? In order to live a few more years, there is nothing they will not do."

Immortality is a pipe dream. Living a few more years isn't too difficult. Those foreign devils say the human body is like a machine, and organs are like parts. If a part breaks, you can replace it with a healthy one.

After decades of research into organ transplantation technology in the West, a glimmer of hope has appeared.

Zhao Shiying felt a chill run down her spine. "Aren't young people's organs healthier?"

"Right, I don't understand either."

"It's alright, it's alright, I'm already old."

Chen Hua waved the two stacks of money in his hand, turning one thousand into two thousand.

"Which side should I bet on this time? I'm going all in."

“I don’t know how to look at the storefront, you can look at it yourself,” Xian Yaowen replied, his gaze not leaving Chen Azhu.

She knocked out the banker at another table, took the banker's position, opened her bag, and revealed stacks of money, causing an uproar among the gamblers.

Seeing that Xian Yaowen's gaze was not on her, Chen Hua followed his gaze to Chen Azhu. After a moment, he said meaningfully, "It seems that Jiang Banruo used to own a fairly large casino."

"Oh." (End of Chapter)