Detective: From the Police Academy

Chapter 551 Join the Battle!

The boy replied, "When I saw them, their car was halfway up the mountain. The road was bad, and their wheels were stuck in the mud. I took a shortcut and ran faster than them!"

Luo Rui patted him on the shoulder: "Good job, you must be a fast runner."

He looked at the other children, all of them with their chests exposed, covered in sweat, their trousers rolled up to their knees, and their feet covered in mud and grass.

Luo Rui called out to Fang Yonghui, "Go to the cafeteria and get some steamed buns and bottled water."

"Okay," Fang Yonghui agreed.

Luo Rui asked the child, "Are you tired?"

At this moment, all the children from the lumberyard gathered around the boy.

The boy shook his head: "I'm not tired. We were the fastest runners."

He repeatedly emphasized his advantage, his tone full of pride: "We have several more, they haven't caught up with me yet, but they should be here soon."

Luo Rui nodded: "Can you still run?"

"Yes," the children answered in unison.

At this moment, Fang Yonghui and Jiang Feng brought over a bamboo basket of steamed buns and bottled water.

Luo Rui distributed these things to the children: "Eat first, but don't eat too much. Then run back and see where those people have come from. Then come back one by one and report to us."

"We're right behind you on the main road, not far. You'll find us. If you can't find us, or if we're dead, then take the rest of the lumber mill men and go into the woods. Understand?"

The boy, holding a steamed bun and a bottle of mineral water, nodded vigorously: "I understand!"

"What's your name?"

“Ali, that’s the name Grandpa Jiang gave me.”

"Okay, Ali, we're counting on you guys!"

Ali nodded again, turned around and said a few words to his companions in their language, and then, together with about ten boys from the lumber mill, they quickly ran towards the main gate of the lumber mill.

They were holding hot steamed buns in their hands, but they didn't even bother to eat them.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

A loud gong rang out, and all the lumber mill workers, their families, and the Chinese came out.

Some people are in the work shed, some are in the woods, and some are counting timber.

Luo Rui stood up and saw Qiu Wenhe holding a gong, striking it nine times.

These nine gong and drum sounds must have meant something, so much so that the young and middle-aged men of both the Chinese and Rohingya tribes took out their hunting rifles, axes, and three-foot-long machetes.

Within minutes, about three hundred people had gathered in the open space of the lumberyard, but there were less than one hundred able-bodied young men, and the weapons they carried were very primitive, including bows and arrows.

A moment later, He Dong helped accountant Jiang Zhongjun down from behind the barbed wire fence, the old man still holding a satellite phone in his hand.

He stood on high ground, looking down at the lumber mill workers. After watching for a while, he said loudly, "Workers, the wolf is coming! Danger is coming! More than three hundred armed men from Valais have gathered, all carrying guns and cannons, and are preparing to rob our lumber mill."

This forest has always belonged to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. You Rohingya people should know that we have been here for twenty years.

The timber mill is not only our Chinese Chamber of Commerce's business, but also your livelihood!

You know best that we Chinese are not here to harm people or to establish an armed force; we are here to do business.

There is an old saying in our country: "If you drain the pond to catch all the fish, you will get them, but next year there will be no fish left, so you will have to burn the pond to make a field!"

Let me translate for you: what this means is that we can't keep cutting down trees forever; we have to think about the future.

So, for the past twenty years or so, for every big tree we've cut down, we've planted one next to it.

I still remember clearly that twenty years ago, when we got the logging permit for Myanmar, the first tree was cut down by Chairman He and me. We decided then and there that we would do this and plant another tree next to it!

That tree is now over ten meters tall. As you all know, I often wander around that tree, looking at the stump we left after cutting it down, and at the first sapling we planted.

Over the years, the men have been cutting down trees, while the women, children, and elderly have been planting them behind the scenes. It's all thanks to you.

Our Chinese Chamber of Commerce has always adhered to this principle: we cannot leave behind barren hillsides for you Rohingya people after we Chinese leave, nor can we cause you any harm.

Now tell me, has our Chinese Chamber of Commerce achieved this?

"done!"

On the open ground, hundreds of people shouted, and men, women, and children all responded in the same way.

Jiang Zhonghua nodded solemnly: "So now the wolf is here, they want to take the lumber mill from us, should we give it to them?"

"No!"

"Absolutely not!"

"We'll fight them to the death!"

The Rohingya people were the most agitated, while the Chinese were more composed.

"Good, very good!" Jiang Zhongjun said, "Now I give the order, Qiu Wenhe!"

Qiu Wenhe walked to the front of the crowd and shouted, "I'm here!"

"Take a team of men and guard the factory. Don't let them break in."

"Yes!" Qiu Wenhe began to gather his men.

"He Dong!"

"Yes, Uncle Jiang."

"Take your men out and assess the situation. If you can negotiate, then negotiate; if not, bring them back immediately!"

He Dong gritted his teeth: "Yes."

Jiang Zhongjun looked at the elderly, weak, and women of the Rohingya people: "As for you, come with me into the forest. We'll come back after this is resolved!"

After speaking, Jiang Zhongjun looked thoughtfully at Luo Rui and the others.

Luo Rui walked up the slope and whispered to him, "Uncle Jiang, this whole thing was caused by us..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Zhongjun raised his hand to interrupt him.

“It wasn’t caused by you. The China Timber Factory has always been a prime target, and it’s been eyed for a long time. This kind of thing has happened many times in the past few years. Even without you, it would have happened in the future.”

Luo Rui asked, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Jiang Zhongjun thought for a moment, then pulled him aside, grabbed his right hand, held his palm with one hand, and patted his arm with the other.

"President Luo, I know your character and I am well aware of what you have experienced in China. You have come here with a mission."

You are not a selfish person; you are not acting for yourself. Do what you should do to make our motherland strong. We are here for you; you don't need to worry.

"No, we can help!"

Jiang Zhongjun shook his head: "No need. I think these people are just using the pretext of arresting you to raid the timber factory. You're useless here. I've prepared the car, guns, and food for you. There are people waiting for you along the road. You should get down the mountain quickly!" "No..." Luo Rui wanted to argue, and he looked at He Dong.

He Dong took the gun from his companion, his waist full of magazines.

He said, "President Luo, listen to Uncle Jiang, he won't be wrong. You should leave quickly, but let us know you're safe when you get back to China, and don't forget about us."

Seeing that he said the same thing, Luo Rui had no choice but to nod.

Immediately afterwards, a young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old walked over and said to Luo Rui, "My name is Nur. Come with me, and I will take you down the mountain."

Luo Rui nodded to Jiang Zhongjun and He Dong, and led Fang Yonghui, Jiang Feng, Zha Shan and Ang toward the gate of the timber factory.

As they passed the sentry post at the gate, a loud whistle rang out above them.

Everyone looked up at the sentry post above. Two Chinese men on guard were waving at them. One of them was the young man who wanted to drink with Fang Yonghui, named Zhang Bing.

He holstered his gun, cupped his hands to his mouth, and shouted, "Chu Yang, why did you leave? Why didn't you wait for me to have a drink?"

Fang Yonghui raised his head, looked at his youthful face, and felt a surge of emotion.

He raised his hands to his mouth, making a megaphone shape, and replied loudly, "Brother, take care. My name is Fang Yonghui, not Chu Yang. We'll meet again sometime!"

Zhang Bing chuckled: "You liar, you said Chinese people don't lie to Chinese people! Okay, I'll remember your name. When you return to your motherland, don't forget us!"

"No way!" Fang Yonghui shouted.

Luo Rui turned around and looked inside the lumberyard. Men, women, and children were packing their luggage, preparing to go into the mountains to hide.

He Dong and more than thirty other Chinese were organizing their weapons and ammunition, preparing to negotiate with the DKBA's armed forces.

Jiang Feng said, "Let's go, President Luo."

Zha Shan also said, "They should be fine. They definitely have the ability to defend this place. Uncle Jiang will surely have a way."

Luo Rui saw Jiang Zhonghua waving at him, so he waved back and then followed Nur into the woods.

The Chinese timber is located southwest of Valais, along the road leading to Myawaddy, in a vast mountain forest.

Nur led them down the mountain in a direction that bypassed a checkpoint on the highway, which was the same checkpoint that Luo Rui and his group had wanted to pass through earlier.

Not only are the mountains high and the forests dense, but there are also snakes, insects, rodents and ants, as well as ferocious wild beasts lurking in the shadows, and minefields laid by DKBA around the highway.

These minefields are known only to DKBA militants. Anyone else who wants to pass through them has only two options: either use people or animals to clear the mines in a brutal manner.

This method of mine clearance often falls on prisoners of war; these utterly depraved militants point guns at them and force them to go through the mines.

Actually, there are better methods, but these militants don't like to use them. After all, using prisoners to clear mines is more exciting, and these prisoners can be blown to pieces if they're not careful.

Secondly, it can be purchased with money. Every year, He Dong's timber factory gives Kun Du a portion of its dividends, which includes travel expenses, specifically safe passage through minefields.

Nur is a Rohingya who grew up in the forest. He has dark skin and a strong physique.

He had a gleaming wood-chopping knife tucked into his waistband, and without saying a word, he led the way.

Luo Rui followed behind him and asked, "Nur, are you familiar with the mountains?"

Nur nodded and replied in fluent Chinese, "I've lived here since I was a child."

Who taught you Chinese?

Nur grinned and said, "It was Grandpa Jiang who taught us. He was our teacher, and he liked to tell us about your country's history."

What were they talking about?

“He said, ‘Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?’ He said, ‘When the country prospers, the people suffer; when the country falls, the people suffer.’ He told us that the Rohingya people should stand up and not keep kneeling.”

Fang Yonghui listened with great enthusiasm: "He is a good teacher. What you are learning is the same as the history we are learning."

Nur smiled and said, "But he didn't tell us how the Rohingya are going to stand up."

Luo Rui asked, "So what do you think?"

Nur drew his machete from his waist and chopped down a sapling in front of him: "We Rohingya people have always been oppressed by them, deprived of our rights. They even control our women's ability to give birth, and they don't allow us to have more children."

I believe that we Rohingya people need a fearless leader to step forward, lead us, and reclaim our villages and our land!

Luo Rui squinted: "Did you come up with this yourself, or did someone teach you?"

Nur replied, “What Mr. Ho Tung told us is that we in Myanmar don’t have as many people who want unification as you have in your history. You also have many ethnic groups, but you are able to unite. I really admire that.”

Luo Rui nodded, sighed, and said nothing more.

An hour later, Nur led them down the mountain; another half hour's walk would take them to the minefield.

Nur didn't know how to get through the minefield, but there were already people waiting ahead.

It was still two Rohingya men; they smelled of wood and were likely Rohingya militias developed by Ho Tung and his group.

Luo Rui had never seen either of these two people before. He figured that He Dong must have developed a force outside the lumber mill without Jiang Zhongjun's knowledge.

Nur walked to the front of the minefield and looked at Luo Rui, saying, "I'm going back now. The two of them will guide you through the minefield next."

Luo Rui extended his hand: "Nur, thank you, take care!"

"Take care of yourself!"

Nur took a few steps back, glanced back, and then, like a monkey, quickly darted up the mountain, even faster than when he came.

When he was going down the mountain, he must have been worried that Luo Rui and the others wouldn't be able to keep up, so he deliberately slowed down.

After safely passing through the minefield, the two Rohingya men came to the road and pushed out a jeep that had been covered with tree branches.

One of them said to Luo Rui, "Boss He Dong instructed that the gasoline is full, there is food and water in the car, and two guns on the seats. We wish you a safe journey."

Luo Rui nodded and took the car keys handed to him.

Just then, an explosion rang out in the forest above them.

Because they were too far away, they couldn't hear very clearly. Then, thick smoke rose from the direction of the lumberyard.

The two Rohingya men exchanged a glance, their faces turning ashen: "We have to go!"

Luo Rui stared at the smoking area and gritted his teeth.

He looked at Jiang Feng and Fang Yonghui, who were also frowning, then looked at Luo Rui with a determined look in their eyes, revealing a sense of unwillingness.

Luo Rui took a deep breath, looked at the two Rohingya men running towards the minefield, and shouted, "Wait a minute!"

The two men immediately stopped, turned around, and asked, "Is there anything else we can help you with?"

Luo Rui turned around, opened the car door, took out two AK47s from the seat, and tossed one to Fang Yonghui.

He looked at the two Rohingya men and said firmly, "We'll go back with you two!"

(End of this chapter)