My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 71 Being easy to talk to doesn't mean being easy to bully.
Peng Yuanchao and his group were all injured and couldn't keep up with the two of them, falling far behind.

When they rushed to Lao Tang's camp, they only saw Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang chasing Lao Tang into the mountains and forests, and they quickly disappeared from sight.

Knowing he couldn't catch up, he simply ordered everyone to stay and guard Old Tang's camp.

Those in Lao Tang's group who had just been scattered tried to come back to retrieve their belongings, but when they saw Peng Yuanchao and Xu Youliang leading men with guns, they dared not approach and could only retreat back into the woods to hide and observe. Even Lao Tang himself had been chased away and disappeared somewhere. They figured they had no hope of getting their things and dared not linger in this dangerous place, so they dispersed.

Perhaps because he was in such a hurry, Old Tang was quite fast. Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang chased him for several minutes, but they still couldn't catch up.

Jin Wang did manage to catch up, but Old Tang turned around and fired a shot at him in a hurry. Startled, Jin Wang ran back with a strange cry and barked wildly at Old Tang.

It was still a half-grown dog, not yet fully grown, and its hunting instincts hadn't truly awakened.

Zhou Jingming didn't want it to get too close and lose its life.

He crawled through the woods on the hillside, climbing slopes and ridges, exerting himself continuously until his legs ached and he was panting heavily. In addition, he had worked all day and hadn't eaten much, so he was still hungry. He felt his body was becoming increasingly unable to keep up. He wanted to use the gun, but because of the cover of the trees, he was unable to pass it out several times.

Seeing that Zhou Jingming was about to run out of breath, Wu Yang pulled him back: "Brother Zhou, take a break, give me the gun, I'll go after him... Don't worry, he can't get away!"

Wu Yang was in much better condition than Zhou Jingming. Despite his frantic pursuit, his face was only slightly flushed and his breathing was still even. He had some tricks up his sleeve when it came to running.

Because his gun was out of bullets and Old Tang had a hunting rifle, he didn't rush after them; otherwise, he would have overtaken them long ago.

Zhou Jingming knew that continuing to pursue them like this was not a solution, and since Wu Yang had the ability, he was naturally the best choice.

He immediately handed the No. 12 shotgun in his hand to Wu Yang, and took the No. 16 shotgun from him.

Wu Yang, gun in hand, chased after Zhou Jingming into the woods at an even faster pace. Jin Wang followed for a while, but seeing that Zhou Jingming hadn't caught up, he ran back.

Zhou Jingming stood with his hands on his hips, panting for a dozen seconds. After catching his breath, worried that something might happen to Wu Yang, he still picked up the empty gun and struggled to follow.

Five minutes later, he heard two gunshots from the fir forest on the hillside.

Zhou Jingming followed the direction from which the gunshots came, and then heard gunshots coming from the riverbank, so he moved diagonally towards the riverbank.

Old Tang must have been in a hurry to be chased. Knowing that he couldn't outrun Wu Yang by climbing uphill, he turned downhill again. He may have even thought about jumping into the river to escape, so he ran to the riverbank again.

However, as Zhou Jingming followed, he discovered that Old Tang's escape route did not make him run any faster.

That section of the riverbank, close to the steep mountainside, has been eroded by ice, snow, and rain over a long period of time, which has carried away the surface mud and sand, revealing patches of angular gray-white stones, among which grow a few sparse birch trees and shrubs.

In addition, he was far less agile than Wu Yang, and was still caught up by Wu Yang.

When Zhou Jingming saw Wu Yang, he was sitting on a rock, holding his gun and smoking a cigarette. The beautiful Eagle Rabbit brand double-barreled shotgun and the canvas bag that Lao Tang had taken away were placed aside.

Judging from the gunshots, Lao Tang must have retaliated with his gun, and the last shot was probably fired by Wu Yang.

He rushed to Wuyang's side and saw Old Tang lying between two rocks a dozen meters below, motionless.

However, judging from Wu Yang's relaxed demeanor, he should no longer pose a threat.

He asked with concern, "Brother, are you alright?"

Wu Yang shook his head: "What could possibly happen to me? If I can't even handle someone like this, then I wasted those two years in the team!"

"It's okay!"

Zhou Jingming nodded, sat down on a nearby rock, panting, took the cigarette paper with tobacco seeds placed on it from Wu Yang, rolled a cigarette and lit it: "He... is dead?"

Wu Yang shook his head: "Not yet. I shot him once, and he fell forward. I saw his head hit a rock, and he fell down without moving. I checked him, and he was still breathing, just unconscious. I also searched his body, and he's not in any danger."

Once his breathing had stabilized and he had finished his cigarette, Zhou Jingming picked up the canvas bag, opened it, and saw a tin can containing some bran. In addition, there were two cans of food, some biscuits, a switchblade, and two packs of shotgun shells in the bag.

He put down his bag and stood up: "Let's go down and take a look!" The two of them went down to Old Tang's side together, and Zhou Jingming saw several holes in his legs, covered in blood.

He turned Old Tang over and saw that his forehead was bruised from hitting a stone. He checked his breathing and found it was not weak.

"Clap clap clap..."

Zhou Jingming slapped him hard across the face several times in succession.

Old Tang groggily woke up, shook his head, and after seeing that Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang were squatting beside him, he trembled, sat up in terror, and his first words were: "Don't kill me...don't kill me!"

Zhou Jingming chuckled lightly: "I thought you were some kind of extraordinary person. You have times when you're afraid too?"
I'm easy to talk to, but being easy to talk to doesn't mean I'm easy to bully.

You think you've got me figured out? I told you before, gold mining isn't just about having a lot of people.

"I heard you even wanted to kidnap me? You really value talent that much?"

"I won't dare, I won't dare... As long as you let me go, I'll agree to anything you want. Back in Wu Yue's hometown, I'm considered a respectable person..."

I can give you a lot of money, ten thousand... twenty thousand... I can give you it all... Please, please let me go..."

Zhou Jingming's gentle smile at this moment looked like a devil to Lao Tang. He kept begging for mercy, and even struggled to turn over and kneel down, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Do you think I'd believe this nonsense? It's thousands of miles from here to Wu and Yue, is that even realistic?"

Zhou Jingming smiled faintly: "Moreover, as far as I know, the more self-important someone is, the more shameless they are. If I let you go back, I'll wait for you to come back and cause me trouble again."

Your gold and supplies have already made me very content.

He stood up and let out a long breath: "Brother, I'll leave this to you. Throw it in the river after you're done. We need to hurry back, lest something else happens at the camp."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked back to get the canvas bag and the Eagle Rabbit brand hunting rifle.

I had only taken two steps when I heard gunshots behind me.

Zhou Jingming glanced back, then continued walking forward.

Not long after, another splashing sound came from the water.

At this moment, Zhou Jingming felt relieved about Wu Yang.

The reason he was always worried was that he knew that a large number of people were flocking to the gold rush valleys in various places, and that the area was a very complex mix of all kinds of people.

Because of gold, evil and greed are fully displayed in the Gold Rush Valley, with many open and covert struggles and numerous deaths.

These matters are beyond the capacity of higher-ups to manage, but that doesn't mean they are unaware of them. They will still handle some issues in the valley from time to time, and it's possible that they will send people into the valley to investigate.

Now, Wu Yang can rule out this possibility.

Zhou Jingming was fairly certain that Wu Yang was indeed just a novice who had been dismissed from the job and had chosen to pan for gold to make a living.

When Wu Yang returned to his side, he saw that Wu Yang looked calm, as if he had done something insignificant, and couldn't help but ask with a smile, "Brother, aren't you afraid at all?"

Wu Yang shook his head: "What's there to be afraid of? I've seen this more than once or twice on missions before. It's nothing."

"Heh...you've certainly had a lot of experience."

"I'm not bragging, I've seen this kind of scene quite a few times, last year..."

(End of this chapter)