"I know you're trying to run away, and I have a way. I'll take you to Zhuhai, and then we'll take a boat from there to cross the border!"
I shifted my sitting position slightly.
Xiao Feng, with her sharp eyes and discerning gaze, could tell from my expression that I didn't believe her. She stood up, circled me twice, then stopped right in front of me, staring at me intently for a long while before gritting her teeth and saying, "Fine. Let's be frank today! Xiao Wu, although we have a bit of a grudge, it's nothing serious! I was in the wrong; I broke company rules. You followed the rules, and although I resent your ruthlessness, thinking about it carefully, we don't have any real friendship. You don't need to protect me! I was forced out of that circle. In fact, I should thank you!"
I didn't say anything.
"I know you all too well," Xiao Feng snorted. "You're a man of principle, loyal, daring, and prudent. You know how to manage your men and are good at keeping them in check. You'd be a perfect leader for this kind of place! Let me be frank! What I'm doing here is making money against my conscience. I don't know when the winds will change and I'll be finished! It's easy to make money this way, but it's also a hot potato! I'd like to find a business to start, but I'm just a woman, all alone. If I went into that line of work, I'd be devoured in no time! So I need someone to lead me! Someone who can hold me back!"
Now it was my turn to be surprised!
Xiao Feng actually wanted to recruit me! This was truly bizarre. She glanced at me and sneered, "What, surprised? Or is it that I, Sister Xiao Feng, am not worthy of someone as great as you? Let me tell you, things are different now!"
This woman, who used to frequent brothels, now exudes a more imposing air. The moment she raises her eyelids, a sharp edge naturally appears on her face!
Then she looked at me steadily and said slowly, "I don't trust others. These days, you can't judge a book by its cover! If I trust the wrong person, I might be betrayed one day! I trust you! You're loyal and principled. To put it nicely, you're a bit stubborn; to put it bluntly, you're a bit blindly loyal! Principles are good! I need people like that right now! I helped you out of your predicament today, and you'll definitely remember my kindness! Even if you don't like me, you still have to repay my kindness! You have to work hard for me! Am I right?"
Looking at this smug woman, I had no choice but to admit it, even though I didn't want to.
She really got my personality right.
Part 1: In the Jianghu, Not in Control of One's Own Fate, Chapter 115: All in One Piece
After thinking for a moment, I asked, "So, what kind of business is Sister Feng planning to do? Are you planning to set up a shop and start a business?"
Little Feng smiled, deliberately sighed, and said leisurely, "Oh dear... what else can I do! I'm just a woman, and I don't know anything about business. I can only stick to my old ways! I've already chosen the location, don't worry, it's not in the country! I plan to open a new shop, and then take advantage of the recent lull in the heat to settle things here, and then take the money over there to settle down and retire peacefully with a small business!"
I was right!
This woman actually planned to run off with the money and open a business overseas!
I stared at her for a while, then couldn't help but sigh: "I'm really curious... how did you manage to build such a team in just a few short months?"
"Don't worry about that!" Xiao Feng's face darkened slightly, a strange look flashing across her eyes, before she giggled again: "Anyway, don't worry, I'm in charge here! I won't sell to you, so you're safe! My men are all very tight-lipped; outsiders can't easily get in, and my men can't easily get out! You're right about one thing, it's safe here!"
I sighed and shook my head: "Aren't you afraid of retribution for doing this job... Damn it, those people down there have all been driven crazy. Other scammers leave themselves a way out, but you scam your whole family. The whole family is trapped."
Xiao Feng raised an eyebrow and suddenly laughed. Her laugh was somewhat chilling as she stared at me coldly and said, "Retribution! Do you think I'm afraid of retribution in this life? I started selling myself at eighteen and have been doing it all the way to my twenties. I can't even remember how many men have rolled over with me! And you're talking to me about retribution?!"
Her tone was arrogant and disdainful, but it was actually a kind of hysterical outburst, the cigarette between her fingers trembling: "Hmph! You forced me to jump out of that circle and end up like this. I swore I would never let Xiaofeng rely on selling smiles to men to make a living again!! Damn it, do you think it was easy for me to make money when I was selling myself? Young and beautiful, with my legs spread wide, everything seemed easy, and the money came in smoothly! But no matter how beautiful a woman is, no matter how willing she is to spread her legs, how many years can she fucking sell herself? She can't sell herself for a lifetime! Going against my conscience? If I didn't go against my conscience, who would support me for the rest of my life!"
She laughed with an almost ethereal quality: "Retribution! I'm not afraid of retribution! So what if I do bad things? This world... Hmph, men with money become bad! Women become bad and get money!!"
Xiao Feng raised her chin, her eyes like those of a venomous snake, her tone arrogant, not even noticing the cigarette ash falling to the ground between her fingers.
I saw a hint of madness in her eyes, and after thinking for a moment, I kept my mouth shut and said nothing more.
To be honest, I actually felt a bit of admiration for this crazy woman in front of me. Someone like her could actually say such interesting things… Her words were crude, but the meaning behind them was…
It's so deep!
Xiao Feng was a little irritated. She slowly walked back to her seat, stubbed out her cigarette, and stared at me: "Xiao Wu! Give me a straight answer! If you say yes, I can arrange for someone to send you out tomorrow!"
"If I say no, are you going to tie me up and hand me over to the gangsters who are looking for me?"
Xiao Feng smiled and said, "I'm not as heartless as you. I won't kidnap you and send you away, causing you unnecessary trouble! At most, I'll kick you out and leave you on the street. Didn't you say that people outside are looking for you? Of course... at most, I'll kindly let some word out."
I looked at the woman and slowly stood up.
Xiao Feng glared at me: "What, you want to kill me first?"
"I dare not." I confessed honestly, and said with a bitter smile, "You are very cunning. You only dared to meet me alone because you knew that I had another girl with me. You are not afraid that I will attack you. Even if I kill you, if people outside rush in, at most we will all die together. You know I don't value my life, but you see through me... But my little sister will be finished. I can't bear to see her die."
"That's right!" Xiao Feng looked at me. "I know you too well. You're a wolf! Would I dare to meet you here alone if I wasn't confident? I'm just a woman, I can't lift a finger. You could kill me with one finger. But I know you're really worried about this little sister next to you! I've been watching you all day, you protect her wherever you go, and you even take her with you to bed at night... Xiao Wu, I've never seen you treat anyone so well!"
"You're still wrong. You don't know me very well!" I sighed deliberately and waved a finger in front of her. "Since you know that I'm a person who values principles, you should know that I won't do anything as unethical as what you're doing now."
Xiao Feng said calmly, "Then you'll just have to forgive me for not showing any mercy... Heh! I just said, we don't have any real friendship, but we certainly have a lot of grudges." She gave me a somewhat malicious smile, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. I said I won't do it myself. You'd better run as fast as you can after you leave here... For the sake of our past relationship, I won't let a word out. After dawn... hehe..."
I looked at her defiantly, gave her a cold laugh, and said with a thumbs up, "You're awesome! Xiao Feng, you're the most awesome woman I've ever met! Fortune changes every thirty years! I'll remember what happened today!"
She sneered, "Don't worry, if you die, I'll burn some paper money for you."
I couldn't be bothered to talk to this crazy woman anymore. I grabbed Ni Duoduo and strode out of Xiao Feng's room. Sure enough, there were quite a few people squatting in the corridor outside, many of whom didn't look like good people. Surprisingly, no one stopped me as I walked along.
It was almost dawn, and as I looked at the sky, I sighed softly. Just as I turned the corner of the stairs to go downstairs, I suddenly heard a sharp whistle from below!
Beep beep!!
Then someone screamed and shouted, "Cops!!"
Then, with a buzzing sound, and dazzlingly, countless searchlights and flashlights appeared all around, instantly illuminating the small building as if it were daytime!
There were countless figures moving about in all directions, too indistinct to see clearly, only numerous peaked caps swaying. Then suddenly, sirens blared, and in an instant, countless police officers and auxiliary police had surrounded the area, rushing into the makeshift shed area behind from several directions.
Faced with such a sudden and unexpected event, everyone here seemed stunned. Xiao Feng stormed out of the room in a rage, grabbed the railing, looked down, and screamed something like, "You bastard surnamed Zhang, you've taken so much money from me all this time, and now you dare to mess with me! You filthy bastard!"
But she didn't have time to curse anymore; she dashed out from the other side of the stairwell in a flash!
The commotion outside startled everyone in the building and the makeshift mud-brick shacks behind it, waking them from their sleep. Whether they were easy targets or con artists, everyone rushed out of their rooms, only to be met with batons from the police and community security personnel. Police officers used loudspeakers to warn everyone to crouch down, issuing repeated warnings. Despite repeated attempts by some of the more desperate con artists to resist, they were quickly subdued by the community security personnel.
Some die-hards even shouted slogans like "I want success, I want to get rich," and then tried to incite the lunatics to confront the police. But it was clear that the police were well prepared, and they rushed into the residential area in several groups, quickly dismantling the sporadic resistance.
I was the first to sense things were going badly, so I jumped off the second-floor railing at the back of the building and stood below, whispering, "Jump down!"
Ni Duoduo hesitated for a moment, but in the dim light, this girl actually trusted me completely. She jumped down in a flash, landing in my arms, and we rolled around twice on the spot. This slowed her fall, but her bag was torn open, and many of her belongings spilled out.
I knew there was no time to pick things up, so I grabbed Ni Duoduo and ran to the back.
This place was already quite large, and no matter how much it was surrounded, the police couldn't possibly enclose it like an iron barrel; there would always be some blind spots.
Besides, I jumped down from the back of the second floor, which led to a dead end. I didn't care about that; relying on my skills, I scaled walls and climbed rooftops. Although it was a bit inconvenient to have Ni Duoduo with me, it was dark at night, and there was a lot of noise outside. The nearby residents were all staying quietly at home, and no matter how much commotion there was, no one dared to come out and watch.
I climbed over several walls, always going up first before pulling Ni Duoduo up. I was exhausted, but the noise behind me finally subsided a bit. I found a quiet spot and listened carefully for a long time, and only breathed a sigh of relief when no police or community security personnel came after me.
Damn, that's pure luck.
I had just fallen out with Xiaofeng when she was surrounded by the police. It seems I've gotten a chance to catch my breath again for now.
It seems I really am a lucky person, turning bad luck into good!
I wanted to burst out laughing, but I couldn't care less at the moment.
I led Ni Duoduo through two or three side streets before turning onto a road where the shops and buildings on both sides looked somewhat decent.
After hesitating for a long time, I finally picked up the phone and dialed that number.
The phone rang three times before being answered.
The first thing they said was, "You've figured it out?"
His voice was still deep, but it carried a hint of mockery.
I understand what he means. He didn't ask me if I had arrived, but rather if I had figured things out. It seems that from that phone call before today, he sensed that I no longer trust him!
Instead of answering directly, I said calmly, "In my situation, it's never a bad thing to be careful."
"Where are you?" he asked bluntly.
I looked at the buildings along the roadside for a while and finally found a house number. I then said the name of the street.
"...Damn it, you've all left Guangzhou! How did you end up in that place..." The other person on the phone sounded surprised, but then his tone calmed down: "Wait here, I'll drive over and pick you up right away."
Part 1: In the Jianghu, Not in Control of One's Own Fate, Chapter 116: The Safest Place
Although the weather in the south is much warmer, it's still quite chilly standing on the roadside at this early hour.
Ni Duoduo wasn't wearing thick clothes; they were rather thin. Seeing her cowering, I took off my coat and draped it over her. As I took her hand, I noticed the girl's slight frown. I picked up her palm and looked at it; it was covered in blood.
"What happened?"
"Just now... when I was climbing the wall, I slipped and fell." She winced in pain.
Looking at the wound on her hand, it was quite bad! I led her to a sheltered spot and we looked around, but we couldn't find a single 24-hour convenience store.
Right now, I can't even buy her a bottle of water to wash her hands.
I was a little annoyed, but Ni Duoduo gradually calmed down. She leaned against me. She hadn't spoken much tonight, but now she asked me in a low voice, "Chen Yang... that woman, you two knew each other before... do you have a grudge against her?"
I thought about it for a moment, then simply nodded. I didn't want to go into detail about those dirty things with Ni Duoduo.
"So... does she want you to go into business with her?" the girl asked timidly.
I took a deep breath, stood in front of her, gazed into her eyes, and slowly said, "Those people, those things, what kind of monstrosities were they? You saw it with your eyes and heard it with your ears. I just want to tell you one thing: don't be so utterly heartless! I'm not a good person, but there are some things I'm willing to do, but there are some things I will never touch. Some money can be earned, but some money is dirty!" I paused, then said calmly, "I don't expect you to understand what I'm saying right now, but if you think about it when you have nothing to do in the future, you'll understand one day."
Ni Duoduo lowered her head and remained silent for a while, then suddenly sighed softly, "I suddenly feel like I'm a burden."
"What did you say?" I was taken aback.
“I feel like I’m a burden.” Ni Duoduo said slowly, word by word: “When we’re out in the world, you have to take care of everything for me. If I don’t have you, I don’t know what to do… I know it must be very tiring to take care of me… If I weren’t a burden to you, you would have run away somewhere long ago. Maybe you would be safe by now.”
When Ni Duoduo said these words, she stopped crying and looked at me calmly, speaking slowly in a seemingly calm tone.
In the dim light of dawn, her eyes shone brighter than the cold stars in the sky!
"Let's not talk about this anymore." I shook my head.
Just then, the sound of cars came from the street, followed by flashing headlights. Two television reporting vans sped past. They were coming from the place we had fled. Behind them were rows of police cars and a large contingent of officers.
Looking at the police cars packed full of vehicles, it seems the police operation tonight was quite successful!
And it looks like a large-scale, organized, and planned raid! There were even media outlets filming the scene…
Ni Duoduo leaned against me, and I subtly shifted my body to shield her from the wind with my back.
About an hour later, the sound of a car came from the street again. A medium-sized van with "XX Clean Vegetable Supply" written on it sped towards us. Its headlights were flashing. I hesitated for a moment, then whispered to Ni Duoduo, "You wait here. I'll call you in a bit. You can come out then! If you see anything wrong with me..." I pointed to an alley behind us, "Just run! Run as far as you can!"
The van drove along, then turned at the end of the street and came back.
I was sure it was that person coming to pick us up. I gave Ni Duoduo some instructions, then walked slowly along the buildings by the roadside before striding over to the roadside. I reached out to flag down a car, signaling it to stop.
The car stopped, and then the window rolled down, revealing a large head. Judging from the voice, it was the same person I had contacted by phone over the past two days. The voice, which had sounded deep and resonant on the phone, now sounded somewhat muffled and husky.
This was a chubby man with a very round head; his face should have been square, but the fat had shaped it into a round shape. He sat in the car and asked me, "Chen Yang?"
"It's me." I had one hand in my pocket, and a knife was also stuck in my pocket.
He glanced around me, his gaze finally settling on my pocket, a playful smile on his face: "You're being too cautious... don't you trust me?"
I shook my head: "I'm holding both of our lives in my hands right now, so I can't afford to be careless."