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墨書 Inktalez
I sat in the back seat with Da Zhang, hearing the sound of bullets whizzing past the roof of the SUV. I turned around to look and saw a Pickup Truck chasing us from behind. What terrified me the most was the .145 caliber High-Caliber Machine Gun mounted on the Pickup Truck. It had just turned onto this straight road, and if it steadied its aim, a single bullet could render our vehicle useless. Fatty and Guai Zi Liu also spotted the Pickup Truck behind us, both cursing simultaneously.
Guai Zi Liu shouted curses as he suddenly jerked the steering wheel, veering the SUV off the road and down the steep, bumpy Riverbank Slope. Below this road was a Simple Road that ran close to the River Surface; it appeared to be an abandoned path. We couldn’t afford to think too much about it—on this flat road, our vehicle was an obvious target. As long as the gunman behind us wasn’t blind, a random spray of bullets could turn our SUV into a sieve.
The slope was littered with rocks and dense bushes, making it impossible to see the path ahead. The SUV bounced down like a rabbit, and Guai Zi Liu's hands were shaking on the steering wheel, cracking under the strain. Despite this, he maintained his grip on the wheel, and I worried he might break his arms from the effort. Fortunately, Guai Zi Liu was tough enough; he never loosened his grip.
In an instant, we plunged down more than ten meters, gaining speed rapidly. I shouted in panic, "Too fast! Slow down!"
At this speed, we might not be able to stop in time and could end up crashing into the river.
Fatty, in front, could see clearly. He yelled back, "No brakes! Brace yourselves!"
Hearing that made my head throb even more; not only was I worried about stopping but also about our vehicle itself. Just then, gunfire erupted again from behind us. A bullet struck a tree nearby, thick as a bowl's mouth, splintering wood that flew far away.
I glanced back and saw the Pickup Truck barreling down after us; it seemed determined not to give up until it took us out. Inside the SUV, we struggled to hold on tightly to anything we could grasp; it felt like we might be thrown out at any moment. The gunman in the Pickup Truck had his work cut out for him—after firing off a round of bullets, he had no time to reload. I saw his body bounce against the Seats behind the High-Caliber Machine Gun before he flew out into a thicket of bushes. The Pickup Truck continued charging toward us along our path.
With the gunman gone from the Pickup Truck, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. But suddenly, I felt weightless beneath me; it was an odd sensation since I was still in the vehicle but felt as if I were floating.
I pulled my gaze from behind and realized our SUV was flying toward Nujiang; this stretch in Myanmar should be called Salween River. At that moment, we were at least ten meters above the River Surface. I yanked at my side of the door but couldn’t open it—it seemed that crashing down had damaged it. Da Zhang slammed against his door twice before it finally opened, letting in a rush of cold air that jolted me awake. As Da Zhang opened his door, he leaned back and tumbled out. I kicked my door open and jumped out after him.
I practically leaped from the vehicle into the water without any gap in between; afterward, I felt incredibly lucky. If I had hesitated for even a few seconds longer before jumping out, I would have sunk with the SUV.
The temperature in Myanmar is quite high; wearing short sleeves wouldn’t feel cold at this time of year, but the river water was icy. The moment I plunged into Salween River, I was numbed by its bone-chilling coldness. Unprepared for such a sudden entry and with strong currents swirling around me, I was swept downstream uncontrollably. Fear surged within me as I desperately swam toward Pavement; my lungs felt ready to burst while turbulent waters made it impossible to discern direction or even find my way back to Pavement. To make matters worse, my body was unmanageable—I could see glimmers of light on the River Surface but couldn’t stabilize myself; every stroke I took was thwarted by hidden currents pulling me off course.
The more anxious a person becomes, the more they lose their composure. My limbs were thrashing aimlessly, my mind blank. Despite my extreme unwillingness, I knew that in the next moment, my life would come to an end.
Just then, I felt a hand grab my hair, and I was propelled out of the water like a cannonball. My hands grasped onto something, and the water streaming down my hair obscured my vision; I couldn't see anything. I didn't even have the strength to wipe the water away; all my energy was spent gasping for breath. The cold, damp air from the river sliced through my throat like a knife, stimulating my brain. After a while, I realized that what I was holding onto was a piece of dead wood nearly twenty centimeters thick.
This piece of wood was over three meters long. I held onto one end while someone else controlled its angle in the water. It was Da Zhang, who was struggling to keep the wood aligned with the current. A quick glance made it clear to me that if this piece of wood turned sideways, it could easily roll over in the swirling water and drag us down with it.
Da Zhang only had one hand, making this task quite difficult for him. However, he was a strong swimmer and could navigate even the most turbulent whirlpools. Once I regained some strength, I quickly helped him adjust the angle of the wood. With my assistance, we finally managed to keep it moving downstream.
I climbed along the wood a bit and shouted, "Was it you who saved me earlier? Thank you."
Da Zhang smiled but didn't respond.
"Where's Fatty?" I asked again.
"Song Gang went ahead to chase after the box," Da Zhang shouted back.
"Isn't he asking for trouble? Why didn't you stop him?" I yelled frantically.
The waves stirred up by the river kept crashing down on us. I could still use one hand to wipe my face dry, but Da Zhang had to let the water flow over his face, which affected his visibility and made it hard for me to read his expression. "Could I stop him? You know how he is. But we know this river well; whether we can catch up to the box is uncertain, but at least he won't die here. Let's wait for him at Duck's Turn. If he's not there, we can head to Old Pit Nest first," Da Zhang said as water poured into his mouth and he spat it out again. Seeing him struggle like this made me reluctant to ask anything more; I didn't want him to choke on water.
I looked upstream and downstream along River Surface for a while but saw no sign of anyone except for white frothy waves. I thought about Guai Zi Liu also hanging around this riverbank; hopefully, he wouldn't drown. But soon enough, I couldn't think about that anymore; my body temperature was dropping rapidly, and with the steep slope and many bends of Drainage Channel, I had to concentrate on controlling the direction of the wood.
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