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墨書 Inktalez
The town was small. As I stepped out of the station, I immediately called Jack to confirm where Xiao Ting was. I hoped that the girl hadn’t been fooled by Fatty into losing her composure and running off to Beipanjiang Town on her own. When I pulled out my phone, I noticed there were over ten missed calls and messages from Jack, all coming in rapid succession from a few hours earlier. During that time, I had been like a startled bird, my mind a chaotic mess, and with my phone on vibrate, I probably wouldn’t have woken up even if there had been an earthquake.
I quickly dialed his number.
Jack sounded quite unhappy when he answered. “Why didn’t you pick up? What’s going on?”
I had to endure his frustration; with so many calls, it must have been urgent. I cursed Fatty under my breath while explaining the situation to him.
Jack seemed excited after hearing my update. “Well… that’s good news. It should definitely come in handy.”
Hearing his hesitant tone, I guessed that Xiao Ting was nearby, which eased my worries a bit. “Alright, enough about that. What’s so urgent? Have you found Cao Mingzhe?”
“No. He went into the mountains. We’ve got a problem here; we found someone who recognized Cao Mingzhe and knows which direction he entered the mountains, but the terrain is too dense and complicated for us to locate him. Also, once we go in, we’ll quickly lose communication signals, and we can’t guarantee our own safety. I’ve already asked the Hong Kong side to send us two satellite phones and the necessary gear for entering the mountains. We’re also short on personnel; it’s just me and Xiao Ting, and we can’t conduct a large-scale search. My suggestion is to ask AE for a team of professional search and rescue personnel to help us find Cao Mingzhe in the mountains. Of course, this decision is up to you; you’re the boss.”
Hearing Jack’s proposal made me a bit irritated; as the boss, I didn’t have much money. If he suggested it, that was fine—once I agreed, funding would be secured immediately. But if it were my idea, whether it could be executed would depend on his attitude; being a boss was truly exhausting.
I quickly assessed the current situation: Cao Mingzhe had just entered the mountains not long ago. If we acted promptly, there was still a chance we could find traces of his passage and possibly catch up with him. After all, his age wouldn’t allow him to move too quickly through the mountains.
The pressing issue now was how to deal with Ah Xiang’s group. There was a high possibility that Ah Xiang knew about Xiao Guolin’s dealings with Wu Qitai and might even be one of the participants in those transactions. However, this was all speculation; nothing compared to the certainty I felt regarding Wu Qitai. My concern was that if my judgment was wrong, I might never get another chance at this information again. Thus, using force to extract information was not an option; I decided to buy it instead. They were risking their lives for money; as long as I offered them enough benefits, they might reveal the truth.
“I need to get information about Xiao Guolin’s dealings with the Vietnamese Gang first. How much financial support can you provide? This information can only be bought,” I said firmly to Jack.
There was an expected pause on the other end of the line before he replied. “How about five hundred thousand? Damn it, you’ve already taken five hundred thousand without getting anything valuable in return; if this continues, I won’t give you another USD.”
"Deal." I immediately replied, "Transfer the money to my account, and I'll go talk to Ah Xiang right away."
"Not now, it can't be done here. I need to ask Hong Kong to transfer the money to you. There isn't even a bank here, so it will probably take about half an hour for the funds to arrive." It seemed that my extravagant spending was overwhelming Jack, as he stumbled over his words.
"Alright, I understand. Call me when the money arrives. Also, contact a few Guides on your side; without them, we might not make it out of these mountains. I'm going to meet Ah Xiang now, wish me luck."
Jack muttered something in English that sounded like slang, but I didn't catch it. His tone didn't seem like a blessing. Worried that Xiao Ting might find out about me and Fatty and get involved, I didn't bother asking Jack what he meant and quickly hung up.
Fatty looked at me anxiously after I ended the call, stamping his feet in frustration. "I still had more to say! Why did you hang up?"
"Stay out of it," I snapped. "You caused enough trouble by connecting me. Let's not discuss this again; this phone is not for informants."
"The phone is mine, alright? Why can't I use it?" Fatty retorted defiantly.
I ignored him and headed straight to our agreed meeting spot. There was only one decent inn in this town, and we had arranged to meet there; it was easy to spot without needing to ask anyone.
Ah Xiang had booked a four-person room at the inn. When I entered, all four were already inside. I recognized Ah Xiang and another Vietnamese person; they were two of the four Vietnamese who had set off from Lang Nam Tower. The other two in the room were unfamiliar to me.
I glanced at the four of them and pointed at Fatty while addressing Ah Xiang, "This is my assistant."
Ah Xiang frowned slightly at Fatty's appearance, as if he felt some pressure from him. Without singling anyone out, he vaguely introduced the others: "These are the people I've brought along."
We arrived later than scheduled—about two hours late. Although I had anticipated being delayed, actually being late still displeased Ah Xiang. After introducing his companions, he pointed to a map on the table and said, "Our destination is here."
I leaned over to take a look and was stunned. The place he was pointing to was near Ban Gui Township. This gave me an unsettling thought: could our destinations be the same? That would be too strange. Cao Mingzhe had gone missing frequently over the years, and no one knew where he had gone. Xiao Ting and Jack had already exhausted their efforts to track him down to Ban Gui Township, and continuing to search for Cao Mingzhe's exact whereabouts would be a daunting task. I believed that even Xiao Ting wouldn't hold out much hope; they were just doing what they could.
I lowered my head and studied the map carefully. The location he indicated was to the west of Ban Gui Township, close to the Beipan River. Judging by the scale, it seemed to be about three to five hundred miles from Ban Gui Township. I didn't respond immediately, pretending to examine the map closely while nervously considering this possibility. The problem now was that I had just spoken with Jack on the phone and hadn't asked about the direction in which Cao Mingzhe had left Ban Gui Township. I couldn't determine whether the place Ah Xiang pointed to was in the same direction as where Cao Mingzhe had gone, making it impossible for me to make a risky decision that was bubbling up in my mind.
I stole a glance at Fatty and found him looking at me with an expression that seemed quite urgent; clearly, he also sensed that these two matters might be connected. When he saw that I finally acknowledged him, Fatty gave me a slight nod, which was unambiguous: he wanted me to join them.
I quickly shifted my gaze away. It was obvious that he was eager to make this deal, and he would certainly approve of anything that served two purposes at once. However, I didn't think that way; I needed to confirm one thing—I had to wait for a phone call.
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