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墨書 Inktalez
I was feeling quite lucky, but once again, my upload had failed! It was utterly frustrating!
I wished everyone a smooth day at work.
As I pondered over my choice of words, A San casually handed me a cigarette. I felt a surge of anger; how come everyone else had their stash while I was left with nothing but my underwear? I reluctantly accepted the cigarette, relieved that my new Zippo lighter hadn’t been lost, so I didn’t need to borrow both a smoke and a light.
I held the cigarette up to examine it, then sighed and put away the lighter. This was a hand-rolled cigarette, likely the same kind of marijuana cigarettes I had seen them smoke before. I was strongly against drugs; I would never touch such things. However, I could accept their use in medical contexts, like Morphine, which I had injected into myself not long ago. On the road ahead, there would be many situations requiring pain relief, and Fumi would definitely need it. Our supply of painkillers was far too limited, and marijuana could serve as a supplementary option.
I noticed A San holding a bottle, the kind used for storing cigarettes, containing several hand-rolled smokes. It dawned on me that this was all that remained of the stash salvaged from the flood; only sealed bottles could preserve such items.
I pointed at the bottle, signaling A San to hand it over to me. He seemed unaware of my intentions and was trying to please me, so he didn’t refuse my request. But when he saw me putting the marijuana cigarettes into the bottle and stowing it in my backpack, Vietnamese looked stunned.
I guessed he had never been robbed before. In Laos, on their turf, they were the ones who boldly took from others. No one would dare cross them. A San stared at me in disbelief.
I felt the need to explain myself to avoid any resentment. “Are you from North Vietnam or South Vietnam?”
A San clearly hadn’t recovered from his shock; he nodded and replied dazedly, “North... North.”
“That’s good,” I shrugged. “You know about planned economies, right? Of course, you must have experienced it firsthand. We’re back in the era of planned economies now. All resources must be centrally managed and distributed according to need. Do you have any private stash that hasn’t been turned over?”
This time A San reacted quickly, shaking his head vigorously.
I nodded in satisfaction. I didn’t expect to extract anything from him; rather, I hoped he wouldn’t dwell on this matter too much. My tactic of retreating by advancing had worked as intended. The Vietnamese didn’t bring up human rights or private property ownership issues. However, his expression was grim, as if he had just lost a father.
Seeing this, I quickly changed the subject. “How did you two manage to disarm the American guy? Frankly, I'm curious—after 14 years of the Vietnam War, Americans couldn’t win in Vietnam unarmed yet managed to easily defeat two Vietnamese. How did he do it? Or what happened between you and Ah Xiang?”
"Don't hit the face when you fight. Don't insult someone by exposing their weaknesses. I revealed his scars so blatantly just to shift his attention quickly, and also because I wanted to know why he was trying to provoke a rift between me and Jack so openly, without any pretense.
To my surprise, my obvious slap in the face didn’t make A San show even a hint of shame; instead, he appeared fearful, as if still haunted by something.
“Mr. Zhang, frankly, I don’t understand you all. I think my Big Boss doesn’t understand you either; otherwise, he wouldn’t have only sent me and Ah Xiang. I believe it would be more appropriate to send an enhanced squad to cooperate with you.”
I looked at A San in confusion. What was he talking about? Did he mean that Jack had the ability to take on an enhanced squad alone? Was this guy out of his mind?
Before I could ask, A San scratched his head and continued, “Mr. Zhang, don’t be fooled by my unassuming physique. Do you know what I used to do? You probably wouldn’t believe it—I used to fight in underground matches. I fought in Vietnam and Thailand, participating in the Underground Fighting Championship, the kind where you risk your life. It was precisely because I had some skills that Lone Wolf noticed me and made me his enforcer.
Ah Xiang is my boss. He’s also the leader responsible for our security in Laos. To hold that position requires not just courage but also the ability to command respect from people like us; his skills must be top-notch. I’ve never fought him directly, but I’ve seen him in action twice—he finishes fights within three moves. Once he strikes, his opponent is guaranteed to die, so I've never considered going against him; who isn’t afraid of death?
But when Jack met us, he just said one thing and then slapped Ah Xiang dead in an instant. Realizing things were going south, I thought about stepping in but knew it would be suicide. I wanted to shoot him, but before I could even pull the trigger, that American appeared right in front of me from six meters away with explosive speed—I didn’t even know how he knocked me out.
Looking at A San’s almost reverent expression, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe Jack’s combat power was that strong; it was completely contrary to his refined appearance. This time, as we sat around the campfire exposed, I saw the strong muscles hidden beneath Jack’s clothing. However, my impression was that Caucasians generally had well-developed muscles; that alone didn’t prove his overwhelming combat strength. Of course, I wouldn’t doubt A San’s words; his obedience to Jack clearly indicated he felt he couldn’t resist him.
Still reeling from the shock, A San switched to a flattering smile. “But I can see now that Mr. Zhang is the true Big Boss—the one capable of keeping the American in check. The way you handled him earlier—his face turned as purple as an eggplant while he didn’t dare say a word—that expression showed he was furious but couldn’t voice it. Mr. Zhang, you’re impressive! Hehe, I'm on your side.”
My face lit up with excitement. Of course, I wouldn’t let A San’s flattery go to my head and think of myself as some kind of expert; however, I began to understand why A San was buttering me up. From what he had just said and his attitude towards me—especially after I took that bottle of marijuana from him—he seemed to mistakenly believe that I was even more formidable and deeper than Jack."
This is quite an interesting matter. Of course, it would be great to eliminate my doubts about him, as his various behaviors easily led me to misunderstand that he was trying to provoke a rift between Jack and me.
I am not someone who excels at putting on airs, but in this situation, if I can use this misunderstanding to make him honest and create synergy within the team, I am more than willing to play along. Currently, the effective combat power in this team belongs to Jack and him. I consider myself a half-wreck, and I can't rely on the two old folks either; if they can take care of themselves and not drag the team down, that would be a blessing.
I put on a mysterious expression and nodded at A San. A San showed a positive attitude towards officially becoming part of my team.
However, I still needed to pry some information from him. I wanted to know the details and specific location of the Vietnamese operation, specifically whether their objective was indeed here. I had no information in my hands.
(To Be Continued...)
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