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墨書 Inktalez
The two turbaned men obeyed Fatty's words, grabbed the oars and started rowing. Fatty and I also grabbed the paddles at the same time. I thought he was in such a hurry that there must be a way to save Jack. "Can you get out from here?" "Yes." After receiving the affirmative answer from Fatty, my heart dropped into my stomach. This space is driving me crazy. Although we who do outdoor Archaeology often go deep underground and have experience working in dark environments, we definitely prefer to work and live under the sun. We are not mice. "Take Jack out and promise me to save him." I paused here and stared at Fatty to see his reaction. Unexpectedly, he rolled his eyes and asked me: "What about you? What are you planning?" "Give me one person." I motioned to the two people in front of me with my eyes. "I'm going to find a few people, but I haven't found anyone yet." "You Lao People and Vietnamese. They are on the shore, we can see them when we get ashore." ∧, "Have you found them? They are still there Alive? "My joy is beyond words. I am not only happy for them, but also happy for myself. I could not predict the consequences of looking for them. Maybe I won't be able to come back, knowing what the outcome will be. Far away from the shore, I saw a bonfire and three people waving in front of the bonfire. My eyes became wet when I saw this scene. Jumping ashore, Fatty shouted to Vietnamese: "Heat me a pot of water right away." Then he turned around and took Jack's body from me, which was already limp.
The backpack by the campfire contained an unopened first aid kit. Fatty laid Jack flat beside the fire and tore open the kit, beginning to prepare for surgery. It seemed that the way out was not close, and he worried that Jack wouldn’t last long enough to find a doctor.
I assisted Vietnamese in fetching a pot of water and set it over the fire to boil. After washing my hands, I prepared to help Fatty. Although I wasn’t skilled in surgery, I was even less confident in Fatty ’s abilities; he was more likely to cause harm than to help. Saving a life, especially with a knife, was something he should be less adept at than I was.
“A San and Buasong can help me; you just stay out of the way,” Fatty said, gesturing towards Xiao Ting with his eyes. A San and Buasong then approached at the right moment.
I noticed Xiao Ting standing pale on one side, helpless and panicked, clearly frightened by Jack’s injuries.
Buasong was excitedly circling around me, occasionally patting his chest and chattering away. I was already anxious about Jack’s condition, and his noise made my head spin. The language barrier was maddening. Suddenly, I realized he might be worried about Fumi’s injury.
Fumi had two broken legs but had already been bandaged up; as long as the wounds didn’t worsen during this time, it wouldn’t affect future surgery. Was there something else wrong with Fumi’s legs?
I quickly glanced down; Fumi was sitting by the campfire. As soon as our eyes met, he waved excitedly at me. It seemed he had been watching me all along, waiting to greet me. If it weren’t for the bandages on his legs, he looked almost like a healthy person. I finally felt relieved.
However, I immediately called A San over. “What is he saying?” I asked, pointing at Buasong.
“Nothing much, just worried about you.” He pushed Buasong aside and stood in front of me like a bodyguard or brother. “Mr. Zhang, actually, I’m most worried about you.”
I felt a surge of emotions and patted both of their shoulders; it was a miracle to be alive and see them again. But I had more pressing matters at hand. Dismissing those two, I turned my attention back to Fatty.
“Can you do this? Don’t end up killing him instead of saving him,” I said anxiously to Fatty, secretly wishing we could switch places.
“At least I’m stronger than you. If it were me treating his wounds, I guarantee he wouldn’t get infected.” Fatty shoved the gun into my hands and looked at me again. “Keep an eye on my gun.”
I didn’t need to be told who Fatty was wary of; it seemed that the Guides he hired were truly a handful.
Knowing I couldn’t argue with him, I slung the 16 over my shoulder and walked over to him, speaking earnestly, “ Fatty, if he dies, we won’t have anywhere to get money from. A check only becomes money when he signs it; otherwise, it’s just paper. Don’t let my efforts go to waste.”
After I finished speaking, Fatty didn’t react much, but Jack, lying on the ground, suddenly pointed a finger at me. However, he seemed too weak to speak, his eyes clouded. I couldn’t tell if he was asking me for surgery or condemning what I had just said.
Fatty chuckled a few times and said sternly, “I won’t let you work for nothing, and I won’t let this American guy die here. Take care of Xiao Ting; leave this to me.”
I was taken aback. Damn it, those words should have been mine. He was stealing my thunder.
Jack’s back looked like a piece of rotten flesh gnawed by wild dogs; it was indeed hard to look at. To prevent Xiao Ting from fainting, I had no choice but to lead her away from the campfire and rest under a broken stone pillar far from the flames.
One detail further confirmed that those Guides made Fatty uneasy. The backpack containing the weapons was heavy; after we came ashore, it remained close to Xiao Ting. When we left the campfire, she struggled to lift the backpack. In the end, it was I who carried it away from the fire. It seemed Fatty had instructed Xiao Ting not to let that backpack out of her sight or allow those Guides to come into contact with it.
Xiao Ting was still very tense and fearful, sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her shoulders, her brows tightly knitted as she stared at the backpack in front of her. I had many questions for her, but seeing her state, I decided against asking.
I turned my gaze toward the campfire and noticed something unusual after just a moment of looking. The fire wasn’t fueled by wood chips but by logs as thick as an arm, all cut to uniform lengths—clearly processed wood. Upon closer inspection, many things around here bore signs of human craftsmanship.
The wooden boat had been dragged ashore by two Male Guides, turned upside down on the bank. The riverbank here was not much lower than the pavement, but it was nearly a meter high. They could not have relied solely on brute strength to pull the boat up; instead, they used a long, gentle slope that resembled a dock, equipped with a Winch.
On the other side of the campfire, directly opposite me, there was an area enclosed by a Stone Low Wall. The wall was low enough for me to see several basic tools for living and survival inside. The Iron Pot had been taken from there, along with a Paddle. The two Guides tossed the used Paddle into the space behind the low wall.
This place seemed to be a relatively fixed and well-maintained Campsite. It was the first time I had seen signs of human activity since entering this underground space. This raised significant questions about the origins of these Guides. Who were they? How did they come to be active here? Judging by this Campsite, they must come here frequently, at least on a regular basis.
The low wall was closer to the campfire than we were, and three Guides sat resting beneath it. Thanks to the firelight, I could observe them clearly, while they likely saw me as a dark and blurry figure.
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