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墨書 Inktalez
Jack's brows immediately furrowed. Clearly, he was reminded of the two Lao People they had once adventured with. At this juncture, Fatty running off to Laos couldn't possibly be for a vacation.
I had considered whether to reveal this matter to Jack. If I chose not to tell him, the number of people who knew would not exceed four: myself, Fatty, A San, and presumably Xiao Ting.
Given that Xiao Ting hadn't contacted me for such a long time or inquired about Fatty's whereabouts, it seemed she was aware that Fatty had gone far away. Moreover, based on Fatty's nature as a devoted husband, it was highly likely he had shared this information with Xiao Ting. Additionally, since this matter was originally arranged by Xiao Guolin, there was no need—and it would be quite difficult—to keep it from his daughter.
While having fewer people aware of the situation would help keep the secret, it also made executing the plan more challenging. Figuring out how to get it underground was a significant dilemma.
Through Jack and the unique status of the foreign party, it might be possible to smuggle things in. I believed that AE and the team members from Europe had a certain degree of autonomy; they wouldn't disclose all their equipment and secrets to the Chinese side. This provided me with some leverage.
Of course, I needed to verify my suspicions with Jack; I didn't want to complicate matters further.
However, I hesitated to share this with Jack too readily because it could have the opposite effect. I wasn't sure of Jack's true intentions for this trip; was he risking so much to enter Lop Nur just to catch a glimpse of the Eternal Gate? Was it merely out of curiosity? My answer was no.
If my plans conflicted with his objectives, revealing this information to him could backfire, and he would undoubtedly use his channels to sabotage my plans. That was unacceptable to me.
I decided not to disclose this matter to him for now. I would only share the specific steps of my plan once I was certain he wouldn't oppose it. The prerequisite for all of this was understanding his purpose, which was also my true intention behind wanting to talk to him urgently.
"Please," I gestured toward my room again.
"Let's go to mine," Jack pointed toward the gate of the courtyard. "The car is outside."
I asked in confusion, "Is it inconvenient for you?"
Jack glanced at my room, following my finger. "It's you who's inconvenient."
"Ugh." I spat in anger.
I knew I was under surveillance, but I never expected it to be to this extent. Was I now a glass person? No privacy whatsoever. Thankfully, I was single and had no close female friends; otherwise, I'd have to perform intimate scenes for others to see or hear.
In a fit of defiance, I got into Jack's car. The vehicle drove away from the bustling city center as dusk fell, slowing down in an upscale villa area by the sea. Jack pulled directly into the underground garage of a two-story villa.
"We're here. Follow me."
Jack got out and went through a door in the garage that led straight into the villa.
"Wine or coffee? I don't have any eight-year-old Lafite here."
"Green tea."
Jack forced a smile, clearly unimpressed by my mix of Chinese and English humor.
"I do have tea, but I'm not good at tea ceremonies. Too complicated. How about red wine? I brought a few bottles of California red; they're of excellent quality. You'll definitely like them."
I wasn't sure about the wine's quality, but it felt like Jack was being lazy.
He poured me a large glass of red wine from an unmarked bottle.
"Planning to get me drunk?"
"You'll like it. And," Jack paused, "you'll need it."
I solemnly took the glass from Jack's hand. I knew that our serious conversation had begun. A part of me worried—did Jack really think I needed alcohol to accept what he was about to say?
"Let's start with what you care about most, the Sand Table Model. It seems you haven't touched that thing recently."
Jack settled into a comfortable sofa. The living room was spacious, but the lighting was dim. He casually placed his wine glass in front of the lamp beside him. The faint light filtered through the dark red wine, casting an eerie crimson hue over the room.
I took a seat on the sofa opposite him. The dim red light illuminated my face, and I guessed my complexion looked not only terrible but also unclear. Similarly, Jack's face was almost hidden in the shadows, turned away from the light.
This made me a bit uncomfortable; it was a tactic I often used in conversations. I never expected Jack to turn it against me. A line from those Hong Kong and Taiwan cop films popped into my head: "In this line of work, you always have to pay back what you owe."
I never thought it would apply to me, yet here it was, manifesting in this conversation between Jack and me.
Seeing me sitting across from him with awareness, Jack raised his glass and gestured to me. "Cheers!"
I lifted my glass slightly. This large cup of wine was clearly meant to get me drunk quickly. However, I was confident in my drinking capacity and didn't dwell on the details. Besides, the American guy had an advantage over me in every way; being able to outdrink him would at least give me some balance in my mind.
"Bottoms up." I tilted my head back and downed the entire glass of red wine.
I set my glass down and noticed Jack returning his glass to its place, restoring the room's eerie red ambiance.
I glanced at his drink, nearly moved to tears. Damn it, the American guy was so insincere; one sip barely amounted to a mouthful. Apparently, when he said "cheers," he just meant to take a sip, while I thought he wanted to compete with me in drinking.
Jack frowned as he looked at me. "The wine is expensive."
I closed my eyes to suppress the effects of the alcohol and my frustration. I thought if Fatty were in this situation and heard Jack say that, he would undoubtedly pour that entire bottle straight down his throat. After all, we drink expensive stuff; we wouldn't bother with cheap wine.
"Fine," I said, my face filled with frustration. Oh, it must be the alcohol that added a flush to my cheeks—a frustrated red.
"We also ordered a set of the Sand Table Model. With the information you provided, we can certainly replicate a complete Sand Table Model. We managed to finish our complete Sand Table Model before you did. While we were still struggling in the Underground Cavern of the Hakka People, ae had already replicated the entire Sand Table Model. They ran into trouble too, and several people died."
"Damn it. Did they get struck by lightning?" Even though I was angry and frustrated that ae had deceived me and stolen my achievements, I still felt uneasy and couldn't accept that someone had lost their life because of it.
"No. There was no thunder, but it was something worse."
"Worse?! What happened to them?"
I couldn't see Jack's expression, which annoyed me; I wasn't used to having the initiative in a conversation taken away by someone else. But at that moment, I couldn't care less; I was genuinely curious and unable to imagine what more incredible things could have happened over in America. (To Be Continued...)
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