bookrandom Chapter 1063 A pig teammate? No, no, no, this is just for laughs.
Chapter 1063 A pig teammate? No, no, no, this is just for laughs.
Despite his outbursts of anger, Zhang Peizhi's inner unease grew increasingly restless, like a kitten in spring. Paranoia was both his survival instinct in this line of work and the poison that tormented him.
Although Liu Yuncang was cunning, he was not someone who didn't know what was important.
The agreed time had long passed, and there was still no word from him, which in itself signified something extremely wrong. A growing sense of unease, like cold vines, coiled around his heart, tightening ever more.
"No, we can't wait any longer. It's better to waste some effort than to take a risk." He stood up abruptly and decided to immediately carry out the planned evacuation procedure, moving to another backup point through the secret tunnel he had dug.
Although the place was simple, it was also more secluded, and only he knew its exact location.
"Listen up!" He clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Liu Yuncang might be in a bit of trouble. I need to go out and find out what's going on immediately to stabilize the situation. I'm leaving this to you!"
His gaze swept over the crowd, lingering deliberately on the wooden crates containing TNT for a moment, before he lowered his voice: "Remember, as long as we hold on and complete this 'Xiangjiang Operation,' the reward promised by our superiors..."
"Those gleaming gold bars, I, Zhang, won't take a single penny; they're all yours! I only want the credit!"
Zhang Peizhi extended her thumb and pressed it heavily against her heart, displaying a generous attitude that said, "I will share wealth and honor with my brothers."
He was adept at using the carrot and stick approach. He painted a rosy picture with gold bars, hinted at the urgency of the situation with "potential trouble" and "we must stay calm," and demonstrated his "loyalty" by promising "not to take a penny."
A glint of greed and excitement flashed in the eyes of the junior agents, who exclaimed, "Don't worry, team leader! We'll definitely do a good job!"
"Okay! Wait for my news!" Zhang Peizhi nodded heavily, said no more, and turned to climb out of the pit.
Zhang Peizhi glanced back at the few junior agents still diligently digging the "main tunnel," a barely perceptible hint of mockery flashing across her face.
He turned and walked towards a cluttered room further inside the house; this was where he was truly focused.
This tunnel is completely different in direction from the "main tunnel" that was being dug with great fanfare outside. Its entrance is more concealed, and its structure is more robust. It is the real escape route that Zhang Peizhi has reserved for herself.
Extremely suspicious, he didn't trust the recruited spies at all. Naturally, he needed to find more reliable people to carry out this life-saving backup plan.
More reliable?
As Zhang Peizhi jumped down into the narrow tunnel entrance, a wave of air, even damper and more stifling than that from the adjacent "main tunnel," rushed in, carrying a fresh, earthy smell and a...
Zhang Peizhi subconsciously wrinkled her nose, unable to get used to the rich smell, like aged spices mixed with sweat and some indescribable body odor.
The tunnel was cramped, allowing only one person to walk by bending over. With the extremely faint light coming through from the entrance, two burly figures could be seen working at the front of the tunnel.
They had thick cloth headscarves wrapped around their heads, and one of them even got his headcarf rubbed against the slippery cave ceiling and got muddy because the tunnel was low.
These two individuals were "professionals" that Cheung Pui-chi had previously recruited from the dock area through special channels, using a substantial sum of cash and numerous empty promises.
According to the middleman, they had experience in mining and building fortifications in their hometown, and that they "only care about money, don't care about anything else, and keep their mouths shut."
For Zhang Peizhi, this "outsider" status was actually an advantage: she didn't speak the language, had a clean background, and as long as she was paid enough or given enough promises, she would do whatever he asked. Once she was done with him, he was easy to "dispose of," unlike local spies who might leave behind a complicated network of relationships.
Although these two guys were temporary laborers he had hired to do the dirty and hard work, they were touted in the reports to his superiors as "carefully investigated, reliable, and usable international downstream agents."
I don't know what others think, but his superiors are quite pleased.
What does this show? It shows that their cause is supported by other countries!
As a result, Zhang Peizhi, who pioneered the international route, was praised by her superiors and received a generous reward. Even now, when Zhang Peizhi recalls her actions, she can't help but give herself a thumbs up.
Although the two Indian men spoke English with a strange mix of rolled 'r' sounds, trilled 'r' sounds, and incomprehensible vocabulary, communication between them was never smooth.
wrong……
Now is not the time to think about that. No matter how much money you have, you need to be alive to spend it!
Ignoring the unpleasant smell and communication barrier, Zhang Peizhi lowered his voice and asked with barely concealed anxiety, "Hole? Finish? Through?" As he spoke, he eagerly poked his finger into the darkness ahead, making a "penetrate" gesture.
The tall Indian soldier turned around at the sound, the halo of his headlamp shining on Zhang Peizhi's sweaty face.
He blinked, a calculating look creeping across his face—the kind of look typical of Indians—and slowly put down the shovel. He patted his muddy hands and said in sticky, curry-smelling English, “Water? Finish! No water, no work, no… finish.”
Third Brother shrugged and spread his hands regretfully, but his eyes secretly glanced at Zhang Peizhi's bulging waist...
There seemed to be a wallet containing money hidden there.
Zhang Peizhi nearly fainted, barely suppressing her anger as she growled, "It's not water! It's Go! Through the hole! Evacuate! Danger!"
He gestured and spoke, as if he wanted to shove the words into the other person's ears.
The short, stout Indian soldier seemed to understand "Danger," and immediately tensed up. He grabbed Old Li's rifle leaning against the wall, cocked it with a clatter, and looked around warily. He quickly said in his even more incomprehensible English, "Danger? Where? Enemy? We fight! Bang! Bang!" He even imitated two gunshots, his eyes revealing a strange excitement.
If it weren't for the fact that Bollywood song and dance is so popular in India, other countries have a deep-rooted mass appeal. Didn't someone imitate the sound of a Bren gun at our border last time?
We could treat this as a joke, but Zhang Peizhi felt a sudden darkness before her eyes and her blood pressure soar.
He pointed to the tunnel entrance, then to the two of them, then to himself, making a gesture of "climb in together," almost shouting, "Not fight! Hide! Go in! This hole!"
"This hole! Through or not?" Zhang Peizhi's temples throbbed with anger; he wanted nothing more than to give each of those two idiots a gun butt.
Pointing ahead, then at them and himself, he made a gesture of "climbing out together," his eyes fierce as if he wanted to kill.
The two Indian brothers exchanged a glance and whispered a few words in Hindi, their speech so fast it sounded like they were arguing, while occasionally glancing at Zhang Peizhi.
The tall man turned around, a slick smile spreading across his face, and said in slow, childlike English, "Ah, hole! Big! We make! Very good! Strong!"
He gave another thumbs up, then rubbed his fingers together, making a universally recognized "money" gesture. The implication in his eyes couldn't be clearer—"Want to leave? Pay more."
Zhang Peizhi instantly understood. Those two bastards! They'd already dug the tunnel! But they were pretending to be clueless, trying to squeeze more money out of him at this crucial moment!
"I..." Zhang Peizhi felt like he was about to choke on his own blood, his temples throbbing. He finally understood that explaining "immediately evacuate through the tunnel" to these two idiots was like casting pearls before swine.
A deep sense of helplessness and rage welled up inside him. He had chosen these two men because he was greedy and thought they were "obedient and hardworking," and now he had no choice but to swallow his pride and suffer in silence.
He coldly swept his gaze over the two men's faces, which were honest yet laced with wicked smiles, and vowed fiercely in his heart: once this matter is over and I receive the reward from my superiors, the first thing I will do is to shut those two hateful mouths that reek of curry and sweat forever!
Let this annoying curry-accented English disappear from my ears forever!
Ha, when the time comes, I'll send you off on your journey with that lofty goal, which will be my "blessing" to you! This day next year will be the death anniversary of you nobodies!
Zhang Peizhi suppressed the urge to draw his gun, letting out a low, almost whimpering growl. He abruptly pulled open the bulging oilcloth bag at his waist, and in the dim light of his headlamp, quickly pulled out a stack of US dollars of varying ages. He pulled out two larger denominations, waved them rapidly in front of the two men, and then threw them onto the damp, muddy ground without hesitation.
“Money! Now!” He practically spat out the words through clenched teeth, pointing sharply at the half-closed opening. “Hole! Show me! After go, more!”
Two green banknotes lay in the mud, but that did nothing to diminish their allure.
The two Indian men's eyes lit up instantly, like hyenas smelling blood. The taller one was faster, grabbing the banknotes and quickly stuffing them into the cloth belt around his waist. The short, fat man also rushed over to pick up another bill, clutching it tightly in his hand. The magic of money at that moment transcended all language barriers and feigned ignorance.
The tall man immediately put on a fawning face as if he had been prepared all along. Without saying another word, he turned around and pounced on the place that looked like an earthen wall. Using both his hands and feet, he quickly dug away the loose clods of earth and broken bricks that were disguised as a wall.
A dark, narrow opening, barely wide enough for a person to crawl through, suddenly appeared. A chilling aura, a mixture of rust, silt, and years of waste, rushed out, yet it felt to Zhang Peizhi as if she were smelling the sweetest air of freedom.
"Here! Through! Quick!" The tall man stepped to the side, patted the edge of the hole, and spoke much faster.
At this moment, Zhang Peizhi no longer cared about the previous difficulties or the heartache over the prepaid money. Seeing the real exit, the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything.
However, his extreme caution, honed by years of living on the edge, made him abruptly stop his impulse to crawl in at the last moment. It was pitch black on the other side of the hole; who knew if there was a problem?
Let those two greedy fools scout ahead!
He grabbed the tall Indian soldier, shoved him roughly toward the cave entrance, and yelled, "You! Go first!"
The tall guy muttered something, but still bent down and crawled inside.
Zhang Peizhi followed closely behind, squeezing into the narrow passage almost touching his heels, while turning back to the short, fat man still clutching the banknotes and growling, "You! Follow me! Quick!"
In this way, with human shields scouting ahead and others covering the rear, Zhang Peizhi herself was sandwiched in the middle. Although her movements were restricted, she believed she was in a relatively safe position.
The tunnel transition point was unusually narrow, and Zhang Peizhi struggled to adjust her posture, trying to keep up with the swaying headlight beam of the tall man in front of her.
Just as most of his body had squeezed through the narrowest part of the junction between the old and new tunnels, with his hindquarters still wedged against the protruding rocks at the edge, the taut string in his heart began to relax slightly as he finally touched upon a "path to survival"—
"Buzz buzz buzz—!!!"
A deep, resonant sound, like countless giant metal bees gathering overhead and beginning to swoop down and flap their wings, forcefully pierced through the thick, oppressive soil, flooding the secluded tunnel and instantly filling Zhang Peizhi's ears!
The sound came from the direction that should have been a silent night sky!