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墨書 Inktalez
Zhang Yang turned around and saw a burly police officer.
"I am here for tourism," Zhang Yang said with a smile. "Please show me your identification," the officer continued without acknowledging his statement.
The fake ID that Zhang Yang had prepared was of decent quality; aside from the photo being his own, all other information was borrowed from someone else. After a moment's thought, he decided to hand over the fake ID.
To his surprise, the officer had a detection device with him and swiped the ID on the machine.
"Xiao Qiang, why did you take so long to arrive!" At that moment, a middle-aged man dressed in traditional attire approached Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang was slightly taken aback but quickly responded, "Oh, the bus was delayed. Did you wait long?"
The officer turned to look at the middle-aged man and smiled, "Old Feng, is this your friend?"
"This is my distant nephew who is here for tourism. I waited for him for half a day; he arrived late!" the middle-aged man replied with a smile. "I see. I won't hold you up then." With that, the officer took back the ID he was about to swipe and handed it back to Zhang Yang.
The middle-aged man grabbed Zhang Yang and said with a smile, "Let's go home first."
Zhang Yang nodded with a smile and said, "Alright, Uncle. Is everything good at home?" He thought to himself how strangely he had become an 'nephew' out of nowhere.
The middle-aged man led Zhang Yang through several turns until they arrived at a house with a yard. Upon opening the door, they saw Wings sitting under a trellis in the yard, enjoying tea.
"Thanks, Old Feng," Wings said with a smile. "No problem, you two chat. I'm leaving now," Old Feng said with a smile as he closed the door behind him.
"I grew up in Guma Town; this place is like my second kingdom," Wings said with a smile. "You can stay here without worry; it's absolutely safe."
Zhang Yang sat down next to Wings and asked, "Are the police here really that diligent?"
"Well, it's Border area; there are many illegal activities like smuggling and drug trafficking, so the police are usually quite responsible," Wings replied. "I had Old Feng wait for you on the street. If there were any trouble, he would definitely know how to handle it. He's well-known in town and familiar with the police."
Zhang Yang nodded. After taking a short break, Wings suggested, "How about I take you out for a walk? Let's relax." Zhang Yang readily agreed.
Wings adjusted Zhang Yang's new appearance while keeping his own look unchanged. The two dressed casually and headed out onto the street. There were many tourists around, and they wandered about like ordinary visitors. Before they knew it, they had walked to a small street along the Border.
On this small street were many tricycles; these tricycles were three-wheeled motorcycles. Several Black Motorcycle Taxi Drivers were there looking for passengers. Many tourists who hadn't completed their paperwork thought they could just play around in Myanmar before returning could use these Black Motorcycle Taxi Drivers to go out and come back later.
"How much?" Zhang Yang asked with a smile. He had heard the locals say this while shopping earlier and couldn't help but mimic them. Wings paused for a moment and whispered in Zhang Yang's ear, "You don't really want to go out and have some fun, do you?"
"Eighty!" a Black Motorcycle Taxi Driver replied.
After hearing this, Zhang Yang leaned closer to Wings and said, "Since we're already here, why not take a look? What do you think? Is it safe?"
Wings chuckled, "It doesn't matter; I can go with you for some fun."
Seeing the two whispering to each other, the Black Motorcycle Taxi Driver thought they were hesitating. As other drivers approached, he quickly said, "Alright, alright, fifty bucks, that's the lowest price. Take it or leave it."
"Deal!" Zhang Yang and Wings hopped onto the back seat of the motorcycle.
The motorcycle roared to life as it crossed the border into Myanmar. Although they called it going abroad, it took less than ten minutes to reach Old Street in the Kawthoung Region of Myanmar.
Is this considered illegal entry? Yes.
Old Street is essentially the capital of Kawthoung Region. Due to its proximity to China, it is an important port in Myanmar. The best part is that many people here can speak Mandarin, making communication quite convenient. In fact, most shop signs in Old Street are written in Chinese.
However, saying Old Street is the most prosperous place in Kawthoung Region is relative to the situation in Myanmar. To be precise, Old Street doesn't even compare to some more developed towns in southern China; it just has a larger population. Moreover, due to war-related issues, many buildings still bear bullet holes. First-time visitors might be startled by this.
Wings had been to Old Street several times and introduced it to Zhang Yang as they walked. "The biggest feature of Old Street is the extreme wealth disparity; the poor here are poorer than the lowest workers in China, while the rich can spend lavishly." As Zhang Yang listened and observed, he noticed some people wearing gold jewelry and sparkling gemstone rings, looking like nouveau riche.
"What’s the most entertaining thing here?" Zhang Yang asked.
"The most developed industry here is gambling; casinos are everywhere," Wings replied while casually pointing. Following his gesture, Zhang Yang spotted several casinos.
"Shall we play a bit?" Zhang Yang smiled.
"Dude, you really have time on your hands; you don't look like someone who's wanted," Wings shook his head.
"When there's no clue about certain things, sometimes you just have to let it go," Zhang Yang turned around and asked, "Do you have money?"
"I do," Wings said as he pulled out a thick stack of kyat from his bag. "Here’s one hundred thousand for you!"
"Such generosity?"
"Haha, one hundred thousand Myanmar Kyat is less than one thousand RMB, didn't you know?" Wings laughed.
Casually walking into a casino, Zhang Yang noticed that the main games being played were Baccarat and Texas Hold'em. The gamblers included men and women of all ages, and there were even two Myanmar soldiers.
With money in hand, he placed a few bets, winning some and losing some. Before long, Zhang Yang felt it was getting boring. Just as he was about to tell Wings they should leave, he suddenly heard a commotion at one of the gambling tables.
The table in question was for Texas Hold'em, where the two Myanmar soldiers were currently arguing with someone. They were shouting at this person in a mix of Chinese and Myanmar language. The person had their back to Zhang Yang, so he couldn't see their face, but he could tell they were speaking Chinese.
After listening for a few moments, Zhang Yang understood the situation. The two soldiers had lost money and suspected this person of cheating. However, the person had not been caught doing anything wrong and naturally denied the accusations. Perhaps because the other party was soldiers, this person remained relatively polite despite defending themselves, but the two soldiers were furious, hurling insults and demanding that this person return their winnings.
The individual asked the casino dealer to intervene, but to his surprise, the dealer said that the casino did not believe he was cheating but also did not oppose the soldiers' claims, suggesting they resolve their issues themselves.
This was clearly a refusal to take responsibility. The person seemed to be Chinese and appeared to be alone; how could they dare not return the money? Otherwise, they might end up dead on the street as soon as they left the casino.
Zhang Yang felt indignant and was about to step forward when someone grabbed his arm.
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