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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 116: Pursuers and Deserters
"Does it have to be this way?" Jiang He's eyes widened as Brick Wall was struck head-on, stones shattering and flying everywhere. The wooden railing crumbled like a chocolate bar, and the few people standing atop the iron gate were engulfed by the explosive flames before they could even react.
Old Ma, standing nearby, tilted his head, not hearing clearly. "What did you say?"
"I said, he..." Jiang He pointed above, exasperated. "Why couldn't we launch a surprise attack at night? Why does it have to be such a big show?"
"Do you know the relationship between Shaoshan and Cheng Long?" Old Ma asked casually, pulling out two handguns and handing one to Jiang He. "Keep this safe; it's Shaoshan's prized possession. While everyone else has switched to the Type 54, he still clings to this old Type 64."
"What? Half-brothers?" Jiang He raised an eyebrow, tucking the Type 64 into his waistband without hesitation.
Old Ma chuckled lightly. "Cheng Long used to be Shaoshan's squad leader."
"Squad leader??" Jiang He was somewhat surprised, mentally musing about military ranks and wondering aloud, "Cheng Long doesn't look much older than Shaoshan."
"It has nothing to do with age." Old Ma waved his hand dismissively, unwilling to explain concepts that Jiang He wouldn't understand. He continued on his own. "Technically, this is internal information that doesn't need to be shared with you. But since you're involved now, there's no harm in discussing it. Cheng Long—"
"Stop, Ma. Don't say any more," Jiang He quickly interrupted him. "Knowing too much can get you killed; I won't ask."
"Such a small amount of courage," Old Ma laughed for a while before becoming serious. "You guys are actually quite wronged, being led in circles by that mysterious radio station."
When Old Ma brought this up, Jiang He's expression darkened. That day in the conference room when Shaoshan was fiddling with the Daliugou welcome broadcast, Jiang He had figured it out. It was all fake; Daliugou had never made any broadcasts at all. Jin Bo hadn't lied, nor had Zheng Er concealed anything; they were all victims. Principal Huang's group likely didn't know either; Shaoshan hadn't troubled them but only took away that 'box.' All clues pointed towards the Southern Pond Bandits; everything was orchestrated by them.
The Beret Boy that Jiang He killed was the first to inform him about Jinzhong's three factions. Later, Jin Bo also provided additional details; both mentioned that Nantang's people had once robbed military vehicles. Initially, Jiang He didn't take it seriously since they weren't part of the patrol team and thus overlooked certain connections.
Most of the Daliugou Underground Bunker personnel were local villagers who lacked the capability to operate radio equipment; Huang's gang might know a few more words than those from Daliugou but clearly lacked the technical skills to handle such devices. The only ones capable were naturally those from Nantang Township, who claimed to have veterans among them.
Regarding this point, Ming Junwei and Zheng Er had already made nearly accurate speculations while in the Air Raid Shelter.
Zheng Er believed that Nantang's soldiers wanted to figure out the location of the tunnels, so they created a radio station as a ruse to attract more Survivors to Daliugou. Clearly, the broadcasting equipment was obtained from robbing military vehicles. What Ming Junwei and his group didn't know was that these soldiers had discarded the transmission equipment in Gaoxian Town, which was Principal Huang's base of operations. Why was that? Jiang He thought it was meant to divert attention away from Shaoshan and his group.
On the way to Nantang with Shaoshan's troops, Jiang He kept pondering this matter. He couldn't understand why Nantang was eyeing Zheng Er's cave and explosives. He could only speculate that Nantang wanted to hide its tracks and was trying to lure survivors to Daliugou through broadcasts. However, he worried that the military would trace the signal back to them, which is why they abandoned the transmitter in Gaoxian Town, attempting to frame Old Huang.
But there was a glaring flaw in this plan; it was as obvious as daylight! Both Daliugou and Gaoxian Town were aware of Nantang's existence. If something went wrong, wouldn't they be the first suspects? On the surface, it seemed that Nantang was directing attention towards Gaoxian Town and Daliugou, but in reality, they were inadvertently exposing themselves. Jiang He thought about it all the way and couldn't figure it out. He felt that Cheng Long didn't seem like a fool, so why would he make such an obviously flawed move?
Of course, there were many things Jiang He couldn't comprehend. For instance, Old Ma said Cheng Long was the leader of Shaoshan, but what Jiang He had heard was that Cheng Long's group consisted of veterans. He thought Shaoshan was there to investigate the hijacked military truck, but it was clear that they were following Cheng Long with a very specific purpose: total annihilation.
Just then, a cannon blasted a hole in the Brick Wall, and the guards on the wall were quickly turned into targets by the ensuing barrage of gunfire, their bodies riddled with bullets before they even hit the ground.
Shaoshan jumped down from the top of the vehicle with a whistle, and dozens of Soldiers surged into the iron gate like tigers descending a mountain. In no time, gunfire erupted behind the high wall, mingling with screams and cries to create a cacophony of chaos.
"Is Shaoshan planning to leave no one alive?" Jiang He suddenly recalled something and hurriedly unlocked the door to get out.
"What? Afraid of knowing too much again?" Old Ma teased.
"I'm serious! Most of them are innocent survivors!" Jiang He broke out in a cold sweat as he suddenly remembered Zheng Qiutong, that girl he had only met once.
Old Ma shot him a sideways glance, looking perplexed.
"My friend—my friend's friend is still inside! She was abducted; she's not one of Nantang's people!" Jiang He panicked. It dawned on him that Shaoshan's mission might very well be an indiscriminate massacre.
Old Ma frowned, looking at Jiang He with a complex expression before hesitating, "Jiang He, just let it go."
"What do you mean 'let it go'?" Jiang He widened his eyes and stammered, "There are living people in there! A living girl; she’s not your enemy!"
"She might know something," Old Ma replied.
"So what? I know plenty about you guys too!"
Old Ma fell silent, staring intently at Jiang He with an inscrutable look in his eyes.
A chill ran down Jiang He's spine as he suddenly felt a wave of dread wash over him. Yes, an innocent survivor from Nantang could face death just for possibly knowing something; what about him who knew even more? Unconsciously, Jiang He shifted back slightly. Reflecting on how he had joked and bantered with Shaoshan all along made him realize he hadn’t truly seen himself as an outsider.
“Jiang He, listen to me,” Old Ma said, noticing the fear in Jiang He's eyes. He raised his arm, trying to calm him down.
“Don’t move.” Jiang He pulled out the handgun from behind his waist and aimed it at Old Ma, his voice trembling. “Brother Ma, you saved my life once. Tell me honestly, what do you plan to do with me? Bringing me back to the Defense Zone is just nonsense, right?”
Old Ma hesitated, glancing away from the gun in Jiang He's hand and simply sighed lightly.
Jiang He glanced out the car window. After Shaoshan and the soldiers rushed into the Brick Wall, only a few soldiers were left guarding outside; no one seemed to notice what was happening inside the Jeep.
“Didn’t you notice that there are fewer soldiers coming here?” Old Ma rubbed his forehead and chuckled lightly. “You’re quite sharp, kid. I saved you once, and now I’m saving you again. Put the gun away and listen.”
Jiang He felt a bit lost. The scene of the soldiers storming through the breach had a war movie feel to it; he hadn’t really paid attention to the number of people involved. Now that he thought about it, there did seem to be fewer than when they were in the office building.
“Listen to me, put down the gun,” Old Ma repeated.
Jiang He was somewhat at a loss, his grip on the gun slick with sweat. He didn’t even know if he had disengaged the safety.
“The ones who are missing…” As Jiang He spoke, he glanced at the handgun and froze. Although he wasn’t very familiar with firearms, he had handled guns plenty during his time at Bai Yudong’s camp; at least he could distinguish between the Type 81 and Type 54 models. And this handgun… “What did you just say? This is Shaoshan’s treasure?” Jiang He swallowed hard, hesitating. “Didn’t he give it to that kid?”
“Alright, Jiang He, put down the gun. I’ll take you to find Shaoshan and see if your friend is still around,” Old Ma gently pressed down on Jiang He’s hand holding the gun, appearing somewhat helpless.
“Old Ma, Principal Huang and them…”
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