Chapter 2

Carrying a large backpack and dragging a suitcase, Chen Fei stood there for a moment, pondering the electronic map. Just as he was about to set off according to the walking directions, he heard someone shouting.

"Hey, this road is mine, this tree is mine. If you want to pass this road, leave your money!"

"Robbery, men to the left, women to the right, those who are neither, stand still."

"Be serious, it's a robbery!"

Then came a burst of giggles.

Chen Fei looked in the direction of the voices and saw a row of small heads on a nearby ridge, winking and eyeing him.

It turned out to be a group of mischievous kids.

"Ali, Ami, Mawli, you guys are up to no good again. I just heard the sound of a rotorcraft, who's here?"

A pleasant female voice came over, and the mischievous heads vanished instantly, like mice seeing a cat, scattering in all directions.

"Hi! Hello!"

Chen Fei called out loudly.

"Are you... the new teacher?"

A young woman appeared in Chen Fei's line of sight, with a ponytail of long hair, standing gracefully on the other side of the ridge.

"No, I'm not a teacher." Chen Fei quickly waved his hands, pointing in the direction indicated by the electronic map, and continued, "I'm going to the 911 Air勤 Base."

The 911 Air勤 Base, which had warned "San Benge" twin-seat rotorcraft on the public radio channel, was his destination.

"Not a teacher?"

The young woman was clearly disappointed, but she quickly adjusted her mood, looking Chen Fei up and down, and said, "I'm Shen Fei, with the character for 'water' and 'fragrant grass.'"

In the Hindu Kush mountains, the most common were the native Pashtuns, or the Tajiks and Tumuris. People from the northeast were the rarest, even rarer than ethnic minorities.

"Hello, I'm Chen Fei, with the character for 'ear' and 'right and wrong.'"

Chen Fei, who had traveled a long distance to the Hindu Kush mountains, felt his mood improve upon unexpectedly meeting a compatriot.

At least he wasn't alone here.

Moreover, both their names had the phonetic "fei," which could be considered a kind of fate.

"Right, compatriot, I'm glad to meet you, Chen Fei!"

The young woman crossed the ridge, walking towards Chen Fei with deep and shallow steps.

Seeing a compatriot, tears welled up in their eyes, a sense of familiarity arose.

Chen Fei, with the surname Chen and the name Fei, spoke fluently without stuttering, with clear and standard pronunciation, and had black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin, was almost certainly a compatriot.

Thinking of the "new teacher" mentioned earlier and the kids pretending to be bandits, Chen Fei asked tentatively, "Shen, Miss Shen, are you... teaching here?"

Shen Fei nodded, with a sweet smile, and said, "Yes, I'm the primary school teacher here, teaching all subjects. I'm also the principal, the school doctor, the cook, and the nanny. I have to do everything. This isn't the place to talk, come with me!"

She immediately led the way for Chen Fei.

Chen Fei glanced at her, and on her youthful face, there were traces of the mountain wind and the sun.

For a young woman to teach in this remote mountainous area, dominated by Pashtuns and Tajiks, it wasn't enough to rely solely on a moment's impulse and a burst of enthusiasm to persist.

Chen Fei said with a sense of admiration, "It's really not easy!"

"Some things have to be done, don't they?"

Shen Fei had no complaints, remaining very optimistic.

At that moment, they had just crossed the ridge and saw a large courtyard with a wall made of cement and stones.

There were several simple houses, both classrooms and dormitories.

The front yard was paved with cement, with a basketball hoop and two cement billiard tables. The back yard had several vegetable plots, lush and thriving, with a few different trees scattered around, and even a greenhouse. Next to it were a sheep pen and a poultry coop, with the sounds of bleating and clucking blending together, creating a sense of peace and tranquility.

The light of civilization shines on the world, but not every corner has the same brightness. There are always some remote places that seem to have turned back time, looking like they were from a hundred years ago, as if isolated from the world.

Shen Fei pointed to the carefree, playful children and said with a tone of satisfaction, "Look, there are still them here, I'm not alone."

These adorable children were the driving force for her to continue, mischievous and rambunctious, but during class, they all listened attentively, not in vain for her efforts.

"Besides the students, are you alone?"

Chen Fei looked at the farmyard full of life.

In this desolate mountain area, the courtyard was like a paradise.

"By myself!"

Shen Fei nodded firmly and continued, "Although it's not very convenient, the locals are very热心, and there's the 911 Air勤 Base. I often go there to buy things, and they also help me bring some things. Are you still going to 911? It's going to get dark soon, the road might not be easy, and there are wild wolves and bandits. Why don't you stay here for the night, and I'll find a student to take you there tomorrow?"

"Wild wolves? Bandits?"

Chen Fei couldn't help but widen his eyes. How could these students and a female teacher possibly stand up to those ruthless people?

Shen Fei stuck out her tongue, somewhat playfully, and said, "Don't worry, I don't have anything valuable here, bandits never come. They don't rob schools. As for wild wolves, the locals regularly hunt them, leaving the bodies nearby, so the wolves don't dare to come. And I have a gun, a Type 95, a second-hand replica, but it's still pretty good."

The Type 95, with relatively low recoil, was indeed suitable for a woman with less strength, ensuring both lethality and accuracy, more than enough to handle emergencies like bandits and wild animals.

Shen Fei looked Chen Fei up and down and said, "Have you made up your mind? I still have an empty room!"

"Thanks, but no, I'm in a hurry."

Chen Fei shook his head. Because of the delays on the road, he had to complete his registration today, or the consequences would be severe.

"Alright!"

Shen Fei didn't try to persuade him again but waved to a few boys running around in the courtyard.

"Ami, bring my gun, two magazines, and a bag of bread."

"Ami" was one of the mischievous kids who had tried to "verbally rob" Chen Fei earlier.

"Sure thing, teacher!"

One of the boys, with a playful hop, rushed into a house and soon came out, proudly carrying a shiny black Type 95 assault rifle, two loaded magazines, and a full plastic bag.

Chen Fei's eyes widened.

Following his gaze, Shen Fei guessed what Chen Fei was surprised about, smiled, and said, "Every household here has guns. Firearms and ammunition are necessities of life. Kids grow up handling guns and know their limits, don't worry!"

In their hometown, it was unimaginable to let a minor casually carry a lethal weapon in public.

Taking the Type 95 assault rifle and magazines from the boy Ami, Shen Fei handed them to Chen Fei, saying, "Take it, consider it a loan. It can protect you and serve as a token. You know how to use it, right? This is the safety, this is the selector, this is the trigger. Remember the safety, be careful of accidental discharge. The bread is for the road, I made it myself, it's quite good."

"I know, I know, thanks. What about you?"

Chen Fei immediately reacted, quickly taking the gun and magazines. With 90 rounds in total, he wouldn't be intimidated by a small group of bandits or wolves, indeed ensuring personal safety.

"I still have a small revolver and a few grenades."

The warm-hearted compatriot Shen Fei shrugged.

As the only school within a hundred miles, it was actually quite safe, especially with the local people's fierce nature. In an emergency, they wouldn't stand idly by.

The Type 95 assault rifle obtained from the 911 Air勤 Base was not only for self-defense but also a memento. Seeing it was like seeing her hometown, which is why a small wooden fish was hanging from the muzzle.

There were plenty of broken AKs locally, but none from the original factory. After decades, the internal stresses had been released, causing the gun bodies to deform. They were mostly various makeshift and homemade guns, but because the technical requirements were low, this old gun had a particularly strong life.

As for sentimentality, there were almost no precise replicas, and the only one with a wooden fish tied to the muzzle was hers.

The locals knew exactly who owned this gun.

"Thank you, Miss Shen, I'll return the gun as soon as possible."

Chen Fei thanked her again.

On their first meeting, she lent him her self-defense gun, a favor he would remember.

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