Chapter 82: The Golden Cicada's Escape

If Du Long had been driving an armored vehicle, he would have plowed through. Unfortunately, he was in an ambulance, which was even softer than a school bus. A collision would have been disastrous. Du Long glanced ahead amidst his busy maneuvering. The narrow road was completely blocked by the two minivans. The sides of the road were low-lying farmland, uneven and undulating. There was no other way out except to take the side road the other party had pointed to.

Du Long glanced back and drove toward the side road. When he was halfway through the turn, he slammed on the brakes and turned the steering wheel to the limit. The ambulance tires screeched against the ground, producing an unbearable sound. The ambulance whipped around at the intersection, and Du Long quickly shifted gears and accelerated, squeezing through the shoulder of the road and the roadside trees before the minivans could react.

If Huang Jiehao had seen Du Long's maneuver, he would have regretted asking the childish question, "Can you drive?" Du Long clearly wasn't a novice; he was a seasoned driver!

One of the minivans tried to force Du Long to stop by ramming into the ambulance, causing a dent in the middle and a long scratch on the rear.

Despite everything, Du Long managed to break through, and the ambulance headed back toward Wuxi County, which was better than being forced onto the bumpy road leading to a coal mine.

The minivans, feeling cheated, pursued Du Long furiously. Even with the ambulance's engine at full throttle, they quickly caught up.

Six minivans surrounded the ambulance, escorting it forward. Du Long's phone suddenly rang. He pressed the speaker button and heard Xia Hongjun's voice: "Are you wearing your seatbelt?"

Du Long was taken aback and instinctively replied, "Yes, I'm wearing it. Where are you? I'm trapped."

Xia Hongjun said, "I see you. You did well. Get ready to react. I'll take out the two minivans behind you. You brake and turn around, then get out and wait for me to drive..."

Du Long was stunned. Suddenly, a Dongfeng truck came speeding from behind, roaring as it charged straight toward the convoy of minivans.

The minivans hadn't anticipated this. By the time they realized the truck was approaching, it was too late to avoid it. The Dongfeng truck slammed into the rear of the two minivans, causing them to lose control and roll over on their sides.

The Dongfeng truck continued forward, suddenly veering left and ramming into the two minivans on the left side of the ambulance. The two minivans sped forward to escape, and Du Long slammed on the brakes, breaking free from the minivans' encirclement.

Even an empty Dongfeng truck couldn't outpace the minivans on flat ground. As the minivans accelerated to escape, Xia Hongjun braked, whipped the truck around, and blocked the road. Before getting out, he broke the key and left half of it in the ignition.

Du Long had already turned the ambulance around. Xia Hongjun got into the driver's seat without hesitation, and Du Long had no choice but to sit in the passenger seat. The ambulance quickly sped forward, and gunshots rang out behind them. Du Long broke out in a cold sweat; those guys had guns!

"Hide the bodies first. I knew you couldn't protect them," Xia Hongjun said.

Du Long smiled bitterly. "I didn't expect Black Gold Company to be so ruthless."

Xia Hongjun sneered. "They are a mafia with protection. In Wuxi County, no one can stop them. What crazy things can't they do?"

Du Long sighed. "So we can't run away. We must bring these lawless people to justice."

Xia Hongjun remained silent, focusing on driving. After a while, the ambulance stopped behind a Buick GL8 minivan. Xia Hongjun jumped out, opened the ambulance's rear door, and started moving the body bags without hesitation.

When Xia Hongjun picked up the body bag, he was momentarily stunned. Du Long smiled at him, picked up a body bag, and walked toward the Buick. Two men walked out from beside the Buick, ready to argue with Xia Hongjun. When they saw the two of them carrying body bags from the ambulance, they turned pale and instinctively stepped aside.

Xia Hongjun placed the body bag on the back seat of the Buick, threw the ambulance key and the half key of the truck to the two men, and said, "The truck is about five miles away. Drive the ambulance back to get it."

Then, Xia Hongjun said to Du Long, "Get in!"

The minivan quickly disappeared into the distance, soon turning onto a relatively flat road. Xia Hongjun was very familiar with the traffic in Wuxi County. After a while, Du Long had no idea where they were.

Xia Hongjun stopped and made a phone call, then drove the Buick into a village, parking it in a garage where a farmer usually kept his tractor.

"This is my former coworker's house. You don't have to worry about Li Wwei here; his reach doesn't extend this far," Xia Hongjun said.

Du Long soon met Xia Hongjun's coworker, who had a limp. Xia Hongjun explained bluntly, "Li Wwei sent people to beat him up, Old Wu. I'm troubling you."

Old Wu laughed. "No trouble at all. Anything that can make Li Wwei suffer, I'm willing to risk my life. You can stay here without worry. Li Wwei doesn't dare come to this area. If he does, I'll take him down!"

Old Wu was a very straightforward person. Du Long soon understood why he had been beaten by Li Wwei's people. After leaving the Tieling coal mine, Old Wu set up a small stall in Wuxi County to sell lamb skewers. Li Wwei's people came to collect protection fees, which Old Wu found too high and refused to pay. The first time, Old Wu drove them away. The second time, he was not so lucky. They threatened him with a gun and beat him up, breaking his leg and threatening to beat him every time they saw him.

Hospitals wouldn't treat people injured by Li Wwei's gang, so Old Wu's leg was left untreated. A former soldier became a cripple. Afterward, Old Wu's village and nearby villages united to fight Li Wwei's gang, using guns and even homemade cannons. The united and armed villagers left both the black and white forces helpless. In the end, Li Wwei had to pay a large sum of money to Old Wu and the villages to settle the matter.

Hearing these stories, Du Long was amazed. Evil must be countered by evil. He never thought Li Wwei would be humbled in Wuxi County, and by ordinary farmers at that. Wuxi County must be very powerful, with so many guns hidden among the people. Were they all hunting rifles? What about the homemade cannons?

Old Wu explained, "Hunting is now prohibited, but with more wild boars running down the mountains to damage crops, people still keep their hunting rifles. But that's just a small part. Many guns are obtained through other channels, including the homemade cannon in the village..."

Xia Hongjun laughed. "These hunting rifles and homemade cannons are nothing. In the border villages, I've even seen full sets of American and Russian light weapons, even rocket launchers and armored vehicles. Those villages are fully armed."

Old Wu, seeing Du Long's disbelief, added, "Those are drug trafficking villages. How can we compare?"

Du Long finally understood. He had heard about the rampant drug trafficking along the border. The drug problem in Tian Nan Province was indeed severe.

Xia Hongjun asked Old Wu, "Is everything ready?"

Old Wu replied, "Yes, are you leaving soon?"

Xia Hongjun said, "Staying here won't help. I might as well go and harass Li Wwei, making his life less comfortable so he stops thinking of ways to harm others."

Du Long said, "I'll go with you."

Xia Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I need a helper."

Old Wu said, "If you both leave, what about the car... and the things in it? I'm not afraid of bad luck, but if others in the village find out..."

Du Long smiled, and Xia Hongjun said, "There are only three pillowcases in the car. What bad luck? Get the things quickly; we need to leave."

Old Wu, confused, left. Soon, Xia Hongjun and Du Long changed into white hats and white robes, transforming into Hui people. They also put on beards, and with Du Long's skillful makeup, they looked completely different, even surprising Old Wu.

Xia Hongjun asked Old Wu for a package without telling Du Long what it was. Old Wu also prepared a very ordinary Jialing motorcycle for them, and Xia Hongjun gave the Buick to Old Wu in exchange. It was said that the car would be dismantled into countless parts and sold across the country in three days.

Xia Hongjun drove the motorcycle through the fields and wilderness. Du Long had no idea where he was being taken. When he asked, Xia Hongjun said, "I recognize the man who shot my two coworkers. I broke his leg. He's one of Li Wwei's most brutal henchmen and knows many of Li Wwei's secrets."

Du Long asked, "Does he know where the guns are?"

Xia Hongjun said, "Probably. Do you want those guns?"

Du Long said, "Those thugs probably don't know to wipe the fingerprints off the guns after use. We can find three bullets from the three victims. If we find the guns and match the bullet marks, we can identify which gun killed whom. Then, by comparing the fingerprints on the guns, we might find the killer if we're lucky."

Xia Hongjun, knowing he had been framed, said, "I don't know who killed the person from Black Gold Company, but my two coworkers were definitely killed by that bastard Bida Kai."

Du Long said, "Evidence. We need solid evidence to bring these criminals to justice. You are a suspect, so your word isn't convincing."

Xia Hongjun had no response. He drove in silence, eventually returning to the main road. The banner welcoming city leaders to inspect Wuxi County was clearly visible.