ineffable difficulties

So, ever since Liu Shiyi suggested taking me and Chen Weiqiang out for fun, he's been testing us without limits.

However, the Wrench and Abu didn't know about it. If Arno hadn't dropped his phone, even the Wrench might have been fooled.

As for why Liu Shiyi used such a two-pronged approach to get rid of Da Hei, it probably has to do with his personality.

I heard that people from Da Hei's village have a strong sexual appetite and often capture and abuse female pigs in the compound, sometimes even killing them.

While I was in the hospital, Da Hei killed another female pig, which completely enraged Liu Shiyi, so he came up with a plan...

"So, he didn't tell Abu either!"

I smiled and put the money on the table. "Want to have a drink tonight? I need someone to talk to."

The Wrench shook his head. "Tomorrow. Tonight, I'm busy cleaning up the traitors."

"Take this money to smooth things over. I still have more because I make money faster than you, so don't refuse."

"...How many people do you want to silence?"

"Huh?" I was stunned for a moment, then said, "Hei Zi must die! He knows my and Chen Cheng's secrets!

Keep an eye out for a man from Chongqing in his twenties named Peilin; he betrayed me too!

As for Meng Chong, Da Tou, and Yu Jie, I want to see them tortured every day, just like they tortured others."

"Got it. You should go back and rest; we'll talk more tomorrow."

The Wrench got up, picked up his gun, and prepared to go downstairs.

They needed to go to the armory for bullets and provide a reason for it.

Liu Shiyi had given him tasks that he hadn't completed yet.

Tonight, he probably had to find an excuse to send those Da Hei's men back to their "home" in Africa.

"Also, check into that Lei Si matter; I suspect Liu Shiyi knows about it."

After chatting a bit more with the Wrench, I left his room.

As I stepped out, I ran into Chen Weiqiang carrying a bag upstairs.

"Since we've got time, come in and let's talk."

I opened the door and motioned for him to come in.

"Sure! We need to talk sooner or later; might as well do it now while we have the chance."

Chen Weiqiang didn't hesitate and walked in with his bag.

"Covered in mud, I'll take a shower first."

I took off my now-gray shirt, sighing at the cost of buying new clothes.

There were a few burn holes from ricochet bullets, and my back probably had blisters.

Sigh, more money needed for medicine.

I never worried about money before, but here, I wish I could split a dollar into two.

After a quick shower, I came out to find him drinking and surrounded by snacks.

Knowing I don't smoke, he hadn't opened any cigarettes.

The scene felt surreal.

"Come on, have a drink with me to get in the mood."

Chen Weiqiang took a swig from the bottle.

I remembered our first time drinking beer in junior high, at a cemetery in the suburbs, singing "Brothers" and sleeping on the graves...

I smirked, sat across from him, and started eating some bread.

"The hometown flavor really hits the spot, haha!"

He put down the bottle, tears of laughter in his eyes.

"Don't get too drunk and pretend to be dead later."

I moved the bottle away and looked at him sharply. "Should I ask, or will you tell me? Don't lie, or I'll really go all out on you!"

Chen Weiqiang stared at me. "Will you believe what I say?"

"Whether I believe you or not is up to me; saying it is up to you."

"Alright! You haven't changed a bit, still my good brother...

Actually, I don't need you to ask. I'll start from when Lulu and I took a break from school."

He gave a bitter smile and began to recount the past...

In our sophomore year, after we first had sex, Lulu suddenly told him she was pregnant and took the confused Weiqiang back to her hometown in Fujian to meet her parents.

But instead of meeting her parents, she took him to Myanmar, claiming her parents were selling bananas there.

What a shock.

After arriving in Kokang, Lulu revealed that her family was actually running a large-scale telecom fraud operation there, involving the whole village in making money.

It was true; the telecom fraud companies in northern Myanmar run by Fujianese were all family-related businesses, voluntarily coming to get rich.

Unlike the kidney-harvesting gangs, they didn't use electric shocks or torture, just straightforward telecom fraud.

They were very united and friendly.

But Weiqiang didn't want any part of it, so he resisted, got beaten up by Lulu's relatives, and was threatened that if he didn't comply, they would abort Lulu's baby.

Eventually, under Lulu's coaxing and the threat of losing the baby, Weiqiang gradually gave in.

But Lulu's ambitions grew, and after meeting people from the Wei family, she completely changed, even encouraging Weiqiang to lure us, their old classmates, over to form a high-educated fraud team...

Weiqiang, heartbroken after discovering her true nature, ran out on a rainy night.

But unfamiliar with the area, he was caught and brought back by the Fujianese.

After another inevitable beating, Lulu sold him to the telecom fraud compound as a techie...

Later, Lulu tricked me into coming over.

Then I beat up Chen Weiqiang, but he had been secretly protecting me all along.

He had my dad send over 800,000 yuan to indirectly inform him we were in northern Myanmar.

It was also to gain the compound's trust.

Afterward, he used his tech skills to transfer the money back to my dad...

In these years, he suffered more than I could imagine, even having to kill people and serve an old woman supervisor to survive...

Luckily, his skills kept him from being fed to the fish.

"When I was first sold to the telecom fraud compound, I was electrocuted, and two of my toenails were pulled out.

Seeing you that day, I was so heartbroken...

More than anyone, I wanted to kill that vile woman!

She deceived my feelings from the start, wanting me to be their family's free labor!

She went to college just to find people like me, with software and information skills!

And I loved her deeply..." Weiqiang gripped the bottle, crying bitterly.

He tilted his head and finished the bottle in one gulp.

Alcohol deepened his sorrow, and he cried even harder.

"Ping An, when I was first brought here, I thought about suicide and wanted to call you for help...

But I had no chance, you know?

I was unwilling! How could my youth be wasted like this?

Even if I died, I wanted to kill her first!

That was my motivation and belief to survive!

Until you appeared, I knew my efforts hadn't been in vain.

I was so afraid of seeing you killed...

Unexpectedly, you were captured and brought to the KK compound too.

After I killed that old woman and escaped, I ended up in the KK compound by a twist of fate.

Ping An, we met again. Seeing you, I didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

I longed to return to our school days, running at Orange Isle, lying on the graves singing with our friends.

Ping An, my dear brother, I miss home so much, I miss my parents, I desperately want to go back home..."