My life as a Tomb Raider in Nanyang

Have you ever been to Changi Chalet?

No, not the one where you go and celebrate your birthday with friends and family.

The one that's officially named Changi Prison.

There are no popping confetti and blowing out of birthday cake candles, only screams from caning and lives being snuffed out by the death penalty.

This is the story of how I ended up there and spent 10 years of my life in Changi Prison.

My name is Sam Leong.

It all started on that day when I met her, Amy Lee, the woman that turned my life upside down.

Back then, I was working in my Shifu's antique shop.

With my poor "O" level results, I decided to just finish conscription in the Army and start working.

One of my relatives introduced me to my Shifu as they knew I was interested in all things ancient and occult.

I learned the ropes, and life was steady and great.

Although the salary wasn't much, it was enough for me to buy cigarettes, go play pool/arcade, and have a good meal occasionally.

The shop was located near Beach Rd, hidden on the second floor of the shophouse.

As usual, I was doing house cleaning, dusting off the antiques in the shop when Amy Lee came in.

Even with my back facing the front door, I didn't need to turn around to know someone had come into the shop.

The shop, with all the antiques and stuff laying around for ages, smelled like mold.

When she entered, her perfume with a hint of jasmine flower was obvious.

It was an unforgettable smell; till today, I promise you if you could replicate it, you would be earning millions just by selling this one perfume alone.

I turned around and looked at her for the first time.

Upon seeing how gorgeous she looked, I remember how I tried to secretly take a deeper breath so that I could get more of her scent.

You can laugh at me if you want; I was still a virgin back then.

I had always believed that by keeping the "Yang" energy in me, it could keep me safe from unknown dangers.

I'd always told myself no woman, no matter how pretty, would be able to make me break my virginity.

Amy Lee nearly did that.

Nearly.

Because with what I learned from my Shifu in Chinese Face Reading, she's not someone I could handle.

Her eyes were small, with round pupils, and the inner and outer corners of the eyes were downward.

People with these features like new things and never get enough of them.

Her nose bridge was too low. The tip of the nose was protruding, and the wings of the nose were outward.

People with slumped nose bridges are heartless, easy-going, open-minded, and have great sexual needs.

How could a virgin like me satisfy her?

"Hi, I'm Amy Lee," she introduced herself, took out a cigarette, and waited.

I turned my head slightly, thinking for a while, and realized what she wanted.

I took out my zippo, flipped it open, and lit her cigarette for her.

She took a deep breath, puffed the smoke into my face, and asked, "Smart boy. I'm here to find Groundhog Liu."

"My Shifu is not in Singapore right now. He is in Thailand on business."

"Can you contact him? My Master has a message for him."

"I'm sorry, but he might be in the Thailand jungle," I shook my head and replied.

Even though I could reach him, my Shifu had always instructed me to say no.

Amy Lee, upon hearing my reply, came close to me and whispered next to my ear.

My heart pumped as she got closer.

Not sure why, but somehow, she was oozing with hormones. I had to pinch myself hard on my thigh to control myself.

Now I do know her secret, but back then I thought it was just me being horny and wanting to conquer her.

I will disclose her secret later as we go along, but I digressed.

"Pass this message to Groundhog Liu. My Master says, 'Groundhog Liu, it's time to make good on your promise. I need you to help me go on an expedition to the Lan Fang Republic.'"

After telling me the message, Amy Lee opened her crocodile-skinned purse, took out a dollar note, and placed it on the glass counter.

I lifted it up against the fluorescent light and examined the note.

In the middle of the note was a portrait of the Republic's founder and first president, Low Fong Pak.

From the wear and tear and print, it was a genuine Lan Fang Republic currency note.

I had a good instinct for identifying real or fake artifacts, and that's why my Shifu was comfortable leaving me on my own in the shop.

"It's genuine, but no one wants it. I can only offer you $10 for it."

Amy Lee smiled as if she expected my reply and said, "You sure have quite an eye for these things. How about this?"

She adjusted her bra; not sure if it was truly uncomfortable for her or just to cock-tease me.

I had tried hard not to look at her well-curved body the whole time, until she did this.

Her well-fitted cheongsam really did the job.

Then she reached into her purse again, and this time she took out something I'd never seen before.

A gold ingot, and right at the bottom of it, there were a few Chinese characters engraved: "蘭芳大统制共和國" (LanFang Republic)

There had been rumors of the LanFang Republic treasury's gold reserve being lost after being defeated by the Dutch in 1884.

And right before my eyes was one of the gold pieces from the treasury.

Knowing what this signified, I was lost for words for a few minutes before I spoke again.

"Where did you get this? Do you have more?"

Amy Lee raised her hand to cover her mouth and laughed, "There's more if Groundhog Liu keeps his promise to my Master. So, make sure you let him get the message. I will be back tomorrow at 12 noon. Come, let's go."

She snapped her fingers, turned around, and left the shop.

It was then I realized all this time, there was someone else in the shop.

He was a middle-aged man, pale and thin, wearing a black shirt and pants, with sunglasses on.

The odd thing is that he moved without making any noise, just like a snake hunting.

And his presence was undetectable, blending in with the background.

After they left, I picked up the phone and called my Shifu.

To my surprise, an unfamiliar voice answered.

"Run and hide! Do what you need to, your Shifu will prevail. Now, run!"

Then the phone went dead.