Chapter 10: Following the Tomb Raiders

  Section 1

  Li Wei has been in a labor reform brigade in Youzhou for over a month, and still hasn't received any news from the company. Now he's wearing prisoner clothes, Li Wei suspects whether he was forgotten or his impersonation of Gui Bo was discovered? The food and sleep here are terrible, but since his physical strength is relatively strong, no one dares to bully him. Except for exercising and laboring, he can't do anything else, the days feel like years.

  That day, the prison guard found him and told him to transfer prisons. Li Wei suddenly felt like he had been struck by five thunderbolts and was completely stunned. He mechanically followed the arrangements and was taken away, getting on a prisoner transport vehicle. His mind was a jumble of confused thoughts - why hadn't I been put on trial? How could they just throw me into prison directly? What would life in prison be like? If someone bullied me inside, should I fight back or not? If I fought back and injured someone, would my sentence be increased? Now I'm basically a black person (i.e. an outcast), no one is looking out for me, and I don't have any money...

  Inside the dimly lit prison van, Li Wei couldn't see the outside world. He felt like he had been sitting in the car for a long time, thinking wildly and randomly. The entire prison van was empty except for him. Even when he needed to urinate, he could only hold it in, and his mood got worse and worse. When they finally arrived at the prison, the sun had just set. After completing the handover procedures, Li Wei was taken away by a prison guard, changed into prisoner's uniform, and the first thing he did was ask where the toilet was. His face was already twisted from holding it in for so long. Rushing into the toilet, he let out a loud sigh of relief. At this moment, a fly flew over, Li Wei pulled up his pants just as he was about to come out, and the fly surprisingly flew right in front of him, carrying something round that looked like an earphone. Li Wei instantly understood what it was, stretched out one hand, and the fly placed the object on his palm. Li Wei felt it should be an earphone, so he put it into his ears. A voice came from inside:

  "Mountain cannon, hello. I'm Bluetooth. Don't speak or make a sound, just listen to me. You're here for your second task. Many precious cultural relics were stolen from the ancient tombs in Qingzhou's Wan City. The only clue is with a prisoner in this jail. You'll continue using the alias Wang Guojun. The company will arrange for you and the prisoner to be locked in the same cell. His name is Wang Tianlei. Multiple crime organizations are eyeing these treasures, so protect the prisoner at all costs. If necessary, don't hesitate to take extreme measures. The company will arrange for your escape. Your mission is to find these relics. Keep the earpiece in your ear and don't remove it. I'll be in contact with you at any time."

  Li Wei sat in the chair, getting his hair shaved off, watching his favorite hairstyle slowly turn into a buzz cut. In his heart, he was cursing: "Damn it! Where's my vacation?! Can't you find me earlier?! Why did I have to do hard labor for a month?! Can't I just go out and play for two days?! You're going all out, making me gnash my teeth!" Anger aside, being able to get out was still good, at least there was a goal. What people fear most is losing hope. Looking at the black and shiny hair on the ground, Li Wei understood that his true undercover career had begun. The first time was just a small skirmish, but this time it might be fatal.

  Where there are people, there is struggle. Where there are people, there is a world of its own. In the prison's world, there was a group of special people who could be said to possess extraordinary skills. Li Wei thought that this person's skill might be his silence. When eating, he remained silent; when taking a break, he remained silent; when working, he remained silent; even when being beaten, he remained silent. If not for the roll call, many would have mistaken him for a mute. In prison, it was survival of the fittest - only the strongest could lie down or stand tall. Nobody liked to be an outcast, and every stone had to be ground smooth and round. But this person was an exception - his name was Wang Tianlei, and he was destined to suffer. Xiao Pingtou told stories about him that were endless and filled with blood and tears. Getting close to someone like him wasn't equivalent to asking for trouble from both the inmates and the government? Li Wei's attempts at befriending him always ended in failure. With the help of Lantian, Li Wei managed to get many things to curry favor with the inmates around him, but everything he gave to Wang Tianlei was returned. Li Wei often thought that there were no problems that couldn't be solved with money; it was just a matter of offering the right price. But this stubborn stone was an exception. Since wealth and power couldn't win him over, then they would have to wait for shared hardships.

  In the days that followed, Li Wei often found ways to be assigned to work with Wang Tianlei, taking care of him in every way. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get through to Wang Tianlei. Before Li Wei arrived at this prison, there were always a few people who would bully Wang Tianlei, hoping to get something out of him, and they would often beat him up so badly that he was left with internal injuries, but it didn't show on the surface. Now, when these people tried again, Li Wei appeared and quickly beat them up, sending them tumbling to the ground. Just as one prisoner was about to throw a handful of washing powder at Li Wei, Wang Tianlei suddenly changed his usual dull demeanor and rushed over to grab the prisoner, and with one punch from Li Wei, the prisoner was knocked out cold. When the prison guards arrived, the prisoners were lying on the ground groaning in pain, and Li Wei and Wang Tianlei were each locked up in solitary confinement for half a month. The two men's friendship began from this incident. Wang Tianlei spent his half-month in solitary confinement in discomfort, while Li Wei spent his half-month lounging comfortably in the guards' dormitory. When they returned to their cellblock, they still didn't have much to talk about, but occasionally they would exchange a greeting or two.

  Half a month passed by in an orderly manner, and danger struck again. More than ten people surrounded Li Wei, holding their homemade weapons with ferocious faces. It was inevitable that they would not let him off easily, and the big guy had no way to mix in here. Unlike the back-and-forth in movies and TV dramas, they almost rushed up together. Li Wei couldn't grab anything that could be used as a weapon in the laundry room. After several rounds, Li Wei was injured, but he also fought back fiercely, knocking down several people. Wang Tianlei's hands were tightly clenched, his eyes dazed, letting Li Wei fight for his life. When Li Wei was hit again and blood splattered everywhere, Wang Tianlei shouted and rushed into the chaotic crowd, standing back-to-back with Li Wei. Although Wang Tianlei didn't have any martial arts skills, he had extraordinary strength. Relying on his brute force, he didn't fall behind at all. Li Wei's fists and feet were swift, accurate, and deadly, hitting the vital points of his opponents. The leader's face turned pale with fear, and he tried to run away. Li Wei chased after him with a few quick steps and kicked him in the back, knocking him unconscious. The rest of the people were also knocked down. Li Wei turned around and said:

  "If we stay here any longer, we'll definitely be done for, no choice!" A phoenix-eye fist struck the back of Wang Tianlei's head, and he immediately fainted. Looking at the person rolling on the ground, he said:

  "Get up, stop pretending, everyone has fainted, and you're still acting!"

  Section 2

  "You guys are really heavy-handed, look at me, I'm all battered and bruised from head to toe."

  "You didn't hold back on us either! You're bleeding too, we're all internally injured!"

  "Go find Lao Qiang, this stupid idea was his."

  "Let's go to the hospital, it will be easy for us to arrange a jailbreak there and it won't cause too much of an impact."

  "Alright then..." Li Wei's words were cut off as he was knocked unconscious.

  Li Wei slowly came to, only to find himself lying on a bed that was moving slowly. The air was filled with a strange smell, and a terrifying thought suddenly made him wide awake: "Oh no! I'm in the cremation oven!" He could already feel the heat emanating from above, so Li Wei sprang into action, using all his might to kick open the furnace door. The worker operating the cremator was shocked unconscious on the spot. Li Wei hastily searched for Wang Tianlei, hoping that he hadn't been burned before him. "What the...! How did I end up in the cremation oven? Shouldn't I be in the hospital?" he cursed. Those bastards almost had me cremated alive! Cold sweat poured out as he found Wang Tianlei and managed to revive him by pressing his acupoints and pinching his philtrum. He dragged Wang Tianlei along, running wildly and rummaging around for clothes to wear before making a hasty escape. They didn't have time to think about whether the clothes belonged to dead people or not - Li Wei was terrified that they would be cremated alive again if they were caught.

  Two people didn't say a word and ran all the way to the city. The two were starving, but had no money on them, when suddenly they heard a voice in their ears:

  "Mountain cannon, go another hundred meters forward and there's a red Santana. You can drive it away by prying open the car door..."

  "Your mom! I almost got burned to ashes!" Li Wei shouted in a flustered tone. Wang Tianlei thought he was being spoken to and asked:

  "National army, how did you get us into a human furnace?"

  "I was learning a technique from the Nine Tripod Great Law Dharma protector, it's called 'pointing at the vital points', when you hit someone's vital point, they're like dead. I accidentally used too much force on myself and woke up late, almost got burned by fire." Li Wei hastily made up an excuse, thinking to himself that it was good he didn't say anything else or he would have been exposed.

  "You still know this skill, I didn't expect it."

  "It's a pity I didn't learn much then. In this unfamiliar place, I don't even know where to go, are you from here?"

  "My hometown is Qingzhou Hengyang, over a hundred miles away from here, but I can't go back."

  "Why can't we go back? We're as good as dead now, anywhere will do."

  "It's hard to put into words!"

  "We'll just tidy up and finish painting, that's all. Don't worry, I've got this. I'm going to steal a car, you wait here for me."

  "Good."

  After running far away, Li Wei said in a low voice:

  "Didn't we agree to go to the hospital? How did you bring me to a crematorium?! What if I get burned to death?! Are you all crazy?!"

  "The hospital is too much trouble, it's easier here and you won't be wanted. Do you think you woke up on your own? I awakened you through the earpiece. Did you think the door of the human refining furnace would be so easily kicked open by you? All this was arranged."

  "You should have told me too!"

  "This time you're an undercover gangster, if it's not realistic then it'll harm you. The vehicle in front has the things you need, personal equipment, will be delivered to your temporary residence. Keep in touch at all times." Li Wei's mind was racing with a million thoughts.