Chapter Fifteen

  The efficiency of certain departments is astonishing.

  At four o'clock in the afternoon, the three of us brought all the luggage into the hotel and had a special meal made with extra ingredients.

  My equipment is a cowboy jacket with metal decorations all over it, along with a pair of boots with steel tips and a pair of boxing gloves with decorative studs.

  Jiang Kuan is a large set of bat shirts, then tight pants, thin-soled boots, and four rings, all steel rings that can knock anyone to the ground with a single blow.

  Yang Ke was a bit miserable. A set of white casual clothes with a waistband with a microphone holder. Then there was a brand new erhu, but the weight was indeed a bit heavy, to put it simply, the whole thing was like a big hammer.

  Three people all wore wigs and were equipped with top-notch street fighting gear.

  But no gun.

  Then Kuang Ming very coolly handed each of us a pair of sunglasses, saying you guys put them on and go to the bathroom, close the door, turn off the lights and try out the effect. This is new equipment, you guys get used to it first.

  Look at those goggles, everyone knows they are night vision equipment. But I didn't understand how this equipment could have the function of sunglasses in a bright environment and produce night vision effects when it's dark?

  No time to figure out how those sunglasses work, anyway as soon as it gets dark we put them on and sneak into the karaoke hall.

  At that time, I thought I was quite capable of anticipating and preparing for the unexpected. My mind was preoccupied with how to get close to those backstage staff and performers, hiding my true intentions, waiting for the perfect moment to strike unexpectedly and catch them off guard!

  The result was so outrageous that I almost vomited blood!

  I saw Brother Guangming wearing a spotlight engineer's vest standing behind a row of spotlights early on, holding a follow spot shining intensely at the sister's butt who was singing on stage.

  I saw a row of several old soldier brothers wearing the vests of song and dance hall staff, being very polite, serious and professional, serving on both sides of the stage!

  I even saw the person from a certain department who delivered equipment to us in the daytime, taking off the vest that was used to deliver lunch boxes during the day and changing into a suit, holding a notebook and shouting back and forth as if he was the stage supervisor!

  Then the sister who was singing and shaking her butt on stage came down, and some people from a certain department who were in charge of supervising the stage started yelling at us as if they didn't know us, saying "Hurry up, hurry up, you bunch of useless people running wild on stage, aren't you ashamed to be so slow? Get back to your own performance!"

  Then Yang Ke went up and I looked at the VIP seat, three of them sat on one side, six robust men with a lot of flesh, but the middle seat was empty and no one went to sit.

  At that time, I thought to myself, "The target of the capture hasn't arrived yet, you'd better not come now, or else a red light will flash and catch you, and it's Yang Ke who will take care of it, so I won't have a chance to make a move!"

  Finally, Yang Ke pulled and pulled for half a day and came down to applause. As soon as he flashed into the backstage, Yang Ke's small face was covered in cold sweat, and before he could say a word, he sat down beside him, panting.

  The emcee has already announced that the next one is me going up to sing. And then he blows it saying I'm some kind of rock star who's been to Guinea and Somalia, and then there's a round of applause.

  I don't know if I've been possessed by an evil spirit!

  Anyway, I just knew in that instant what Yang Ke was going to do next.

  After all, we were once summoned as art soldiers, and before joining the army, we were exposed to music for a while.

  After hearing the music, seeing the stage lights, especially after hearing the applause, that feeling which had been dormant in my heart surged out again.

  Although we are about to face some desperate villains, at the moment when music starts, we still yearn for that feeling surrounded by applause and cheers.

  Just like what the legendary Swedish band's leader once said.

  I like the feeling of standing in the center of the world and hearing cheers and applause, even if the land under my feet is crumbling towards hell.

  I grabbed the wig from my head and slammed it to the floor, then rushed onto the stage like a mouse that had eaten rat poison. I seized the drumstick of the drummer in one hand and struck the bass drum with all my might!

  Then he shouted into the microphone!

  I don't know what kind of sound I made, but anyway, I let out a loud wail.

  The whole audience fell silent.

  Estimated that at the time, some local music halls in Xinjiang had never seen such a bold singer. Everyone thought it was fresh. How did a crazy person come to perform today? It turns out that this epilepsy is rock and roll.

  As the scene quieted down, I saw the chubby guy who was to be caught walking into the scene surrounded by several guys dressed in a hacker empire style.

  I'm singing!

  It's probably really destined by heaven.

  I don't know what was wrong with me that day, but I chose a song by the band Hei Bao called "Don't Go to Waste" as the opening song.

  No quiet days and silent nights

  People's faces looked tense

  Holding the gun tightly in hand

  Heaving chest

  Eyes full of desperate gaze

  No smiling faces and peaceful scenery

  The flames of war have driven people in all directions

  All shattered dreams and lost hopes

  People have gone crazy

  Don't go and mess up their home

  Don't go shoot those ignorant dolls

  Tears streaming down, unable to utter a word

  Who can go and make an answer

  No place to rest and hiding everywhere

  What about good people?

  The peaceful paradise of one's hometown in the past

  But now it's so desolate

  Put down the gun in your hand and take a look around with open eyes

  In front of you is the hometown of human survival

  Put down your gun and think about it

  What would you do if you were me?

  It turns out that singers are easily moved by their own inner thoughts and more easily moved by the feelings given to them by the live audience!

  I was watching the whole scene of red lanterns, green wine, songs and dances, men and women loving each other, and I thought, isn't it good to live a good life?

  How is it that some people like to get something for nothing, but you don't know the joy of being able to go home every day and be with your family, your parents, brothers and sisters? That's truly the most satisfying pleasure in the world.

  Anyway, at that time I felt like I had never been so satisfied with the songs I sang. If those big brothers from Black Panther came now, I might have the guts to go up and say "Hey guys, are you still recruiting? Look at me singing better than your lead singer, why not change to a new lead singer?"

  After finishing the song, that fat guy also sat down in the middle of the VIP seat, and another thin guy with a flattering smile came over and sat next to him. The two people whispered to each other, I don't know what they were saying?

  Then I stared at that fat guy with one eye and waited for the red light to appear at any time, and I felt like the microphone was about to be pinched flat!

  Suddenly, I saw the thin man take out a few banknotes, crumple them up and throw them at my feet, saying "Give your lordship a little tune, sing a little widow on the grave."

  I was so angry at that time...

  The young widow goes up to the grave?

  I curse your mother's grave!

  I'm a proud soldier of the army special forces. I've been so tense and uncomfortable for the sake of the mission, you dare to come and have fun with me?

  I'm still clear about my task! I picked up the money with a smile and thanked the boss, saying "Thank you, thank you!" I won't take it if you don't give it to me. Shall I sing a rock song for you, like Black Panther's "Don't hurt my heart"?

  That skinny guy hummed and said okay, okay, you guys in this small place probably don't understand such elegant art, just sing along!

  I just sang, with a belly full of fire and a face still in ecstasy.

  Why say music has no borders, as long as it's sung well, that's all that matters. Anyway, after finishing the song, that fat guy didn't know whether he understood or not and just laughed loudly while gesturing to that thin guy.

  Then the thin man threw another wad of cash and said to the little guy upstairs, "Come down, this gentleman wants to treat you to a drink."

  I put down the microphone and walked over to respectfully receive the cup of unknown liquor, saying thank you, thank you, thank you very much. The boss gave me a red envelope as a reward. I'll definitely sing well for you below. What do you want to hear? I'll sing whatever you want.

  I raised the cup and downed it in one gulp, just as I put the cup down, I was thinking that my current position is perfect, if I were to make a move, it would be the best opportunity.

  A flash of red light!

  The lights went out!

  In an instant, everything went dark for less than a second. When I opened my eyes again, that fat guy's big green face was right in front of me. Judging from his expression, he hadn't reacted yet and his eyes were full of confusion and bewilderment.

  I took action then.

  Without any politeness, a small fist was slammed into the fat man's Adam's apple, and then he heard the fat man make a "hng" sound, and with a soft whoosh, he slid down to the ground.

  I don't know what I was thinking either?

  I reckon it was that skinny guy who told me to sing "Little Widow on the Grave" which made me angry, so I casually swung my fist and punched him in the head.

  At that time, I could punch a hole in an old red brick wall with one fist. I reckon the fat guy's Adam's apple was definitely not as hard as the brick wall. The thin guy's chin was even more fragile. So I dragged the fat guy back.

  Behind him, several veteran brothers in the background also came up, quietly lifted that fat guy and retreated from the small back door, then ran wildly outside. Several cars were already ignited waiting to pick him up, and he slipped away quickly.

  Then we also withdrew from the song hall and it seemed like someone was shouting that the short circuit had been handled and there was no big deal, so everyone continued to have fun and play without spoiling the mood.

  Our car is speeding along. The windows are all covered with black curtains, I can't see outside, but I can feel that we're heading towards the outskirts of the city at a crazy speed.

  There were two uncles of a certain department on the bus who didn't avoid us and we started interrogating them suddenly.

  Kuang Ming's brother went down with two mouths, and that fat guy woke up. He wanted to struggle and shouted in a loud voice, "I am a citizen of Ah Xiang Han! I protest against your illegal arrest!"

  I was about to wave my hand and tell that guy to shut up, when some big shot from a certain department smiled slyly and waved his hand, saying "Little brother, don't take action, we're here to make money, not to cause trouble. We're outsiders making a living, let's not hurt anyone!"

  Huh?

  How come this sounds like something those robbers would say?

  Is it that certain department's big brother you who stayed in this car for too long at night and got carbon monoxide poisoning, so your brain isn't very clear?

  It suddenly dawned on me that a certain department is quite mysterious and their actions are definitely not ordinary. I'll just follow them and do my job, it's best to keep my mouth and ears shut.

  "With this IQ of mine, I reckon I won't be able to understand a watch..."

  That something something **heard that old man say so mouth shut up but eyes are rolling around meaning he also understands that old man is nonsense but that guy actually slid down the pole and said I am a legitimate businessman you don't want to hurt me I'll have someone send you money.

  The old man then smiled and said, "We don't want your money, you know what we want. If you hand it over quickly, you might still have a chance to be released from prison. But if you don't hand it over, we'll become kidnappers and tear up the ticket. Don't believe me? I'll try tearing one for you?"

  That fatty strongly shook his head and said no way, hand it over. I'd rather die than hand it over, I'm not handing it over!

  Those two uncles from a certain department just smiled and turned their faces away.

  Then I saw Li Lao Da from our row smiling and taking out a few silver needles from his pocket.

  I knew that fat guy was done for.

  Li Lao Da is a Yunnan native and a Wa ethnic minority. His ancestors have been practicing medicine in the Simao area for generations, using a single silver needle to save countless lives, earning him a reputation as a living Hua Tuo in the local area.

  The Wa people had a custom of hunting for human heads and liked to cut off the heads of people with big beards and place them in rice fields as sacrifices. During the Anti-Japanese War, in order to hunt for suitable human heads, the Wa brothers simply crossed the border and beheaded more than a dozen Japanese devils, including a Japanese lieutenant colonel. The little devils were so scared that overnight they grabbed their knives and shaved off their beards, not daring to leave any hair behind, even if it meant being beaten to death.

  To be able to gain the unanimous respect of these fierce Wa ethnic men, apart from their excellent medical skills and noble medical ethics, the Li family's unique flying needle technique is also exceptional, especially when it comes to hitting acupoints, which is a particularly remarkable skill.

  When we were training and got hurt, Li Lao Da would give us a shot and then push and pull a few times, and we'd be fine in no time. But on the other hand, when Li Lao Da was messing with people, his skills were also top-notch...

  I think that fat guy didn't know the power of Chinese acupuncture. He saw Old Li insert a needle and didn't even flinch, but when Old Li lightly rotated the silver needle, the fat guy let out a strange cry and almost popped his eyes out.

  Before Li Lao Da could even make his second move, that fat guy shouted out saying "I surrender! I surrender! You can have whatever you want!" The stuff was hidden in a feed processing plant on the outskirts of the city.

  Seeing that the uncles in a certain department were nodding, Li Lao Da put away his silver needle and still had an expression of not being satisfied. Looking at the meaning, it seemed like he hoped that fatty wouldn't confess so quickly, what a good opportunity to practice his skills?

  The car rushed towards the feed processing plant and I felt cold sweat all over my body.

  This was my first time on a mission. I only threw two punches, and one of them was just to vent my anger from head to toe, it was uneventful but I was still drenched in sweat, my throat was parched and my whole body felt like my muscles were trembling.

  Then Brother Kuangming gave me a cigarette and didn't say anything, just pinched the muscle on the back of my neck.

  I gradually stopped stuttering.

  I know my veteran brothers are watching me from behind.

  When the sky falls, old comrades will carry it with me!