Chapter 5: Speed in Darkness

  Article One

  Day or night, it's all the same to me in this dark cell. The world outside seems to have narrowed down to that single low-wattage light bulb. Please use our pinyin domain name to access us.

  The unusual quietness of the prison cell is a welcome respite, even though I'm subjected to cruel torture. This brief moment of peace has given me a strange sense of relief...

  Now, I no longer have to struggle in the quagmire of war, killing or being killed. I don't have to desperately run through the dense jungle, lost and unsure which direction to go. Now, my task seems simple: wait for the enemy's round after round of brutal interrogation, and before they torture me to death, not reveal any information that could lead to my comrades' sacrifice.

  Country, army, honor, national righteousness... all seem distant from me now. Only the lives of my comrades remain. As I drift in and out of consciousness, the light in front of me grows dimmer... dimmer...

  Loach...!

  Suddenly, a familiar yet life-filled calling voice came from the darkness! I was startled, my eyes wide open, desperately searching for the source of the sound... But all around me was empty and desolate, with no one in sight. "Could it be... could I have hallucinated?" I asked myself. "No, that voice was so clear, so real, and yet so familiar, although I hadn't heard it often since leaving the new recruit squad, but I could clearly tell it was him!

  "Could it be... But how? How could he have known the codename of this special operation, and how did he end up in this cult-led unit?" One question after another overturned the "but" in my mind. Yet, that soft call once again stirred up the fighting spirit within me. "Perhaps I was too quick to think about sacrificing myself; my comrade's shout is clearly telling me that the war isn't over yet, and the historical burden on our shoulders hasn't been fulfilled - how can we slack off at a time like this?" I closed my eyes tightly, recalling my fallen comrades in silence, and repeatedly teasing myself with a cheerful tone.

  I told myself that I was still alive and couldn't give up easily. Before I knew it, I fell asleep in a daze.

  In my dream, the dead and living comrades of the Fishbone Special Forces rushed towards me with bright smiles, but I couldn't help bursting into loud sobs. Then, they formed a tactical formation and plunged one by one into the humid jungle, I wanted to chase after them and join forces with them, but my legs couldn't muster up any strength, I wanted to shout loudly for them, but my voice couldn't come out.

  Suddenly, a bomb exploded with a loud noise not far from me. My eyes were left with only a strong light, and then the blown-up limbs of my comrades fell in front of me one after another. The whole world was dyed red with blood, but my tearful eyes remained black and white.

  What woke me up from my dream was a loud slap on the ear from a young soldier who delivered food. This little soldier wasn't very old, probably only seventeen or eighteen years old, but from his eyes, I could tell that he was also an evil scoundrel who was used to committing arson and murder. I looked at him coldly with my head down and eyes rolled up. He was furious and said sarcastically: "They're afraid you'll die too quickly, so they asked me to bring you dog food. But they say you're a very dangerous guy, so they didn't let me untie you, just feed you. What the hell, what did I do wrong that I have to serve someone like you?"

  When I heard Xiaobing say this, I was deaf to it, because spending too much energy on a guy like him who is not worth mentioning would be a desecration of my own life. What I really need to do now is to survive, maintain my vitality, until the final battle is over.

  I forced a smile and said to him, "Little brother, thank you for bringing me food. To be honest, I'm almost starving to death. Please hurry up and feed me!" The little soldier said tirelessly, "Looking at your wretched appearance, if I want to feed you, I'll feed you. What do you take me for?" I said, "I don't take you for anything. Now I'm a prisoner of war under your control, what qualifications do I have to make demands or ask for anything? It's just that your superior doesn't want me to die, so he must want to get some important information from me. But I'm the kind of person who yields to softness but not to hardness. The more you torture me, the less I'll say. At worst, I'll just die. That's what it means to be a soldier - we're not afraid of death."

  However, I changed my tone and said: "But if you treat me a little better, maybe my heart will soften and I'll tell you some important information, and you might be able to use it to get promoted and rich!" Although the soldier had done many evil things, he was shallow and naive. My words, which were full of loopholes, actually stirred up something in him. He seemed to have an epiphany and nodded his head, then started feeding me food mouthful by mouthful, muttering to himself: "I'll get lots and lots of beautiful women, crowds and crowds of lovely girls..." As I swallowed the hard-to-swallow food with big gulps, I was secretly mocking the soldier's pitifulness and ignorance.

  Xiao Huzi's second interrogation of me was two days later. At that time, Xiao Huzi was disheveled and reeked of alcohol, with bloodshot eyes, suggesting he had been drinking heavily again. After entering the dark cell, he looked me up and down with a drunken gaze, then ordered his subordinates to bring in dozens of "Spicy Open-Appetite Whips". He also explained with a fake smile that this was a dish he had seen in Chinese books, belonging to Sichuan cuisine, which our revolutionary elders liked. The whip soaked in chili water burned and stung my skin, each lash opening up a long gash.

  I gritted my teeth and let out a mighty roar, like an awakened lion. The louder I roared, the more wildly the small mustache and his cohorts laughed. After the flogging, the small mustache seemed to be still unsatisfied, and ordered the soldier beside him: "Come on, help our sturdy and handsome Chinese friend remove the remaining limbs from his body." The soldier obeyed the order, immediately prying open my left palm, and after a dull thud of the guillotine, the last joint of my little finger was severed to the ground. I felt so much pain that I almost fainted.

  The little mustache sneered with a threatening tone, "Quickly, who sent you?" I glared at the little mustache, really wanting to rush over and flay his skin alive with my dagger. I struggled desperately to break free from the shackles, but it was all in vain.

  "I roared: 'You group of ugly evil soldiers, I am the Buddha sent by your ancestors to bring you back to Avici Hell! How's that? Are you satisfied with this answer?!' Little Beard was enraged by my words and sobered up a bit, ordering viciously: 'Cut off his right little finger too!' Immediately, the soldier who received the order pried open my right palm and cut off my right little finger from the base with one knife. Suddenly, blood gushed out, and I endured the intense pain, cursing wildly... Little Beard said viciously: 'Will you talk or not? If you don't, next we'll dig out your eyes!'"

  I glared at Little Beard, my teeth clenched in anger. "Alright, I'll tell you something," I said, and he walked up to me with a smug expression on his face, believing every word. Luckily, my head was still free to move, so when Little Beard approached, I suddenly lunged forward and bit down hard on his cheek. Little Beard let out a loud yelp in pain. The surrounding soldiers saw that I had bitten their commander and immediately attacked me with guns, sticks, fists, and feet. But how could I let go of such a great opportunity for revenge? The harder they hit me, the tighter I bit down. My teeth sank deep into Little Beard's cheek, and he was so desperate to escape that he actually began crying and begging for mercy.

  I didn't care about his begging for mercy, I used force and ripped the "flesh" off Little Beard's cheek. For a moment, blood flowed freely, I spat out the "rotten flesh" with whiskers from my mouth, and laughed loudly with my bloody mouth open. Little Beard was in so much pain that he went crazy, grabbed the rifle of a nearby soldier and wanted to kill me. At this time, I had already prepared for death, laughing and raising my chest to wait for his bullet.

  Stop! The Tivoli in the mist...

  Just then, a shout came from outside the cell door. This one shout made Little Hu forget his anger towards me and put down his gun. It seemed that someone even more ruthless and brutal had arrived. I gazed coldly at the cell door. The cell door opened, and five soldiers swaggered in from outside, led by a tall and burly man.

  All the little soldiers in the cell, including Xiao Hu Zi, stood up straight and saluted loudly, saying: "Colonel Zha Yi Er, hello!" I suddenly realized that he was... Zha Yi Er! But what made me even more surprised and delighted was that when the enemy was welcoming Zha Yi Er with a salute, I saw a familiar face that couldn't be any more familiar. It turned out that the voice calling out to me from the shadows wasn't an illusion, it really was him... Jie!