Chapter 9: Facing the Cruel Battle

  I ran straight to one end of the corridor, and the dark room was quickly left behind in the dimness. Every hundred meters or so, a corner or fork would appear in the corridor. Following Jie's instructions, I tried my best to run towards the darker places, but every direction looked the same, so I had to grit my teeth and choose my path based on intuition. The sound of footsteps came from somewhere unknown, and I panted heavily, my heart pounding violently against my chest, the oppressive environment making me feel like I was about to collapse.

  Suddenly, a red light wall appeared in the depths of the corridor, and I saw the light wall quickly sweeping towards my position from afar. I didn't know what it meant to be swept by the light wall, so I could only quickly escape in the opposite direction. Just as I ran to a corner of the corridor, another identical light wall rose up in front of me and quickly scanned past my body. The light wall scanning my body didn't feel particularly special, but immediately afterwards, a spotlight appeared above my head and shone down on me. Soon, seven or eight armed enemy soldiers closed in on me. I stood naked under the spotlight, looking like a ridiculous clown in a circus.

  The enemy's muzzles were aimed at me with a loud noise. "Get down on the ground with your hands behind your head!" one of the leading soldiers shouted. At this moment, I was like a fish on the chopping board, unable to fight back and could only be slaughtered by others. I obediently lay flat on the cold ground, two enemy soldiers came over and tied me up tightly, and at the same time put a black cloth bag over my head.

  The enemy soldiers pushed me for about three minutes, then stopped at a place, and soon after, the sound of pressing keyboard-like devices came to my ears. The darkness in front of me gradually became brighter. The enemy soldier gave me a push forward, feeling like I had entered an elevator, and after hearing a "ding" sound, my body was lifted up.

  When my hood was removed, people had already returned to the ground. I looked around and found myself being escorted back into the enemy camp where I was previously captured. I saw familiar soldiers coming and going in groups, and two helicopters descended from the sky. After the helicopter landed, two little soldiers holding M16 automatic rifles jumped out of the cabin first, followed by a dozen or so women in tattered clothes who walked down from the helicopter.

  Only a small soldier next to me said, "Are these the 'good stuff' looted from Mazaxi Village? How come they're so poor quality!" Another small soldier said, "Hmph, good ones can be sent here? They've long been sold out, just this one, you don't even think about touching it." "Damn it, I don't even like touching these stinky country women!" The small soldier who spoke before said tirelessly. "You...you...don't look around, hurry up and walk" As he spoke, the small soldier also vented his anger by hitting my back with the butt of his gun. I endured the pain, quickened my pace, and silently thought about how to escape this enemy military base as soon as possible.

  The women who had been robbed passed by me, and all I saw was that they were pale and yellow due to years of hardship, but under their fearful expressions, a hint of surprise appeared, apparently frightened by my nakedness. I felt extremely embarrassed and ashamed, lowering my head.

  This time, I was not locked in the original dark dungeon, but was locked in a cell with relatively better conditions, located inside the enemy's office building, sunny and well-ventilated. If it weren't for the steel bars on the door and windows, one would easily think this was just an ordinary single-person bedroom. The cell only had a simple wooden bed, without those terrifying paintings and cruel torture devices found in the dark dungeon.

  The enemy soldiers were about to leave after throwing me into the cell, and I hurriedly called out to them: "Hey, can you find me a set of clothes?" The leader glared at me and said: "Don't make so much trouble, just be honest and wait here! We'll deal with you when Colonel Zhaizel comes back." After finishing speaking, he led his men out of the cell. "Where did Zhaizel go? What is he doing? How are they going to dispose of me? How should I respond?" I was full of questions about my uncertain situation.

  Just then, as I was thinking of how to escape from the enemy base, the prison door opened. The little soldier who had brought me food before walked in timidly, his eyes no longer gleaming with lust and brutality. "Sir, this is the clothes that the officer asked me to bring you." His change surprised me, what did Zha'er tell him? I glanced at him and said calmly, "Thank you brother, can you help me loosen the ropes on my body? Otherwise, how can I wear these clothes?"

  The little soldier apparently received some order, and he very obediently walked to my side to help me untie the rope. After being untied, I picked up the clothes on the ground and put them on. The clothes were a black-green labor insurance uniform, which fit well on my body. "Why no shoes?" I still asked calmly. The little soldier said carefully: "Sorry sir, this is what the superiors instructed, can't give you shoes to wear." I grabbed the little soldier's collar and coldly asked: "Who do you mean by superior, Xiao Hu Zi or Zha Yi Er?" "It's Colonel Zha Yi Er, sir!" The little soldier replied in a panic.

  I gently loosened his collar and spoke in a soothing tone: "Brother, don't be nervous, you're the best person to me here, I won't hurt you. Tell me where Zha'er went?" Xiaobing said: "I really don't know that! How could someone like me possibly know the Colonel's whereabouts?" I looked at Xiaobing's timid and annoying expression, thinking that I wouldn't get any valuable information from him either. So I said to him: "Thanks for bringing me clothes, brother, can I take a rest now?" Xiaobing said: "Of course!" After finishing speaking, Xiaobing turned around and left the cell, re-locking the door with a clang.

  I lay on the wooden bed, with a multitude of thoughts in my mind. I lightly tapped my left little finger a few times, intending to get in touch with Jie, but after waiting for a long time, there was no response from Jie. Ah... Suddenly, a mournful cry came from outside the window.

  I sprang out of bed and climbed onto the windowsill to look outside. I saw several prisoners of war wearing local government military uniforms, who were being taken away one by one by two fierce men to have their eyes gouged out, then stuffed into a specially designed giant meat grinder. The prisoners were all trembling with fear. Each prisoner who was stuffed into the meat grinder would let out a few blood-curdling screams before quickly turning into a pile of bloody, pulpy chunks, which were then carried away by soldiers in wooden buckets and thrown into a nearby crocodile pool. The crocodiles in the pool, stimulated by the smell of blood, became ferocious and competed with each other to devour the chunks of flesh and bone, creating a scene that was both bloody and terrifying.

  I clutched the iron bars of the window tightly, looking at this bloody scene, and my heart also trembled with fear. "What the hell is the nature of war." I cursed in my heart, and the images that Zayil played to brainwash me appeared again in my mind. "War is a disaster for humanity, it's an inevitable product of political struggle, it's a despicable means for some politicians to achieve their goals, but I'm a soldier, politics has nothing to do with me, I only care about whether the purpose of war is to bring peace and basic living security to the majority. War is certainly an extreme way to solve problems through violence, but sometimes it's inevitable, killing people is a fact that cannot be denied, however, the behavior of this cult organization is absolutely inhumane. I must fight against it with my life!" I vowed secretly in my heart.

  "Catfish!" A voice called out to me from somewhere, and judging by the tone, it was Jie. "This guy is so bold, with enemies all around him, he dares to call out my name directly, isn't he afraid of being exposed?" I muttered to myself. "Catfish, who told you to come out? Get back in your nest!" The person continued to shout. I immediately realized that he wasn't talking to me, but felt that something was off, so I looked for the source of the sound. It turned out to be Jie! However, he was actually talking to a python over a meter long, surrounded by a group of smiling soldiers. Jie glanced in my direction from afar, seemingly wanting to hint at something. All I heard him say was: "Big Catfish, don't rush, you have your own business to attend to, first go back and behave yourself." Jie's words were clearly hinting at something. I thought to myself that Jie was indeed clever, using the pet snake as a decoy with my name to distract others. I jumped out of the window again, knocking on my arm a few more times.

  Jie immediately responded: "The battle is about to begin, let's take action!" I asked Jie: "When?" Jie replied: "At any moment!" I asked: "Where is Zha'er going?" Jie replied: "Back to the cult headquarters." I asked: "Why?" Jie replied: "Umi has urgent summons." I asked: "When will he return?" Jie replied: "Two days later!" I asked: "What should I do in two days?" Jie replied: "Take care of your body, prepare for the cruel battle." Jie asked me: "Are you okay?" I replied: "Yes!" Jie said: "Good, let's stop contacting each other for now, we'll discuss again tonight!"

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