Chapter Twenty-Two: Black Lightning
Text - Two
The truck sped along the highway, six hours later it 'inserted' into the border and entered Thailand. On the way, when passing by Khunman Highway, a large Chinese truck overtook our car, when I saw the bright national flag printed on the front of the truck, my heart beat violently, I even had an impulse to jump onto that truck and follow it back to my hometown. But I didn't do that. I asked myself, would I be an escaped prisoner or a glorious People's Liberation Army soldier if I went back now? I understood that going back now would undoubtedly put me in a completely passive position, and might even lead to a tragic death.
"Welcome! My dear, you must be exhausted from the long journey." After a series of transfers and U-turns, I finally arrived in Bangkok. Aunt Veera was already waiting for me at the entrance of her villa, and as soon as she saw me, she greeted me with joined hands and concern.
Aunt Vera was about fifty years old, of medium height and slightly plump, with a kind smile on her face whenever she spoke. "Hello, are you Aunt Vera? Sorry to disturb you." I greeted her politely. Aunt Vera smiled and said, "Yes, child! I'm Vera, don't be so polite, come in, let's talk inside." Aunt Vera led me into the living room and poured a cup of green tea for me. "I heard from Ate that you saved my father, thank you so much, my father is getting more and more troublesome as he gets older."
I smiled and said, "You're too kind, actually Uncle Andre's help to me was even greater." Aunt Vera asked, "Child, are you from China?" "Yes!" I replied lightly. Aunt Vera asked again, "Were you also a soldier?" I replied, "Yes!" "Which unit did you serve in before?" Aunt Vera seemed very curious about my background. "Uh...I..." I thought for a moment but didn't know how to answer her question, because I couldn't tell her the truth, nor did I want to lie to her.
Aunt Wei laughed and said, "I was just casually asking, if it's inconvenient, you don't have to say anything." "No, there's nothing inconvenient about it, it's just that I've been transferred many times in the army, so I don't know where to start. If I categorize by branch of service, I belong to the communications troops." I replied perfunctorily.
Aunt Vera smiled and said, "Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Now I'll take you to see your room. From now on, consider this place as your home." I asked Aunt Vera, "Are you letting me live in your house?" Aunt Vera nodded and said, "Yes, child! Do you think there's anything wrong with that?" I thought for a moment and said, "There's nothing wrong with it, but I don't want to trouble you. I wonder how Uncle Andre explained my situation to you."
Aunt Vera said, "Your father didn't tell me much, just that I should take good care of you like my own child. Don't worry about anything, just rest assured." I said to Aunt Vera, "Auntie, can you find another place for me? It's not convenient for me to stay here in the long run!" Aunt Vera thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I have an apartment on 9th Street. The conditions are slightly worse, but if you don't mind, you can live there." "Of course not, thank you, Aunt Vera!" I nodded hastily.
During dinner, Aunt Vera asked me if there was anything else she could help me with. After considering my current living situation, I said to Aunt Vera: "Aunt Vera, if possible, I'd like to ask you to help me find a job. It's okay if it's hard work or tiring, as long as the income can support my basic living needs." Aunt Vera said: "Child, don't worry about living expenses, I'll arrange everything for you. Are you short of money? If so, I can help you solve that problem." I said: "It's not that I'm short of money, it's just that I think it's better to be self-sufficient in life and not increase the burden on your household because of my arrival."
Aunt Vera smiled and said, "You're overthinking it, do you think my family can't afford to support one more person?" I explained, "Aunt Vera, I didn't mean that. It's just that I don't want to spend my days idly 'hanging around'!" Aunt Vera asked, "Having a job of your own is good, but what can you do?"
"I...". I was at a loss for words when faced with Aunt Vera's question. Yes, what can I do? What skills do I have to make a living? My solo combat skills are very strong, and I can take on three people at once; my marksmanship is excellent, and I can hit the target from 100 paces; my foreign language skills are good, but only in speaking; my computer skills and communication technology are 'great', and can be considered professional. But...but are these skills that I can use to make a living? Now, I'm a person who can't see the light of day..."I can drive." After thinking for a while, I blurted out. "Only...", I said hesitantly after saying that I could drive: "Only...only I don't have a driver's license!"
Aunt Vera looked at me, thought for a moment and said: "How about this, you go to the logistics center of my company to drive a forklift, with a weekly salary of 5,000 Thai baht, what do you think?" "It's good, but... to be honest, I don't know how to drive a forklift." Aunt Vera said: "It doesn't matter, it's easy to learn, you're a smart kid, I believe you can learn it in two days." "Okay!" I nodded in agreement. Aunt Vera said: "Alright then, it's settled. The logistics center is not very close to where you live, so I'll also give you an electric motorcycle." "Thank you, Aunt Vera, you're thinking too much for me." I said gratefully. Aunt Vera smiled and said: "It's what I should do, it's what I should do."
In the days that followed, I lived a plain, stable and uneventful life like an ordinary person. Every week, I could take a day off. Occasionally, I would go to Aunt Vera's house for dinner or stroll through the old market on 7th Street. However, apart from going to work, most of the time I chose to stay at home to avoid unnecessary trouble. The house I lived in was a two-story street-facing building, with a narrow street in front and not many people or vehicles passing by. The decoration of the house was simple, but all living facilities were available. I liked this living environment very much, on the one hand, it could satisfy my habit of loving quiet life, on the other hand, it was also convenient for me to secretly implement my own battle plan.
As the days go by, my mood has become increasingly anxious with the passage of time. "What should I do?" I ask myself every night when it's quiet. Every day, I'm passively wasting my time, but the wound in my heart is getting more and more painful. I always tell myself in front of the mirror: "You're a warrior, be brave and fight on until you shed your last drop of blood!" But the monotonous work and life day after day seem to have taken me far away from war, and the intense battles with flesh and blood flying everywhere seem like just a nightmare I once had. But I understand that those weren't nightmares, but a more real life than what I'm living now. Now I'm just a bullet in the chamber, waiting for the trigger to ignite my fuse.
On Sunday, I came to the flea market again, hoping to find some things I wanted. Every weekend, the flea market is exceptionally lively, but the prosperity of the market and the people who brush past me are all irrelevant to me, because this world does not belong to me and I do not belong to this world. These ordinary happy lives are also destined to be strangers to me forever. I only care about those shops and stalls that sell electronic mechanical equipment. This day was very lucky, and I actually found an old radio in a store. After bargaining with the store owner, I finally bought this old radio for 8400 Thai baht.
Many people like old things, some are nostalgic, some are for collection, but I am for turning waste into treasure. The high-tech equipment of the same era has a high degree of precision and integration, with excellent properties that cannot be compared to those of older devices. However, due to its high precision and the embedding of nanotechnology, it is impossible to manufacture and assemble through simple manual means. Old-fashioned equipment is different, its structural composition can be clearly seen without a microscope, for people like us who have received professional training, we can easily modify it.
After purchasing some necessary devices, I converted this old radio into a machine that integrates wireless transmission and superheterodyne reception within a week. After connecting the machine to my computer, as long as the firewall is started, finding the frequency, I can receive global radio signals and broadcasts without exposing IP address information. I also gave the machine I made a loud name - Black Lightning.
Every night, I would receive some unknown wireless telegraph signals through "Black Lightning" and listen to the battlefield radio programs of the forward command post and other military units. For several days, I did not receive any valuable wireless signals, but by listening to the broadcasts, I roughly grasped some of the latest battle situations on the front lines.
According to the news released by the battlefield radio, the second round of military strikes against Guri Talar has also ended. However, the results were not as satisfactory as the first round of military strikes. In some battle reports, many places seemed to be evasive and intentionally avoided mentioning certain content. On the issue of how to coordinate and cooperate on the third round of military strikes against Guri Talar, the attitudes of some countries began to become unclear, and some European and American countries even re-proposed the idea of cleaning up the remnants of the base organization and temporarily suspending the strike against Guri Talar. The Chinese side also seemed to be shrinking the radius of military strikes. All this can only explain one problem: Guri Talar has negotiated with certain countries in the coalition and reached a consensus on some "exchange" terms, while some countries' inability to persist in striking Guri Talar directly caused the coalition's military action against Guri Talar to stagnate.
It's no wonder that every country wants to take advantage of the Guri Talar religious organization to grasp high-tech technology and advance their own scientific research, national defense technology, etc. by 50 years. Judging from the current situation, the war will temporarily enter a relatively stable period, but I know that this stability is relative and local wars will continue and spread. Most member states of the coalition still have a firm attitude towards thoroughly eliminating Guri Talar, and the small favors Guri Talar has given to some countries are not enough to make them last for long. However, I believe that Guri Talar also does not naively think that it can reach an agreement with the multi-national coalition and forever occupy one side of the power, living a stable life, of course they will not be so tired. Everything now is just a tacit understanding between the two sides to regroup.
The war has developed to this point, and I feel deeply troubled and helpless. I had thought that the multinational coalition's military action against Gurtal would shorten the war, and I could find a way to clear my name and return to my unit, returning to a normal life. But now it seems that this war will not end in a short time. And I, too, will inevitably fall into an insoluble predicament. In the coalition's online network, I also saw a "Wanted" notice issued by our side several days ago.
The wanted person in the "Wanted Order" is not someone else, but me. The "Wanted Order" describes my physical characteristics in detail, but does not mention my real name, instead still using the codename "Mud Eel". According to the "Wanted Order", Mud Eel was captured for treason and rebellion, and on the way back to the country after being extradited, he suddenly turned murderous, killing two young soldiers who were escorting him and injuring a senior military officer before escaping. When I saw this "Wanted Order", my heart ached with no end of pain, not only because of the humiliation I carried on my body, but also because of the tragic death of the two young warriors. Although all of this had long been within my expectations, facing such a fact still made it difficult for me to accept in my heart. In a state of extreme helplessness and desolation, I sent out a distress signal through "Black Lightning" that only a few comrades from the International Special Forces Training Team could decipher.
Three days later, I received an ultra-long reply telegram. After decryption, I found that the telegram was sent by my Estonian comrade Rosbinder. He told me that he had already seen the military's "Wanted Order" and was actively thinking of ways to help me clear my name, but it would be difficult to make progress in a short period of time. Rosbinder suggested that I should not fight alone, and it would be best to seek support and protection from an organization or team, only then can we carry out long-term combat.
As for Rossbenda's suggestion, I have also considered it. One person's power is bound to be extremely limited, and it is obviously impossible to overcome the current difficulties and win the battle with one's own strength. However... what kind of organizational power can I seek support and protection from? After thinking about it repeatedly, I finally thought of a person - Ben Jenson. Jenson had said that he has an illustrious family background in America, his aunt even holds an important position in the White House. If I could contact Jenson and seek his help, it would be extremely beneficial for me to carry out the next battle. Thinking of this, I found the communication address that Jenson left me, took up my pen and wrote him a long letter, detailing my current situation and thoughts.
It's been a few years since I last wrote in English, so the letter was quite difficult to write and I had to look up many words in the dictionary. However, it was also because of the dictionary that I got to know my neighbor, which led to more trouble later on.
The neighbor's family has four children. The second child is a boy named Oudi, who is in high school. The dictionary used to write the letter that night was borrowed from him. Oudi has a pair of 12-year-old twin sisters, one named Mimi and the other named Mengmeng. As for their eldest child, I have never seen them before.
After sending out the letter to Jason, my daily routine consisted of going to the logistics company to drive a forklift and continuing to gather information about the situation through "Black Lightning", waiting for Jason's response. I didn't contact Ross again because he had been sent to the front line.
It's been half a month since I sent the letter, and I still haven't received Jason's reply. Many unknowns have emerged from my heart... Is the letter really in the United States? Has Jason returned to the United States? Is Jason still alive? Was the letter possibly intercepted by the relevant US authorities? Slowly, I began to regret writing to Jason. Although I made some adjustments to the content of the letter, it is still very likely that I will expose myself to the enemy, and what's even more frightening is that I may implicate Mr. Anderson and his family.
