Chapter 6 (6) Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell (5)

  Wave after wave of tourists poured in, and the trail was suddenly bustling with people. Peng Sizhe and Xiao Bin were somewhat unprepared to distinguish the person they wanted to find among the crowds of various travel agencies wearing yellow, red, blue, and green clothes. It wasn't easy. After watching the hats of various colors float by their eyes for several hours, both Peng Sizhe and Xiao Bin felt some visual fatigue. Xiao Bin looked at the tourists coming and going, and his mood also became somewhat irritable.

  Time ticked away, and soon it was noon. The morning tourists began to return, and the vendors were eager to seize this last opportunity to sell their goods. Some impatient stall owners almost became "robbers" who blocked the way and forced sales on tourists. Peng Si Zhe rubbed his slightly sour eyes, mustered up his energy, and said to Xiao Bin: "I'm going to use the restroom, keep an eye out."

  Not far away, Peng Haoming saw Xiao Bin under the big tree by the road. He sneered and Xiao Bin didn't recognize Peng Haoming. Zhao Gongyu had disguised himself again, and it was easy for him to deceive Peng Haoming's eyes. But the appearance of a person next made Peng Haoming take a surprise, even somewhat hesitant.

  Peng Sizhe went to the toilet and brought a bottle of water back for Xiao Bin. He handed the water over to Xiao Bin and was saying something to him when Peng Haoming suddenly pulled Zhao Gongxu, who was walking forward: "We need to hide."

  "What's wrong?" Zhao Gongfu was suddenly tense after being spoken to by Peng Haoming, and had no choice but to follow him to a viewing platform on the side of the road, pretending to take in the view. Peng Haoming glanced around a few times, thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone and dialed a number: "There's been a bit of a problem."

  "Huh? What's going on?" The person on the phone thought that something was wrong at this time wouldn't be a small matter.

  "I know one of those two policemen," said Peng Haoming.

  "Do you know them? Do they know you?" The voice on the phone was surprised.

  "I'm not sure about this, I need some time..." Peng Haoming felt that it was better not to take the risk, otherwise all his previous efforts would be in vain.

  "There's not much time left, it's about to change shifts." The voice on the phone reminded.

  Peng Haoming raised his wrist to glance at his watch and said, "If... someone cooperates with me, I think I can still make it."

  "I want to remind you that the person who is supposed to meet us has almost arrived. If we can't make it today, then we'll have to wait for next time."

  "Don't worry, I'll definitely let you pass today," Peng Haoming said with certainty.

  "What's going on?" Zhao Gong asked hastily.

  "Nothing, I'll make a call..." Peng Haoming took out a phone card from his wallet and inserted it into another mobile phone, dialing a number...

  Peng Sizhe and Xiao Bin were in a state of anxiety when an eco-friendly police car from the scenic area drove over, and four policemen got out of the car. The leader went up to Peng Sizhe and Xiao Bin and said: "Hello, please come with us."

  Xiao Bin and Peng Sizhe were stunned for a moment, then Peng Sizhe asked: "Why?"

  "We suspect you two are related to the theft case, please cooperate with us." The police spoke politely, but their words were not to be refused. The other police officers also formed a semicircle, surrounding Xiao Bin and Peng Si Zhe.

  "Robbery?!?" Xiaobin exclaimed: "Hey! Brother, we're all on the same side... what kind of joke is this?!" He was about to pull out his ID from his pocket. Peng Sizhe pulled him back, and Xiaobin looked confused. Peng Sizhe gave him a signal with his eyes, indicating not to make a big deal out of it, so Xiaobin had no choice but to stop.

  In the scenic area, police appeared to check tourists, this thing is still rare, and soon many tourists gathered around.

  Peng Sizhe pulled the leading policeman aside and said in a low voice, "Brother, we're on a mission, give us some convenience." He handed over his police ID.

  He took Peng Sizhe's police ID and became even more puzzled, hesitating for a moment before pressing the intercom: "Central, central, please check the code on this police ID..."

  "What's going on?" Peng Sizhe asked.

  "Just now someone reported that you two stole his wallet, so we came over." The policeman was still quite honest.

  "Huh?" Peng Siche listened and felt that something was off, so he quickly raised his head to scan the crowd. Suddenly, he saw two red hats about 20-30 meters away from him, walking towards the deeper part of the scenic area.

  Peng Sizhe panicked and tried to run away, but several police officers blocked him: "Sorry, the matter has not been investigated clearly, you can't leave."

  "We are on a mission..." Peng Sizhe didn't care about that much, pushed away the police officer. The onlookers saw him hitting the police and running outward, they also didn't know what happened, their instinct to avoid danger made them open up a path.

  Several police officers saw Peng Sixhe run and quickly chased after him. Peng Sixhe caught up with two tourists wearing red hats, grabbed one of them and turned him around: "Zhao Gongfu..."

  The tourist was suddenly pulled by Peng Sizhe and almost fell, looking at Peng Sizhe with a confused face. Peng Sizhe saw that it wasn't Zhao Gongfu, so he pulled over the tourist wearing a red hat next to him again, and was stunned. At this time, several police officers also caught up and grabbed his hand, wanting to press him to the ground.

  Something didn't feel right, Peng Sizhe thought he hadn't misjudged, but the person in front of him was indeed not Zhao Gongfu. Peng Sizhe had a premonition that they were around here and very close to himself, very close...

  Peng Sizhe shook off the policeman's hand and looked around, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He saw a figure on the stairs leading up the mountain that seemed familiar. Just as he was about to chase after it, another policeman rushed over, holding out his baton: "Halt! Get down! Hands behind your head!"

  This sentence Peng Si Zhe has said countless times, but when another policeman says this to him, it makes him feel a bit ridiculous. He doesn't follow suit. Xiao Bin sees Peng Si Zhe and the policeman "fighting" and pushes away the policeman next to him, rushes over to support Peng Si Zhe, saying: "Leader, you go chase, I'll deal with them..."

  Peng Sizhe naturally wanted to chase after him, but he couldn't fight the police. Xiao Bin blocked the policeman and said: "Brother, it's our own people, we're handling a case..."

  But who dares to be certain, whether Xiaobin and Peng Sixi are their own people or not. Moreover, the two of them just pushed the police, in a strict sense, it can already be considered as assaulting the police. Xiaobin's heart is bitter, if they really fight with the police, not to mention hurting their own brothers, when they go back, it won't be just suspension, permanent suspension is likely to be nailed on the board. But he also feels that Peng Sixi will not make a mistake, Zhao Gongli is around here somewhere, but where exactly?

  "Leader, are you still uncertain?" Xiao Bin asked anxiously. The situation was very awkward, several police officers had already drawn their batons and pepper spray, now it's not the time to take action, nor is it the time to do nothing.

  "I'm not sure... I think they must be around here somewhere..." Peng Si Zhe was also confused, the aura seemed to have disappeared.

  "What's wrong?!" Xiaobin felt a surge of anger and frustration, thinking that this wouldn't be enough to persuade the police to let him off.

  Peng Sizhe had just caught a glimpse of him in the crowd, and then he blended into the flow of people. The police were already holding batons in front of him, unless he had a very good reason to persuade them, otherwise he could only fight his way through. Peng Sizhe felt that this time he would not be able to succeed.

  Just as Peng Sizhe was hesitating, he seemed to see someone turning back to look at him from the corner of the stairs. The gaze was very familiar to him, with a hint of disdain and sarcasm. When he wanted to take another look, the person disappeared around the corner of the stairs. By this time, it was already too late. Peng Sizhe thought for a moment and said to the police: "Sorry, I'll cooperate with your investigation."

  Xiao Bin knew at once that this time he had definitely come in vain. At the moment, he could only ease the conflict, otherwise, when he went back, what awaited him would truly be permanent suspension from work.

  Peng Haoming pulled off a small trick, evading Xiao Bin and Peng Sizhe's surveillance. He took Zhao Gongfu with him, smoothly following the mountain steps, not stopping to take in the scenery along the way. They passed through the tourist area and crossed the border without even glancing at the famous boundary marker. They went straight to the market on the Y country side and found stall B189 in a corner. He pulled out a 100-yuan note: "I want to buy a bottle of perfume."

  The stall owner looked and his expression seemed a bit anxious: "Why so late?"

  "Something unexpected happened on the road, can we still make it?" Peng Haoming asked.

  The stall owner glanced at his watch and said, "Follow me."

  Peng Haoming and Zhao Gongfu followed the stall owner from a small path beside the market, without anyone noticing. Several people walked quickly to the riverbank, where a bamboo raft was already waiting. The stall owner instructed the person on the raft for a few words, then said to Peng Haoming: "Now we should still be able to make it..."

  Zhao Gongbu got on the bamboo raft and asked anxiously: "Will it work or not?"

  "No problem."

  "May I ask, how can we get through the border checkpoint?" Zhao Gong was still worried that if they were caught by the Y country's border patrol on this side, it would be a big problem.

  "Mr. Zhao, problems that can be solved with money are not called problems." Peng Haoming sat on the reclining chair on the bamboo raft, raised his legs, and admired the scenery on both banks, saying slowly. Seeing Zhao Gongfu's puzzled expression, he added: "I've already bribed the border guards of country Y, as long as we go during his shift, there won't be any problem..."

  "What's next?" Zhao Gongyu asked again.

  "Then? Then I hope you won't be so nervous, because there are still several passes we need to get through, as long as you can stay normal."

  After all, it was his first time sneaking out, and it was such a bright and open sneak, Zhao Gongli's heart had always been hanging in his throat, and he couldn't let go until the last moment. Peng Haoming seemed to have seen through his thoughts and slowly added another sentence: "Mr. Zhao, I believe you haven't truly enjoyed the pleasure and excitement that money can bring. In this world, 99% of things can be solved with money."

  "What about the remaining 1%?"

  "That needs more money..." Peng Haoming said with a smile.

  "Is there anything that can't be solved with money?" Zhao Gong seemed to have a lot of interest in this topic and asked further.

  "Maybe there is, but at least I haven't encountered it yet."

  As the two of them were talking, the bamboo raft had already arrived at the water border inspection station of Country Y. The person operating the bamboo raft waved his hand towards the inspection station, but the officer on duty seemed not to have seen it and the bamboo raft just passed by the side of the inspection station.

  "See that? I bought him out for just this much..." Peng Haoming smugly opened his palm and waved it at Zhao Gong.

  "Five tens of thousands?" Zhao Gong asked.

  "A little less than zero." Peng Haoming said: "Mr. Zhao, money is a good thing, especially for those who lack it."

  "It seems like nobody doesn't lack money..." Zhao Gong said with a half-joking tone, but today's scene taught Zhao Gong a lesson - money is more magical than he had imagined!

  "Hmm... Mr. Zhao, you're already on the road paved with money, nice doing business with you!" Peng Haoming stretched out his hand to him, this was the first time Peng Haoming shook hands with Zhao Gongfu.

  "It was a pleasure doing business with you... Please take care of me, Boss Peng, from now on." Zhao Gong seemed to understand that this Peng Haoming would be very important to him in the future, or rather, important to his money.