radicalducati Chapter 43 The City of Perfume
Chapter 43 The City of Perfume
At 7:30 p.m. the next day, Lu Siye walked out of the tent.
He didn't say goodbye to anyone.
Because there was nothing to say goodbye to.
No one in the camp knew his name, and he didn't want to know anyone's name.
The barbed wire fence on the east side of the camp was not far from his tent, about a five-minute walk away.
He didn't go directly there.
We first took a leisurely stroll around the campsite.
As he passed several tents, he heard sounds coming from inside.
Some people were playing cards, some were drinking, and some were telling jokes, with loud laughter.
He walked around the tents, making sure no one was following him, before turning east.
The barbed wire has arrived.
It was a very inconspicuous corner where someone had cut a large hole with pliers.
The scarred man has arrived.
He squatted outside the barbed wire fence, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. When he saw Lu Siye approaching, he raised his hand, took the cigarette out of his mouth, and nodded to Lu Siye.
Neither of them spoke.
Lu Siye crouched down and crawled through the hole.
The barbed wire snagged his backpack. He paused, took the backpack off his shoulder, stuffed it through the hole, and then crawled through.
As he stood up, he saw other people walking towards him in twos and threes from different directions.
Finally, after counting, including Scarface and Lu Siye, there were nine people in total.
There's one more person in the tent than yesterday; someone must have leaked the news.
The scarred man glanced at the number of people, said nothing, and turned to walk into the woods.
The others followed behind him, but no one spoke.
It took about two hours to walk.
The forest was dense, with no path, and the ground was covered with fallen leaves and dead branches. Lu Siye walked in the middle of the group, with people in front and behind him.
But he deliberately kept a few steps' distance from the people in front and behind him.
It's not that I'm antisocial.
It's a habit.
He noticed that people were starting to complain.
How much further?
"I can't walk anymore."
"Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have come."
No one responded to these complaints.
Because the people who say these things know that complaining is useless.
From the moment they crawled through that barbed wire fence, there was no turning back.
If you escape from the barracks at this point and get caught, it won't be as simple as just being put in solitary confinement.
In wartime, deserters are treated in only one way.
So they could only move forward.
Even if there's a cliff in front of you, you have to jump.
After walking for about another hour, the woods began to thin out.
The scarred man stopped, raised his hand, and gestured for the people behind him to stop as well.
He stood behind a large tree, peeking out half his head and looking ahead.
Lu Siye walked to his side and followed his gaze.
Ahead was an open space with three SUVs parked there.
It was a civilian vehicle, with no markings, license plates, or military identification numbers.
There were two people standing next to the car.
He was wearing a black combat uniform, but it wasn't a military uniform; it was something between military uniform and outdoor gear, well-tailored and looking very professional.
He had a gun tucked into his waistband, but it wasn't an ordinary gun; Lu Siye couldn't tell what model it was.
It was a size larger than a regular pistol, and there were some devices on the gun that he couldn't understand.
One of them was holding something that looked like a tablet computer, looking down at the screen, while the other stood next to him with his arms crossed, scanning the surrounding woods.
The scarred man took a deep breath, held the flashlight above his head, and drew three circles.
This is a pre-arranged signal.
The person holding the tablet looked up, glanced in their direction, and then said something to the person next to them.
The person nodded and walked over.
He walked to the edge of the woods and stopped.
He has deep facial features, small eyes, and is a foreigner.
His gaze lingered on the scarred man for a second, then swept over the people behind him, one after another.
Finally, his gaze fell on Lu Siye.
It paused for a moment.
The man's lips twitched slightly, then he looked away and said something to the scarred man.
The scarred man nodded, turned to the people behind him and said, "Come with me, don't talk, and don't look around."
Nine people emerged from the woods and walked toward the three SUVs.
As he got closer, Lu Siye could clearly see the two people wearing black combat uniforms.
The person with the tablet was older, probably in their early thirties.
His gaze swept over the nine people, and like the young man before him, it lingered on Lu Siye for a moment.
Then he looked down and continued looking at the tablet.
"Get in the car."
Three off-road vehicles, each seating five people.
The scarred man was assigned to sit in the first car, in the passenger seat.
Lu Siye was assigned to the third car, in the back row, by the window.
When he got in the car, he noticed a faint smell inside.
It smells like disinfectant in a hospital, but not as pungent.
The car seats were genuine leather and very soft, a stark contrast to the wooden bed he had slept on for the past month.
The car doors closed, the engines started, and the three cars drove out of the open space one after another onto a dirt road.
The drive took about three hours.
The bus stopped once in the middle, and everyone got off and relieved themselves on the roadside.
No one gave them food or water, and some of the defeated soldiers began to complain, but no one dared to speak out.
Because two more people appeared later than the three people in black combat uniforms, seemingly emerging from some vehicle.
They stood beside the car, and they didn't even need to say a word; just standing there was enough to shut everyone up.
When Lu Siye got out of the car, he stretched his stiff neck and shoulders.
He noticed the person with the tablet, and later learned that his name was "Old Zhao." He was talking quietly with the young man, and their eyes kept drifting in his direction.
He then turned his gaze away, walked to the roadside, turned his back to them, and unzipped his pants.
After getting back into the car, the car continued driving.
We drove for about two more hours, and it was almost dawn.
The car stopped in front of a checkpoint.
Two men in military uniforms stood under the iron pipe, their eyes constantly scanning the approaching vehicle.
The first car stopped, the window rolled down, and the scarred man leaned out and said a few words to the two soldiers.
The soldier glanced into the vehicle, then waved, signaling it to proceed.
The iron pipe was lifted, and the first vehicle drove over.
The second car.
The third car.
When it was the third car's turn, the soldier glanced at it one more time.
It's not about looking at the people inside the car, it's about looking at the car itself.
His gaze lingered on the car for two seconds, and his brow furrowed slightly.
He was wondering why this unmarked black SUV was in this place.
But he didn't ask.
Because the scarred man got out of the first car, walked up to him, and handed him something.
A stack of banknotes.
It's about the thickness of a finger.
The soldier took the banknotes, didn't count them, and stuffed them directly into his pocket.
Then he waved.
The iron pipe was lifted up again.
The third car drove past.
Money makes the world go round.
This statement applies everywhere.
After daybreak, the car stopped in a mountain valley.
The three cars formed a semicircle, driving the nine people to the open space in the middle.
The open space wasn't large, about half the size of a basketball court.
Lu Siye stood in the middle of the crowd and glanced at the surrounding terrain.
It is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
If someone fires a shot here, the people on the hillside can easily kill everyone in the open area, leaving them nowhere to hide.
This is not a rest stop.
It is a slaughterhouse.
His right hand twitched slightly, his fingers unconsciously curling and then straightening.
Then he heard a voice.
It didn't come from the outside; it came from inside his body.
Qi.
Lu Siye's heart sank.
He immediately suppressed the restless primordial energy and forced it back into his dantian.
But he knew it was too late.
If there were any Xia Lan here who knew the ability to detect things, they would have been locked onto the moment his Yuan Qi became agitated.
He looked up at the people in black combat uniforms.
Including the three who appeared earlier, four more appeared later, making a total of seven people.
They stood around three SUVs, spread out, with each person more than five meters apart.
This is a tactical formation that can cover all angles.
They have one thing in common.
Neither of them were nervous.
Faced with nine defeated soldiers who, though down on their luck, were still adult men, the seven men showed no sign of nervousness.
Their hands were not on their guns, nor were they in any defensive stance.
Lu Siye knew why.
Because they don't need to be nervous.
They are the Xia Lan.
Whether man-made or natural, they possess power that ordinary people cannot attain.
Old Zhao stepped out from the crowd and stood in the center of the open space, facing the nine people.
He no longer had his tablet; his hands were empty, and he had them in his pockets.
"Nine people," he said, "too many."
No one responded.
Old Zhao pulled a hand out of his pocket and raised it.
Then he made a gesture.
It's a very simple action.
Clench your fingers into a fist.
In that instant, Lu Siye sensed it.
A massive surge of primordial energy erupted from Old Zhao's body.
It then spread in all directions.
The wave of primordial energy swept across the open space and over the bodies of the nine people.
Lu Siye's body trembled slightly when that wave of Yuan Qi swept over him.
The primordial energy wave lasted for about three seconds, and then disappeared.
Old Zhao put his hand down and put it back into his pocket.
He glanced at the nine people and then uttered seven words.
"You two, stay here."
His gaze fell on the two people.
A man with a scarred face.
Lu Siye.
Before the other seven people could react to what was happening, Old Zhao had already turned and left.
He took three steps, then stopped, turned his back to the seven men, and said one word.
"Disperse."
Their actions were quick and decisive, without any unnecessary words.
Lu Siye did not turn around to look.
But he heard a voice behind him.
puff.
puff.
puff.
Seven consecutive sounds, with intervals of less than two seconds.
boom.
boom.
boom.
Then came silence.
Old Zhao walked up to them, glanced at the scarred man, and then at Lu Siye.
"You," he pointed at the scarred man, "get on the first bus."
"You," he pointed at Lu Siye, "get on the third car."
Then he left.
The scarred man glanced at Lu Siyue, opened his mouth as if to say something, but said nothing.
He turned around and walked towards the first car, his pace much faster than usual.
Lu Siye withdrew his gaze and walked towards the third car.
After driving for about two hours, we stopped in a valley.
Old Zhao got out of the first car, walked to the third car, and knocked on the window.
The car window rolled down, revealing the young driver's face.
"Tell him to come down," Old Zhao said.
The young driver nodded, turned his head, and looked at Lu Siye in the back seat.
"Come down, someone is looking for you."
Lu Siye looked at his face and activated his detection technique.
Yuan Qi.
This person also has primordial energy in their body.
He wasn't surprised.
He knew it the moment that wave of primordial energy swept across his body.
These seven people were not ordinary mercenaries, nor were they ordinary special forces; they were members of the garrison legion.
Artificial Xia Lan.
He pushed open the car door, got out, and stood on the grass, looking at Old Zhao.
Old Zhao looked at him, his gaze lingering on his face for about two seconds.
It's not a laugh.
"Come with me," Old Zhao said.
He turned and walked into the depths of the valley, with Lu Siye following behind him, keeping a distance of three steps.
They walked through a thicket of bushes and came to a relatively open area.
There are two folding chairs here, and a folding table in the middle, with several bottles of mineral water and a fruit plate on the table.
The fruit platter contained bananas, oranges, and some tropical fruits that Lu Siye couldn't name.
Two people were sitting on the folding chairs.
One was fat, the other was strong.
The fat one was wearing a black T-shirt, leaning back in his chair, and wearing flip-flops.
The muscular one was wearing a military green short-sleeved shirt and had a dragon tattoo on his arm, which extended from his shoulder to his wrist.
Lu Siye stood in front of the two people and looked at them for about two seconds.
He recognized both faces.
Zhang Lei.
Liu Chuang.
His college roommate.
They lived together for about three months, and then Lu Siye left the school.
In those three months, they probably didn't exchange more than a hundred words in total.
It's not that the relationship is bad, it's that there's no opportunity.
Lu Siye didn't spend much time in the dormitory back then.
Lu Siye never expected to see them again here, in this way.
Zhang Lei put his feet down from the table first.
He stood up and looked Lu Siye up and down.
"Lu Siye?"
His voice was a bit deeper than before.
"Is it really you?"
Lu Siye looked at him without saying a word.
Zhang Lei smiled.
"Holy crap," he clapped his hands, turned to look at Liu Chuang, "Old Liu, see? What did I tell you? I said that guy looked like him, didn't I? You didn't believe me."
Liu Chuang also stood up.
He had grown taller and stronger.
His gaze lingered on Lu Siye for a second, then he nodded as a greeting.
Lu Siye looked at him and finally spoke.
What are you doing here?
Zhang Lei laughed again, this time even more exaggeratedly.
"How did we get here?" he repeated the question. "Dude, shouldn't I be asking you that?"
He walked up to Lu Siye, reached out, and patted him on the shoulder.
What are you doing here?
Zhang Lei asked, then withdrew his hand and put it in his pocket.
Lu Siye looked at Zhang Lei, then at Liu Chuang.
Both of them had smiles on their faces.
Lu Siye knew that these two people had changed.
It's not that I've become worse, nor that I've become better; it's that I've become a different kind of person.
A person he is not very familiar with, nor does he want to be familiar with.
But he didn't show it.
"I'm here to find someone," he said.
"Looking for someone?" Zhang Lei raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"A friend."
Zhang Lei glanced at him, his gaze revealing something new.
"A woman?"
Lu Siye did not answer.
Zhang Lei waited two seconds, but received no answer. He shrugged and didn't press the matter.
"Alright, friends it is."
He turned and walked back to the folding chair, took a banana from the fruit plate, took a bite, and then pointed to the chair opposite him.
"sit."
Lu Siye did not sit down.
He stood there, looking at Zhang Lei.
Zhang Lei, chewing on a banana, mumbled, "Don't stand, sit down and let's talk."
"We were in the same dorm after all, even if it wasn't for long, it's fate, right?"
Lu Siye was silent for two seconds, then sat down in another folding chair.
Zhang Lei threw the banana peel on the ground, then took an orange from the fruit plate, peeling it as he said, "Do you know what your situation is like back home?"
Lu Siye looked at him.
"Wanted," Zhang Lei popped a segment of orange into his mouth, chewed it, and squinted his eyes. "You're wanted, buddy."
"A nationwide manhunt, and the bounty is quite high."
Lu Siye's expression remained unchanged.
"I know," he said.
"You know?"
Zhang Lei glanced at him.
"You're quite bold, daring to run around even though you're wanted by the police."
"That makes sense, you've come all the way abroad, so the arrest warrant issued in China is just a piece of paper here."
He stuffed the rest of the orange into his mouth, chewed it twice, swallowed, and then patted the orange juice off his hands.
"Don't worry, we won't arrest you."
"The bounty on the wanted poster is indeed tempting, but what's our relationship?"
"We're roommates, right?"
"Selling you out for that little bit of money is just too unfair."
"Then why did you bring me along?" Lu Siye asked.
Zhang Lei and Liu Chuang exchanged a glance.
"Why?" Zhang Lei repeated the question. "To be honest, I don't know either."
"Old Zhao said to keep it, so we kept it."
"Maybe they're just curious, wanting to see what a proper Xia Lan looks like."
He paused, then added.
"Or maybe it's just boredom."
Lu Siye looked into his eyes, trying to find something else in them.
But he couldn't find it.
There was nothing in Zhang Lei's eyes.
Lu Siye looked away.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Zhang Lei took another orange, but this time he didn't peel it; he just tossed it in his hand.
"Delivery," he said, "to the royal family of Siam. I can't say exactly what, but it's quite important."
"Is it so important that it requires seven artificial Xia Lan to escort it?" Lu Siye asked.
Zhang Lei paused for a moment while tossing the orange.
He glanced at Lu Siye, his gaze revealing something new.
"You're quite well-informed," he said. "How did you know we're man-made?"
Lu Siye did not answer.
Zhang Lei waited two seconds, but received no answer. He shrugged and continued tossing oranges.
"Fine, you have your secrets, and I have mine."
"Anyway, it doesn't matter if you find out. We are indeed from the Garrison Legion, artificial Xia Lan."
"The success rate is alright. Out of the twelve people in our group, seven survived, and all seven of them succeeded."
Of the twelve people, seven survived.
The success rate is 58.3%.
The number flashed through his mind for a moment, then was replaced by another.
What is the success rate of Jia Ye's artificial Xia Lan experiment?
he does not know.
But no matter how many, where did those who didn't succeed go?
He dared not think about this problem, nor did he want to.
A madman is not scary, nor is a madman who knows he is mad. What is scary is a madman who doesn't realize he is mad and thinks he is doing the right thing.
He did those things without a trace of guilt or hesitation, because he was certain he was right.
This certainty is more terrifying than any weapon.
"What are you thinking about?" Zhang Lei's voice pulled him back to reality.
Lu Siye raised his head and looked at Zhang Lei.
"It's nothing," he said. "Are all seven of you from that batch?"
"Not entirely," Zhang Lei put the oranges on the table and stopped throwing them. "Old Liu and I were in the same batch. Some of the others came later, and some were transferred from other places."
"The garrison corps is small, only about twenty or thirty people in total, scattered in various places to carry out missions."
"There are only seven of us who came to Siam this time."
He paused and glanced at Liu Chuang.
Liu Chuang nodded slightly.
Zhang Lei stood up from his chair, walked up to Lu Siye, and extended his hand.
"Since we've run into each other, let's not stand on ceremony," he said. "We're treated quite well here. The Siamese government has good relations with East China, and we're always treated to good food and wine whenever we come."
"Don't rush off. Stay with us for a few days until we get some news about your friend."
"Why?" he asked.
Zhang Lei's hand remained suspended in mid-air, not retracted.
"Why? Why?"
"Why are you helping me?" Lu Siye asked. "I'm wanted by the authorities. You're from the Garrison Legion, so you should be arresting me and taking me back."
"Even if they don't arrest me, they shouldn't help me."
Zhang Lei's hand paused in mid-air for two seconds before he withdrew it.
"Tell the truth?" he said.
Lu Siye looked at him.
"To be honest, I don't know why either," Zhang Lei said, "maybe it's because...you reminded me of something."
"Some things I almost forgot."
He didn't say what those things were.
But Lu Siye saw a glint in his eyes.
Zhang Lei clapped his hands, turned around and walked back to the folding chair, sat down again, crossed his legs, picked up the last orange from the fruit plate, peeled it, and put it in his mouth.
"Don't think too much about it," he said, chewing on an orange, his words muffled. "Come with us first, we'll talk when we get there."
Liu Chuang also stood up, walked to Lu Siye's side, reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
He was much stronger than Zhang Lei, and his pat on the shoulder made Zhang Lei feel a heavy weight.
"Let's go," Liu Chuang said.
Lu Siye stood up and followed them out of the meadow.
When he returned to the convoy, he noticed the scarred man standing next to the first car, his face still pale, but better than before.
He saw Lu Siye walking over, opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but when he saw Zhang Lei and Liu Chuang behind Lu Siye, he closed his mouth again.
Lu Siye ignored him.
He got into the third car and sat back in the back by the window.
The car doors closed, the engines started, and the three cars continued driving forward.
Zhang Lei and Liu Chuang did not get on the bus.
They got into the first car, along with the scarred man.
Lu Siye leaned back in his seat, looking at the scenery outside the window.
The valley gradually widened, and the dirt road turned into an asphalt road.
The trees on both sides have decreased, replaced by fields and occasional villages.
The village was better than the ones he had seen at the border; at least some people were out and about, and some children were chasing and playing in the road.
But he knew that this was just an appearance.
The tentacles of war have reached every corner of this country; some places have been crushed, while others have not.
But it will happen sooner or later.
It is falling.
It just hasn't completely collapsed yet.
The car drove for a whole day.
We stopped a few times in between to refuel, eat, and use the restroom.
They weren't eating compressed biscuits, but hot meals and dishes, even though it was just a simple boxed lunch with rice, curry, and a few pieces of chicken.
But for Lu Siye, this was the best meal he had eaten in a month.
Zhang Lei sat opposite him, watched him eat, and smiled.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you," he said.
Lu Siye ignored him and continued eating slowly, finishing every last grain of rice. Then, he scraped the curry sauce from the lunchbox with his fingers, spread it on the rice, and ate it.
Zhang Lei looked at him, and his smile slowly faded.
He didn't say anything more.
In the evening, the convoy encountered a problem on a mountain road.
There's a car that broke down up ahead, causing a long traffic jam.
The scarred man got out of the first car, walked to the front to check the situation, and returned looking rather grim.
"It's a government army checkpoint," he said to Lao Zhao in English. "Not an ordinary checkpoint, but one of those... temporary ones, specifically set up to check passing vehicles."
"They might be looking for someone or something."
Old Zhao glanced at him but didn't say anything.
He picked up the tablet, tapped on it, looked at it, then looked up and said something to the scarred man.
"You handle it."
The scarred man's expression turned even uglier.
But he did not refuse.
He took a deep breath and pulled the stack of banknotes out of his pocket.
I used some of it before, but there's still quite a bit left.
Lu Siye watched his back through the car window.
He walked slowly, and when he reached the checkpoint, he spoke a few words to the soldiers and then handed them the stack of banknotes.
His hand was trembling as he handed over the money.
Lu Siye saw it.
The soldiers took the money, counted it, then looked at the convoy, then at the scarred man, and finally waved to signal them to let them pass.
When the scarred man returned, his legs were weak.
He stood holding onto the car door for a while, then opened the door and got in.
The moment the car door closed, his shoulders slumped, and he collapsed onto the seat like a lump of mud, gasping for breath.
Lu Siye looked at his profile through the car window.
He didn't know how much longer he had to live.
Maybe in a day, maybe in a week, maybe in a month.
But at least, at this moment, he is still alive.
Upon reaching a safe area.
Zhang Lei dealt with the scarred face without hesitation.
The car continued driving.
Lu Siye leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed.
He was thinking about Zhang Lei and Liu Chuang.
These two people have changed.
It's not that he's become worse, nor that he's become better; rather, he's become a kind of person he's not very familiar with.
They gained power.
The power of the Xia Lan.
That power changed them, just as it changed everyone who possessed it.
Including himself.
He is changing too.
When did it start?
he does not know.
But he knew one thing.
He no longer valued his life.
It's not that we don't cherish it, but rather... we've become numb.
Seeing these things repeatedly will cause him to develop a protective shell around his heart.
That's rationality.
But sometimes, he would think about a question.
If a person doesn't even care about the life and death of others, can he still be considered a human being?
He didn't know the answer.
All he knew was that he needed this shell.
Without this shell, he wouldn't have gotten this far.
Without this shell, he wouldn't have made it to the end.
The car drove all night.
At daybreak, the convoy stopped outside a small town.
The town is small, and from the outside, it looks no different from other towns in the country.
But there is one place that is different.
There was a sign at the entrance to the town with a few words written on it.
The city of perfume.
Looking at the sign, Lu Siye felt a vague and inexplicable unease welling up inside him.
It's not because of the name.
It's because of Zhang Lei.
When he got off the bus, Zhang Lei walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"We've arrived," he said, "the city of perfume."
"This place is nice, lots of beautiful women and delicious food. Let's stay here for a few days to rest before heading to the central capital."
He blinked and lowered his voice.
"I'll show you the exotic culture then."