Chapter 291: Standoff in the Alley

2022-05-20

Zhao Mingkun yanked me off the bike, leaving me dizzy and disoriented. I never thought riding a motorbike could make me so carsick. She pulled out the key, didn’t even bother to lock it.

She clapped me on the shoulder and said, “Gu Chen gave us the address—it should be right here.”

Fighting the urge to throw up, I glanced around. This place was packed with low, cramped houses and a narrow road that led deeper in. Litter was scattered everywhere, making it clear nobody bothered keeping this place clean.

“Let’s check inside!” I said. “From Gu Chen’s tone, it sounds like he’s in trouble. Judging by the timing, he should still be here. There’s only one way in, so he must be inside. Let’s go!”

Zhao Mingkun nodded and trailed after me as we headed in. Not long after, we heard a mess of shouting up ahead. We exchanged a quick look and followed the noise. The sound kept getting louder and clearer. Turning into an alley, we found a crowd—at least a dozen, maybe twenty people—all facing toward the alley’s depths, shouting in a dialect I couldn’t understand.

These people all had their backs to us, drawn by something inside the alley worth watching. If Gu Chen had gotten himself in trouble, then this must be it.

I might not speak their dialect, but curse words are universal, and their tone was anything but friendly. It was obvious they were yelling at whoever they’d boxed in.

Just then, I recognized a familiar voice coming through the noise—Gu Chen himself. Even surrounded by all that ruckus, I could pick him out: “You’ve said enough. All this just because you don’t want me meddling? Well, too bad, I’m not walking away. If you want to take him, you’ll have to walk over my corpse first.”

Everything went quiet. Then a thickly-accented voice called out: “I’m telling you now, there’s no way you’re taking this guy with you today. If you’ve got sense, get lost now. If you don’t, don’t blame us for what happens next…”

He didn’t even finish before there was a heavy thud and the crowd exploded into chaos again.

“Beat him up!” someone shouted.

In an instant, the cramped alley was packed with people pressing forward, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

Moments later I heard the sounds of fists, feet and someone yelping in pain.

I shoved my way forward, yelling, “Break it up! Get out of the way!”

But no one paid me any mind. My voice was drowned out by everyone else shouting.

Zhao Mingkun stepped in front of me, didn’t say a word, pulled my ID from my jacket, and just held it up. She knew it wouldn’t matter what she said—it would all be lost in the noise.

I followed after her and watched as she dragged a guy out of the crowd.

She spoke in a cool, detached tone: “If you don’t want trouble, get lost.”

The guy nodded so fast his head nearly fell off and bolted.

Using that approach, Zhao Mingkun cleared a path, and pretty soon I could finally see Gu Chen surrounded in the middle. Right now he hadn’t noticed us—he was struggling just to protect himself. The alley was way too tight for him to move properly. If it had been an open space, with his skills, he could have handled all these people on his own.

On the ground nearby, a man was curled up tight with his arms over his head. That had to be Lü Xiangyang.

Gu Chen was fighting off two men, neither putting up much of a challenge, but Gu Chen’s clothes were still covered in footprints.

Zhao Mingkun had already made it into the crowd. The guys behind Gu Chen turned and saw her—then ran for it. Only the two fighting Gu Chen were left, completely clueless. I stepped up and kicked one of them to the ground.

“Gu Chen,” I called.

Gu Chen pinned the other guy and reached instinctively for his handcuffs, fumbling twice before finding his hands empty.

I gave him a smile. “So what happened here, anyway?”

Gu Chen laughed, brushed himself off and said, “Yeah, force of habit. But you two sure got here quick.”

As he spoke, he finally spotted Zhao Mingkun beside me. His expression instantly changed.

“Why are you with her…?” Gu Chen asked.

“I…”

For a second I had no idea what to say. As far as Gu Chen was concerned, catching Zhao Mingkun was the entire point of our Special Investigation Team. I’d only been focused on finding Gu Chen and never once thought about how I’d explain this if he saw us together.

Zhao Mingkun snorted, turned to me and said, “If you have something to say, spit it out. I brought you here because I felt generous. Don’t forget that. So speak up or you might not live to regret it—don’t doubt me.”

“Did she catch you?” Gu Chen asked, standing up.

I realized Zhao Mingkun was actually helping me out. For a split second, I wanted to tell Gu Chen the truth—she hadn’t dragged me here, I’d come willingly. But when the words got to my lips, I just couldn’t say them. In that moment I realized, people really are selfish.

“It’s complicated,” I muttered quietly to Gu Chen. “Let’s not worry about me right now. What happened here?”

Gu Chen wiped his brow and dabbed at the blood on the corner of his mouth. “I found someone who’d seen Lü Xiangyang and he told me Lü Xiangyang was taken away by a group usually hanging around the train station. So I pressed for details—who these people looked like, where they hung out. Then I staked out the train station.”

“Not long after, I found the group. See that lump on the ground?” Gu Chen hauled the guy up by the collar. “These people were holding a sign: ‘Part-time work, 100 an hour.’ So I pretended to be looking for a job and followed them.”

Gu Chen met the eyes of the guy he had by the collar. The guy barely glanced at us before hanging his head, silent.

“We walked for over an hour before we finally arrived. Once I saw how remote the place was, I knew something was up. As soon as I realized, I noticed more people were surrounding me. That’s when I knew—I’d walked in and there was no easy way back out. But I played it cool and kept going.”

“Once I stepped into a courtyard, I pretty much figured out the deal. There were dozens of people packed into a few rooms. The minute they spotted me, they couldn’t have been friendlier. Some waved me over to sit, some brought out fruit, some called me ‘brother’ and others ‘little brother’—way too friendly.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it’s always like that at first. They treat you like a VIP to win you over.”

“Pretty much.” Gu Chen agreed.

“Most people who check out these ‘jobs’ are new to the city, complete strangers with no connections or support. Otherwise, an ordinary person could spot the warning signs from their clothes and mannerisms.”

Looking at the guy before us, I said, “They treat you like royalty at first. A person could be lost, fresh in the city, just burned by someone’s cold shoulder, no clue what to do. This kind of kindness breaks through your defenses. In a city this cold, who else is going to treat you so well?”

“So you start believing you’ve found a home. That’s when they take away your phone and anything else connecting you to the outside, calling it ‘training.’ Stuck inside, they feed you stories about success. At first, no one believes any of it.”

“When you feel out of place, isolated from everyone, that’s when they restrict your freedom. Spend a week—or two—totally cut off, it’s impossible to keep your head clear.”

“Day after day, they push their so-called success stories until you can’t tell right from wrong. Then a couple of ‘winners’ show up to brag about making ten million in five years. At that point, you start getting tempted. The people around you are all borrowing money to invest, and you just can’t resist.”

“When that happens, even if someone tries to pull you out, you’ll think they’re just sabotaging your dreams of getting rich.” I stared at this guy and asked, “Really? You honestly believe a company with nothing but smooth talk can make you two million a year, just like that?”