The Rich Spring of the Southern Dynasties, Storms in the Wind and Rain Tower (5) Part 1

In the interrogation room.

The light was still hanging, neither bright nor dim.

To be precise, it was the Solitary Confinement Room; the stationed Military Unit did not have a separate interrogation room. Inside, there was only a single bed and a chair. Yu Hao was sitting on the chair, while the man sat on the edge of the bed, his two stout legs on the floor. One of his hands was in a handcuff, the other end of which was attached to the headboard's crossbar. At this moment, he was grinning at Yu Hao with his black and yellow teeth, his shifty and furtive appearance making Zhao Dailin, who was watching from outside the window, feel nauseous.

He was speaking Vietnamese.

Neither Yu Hao nor Zhao Dailin understood, but they could tell it was nothing good.

Sun Kai and Lu Huaizheng, however, understood. They were stationed at the border year-round and had learned nearly a hundred languages, which was a required part of their annual assessment. They had dealt with Vietnamese people before, and it was obvious this accent wasn't local.

“Should we call Yu Hao out?” Sun Kai asked Lu Huaizheng on the other end of the phone, his eyes fixed on every movement in the Solitary Confinement Room.

There was a long silence on the other end before he said, “Send someone in to watch. Don't let him get close to Yu Hao.”

After hearing this, Sun Kai turned and gave a signal, and a soldier holding a gun beside him pushed the door open and went in.

Yu Hao remained impassive as she looked at the man and replied to him in English, “What did you say?”

This time, the other party didn't beat around the bush. He stretched his neck forward, like an alligator opening its bloody maw, and said to her in Chinese, word by word:

“I said, you're a virgin, so clean I want to fuck you...Hahahahahahaha...”

The lewd, deep laughter echoed throughout the Solitary Confinement Room.

As he spoke, his body moved forward, getting closer to a white pendant lamp in the center of the room.

Yu Hao could see the expression on his face more clearly. His dark skin looked as if it were smeared with a layer of black ink, his two dark eyes darting around lewdly. She could even see every single whisker clearly, including his nauseating red, somewhat ulcerated gums.

“Where did you hide the bomb?” Yu Hao's stomach was churning, and she forced herself to endure the nausea as she asked.

The man leaned forward again, his large nostrils flaring slightly as he took a long, appreciative sniff of the air in the room. “You smell so good, much better than those other women.”

Lu Huaizheng's knuckles turned white as he gripped the phone.

He then heard Yu Hao on the other end, casually chatting with the man in a nonchalant tone: “Which women?”

The man retorted, “Don't you know? There's a street in this town where the men work out of town, and the women make a living through prostitution.” Then, his gaze slowly shifted from Yu Hao to the armed soldier at the door. “These men from your unit, they go there often too.”

Yu Hao turned her head to look. The young soldier was so angry he jabbed the man's head with his gun. “What nonsense are you spouting!!”

The man just laughed, unconcerned.

“It seems you're very familiar with this town?” Yu Hao was unaffected, still looking at him with an unchanged expression.

The man's smile faded, his expression slowly returning to a cold hardness. He turned his head away, unwilling to engage with her further.

Yu Hao spoke again, “How about we play a game?”

“I advise you not to test my limits again. Don't cause trouble for yourself,” the man suddenly warned her in a sinister tone.

The first conversation ended.

Yu Hao bent over the sink in the restroom, her hands braced on the counter. For a moment, she was lost in a daze. The water gushed, and time seemed to stand still.

Sun Kai waited outside the door for a long time. Seeing that she hadn't come out, he glanced at Zhao Dailin. The latter was leaning against the wall smoking. Following his gaze, she understood, stubbed out her cigarette, and walked in.

And she saw this scene.

Zhao Dailin went over and turned off the faucet in front of her. “If Sun Kai knew you were being this wasteful...he'd be heartbroken.”

Yu Hao snapped back to her senses, her expression indistinct. She subconsciously wiped her face and apologized in a low voice, “Sorry, I was distracted.”

Zhao Dailin glanced at her, pulled a paper towel from the dispenser on the wall, and handed it to her. Leaning against the tile counter, she asked, “No leads?”

Yu Hao took it, wiped her face, and threw the paper towel into the trash can.

The two of them walked out. “He's extremely vigilant. I can't get anything out of him.”

Sun Kai was waiting at the door.

Seeing them come out, he hurried over, glanced at Zhao Dailin, then asked Yu Hao, “How did it go?”

Yu Hao shook her head.

Sun Kai nodded as well. It wasn't as if they hadn't encountered more dangerous situations than this. Instead, he started comforting Yu Hao, “Don't be nervous. Captain Lu will be back soon. There'll be a way.”

Yu Hao was taken aback. “Isn't he coming tomorrow?”

“He changed his flight.” Sun Kai looked down at the military watch on his wrist and tapped the dial with his index finger. “He should be on the plane by now.”

'He's rushing back overnight?!'

Yu Hao smiled wryly to herself. She had wanted to solve this case before he returned, so that he could set foot on this land safely and smoothly tomorrow afternoon. But she also knew that for someone in his profession, he always rushed to wherever the danger was.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness, as if her heart had been filled with lemon juice, sour and uncomfortable. For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

Half an hour later,

Yu Hao entered the Solitary Confinement Room again.

“You're not a local.”

Yu Hao decided to be direct, but her eyes were fixed on the tip of his shoe. It was the only part of his body that was relaxed. The tip of his shoe was trembling slightly, showing a sense of complacency.

“How many bombs did you plant?”

“Fifty.”

As he said this, his chin lifted slightly, and his eyes glanced up and to the right.

'It's a lie. In the EAC model of psychology, looking up and to the right indicates that the brain is constructing a new image, fabricating a lie.'

“There's an elementary school nearby,” Yu Hao said. “Do you like it?”

The man didn't answer.

Yu Hao asked about several other locations in succession, but the man remained silent.

The interrogation had reached a stalemate again.

At this moment, however, the man suddenly stated his conditions:

“Get me a helicopter to fly me out of here, and I'll tell you the location of the bombs.”

Yu Hao turned and gestured.

Sun Kai was silent for a moment. He first quickly made an OK sign, and then Yu Hao heard Sun Kai in her earpiece ask, “Ask him what other conditions he has.”

Yu Hao repeated the question.

The man suddenly smiled at Yu Hao. “You'll be my hostage.”

After hearing this, Sun Kai slapped his own mouth several times.

Who asks a terrorist what other conditions they need!

Sun Kai ripped out his earpiece and strode in. “She can't be your hostage. Either I'll be your hostage, or he will.” As he spoke, the young soldier beside him was pulled to the front. He stomped his foot imposingly. “Right!”

The man stated, “No, I want a woman.”

Zhao Dailin suddenly entered and said, “Then I'll do it.”

Sun Kai's face darkened. “No.”

But the man said, leaving no room for discussion, “Before ten o'clock tomorrow morning, I want a helicopter, a woman, and a child to escort me away. After I leave, I will tell you the location of the bombs.”

Yu Hao didn't say a word the entire time.

She frowned, feeling that something was wrong, but her mind was a muddle, a complete mess. No, something was definitely wrong.

Sun Kai refused. The man just shrugged indifferently, a look of smug confidence on his face. The negotiation reached a stalemate again.

Just as Yu Hao got up to leave, the man suddenly stood up and pulled down his pants, exposing the hideous thing amidst the black bush, completely revealed in the air...

The images tumbled in her mind. Yu Hao could no longer bear the nausea. She turned and rushed out.

Sun Kai kicked the man back onto the bed and had someone cuff his other hand as well.

Turning his head, he saw Zhao Dailin leaning against the doorframe, watching with considerable amusement. Sun Kai roared, “Get out!”

...

At 11:30 PM, Lu Huaizheng had already arrived at Kunming Airport. After getting off the plane, he strode towards the outside of the Terminal Building. A car arranged by the Military Unit was waiting outside the Terminal Building. The first thing he did after getting in the car was to call Sun Kai.

“How's the situation?”

Sun Kai was at a loss for words, hesitating on how to tell Lu Huaizheng. “Yu Hao is in the bathroom, throwing up.”

“Throwing up?”

Sun Kai hemmed and hawed for a long time. “Let's talk when you get back.”

Lu Huaizheng grunted in acknowledgment. “Let her go to sleep. I'll be there at three.”

The two had been classmates and colleagues for so long that they understood each other well.

Lu Huaizheng always exuded an indescribable sense of security. Whenever they were on a mission, a single affirmative look from him was enough to put Sun Kai at ease. Just like this time, hearing him say he'd arrive at three instantly smoothed away all the anxiety Sun Kai had felt throughout the day. A rare smile appeared as he joked into the phone, “I really don't think I can live without you.”

“Get lost,” Lu Huaizheng retorted with a laugh.

He hung up the phone.

Sun Kai thought of calling Fang Yan. This was Instructor Tang's phone; all of their own phones had been left at their original unit, so Fang Yan's caller ID showed an unknown number.

The phone rang three times with no answer, but when it was finally picked up, it was a man's voice.