Chapter 4: A Chance to Escape

"Pop! Pop-pop-pop!"

The crisp sound of gunfire echoed through the mountains, startling everyone into peeking out to see what was happening. The living quarters for the ore-sorting team consisted of a row of low, makeshift structures with red brick and concrete walls topped with blue corrugated steel roofs. Each room was like a prison cell, equipped with iron doors and windows.

Zhao Chen poked his head out and saw a heavy truck used for hauling waste materials crashed against the barbed wire fence under a distant streetlamp. Two armed militiamen were dragging a blood-soaked man from the driver’s cab.

Looking closely, he realized with a start that it was the bespectacled, curly-haired man who had been sitting next to him earlier that day. The man’s chest was drenched in blood, riddled with bullet holes like a sieve. A sense of "grieving for the rabbit when the fox dies" quietly permeated the dormitory.

"Sigh, Xiao Zhang was too impulsive. There’s no escaping from this place," said a man in his thirties with a round face and a Southern accent.

Zhao Chen instinctively asked, "Brother, did you know him?"

There were seventeen people living in their dormitory, sleeping on a large shared bunk, illuminated only by a single, dim incandescent bulb. Since they had only moved in today, Zhao Chen wasn't yet familiar with most of them.

The round-faced man’s expression dimmed. "Yeah. He had a four-year-old daughter. He was crazy to go home—he’d even mutter her name in his sleep."

Zhao Chen froze, unable to stop a sigh. He, too, yearned for home, but returning was impossible.

Back in the day, Zhao Chen had a beautiful fiancée. They were planning to get married, but her family demanded a dowry of 388,000 yuan, threatening to call off the wedding if he didn't pay. To raise the money quickly, he had foolishly trusted a college classmate who promised him a high-paying job in Yunnan Province. He was told he would act as a "shill" for a jade-gambling boss, earning at least 20,000 yuan a month, with round-trip airfare included.

Zhao Chen had seen news reports online about telecommunications fraud in northern Myanmar, but he had been optimistic, reasoning that since the job was within China, it should be safe. Who could have imagined that the person waiting at the airport would be a van filled with three thugs? With their tattooed arms and gleaming daggers, they seized his luggage, wallet, and phone the moment he boarded. They then forced him to drink a can of eight-treasure porridge spiked with sleeping pills.

When he woke up, he had already crossed the border into the territory of the Burmese "monkeys." Every time he thought of that classmate, his teeth would itch with hatred. He swore that if he ever had the chance to return, he would use every means necessary to drag him here and let him taste the flavor of this living hell.

As he was lost in thought, someone knocked on the iron door and shouted, "Zhao Chen, Miss Wen Min wants to see you."

The others in the room went silent, all eyes turning toward him in disbelief, followed by whispers.

"What’s his deal? Why did that woman specifically ask for him?"

"Who knows? Maybe she’s taken a liking to him."

"Are you tired of living? These Burmese monkeys understand Chinese. If that gets back to Wen Min, we’ll all be punished."

Zhao Chen was equally confused. Could it be that his theft of raw jade stones had been discovered? Trembling with fear, he followed the militiaman to a small three-story building nearby.

From a distance, he saw a beautiful figure standing under a streetlamp, flanked by two roaring jade-cutting machines. Wen Min was standing with her arms crossed, staring intently at the machines, unaware of Zhao Chen’s arrival until her subordinate reminded her. She turned her head slightly to look at him.

She wore a tight green tank top and loose camouflage pants, possessing both a soft, feminine silhouette and the bold, heroic demeanor of a tough woman. Feeling guilty, Zhao Chen took one glance and immediately lowered his head.

When the roaring of the machine ceased and the dust cover was opened, Wen Min still didn't ask any questions. Instead, she asked the master stone-cutter, "Are there any goods in the other pieces?"

"Yes, high-grade ice-type, and violet too," the white-haired master replied with a grin.

Wen Min immediately leaned in, using her flashlight to inspect the stone, a flash of joy appearing on her face. It was exactly as she had guessed: every raw stone this guy Zhao Chen picked out yielded high-quality jade. A talent with such sharp eyes couldn't be found anywhere else in the entire mining site. Perhaps even the top experts in the jade trade couldn't manage such a feat.

She instructed the master to continue cutting the next piece before turning to look at Zhao Chen.

"Do you know why I called you here?"

"I... I don't know. I’ve been working hard all day, I haven't been slacking off!"

Zhao Chen thought she had discovered his theft and was calling him over to settle accounts. To his surprise, Wen Min walked up to him with a smile, curiously examining his eyes. After a few seconds, she asked, "How did you discover that there was jade inside these raw stones?"

"Huh?" Zhao Chen blinked, suddenly realizing. So, when she was cutting the stones, she had discovered that every piece he selected contained high-quality goods, which was why she had summoned him.

"Is my Chinese not standard enough?" Wen Min frowned, slowing her speech. "I am asking you, how did you know there was jade inside these stones?"

"Uh, I just... followed my gut." Zhao Chen let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Gut feeling?" Such an absurd explanation was naturally hard for Wen Min to believe, but she knew she would have plenty of time to get to know him later.

Wen Min beamed. "Zhao Chen, you don't need to go back to the dormitory tonight. Stay in the room downstairs in my building. I’ll have the kitchen prepare you a late-night snack. Get a good night's rest."

Zhao Chen smiled. "Thank you, Miss Wen Min. I will certainly continue to work hard and help you become the richest person in Myanmar."

"Hmph! Just a stroke of luck," Bo Gang muttered, turning to leave with a sour expression. This three-story building had always been occupied by Wen Min alone; aside from the elderly cleaning woman, no one was ever allowed in. It was no wonder he was jealous.

Entering the exquisitely decorated guest room on the first floor, Zhao Chen couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. A soft double bed, clean and tidy bedding, and a 75-inch LCD television hanging on the wall—the environment was no worse than a mid-range hotel back in China.

He leaped onto the bed, rolling around in delight. Having arrived in this hellish northern Myanmar, he was finally living like a normal person again. Of course, this wasn't enough. He had to use his ability to acquire more valuable jade and then find a way to escape back to China. No matter how good the treatment from Wen Min was, it would never be as good as home.

Unsure if there were hidden cameras in the room, he didn't dare take out the jade he had stored in his palm-space, instead silently calculating his next steps. Now that Wen Min believed in his ability, as long as he didn't act foolishly, he wouldn't be beaten or abused again. He could even take this opportunity to collect more high-quality raw jade and secretly hide it in his palm-space.

Once he managed to escape back to China, he could sell these stones for a fortune and realize his dream of becoming rich overnight. By then, not only could he buy luxury cars and villas for his parents and younger sister, but he could also walk proudly into his ex-fiancée’s home and throw the 388,000-yuan dowry in her parents' faces to see if they dared look down on him again.

Of course, Zhao Chen was just fantasizing; after being out of contact for so long, she might already be married.

"Damn it, it's all that bastard Sun Liang's fault. As long as I can get back, I will make him pay the most agonizing price!"

Zhao Chen went to the bathroom to take a shower and collapsed into bed. Whether it was for revenge or to earn money through jade, he had to find a way back to his country first.

...

The next morning, Bo Gang brought Zhao Chen to the warehouse with a cold face. "In a few days, Miss Wen Min is holding a private auction. Your task today is to pick out the high-grade goods from these raw stones. Do you understand?"

There were two types of jade auctions: those hosted by officials or associations were called "public auctions," while those organized by private factions were called "private auctions." The rules and processes were similar, and the buyers were mostly Chinese jewelry companies.

"Understood." Zhao Chen calmly observed the warehouse, noticing that all the stones were numbered, which meant it wouldn't be easy for him to swipe anything here.

He had been at the Longtang mining site for over half a year, but this was his first time in the raw stone warehouse. It was a space enclosed by barbed wire, roughly a hundred square meters, piled with thousands of raw stones of various sizes. Some had already been "windowed" to reveal the interior, but most still had their original crusts, revealing nothing of their internal structure.

Under the watchful eyes of two militiamen, Zhao Chen didn't dare to be blatant. He worked diligently, setting aside the most valuable stones in a separate pile.

Near noon, Wen Min came to the warehouse herself. After looking at the stones Zhao Chen had selected, she said, "You’ve worked hard. Tell the kitchen whatever you want for lunch, and they’ll bring it to your room."

She had already found buyers for the six stones Zhao Chen had picked out the night before, earning over 40 million Chinese yuan. To her, Zhao Chen was now a massive money tree, so his treatment was naturally different from before.

"Thank you, Miss Wen Min," Zhao Chen said. He wanted to ask for a phone call to his family, but he didn't dare. He couldn't show any sign of homesickness, or the woman might grow suspicious and have Bo Gang increase his surveillance.

"Mm." Wen Min picked up a football-sized stone, weighed it in her hand, and said, "Your performance has satisfied me. Starting today, you can move freely around the processing plant, but you cannot leave the mining area. Don't blame me if the guards shoot you if you do."

With that, she tossed him a red armband with a string of Burmese characters written on it.

"Understood." Zhao Chen accepted it calmly. Although he knew this was a tactic to win his loyalty, it made it much easier for him to scout the surrounding terrain and plan his escape.

Wen Min then called over some militiamen to transport the stones Zhao Chen had selected and told him to head back for his meal. This time, Zhao Chen didn't hold back; he ordered grilled meat, beef curry with rice, and chilled beer—his life was finally looking up.

In the afternoon, he wore his armband and began wandering around the processing plant, secretly memorizing the surroundings. Even when someone stopped to question him, they said nothing once they saw the armband.

Two days passed, and Zhao Chen had memorized the terrain. Wen Min's private auction began on schedule. Luxury cars drove into the mining area, and well-dressed, greasy-haired bosses stepped out, exchanging greetings with smiles. Led by militiamen, these men walked into the warehouse, tossing their wealth around recklessly.

Zhao Chen wasn't interested in that; he stared intently at the luxury cars parked in the open space. If he could disguise himself and blend in with these wealthy merchants, he might be able to escape. But every time he remembered the curly-haired man being riddled with bullets, his heart pounded. Yet, even knowing the danger, he had to take the gamble!

Watching the bosses enter and leave the checkpoints, he noticed they were also subject to searches. A bold idea suddenly occurred to him. The checkpoint guards usually only checked the interior and the trunk; they almost never checked the undercarriage. There were over forty foreign vehicles today. If he could find a way to crawl underneath one and hang onto the chassis, he might have a chance to escape.

However, the chassis of ordinary sedans were too low, making it difficult to hide. Zhao Chen set his sights on a red JEEP off-road vehicle. It had high ground clearance and a wide body. To hang underneath for a long time, he needed one more thing.

Zhao Chen quietly returned to Wen Min's building, tore two palm-width strips from his bedsheet, hid them in his pants, and waited patiently. He had no choice; he only had a short-sleeved shirt, shorts without pockets, and slippers—there were very few places to hide anything.

Around 3:00 PM, the auction was nearing its end. Zhao Chen saw a man dressed like a bodyguard struggling to move a massive raw stone weighing over a hundred pounds. He quickly stepped forward and asked, "Brother, need a hand? It’ll be easier if we carry it together."

Seeing someone willing to help, and hearing that he spoke Chinese, the bodyguard glanced at Zhao Chen twice and agreed.