61: Chapter 61: The Strange Person 61: Chapter 61: The Strange Person The taste of being on the run was extremely unpleasant.
Even though the train had set off, Gao Yang’s heart remained suspended.
Sitting inside a metal shell made him feel incredibly tense, so much so that even a passing train police officer could cause Gao Yang’s heart to leap into his throat.
Gao Yang had purchased a ticket for a slow train—it wouldn’t exactly stop at every station, but it came close, and it would definitely pause longer at city-level stations.
When the train stopped for the fourth time at a small station, Gao Yang still had to suppress the urge to get off early and forced himself to remain seated.
The train had been announced to stop for three minutes, but ten minutes had passed and it still hadn’t left.
Gao Yang began to let his mind race with thoughts.
Although he knew that the measures to capture him shouldn’t have been enacted this quickly, he still couldn’t help thinking that the reason the train hadn’t moved was because of him.
Though the train hadn’t started moving, the carriage doors were already closed, which made Gao Yang even more unsettled.
As the passengers around him began to voice their complaints, Gao Yang could no longer stay seated.
He walked over to the smoking area between the two carriages to see if there were any abnormalities.
Since it was a slow train, there weren’t too many passengers, and everyone had a seat.
Most of the passengers were still able to remain seated comfortably, with only three or four people smoking in the smoking area.
After lighting up a cigarette, Gao Yang stood by the door, peering out of the train window onto the platform.
There was nothing unusual on the platform, but Gao Yang felt something was off.
From his experience, if a slow train was making way for another train or had to make an unscheduled stop for some other reason, there would be an announcement.
But this time, after more than ten minutes had passed, there had been no indication.
While Gao Yang was overcome with panic, feeling like anyone who looked at him might be there to capture him, he was surveying his surroundings, when he suddenly felt that the person standing beside him was very suspicious.
The man next to Gao Yang appeared to be in his early twenties, over one meter eighty in height, and extremely fit.
His hair was very short, nearly bald, and his skin, like Gao Yang’s, was dark, evidently from exposure to the sun, as even his scalp was tanned.
Gao Yang suspected the young man beside him was a soldier; his posture gave away some clues.
The young man stood straight as an arrow, his hands hanging naturally by his sides and touching his trouser seams in a perfect military stance that seemed out of place with the surrounding environment.
It’s not unusual to encounter a soldier on a train, but the reason Gao Yang found the man beside him odd was because he was wearing clothes that were clearly too small for him.
His pants were too skinny and short, and an old, black jacket whose zipper could not close properly.
The sleeves were also much too short, revealing a portion of his arms, yet he wore a pair of dirty, high-top military boots on his feet.
Additionally, Gao Yang came to another conclusion about the strange man beside him—that he must be highly skilled.
Judging by his hands, the joints of his four fingers were covered with thick calluses, and the base of his thumb also had a thick patch of hardened skin.
Gao Yang had similar calluses on his own hands, which he had developed from years of handling firearms, so he instantly assumed the person next to him was no ordinary man, not even a regular soldier.
Looking at the strange man beside him, Gao Yang knew it was unlikely he was there for him, but he couldn’t help feeling anxious because he knew this man posed a significant threat to him.
Gao Yang inadvertently shifted his gaze back to the platform, and what he saw made his breath catch.
He spotted at least twenty special forces officers hurrying onto the platform, and accompanying them were four or five plainclothes individuals.
It was clear from a single glance that these were not ordinary people, just like the strange person beside Gao Yang, easily identifiable due to how their behavior stood out from the rest.
The special forces officers quickly dispersed, and two of them took positions at the door of Gao Yang’s carriage.
What was particularly fatal was that they were all carrying type 79 submachine guns; Gao Yang believed these special officers must have come for him because there would be no need for submachine guns otherwise.
Gao Yang’s mind went blank as he failed to understand how the police could act so quickly and pinpoint him as the suspect in such a short span of time.
After all, he was a man who had returned from the battlefield.
His willpower was considerably stronger than that of the average person, and he managed not to go weak at the knees.
Although he was internally in turmoil, Gao Yang at least maintained a calm demeanor on the surface.
The train doors that had been closed all this while finally opened.
While the special forces officers didn’t say anything, everyone knew something significant had occurred as none of the passengers dared to move or speak out of turn.
The five individuals in plainclothes boarded different carriages, and the special forces officers remained outside.
Seeing this arrangement, Gao Yang felt the situation might not be meant for him, but to his horror, one of the plainclothesmen who boarded the train immediately fixed his gaze on Gao Yang.
Gao Yang froze for a moment, but then he realized that the man wasn’t looking at him, but rather at the strange person beside him.
Gao Yang edged back slightly.
The plainclothesman kept his unyielding stare on the strange man beside him, who returned the gaze.
However, Gao Yang noticed when he looked down, the hands of the strange man beside him were shaking.
“Why?
Where are you going?”
The person getting on the train whispered a couple of sentences.
If it weren’t for Gao Yang standing too close, and deliberately listening, he wouldn’t have been able to hear the voice at all.
The odd individual beside Gao Yang whispered back, “They deserve to die, I never planned to run, but I don’t want to get caught by the police.
Even if I have to bite a bullet, I’d rather do it on the way back to our…”
After a faint long sigh, the person in civilian clothes said in an extremely weak voice, “Run, I don’t want to see you get shot.”
After finishing, the man in civilian clothes who had boarded immediately turned and left, walking slowly through the train carriage, while the strange individual beside Gao remained frozen, staring blankly at the retreating figure.
The two special police officers outside the carriage looked at Gao Yang and the odd person in front of him with suspicious faces.
Gao didn’t doubt for a second that if his companion continued to stare dumbly at the person walking away, those two special police would come over for questioning.
As if possessed, Gao Yang pulled out a cigarette and offered it to his peculiar companion, joking in their local dialect, “Have a smoke, what are you staring at?
Didn’t I tell you to get some clothes?
Look at what you’re wearing.
It’s as if you’ve dug out clothes from middle school.”
The odd individual looked at Gao Yang with surprised eyes, but his facial expression appeared quite natural.
He took the offered cigarette, bent down to light it with Gao’s lighter, and took a deep inhale.
Although still suspicious, the two special police did not come over to ask any questions, while Gao’s palms were all sweaty.
He didn’t know why he had spoken up; this was literally playing with fire.
If the special police came over to interrogate him and his peculiar companion, what would he do?
In fact, at that moment, Gao Yang just wanted to find a partner.
From the conversation of the strange person beside him, Gao realized that his companion, like him, likely had a murder case on his hands, so involuntarily, he naturally linked himself with the other.
After the man in civilian clothes crossed the carriage, it wasn’t long before another person walked through from the other side of the carriage.
When the new arrival saw Gao’s peculiar companion, his eyes immediately widened, his mouth opened as if to say something, but in the end, he said nothing, pressing his lips tightly together as if he had made a significant decision, then walked past Gao, tilting his head.
Gao, with keen eyesight, noticed the man trembling as he passed.
About five minutes later, five individuals in civilian clothes returned to the platform.
After seeing each other, they all shook their heads, then gestured to the special police waiting by the various carriage doors.
Over twenty special police officers returned to the platform, and the train, which had been delayed for over half an hour, finally started moving again with the sound of the engine igniting.
As the train began to move again, Gao Yang felt like he lacked the strength to stand, wearily leaning against the wall behind him.
Only then did he realize that his back was completely soaked with sweat.
Although nothing had happened, the brief exchange between the men in civilian clothes who boarded the train and the odd individual beside Gao Yang had been noticed by a few people smoking in the carriage.
They did not know what had happened, but they could sense something odd.
As soon as the train started moving, all the people at the smoking area immediately left.
Taking advantage of the empty space, Gao’s peculiar companion suddenly put out his cigarette, turned to Gao, and asked in a low voice, “Are you very nervous?
Why?
And why did you talk to me?”
Gao forced a smile, “No big deal, just felt like chatting with you.”
The strange person shook his head and said in a grave tone, “No, you didn’t just want to chat.
Tell me, what are you trying to do?”
Gao thought carefully about how to respond, and at last, he said solemnly, “Don’t want to do anything.
I heard your conversation.
And I guess you are all from the troops.
Clearly, those two people just now didn’t seem to want to recognize you, so I thought you shouldn’t be discovered by the special police.”
After staring at Gao Yang for a long time, the odd individual finally sighed deeply, said nothing, walked to the other side of the smoking area, and stood still, gazing out of the window in a trance.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
As soon as Gao Yang uttered those words, he immediately regretted them, wanting to slap himself twice.
He was already in enough trouble, likely to be caught and face execution.
How could he still have the leisure to ask questions and try to get close to someone?
Gao didn’t expect an answer, but he found a reason for himself.
At that moment, he finally understood that everything he had said and done was just an attempt to find a partner on the road to escape, because clearly, the odd individual was, like him, on the run.