Chapter 61: Weirdo
Translated by: kevin1782
Edited by: Isalee
It didn't feel good to be on the run. Though the train had started moving, his heart was still dangling. He was sitting in a metal cabin and that alone made him feel very nervous. Even when the train inspector walked past him his heart would be in his throat.
The train ticket Gao Yang bought was a for a slow train; he couldn't just stop at every stop, but at least it would stop at prefectural stations. When it stopped for the first time, he strongly suppressed the desire to alight early.
The train would usually stop at a station for about three minutes, but it had already been ten minutes and it still hadn't started off. He started to think delusionally. He knew that the police wouldn't be so fast but he couldn't help but think that the train had stopped because of him.
Although the train hadn't started moving yet, all the doors were all closed already. This made it even harder for him to stay composed. When the passengers beside him started to complain, he could no longer take it. He went to the smoking area at the carriage-connector place. He wanted to see if there was anything going on.
Most passengers could still stay seated, and there were only four people in the smoking area. He took a cigarette and lit it up. He stood at a spot where he could lean against the door. He gazed at the platform outside through the car window.
There weren't any abnormalities on the platform. Yet he continuously felt that something was wrong somewhere. According to his experience, if the slow train carriages were letting other trains go first or were stopped for some other reasons, there'd be some kind of announcement. Yet this train had paused for ten minutes and there wasn't any form of explanation.
Just as he was in trepidation and felt that everyone looked like a cop that wanted to arrest him, he looked around and suddenly realized one thing: the man beside him looked really abnormal.
The person beside Gao Yang looked to be only twenty plus, roughly one point eight meters tall and seemed really strong. His hair was very short, almost bald, and his skin tone was as tanned as Gao Yang's. It could be confirmed with a glance that it was because of sunlight. Even the scalp was also tanned black.
He felt that the person standing beside him was a soldier. Little could be inferred just from his position. He stood as straight as a pen, his hands were naturally cast downwards and were stuck to the lines of the pants. They seemed incongruent to the surrounding environment.
If meeting a soldier on the train wasn't strange enough, he felt that he was a weirdo because of the clothes he wore which were obviously somewhat small. The pants were too thin and too short. A black jacket that seemed really old couldn't be zipped up at all. The sleeves were too short also as it revealed his wrists. His shoes, however, were a pair of Gao Bang military boots.
He concluded something about that weirdo: he was a combat virtuoso. Both his hands had calluses at the joint areas between his four fingers. There was also a thick callus at the tiger's mouth [1].
The callus at the tiger's mouth was also present in Gao Yang's hands. He got it from practicing with guns last time. Thus, Gao Yang's first impression was that the person beside him wasn't ordinary — he could possibly even be an extraordinary soldier.
Looking at the weirdo, he knew that he couldn't be after him. However, Gao Yang still felt nervous. He couldn't help it because he knew this person could pose a huge threat to him.
He unconsciously turned his eyes towards the platform. This time, his breath totally stopped. He saw at least twenty policemen sprinting hurriedly onto the platform. There were four to five other people in civilian clothes (CV) accompanying the police. With one look it was obvious that they were the same guys as the weirdo. That's because their demeanors were very different from the surrounding environment.
The police dispersed very quickly and the carriage Gao Yang stood in had two policemen. What's worse was they're all holding Type 79 submachine guns. Gao Yang felt that they were coming for him. If not, they wouldn't need firearms at all.
His brain was mired with blankness. He couldn't understand why these cops were so fast to act. How did they lock-in on him as the suspect?
However, he was a man who had survived war; Gao Yang's mentality was a lot stronger than normal people. He didn't buckle down to his knees no matter what. Although his mind was muddled with chaos and overwrought with anxiety, he at least still kept his composure on the surface.
The door that was closed for so long finally opened. Though the policemen didn't speak, anybody would have known there was something big happening for sure. None of the passengers moved or talked.
The five soldiers who looked like civilians hopped on a few cars while the police still remained outside the cars. Seeing the formation, he felt that this situation hadn't been prepared for him. What frightened him was that when the soldier boarded the train, he was looking straight at him.
His body tensed at that moment. However, he found out instantly that the soldier wasn't looking at him but the weirdo. The weirdo who was also a soldier.
Gao Yang wiggled slightly backward. He saw the soldier stare at the weirdo beside him with dead-fish eyes. The weirdo gazed back. When Gao Yang lowered his head, however, he found that the weirdo's two hands were quivering.
"Why? Where are you going?"
The soldier onboard whispered and said those two sentences. If it weren't for the close proximity and Gao Yang's great attentiveness, he couldn't have heard anything.
The weirdo beside Gao Yang also replied quietly. "They deserved to die. I wasn't intending on running, I just didn't wanna get caught by the cops. I wanna turn myself in at the military court."
A long, silent sigh came to pass and the soldier on the car used a very weak voice. "Run away. I don't want to see you get shot."
After saying that, the soldier aboard the train turned his head and went off. He walked past them towards the carriages. The man beside Gao Yang was dazed and sent off the leaving silhouette of the soldier with his eyes.
The two cops outside the train carriages were looking at the weirdo with some suspicion. Gao Yang didn't need to think at all that if the weirdo continued gazing at the soldier, the two cops would certainly come up and interrogate him.
Out of perhaps some divine power, Gao Yang took out a cigarette and handed it over to the weird dude and used his hometown accent. "Have a stick. See for what man? Told you to buy new clothes. See what the hell you're wearing now? Change out of your middle school clothes man."
That weirdo looked at Gao Yang, apparently astonished, but he still accepted the cigarette. He lowered his head and lit it up with the lighter that Gao Yang was holding up.
Although their faces were lined with questions, the two policemen didn't approach him to interrogate any further. The heart of Gao Yang's palm was drenched with icy sweat. He didn't know why he opened his mouth and said those words. This was indeed attracting unnecessary attention that could burn himself altogether. What would he do if the police came up to interrogate both the weirdo and him?
Actually, Gao Yang just wanted to find a buddy. From the conversation between the soldiers, Gao Yang became aware that this soldier beside him was just like him. They had blood on their hands. Hence, Gao Yang instinctively linked himself with the weirdo.
Another soldier passed by the car not soon after the recent soldier had gone through. When the second soldier saw the weirdo beside Gao Yang, he immediately widened his eyes as if he wanted to say something with his quivering mouth, but he didn't say anything and his lips were tightly knitted together. As if making a big, determined decision, he turned his head aside and walked past. The highly observant Gao Yang found that the soldier was trembling very clearly whilst walking past them.
About five minutes later, five soldiers in CV returned to the platform. They shook their heads when they saw each other. They waved at the cops guarding at the train doors.
The twenty plus cops stood on the platform again. The train that had been stalled for half an hour plus finally blew some steam and started rolling.
When the train started again, Gao Yang felt even the energy to stand was drained out of him. He weakly leaned on the wall behind him. He felt that his back was totally drenched with sweat.
Even though nothing had happened, the soldiers' short interaction with the soldier beside Gao Yang was still noticed by the people in the smoking area. Despite not knowing what had happened, they could still sense uncanniness.
When the train went off, the people in the smoking area all left. Using the time where nobody was coming into the smoking area, the dude beside Gao Yang suddenly extinguished the cigarette with a single press. He turned around and softly asked, "Are you very nervous? Why? And why did you talk to me?"
He forced a smile. "Nothing. Just wanted to chat with you, man."
Shaking his head, the weirdo solemnly said, "Nope, you didn't wanna chat. Say, what do you want to do?"
Gao Yang pondered meticulously on how to answer and finally replied with equal solemnity, "Nothing, it's just that I heard your conversation and I can guess you're from the army. It's very obvious that the two didn't want to rat you out. Or so it seems. Thus I felt that I shouldn't allow you to be discovered by the police."
The weirdo stared at Gao Yang for a very long while before he heaved a long sigh. He didn't say anything but turned around and reached the corner across in the smoking area, glazing outside the car window.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
He immediately regretted his decision right after saying it. He only wanted to slap himself twice. He was already riddled with problems and probably would be shot if he was caught. When did he have the time to ask around and care for others?
Gao Yang also didn't put much hope in getting his answer. He found a reason as to why he did that. That's when he finally realized this: whatever he had done just now was to merely to get a companion during his getaway. It was very obvious that the soldier here was also on the run.
Translator’s Notes:
[1] Tiger’s Mouth: Interior curve between thumb and index finger.