Chapter 42: The Missing Woman!

From the sound, Xing Xiaolong could tell that what was approaching was a convoy—and all of them were high-powered muscle cars. Ordinary vehicle engines didn’t roar like that. On top of that, a few minutes before the crash, there had been an English announcement on the plane. Xing Xiaolong hadn’t understood it at the time and had specifically asked Miss Su, the wealthy woman. He remembered that it said they had entered the territory of the Karhema nation, encountered a thunderstorm, and that the plane might experience turbulence but nothing to worry about—the passengers should remain calm.

From this, it was clear the crash had happened within the borders of the “Karhema nation.” At present, a civil war was raging in Karhema. The only organizations capable of dispatching such a large convoy were the local government, tribal factions, anti-government guerrillas, and the UN peacekeeping force. No matter which of these four groups the convoy belonged to, there was one thing above all to be wary of: guns.

The engines were running so hard because they’d clearly heard gunfire. Xing Xiaolong knew he stood no chance against a whole convoy, especially if it wasn’t the UN peacekeepers. If it was, he might be detained for investigation but he wouldn’t be killed. If it was any of the other three, he’d be dead for sure.

Having served five years as a soldier, Xing Xiaolong was well aware of the madness of African armed forces in wartime. “No, I have to get out of here. It’s too dangerous to stay.” Without knowing which faction the convoy belonged to, he didn’t let hope cloud his judgment. He chose the cautious and prudent path: to hide and wait to see who had arrived before making his next move.

Half-crippled, it was an ordeal for Xing Xiaolong to move at all. Fortunately, the effects of the little medicine he’d taken hadn’t worn off yet; drawing on all his strength, he crawled out of the already loosened gap between the seat cushions where he’d been bitten, and, hopping and crawling on one leg, managed to hide in some grass a dozen meters away.

In less than three minutes, blinding high-beam headlights pierced the rain, sweeping across the wreckage of the passenger jet. As the convoy neared, it came to a screeching halt; immediately, the night erupted with the din of shouted orders, boots squelching on the wet grass, bullets being chambered, car doors flinging open.

Amid the commotion, Xing Xiaolong vaguely caught familiar military commands spoken in Chinese.

After about ten seconds—

The high-powered searchlights flicked on, sweeping in unison across the wreckage, illuminating a hundred meters around as if it were day. The carnage of the crash site was laid bare in hellish detail.

Perhaps they had anticipated the scene would be bloody, but even so, the convoy fell silent. All that could be heard was the rumble of engines—and the sound of people retching.

It was as if hell itself had descended.

“Rescue, quick! First squad, follow me—check for nearby dangers, I heard gunshots just now. Second squad, search the wreckage for survivors, move!”
“Doctors, all doctors with me! Come on, go, go, go!”
“Merde, c’est horrible. Bougez-vous.”

After a few moments of stunned silence, the convoy erupted into a cacophony of orders—Chinese, English, French and more. Then, more than a hundred people surged toward the wreckage.

“It’s the peacekeepers. Looks like I’m saved,” Xing Xiaolong thought as he heard the familiar Chinese and saw the familiar faces of soldiers from the Panda Nation Peacekeeping Force, blue helmets and all. For the first time, he truly felt the strength of his homeland.

His heart at last eased, he stowed his handgun back into his CS:GO weapons cache, stood up from the grass, and waved to the foremost group. “Here! I need help! I’m from the Panda Nation—I need your help!”

Seeing a figure in the grass, one of the Panda Nation peacekeepers immediately gave the order, “Daniu, go over there—there’s a survivor from our country. Take a medic and help him—I’ll contact the medical vehicle.”

“This is horrific. Bodies everywhere, and finally, a living one,” muttered Daniu, one of the peacekeeping soldiers. He had never witnessed such carnage; he’d been among those who couldn’t help but vomit earlier. Now, hearing there was a survivor, he was suddenly elated. Even his queasy stomach seemed to settle.

...

2 a.m.
Peacekeeping Force Green Zone Camp
Red Cross Hospital

After emergency surgery, Xing Xiaolong was placed in a tent to recover. Sharing the tent with him was a white man, who seemed to be in shock—he hadn’t spoken a word, just sat there like a wooden figure.

The peacekeepers had been on site for over five hours, searching every corner of the crash scene, but only these two survivors had been found. The other passengers were either dead, missing, or so badly mauled as to be unrecognizable.

That Xing Xiaolong had survived led the soldiers to call him the luckiest man alive—and in the eyes of the doctors who operated on him, he was nothing short of a medical miracle.

His body’s resilience and signs of life were extraordinary—nothing like someone who had suffered such injuries. Even Xing Xiaolong was baffled. He distinctly remembered that, at the crash site, his left arm and right leg had been practically unusable. But after being rescued and brought to the hospital—barely an hour’s drive—those injuries had almost completely healed. The doctors had only to suture his external wounds and realign the fracture in his right leg.

At this rate, he’d be walking again in less than two days, and his left hand would be fully functional in five at most.

He had no answer for why his wounds had healed so rapidly; he could only guess it was related to the medicine he’d taken. For now, he didn’t have the energy to think about it.

“Lieutenant Wang, are you really sure there are only the two of us? Did you find a woman named Su Dayu? She was on the plane with me,” Xing Xiaolong asked hopefully.

Lieutenant Wang was the soldier who’d found Xing Xiaolong. Perhaps because they were both countrymen and both military men, Wang had taken special care of him, even accompanying him to the tent after surgery.

“Ah, the search is still ongoing—it’ll take a few more days to clear the entire wreckage. As for the woman you mentioned... I’m sorry, we didn’t find her.”

Wang wiped the rain and sweat from his face, feeling troubled. Then, as if recalling something, he added, “But—just now, Xiao Zhang from the first squad brought back some items from the site, including your passport and some women’s clothing. Maybe there’s a clue. Wait here, I’ll fetch them.”

With that, Lieutenant Wang turned briskly and left the tent.

Never let a compatriot come to harm; do everything in your power to help. This was the commandment Wang had set for himself when he joined the peacekeepers.

It was his unwavering conviction.