Chapter 44: A True Man's Choice

Xing Xiaolong’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted. Startled, he turned his head toward the bed on his left and pointed to himself, saying, “You, are you… talking to me?” This half-baked attempt at English was probably only intelligible to Xing Xiaolong himself.

The white survivor on the next bed looked to be at least forty, but despite his years, his linguistic repertoire clearly did not extend to understanding Xing Xiaolong’s advanced foreign tongue. Yet the man seemed to have something urgent on his mind and was not about to give up. His expression was anxious as he gestured energetically, speaking as he did so: “Can you… show me photos? You… hands… photos.”

His legs were in casts, making any movement impossible. As much as his anxiety gnawed at him, he could only do his best to communicate.

“You, foreigner, you look rather distinguished, must be a man of some status. But couldn’t you at least have bothered to learn some proper Chinese?” Xing Xiaolong didn’t understand the man’s words, but his sixth sense told him that, despite his pallor, this man exuded an uncommon air, like a medieval nobleman from television. He must have something urgent to say.

Yet this excruciating attempt at communication left Xing feeling more constipated than if he were straining in the lavatory.

“Damn, how could I have forgotten about this?”

Glancing at the black carry-on case by his bed, he suddenly realized what he should do and, annoyed, slapped his own forehead.

In this era of smartphones with endless functions, going abroad without knowing the language was no longer a problem. A translation app could solve everything.

Everyone knew you couldn’t use your phone on a plane, so before boarding, Xing Xiaolong had stowed his phone in his carry-on rather than keeping it in his pocket like most people. By sheer luck, this had kept his phone safe from the rain that had soaked and ruined so many other belongings.

Of course, he owed the greatest thanks to Platoon Leader Wang, who had brought him his suitcase just in time to solve his urgent need.

He pulled the phone from his bag. The new phone Su Fuhua had given him was indeed excellent—booted up quickly, battery still at full.

Xing Xiaolong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although his phone didn’t have translation apps like Youdao or Google installed, he did habitually use the voice input software from a certain company. Conveniently, it came with a “face-to-face translation” program.

He opened the face-to-face translator, which featured only two touch buttons: on the left, “Press and Speak” in Chinese, and on the right, the English “Hold and Talk.” Simple and clear—anyone could understand.

Xing Xiaolong pressed the Chinese button and asked, “My phone can translate. Could you repeat what you just said?”

“OK! OK!” The white man, hearing the phone translate into English, still looked anxious but managed a courteous smile and nodded. He repeated his earlier request and introduced himself as Louis Gabriel Lagues.

Even his name sounded aristocratic!

Xing Xiaolong sensed no hostility or hidden agenda from this middle-aged foreigner. Puzzled, he handed over the photo.

Louis Gabriel Lagues studied the photo and confirmed, “Yes, that’s her.”

“What? You’ve seen this woman? Was it after the crash? Do you know where she went?” Xing Xiaolong fired off his questions in a rush.

“Calm down, sir.”

After seeing the photo, Louis suddenly became calm, his earlier anxiety gone. He was no longer lying there like a lifeless block of wood. When Xing Xiaolong quieted down, Louis didn’t answer any of his questions. Instead, he asked, somewhat strangely, “Do you want to save this girl?”

“Save her? Does that mean…?”

A realization dawned on Xing Xiaolong. Remembering the country’s tangled web of warring factions, his heart clenched. Anxiety and worry gnawed at him.

“That girl is a dear friend of mine. There’s an old saying in my country: when a friend is in trouble, one should do everything possible to help. If she’s still alive, I’ll find a way to save her. That’s a responsibility a man should shoulder bravely. I also believe the soldiers of my homeland will help me. Do you know something? Can you tell me? Thank you.”

A hypocrite or a coward, confronted with a friend’s abduction, would have thought only of saving himself, possibly even being the first to flee—after all, what was a job worth ten thousand compared to one’s life?

But Xing Xiaolong was no coward, nor a sanctimonious fraud. He valued friendship deeply and was a distinguished veteran. Even if the person in danger were a stranger from his own country, he would do everything in his power—let alone when it was a close friend at risk.

“I can help you, but you must also help me. However, there’s something you must know in advance: whatever passes between us, whatever I tell you, must not reach the ears of the UN personnel or your embassy. If you can agree to that, we can cooperate. If not…” Louis’s tone was deadly serious, and he deliberately left his sentence unfinished to underscore the gravity of his demand.

“No UN involvement? So, no help from the peacekeeping forces? Then how do we save her? Why must it be this way? Can you explain?” Xing Xiaolong was baffled.

“I can’t explain it to you. The world is not as you see it.”

Louis Gabriel Lagues smiled mysteriously, held the photo upright before him, pointed to Su Fupo in the picture, and said, “If you want to save this girl, if you don’t want her to vanish from the world, or worse, be stripped naked and hung somewhere, her image splashed across the news, you must choose now. First, work with me—I can help you. Second, refuse, and pretend I never spoke.”

Xing Xiaolong stared, mouth agape, at the man who seemed to have transformed before his eyes. His mind was a muddled mess; on one hand, he didn’t know whether to trust him, but on the other, he was desperate to save Su Fupo. With official channels closed to him, he had no idea what choice to make.