Chapter 843: Abandoned Pawn

Chen Shi said, “Quickly put out the dropped cigarette on the ground.”

He stepped forward and stamped out the marijuana cigarette with his foot, making sure it was completely extinguished before picking it up. The cigarette had a bitter almond smell, indicating it was laced with poison.

He placed the cigarette butt into an evidence bag. Chen Shi inspected the body of the man. Earlier, villagers had mentioned that one of the rice harvesters had a scar on the corner of his mouth and was missing part of his left pinky finger, traits that matched this man.

“He’s one of the rice harvesters,” Chen Shi said.

“Damn it, we finally found a lead and now it’s gone. Did any of you see someone jump out of the car earlier?” Lin Qiupu asked, but everyone shook their heads.

Chen Shi glanced at the truck. “The truck is empty. This person must have come back to load the goods. His accomplice is elsewhere… If he doesn’t contact them, they’ll run. That’s usually how they arrange things.”

While the lead seemed lost, they were fortunate to have found the missing police officers alive. The cannabis leaves found at the scene would be solid evidence against these people in future prosecutions.

The case seemed clear, yet it appeared the struggle had only just begun.

Late at night, at a restaurant beside the highway, a middle-aged man walked in. The cashier behind the counter ignored him, engrossed in watching a 1990s Hong Kong martial arts drama on a small TV. His face, with a grin, was shining from the screen’s light.

Glancing at the menu on the wall riddled with typos, the man said, “Egg fried rice… Egg fried rice!… Am I deaf? I want a bowl of egg fried rice!!!”

“I heard you, I heard you. One egg fried rice,” the cashier shouted towards the kitchen, then continued to immerse himself in the TV drama.

Muttering a curse, the man found a place to sit. He took out a cigarette, lit it, then suddenly remembered something and took two more, lighting them and placing them in the cracks of the Eight Immortals table like incense sticks, clasping his hands together and bowing.

“Xiaolong, rest in peace,” the man murmured.

Then he took out his phone and sent a message to a number: “Boss, I can’t hold on anymore, I have to run!”

Ten minutes later, the reply came, just two words, “Where’s the merchandise?”

“In a deputy food warehouse in Xiaoyu Town, rented under Xiaolong’s name. You need to take it away quickly, or the police will find out.”

“Okay, you go get it later, I’ll send someone to collect it, and bring you some money for the road.”

“Thank you, boss!” The man breathed a sigh of relief.

“Don’t mention it. In all these years with me, I’ll take care of everything. You can leave with peace of mind.”

Putting down his phone, the three cigarettes on the table had already burned out. A green-headed fly was perched on the end of one, sipping the saliva he had left behind, which disgusted him. He swatted it away and it flew off.

At that moment, the cashier came over and slammed a large bowl of egg fried rice onto the table, sprinkling probably about an ounce of rice. The cashier sucked on the thumb he accidentally stuck into the rice, said nothing, and left.

Without even providing utensils, the man had to go to the sterilizer to get chopsticks. After tasting a bite of egg fried rice, his eyebrows immediately furrowed. He put down the chopsticks. The green-headed fly from earlier obediently flew to the rice and began to suck.

“Damn!”

If this were any other time, he would have flipped the table. Now he had to keep a low profile. He raised his voice, “Check, please!”

“Check.”

“That’s eighty.”

“Wasn’t the meal only thirty?”

“The other fifty is for tea.”

“You served me tea?”

“It’s called a tea fee. You can call it a service charge.”

The man slapped a hundred-dollar bill on the counter. He didn’t ask for change, and the cashier didn’t give him any, just took the money and put it in the drawer. The cashier’s eyes never left the TV screen.

“This job is too comfortable, even better than selling drugs!” he joked, but the cashier didn’t hear.

As he walked out of the shop, he heard the cashier cursing, “Damn it, coming to eat so late is such a bother!”

The man felt an urge to go back and kill the cashier. His right hand even reached into his pocket for the butterfly knife. As he hesitated, the green-headed fly landed on his nose, making him swipe it away angrily, saying, “Get lost!”

This distraction made him abandon his thoughts of venting his anger.

Driving to Xiaoyu Town, the man loaded the goods onto the truck, drove outside the town, and at one in the morning, an SUV appeared on the road, flashing its lights twice. In response, he also flashed his.

Two people got out of the car, dressed in black tactical gear, sunglasses, and black leather gloves, looking mysterious and capable. The man offered a cigarette, but they waved it away, saying coldly, “Where’s the merchandise?”

“It’s in the car.”

The two special agents went to the back of the car to inspect the goods, tearing open the plastic to taste a piece of cannabis leaf. “Wasn’t it supposed to be three hundred kilograms?”

“The police confiscated some. Where’s the money for me running away that Lielao promised?”

The two said nothing and returned to their car. At this moment, the green-headed fly landed on the man’s nose again. Furious, he wondered if it had followed him from the restaurant. Was it so persistent because of the smell of blood on him?

He had to kill the damn fly. Running back to the truck to get insecticide, he saw the two special agents getting off the SUV, holding a black messenger bag in one hand and a shiny spring knife in the other.

His eyes widened in realization. So far, the police had only tracked down the two of them. Now that Awei was dead, if he could eliminate him, all the leads would be cut off completely. The people upstream could relax, continue business as usual in a couple of years, hire a few willing to risk their lives for some money, and talk some nonsense about chivalry. For those upstream, money would still be earned, women would still be played with, and it would be as if nothing had ever happened.

He quickly lowered his head, filled with anger at the betrayal. His teeth ground audibly. The two moved to surround the back of the truck. Once they passed, the man quietly pushed open the car door…

The two special agents approached the back of the truck with spring knives, only to see the surprised face of the other party, finding no one there. They returned to the truck cab. Agent A peeked through the glass, and the man jumped out of the bushes beside the road, covering Agent A’s mouth and stabbing him frantically in the back. Blood flowed through his fingers.

Agent B finally reacted. When the bloody butterfly knife stabbed into his throat, his scream was forcibly suppressed, the whole process went smoothly and incredibly, like slaughtering two helpless chickens.

Without paying attention to the struggling two on the ground, he opened the bags they had thrown down, smiling.

The bags were full of paper money. He remembered what Lielao had said in the text message—”Take some money for the road.”

“Hahaha, old man, you really keep your word!”

The two people on the ground gradually stopped struggling, and blood flowed onto the roadside, moistening the s. He knew he had become a pawn, with no way to go to heaven or earth.

The green-headed fly buzzed over and landed on the eye of a corpse, sucking the liquid above, seeming to love to suck there.

He suddenly thought, this fly saved him, could it be Awei showing his spirit?

He squatted down, staring at the fly for a long time, asking, “Awei, what should we do now?”

The fly rubbed its forelimbs and buzzed away…