After listening to the story, Jiang Li and Gu Jin finally understood what had happened. Jiang Li then asked another question.
"Is Captain Wang still here?"
"They're gone. They left seven days ago. It's a pity you weren't at the base then, otherwise you could have met up."
Zhang Qingshan said with a hint of regret.
Seven days ago? Seven days ago they should have been busy with seafood at Wang Qingli's base. It seems they just missed it.
"Since we've run into you, I'll tell you some news for Old Wang's sake."
As Zhang Qingshan spoke, he waved to the two of them, signaling them to come closer. Jiang Li and Gu Jin stepped forward, puzzled.
"There might be some unrest in the base recently, so be careful. It's best not to go out if you can avoid it. That's all I have to say. What you do is up to you."
After Zhang Qingshan finished speaking, he looked at Jiang Li and Gu Jin. If Old Wang hadn't kept mentioning them to him, he wouldn't have told them this news.
After hearing what Captain Zhang said, Jiang Li and Gu Jin nodded silently without asking any questions. Captain Zhang had reminded them that they were Captain Wang, the foreigner.
After greeting the two men, Zhang Qingshan led the arrested man away. Jiang Li and Gu Jin didn't linger either and continued walking forward.
After exploring the area to their heart's content, the two decided to take a boat, since boats are the main mode of transportation here. They can go to most places in the base, and even places that temporary ID cards cannot access, the boat can still float on the water, but they cannot go ashore.
The boats here are all small and made of wood. They are not very big and have no canopy. They are just bare and there are benches in the middle for people to sit on, but they can only seat five or six people.
The cost of the boat depends on where you are going and the number of people. It is usually paid with contribution points. Since there are no contribution points for two people, food is used instead.
The two gave the boatman some food and asked him to take them around the base as he pleased, wherever he could take them. The boatman readily agreed.
Looking at the base from the boat gave me a different feeling. There were also shouts of vendors selling things around me from time to time, and Jiang Li chatted with the boatman.
"It seems like there are more people selling things from boats here than people running shops on land?"
The boat is rowed by hand, entirely by human labor, as this is the most economical method, the boatman said to Jiang Li as he rowed.
"Shop rent is too expensive, most people can't afford it. Boats are cheaper, many people can afford them, so of course everyone uses boats. And almost everyone here knows how to row a boat, so there are even more of them."
Jiang Li nodded after listening. The boatman was also a chatty person, and the conversation quickly turned to each other. Jiang Li and Gu Jin learned a lot from the boatman.
For example, this base actually has two base commanders, one surnamed Zhang and the other surnamed Li, and the Captain Zhang we just saw is the son of this base commander Zhang.
Jiang Li and the others learned that this hierarchical system was proposed by Base Chief Li, and Base Chief Zhang disagreed, leading to an argument between the two. However, for some reason, Base Chief Zhang eventually agreed.
Jiang Li and Gu Jin guessed that the turmoil that Captain Wang mentioned earlier might be a power struggle between the two base commanders.
After the group met up in the evening, Gu Jin told them what she had learned that day. They planned to leave the base after three days.
What none of them expected was that someone didn't want them to leave. On the morning of the third day, while they were resting in the hotel, they suddenly heard a commotion outside, and the noise seemed to be approaching their room.
Jiang Li and Gu Jin woke up when they heard the noise. They listened for a while near the door and then heard voices.
Are you sure those people live here?
"Boss, I'm sure they're here."
"Alright, someone bring them out to me."
The man called "boss" ordered his men to break down the door, but suddenly the door was opened.
Jiang Li and Gu Jin appeared before the group, and Fu Xiaxia and the others also appeared beside them.
“Boss, it was those two. I saw them chatting with Zhang Qingshan for a long time. Zhang Qingshan’s attitude towards them was quite unusual.”
The speaker was a rather sleazy-looking, thin man, who looked to be only about 1.6 meters tall. His name was Ge Lin, and he was pointing at Jiang Li and Gu Jin who had come out.
Jiang Li and Gu Jin exchanged a glance; it seemed they had been drawn into the struggle.
The man standing in the middle, who was also the leader of the group, was named Wu Shu. When he saw Jiang Li, his eyes lit up. He hadn't expected to see a girl. Wu Shu said to Ge Lin.
"Just the two of them? The others?"
Wu Shu pointed to Fu Xiaxia and the others.
Ge Lin shook his head and said.
"I only saw the two of them; I didn't see the others."
Wu Shu glanced at the group of people standing together, clearly they were a group, and then spoke to his men.
"Arrest them all."
The others rushed forward, trying to capture Jiang Li and his companions, but Jiang Li and his group immediately drew their pistols and fought back.
While the group was locked in a standoff, Zhang Qingshan, trapped in a dungeon in the base, was now in a bloodthirsty frenzy.
"Quick! Unlock it!"
After dealing with the guards who rushed in to kill them, Zhang Qingshan directed another man, trembling and holding a still-dripping knife, to steal several sets of keys from the bodies of the men who had already been killed. The man tried several times before finally opening the dungeon door with a "click".
With great effort, Zhang Qingshan helped Zhang Huaimin (the base commander), who had been unconscious for a whole day, to his feet, and carried Zhang Huaimin on his back, walking out step by step.
Passing through several dungeons, without Zhang Qingshan saying anything, the man had already released his colleagues who were imprisoned there along the way.
Everyone immediately grabbed all the usable weapons and pistols from the bodies of the dead guards and spontaneously surrounded Zhang Qingshan and Zhang Huaimin to protect them.
They walked all the way to the dungeon entrance, pried open the door, and then escorted Zhang Qingshan and Zhang Huaimin out.
As soon as they stepped out of the corridor into an open space, the glaring lights suddenly blazed on, and Li Ding emerged from the shadows, looking at the group of prisoners before him with a sinister smile.
"Oh, you've got some skills, managing to escape."
"It's a pity, I'm a bit petty. If I let you out today, I'll definitely have a hard time. So please keep quiet for now. Once I'm in a stable position, you can do whatever you want."
"Even if you come with a knife to take my life, I might even burn some extra paper money for you."
After Li Ding finished speaking with a chuckle, his expression changed drastically, and he raised his hand.
"Go! Take them down!"
Zhang Qingshan and his group were already covered in wounds, and with Li Ding bringing so many people, they couldn't hold out for long. Just when it seemed like they were about to be locked up again, someone appeared in time.
"Let's see who dares!"
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