"Take cover!" Old Hei growled urgently. This gunshot shattered the illusions of Old Hei and his group of illegal immigrants.
People can no longer assume that as long as they avoid the border guards, escape the ferocious beasts, and climb a few mountains, they can enter the country on the other side.
Everyone quickly took up defensive positions, each holding a weapon. An Moxue even saw guns in the hands of the two burly men who harbored ill intentions towards her.
Everyone prayed that only this one shot would be fired and that no one else would come. Whether they were illegal immigrants or border guards, everyone was even breathing cautiously.
Everyone's hearts were in their throats. Old Hei and his team didn't move, and none of the illegal immigrants dared to move either.
Time seemed to stand still and stretch out infinitely at that moment, but after a long while, it was as if someone had played a joke on them. There were no more gunshots, no more human voices or traces, and no one dared to make a move.
Old Hei gestured to his two teammates, who crouched low and moved forward.
After some time, the two men returned and gestured to Lao Hei. At Lao Hei's command, everyone crouched low and moved forward while observing their surroundings.
And so, they walked a few steps, then stopped a few steps, and no one dared to act on their own. Even the most ferocious-looking people were cautious and timid.
Suddenly, Lao Hei gave an order: "Everyone, stay close, and move forward at full speed!" And so, everyone followed Lao Hei's men and started running at full speed.
An Moxue felt like a long time had passed, but when she checked the time, it was only a little over an hour.
And so it went until it was almost dark, when Old Hei gave the order and everyone stopped.
Several people were watching An Moxue, their legs trembling. Some were sweating profusely from running in the dead of winter. Everyone was panting heavily. An Moxue didn't want to appear too different, so she also breathed heavily. In fact, she was really tired, not physically, but mentally.
Since hearing that gunshot, the group has crossed several hills, large and small.
Old Hei gathered everyone together and said, "We've passed the most dangerous part of this area. I reckon that shot during the day was from a lone hacker, and he was probably taken care of by the border guards. Otherwise, there shouldn't have been just one shot, and there shouldn't have been a squad that increased patrols. We barely made it through today. Everyone, rest for an hour, and then we'll continue."
"Damn it, we're really risking our lives." A burly man wiped the sweat from his face with the sleeve of his cotton-padded jacket and muttered to himself.
This seemed to open up a floodgate of conversation, and everyone lowered their voices to speak.
"My legs feel like they don't belong to me anymore from running so much."
"I don't know if I'll be able to cross the border safely."
"Brother Hei, have we crossed half the border yet?"
"More or less!" Old Hei remained calm, munching on his dry bread and occasionally taking a sip of wine from the pot.
"If anyone says the border is any better than this, I'll slap them to death! My heart is still pounding!"
Someone even added, in what they thought was humor, "Those who don't jump are dead."
Suddenly, everyone turned to look at the speaker. Stared at by so many double eyelids, he felt a little uneasy and realized he had said something inappropriate. He quickly tried to cover it up, saying, "It was just a joke, a joke! Hehe, don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously."
Seeing that even after he tried to soften his tone, everyone was still glaring at him, so he quickly became even more careful in apologizing, humbly saying, "Brothers, please just ignore my foul mouth, don't be angry, I apologize to everyone."
At this moment, Lao Hei spoke up, saying, "Brother, we who travel at night don't talk about people during the day, nor do we talk about ghosts at night. We all hope to get through this peacefully. Although your words were unintentional, they broke a taboo. Be careful what you say in the future; nobody likes to hear these kinds of things, understand?"
"I understand, I understand, I understand!" the man replied cautiously.
I dare not refuse!
One wrong word almost got him into serious trouble.
Old Hei chimed in, and the others didn't pursue the matter further, but their gazes towards him were not very friendly.
After this incident, no one said anything more, and everyone focused on eating and resting.
Everyone knows that not only can they not rest at night, but they also have to travel and be wary of wild beasts in the mountains.
An Moxue sat some distance away from everyone. She secretly transferred hot water from her spatial storage into the kettle and ate a lukewarm bun. No one knew that her food was warm.
Everyone in the group assumed she was eating cold buns and drinking cold water. But seeing her eating the buns with gusto, they all reassessed her in their minds. This woman hadn't fallen behind, hadn't complained, and was still so composed. This woman was no ordinary person.
An hour of rest passed quickly, and the group set off again. It was dark, so they couldn't use torches and had to rely on the experience of Lao Hei and his group to move forward blindly, which slowed them down, but no one dared to complain.
And so, throughout the night, everyone walked and stopped intermittently, and by dawn, everyone was listless.
Old Hei once again announced a break, and also told everyone that once they crossed the border and passed the Mongolian border patrol, they would be safe. Everyone's confidence instantly increased.
Just when everyone thought victory was in sight, they heard gunfire from the border guards again, this time from Mongolia.
Everyone immediately went on high alert, forgetting about resting, and searched for hiding places.
This time, luck wasn't on their side. A five-man squad, all heavily armed, came running towards them. Everyone's hair stood on end, fearing they would be discovered.
Seeing that the situation was not good, An Moxue silently retreated, getting further and further away from these people.
Finally, someone spotted the footprints, and the two sides instantly went into battle.
An Moxue did not expect that a conflict would break out with the border guards on this side just when Lao Hei said that he was about to successfully cross the border.
While suppressing the enemy with firepower, Lao Hei and his men charged towards Mongolia. They held nothing back; one wrong move and they would lose their lives.
Finally, someone was shot. No one stopped or went to help. Everyone knew in their hearts when they were preparing to smuggle themselves across the border that this was a high-stakes gamble, a gamble with their lives. If they won, they would cross the border; if they lost, they would be left with their lives.
Finally, the gunfire stopped. No one knew how far they had run, but no one dared to rest. They all kept running, not knowing if reinforcements would arrive and surround them again.
An Moxue never showed herself again, following Lao Hei and his group from a distance as they headed north.
They ran from sunrise to sunset, and in the distance they could see what appeared to be a river.
The hills have turned into plains.
Old Hei, panting heavily, said, "Once we cross this river, we'll be safe. See that village ahead? That's our stronghold. Everyone, give it your all and charge!"
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