Chapter 85 Fugitive
There are two or three hundred people in the camp of the 25th Company, mostly men and few women. There are quite a few older bachelors in the team. Which bachelor doesn't want to find a wife?
In the camp, everyone can see who is being nice to whom, and it's common to talk about it in private.
This kind of novelty is the best tool to relieve fatigue and speed up the passage of time during work.
But Sun Hong, the person at the center of today's incident, felt that everyone was pointing fingers at her. Every look she received made her heart clench, and the word "thief" pierced her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.
She was filled with regret.
She regretted not being able to resist her desire and keeping the things Wang Zhendong was going to give away.
She saw other girls buy headscarves and wanted one too, but she couldn't afford it because she was short of money.
She had been out of her mind to come up with that idea, and the relief and smugness she felt when it succeeded now felt like a resounding slap in the face.
As Sun Hong silently pulled the cart with her head down, tears streamed down her face, her skin turned purplish-red, and her hands gripping the rope trembled.
She wanted to burrow into the ground and escape.
Unable to stay any longer, she removed the noose and left the field.
Noticing that someone had broken away from the group shortly after starting work, the instructor raised his voice in displeasure and asked, "Where are you going?"
Sun Hong tried her best not to sound like she was crying, and said to cover it up, "I'm going to the bathroom."
The instructor urged, "Don't slack off, come back quickly!"
Sun Hong's retreating figure as she ran revealed a sense of panic.
Song Lubai glanced at Sun Hong's retreating figure while holding the shovel, and asked Wang Qun beside her, "What were you two talking about earlier?"
Feng Ying, wiping her sweat, asked, "Did she steal your headscarf?"
Wang Qun shook his head awkwardly, "No, I misunderstood her."
Song Lubai whispered, "You made quite a fuss earlier, and she definitely can't take it. She must feel ashamed right now."
Wang Qun was already in a state of inner turmoil. She put the shovel aside and said, "I'm going to find her."
She still disliked Sun Hong, but now that Sun Hong had run away, her conscience wouldn't let her get over it.
How annoying!
The sun was still scorching at six o'clock, and Song Lubai was sweating profusely. Her lips were dry and peeling due to lack of water.
"Feng Ying, how many truckloads of soil have we gotten together?"
Feng Ying, fanning herself with a straw hat, said, "Two cartloads have passed, why isn't Wang Qun back yet?"
It's much faster and more laborious for three people to carry soil than for two people to carry soil, but the two of them have already made two round trips, and Feng Ying still hasn't returned.
Normally, people use the toilet in a dug ditch, and once they go down, they can't see their shadows.
The ditch is two and a half meters deep, and the main straight canal is several kilometers long. There are many nodes on the main straight canal, leading to many branch canals.
These extensive channels were all painstakingly dug out by everyone.
There are plenty of places where people can use the restroom.
Wang Qun and Sun Hong weren't going to the restroom; resolving their conflict might take a little longer, but they were gone for far too long.
Feeling uneasy, Song Lubai and Wang Qun went to explain the situation to their instructor.
The desolate Gobi Desert was not a safe place, and the instructor was worried that something might happen.
Besides the group of escaped prisoners who haven't been caught yet, there are other dangers in the desolate Gobi Desert: wolves, foxes, and villains...
This vast land is home to many ethnic groups, who often cannot communicate with each other, leading to numerous serious incidents.
"You two, get the female comrade you live with and go look over there. Oh, no, we still need to get the male comrade, just in case something really happens..."
The instructor turned his head and looked around, and saw Wei Yang's figure emerging from the grove of trees. He waved to him.
Wei Yang had already explained everything he needed to to the instructor and company commander. After that, he went to inspect the area within a few miles of the camp, paying particular attention to the low-lying forest belt a few miles away.
The inspection results left him with doubts and made him highly vigilant.
There were signs that someone had relieved themselves in the woodland, and many footprints were visible around the area.
When people are in the camp, they would probably go to the nearby hill behind the mound to use the toilet. However, when they are working during the day, they would probably relieve themselves in the ditch.
Is it convenient for someone to come here?
Those excrements were only recently produced.
Wei Yang didn't see the instructor waving immediately; it was only after the instructor called out to him that he sped up and approached.
At this moment, Song Lubai, Feng Ying, and several male comrades were shouting Wang Qun and Sun Hong's names loudly on the canal.
Logically, the person should be nearby and would respond if they heard it, but no one answered after calling for a long time.
This unusual behavior led them to suspect something was wrong.
All they could do was shout down the channel while looking down.
At this time, Song Lubai and the others were at least two miles away from where the main force was working.
Song Lubai's throat was dry and hoarse as she stood above the crossroads and caught a glimpse of a corner of her clothing on the right edge below.
She cautiously peeked out and saw Sun Hong lying there, her face covered in blood, seemingly lifeless, her clothes disheveled, and half of her thigh exposed.
Song Lubai's face turned pale. She looked around warily. Hearing the commotion behind her, she said to the men walking towards her, "You guys go check over there first."
She jumped into the ditch, first straightened Sun Hong's clothes, and then, with trembling hands, checked her breath.
Fortunately, I could still feel the breath coming in and out of my nose and mouth, and my heart finally relaxed.
Then she called out, "Come here, we've found Sun Hong."
"Feng Ying is here, and there's another woman I don't recognize."
"Oh, there's someone over there, he ran away..."
The panicked voices of boys could be heard not far away.
Song Lubai vaguely heard footsteps in the canal, getting closer and closer to her.
Her heart was pounding like a drum as she grabbed onto the grass roots on the canal wall and climbed upwards.
If the people coming are bad guys, she can't be trapped here.
Unable to carry Sun Hong, she had to prioritize her own safety in this dangerous situation.
Just as I climbed onto the canal, a pair of liberation shoes appeared in front of me.
The person pulled her up, and before Song Lubai could even stand up, a figure rushed down the canal.
The figure below the canal was dressed in black, covered in yellow dust, and had a buzz cut. This image was exactly the same as the description of the laborers and reformed prisoners that Liu Fengshou had told them.
Several men on the canal are chasing after us.
Wei Yang pushed her aside and said in a deep voice, "Get out of the way."
He immediately jumped down, blocking the path of the person coming.
Song Lubai cautiously peered down and saw Wei Yang engaging in ruthless close combat with the people below.
Her arm was suddenly grabbed, and she instinctively shook it off forcefully.
The instructor quickly spoke up: "It's me. Stand aside and don't get so close."
"There are two more people over here, they're trying to escape."
A male voice rang out from not far away.
The fugitive who had been fighting with Wei Yang hadn't had a proper meal for several days.
During the day they hid in the canal, and only dared to go to the camp to look for food at night. They hadn't found any food in the past few days, and the surrounding area was all barren wasteland and Gobi Desert. They had no choice but to circle back.
Exhausted and weak, he was no match for Wei Yang, who was nearly 1.9 meters tall, strong, and had served on the battlefield.
Wei Yang kicked the fugitive in the stomach, and the fugitive couldn't even scream. He lay on the ground, unable to get up.
Before jumping down to help, the instructor said to Song Lubai, "Go back and call more people over."
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