Chapter 462 - 461: The Acting Was Too Real
Hearing Zhang Hang's cry for help, Gu Zhao immediately sat up straight and asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong? Where are you?"
"Do you remember Ding Zehai?" Zhang Hang said.
Gu Zhao paused, speechless. "You're calling me to save your life, can't you get to the point first?"
"That bastard is working for a scam compound now. He tried to kidnap me and Qiuqiu, but thanks to the Protective Magical Treasure you gave us, Qiuqiu and I fought our way out and escaped!"
Zhang Hang said over the phone, "But now we're in the wilderness on the border of Cambodia and Siam, in the middle of nowhere. I just called the Siam embassy, and they told me to wait here and that they're sending people to pick us up.
But I'm afraid the people they send might be connected to the scam compound. I'm also worried the compound's people will find us first. That's why I called you for help."
"Do you know any of those flying Extraordinary Taoist Masters? Can you ask them to come save me?" Zhang Hang asked hurriedly.
The Extraordinary had appeared in the world, and Taoist Masters had revealed their sacred power.
The whole world knew that Celestial Xia's Taoist Masters could fly through the air.
Zhang Hang had the Golden Gang Bracelet from Gu Zhao, so he knew Gu Zhao was an Extraordinary Being. But in his mind, Gu Zhao was too young to fly. It seemed much more likely that he knew a Taoist Master who could.
That's why he made the call for help.
"Send me your location," Gu Zhao said calmly.
"Okay!" Zhang Hang replied, then hung up. A few seconds later, he sent a location.
Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi had also heard the call and quickly asked, "Is Zhang Hang okay?"
Zhang Hang was Gu Zhao's friend. They had even filmed videos together and got along well.
"He's fine for now." Gu Zhao put his phone away.
"What about later?" Xiao Ya asked.
"Once I get there, he'll be perfectly fine." Gu Zhao smiled, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "It'll be other people who have a problem."
Jiang Shishi's eyes lit up. "You're going to deal with those scam compounds?"
"The authorities took out the scam compounds in northern Shan Country. I thought they had scattered," Gu Zhao snorted. "I figured even if a few remnants survived, they'd only be able to recruit the morally corrupt and wouldn't dare target ordinary citizens."
"It seems Cambodia absorbed some of them," Xiao Ya said. "They have indeed been much more low-key."
"But they still trick and abduct ordinary Celestial Xia People," Jiang Shishi added.
"If they're harming our innocent countrymen on a large scale, then they don't deserve to exist." Gu Zhao nodded, then looked at the two women. "You two head back to the hotel and get settled. I'll bring Zhang Hang and Song Qiuqiu back for a late-night snack."
"Alright!"
Just as Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi got up, they saw Gu Zhao take a step forward, and his figure instantly vanished before their eyes.
...
γOn the border of Cambodia and Siam, in a remote corner of a village.γ
Zhang Hang, leading Song Qiuqiu, was secretly hiding in a pile of junk stacked outside a farmer's yard. Their clothes were soaked with sweat, but they didn't dare move a muscle.
Hearing Zhang Hang's recent phone call, Song Qiuqiu's eyes also lit up. "Gu Zhao knows those masters?"
Zhang Hang smiled smugly. "You just experienced the power of the Golden Gang Bracelet, didn't you?"
"Mhm!" Song Qiuqiu nodded repeatedly, finally letting out a sigh of relief. "We're saved!"
This morning, Zhang Hang and Song Qiuqiu were shopping in Pattaya when they ran into Ding Zehai, someone they knew from before.
He used to live not far from Zhang Hang and Gu Zhao and was something of a minor second-generation heir in their circle. However, while the Zhang Family had ridden a wave of success to become bigger and bigger, and Gu Zhao's family maintained its rock-solid reputation, the Ding Family's business had run into trouble.
The Ding Family got into some trouble, transferred all their assets abroad, and then left the country, leaving behind a huge mess.
But it was just a financial case, after all. As long as the Ding Family didn't return to the country, the authorities couldn't do anything to them.
Zhang Hang was indifferent to this, because the Zhang Family wasn't involved in the Ding Family's affairs. To him, Ding Zehai was just an old acquaintance he used to hang out with, and he even felt a bit nostalgic.
So, the two of them had a meal together, chatted about old times, and talked about their current situations.
Ding Zehai learned that Zhang Hang was traveling with his girlfriend and mentioned that his own family was making a comeback in Siam.
"My family opened a factory over on the border of Siam and Cambodia. We process seafood and local specialties to sell throughout Southeast Asia. We're not rolling in dough, but things are looking up."
Ding Zehai explained, "Oh, right, my family also built a resort villa over there. You can go deep-sea fishing and even shooting."
Zhang Hang's eyes lit up. "You can go shooting?"
Ding Zehai smiled. "My family has some local connections, so we can get our hands on some small arms. Want to try?"
"Yeah! Of course I do!" Zhang Hang nodded.
Most young men who grow up in a peaceful country share the small wish of getting to handle a real gun.
"Well, if you have time, you should come have some fun. I'm already tired of the firearms; deep-sea fishing is the real thrill."
Ding Zehai said with a smile, spreading his hands as wide as they could go. "A grouper this long! I wrestled with it for an hour before I finally reeled it in. It was such a rush!"
Zhang Hang nodded along. He'd never been deep-sea fishing, so he couldn't appreciate the fun of it yet.
"Let's exchange contact info." Ding Zehai took out his phone, and they swapped details. He smiled and said, "If you decide you want to go, just get in touch. We're old neighbors, after all. My door's always open for you."
Zhang Hang added Ding Zehai and immediately received several promotional pictures of the shooting range and deep-sea fishing club, as well as a link to the resort villa's official website, which was in both Siamese and Celestial Xia script.
Song Qiuqiu was more cautious. She glanced at the name, opened a popular lifestyle app from back home, and did a search. She found more than ten glowing recommendation posts about the resort.
She opened the main page and saw that the posts were dated from the year before last to last year, and the bloggers had been continuously updating their accounts since then.
"No need to pick a time, let's just go today," Zhang Hang said. "We're just on a casual vacation with no special plans, so we'll go to your place. We can shoot this afternoon and go deep-sea fishing tomorrow morning."
Song Qiuqiu still hadn't let her guard down. She tugged on Zhang Hang's arm. "I hear the border between Siam and Cambodia is really chaotic."
Hearing this, Ding Zehai nodded and said with a serious expression, "It is chaotic. That's why you should never go on your own without an acquaintance to guide you. And even with a guide, you can't just wander around by yourselves."
Then he smiled proudly. "Of course, as long as you don't leave the resort, I guarantee you'll be fine. After all, we're running a business, just like the two casinos next door. If we can't even protect our guests' safety, how can we expect any repeat customers?"
Zhang Hang clicked his tongue. "Damn, there are casinos over there too?"
"It's the Heaven-Encircling Xia Casino Circle. It's very famous," Ding Zehai laughed. "But my family doesn't have such strong connections, so we can't run a casino. We settled for a shooting range and a deep-sea fishing club."
Ding Zehai's story was so convincing that not only Zhang Hang, but even Song Qiuqiu didn't sense anything was wrong.
Everything seemed perfectly normal. Ding Zehai was an old acquaintance, and he hadn't even pushed them to come.
And so, the two of them finally let their guard down, got into Ding Zehai's car, and left Pattaya, heading east.
As they drove away from Pattaya along Siam's relatively modern coastal highway, tourist buses occasionally passed by, and Zhang Hang and Song Qiuqiu let go of the last shred of their unease.
Then they realized that Ding Zehai was driving them further and further off the beaten path. Finally, after passing through a village, they arrived at the gate of a large estate.
"We're here." Ding Zehai turned off the engine.
"This is..." Zhang Hang looked up and saw armed guards standing on both sides of the gate.