BXBX NOVEL Chapter 129: He’s His Little Friend
The next day, Song Xuanhe was woken up by the knocking on the door.
The middle-aged man who had opened his door to him yesterday spoke in the local dialect for a while. It was only when he saw Song Xuanhe’s blank expression that he realized that he should be using English. “The army has suddenly decided to search everyone’s homes to see if anyone’s hiding people of the opposing faction. If you stay here, you’ll implicate my entire family. You have to leave now!”
Song Xuanhe had yet to snap out of his daze when the man brought in two women. Together, they swiftly gathered all of Song Xuanhe’s belongings, then gave him a bit of food. “Leave from the back door. Try to stay away from the military. If you bump into people in the military, don’t fight them. Tell them you came to learn the art of dyeing from Mr. Hashemi. Perhaps they will believe you.”
Not even the middle-aged man himself believed the last thing he said. He didn’t believe that anyone would run over here for such a preposterous reason and endanger their life. Everyone here wanted to leave this place. Therefore, although what Song Xuanhe had claimed to be the purpose of his visit was the same as what his friend had told him, he still didn’t believe it.
Song Xuanhe could tell that the middle-aged man didn’t believe him, but he didn’t want to explain himself. He simply said, “Could you tell me where the nearest bus stop is?”
“The bus doesn’t come every day!” The middle-aged man found a robe and headscarf that could cover Song Xuanhe. He gave Song Xuanhe the simplest and safest route he knew, then sighed. “Foreigners appear there often. If you’re lucky, perhaps you’ll encounter an ambassador from your country. You’ll be safe if that happens. Now hurry. Go.”
Song Xuanhe nodded. He left a wad of cash and some food he had bought in the past before leaving from the back door.
Even the System couldn’t keep from making a sarcastic remark. 【You probably didn’t expect that you would have to run for your life when you ran over here yesterday.】
【I did think of this.】
Song Xuanhe walked down the virtually empty road. He recalled the route the middle-aged man had told him. He surveyed the area to figure out what the safest route would be.
【Then do you regret coming here?】The System asked.
Song Xuanhe paused：【Yes.】
The System was surprised. It had always known just how obstinate Song Xuanhe could be. It also knew that Song Xuanhe rarely regretted his decisions. He had only blurted this question out because his microchip had overheated. Actually, its data had told it that there was an eighty seven percent chance Song Xuanhe would say that he didn’t regret coming here. The remaining 13% was due to uncontrollable factors.
Usually, if the disparity was this big, there was no need to even consider the other alternative. Under normal circumstances, it was almost certain that the higher probability outcome would occur. But after meeting Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu, the System started to wonder if it really was a high level system. It also wondered if its data was really as comprehensive as it had thought. Otherwise, why was its predictions inaccurate even when the probabilities were so high?
The System was unresigned to this and continued to ask：【Why do you regret coming here? You’ve never regretted anything in the past.】
Song Xuanhe pursed his lips. He knew why he regretted it, but he wasn’t going to tell the System why.
After meeting with Song Xuanhe’s silence, the System was about to continue interrogating him. However, it suddenly detected a large number of people heading towards and promptly said：【Someone’s coming! There’s at least twenty people! There’s somewhere you can hide fifty metres from here, but according to their speed, you won’t have the time to get there without them noticing you. There’s nowhere for you to hide!】
【Tell me what will happen.】Song Xuanhe didn’t seem panicked. He calmly asked：【Do they have guns on them?】
【Yes! Everyone has one.】
Song Xuanhe frowned. He pasted himself against the wall as he moved forward：【What do you think my chances of leaving X City are?】
【Fifty percent,】the System said.
Half and half. It might as well not have said anything.
Song Xuanhe shook his head. Even if he was in danger, he wasn’t flustered. He didn’t feel afraid, either.
【Can you send me back to my world if I were to face life-threatening danger here?】
【In theory, no,】the System said,【Moreover, you still have one more mission left. If you were to try and go back, you would be subjected to the main system’s restrictions. In addition, you’ve caught the main system’s attention in the past. Even when your time is up, you might not be able to go back.】
【That all depends on whether or not I’m even still alive by that time.】
Song Xuanhe stopped walking. He lifted both hands as he calmly took in the people in military uniforms closing in on him with guns raised.
The leftmost person sized Song Xuanhe up. He came forward and tore Song Xuanhe’s headscarf off. He then exchanged glances with a companion before speaking in English: “Your identity.”
Song Xuanhe gave him his passport.
The others all had their guns pointed at Song Xuanhe. The person who took his passport examined it.
【It would be wise to not attempt escape.】As the System saw Song Xuanhe’s eyes glisten and unobtrusively size up the surrounding people, it said：【My analyses tells me that the probability of you escaping successfully is practically zero.】
【There’s no need for any analyses.】Song Xuanhe said：【I already know that I have no chance of escape.】
【Then what are you looking at them for?】The System asked.
【Know thyself, know thy enemy.】Song Xuanhe said mildly,【I have to figure out my current situation.】
【Your current situation…】The System paused. It followed Song Xuanhe’s gaze and looked at someone hidden within the group of people dressed in military gear：【Isn’t the first man in the second row to your right the person who was following you before?】
Song Xuanhe smiled：【You finally noticed.】
【That means that these people are….】
The System had yet to finish when the man who had taken Song Xuanhe’s passport finished speaking to his companions. In English, he now said, “Mr. Song, we were assigned to your security detail by Mr. Xiao. Please come with us.”
Song Xuanhe nodded. He took in the not-so-unfamiliar faces around him and said, “Thank you for the trouble.”
The Arabian person nodded and made a gesture to tell the others to drop their guns. He approached Song Xuanhe and said, “Please put on the headscarf and keep your head lowered. Do your best to avoid showing your face.”
Song Xuanhe didn’t ask anything. He did as that person said.
Their party quietly made their way through the district filled with military and civilians. The Arabian person from before relaxed after they got into the cars. He smiled at Song Xuanhe. “Mr. Xiao, may I inquire as to why you came to X Country?”
Song Xuanhe: “I came to see Mr. Hashemi. I wanted to learn his unique dyeing methods.”
“I see,” the Arabian man smiled. “Mr. Hashemi is renowned throughout X Country. Unfortunately, because his daughter fell sick, he brought his entire family out of the country as the medical facilities here are unsuitable for her. We were the ones who had escorted Mr. Hashemi out.”
Song Xuanhe’s eyes lit up and he asked, “Do you know where Mr. Hashemi is now?”
“All I know is that he went to America.” The man said, “I don’t know the details, however. But I do believe that you may be able to ask Mr. Xiao for help locating him. It should be easy for him to find Mr. Hashemi in America.”
Song Xuanhe found this unbelievable. “Thank you.”
The extremely stern looking Arabian man was named Mohammed. He was very good at holding conversations. On the tottering journey, he asked Song Xuanhe about what he had seen during his travels and even spoke about his family abroad. He also expressed his concerns about the current situation.
It was all very happy and relaxed until the sand in front of them exploded.
“Protect Mr. Song!”
Under the frenzied ‘bang bang bang’ of gunfire, Song Xuanhe was pressed down on his seat. Mohammed then opened the car door, sprayed the outside world with bullets, then turned to Song Xuanhe gravely. “Do you know how to use a gun?”
Song Xuanhe had already armed himself. When he heard this, he gave a quick ‘yes’.
Mohammed quickly handed him a gun and then gave him two packs of ammo. He pointed at a small village visible through the swirling sand. “Try your best to run in that direction. We will protect you. Someone will take you back to America once you make it there.”
There was no time for words under such circumstances. Song Xuanhe nodded, then crouched down. He followed after a few people, but after taking a few steps, they noticed that there were people on top of sandbags nearby.
He yelled Mohammad’s name and then shouted, “Run!”
Mohamed’s reaction time was quick. Without even thinking, he started to run in the same direction as Song Xuanhe. Their party ran several tens of metres before the blast from the explosion in the sand forced them onto the ground.
The yellow, gritty sand was blown towards them. Everyone held their heads. Several seconds later, when they collected themselves and turned to check out the situation, they were met with the sight of their off-road vehicles having been blown up. They were now on fire.
“Thank you.” Mohammed surveyed the area carefully and then got up. He asked Song Xuanhe, “Are you hurt?”
Song Xuanhe shook his head. The party continued onwards. The rest of the group distracted the militants and led the gunfire away from them. Because of this, Song Xuanhe’s journey was not as difficult, but there was no way to relax.
They vigilantly continued onwards until they reached the village. Just as they put down their guard, a stream of bullets came from in front of them. It seems like the opposing party had realized that Mohammad’s group was doing their best to protect Song Xuanhe. Therefore, they all shot in his direction.
Mohammad and his group moved to protect Song Xuanhe at once. Unfortunately, their actions confirmed the other party’s suspicions. The attack on Song Xuanhe grew even more intense.
Under the rain of bullets, Song Xuanhe dodged with the help of the System’s directions. He relied on his nimble reflexes to avoid injury. Two minutes later, several members of their party were injured. Countless people in the opposing faction were also wounded.
Mohammad had also been shot in the arm. There was a temporary ceasefire at present, so Song Xuanhe turned to examine Mohammad’s wound. His head had only turned a bit when he heard the System scream in his head: 【Watch out!】
The moment the bullets entered his body, Song Xuanhe felt like he saw someone pounce towards him.
Eve: Aw, He bao got an ouchie.
xiin: … i’m not ashamed to admit that i was asking Eve about whether or not anyone died while editing this chapter…