My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 232 Midnight Town

"Fatty... Andrei?!" Hu Yi was greatly surprised and immediately remembered that Andrei had called Xiao Linzi "Fatty" on the phone earlier, and had also told him very seriously that if Xiao Linzi was discovered by others, he would not be able to go back, which was why he had hidden him away.

The townspeople are all calling for Fatty and Andrei. Could it be that they've discovered Xiaolinzi? And that Andrei has been implicated as well? But who are these townspeople, and why are they making things difficult for Xiaolinzi?

This place is truly eerie. Hu Yi didn't dare to think too much about it, and reached up to wipe the sweat streaming down his forehead: "Are there any other roads leading into the town? I think it would be best to find the police station first."

"There are plenty of roads. This town looks quite large. The police station should generally be near the town center. There's a quieter road to the east; we can go in from there."

"Let's go!" Yabalov looked at Hu Yi with a determined gaze, then yawned, "It's getting late."

The tall man, Bacha, asked, "Shall we walk in? Or drive the car over?"

Long-faced Bacha pondered for a moment: "Walking is quieter and less likely to be noticed."

"Weren't we here looking for someone? Won't this attract attention?"

"Yes, walking is inconvenient after all. I think it's better to drive there."

After a few words of discussion, everyone looked at Hu Yi and asked, "What do you think, Anton?"

Hu Yi suddenly recalled a scene common in old World War II movies: ahead was a small town occupied by the German army, with a large number of German soldiers gathering in the center of the town. Sitting in the vehicle were a group of Allied commandos who had risked their lives to infiltrate the town, and he was the commander of these people.

With his mind in such a whirl, he suddenly felt a surge of heroic passion. Shaking his head and chuckling softly, he pointed ahead and sang in a affected tone, "Look ahead, it's dark and gloomy, surely that's the thieves' lair! I'll hurry up and wipe them all out!"

"Anton?" Several Bachas looked on in bewilderment. "What are you muttering about?"

"...Uh, I've gotten sidetracked." Hu Yi paused, his thoughts not quite back to normal. "Gentlemen, comrades! The enemy is right in front of us, the show is about to begin! Listen to my command! Let's charge in and open fire, sending those damned Germans to meet their maker!"

"German?" Yabalov slapped him twice on the face. "Hey, what's wrong with you? We're asking you if you're driving or walking!"

"It's alright, I'm just... gathering my emotions." Yabarov's hand was heavy; just two light pats were enough to make Hu Yi's cheeks slightly flushed. He touched his face and cleared his throat. "Let's... drive. It's both convenient and safer in the car. Anyway, those are all town residents; even if we attract attention, it shouldn't be a big deal."

At the commander's command, the driver started the engine again. The car drove along a narrow road that circled the edge of the town to the east. There were no streetlights in sight, only scattered lights from the houses along the road shining through a few windows onto the road.

"It's too dark, I can't see anything," the driver muttered as he turned on the headlights, illuminating the road ahead.

"Is nobody here?" Hu Yi leaned out to look. The road was quiet, but some light gradually appeared in the distance, and he could see an intersection about thirty meters away.

"Which way should we go?" the driver asked, waiting for instructions.

"Let's stop at the intersection and go take a look."

"Understood." The driver gently steered the car to the side of the road. Before they had even come to a complete stop, several people suddenly rushed out from both sides of the intersection, pointing at their car and shouting excitedly.

"Ouch!" The driver instinctively slammed on the brakes and turned off the headlights.

"What's the point of turning off the lights now!" Hu Yi decisively said, "Ignore them and keep driving!"

This idea was obviously impractical, and soon a large group of people gathered near the intersection. The car only lurched forward a few times before it dared not move any further.

"What should we do? Reverse?" The driver twisted his body and looked back.

"Let's...see what happens." Hu Yi didn't know what to do either. There was a commotion outside the car, and a tense atmosphere inside. His mind was blank; he had never encountered such a situation before.

"They seem to be just kids," Yabalov said, smoothing his bushy eyebrows. "They're all drinking."

Hu Yi also noticed that there was a large group of people on the road, at least forty or fifty men and women, but they were all teenagers of seventeen or eighteen years old, judging from their build. They were in groups of three or five, each with a bottle of liquor in hand, arm in arm, muttering to themselves, obviously having been drinking nearby and attracted by the car lights and engine noise.

Just as they were at a loss, a boy sauntered up to the car, shone a flashlight on the license plate, and turned around, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Hey! Look! It's a car from Moscow!"

"Ha! From Moscow! City folks!" A group of teenagers in front of the car laughed uproariously, snapping their fingers and whistling, "City folks have come to Abalensk! On this auspicious day!"

Several other teenagers surrounded the car, shining flashlights haphazardly inside. One of them pounded on the driver's window, yelling, "Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?!"

"What should we do?" the driver asked, turning his head.

Hu Yi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Tell him we need to go to the police station."

The driver rolled down the window a hand's width, grinned, and said, "Good evening, young comrades. We... are here from Moscow on business. Excuse me, where is the police station?"

"Police station? On business? What time is it?" The teenager shook his wrist at the driver: "The police have been off duty for ages! Get out and come with me."

"Huh? Where to?"

"You'll find out when you get off the bus," the drunken boy chuckled. "Since we're here, we're not leaving."

"What should we do? Go with them?" the driver asked again, turning his head.

The people behind them all shook their heads. Although these teenagers didn't show any malice and didn't seem aggressive, they were all so drunk they were staggering and their speech and behavior were almost insane. It was better not to get involved with them.

"There's no other way." Hu Yi clicked his tongue. "Tell him we're here to see Andrei."

"Andrei?" The boy paused, then leaned his elbow against the car door and called back, "Andrei! Andrei! They're here for you! Come quick!"

Hu Yi was overjoyed. He hadn't expected Andrei to be in the crowd; it was truly a stroke of luck. He quickly leaned out the window and saw a thin, swaying boy being helped to the side of the car, shouting in a slurred voice, "Who! Who's looking for me!"

"No, it's not you." Hu Yi felt a bucket of cold water being poured over him and quickly explained, "The Andrei we're looking for... isn't that young, he's probably around forty..."

"Why not me?! I'm Andrei too!" The skinny boy slammed his hand on the roof of the car, then turned around and burst into incoherent laughter: "See that?! You self-important Muscovites! You boring cowards! You look down on us country folk!"

"He's not from Moscow!" A young girl next to him shone a flashlight on Hu Yi and asked gruffly, "Hey! Who are you? Are you Mongolian?"

"No." Hu Yi didn't want to get entangled with them any longer, so he shrank back into his seat and whispered to the driver, "Close the window."

The driver smiled at the window again and said, "Let's take a break, see you tomorrow." He then rolled up the window.

The moment the window closed, the drunkards outside burst into laughter. The young boy, Andrei, pressed his face against the window and slapped it wildly, yelling, "Coward! Coward! Coward from Moscow!"

The people in the car remained silent with somber faces. Hu Yi whispered to reassure them, "Don't pay attention to these kids. They'll get tired of making a fuss and disperse on their own. Then we can leave."

(End of this chapter)