"Get ready to go!"
"Get ready to go!"
"Get ready to go!"
It was as if a giant stone had been thrown into the middle of a lake. The peaceful Bedouin tribe instantly became restless. The roar of the diesel engine was like the beating of drums before the start of an ancient war, ringing through the entire village.
"Xiao Zhang, Xiao Zhang, get in the car. It's time to go," Wei Kang urged him through the walkie-talkie.
"Okay."
Zhang Zian distributed the remaining snacks in his hands to the Bedouin children around him, then raised his two empty hands, indicating that there was no more.
He had prepared for his return to Siwa. He had bought a lot of snacks in advance to ensure that every child had a share.
All the children in the village were there, surrounding him in layers. Regardless of whether they were older or younger, everyone was holding colorful snacks in their hands. Even though he indicated that he had finished distributing the snacks, they still surrounded him and did not let him go.
Perhaps it was because of their race, but the children's eyes were big and bright. It reminded him of the puppies in the display cabinets in the pet shop. The way they stared at him was very similar.
Zhang Zian did not know how many of them wanted to leave the tribe like Salem, to go to the vast new world and see the outside world. There were definitely some, but they would not say it out loud. They could only express it silently with their eyes, just like the puppies in the display cabinets waiting for customers to take them home.
But he could not help. The children were not puppies, after all. They could not be taken away with money. That would be the behavior of human traffickers.
In Western movies and television, those child protection organizations seemed to have a lot of power. They could deprive parents of their right to raise children if they did not agree with them. Unfortunately, those organizations' sphere of influence did not include this place.
"I'm leaving." He gestured and pointed at the motorcade. "Everyone is waiting for me."
The children did not speak or move. Their eyes only glanced at the motorcade, as if they did not understand.
Wei Kang urged him again through the walkie-talkie.
He was very apologetic and wanted to leave, but in this situation, he could not push the children away.
"That …" He patted his chest, pointed to the distance, and then pointed here. "I will be back. I will bring you more gifts."
A few of the older children blinked and silently moved to the side. They then pulled the younger children away to make a narrow path.
It turned out that they understood, or at least understood the meaning of the gestures.
After living in isolation for a long time, they had developed the intuition of small animals. They knew who was good to them, who was ignoring them, and who was laughing at their shabby clothes and dirty faces. They would instinctively avoid the latter two and approach the former.
Salem was in the same car as Nabari. From afar, he saw that Zhang Zian was surrounded and unable to escape. He thought that something had happened, so he quickly got out of the car and ran over to help.
He shouted a few words in his dialect, and the children ran off in a huff.
As he got closer, he noticed the various snacks in the children's hands and understood why Zhang Zian was surrounded.
He shook his head and said, "Jeff, you shouldn't have given them so many things. They know how good the outside world is, but most of them don't have the courage to leave, which will only make them suffer more. I rarely go back to the tribe. Every time I come back, I let them see me empty-handed. They don't have to live like me in the gap between the tribe's traditions and the outside world. "
He was right, but Zhang Zian said, "But at least they have a vision of the outside world. If they don't have a vision, they are even less likely to leave the tribe. So even if there is a child who is curious about the outside world and has the impulse and desire to leave the tribe, it is possible that they will take action like you. After all … times are changing. In the few years before they grow up, maybe the world and your tribe will change. "
Salem lowered his head and thought for a while. He smiled and said, "Maybe you are right, but it is best not to let the chief hear it."
Zhang Zian shrugged. "Maybe he has already heard it."
Salem was stunned for a moment, but then he realized that Zhang Zian was referring to one of these children. Maybe one day, he would become the chief of the tribe. This was very possible. All the children in the tribe, big and small, were here.
Beep —
The leading off-road vehicle honked, urging them to get in and set off.
Zhang Zian didn't have time to sigh. He and Salem looked at each other and smiled. They ran to the off-road vehicle assigned to them, closed the door, and blocked out the noise of the motorcade engine.
"Car 4 in place! Sorry to keep you waiting! "he reported through the walkie-talkie.
"Team 2 in place!" Wei Kang announced.
"Team 1 in place! Report to all vehicles. Check the supplies, check the equipment, check the condition of the car, "Peter Lee said through the walkie-talkie.
"Car 1 OK!" Nabari said.
"Car 2 OK!"
"Car 3 OK!"
"Car 4 OK!"
…
Reports came one after another from the walkie-talkie. There were different accents, men and women, but all of them were OK. They reported according to the number of the vehicle, and it sounded very orderly.
Zhang Zian's mood was getting more and more excited, as if he was personally involved in a big event.
Regardless of Peter Lee's thoughts and impressions of him, he had to admit that Peter Lee's team had a wealth of collective action experience. There were also retired soldiers in the team, and they really achieved unity of command and execution. Their actions were extremely efficient. They gathered when they were told to, left when they were told, and did whatever they were told to do.
On the other hand, Wei Kang's side was … free and undisciplined.
Gao Ke and Xiao Tianyu also had a small argument about who to let He He get in the car. In the end, Wei Kang was worried that neither of them was reliable. If He He wanted to act on her own, the two of them would definitely try to dissuade her on the surface, but in reality, they would condone her. So Wei Kang discussed with Peter Lee and let He He get in the female detective's car, letting the female detective restrain her.
Wei Kang and Peter Lee only talked for a short while, and he was convinced by Peter Lee's words and the style of Peter Lee's team. He agreed to let Peter Lee be the leader of the entire team.
Zhang Zian did not object. After all, he did have some skills in leading a team.
"Car 12 OK!"
"Car 14 OK!"
The voice on the walkie-talkie temporarily quieted down. It wasn't that Zhang Zian missed one, but that there were a total of 13 cars in the team, but there was no number 13. Perhaps the foreigners felt that the number was unlucky.
Peter Lee also asked Zhang Zian if he wanted to change his car number to number 5, but he didn't care about these things at all.
"All cars OK, set off!"
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