Volume 1: The Starting Point Chapter 19: Heading Out

  Yu Yaohui's car arrived on time. The next morning, Xia Wenjie had just walked out of the building when he saw a green Jeep parked outside.

  He hadn't had time to take a closer look when the car door opened and a young stranger in his thirties got out. He was of average height, with a short haircut and an unremarkable face, but he had a sturdy build.

  "You must be Xia Wenjie. I'm from Yu Ju's place. Get in the car." The young man said this and immediately sat back into the car, as if he didn't want to say another word to him.

  Xia Wenjie smiled wryly to himself, was he really that ugly? He carried his backpack, opened the car door and sat in the front passenger seat.

  There was only one sturdy young man in the car. After Xia Wenjie sat down, he looked at the backpack in his hand and asked, "Didn't Yuju tell you not to bring anything?"

  Xia Wenjie patted his backpack and said with a smile: "There are only some underwear inside, it should be okay to bring just these, right?"

  The young man didn't say another word and silently started the car.

  He isn't a talkative person, but Xia Wenjie had many questions for him.

  As they drove out of the residential area and onto the highway, Xia Wenjie wore an innocuous smile and asked tentatively, "My name is Xia Wenjie, what's your name, big brother?"

  A down-to-earth young man said while driving: "Liu Chuang."

  "I'll just call you Brother Liu then."

  "Whatever."

  "Is Liu also from the auditing department?"

  "Yes."

  "So, from now on, we're colleagues. Liu Ge, how many years have you been in auditing?"

  "More than five years."

  "Isn't it just after the audit was established that you joined?"

  "Yes."

  Xia Wenjie asked a question, and Liu Chuang replied with a few words. He looked indifferent and seemed to have no good feelings towards Xia Wenjie. However, the latter did not think so. The questions he asked were simple, but they all involved auditing. If someone else had asked them, Liu Chuang would not have answered.

  "Liu Ge, what kind of person is Yu Shu?"

  "Is there a post office?"

  Yes.

  "Keep a distance from him, don't get too close." As he said this, Liu turned his head around and gave him a deep look.

  Xia Wenjie furrowed his brow secretly, as a subordinate, speaking of his superior like this wasn't quite proper.

  Knowing that he might have misunderstood his intention, Liu Chuang said in a low voice: "A big tree attracts wind, and although the audit is not yet a big tree, the wind it has attracted is already quite strong. Yu Ju is the biggest target within the audit."

  His implication was that if Xia Wenhui did not want to become a target, he should try to distance himself from Yu Yao Hui as much as possible.

  Xia Wenjie listened with a confused expression, thought for a moment, nodded and smiled: "I understand, thank you Liu Ge for reminding me." After a pause, he asked again: "Liu Ge, do you know about the Lei Feng training camp?"

  Liu Chuang said: "I've heard of it."

  "Is there really such a training camp?"

  "Yes."

  "What kind of place is it and what does it train?"

  "I can't tell you too much, just wait and see." As he said this, he suddenly remembered something and turned his head to look at Xia Wenjie, saying: "What I can tell you is, don't think of that place as too wonderful. It's not heaven, but hell; they're not training angels, but devils."

  Xia Wenjie's eyes widened in surprise, as if he was about to ask a question. He immediately continued: "Don't ask me anymore, what I know is also hearsay, and I'm not clear about the specific situation there."

  Damn it! Devil! Liu Chuang's words cast a shadow over Xia Wenjie's heart. He deliberately changed the subject and casually asked, "What did Brother Liu used to do?"

  Soldier.

  "Where is the soldier?"

  Snow Fox.

  "What's a snow fox?"

  The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he said in a low tone: "Special Forces."

  "Ah?" Xia Wenjie was shocked again, he actually came from a special forces background.

  "I had a fellow soldier who was recruited with me, but three years ago he died in a car accident. In the past five years or so, I've encountered no less than five car accidents myself, perhaps it's because I'm lucky, each time I narrowly escaped unscathed."

  He looked at Xia Wenjie again and continued: "Audit is a department that checks people, and the people being checked are not wooden, they will fight back, think of all kinds of ways and use all means to protect themselves. So, audit is far from as simple as you imagined, doing audit is not prestigious either, besides danger it's still danger, you need to consider carefully."

  He had never heard Xia Wenjie say these words before, and Yu Yao Hui had never mentioned them to him. He was stunned for a while before carefully asking: "Your comrade, didn't he die in an accident? Was the car crash intentional?"

  Liu Chuang smiled slightly, with a cold smile, and did not answer his question.

  Xia Wenjie remained silent for a long time, took a deep breath, and said seriously: "Yu Shu once said something that touched me deeply. To change the current situation, someone must stand up and be willing to make sacrifices, which may take one or several generations."

  "Are you willing to be that person?"

  "Yes." Xia Wenjie replied with unusual firmness.

  Liu Chuang smiled again, but this time his smile made Xia Wenjie feel less icy. He held the steering wheel with one hand and stretched out the other in front of Xia Wenjie, saying: "From now on, don't call me Liu Ge anymore, I'm older than you, just call me Old Liu."

  His attitude suddenly made a one hundred and eighty degree turn, Xia Wenjie was somewhat unaccustomed to it, he was stunned for a moment, grasped Liu Chuang's hand and said: "From now on you can also call me Wenjie."

  Now Liu Chuang finally understood why Yu Ju was so fond of Xia Wenjie.

  He almost has all the conditions of an auditor, first, he is smart and has a good mind, second, he has a sense of justice, his stance is firm enough, and he also has the spirit and courage to dedicate himself, third, his family condition is superior, and he will not be easily tempted by money and degenerate.

  Liu Chuang is not a good talker, even with colleagues who work together day and night, it's not necessarily easy to get along, but strangely, he gets along well with Xia Wenjie, who is more than ten years younger than him.

  Later when Xia Wenjie officially joined the audit department, Liu Chuang was one of his most important right-hand men.

  All the way, the two almost didn't stop talking. At noon at 12 o'clock, the two drove to S city.

  Xia Wenjie thought that the Lei Feng training camp was located in the city of S, but it turned out to be completely different. S City can only be considered a transit station, and there is still a long way to go afterwards.

  After finding a simple restaurant in S city and having lunch, Xia Wenjie continued to rush with Liu Chuang, who drove north again.

  Out of the city, the Jeep got on the highway and drove for more than two hours.

  Xia Wenjie had never sat in a car for such a long time since he was young, and felt that all the bones in his body were about to fall apart.

  At a little past two in the afternoon, Liu Chuang finally drove off the highway and onto the dirt road. The road was not wide but still flat, and the speed of the car was not much slower than when they were on the highway.

  After walking for more than four hours on this winding dirt road, they finally arrived at their destination around 7 pm.

  This is a military camp, a relatively old and dilapidated one. It covers a large area of land, but there isn't even a single high-rise building inside; as far as the eye can see, it's all low-rise military barracks.

  When they arrived at the entrance of the barracks, Liu Chuang stopped the car and got out first, walking a few steps forward.

  At this time, a lieutenant officer walked out of the guard room on the side of the barracks. Seeing this, Liu Chuang quickly stepped forward and started talking to him, while also handing over his credentials.

  The lieutenant took his papers, looked at them carefully, then glanced at Xia Wenjie who was still sitting in the car. He nodded and said a few words to Liu Chuang.

  Liu Chuang walked back to the car and said to Xia Wenjie inside: "Wenjie, get off, I can only send you here."

  Xia Wenjie got out of the car, looking around at the military camp in front of him, and asked: "Old Liu, is this the Lei Feng training camp?" Under such conditions, it cost hundreds of millions of yuan back then?

  Liu Chuang shook his head and smiled, saying: "I don't know much more than you do. For the next three months, you need to be careful yourself. As long as you can grit your teeth and get through these three months, get through the first phase, the next three phases will be nothing."

  Xia Wenjie nodded and said with a smile: "I know, Old Liu, don't worry."

  "Alright! Go ahead." Liu Chuang nodded towards the military camp.

  Since you're here, then make yourself at home! Xia Wenjie took a deep breath and walked towards the military camp's gate.

  When he arrived at the entrance of the barracks, a lieutenant standing at the gate looked him up and down suspiciously and asked, "Are you Xia Wenjie?"

  "Yes." Xia Wenjie smiled and nodded.

  "Take out your ID." The lieutenant officer said coldly.

  Xia Wenjie didn't hesitate at all and handed his ID card over to the lieutenant.

  He took it, frowned and looked at it twice, then compared it with Xia Wenjie himself, confirmed that there was no mistake, he returned the ID card to Xia Wenjie, turned around and walked out of the military camp, saying without looking back: "Follow me."

  Is that all it takes to verify his identity? Xia Wenjie hesitated for a moment, then turned back to look at Liu Chuang. The latter was also standing beside the car, looking at him, and when he saw him turn around, he forced out a smile and waved at Xia Wenjie, both to bid farewell and to reassure him to follow the lieutenant with peace of mind.

  Seeing this, Xia Wenjie no longer hesitated, carrying his backpack and following the lieutenant into the military camp.

  It's more like an abandoned military camp than a training base. The roads inside the camp are very wide, and the squares on both sides are spacious, but not a single person can be seen. It's quiet and empty, as if all the people had evaporated.

  The lieutenant had been walking for a long time, but the other party still didn't seem to want to stop. Xia Wenjie couldn't help but ask: "Brother, where are you taking me?"

  The lieutenant officer still didn't turn around, and said in a cold tone: "In the army, there's no such thing as 'big brother'. When you see someone with a higher rank than yours, either call them 'squad leader' or 'superior officer'."

  Xia Wenjie smiled wryly behind him, he himself was not a soldier, where did his military rank come from? How could they be compared?

  Xia Wenjie didn't ask any more questions and silently followed the lieutenant's back.

  After walking for a long time, the lieutenant led Xia Wenjie to a row of barracks. He looked around and stopped in front of one of the doors, turning back to say: "Tonight, you'll be staying here."