I am a Big Player
Chapter 645 - 636, Jianghu_1

Chapter 645: 636, Jianghu_1

"I’m stepping out for a bit," Ren He told Yang Xi, preparing to leave.

Yang Xi was a bit baffled by his abrupt announcement as she was playing Dota. She turned and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Ahem, it’s nothing," Ren He said in a low-key manner before leaving. He didn’t want Yang Xi to know that he had suddenly acquired a cartoon cup. That’s an embarrassing thing to talk about if he could avoid it.

He went out to see if he could buy a suitable duvet cover or, at the very least, some decent stickers to cover it up. Otherwise, he would have to get someone to electroplate the cup.

But unless he absolutely had to, he really didn’t want to bother anyone. If it came to asking someone to electroplate, what would he do when they asked what item he wanted to coat and Ren He brought out a cartoon cup? They’d probably think he was joking around.

As a result, Ren He sneaked out to buy stickers, which were also cartoon-themed, but at least they weren’t so kiddish. However, after sticking them on, the cup didn’t seem to undergo any peculiar changes, except that its capacity suddenly increased to 200 milliliters...

Dammit!

Ren He knew it wouldn’t be that simple. The Divine Punishment System obviously forced him to choose: either have a better chance of survival and then, when meeting people, embarrass himself, or don’t use it at all!

With a dark expression, Ren He nearly smashed the cartoon cup on the floor. He had dealt with the Divine Punishment System for so long, finally getting a piece of equipment that seemed sci-fi and fantastic, only to realize it was a trap!

But in the end, he couldn’t bear to throw it away, because he knew how valuable it was to carry 20 liters of fresh water in the Desert’s No Man’s Land.

He didn’t expect the Divine Punishment System to give him any more impressive skills. Before he used it, if it required him to shout out "Babala Little Fairy" or something, he simply couldn’t sacrifice his dignity!

With such a Divine Punishment System... for this lifetime... he’d better not wish for immortality...

Life is just as lonely as an avalanche, dammit.

While Ren He was experimenting with the cup in the kitchen, he suddenly saw a small head poke through the kitchen door. Yang Xi saw Ren He holding a cartoon cup and burst into laughter.

"Can you, like, not laugh?" Ren He felt a flood of tears inside him.

The day of departure inevitably arrived. At this point, Zhang Ming’s No Man’s Land film crew hadn’t set out yet, but Ren He had to leave first.

Ren He did not tell Zhang Ming about this. He only mentioned that he should feel confident about filming the No Man’s Land without considering himself, as A Chinese Odyssey was his current priority.

After all, there was no signal in the No Man’s Land. It wasn’t like Ren He could expect to be in the Desert, dealing with poachers, and still pick up a phone call to give directions for filming, right?

And since Zhang Ming was the bona fide director, it was best not to add to the chaos. Ren He was self-aware of this much.

The car he had bought at the end of the year had arrived. The huge SUV was only slightly smaller than the Raptor, with two seats, and the back had been converted into a cargo space filled with clothes and food that Yang Xi had prepared for Ren He. As the time of departure came, Yang Xi became clingy like a little demon, advising Ren He about what to look out for. She seemed a bit reluctant to let Ren He go and wanted to delay his departure with these concerns.

But this trip was really not suitable for Yang Xi to tag along; it was very dangerous, and even Ren He needed to be on high alert.

He bought information from Steve about several poaching gangs operating west of Karamay. Originally, he just wanted to tentatively see if there were any, but to his surprise, there actually were.

Were the vested interests behind Steve so influential? Was there information on poaching gangs within China?

Ren He then realized that of course there was. These poaching gangs would sell their loot abroad. There are poachers, traffickers, foreign operatives, and they have access to automated weapons. It was normal for them to be in the intelligence system.

West of Karamay, the main threat was three poaching gangs without any notable names, just nameless desperados. These people weren’t considered terrorists, so the government struggled to control them, lacking substantial firepower. Therefore, there wasn’t a targeted approach, although the police in the western regions didn’t relax their efforts to arrest them.

In the end, the northwest was just too vast. While the No Man’s Land seemed accessible through only one road, with an SUV you could literally dive into the Desert, and it would be tough to find you. If pursued, you could even end up in the dunes.

"My safety comes first above everything else; I don’t mind," Yang Xi said softly before parting.

Ren He knew what Yang Xi meant. She had noticed that he no longer wanted to harm others. Some people say that all lives are equal, but for Yang Xi, no one’s life was more important than Ren He’s. If Ren He suffered a setback because of showing mercy, that would be what Yang Xi didn’t want to see.

"I know, don’t worry," Ren He said cheerfully, getting ready to get into the car.

But then Yang Xi pulled him back and gently kissed him on the face, "Wait for you to come back."

Having said that, Yang Xi turned back to the Courtyard House. Ren He touched the place on his face where he’d just been kissed, feeling a bit elated, and then he hopped into the SUV, roaring off into the west.

A man and a car, bound for No Man’s Land.

Leaving from the Capital Fangshan District, he took the Dingwu Highway and Lianhuo Expressway, driving southward through Baoding, then heading northwest. After passing through Gansu, he arrived in Wuwei City, Zhangye City, and Jiuquan City, finally exiting through Jiayuguan!

As Ren He headed westward, he watched the scenery gradually become vast. The green mountains vanished, leaving only dust-filled skies. He was reminded of an ancient poem: "Urge me to take one more cup of wine, for west of Yangguan Pass there’ll be no old friends." A sense of desolation arose within him.

Yangguan Pass is actually 70 kilometers southwest of Dunhuang, named for being south of Yumen Pass.

However, Ren He’s destination was even further than Yangguan Pass.

In fact, there’s another version of the line after "west of Yangguan Pass there’ll be no old friends": "West of Yangguan Pass, there’ll be no good men."

Ren He thought that was an overstatement. He had visited Xinjiang Shihezi University for an exchange and felt that the local customs there were still very simple and sincere.

But this didn’t deny that in this vast region, there are places where the law is lacking.

So one shouldn’t just accept what others say. It’s alright to listen to others to gain knowledge, but one should use their brain while listening.

The movie "No Man’s Land" vividly portrayed the darkness of human nature; it was like a barbaric world full of bandits, weak government authorities, villains, straightforward residents, and greedy businessmen.

It was the vast Desert, where life was as cheap as grass.

Ren He had long wanted to see it for himself, to see what it was really like. He believed one had to experience it to truly understand.

Now the horizon was covered by endless dust, while the setting sun was bloody red.