The salak fruit honestly did not taste that pleasant. It did not smell good, and the texture was not particularly enjoyable either. After taking a bite, I was discouraged from taking another. Listening to Rebecca’s words, I wiped my hands and looked at her, saying, "There's nothing between us at all, and if you insist on putting a label on us, then you can say we're enemies. I hate him and want to kill him, and he hates me too. He wishes me a fate worse than death."
She was momentarily stunned and asked, "You said the boss hates you? Then why is he treating you so kindly?"
What?
I was a little speechless. "He treats me kindly, you say? Have you never been treated kindly before?"
She pursed her lips and said, "The boss gave you medicine and had me take care of you. Isn't that considered kindness?"
This girl was beyond help. I did not want to argue with her, so I changed the subject. "What did you say to the two guards at the gate today? They left after you spoke to them."
When she heard my question, she smiled mysteriously and said, "It was nothing much. I told them that there were people outside buying smuggled goods, so I told them to check it out."
"Buying smuggled goods?" I was curious and could not help asking, "What do you mean?"
She explained, "Most of the people here who work under the boss come here for the money. Some of them have wives, children, or parents down in the village. The money the boss gives them isn't an insignificant amount, but as you know, humans are always greedy. Every time the poppies in the mountains are harvested, some people secretly stash away a portion and sell it privately for extra income. However, these things are hard to smuggle out of here, so some people will secretly come to collect them here and then sell them to the traders. Although the price is lower than if they tried to sell it themselves, it's less risky."
After listening for a while, I finally understood the situation. I looked at her and asked, "So, you mean the people here can trade with outsiders?"
She nodded.
This place was not entirely isolated from the outside world?
I felt a surge of joy upon hearing about this. If I could find a way to contact people from the outside, maybe the police could locate this place.
With that in mind, I suddenly knew what I needed to do.
Taking Lucas down was not entirely hopeless.
Even if I could not bring him to justice myself, if I could help the police find this place and the fields of poppy plants that covered the mountains, they would surely take action. Destroying these drugs would not only impact Lucas but also potentially save the people imprisoned here. Even if Lucas did not die from this, it would still be a severe blow.
This trip was not entirely a suicide mission!
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