50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 194: Thousands of Miles to England
"Take this money. It's for your emergency use on the road. Comrade Sun Zhiwei, your English is the best, so you'll be responsible for keeping it."

"Don't spend this money carelessly, because you need to pay to use the restroom at some airports along the way, and that's when you should use it."

Because individuals cannot exchange foreign currency in China, these two pounds became the only means of payment for the five of them to deal with various risky expenses throughout the journey.

The plane did not depart until evening and arrived in Karachi late at night.

After arriving at Karachi Airport, since the flight to Cairo did not depart until the next day, the PIA staff arranged for them to stay in the airport hotel for one night.

The next morning, the staff took them to the airport restaurant for breakfast.

The restaurant was very large, and since the meal was included in the airfare, the five of them enjoyed their meal with ease.

There were a lot of people in the restaurant, including foreigners from various countries. At the table next to them were several military attachés from the local embassy.

Sun Zhiwei took the initiative to talk to them. When he learned that they were international students going to the UK, the military attachés started chatting with them enthusiastically.

During the trip, Sun Zhiwei mentioned intentionally or unintentionally that before boarding the plane, the foreign affairs comrades gave the five of them 5 pounds to use the toilet.

"Haha, this is all the money the five of us have. Let's see if we can use it on the road. If not, I'll frame it and take it back as a souvenir."

A military attaché named Chen was very surprised to hear what Sun Zhiwei said, and then quickly said to them: "You have to tip after dining here."

"Ah? This"

Sun Zhiwei and the other four frowned after hearing this. What should they do? If they refuse to pay, won’t it affect the country’s image?

Sun Zhiwei immediately said to the military attaché Chen who had just spoken, "Comrade Chen, I'm Sun Zhiwei from Beihai Kindergarten. Can I exchange a few dollars for a tip? I brought money from China."

The military officers would never take his money and immediately said, "No, no, we'll pay for the tip. We're all family members away from home, so there's no need to be so formal."

The five people quickly expressed their gratitude to each other. After the meal, Sun Zhiwei took the opportunity to go to the bathroom and took out a bottle of Moutai from his suitcase.

"Meeting is fate. We have received your help, and there is nothing much to express in gratitude. I happened to bring a bottle of Moutai with me, so I will give it to you as a gift."

"How can that be? We can't accept this." Although the military officers all wanted to drink, it was not easy for them to accept the wine.

They helped a few people with a small favor and accepted a bottle of wine from them, but they were afraid of being scolded when they returned home.

"I'm not selling alcohol. This is just a gift to express my gratitude. After this encounter, we'll be friends from now on. What's wrong with me giving a friend a bottle of wine?"

Sun Zhiwei didn't allow them to refute and forced the bottle into Military Officer Chen's arms. Military Officer Chen wanted to struggle, but Sun Zhiwei's hand held him firmly, unable to move at all.

At this time, the boarding notice sounded over the broadcast. Sun Zhiwei and the other four immediately said goodbye to the military attachés: "We are about to board the plane. Thank you for your help. Let's have a drink together when we return to Beijing."

A few people picked up their luggage and walked out of the restaurant towards the boarding gate. The military attachés behind them watched them leave.

After they walked away, Military Officer Chen looked at the bottle of wine in his arms.

"oops."

"what happened?"

"This, this is 20-year-old Moutai!"

"Wow, aren't we in for a treat then?"

"Brothers, are you going to report this or not?" "Report it or not? What's our business after we report it? We'll build it for him when we get back."

Not to mention the military attachés who happily took Maotai home, Sun Zhiwei and others boarded the flight to Cairo.

The distance from Karachi to Cairo is only 2700 kilometers, which is half the distance from China to Karachi.

The plane made a brief stop in Cairo for refueling, but none of them got off the plane. Instead, they waited for the refueling to be completed before flying directly to Rome.

It was already evening when we arrived in Rome, so this time we didn't have to wait until tomorrow and could transfer directly.

When they were transferring, they went through a simple security check. The others were nervous about the sudden security check, fearing that something might happen.

Sun Zhiwei noticed that there were many people going through security with them, so he spoke out to comfort them.

"It's okay. I saw that these people all had to go through security checks. This isn't directed at us. We just need to do what they ask."

After hearing his words, the others quieted down.

While waiting in line for security check, Sun Zhiwei heard complaints from others that the airport had to add an additional security check procedure because people often brought weapons on board.

He relayed the news he had heard to the others, and they finally relaxed from their tension.

Sun Zhiwei was a little more nervous than before, because people often brought guns on board planes, which meant that there were people carrying weapons in the airport.

He immediately became alert, freed up his space, and began to scan the bodies and luggage of everyone nearby, while paying attention to everyone's movements and expressions.

After his inspection, he found that everyone nearby was safe. It was their turn now. Sun Zhiwei asked a few people to go first and he followed behind.

The inspection was not strict, they just opened the suitcase and shone it through the metal detector.

When they finished checking and were packing their suitcases, Sun Zhiwei noticed a few strong men squeezing into the queue behind them.

Those people looked like they were not easy to deal with. Sun Zhiwei immediately covered the space with vigilance and immediately discovered the weapons on their bodies and in the boxes.

It was terrible. Sun Zhiwei hurriedly urged the others in a low voice, "Hurry up, hurry up, there's something wrong behind us."

Because Sun Zhiwei's English is the best, he is responsible for external communications, and several people now seem to be following him as their leader.

Hearing his whispered warning, they didn't bother to pack the box carefully. They just rolled up the scattered clothes, pressed down the box and closed the switch.

Then the five people picked up their suitcases and quickly left the security checkpoint and walked towards the boarding gate.

When they walked a distance, they could hear a faint noise from behind, and the pace of several people became faster.

Just as they were walking away quickly, a gunshot was heard from behind. Several people involuntarily lowered their heads and bent their bodies, then started running quickly.

When they turned a few corners and arrived at the designated boarding gate, they saw armed security guards rushing towards the security checkpoint.

Several people nervously looked towards the security checkpoint. Shen Xun, a bespectacled scholar from the Institute of Biophysics, was astonished by the situation before him. "Is the security in Rome so bad? Someone dared to open fire in the airport."

No one else could answer his question. Although Sun Zhiwei knew the situation here from history, he couldn't answer him now.

(End of this chapter)