Rebirth 1979: Hunting wild boars and saving educated youth

Chen Feng's pager at his waist suddenly vibrated, and the familiar yet slightly unfamiliar signal made his heart tighten.

He quickly opened his shirt, his gaze instantly fixed on the small screen. The words "Ning Yao" came into view, along with a location information. Ning Yao was actually in Los Angeles? And only a few kilometers away from where he was!

His thoughts were instantly drawn back to the telephone booth next to Ninghai University. Day after day, he anxiously waited there for Ning Yao's pager, but never got his wish.

Now, at this completely unexpected time and in this completely unexpected place, the pager rang so suddenly that he was shocked and could hardly believe his eyes.

"How is this possible? How could Ning Yao be in Los Angeles?" he muttered to himself. Jennifer, who was standing beside him, saw this and asked with a puzzled look on her face, "Mr. Chen, what's wrong? Is there something urgent? If you need to call back, there's a phone right here. It's very convenient!"

Chen Feng looked solemn and explained, "A friend came to see me. It might be urgent. I'm afraid our movie discussion will have to be put on hold for the time being. I have to go there right away." After that, he strode out the door without waiting for Jennifer's response, leaving Jennifer standing there in shock.

As he left the hotel, Chen Feng's anxiety grew. He knew that no matter the reason behind the call, no matter whether Ning Yao was actually in Los Angeles, he had to go immediately. This inexplicable premonition was like an irresistible force, driving him forward.

By chance, he ran into Robert flirting with a small black model by the fountain. Chen Feng approached without hesitation and said straight to the point, "Robert, lend me your car. I have a friend who's in urgent need and I need to get there right away."

Robert spread his hands and said, "The car keys are with Larry, but I don't know where he is now. Why don't you try to page him?" Chen Feng shook his head and said anxiously, "I can't wait. This is very important."

Just when he was getting extremely anxious, the little black model Iman beside him spoke up with a bit of boldness in her voice: "Hey, I have a motorcycle, you can ride it. Don't worry, it's a cool motorcycle!"

Chen Feng's eyes lit up when he heard that. "Great, thank you!" Motorcycles are just the right way to avoid traffic jams. Within two minutes, a deep, powerful roar approached from afar, and Iman, riding a Harley-Davidson Sporter, pulled up in front of Chen Feng.

The motorcycle had sharp lines, a metallic finish, and huge tires and a thick exhaust pipe, highlighting its unruly and wild nature. Chen Feng couldn't help but secretly praise it, "This bike is really cool!"

He hurriedly thanked Iman and got on the Harley-Davidson. With a roar, the motorcycle rushed out of the hotel like a wild horse, leaving only a string of exhaust fumes echoing in the air.

Robert watched Chen Feng's receding figure, his arms crossed, lost in thought. Then, Larry appeared from nowhere and asked, bewildered, "I thought I saw Chen riding a motorcycle just now. Where did he go?"

"I don't know, but I think we should go and see him. He might have encountered something urgent. After all, we are all brothers." Robert said.

"But he rides so fast and we don't know where he is going!" Larry was a little helpless.

Yiman then spoke up: "Hey, if you want to catch up with Chen, I have a way. I have a tracking device installed on my motorcycle. It was originally used to prevent theft, but now it can come in handy."

Robert and Larry were immediately excited when they heard this: "Great! Iman, you are such a good girl. Let's catch up with her!"

The three of them acted quickly. Larry and Robert got into the car, and Iman sat in the back seat, looking at the motorcycle location information on the pager. The car followed closely behind, speeding towards the direction where Chen Feng disappeared.

In an alley less than a kilometer away from the Dongjiang Duck, under the dim light, Tyrell and his companions stood like a few black mountains, tightly surrounding Ning Yao and Lu Ting. The air was filled with unease and tension. Tyrell's voice was low and threatening: "Listen, girls, one thousand dollars per person, two thousand dollars for two people. Don't bargain with me."

Ning Yao's eyes flashed with anger, and she retorted without hesitation, "You're talking nonsense! You clearly said it was $500 per person, how did it suddenly double?"

Lu Ting stepped forward, her voice trembling but her tone firm. "Besides, that money is the agency's deposit, and it shouldn't be our responsibility. It's the deposit the restaurant owner paid to the agency to recruit workers. Five hundred dollars is enough for them to introduce countless people. Why should we pay for it?"

Tyrrell chuckled, revealing his white teeth, seeming quite interested in the two men's reactions. "Wow, you're indeed a top UCLA student, you know quite a bit. But don't forget, we brothers have to be paid for our 'work'. Four of us, five hundred dollars each, that's two thousand dollars in total. As for the restaurant owner, I'll take you back and you can explain yourself. We won't be involved."

Ning Yao's anger instantly flared up when he heard this: "This is blatant blackmail! I can call the police!"

Tyrrell's face instantly darkened, and he threatened fiercely, "Girl, I advise you to understand the situation. If you weren't UCLA students, I wouldn't be so polite. Do you know how many girls working on the line like you deal with this kind of situation? They all pay the money obediently and have to play with us brothers. You'd better be sensible and don't force me to do anything."

These words hit Ning Yao and Lu Ting's hearts like a bolt from the blue, plunging them into an abyss of fear and helplessness.

In this strange country, far away from their hometown and loved ones, they felt unprecedented loneliness and despair for the first time.

The darkness around them seemed to swallow them up completely, and even breathing became extremely difficult.

Lu Ting's hand unconsciously grasped Ning Yao's sleeve tightly, and the heartbeats of both of them seemed particularly loud and rapid in the quiet alley.

Finally, Ning Yao spoke with difficulty, "We...we don't have that much money. The two of us only have a little over a thousand dollars between us. If you want it, take it. If you don't want it, we can't do anything about it."

Tyrell narrowed his eyes, as if weighing the truth of his words. He gestured for Ning Yao to hand over the money, and Ning Yao, with trembling hands, pulled out all his savings from his pocket—a stack of crumpled dollar bills.

Tyrael took the money, but his face didn't show satisfaction. His eyes wandered over Ning Yao with a hint of frivolity and greed. "Then, let me search you again. Maybe I can find some 'surprise'."