Besides, the giant panda is a national treasure of China; smuggling one, if caught, could result in immediate execution.

As I moved further into the carriage, I instantly realized this vehicle wasn't transporting animals out of Sichuan, but rather smuggling animal pelts into Sichuan from elsewhere.

This became evident when I inadvertently stepped on a massive, furry skull as I walked further in.

I startled and shifted sideways.

A foreigner immediately cursed: "Watch it! If you smash this brown bear's head, you won't be able to afford the damages."

Sichuan does not have brown bears; only a very small number of black bears. Considering the accents of these men, they were most likely from Russia, meaning this bear was probably a Russian brown bear.

My biggest fear had been being separated from the other two into three different vehicles, but fortunately, the foreigner led me to sit in the deepest part of the carriage and then escorted both Xiao Feiyang and Andre inside as well.

After the three of us were seated in the cold container, the foreigners lifted some more items aboard.

Although I couldn't see what they were bringing up, I could sense that these objects were quite heavy.

Next, I heard someone approaching us.

He threw my backpack into my face and said, "We're returning your things, but we’ve confiscated the weapons. Don't shout or make unnecessary noise in the vehicle, or I’ll kill you on the spot—especially every time we stop. Boss Wu didn't tell us to kill you, so don't seek death yourself. We’ll release you when we arrive at our destination."

With that, the man actually untied us and removed the black cloth and tape from our faces.

Opening my eyes, I saw a tall foreigner wearing a T-shirt and a white baseball cap pulled down to obscure half his face.

He held a gun pointed at us and demanded, "Did you hear me?"

Xiao Feiyang and I grit our teeth and both nodded silently, unwilling to provoke this man. He was already being merciful; otherwise, being continuously blindfolded and gagged would have choked us to death, if not suffocated us.

The foreigner pulled his hat down further, nodded in return, then turned, walking toward the exit while muttering curses: "Ivan is brainless. People aren't animals; why put on these useless things? No wonder he can’t get rid of these Chinese guys."

The foreigner jumped out of the vehicle, and with a loud bang, the container's two large doors slammed shut, plunging our surroundings back into pitch darkness.

We heard the sound of chains being locked outside, and all three of us frowned deeply.

If there was any sliver of luck amidst this misfortune, it was that once our eyes adjusted to the container's darkness, we discovered small, fist-sized holes on either side of the carriage, likely for ventilation.

However, these holes were horizontally aligned, situated more than three meters high, near the top of the container. To see outside, one would need to form a human ladder.

"Tell me, Xiao Chuan, what do we do now?" At this point, Xiao Feiyang tugged at my sleeve and asked.

I shook my head and whispered, "What else can we do? This container is iron, the exit is locked, and speaking too loudly could cost us our lives. We can only leave it to fate."

"Then where do you think they are taking us?" Xiao Feiyang continued to press me.

I shook my head again and said, "I don't know, but everyone here seems to be from Russia. Maybe they are taking us to Russia."

Bang, bang, bang!

As soon as I finished speaking, the container was struck several times with loud thuds from outside. A rough voice cursed from the exterior: "Damn it! Quiet down! Or I'll blow you away right now! Ivan's in a foul mood!"

My eardrums ached, and Xiao Feiyang and I immediately fell silent.

After a while, we felt the people outside continue loading cargo and perhaps weren't paying attention to us anymore.

Xiao Feiyang quietly asked me again, "We’re speaking so softly, how could they hear us outside?"

Although I don't possess Night Eyes like a [Original Term Left Intact], my ability to discern objects in the dark is far better than average.

So, I pointed to a corner of the container overhead and said, "There's a camera."

Xiao Feiyang looked up and seemed to spot the dark, unmoving camera, so he stopped talking.

With a flood of complex thoughts rushing through my mind, I sat cross-legged on the floor like an enlightened monk and entered a state of meditative focus.

I thought about many things then, including where my real grandfather was now, if my cousin was still waiting for me to teach her homework, what Liang Qian was doing back in Beijing, and whether Da Xiong knew I had been kidnapped.

Only after half an hour did our vehicle finally start moving.

For some unknown reason, my heart tightened with the sensation of about to leave China and head toward a very distant place.

Once the vehicle started, I could feel the convoy make a right turn onto the main road in the western suburbs.

However, their direction was not toward Chengdu, but rather toward the outskirts of the city.

But this time was different from the trip to Xinjiang; that journey headed northwest, whereas this time, we were moving toward the northeast.

Clearly, this group was not going to Xinjiang or Tibet, but toward Mongolia.

This further confirmed my suspicion that these people were most likely Russians.

The vehicle traveled northeast for about half an hour before the sky was completely bright. Intense, white sunlight streamed in through the small openings on both sides, accompanied by a whistling wind.

Yet, the weather in late August would not cool down because of a little breeze.

The temperature inside the carriage began to rise slowly, like a giant microwave oven heating up.

All three of us were terribly hot and began taking off our jackets.

As the temperature rose, the smell of preservatives inside the container gradually intensified.

"Hey… Xiao Chuan," Xiao Feiyang said, pulling at my arm. "Do you think that camera is still watching us?"

I didn't answer him but looked up at the camera overhead.

The camera had no indicator light and didn't move; it was fixed rigidly in place.

Xiao Feiyang, being more impetuous, actually waved toward the camera above.

I quickly pulled him back down to sit and listened carefully for any reaction from outside.

After two minutes, there was no response.

Relieved, I said, "They might not be monitoring us right now."

Hearing this, Xiao Feiyang stood up, rubbed his shoulders, stretched his legs, and gave a big yawn, muttering, "I was suffocating. My legs have gone completely numb from sitting."

Then he pointed ahead and asked, "Xiao Chuan, what do you think they are hauling in those crates?"

I glanced warily at the crates again and replied, "Probably furs. These people are smuggling pelts from abroad to sell in Sichuan."

Xiao Feiyang shook his head and said, "I don't think so."

He then walked toward the pile of crates blocking our exit and pointed at one of them, saying, "Look, this should be Blue-and-White porcelain."

I thought to myself how incredibly bold this guy was. Just after saying they weren't watching, he dared to inspect the goods the Russians were transporting. If that box contained a machine gun, he would surely have been shot dead.

But sometimes, a lack of caution can be a good thing; otherwise, we might not have dared to move at all during the entire journey.

Seeing Xiao Feiyang pick up a celadon jar from the nearest crate—one still coated with yellow mud—I understood immediately.

These Russians had exchanged the pelts they smuggled in for antiques.

In my life, I have most despised people who traffic Chinese antiques abroad, as this despicable trade has seen countless Chinese artifacts flow overseas, ending up as collections for corrupt capitalists, completely void of their cultural value.

To think that Xie Yuting was involved in this kind of business made my teeth itch with hatred.

"Hey, Xiao Chuan, there's a bigger jar in here. Should we bring it out to look at?" Xiao Feiyang called from across the way.

I quickly stopped him. "Don't, are you trying to die? If we break one, we’re finished. Come back and sit!"

"Don't worry, these antiques are all fakes. How many Jingdezhen porcelain jars do you think a few Siberian brown bear skins can fetch?" A faint, aged voice came from behind us.

The Mandarin was not fluid, carrying a distinct foreign accent, but we could all understand it.

I was startled, wondering if there was someone else in this vehicle.