Axolotl Translations

“Brother Gang! Brother Gang!”

As the evening sun dipped below the horizon, Brother Gang was about to take his first bite of dinner when a wailing, frantic voice echoed through the underground parking garage.

The sound bounced off the walls in layers, making his ears ring. He sighed heavily, rubbing his temple. “Why does trouble always find me at mealtime? What is it now, you little rascal?”

Footsteps pounded closer. A teenage boy dashed down the parking ramp, drenched in sweat. But the moment he spotted Brother Gang sitting in the corner, his eyes lit up like firecrackers. Despite being out of breath, he sprinted the last few steps.

“Brother—Brother Gang, the—the people—”

Clearly in a rush to report something urgent, the boy could barely string a sentence together. He was panting so hard that every word came between gasps, making him completely unintelligible.

Brother Gang waved a hand, picked up a half-empty water bottle by his feet, and offered it to him. “Relax. Take a breath. How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t panic—speak clearly.”

The boy shook his head, refusing the water. Taking two deep breaths, he finally blurted out, “They’re back! Those guys with the buses—the outsiders—they—”

“Oh? They actually came back?” Brother Gang perked up, suddenly interested. He leaned in, pressing, “Where are they? Why didn’t they drive in?”

“They’re parked at the park entrance. They don’t want to come inside. They specifically told me to come get you. Oh, and they said to bring Brother Liang too,” the boy reported, still catching his breath.

Brother Gang’s lips twitched. “Hah, these guys are slick.” He waved a hand. “Go get Liang Zhao. The ransom’s paid—time to release the hostage.”

Liang Zhao barely had time to finish a bowl of porridge before rushing over.

He carried a backpack with a few belongings, clearly eager to leave. Brother Gang wasn’t about to make him wait either. He set down his bowl and chopsticks, then walked with Liang Zhao out of the underground parking lot.

The park entrance wasn’t far—a five-minute walk. From a distance, Brother Gang spotted two large buses and a van parked by the roadside. Standing in front of the vehicles, unfazed by the heat, were three familiar figures.

“Well, well, long time no see! You guys finally made it back.”

With a broad grin, Brother Gang called out, quickening his pace towards them.

Before he could finish, Liang Zhao—walking beside him—suddenly sped up, leaving him behind as he strode briskly towards the trio.

It had only been three days, but they acted like they hadn’t seen each other in years.

The moment old friends reunited, laughter and chatter filled the air. The business exchange was instantly forgotten.

A good three to five minutes passed before Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao finished catching up and finally remembered Brother Gang, who had been left standing off to the side.

“My bad, Brother Gang. Sorry to keep you waiting,” Gu Mengran said apologetically, nodding towards him. Then, with a grin, he gestured at the buses parked by the road. “Good news—the wheat’s all here. Want to hop on and take a look, or should we get people to start unloading right away?”

Brother Gang smacked Gu Mengran’s shoulder with a hearty laugh. “You’ve really got some skills, kid!” Then, flashing a toothy grin, he added, “Of course I’m taking a look—how else will I know how many people to call?”

“Fair enough,” Gu Mengran chuckled politely.

The heat was unbearable, and all he wanted was to hand over the goods and leave. But Brother Gang insisted on inspecting the cargo first. With no other choice, Gu Mengran motioned for the others to wait by the roadside before leading Brother Gang towards the two buses.

A sharp hiss sounded as the bus doors slid open at the press of the remote key.

Gu Mengran, the vehicle’s owner, didn’t step inside. Instead, he took two steps back and gestured for Brother Gang to go ahead. “After you. It’s a bit cramped in there, so I’ll stay outside.”

Cramped? This was a bus, not some tiny sedan. How cramped could it possibly be?

Brother Gang gave him a suspicious look before stepping onto the bus.

The moment he climbed the two steps, his entire field of vision changed. He barely had time to glance around before a loud expletive escaped his mouth.

“Holy crap!”

Seats, aisles, luggage racks—every inch of space was stuffed to the brim with bulging woven sacks. The once-spacious bus was packed so tightly that, aside from the small area around the driver’s seat, there was barely any room to stand, let alone move.

This much? Were all these bags filled with wheat?

Brother Gang was completely stunned. He hadn’t expected much to begin with.

Resources were scarce after the disaster, and securing supplies from another territory wasn’t easy. He had no real hope that these guys would return with much wheat. The reason he was willing to trade four vehicles for it was more of a gamble—to test whether these outsiders had the guts and the capability to deliver.

Jiu Street didn’t accept outsiders. But competent outsiders? That was a different story.

He had already braced himself for the possibility of losing all four vehicles. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that these three would not only return in just three days—but that they’d bring this much wheat.

A storm of emotions surged in Brother Gang’s heart, but his face remained unreadable. He forced himself to stay composed as he walked over to one of the sacks, crouched down, and used the small knife he carried to cut open the binding.

Inside, golden wheat grains lay plump and full, carrying a faint, distinctive fragrance.

His fingers trembled slightly as he gripped the sack, but he hid it well. Rising to his feet, he turned to Gu Mengran, still standing outside the bus. “Not bad. The quality’s pretty damn good.”

For someone who wasn’t great at hiding his emotions, his attempt at nonchalance was almost comical. His face practically screamed shock and disbelief, yet he insisted on playing it cool.

Gu Mengran didn’t call him out. Instead, he simply smiled and pointed towards the other bus. “There’s more in the back. Want to check that one too?”

“No need.” Brother Gang cleared his throat, his fist lightly touching his lips. “My people will be here soon—I gave them a heads-up before coming out. In the meantime, I have a few questions for you.”

Of course. Gu Mengran sighed inwardly. He had expected this. Without a word, he stepped onto the bus, where the lingering chill of the air conditioning still clung to the space.

He assumed Brother Gang would ask about their journey—how they had transported this much wheat with just three people. After all, pulling off something like that was no small feat.

But to his surprise, Brother Gang didn’t seem particularly interested in the logistics. As soon as Gu Mengran stepped inside, he got straight to the point.

“Ever thought about joining us?”

Gu Mengran visibly froze for a moment before quickly realizing what was happening.

Brother Gang had noticed their abilities—and now, he wanted to recruit them.

He had been so focused on securing a bigger wheat share for Jiu Street that he had completely overlooked one thing: In times like these, standing out too much could attract a different kind of attention.

Joining them was out of the question. But Gu Mengran wasn’t about to turn him down outright, either.

Gu Mengran pretended to consider for a few seconds before shaking his head with a hint of regret. “Brother Gang, you know my parents are still waiting for me in Yinan. I have to make that trip, no matter what.”

His goal was to steer the conversation away and shut down the idea. But to his surprise, Brother Gang simply waved a hand dismissively, as if it were no big deal. Instead, he even offered a solution: “That’s not a problem. Going to Yinan to find your family and joining us don’t have to be mutually exclusive. If you guys are willing to join our group, I can send some of my men with you. Once you find them, you can all come back together.”

Wow. He’s really determined to recruit us.

Gu Mengran forced a dry smile. “I appreciate the offer, Brother Gang, but Yinan’s too far. And looking for someone in a massive city like that is like searching for a needle in a haystack—we have no idea how long it might take.”

“My parents, my family—I’ve already prepared myself to search for as long as it takes. There’s no need to drag innocent people into our struggle.”

Brother Gang sighed and shook his head. “Ah, you’re right. But it’s hard to let go, you know? You guys are smart, capable, and brave—exactly the kind of people we need to rebuild after all this. We can’t stay trapped in grief forever. We have to keep moving forward, step by step.”

The broad-shouldered man furrowed his brows, his strong, rugged face clouded with worry. His gaze, usually commanding and intimidating, now held an unfamiliar trace of helplessness.

Gu Mengran parted his lips, hesitated for a long moment, then murmured, “Things will get better.”

“Yeah,” Brother Gang echoed softly. “They always do.”

The fleeting emotion on Brother Gang’s face vanished instantly. He casually wiped his face and shrugged. “Since it’s settled, I wish you a speedy reunion with your family. After all, the gates of Jiu Street are always open—you’re welcome to bring your family back anytime.”

Those polite, offhand words were meant to smooth things over.

But Gu Mengran wasn’t ready to let it go. He raised his eyes to meet Brother Gang’s, and his tone shifted from relaxed to resolute: “We won’t be coming back. Water flows downward and people move upward—we’re not turning back, and we’re certainly not staying put.”

That remark puzzled Brother Gang for a moment; he couldn’t quite grasp what Gu Mengran was implying. He scratched his head, about to ask for clarification, when suddenly a beam of light shone from nearby, its glare sweeping across the bus door.

Both men looked up. Across a narrow side road, seven or eight men, bathed in the darkness of night, were approaching the highway—laughing and chatting as they came.

“Our guys have arrived. Enough talk—get ready to unload!”

For a moment, Brother Gang completely forgot his earlier question. After exchanging a few greetings, he stepped out of the bus ahead of Gu Mengran, and from the curb he waved towards the group, “Over here!”

“By the way,” Brother Gang suddenly added, turning back and raising his chin towards Gu Mengran, “when do you plan on leaving?”

Gu Mengran hesitated for a moment before replying vaguely, “Tomorrow, I suppose.”

……

Three busloads of wheat—split evenly, that meant one and a half for each side.

But Gu Mengran negotiated with Brother Gang again, ultimately trading half a bus of wheat for five boxes of biscuits and five barrels of gasoline. His reasoning was simple: they still had a long journey ahead, and if the vehicle broke down, hauling too much wheat would be more of a burden than a benefit. Food, on the other hand, was far more practical.

By the time the unloading was done, it was past 8 p.m. Without stopping to rest, Gu Mengran said his goodbyes to Brother Gang, then got behind the wheel of the van. With the newly freed Liang Zhao aboard, he led the two buses onto the national highway before finally pulling over to the roadside.

Taking advantage of the cover of night, Gu Mengran discreetly stowed all the wheat into his space, along with the spare vehicles, leaving only a single medium-sized bus with 29 seats.

Once everything was settled, the group abandoned the bus on the roadside and made their way back to Emerald City on foot.

The journey was quiet—no one spoke. Everyone focused on the road ahead, walking with their heads down. Exhausted and drenched in sweat, not a single person dared to stop.

Zheng Yijie had been puzzled by their urgency all along, but once they returned to the basement and Gu Mengran immediately ordered the two teachers to pack up, he finally understood—they were planning to leave the mountain city overnight.

There was no more time to hesitate. Right then and there, Zheng Yijie made up his mind and started packing.

Even though he had prepared himself mentally, watching as all the supplies in his warehouse, the pots, pans, and dishes from the kitchen disappeared into Gu Mengran’s hands still made his heart ache.

At 10:30 p.m., the highway—devoid of streetlights—was swallowed by darkness. Only the faint glow from the parked bus illuminated the night.

“Vroom… vroom—”

The doors closed, the air conditioning kicked on, and the low hum of the engine echoed in the stillness of the road.

“Everyone buckled up?”

“All set!”

A crisp, childlike voice rang through the bus. The driver released the handbrake, gently pressed the accelerator, and the bus rolled steadily into the night.

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