Location: Three Valleys Rest Area, Yichang

  POV: Tui Jettoo | 7:10 PM

  “You boys ever heard of the ‘Four Stabs’ theory regarding women?” I asked, turning to the two of them as we strolled back toward the parking lot.

  “The ‘Four Stabs’ theory? How does that work ?” Tan asked, his eyes wide with interest.

  “Before you boys think about getting a wife, you need to understand women on a deeper level. This is a theory I’ve researched personally. And I say this with all due respect to the fairer sex—their fears evolve with age, starting from childhood.” I spoke with absolute confidence, my eyes drifting toward the cycling group lined up nearby. I thought.

  “How so, Bro?” Sawn leaned in with a mischievous grin. Tan followed suit, smiling and listening intently.

  “Point number one: Afraid of being stabbed. During childhood, women are taught to be modest and protective of their virtue. In our country, a woman would rather die than be raped. Elders always use scary stories to plant a fear of the opposite sex in young girls’ minds.” I explained the basics as a form of educational charity. I’d spent a long time observing the social dynamics of women.

  Sawn popped his head up and raised a brow. “You’re really something. Kids are afraid of everything anyway.” He shook his head, unimpressed, while Tan remained captivated.

  “Phase two... when they hit their teens and start getting interested in the opposite sex. You’ll notice middle school girls get so excited about boys. This age group is the gutsiest, the scariest, and the most reckless.”

  “Hahaha!” The two of them burst out laughing. Sawn shook his head. “Here we go! Our resident philosopher.”

  Tan stepped closer, as if afraid he’d miss a single word. The little activist was obsessed with social structures; he probably viewed this as vital data. “Keep going ! I want to know.”

  “There’s plenty of it on social media—girls getting into catfights over a guy. This stage of their lives is the most hilarious. If they looked back when they’re older, they’d laugh until they cried. Some of them are champions at fighting off rivals, even when the guy doesn't even know what's going on. It’s just teenage bravado.” I lectured calmly, letting the younger ones soak in the nature of women.

  Tan stared with clear eyes. Having grown up in England, he was probably baffled; the liberal sex culture of the West was a world away from the norms of Thailand. Sawn, on the other hand, was from a neighboring country and shared the same Buddhist roots, so our mindsets were fairly similar.

  “Go on, Bro... tell us more. How do they fear? What are they afraid of?” Tan asked, his curiosity peaking.

  I had to maintain my "expert" persona. “They fight over guys because they’re afraid... The Second Fear has already taken root in their little hearts.”

  The sound of the cycling group grew intense, drawing my gaze. The shouting of the racers sounded... strange. Or maybe it was just because I didn't understand a word of Chinese.

  Sawn cut in. “Teenage girls are fearless. No one dares mess with them.”

  “Hmm,” I nodded. Teenage girls were often bolder than the boys. Tan stared up at me, waiting for the answer. “What are they afraid of?”

  “Point number two: Afraid of NOT being stabbed.”

  “HAHAHA!” Sawn roared with laughter, sticking his face in mine to mock me. “You’ve lost your mind! Afraid of NOT being stabbed? What kind of crazy theory is that? Hahaha!”

  His laughter made my foot twitch. One more crack and I was going to kick him for disrespecting my research. Tan frowned, turned to snap at Sawn. “Don't interrupt!”

  “You actually believe this guy, kid?” Sawn teased with a smirk.

  Tan nudged me urgently. “Keep going!”

  “#$@#$@^@!” I turned my gaze back toward the middle of the plaza again.

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  POV: PAI PAI

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  My legs felt like lead, and a cold shiver raced up my spine. I gripped Natalie’s wrist so hard my knuckles turned white, my mind screaming at me to run, yet my feet were frozen to the spot. But then...

  “New plan! Five at a time!” the bald man barked. “Move it! At this rate, we’ll be here all night. You want to eat, or you want to starve?”

  “” We both let out a synchronized sigh of relief, our feet finally touching the ground as the crushing weight of panic lifted—if only for a second.

  “Let’s go! Fast!” I hissed, pulling her hand. We dived into the narrow, dark gap between two massive trailers. Without thinking twice, we dropped to the oil-stained pavement and scrambled underneath the chassis.

  “Unnie, how did they know we were here?” I whispered, my voice trembling as we crawled toward the front of the rig. I peeked out from behind the massive tires. “They already came for us once this morning.”

  “CCTV cameras, probably,” Natalie muttered, her breath coming in ragged gasps. “It’s the only way they could’ve tracked me this far.”

  “Come on!” I prepared to bolt past the front of the truck toward the pond area.

  But Natalie yanked my arm back. “Where are you going?!”

  I noticed she had finally stopped reciting her biology lessons. Her eyes were sharp again, though still filled with terror.

  “Far away from here!” I pointed toward the distant end of the parking lot.

  “If we run out in the open, the cameras will catch us,” she whispered urgently. “Stay under the trucks. It’s safer.”

  “Right. Good call.” I nodded and we dived back into the shadows, crawling through the grease and grit.

  We made it past six, maybe seven trucks...

  “My knees...” she whimpered, her face twisting in pain as she crawled across the rough concrete.

  “What now? Should we try hiding inside one of them?”

  “Let’s try.” She reached up, grabbing the handle of a cabin door.

  “..................” I stood there, eyes darting left and right, heart hammering against my ribs. “Is it open?”

  “No. Locked.”

  “Get down. Next one.”

  “Oh god...” she groaned, her voice breaking. “I’m about to start reciting those cells again.”

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  POV: Tui Jettoo

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

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  “The next stage of fear happens when they’re in their prime. In our country, it’s not like the West. Men here will do anything to win a girl’s heart—show off their wealth, their tattoos, their toughness, or even their stupidity. They’ll pull out every trick in the book just to get 'stabbing' rights once. After that, everything flips upside down.”

  “Here he goes again! ” Sawn kept pestering me.

  I ignored him. “In our culture, once you’ve had sex, it’s like she’s already your wife. She claims ownership. From then on, it’s the woman who follows the man. She’ll follow him anywhere—up mountains, through valleys, no matter how hard life gets. Even a rich man’s daughter will trade her mansion for a cramped rental room with some tattooed thug because she thinks that sacrifice is ‘love.’” I took a deep breath as we stopped by the pond.

  “Don’t stop, Bro! I need to know the rest.” Tan followed me closely, hanging on every word.

  “This is when a woman is at her loveliest. Most beautiful, kindest, and sweetest. She’ll pamper you like a king. It’s the 'Promotion' phase—the High Season. And the reason she acts this way is because of a deep-seated fear creeping into her heart...” I turned back toward the plaza. The cyclists were clearly split into two groups now. We needed to get moving before we were pinned in.

  Tan was practically vibrating with curiosity. “What’s she afraid of, Bro?”

  “Step three: Afraid of NOT being stabbed again.”

  “HAHAHA!” Sawn roared, laughing right at my feet. I gave him a swift kick that sent him rolling across the pavement.

  “Hahaha!” Tan clapped in delight. Their reactions couldn't have been more different.

  “You’re insane! Afraid of not being stabbed again?!” Sawn yelled while rolling on the ground.

  But Tan believed every word. “That makes so much sense, Bro!”

  I glared at Sawn. “You’re just uncultured. I’ve spent years researching and studying this, you moron!”

  “Bro, ignore him,” Tan said with a bright, eager smile. “What’s the final fear?”

  “This is the marriage phase. Westerners with Thai wives might not get it, and honestly, a lot of Thais don't understand it deeply either.”

  “How so?” My number one fan asked.

  “Notice how a wife will nag her husband for no reason? She gets mad if he’s on the phone, mad if he talks to friends, beats him if he goes out for a drink. No matter what he does or doesn't do, he’s wrong. She’s constantly irritated.”

  “Yeah, I’ve seen that! But why?” Sawn asked, now sitting on his knees and looking up.

  “Basically, he can't leave her sight. She’ll track him, call him incessantly, demand he come home immediately. But honestly? It’s not because she’s that worried about him. She’s just anxious, and it makes her cranky.”

  “What is she afraid of?!” Tan blurted out, desperate for the answer.

  “Step four: Afraid he’ll go 'stabbing' someone else!!”

  “HA! HA! HA! You really are crazy!” Sawn leaped up, clapping his hands.

  This particular fear is why so many people end up at police stations, hospitals, or the morgue.

  Sawn leaned in with that annoying grin. “Tan! Trust me, kid. Keep your brain for memorizing law books. How does he come up with this stuff? Hahaha!”

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  POV: PAI PAI

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  We got lucky. We found a trailer that was actually unlocked. We scrambled inside and hid behind the curtain in the back of the cabin, huddling under a heavy winter coat to stay out of sight.

  The sound of the door closing sent a surge of relief through my chest.

  I felt lighter, even though my heart was still a mess of confusion. Why was I running away with her? I just came here for a bike race. But that thud meant one thing: we were safe.

  A moment later, the massive truck shuddered to life. Natalie reached out and squeezed my arm gently.

  Soft music played in the cabin, interspersed with the relaxed chatter of two men. Luckily, they were speaking English, so I could understand everything they said.

  “Bro, I saw the news. The Shan State Army is recruiting mercenaries. I’m thinking about signing up,” the driver said.

  “Jettoo! You sure about that, kid? That’s mercenary work, not the Boy Scouts,” a mocking voice replied from the passenger seat. I didn't dare peek through the curtain.

  “I don’t want to go home yet. I’d rather stay at Sawn’s place,” the driver admitted, sounding troubled.

  “Sawn’s place isn't 'fun,' kid. He’ll probably take you out on an ambush. His house is basically a bandit’s nest.”

  “Your place isn't exactly different, Bro.”

  “Jettoo! Hahaha! What can I do? I take in the outlaws who have nowhere else to go. Sawn does the same, but he actually trains his men. His boys are the real deal.”

  I squeezed Natalie’s arm back. My heart was thumping so hard it hurt. Hearing their conversation made a new kind of terror grip me.

  “Will Brother Sawn really take me to see a real shootout?”

  “Sawn might look like a nice, laughing guy, but when he’s working... you can’t even imagine it. If you saw his men, I bet your legs would be shaking. Heh heh heh.”

  I had escaped the tiger only to run straight into a crocodile. My breath felt shallow, and my mouth was bone dry.

  “I want to be like you guys, Bro. I don’t think the law is my way out anymore.”

  “Take it easy, little brother. Once you switch sides, the things you say and do... they aren't 'crimes' anymore.”

  “You know that too, Bro?”

  “Hahaha!” The guy in the passenger seat was incredibly cocky. I wanted to see his face, but only from a very safe distance. I could feel Natalie’s hand trembling just as much as mine.

  “I can’t do it. Maybe I’ll just be a soldier. I can learn from Sawn.”

  “Suit yourself. You’ve got plenty of time to think.”

  Despite the paralyzing fear, the exhaustion of cycling nearly 300 kilometers finally took its toll. The blast of cold AC and the swaying of the truck felt like a cradle. Before I drifted off, my last thought was a pang of regret for the bicycle I had saved up so much money to buy.

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  The Hunter’s Instinct

  Location: Three Valleys Rest Area, Yichang POV: Omniscient (God's Eye View)

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  The atmosphere around the parking lot was suffocating, swallowed by the thick, damp mist drifting from the Three Gorges Dam. The dim overhead lights flickered, casting long, eerie shadows across two bicycles standing abandoned in the gloom. Jiang walked toward them, his calmness more terrifying than any outburst of rage.

  He ran a hand slowly over the seat of one bike, as if trying to catch a lingering trace of warmth. “Damn it... you’re a slippery one, aren't you, Natalie?”

  “Where could they have gone? I’m certain no one escaped my sight,” Ah Tue muttered, flanking his boss.

  Jiang let out a low hum. With a casual flick of his boot, he kicked the kickstand, sending the bicycles crashing into each other in a heap of tangled metal. “Those two... they have to be on one of those trailers.” He squinted into the dark, empty road where the convoy had vanished into the mountain fog.

  Ah Long stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with malice. “Boss, are you sure they’re on the trucks?”

  Jiang turned, pointing a cold finger at the fallen bikes. “You see these? Unless Natalie learned how to vanish into thin air, she’s on a truck. There’s no other way out of here.”

  Ah Tue reported back after a quick check. “Ah Wo is on his way. I told him to catch up via the Wushan pass.”

  Jiang scratched his chin, deep in thought. He planted his boot firmly on the frame of Natalie’s bike, pinning it to the asphalt like a trophy. “That brat from the clothing shop is gone too... they must be together.”

  “I didn't see her in the cyclist line-up either,” Ah Tue confirmed.

  “Should we go after them and demand a search, Boss?” Ah Long asked, kicking at the bike frames in frustration.

  Jiang remained silent for a long beat before giving a slow, calculated nod. “Yeah. But let’s play it smart. We talk to them nicely first—don't spook the prey. We only want Natalie and that bag. No need to waste time with some grease-monkey truckers. If they hand her over quietly, we finish the job early.” He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial. “Ah Wo... where are you? Hurry up. I’m going to buy us some time.”

  Ah Tue grabbed Ah Long by the scruff of his neck. “Let’s move. If they don't cooperate... then the real fun begins.”

  Jiang smiled thinly as he climbed into the car. Unlike his bloodthirsty subordinates, he remained poised, the picture of a man who knew he had already won.

  “A rose-strewn path to heaven, and you refuse to walk it. A gravel road to hell, and you dive right in. Oh, Natalie... all those years getting a Doctorate, and for what? To end up like this?”

  The red car lurched forward, pinned back against the seats. Ah Tue looked at his boss through the rearview mirror. “Boss, if we catch them... can I have the brat? She’s a thorn in my side. I still owe her for that pot of boiling water she threw at me.”

  Jiang closed his eyes and leaned back, indifferent to his henchman’s lust. “The target is the Doctor and the bag. The brat? If she gets in your way, do whatever you want with her.”

  Ah Long leaned forward from the backseat, a predatory grin on his face. “Then I’ll take the Doctor. I’ve always wondered what the soft flesh of the rich tastes like.”

  Jiang let out a long, weary sigh, his gaze fixed on the winding road that curved down into the dark abyss of the valley.

  “Those trucks... they weren't just here to pick up vaccines from the company, were they?”

  “Do you remember?”

  “Refrigerated trailers... it has to be them.”

  “Then this just got a whole lot easier.”

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  POV: PAI PAI

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  I jolted awake again as the truck swung sharply into a curve, the centrifugal force tossing my body against the side of the cabin. I had no idea how far we’d traveled or where this convoy of trailers had reached.

  The hiss of the air brakes echoed through the chassis. I could feel the massive vehicle beginning to slow down.

  “What’s going on, Brother Sawn?” the driver’s voice crackled over the radio, filled with confusion.

  “There’s a car blocking the road,” Sawn’s voice replied from the other end. “If I’m not mistaken, I saw this same car back when we were eating. Stay put, I’ll handle this myself.”

  “Wh-?!” My breath hitched, and my bladder felt like it was about to fail me. I squeezed Natalie’s hand with everything I had the moment I heard it was a red car.

  It was them. They were here.

  In the darkness behind the curtain, I couldn’t see a single thing out there, but the silence inside the cabin felt louder than the engine’s idle. My head was a mess of confusion and terror... would these two men hand us over to them?

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