The room was bare, devoid of anything. As she stepped inside, just as she was about to ask why they had called her in, someone shoved her towards the center of the room and closed the door expressionlessly.
Only then did Tong An'an realize the danger. She rushed to the door and pounded on it, but there was no response from outside.
She had no idea why she, a foreigner and an ordinary citizen, would be locked up here.
With no phone signal and no one to consult, she could only wait anxiously in the room.
She waited for a whole day.
No one brought her food. As dusk began to fall, there was finally movement outside.
The door opened, and the person with three stripes on his shoulder entered, surrounded by a group of people.
Tong An'an stood up, her expression wary as she looked at them, and asked in English, "What do you want?"
The man with three stripes walked up to her, sizing her up from head to toe, before speaking, "Chinese?"
"Yes. What do you mean by locking me in here?"
"Just a small favor." With a wave of his hand, several people immediately rushed over, grabbed her arms, and forced her onto a chair in the corner.
A bright, blinding light was turned on, and a camera was pointed at her. The man with three stripes handed her a piece of paper.
"I know your English is good. Read this."
Tong An'an quickly scanned the paper. It roughly stated that she was in trouble and hoped the embassy would come to her rescue quickly. However, the embassy had to make a deal with them, acknowledging their international status.
It was utter nonsense.
They were having internal conflicts, so why involve Chinese people?
And an ordinary citizen at that!
"I don't understand what you mean."
The man with three stripes said, "You don't need to understand. If you want to live, just read it."
Having understood their objective, Tong An'an was no longer afraid.
"You mean, if I don't read this, my life will be in danger?"
"You know that. In special times, accidents happen. Who knows if you might encounter an accident? Even if you do, and no one witnesses it, you can't escalate this to international relations."
Tong An'an understood his meaning.
They needed international recognition, which the embassy would certainly not grant. So, they decided to use a hostage to threaten them.
If Tong An'an refused, they would simply get rid of her, claiming it was an accident.
Even if they knew it wasn't the case, without evidence, they couldn't do anything to them.
Tong An'an had seen similar plots in movies before, and she never expected it to happen to her.
Although she desperately wanted to live, she knew she couldn't do what they asked.
"I'm sorry, I don't have that authority. And I'm not that important. I won't read it."
From the moment the internal conflict began, the embassy had been working on rescue operations.
Zhan Group had also submitted a list of employees working in the country and their residences to them.
Therefore, even though they hadn't contacted the embassy, the embassy had found ways to reach their dormitory area as quickly as possible.
Upon arriving upstairs and hearing that one employee was injured and another had gone to rescue them but hadn't returned for so long, they knew trouble had occurred.
They urgently contacted the occupying forces.
After a day of investigation, they finally confirmed the locations of Tong An'an and Manager Li.
Negotiations were underway to secure their release.
The other side had also made demands: they would release the hostages, but only if they acknowledged their status during an interview.
This was sternly rejected.
Moreover, the embassy stated, "Your current actions have severely violated our bottom line. If our people are harmed while in your custody, the consequences will be dire. We do not rule out the use of force to defend our dignity."
News of Tong An'an's predicament had spread within Zhan Group, causing great anxiety, especially for Jiang Jingyu.
He was constantly monitoring the situation, and upon hearing the embassy's reply that Tong An'an had been detained, he was furious.
He wished he could grow wings and fly there immediately.
However, haste was useless; he couldn't go now.
For the first time in his life, he became superstitious, hoping there was a God, a deity in heaven, who could protect Tong An'an.
Negotiations continued, and Tong An'an had been held in the room for two days.
After fruitless negotiations and facing further threats, the leader in charge became enraged and put pressure on his subordinates.
If necessary, they would record a video and post it online. Even an acknowledgment from a civilian could stir up public opinion.
The man with three stripes, along with his subordinates, stormed into the room again, demanding that Tong An'an record a video.
Tong An'an remained silent. After a moment, the man with three stripes, in a fit of rage, slapped her across the face.
"Don't forget, your colleague just had surgery. You don't want to live, but does he?" If you don't speak, I'll immediately order them to cut off his medication!"
Tong An'an herself wasn't afraid of what might happen, but the thought of how desperate Mrs. Li and her young son would be after losing Manager Li filled her with grief and anger.
Reluctantly, she agreed to record a video, but insisted on speaking in Chinese.
The other side gave her time to prepare. Tong An'an silently recited for about two minutes, then nodded. The other side turned on the camera.
She looked into the lens, paused for a few seconds, and then spoke softly.
"My name is Tong An'an. I am Chinese. I am currently in Country X. The people here are very hospitable. I have been working here for half a year and I truly love the culture and people here."
"I hope everyone can live a beautiful and peaceful life, free from conflict. I wish for world peace."
"I love my country and my family. If this is the last time I speak with you, I hope you remember that my love for you is eternal."
"Jiang Jingyu, I'm sorry. But I have no regrets about this business trip. We'll meet again in the next life. I hope I can meet you again in the next life."
After speaking, she looked at the person beside her.
Knowing she had finished speaking, the other person turned off the camera.
"Did you read what was on the script?"
"Yes."
"I'll find someone to translate it now. You'd better have said the right things."
With that, the group bustled out of the room.
Tong An'an prepared herself for death.
She knew her lie would soon be exposed, and those people would quickly come looking for trouble in a rage.
She stood by the window, gazing into the distance, her heart aching with longing for the small town of Shuangqiao.
Her parents, who didn't know much, her brother, and Jiang Jingyu, who cared for her meticulously.
But as she said, she had no regrets about coming here.
Everything she was meant to experience in life was preordained.
She even felt fortunate to have gone through these experiences, which added a splash of vibrant color to her ordinary life.
It was just a pity for Jiang Jingyu.
But he was so outstanding; he would meet better girls in the future.
"Jingyu, I hope you won't hate me."