0117 Training the Child Soldiers (Part I)

About an hour later, Hou Rui, accompanied by his two little followers, had the honor of riding in Captain Mulu's large jeep to the abandoned school on the other side of town. When the guards escorting him informed Sergeant Kun that Hou Rui would be temporarily stationed at the child soldier barracks, Hou Rui once again felt the palpable hostility emanating from the sergeant.

Although Sergeant Kun dared not openly defy Captain Mulu's orders, he made no effort to hide his disdain. After dismissing the guards, he scowled at Hou Rui and demanded, "What exactly do you want here on my turf?"

"Don't worry, I have no interest in this place. It will always be your territory. I just want to take some photos and head back to England to live my boring life as a famous photographer and wealthy man."

Sergeant Kun glared at him fiercely for a moment. Realizing he couldn't do much about Hou Rui and perhaps tentatively believing his story, he turned away indignantly. He grabbed a small soldier passing by and ordered, "Take him to the barracks and find him a place to sleep." And so, Hou Rui was successfully settled into the child soldier camp.

The next morning, as Hou Rui—who had been assigned to sleep in what was formerly the teachers' office—opened his eyes, the sound of wooden sticks clashing echoed from the distant parade ground, accompanied by shrill, youthful cries. The intermittent noise immediately piqued his curiosity. After dragging himself off the makeshift wooden bed and walking to the window, he saw that the children’s training had already begun.

On a relatively flat clearing, the children captured by the Alliance were divided into three tiers. The largest group, holding AK-47s and performing tactical maneuvers under the orders of Sergeant Kun and others, consisted of "veterans" who had been trained for a long time and were ready for the battlefield at any moment.

Those holding machetes and hacking away at chest-high wooden posts were the under-trained reserves. As for the group of children including Little Camel, they were only permitted to wield wooden sticks, as they were still recruits. The sounds that had awakened Hou Rui were the clashes of these new recruits sparring.

"Ha!"
"Hey!"
"Die!"
"I'm going to kill you!"
"I'm going to gouge out your eyes!"

Hou Rui found it hard to imagine how ten-year-olds could shout such bloody slogans. Just as he was preparing to go downstairs for a closer look, the two attendants sent by Captain Mulu arrived. Behind them followed the servant girl also sent by the captain, who stood with her head bowed, cradling a small bundle and looking utterly submissive.

"Sergeant, Captain Mulu told us to bring her," said the boy, who looked no older than fourteen, in broken English.

"Alright, I understand. You two can head off," Hou Rui said. Not knowing what else to say, he waved them away and turned to the girl. "I don't know your name yet."

"Judy!"

"Judy, how is your English?"

"I can handle basic conversation, but I can't read or write at all."

"That's fine. I happen to be in need of a Somali translator, so you can follow me in that capacity."

Judy didn't say another word. She simply shoved her small bundle into a corner of the office and stood behind Hou Rui with an expressionless face. It took Hou Rui a moment to get used to this shadow that followed him everywhere. The two then walked out of the school building toward the children training on the parade ground.

*Clack, clack, clack!*

In one corner of the clearing, dozens of sticks collided violently in mid-air. These recruits were not playing games; each one was using all their strength to swing their sticks at their opponents, filling the air with the sound of wood striking wood.

Whenever the sticks clashed, the younger or weaker children were often knocked to the ground by their opponents. Their palms would be bloodied and scraped, and some suffered injuries to their heads and limbs, wailing in pain.

Seeing these ten-year-old children engaged in such savage combat, Hou Rui felt sick and prepared to leave. However, Sergeant Kun, who was standing to the side holding a short pointer, suddenly roared, "Hit harder! Use all your strength! If you don't beat your opponent, none of you get to rest or eat!"

"Yes, Sergeant!" the children shouted in unison, then swung their sticks at each other again with renewed ferocity.

*Clack!* A girl with braids had her stick knocked out of her hand by an opponent half a head taller. The opponent’s stick then struck her squarely on the forehead, drawing immediate blood, and she let out a piercing scream.

Filled with rage, Hou Rui was about to step forward to check on the girl's injury, but he noticed Sergeant Kun watching him from the other side of the clearing. He forced himself to stay put, his face livid, watching the little girl bleed.

Soon, two older boys ran over. They slung their AK-47s over their shoulders with practiced ease and dragged the girl by her arms to the side of the field. There, a man with only one hand gave her a crude bandage and scooped a bowl of black liquid from a dented aluminum vat, watching her gulp it down.

"What are they feeding that child?" Hou Rui asked Judy.

"It's medicine," Judy replied with complete indifference, as if she were accustomed to such scenes, her eyes not even flickering.

"What kind of medicine?" But to this question, Judy only shook her head, indicating she did not know.

Finally, unable to contain his curiosity, Hou Rui walked over himself. He took the large ladle from the one-armed man and held it to his nose. A pungent, concentrated odor of ammonia—or, more bluntly, the stench of urine—assaulted his nostrils.

"What kind of garbage is this? Is this even fit for human consumption?" Disgusted, Hou Rui dropped the ladle. But after taking a few steps away, he suddenly stopped. It dawned on him: this was a decoction of opium. They were using drugs to numb the children's pain!

How sinister! How vicious!

Feeding opium broth to ten-year-olds would undoubtedly cause unimaginable damage to their bodies. After the opium ravaged their internal organs and brains, it would surely shorten their lives, not to mention that once addicted, their brief lives would be spent in a stupor.

Hou Rui looked at the row of injured children, watching them sit blankly as they drank the black liquid from their bowls. He felt a burning urge to slaughter Sergeant Kun, Captain Mulu, and their entire gang. Just as he was about to kick over the large aluminum vat in a fit of rage, Sergeant Kun approached with a dozen of his men.

"What? Sergeant Douglas, do you want a bowl to taste it yourself? Hahahaha!" Following Kun's provocative laughter, the child soldiers behind him also roared with laughter, leaning back and forth.

"No thanks, Sergeant Kun. You keep it for yourself," replied Hou Rui, his voice dull. He had to endure all this filth for the sake of finding and eliminating his ultimate target, General Garcia.

"That's a real shame. I grew up drinking this. It's the most delicious medicine in the world." With that, Sergeant Kun scooped up a ladleful without hesitation, downed it in front of Hou Rui, and licked his lips as if wanting more.

Hou Rui watched the cruel, ignorant sergeant in silence, suddenly feeling a sense of sorrow for him—a tragic fate of being a victim first, only to become a victimizer later.

"Sergeant Douglas, tonight we are holding the Warrior Selection Ceremony. It is the second step of the Alliance's training. I hope you will attend." After speaking, Sergeant Kun swaggered off with his men, leaving Hou Rui and Judy alone to watch the child soldiers' training.

By two in the afternoon, Hou Rui had taken hundreds of photos. While there was an element of performative "documenting" for his cover, deep down, he was recording these scenes as a warning to posterity and to settle the final score with the Liberation Alliance.

Suddenly, an oxcart wobbled into the clearing. Two Alliance soldiers on the cart shouted at the training children. After much gesticulating, they pulled back the tarp on the cart to reveal several large iron barrels. The child soldiers immediately swarmed toward the cart with hungry, eager looks.

It was time to eat!

Hou Rui watched the children, who had been training all morning and were clearly starving, crowd together. Seeing their desperate expressions, he found himself moving closer as well, wanting to see what the Liberation Alliance would provide as food.

But to his surprise, the moment he took a step, Judy, who had been quietly following him, suddenly grabbed his arm. When Hou Rui turned to look at her with a questioning gaze, she simply shook her head slightly, signaling him not to go over.

Though filled with confusion, Hou Rui knew Judy was not a foolish girl. She must have her reasons, perhaps ones she couldn't explain to him right now, which was why she had physically held him back.