Northern Myanmar: Bloodshed in the Golden Triangle, Have I Become a General? - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: What Does Setting Fire Have to Do with Me, Zhao Renzhou?

Without going into details about the fury on Furuo’s side,

On the other side,

Zhao Renzhou was thoroughly enjoying setting the fires.

The group drove out of the subordinate town of Gawei,

Entering the territory controlled by the Shan armed forces.

Two full trucks of incendiary bombs,

And two trucks of gasoline.

As they went along,

They set fires along the way.

Those incendiary bombs,

Were essentially solidified gasoline bombs.

They couldn’t be extinguished even if doused.

Plus, it was the height of summer,

Directly in the afternoon.

They carried one gasoline barrel after another into the woods.

Opening the barrels,

Clear gasoline spilled all over the ground,

Continuously spreading outwards.

In the stifling hot air,

The surroundings were instantly filled with a strong gasoline scent.

Once the personnel withdrew,

And the cars had driven a distance,

They launched the incendiary bombs into the woods.

In the instant of the incendiary bombs’ explosion,

The oil and gas in the air…

Instantly ignited!

Boom—!!!

It was as if a sun had risen in the forest.

The flames, fueled by the oil and gas, swept and spread throughout the deep woods.

Forming a massive mushroom cloud of flames.

It directly set the entire forest ablaze.

Even as the convoy sped away,

They could still feel the sweeping heatwave.

Whether it would burn anyone to death, Zhao Renzhou didn’t know.

But he knew one thing:

This fire wasn’t big enough yet.

It needed to burn painfully, instill fear in those Shan armed forces.

He estimated there would be no peaceful days ahead.

From the attack on the border villages,

It was evident that these people were like stubborn adhesive.

He didn’t have the luxury of time now,

Nor did he have the manpower to manage and protect the villages below.

If he tolerated it today,

Then tomorrow,

The day after tomorrow…

Sooner or later, they would slowly erode him away.

After all, they were rooted here.

He was, in the end, an outsider, and he couldn’t outlast them.

But at the same time,

He was also an outsider in the forest that the Shan people cherished like a treasure.

For him, nothing else mattered.

Just burn it all…

The group ventured deep into the Shan-controlled area.

They emptied all the goods brought in four trucks.

Only then did they change course and turn around.

Sitting in the car, looking out,

In the distance,

Half the landscape had been overtaken by the mountain fire.

A never-ending cloud of black smoke.

It painted the entire sky black.

Even though they were far apart,

You could still smell the burning scent in the air.

Zhao Zhan sat in the car,

Watching the scene outside and couldn’t help but click his tongue:

“This fire… if we did this in Longguo, we’d end up in a prison cell.”

They didn’t venture too deep into Shan territory.

Instead, they traveled for about twenty kilometers.

They set fire along a stretch of over twenty kilometers…

If this were Longguo…

Thankfully, this was Myanmar.

But even so,

Zhao Zhan couldn’t help but look to the back seat with concern and ask:

“Big brother.”

“Burning like this…”

“What will the Myanmar government do?”

“Even though we’re not on good terms with the Shan armed forces,”

“But this…”

Zhao Zhan suddenly didn’t know how to describe it.

Mainly because the government certainly can’t just stand idly by.

No matter how you look at it,

Officially, this area is under Myanmar’s control.

Burning down over twenty kilometers of forest can’t go unnoticed.

And…

It started with a fire that covered more than twenty kilometers.

Who knows how far it will spread?

If they can’t control it,

It could burn for months.

Maybe it’ll burn the entire Kachin State.

In a fit of rage,

It might even reach India.

It could escalate into an international issue.

This feels like poking the heavens.

But Zhao Renzhou in the back seat was somewhat surprised and said:

“What do you mean, what will they do?”

“I didn’t start the fire.”

“We’re a legitimate company.”

“And the organization we worked with was just an employer-employee relationship.”

“This fire was started by people from the organization.”

“What does it have to do with me, Zhao Renzhou?”

“I had no knowledge of it.”

“I also don’t know why they’re doing this.”

“I’m quite puzzled too…”

“Why would they want to set fire to the mountains…”

“It’s incomprehensible…”