Chapter 117
Nangong Iren
Iren looked at the body of the young man who was running fast away from him. "It's good to be young!" Smiling, Iren said to himself.
As Tsaehorng's figure receded into the distance, Iren reconsidered everything he had seen in the blueprint that was then in Tsaehorng's hands. The plan was very clear and easy to remember. Therefore, it wasn't difficult for Iren to determine the direction when he was walking after Tsaehorng.
Even though he tried to walk fast, like other men who were over forty years old, Iren couldn't walk at high speed continuously. Especially when he was carrying a large bag that was quite heavy. Therefore, Iren ended up just walking as fast as he could. He did this so that Tsaehorng would not wait there too long.
At ten past four, Iren finally arrived at a point fifty meters from the payphone box he was headed for. He stopped walking when he saw Tsaehorng, who immediately greeted him. Apparently, the young man had walked away from the phone box, down the road the way he had come. His face was so bright.
"How was it?" Iren held Tsaehorng's arm.
"That's all right, Uncle. I got there just as the phone in the box rang."
"What did they say?"
"They told us to go to another place immediately. So now we must go directly to that other place, Uncle!"
"Ah!" Iren complained in a loud voice. Already imagined in his mind he should run again. He didn't know how far he could still run.
"It takes a long time to reach there on foot. So we have to drive there. Let me carry this bag, Uncle." In a flash, Tsaehorng took Songfei's bag from Iren's hand.
Iren let Tsaehorng took the bag. "Thank you. But, the package containing this food, I'm the one who holds it. I'm not that tired."
"All right, Uncle. Let's get back to the car."
Iren took a deep breath. Just as he got there, he had to walk again. Luckily, Tsaehorng had parked his car some distance from where they had been standing when they first waited for the kidnappers. The car park was actually closer to where they were. Not too close, actually, about two hundred meters from there. But that was enough relief for Iren.
Tsaehorng walked at a below average pace. The young man seemed to walk a bit slowly on purpose so Iren could keep up.
"You don't have to walk this slowly. If you need to, you can run. The sooner you get to the car, the better. When you get to the car, you can wait for me. Or, if we have to take this road to get to where we are going, then you come back here in your car."
"Alright, Uncle!"
Tsaehorng then started running again. Iren realized that this time, Tsaehorng ran not as fast as before. Maybe, apart from being a bit tired, he also had to carry Songfei's big bag.
"Eh? Why didn't he hand the bag back to me? That way he could run faster," muttered Iren.
Iren kept walking. A moment later, Tsaehorng and his car appeared.
"Come on in, Uncle!"
Tsaehorng opened the car door on the front left. Iren immediately jumped in. The car then sped away quickly from the place.
"These are just decoys. Not actual ransom items. Why should the kidnappers be this serious?" Iren, who rarely complained, this time took out his feelings.
"The kidnappers say we have to be serious, so the police don't get suspicious. Is it possible that the kidnappers think we actually agreed with them to trick the police?"
"Impossible. I still suspect they have other plans. To tell us to run around, that must be impossible just so the police don't get suspicious."
"We, who actually only brought counterfeit goods, actually had to go to such pains. What about Uncle Shimen and Uncle Jongharng, who brought the real ransom?"
"Could it be that they have to do more difficult things than us? Shyongge is older than me, and Chioujen is older than you. I don't know if they can run around like we just did."
Tsaehorng laughed. "Pretend that we're working out in the wee hours of the morning, Uncle!"
"You're absolutely right. We in Yeuandong used to get up at four or half-past five in the morning. So this actually makes sense."
"Is Uncle exhausted right now?"
"Not really. I'm just thirsty."
"In the back seat, there are several bottles of mineral water. Can you take it or not? Do I need to stop?"
"No need. You keep driving. Don't waste time. I can get it myself."
Iren looked at the back seat. He grabbed two bottles of mineral water and pulled them out right away. He opened a bottle and immediately drank its contents until only a third of the bottle remained. After that, he opened another bottle and gave it to Tsaehorng.
"Thank you, Uncle."
"You haven't told me about our destination. Now, where should we go?"
Tsaehorng took a sip of the water in his bottle. Unlike Iren, he only drank about three sips. He then gave the bottle back to Iren, who closed the bottle straightway.
"Earlier, after I barged into that pay phone box, I didn't pick up the phone right away."
"Eh? You copied Dahge and Shyongge?"
"I don't know, Uncle. Maybe my subconscious is leading me to do that. It was only after the third ring that I picked up the phone. The kidnappers didn't speak right away. I had to wait about thirty seconds until I could hear the person's voice. Apparently, they made sure that the person who answered the phone was someone who was waiting for a call."
"What did they say?"
"They said that we should go to the Dahjinmaw building."
"Dahjinmaw building? Where is that?"
"It's a building that isn't very well known. But I happen to know where it is. So you don't need to worry, Uncle."
"What should we do there?"
"We should go up to the roof of that building and see the next instructions there."
"What? Any other instructions? These kidnappers really are crazy."
Tsaehorng smiled at Iren's words. "That's right, Uncle! I think they are mad." It seemed he also agreed.
Iren sighed. "I hope the instructions on the roof are the last. I don't know if I'll have the strength if we have to run some more."
"I think they're serious this time, Uncle. According to the schedule, the sun would rise at five and fifty-seven minutes past today. So they must have picked up the ransom before it got light."
"I hope your guess is right," said Iren. "What about the police? Have you contacted them?"
"After the kidnappers finished giving instructions via the pay phone earlier, I had time to call the police to tell them where we were going."
"Eh? You're not afraid of the thugs knowing about it?"
"Of course I have some misgivings. But that's a very important thing. The police need to know we're not here where the ransom is being laid. I just hope the crooks are far away by the time I call the police."
"I do hope the police will be on standby in the building when we get there."
"That's what they said earlier, Uncle. So we shouldn't worry too much."
"Where we were waiting first, and then at the two telephone booths, other than that guy pretending to be drunk, I didn't see any other cops."
"Neither do I, Uncle. Maybe their stealth techniques are advanced, so we didn't see them."
"Or maybe they only sent two or three people to keep an eye on us there."
"I don't think so, Uncle. The police are taking this kidnapping case seriously. As you said earlier, it's very likely that the kidnappers have other plans. So whether it's this bag that we're carrying or the bag that Uncle Shimen and Uncle Dongfang are carrying, the police will definitely try take care with all your might. I suspect that the police have already guessed that the kidnappers will definitely lead us elsewhere. So the police don't alert too many people in the three places we went to earlier."
"You seem very confident in the police's ability to handle this case."
"I just choose to think positively, Uncle."
Iren nodded. That young man was indeed extraordinary. Completely different from the young man he met six months ago. If he didn't see it for himself, Iren certainly didn't believe that people could experience extraordinary rapid development in just half a year.
"We are almost at the building, Uncle."
The building was not too far from a pay phone box where the kidnappers had given the building's address. So within ten minutes, they were there. The building was very quiet. The guard instantly let them in. Iren suspected that the guard was an undercover cop.
Using the elevator, they went straight to the top floor. From there, they went straight up to the roof of the building. Everything went smoothly, the little building that was on the roof where they were also completely unlocked. Iren could not be sure that this was the work of the police, or that the kidnappers had already prepared everything.
Unlike ordinary doors, the door of the small building on the roof was made of iron. Luckily, the door was not locked. To break a door like that requires special tools and a long time.
Iren looked at his watch. Exactly half-past five in the morning. Eighteen minutes before dawn. If Tsaehorng's prediction was correct, then this was the last place they should go.
"Did the kidnapper say where on this roof we could get our next clue?"
"No, Uncle. They just said the next clue was up on the roof."
"The roof of this building is huge. If we had to check every inch, it would take a very long time."
Iren and Tsaehorng looked around them. The roof surface was ordinary. Nothing flashy.
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