Chapter 018
Duanmuh Shannchyuan
A man wearing a bright yellow shirt was sitting on a series of rocks that had a hard surface. The rocks, when he groped, felt very rough. Because he was so tired, the rocks, which were far from warm, felt quite comfortable. Previously, he had been running and running for over three hours. He tried his best to get away from the people chasing him. During those three hours, his energy was almost completely drained.
He could sense that one by one, his pursuers had given up. There was only one person who was still shadowing him. But finally, almost an hour ago, it seemed that he had escaped the pursuit of that one person. Behind him, the sound of running footsteps could no longer be heard, which had been an integral part of his escape for the past three hours.
During the chase, he never looked back. Just ran forward and stared straight ahead. Looking back would only slow him down. Since he had not seen the pursuer at all, he was just wondering how far away he was from the pursuer. At first, the pursuer was quite far behind him. But over time, the distance between them grew closer. At some point, he could have heard the footsteps of people running behind him. Perhaps the pursuer was some eighty or a hundred meters behind him. At that time, while continuing to run, he looked for gaps on the right or left side of the road he was traveling on to find a temporary hiding place. Luckily, His foresight made him find a place that roughly fit his size. It was far from perfect, but it could outwit the pursuer for a few moments.
Quickly, the man slammed himself into the gap between the bushes. He wasn't sure it would work. But he had to try. The pursuit of him that had lasted several hours had exhausted him immensely.
After the pursuer ran in different directions, the person wearing a yellow shirt quickly emerged from the hiding place and ran the other way. He never stopped. He always kept running and running. Although he could no longer hear the footsteps behind him, he had to keep going. He intended to do that until he found a place where he felt safe. Finally, he found the series of rocks when he could no longer run. He had to rest for a while before continuing his escape.
I hoped that person had given up. Or at least looking for me in a different direction!
His eyes were closed, and his head bowed. He may look like someone who was praying, but he was not praying. Right now, he was exhausted. His entire body was trembling. The pair of legs he had been using for running felt so weak that he could hardly support his body. If he had not sat on the hard rocks, he might have fallen over the ground. His breathing finally slowed down. A long, deep breath replaced the rapid breath when he was in a panic.
Tiredness and trembling weren't the only things he felt. Right now, he was very thirsty. His mouth was dry. During these three hours, he had not found any potable water. Apart from thirst, he also felt hungry. All this time, he had been running and running as hard as he could with a growling stomach. The chance to escape came before he had time to fill his stomach. However, inevitably, he had to try his best to ignore this extremely uncomfortable feeling. Previously, he also often starved. It was even worse than today.
Sitting on these rocks allowed him to think further about the next step.
I have to find some edible things before I starve to death in the middle of this stretched of trees!
He caught his breath for a moment. After that, he observed his surroundings. The land that stretched out before him was entirely uneven. As far as his eyes could see, there was a land whose contours rose and fell drastically. Crossing a steep slope like this was not a simple thing, especially when someone was hungry and thirsty. Many trees filled the green hills that were towering in front of him. Various types and shapes of trees adorn the scenery above the hills that were there. He could see the big, tall trees towering majestically. But there were also trees that were wrinkled and covered with bent and crooked branches.
The man looked back. He hoped no one was there. Right now, he couldn't trust anyone. He tried not to think about negative things for a while. He then saw again the hills that stretched out in front of him. The road ahead of him was still very long.
He deeply sighed while pressing his palms against the rugged rock face. Slowly, he decided to rise from this cold and hard rock. After that, he tried to force his two legs to support his body. He stood up.
With short strides, he began to walk. The ground he stepped on felt a bit chewy. Not infrequently, when he hit the ground, his feet sank to the ankles. But he continued to walk on the ground. When he stepped on it, it felt like treading on a soft surface.
Soon after that, he arrived at a vast meadow. Weeds and grass grew wild and swirled in front of him. Even though the grass looked harmless, the leaves' surfaces were smoothed and sharp. Not only did those things make his ankles itch when he passed there, but sometimes he felt sore when the weeds scratched his hands and face.
He hobbled through the expanse of weeds. Several times, he nearly slipped. The feeling of tired hit him again. What made him able to go on were the remnants of the spirit he kept on tightly.
Almost half an hour, he walked like that. When he finally arrived at the end of the expanse of thatch, he came across a paved road. At that moment, his thoughts drifted. He was in a semi-conscious state. That man had not realized he had arrived at a road that vehicles could pass. He should have stopped at the side of this paved road, but he continued walking toward the middle of the road.
From the left side, someone drove a car at high speed. The road was quiet so that the car's driver was running his vehicle at speed above average. He did not see that someone walked out from behind the towering weeds. Moreover, that person suddenly appeared on a slightly curved part of the road.
The driver seemed to be trying hard to hit the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. But it was too late, the car did slow down, but it couldn't stop suddenly like that. Instantly, the car hit the person who didn't even realize that he had dragged his feet into the middle of the road.
The person who just had been hit still didn't realize what was happening. The impact of the car knocked him down. He felt pain all over his body. With the remaining strength, he could still move his body. He turned his body so that now he was lying on the surface of the road, looking up at the sky. From inside the car, several people came out. They immediately approached and surrounded him. He wanted to say something, but no sound came out of his mouth. He felt more and more tired and tired. Then his vision began to blur. When it's finally dark, he's completely unconscious.
"About tomorrow morning. Are we all going to Dahfeisy Tower? Or will someone stay at the house?" Suddenly Yinqyueh asked.
Yinqyueh's question made Shannchyuan stop reading the serial stories in the magazine he was holding. Yinqyueh had finished watering the plants in the backyard. She was currently sitting in the living room, right next to Shannchyuan, watching television. Shannchyuan actually didn't really enjoy reading stories that were serialized in magazines because it meant that he had to keep buying the magazines to find out what the stories were going on. But this time, he did it just to kill time. The story of the person who had to escape from someone's pursuit reminded him more or less of the incident he had experienced yesterday. It's not exactly a good story. The idea was not original. Besides, the way of telling the story was also far from brilliant.
Shannchyuan turned to Yinqyueh. The young girl was also looking at him. That girl's face was so cute. He did not immediately answer Yinqyueh's question. Shannchyuan instead called Yihshyong and Iren to sit together in the living room. As soon as they were all in the living room, Shannchyuan said, "Tomorrow, who is willing to stay to look after the house?"
During this kind of circumstance, of course, someone had to standby at home.
Iren and Yihshyong looked at each other. Shannchyuan knew they realized he wanted one of them to stay at home. Shannchyuan was also sure they were aware he wanted to take Jenqyih and Shinnshiow to Dafeisy Tower tomorrow morning. Jenqyih was the biggest in size, and Shinnshiow was the youngest. They were both healthy and strong.
After a few seconds of looking at each other, they finally did rock-paper-scissors because no one gave in. Iren loses, so tomorrow he has to stay at home.
"Okay, then tomorrow, you will stay at home with Yinqyueh," said Shannchyuan.
Iren smiled wryly. He nodded.
"I can't go anywhere?" asked Yinqyueh. She put on a pitiful face.
"It's too dangerous for you. Those criminals maybe are still looking for you around that place. Besides, when you are here, you are my responsibility. So for the sake of safety, I dare not take the risk," says Shannchyuan.
"Hmm .....," muttered Yinqyueh. "Fine. Tomorrow I'll just stay home. There is something I can do in the backyard."
There was silence for about three minutes. Then Yinqyueh asked.
"Making a place away from everywhere as the office of a club, isn't that strange?
"What do you mean?" Asked Shannchyuan.
Even though it hasn't been twenty-four hours to know Yinqyueh, Shannchyuan was more or less used to the things that Yinqyueh suddenly said or did. Just like this time when she was blurting something without a starting point.
"The unit Uncle Songfei leased in Dafeisy Tower. Is it not the headquarter of the detective and mystery club he manages?" Yinqyueh looked at Shannchyuan with an astonished look.
"No. It's not. That place is not their headquarter. Songfei once told me that the headquarter was in a building very close to some business center area. I don't know where exactly. Songfei had never even invited me there. The unit that Songfei rents in the Dafeisy Tower was just Songfei's private place he rents to store his personal belongings, as well as a place for him to retreat if he is in need of inspiration. Sometimes he and some of his friends also hold activities related to the detective and mystery club in that place. The building was very quiet. Since a year ago it was almost empty, so it was perfect for holding activities because hardly any neighbors would complain. The point is, that the place is not directly related to the detective and mystery club. "
Yinqyueh nodded after listening to Shannchyuan's explanation. Shannchyuan then continued reading the articles in a magazine that was in his grasp currently. But even though he continued reading, his ears heard all the conversations that were going on around him. Even occasionally, he glanced at Yinqyueh and his friends.
"And I don't think you need to call him 'uncle.' He's still young," said Yihshyong. He laughed.
"How old is he?" Yinqyueh asked.
"I don't know for sure either. Maybe twenty-seven or twenty-eight. But he's still under thirty," Yihshyong replied.
"How does Uncle know that he's not yet thirty?"
"He once said that he wanted to celebrate his thirtieth birthday by holding a spectacular game. At that time, he said that he had several years to prepare for it." Yihshyong explained what Songfei had told him.
"Fine. I call him 'Feige' then," said Yinqyueh.
"Ah! I forgot to tell Dahge something." Iren suddenly remembered something.
Shannchyuan stopped reading again. He turned to Iren. His eyes narrowed as if he couldn't see Iren clearly.
"Something like what?" asked Shannchyuan.
"This morning, Chioujen called. The company pulled him back to work at headquarters. So tomorrow morning he will go home here. Probably arrives at our house after 10 pm."
"Oh," said Shannchyuan. "Did you tell him anything about Songfei?"
"Not yet. I didn't tell him anything. From what I hear, he felt so excited. He only called for a while. The long-distance call cost is expensive. Furthermore, this morning I didn't know clearly yet about Songfei's matter," said Iren.
"So you haven't said anything about the lockers at the station either?"
"I didn't have time to say that on the phone. I think we'll just explain everything tomorrow night when he's here. After all, yesterday we moved some of his things there," said Iren.
"Can I change the television channel?" Yinqyueh asked. Apparently, the show currently being broadcast on the television screen made her bored.
"Oh! Go ahead. I didn't watch this program," said Shannchyuan. "But I don't know what about the others."
"I didn't watch this either. It's okay if you want to change it," said Yihshyong.
Iren nodded as a sign that he agreed.
Yinqyueh then switched the television channel. Several times she changed it until finally, she seemed interested in a news program. The news being broadcast was an interview with several mall visitors who experienced a strange incident as an explosion of light. It turned out that several dozen people were injured. No one was seriously injured, but still, they were victims of that unusual incident.
"Where did it happen?" asked Shannchyuan. Again, he turned his attention from the magazine he was reading to something else.
"At the mall near the train station nearby," said Iren.
"Which train station?" Asked Shannchyuan.
"Jongharng Station. Our favorite subway station," said Iren.
"You mean the big mall opposite the subway entrance and exit?"
"Right! That mall," answered Iren.
"When did it happen?"
Shannchyuan placed the magazine he was holding on to the table. It seemed that he wanted to have a grave conversation about this matter.
"Yesterday, as soon as Dahge walked out of the mall?" said Yihshyong.
"I don't understand. Yesterday, when I left the mall, it was quiet. There were hardly any people. How could there be so many victims?"
"What do you mean by quiet? The mall was full of visitors!" Yihshyong said.
Yihshyong's eyes widened as he said that. It was rare for Shannchyuan to see Yihshyong's eyes that big. Shannchyuan himself could not explain well either. Yesterday he had did feel odd. But because he had was hungry and tired, he just went home without thinking any further about it.
"It's true. It was full when I entered, but it was quiet when I came out," said Shannchyuan. Then he glared at Yihshyong. "How do you know that I visit that mall yesterday?"
"Yesterday, he saw you enter the mall," said Yihshyong, pointing at Iren.
Iren didn't want to budge. He was pointing his index finger at Yihshyong. At the same time, he said to Shannchyuan, "He was there too. He saw you at the mall. He said that you looked like you were looking for someone. Then you walked out of the mall."
Shannchyuan was stunned. He did not expect that yesterday his two friends saw him enter and be in the mall. If only they had greeted him and approached him on that occasion, maybe the series of events that happened to him would not have been the same.
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