Chapter 020
Jongharng Chioujen
Chioujen waited for a few minutes. He hesitated to get out of the box. He didn't want Hannrong suddenly entering the room just as he came out of the box. Chioujen also didn't wish Hannrong to see him when he left the room. He thought for a while. He didn't know where Hannrong was. After about ten minutes, Chioujen finally got the courage to come out. He planned to run straight out through the back door of the building. After that, he would exit the building through the gate in the backyard. He planned to hide there for about ten to fifteen minutes before going back into the building. Chioujen knew that this time he was betting on fate. If Hannrong caught him later while he was trying to get out of the building, he would come up with an excuse to explain it. Right now, Chioujen hadn't thought of a proper reason. Hannrong didn't seem as stupid as he had previously thought. Therefore, the explanation that he would have to put forward must be completely reasonable.
After planning, Chioujen opened the box from the inside and quickly got out and closed the box again. He walked towards the door of the room. Balancing speed with silence is not a simple thing. He must move quickly but as much as possible not make a sound. As he was about to head for the door, Chioujen turned his steps. He went to a corner of the room. That was when something caught his attention. There was a large shelf. As long as Chioujen remembered, Hannrong always put his bag there. After arriving right in front of the large rack, Chioujen grabbed Hannrong's bag. It wasn't difficult to identify Hannrong's bag, as it was the only bag there.
Chioujen opened Hannrong's bag. Nothing was special or conspicuous inside the bag, but a brown envelope caught Chioujen's attention. Chioujen himself didn't know what made him not afraid to do something like that. Furthermore, he then ventured to take the envelope. The envelope contained about twenty photographs. Among the photos, three photos made him very surprised. The three photos were pictures of their house in Pyngyuan. Of the three photos, there were two photos that not only contained pictures of their house but also the people who live in it. One photo showed Shannchyuan standing right outside the gate, the other photo showed Iren and Yihshyong opening the gate to enter the house.
This is so weird! Where did Hannrong get these photos from? And why did Hannrong keep these photos?
Chioujen put the photos back inside the envelope. Then put the envelope back into Hannrong's bag. Wasting no time, he moved towards the door of the room. With a strong bang, Chioujen opened the door of the room. There didn't seem to be anyone outside. He walked over to the reception desk. Hannrong wasn't there. Maybe he was upstairs or in the front yard of the building. Chioujen hoped Hannrong wasn't in the backyard. Hannrong ran towards the back door of the building. When he got there, he quickly opened the door. With all his might, he ran across the backyard. There was a door on the back wall. Behind the door was a not-so-wide alley. One end of the alley was very close to the entrance to the subway station.
Hannrong looked right and left. Quiet atmosphere. He breathed a sigh of relief. There was no one in the alley. Chioujen was squatting right in front of the door where he had just come out. It's not going anywhere. Just curled up in that place.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour in that place, Chioujen got up and walked back into the building complex. He crossed the backyard at a slow pace while still looking to the right and left. When he looked up, he saw the towering Dafeisy building. He realized that if Hannrong had been upstairs and happened to be standing by the window facing the backyard, Hannrong might have seen him as he ran across the building. It was even possible for Hannrong to see him crouching in the alley behind the back wall. Chioujen only hoped that this time luck was still on his side.
Chioujen, with a pounding heart, walked into the building. He kept walking all the way to the reception desk. There he saw Hannrong sitting. The young man seemed to be working as usual.
"Good morning, sir!" Hannrong greeted in a friendly manner.
"Good Morning Hannrong." Chioujen smiled.
"How are you now? Are you full?"
Chioujen hoped it wasn't a trick question Hannrong had deliberately asked to see his reaction.
"I only had a little breakfast. This morning I have a bit of a lack of appetite. But as soon as I walked back here, my appetite suddenly came back. So maybe I should eat some more soon. Hahaha..." Chioujen laughed hard.
This is the right excuse!
Chioujen praised himself.
I don't have to pretend I'm full because, in reality, I'm starving right now!
Hannrong nodded his head. He also laughed at Chioujen's words. "I have something to report, sir!"
"About what?" Chioujen's heart was pounding again.
"It turns out that your suspicions are correct. The person trapped in the elevator was Mr. Duanmuh. He wasn't even alone in the elevator. There were other people there too."
Hannrong began to talk about what had happened. Even though Chioujen already knew everything, he still had to be willing to listen to Hannrong's story to the end. It was unreasonable for Chioujen to refuse to listen to what Hannrong had to say. So Chioujen stood there for about ten minutes, listening to Hannrong's ramblings. Every now and then, Chioujen would interrupt to ask something he didn't seem to understand clearly.
"It's great that Dahge is okay. Since he doesn't blame you, you can rest easy now."
"That's right, sir," said Hannrong.
"Now I want to go up to the tenth floor to get the backpack I live above. After that, I will go straight home."
"Okay, sir!"
Chioujen then went straight up to the tenth floor. He cleaned the room so that no sign of his presence could be seen. About twenty minutes later, he came out of unit 1008 and went straight down to the ground floor. After saying goodbye to Hannrong, Chioujen immediately left for the station. Just like before, he chose to go out through the back door.
The hunger whacking Chioujen's stomach had made him walk quick, even half running. Arriving at the station, Chioujen immediately looked for a payphone. He chose a public telephone in the box to be quieter so that the other person would not know that he was at a fairly busy station.
Chioujen called home. The one who answered the phone was Iren. Chioujen briefly explained that the company he worked for had decided to send him back to work at the head office in this city. He also said that he would be home tomorrow around after midnight. At that time, He did not tell anything to the people at home. Chioujen had no intention of going home today. Some of the things that had just happened had aroused Chioujen's suspicions, so he decided to first observe some of these rather odd things.
Before boarding the train, Chioujen had breakfast at a restaurant inside the mall at the subway station. Because he was so hungry, he ate voraciously. The many things running through his mind didn't make him lose his appetite. In less than ten minutes, he had finished his meal. Immediately, he boarded a train bound for a subway station close to their residence in Pyngyuan. The station left a deep impression on him because the station's name was exactly the same as his name, namely Jongharng Station.
It took several hours before he finally arrived at Jongharng station. When he set foot there, Chioujen, who was hungry again, immediately stopped by one stall in the station for lunch. This time he ordered spicy eggplant grilled chicken. Although he had known for a long time that the menu existed in one restaurant there, he had never tried the dish. Whether it was because he was starving or if the food was really delicious, Chioujen ordered another serving. During this half-year, he was so busy working that he rarely got the chance to travel or just have fun in public places. Chioujen's salary is indeed quite large at the company where he works, but his work is very time-consuming. Sometimes he just didn't have enough time for lunch. So often, he only eats modestly in the office or in other places where he was assigned to work.
After all the food slid into his stomach, Chioujen headed to the mall to look for clothes. He had to buy clothes that could cover his face and body. Chioujen purchased a magazine, a baseball cap that he could bend to fit in a pocket, two pairs of sunglasses of entirely different styles, trousers, and a reversible jacket with a hood. He then replaced his pants with the pants he had just bought. After that, he walked towards the luggage storage section at the station. The backpack he was carrying, although not too heavy, was enough to limit his movement. He intended to put it in the station locker until tomorrow night when he returned home.
Coming out of the station, Chioujen ambled towards his house. He wanted to check something. Among other things was the existence of unknown people who were watching their homes. Entering their housing complex, Chioujen sat at a substation not too far from their house. The substation was not walled. It only comprised eight pillars. Its unique octagonal shape made Chioujen happy to sit there. It just so happened that the booth was empty, so Chioujen could freely sit there without worrying about disturbing others. Usually, there was always someone sitting there.
He watched the area while pretending to read the magazine he was carrying. Several people were seen passing by in front of the substation, but they did not stop. There were also people sitting not far from where Chioujen was sitting. They all didn't care about Chioujen's existence at all.
Chioujen was really nervous and restless. Never before had anything like this happened in his life. He couldn't calm himself down. Chioujen repeatedly looked left and right. He'd never done anything like that before. Chioujen wondered to himself about the clothes he was wearing now. He didn't know that the clothes were effective enough or whether they made him more conspicuous so that he would be easily recognized by passersby. Chioujen was not an undercover agent or someone who had received training in espionage. So he really didn't know if what he was doing was right or wrong. The things he was doing right now were purely based on his instincts.
While sitting there, no one went in there. So far, Chioujen had been alone. Chioujen had wondered if there was a new rule in their housing complex that forbade people to sit or hang out there. Finally, he got bored. He almost decided to just go home and sleep at home. But suddenly he saw two people walking towards him. The two of them were carrying enormous backpacks. They were his two housemates, namely Jenqyih and Shinnshiow. Chioujen held his magazine high so that it covered his face as the two of them passed the substation. Chioujen lowered his magazine. He intended to continue his surveillance for at least another two hours. After that, he will go to the station to rest in the capsule hotel that was there. He saw that Shinnshiow and Jenqyih had already passed about fifty meters from him. When he turned his face in the opposite direction, he saw two people walking while looking straight ahead. The two of them were very strange. They walked, but their eyes seemed not to focus on the things around them. Instead, they were looking far ahead. Chioujen followed those people's gazes and immediately realized that the two of them were observing and following Shinnshiow and Jenqyih.
Chioujen didn't know what to do. He had thought about going home and telling Shannchyuan everything he knew. But after remembering the photos in Hannrong's bag, he abandoned the plan. If their house was being watched, then people who come or go from the house will also be monitored. If he went home now, he would soon be on the list of people to watch out for. Maybe he should call their house to warn his friends. However, their landlines might have been tapped. It was also impossible for Chioujen to enter the house by any other means. The walls to the side and back of the house were very high.
Chioujen then stood up. He decided to walk away from his house. He also wanted to know where Shinnshiow and Jenqyih were going. Besides that, Chioujen also wanted to see how far the two people would follow his friends. If it turned out that the two people had bad intentions or hurt their friends, then Chioujen could immediately come to help. Chioujen strolled so as not to arouse suspicion either from the people around the place, especially from the people he was following. While walking, he suddenly noticed something strange. Between him and the two people he was following, there was another person. Actually, it was not unusual if there were many people on the street. The distance between Chioujen and the two people was a bit far, so it was natural for someone to walk between them. Chioujen didn't realize that person was between him and the two since when. Like Chioujen, that person was also wearing a reversible jacket. Chioujen knew it was a reversible jacket because earlier when he bought the alternating jacket that he was currently wearing, there was a jacket that was precisely the same as the jacket the person now walking in front of him was wearing.
After walking for a while, it seemed that the person wearing the reversible in front of Chioujen was following the two people in front of him. Realizing that, Chioujen then stopped his steps. He thought the situation was more complicated than he had initially thought. Chioujen didn't want people in reversible jackets walking in front of him to notice that Chioujen was following him. Chioujen tried to keep his distance so he didn't get too close to the people he was following.
Chioujen didn't know Jenqyih and Shinnshiow's destination. They stopped at the bus stop, about a hundred meters from where Chioujen was standing. It looked like they were going to take the bus from that stop. Chioujen didn't dare to approach because he was worried that Jenqyih and Shinnshiow would recognize him. After the bus arrived, Jenqyih and Shinnshiow boarded the bus. The two people who were following Jenqyih and Shinnshiow also got on the bus. The person in the reversible jacket who followed the two people also got on the bus. Chioujen walked closer to the stop. He then sat there. He still had not decided what to do.
Three minutes later, the bus with the same route stopped at the stop. This was a rare thing. Usually, at this hour, the bus with this route stopped at this stop every ten or fifteen minutes. Only three minutes later, there was another bus on the same route. This was the first time Chioujen had experienced it. But maybe not weird either. Chioujen only lived in this area for six months. What he knew was not necessarily a fixed thing. Maybe now buses with this route come at a faster frequency. Without thinking, Chioujen immediately jumped onto the bus. Without realizing it, his feet took him to the back of the bus. He then sat right in the back row. After sitting there, he went back to reflect on what he had just experienced.
The bus moved. Chioujen was busy wondering if his two friends knew they were being followed. Not just by one person, even by three people at once. Chioujen didn't know how much they knew about this case. Chioujen was sure that when he arrived at Shannchyuan's house, he would have told him everything he knew. So at least Shinnshiow and Jenqyih already knew that there was a problem that wasn't simple. Chioujen wished them to be careful and constantly vigilant in doing everything.
The next two stops were not far from the bus stop where Chioujen was boarding. But the third stop was a bit far. When Chioujen's bus arrived at the stop, it overtook another bus that was stopping in front of it. Then the bus stopped right in front of the bus that had just been overtaken. The driver shouldn't have done that. He had to wait for the bus in front of him to finish lowering and picking up passengers before he moved the bus forward to stop at the stop. But maybe he had his reasons. This bus stop was pretty significant. It serves several bus routes. So people could say that the bus stop was a kind of small hub. Therefore, this stop was quite long. It could serve three buses at once. So if the bus that came first stopped at the front end of the bus stop, then the bus that came next will pick up and drop off passengers without waiting for the bus in front of them to finish picking up and dropping off passengers. The bus that had stopped in front of the bus that Chioujen was riding did not stop at the front end but at the back end. Maybe before this, a bus stopped in front of that bus. That's why the bus driver Chioujen was riding was desperate to overtake the bus in front of him. Namely, so that as soon as possible to raise and lower passengers.
Because the position of the bus he was riding in was at the very front, Chioujen looked back to see the bus that had just been overtaken. From the rear window, Chioujen could see that the bus was another bus with a fairly long route. While watching the passengers boarding the bus, Chioujen saw that Shinnshiow and Jenqyih were among them. It turned out that the two of them had gotten off at this stop and then changed to another bus route. After Shinnshiow and Jenqyih got on the bus, it turned out that two of the three people who had followed also boarded the bus. Chioujen quickly stood up. He was ready to get off at the stop. He couldn't possibly get on the bus that was currently stopping behind him because by now, the bus had finished loading its passengers and was getting ready to leave the stop, but he could take another bus from that line which would come a few minutes after this.
After getting off, Chioujen waited for the bus from the lane that his two friends were riding. A few minutes later, the bus arrived. Chioujen rushed up. He also chose to sit in the back row so he could get off quickly when the bus stopped. The bus on this line was slightly longer than the bus he was on. After passing three stops, the bus then arrived at an intersection. At that time, the traffic light was turning red, so the bus had to stop. Chioujen looked to the left. His eyes fell on a figure walking on the sidewalk. The figure then turned left. In an instant, the person disappeared from his sight. Chioujen recognized he was one of the two who had been following his friends. Most likely, his two friends had already gotten off at the bus stop he had just passed. And now his two friends were walking in front of this person Chioujen had just seen.
People could only get off at the bus stop, so there was no way Chioujen could get off here. All he could do was get off at the next stop, get back on the bus from the opposite direction, and get off at the stop before that intersection. After that, he needed to walk to this crossroads and follow their trail from there. Chioujen knew this was a strange idea. He didn't know where his friends were going, how it was possible to follow them just based on the last place he saw the person following his friends. However, no matter how unlikely the success of his plan was, he still had to do it. Maybe a miracle would happen.
The next stop turned out to be quite far. Chioujen had already lost a lot of time. But he did not despair. Keep trying was the only way he had to do. After getting off the bus and then crossing the street, he sat at the bus stop waiting for a bus from the same line to return in the direction he had come from. Luckily, the bus he was referring to arrived soon. He immediately got on the bus. Even though it was only one stop away, Chioujen felt the journey was too long. After arriving at the stop, he immediately got off. He ran across the pedestrian bridge that connected the two opposite stops. After arriving on the other side, he immediately rushed towards the crossroads where he last saw the person earlier.
Turning left, he realized the street was quite busy. About one hundred and fifty meters from the intersection, there was a train station. It's not a subway station. It's an elevated train station. Chioujen thought that maybe his two friends had taken the train there. If so, it would be tough for him to find them. Chioujen walked on ahead. He didn't realize he had arrived in front of the station. Chioujen didn't go up. He just looked at the building from below. Then he glanced around the area. There were lots of shops there. Chioujen then continued to walk forward. It was then that he began to think even harder. He considered what he should do now.
If I were Shinnshiow or Jenqyih, what would I do in this place?
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