Chapter 028
Jongharng Chioujen
Chioujen was still sitting on the bench on the platform. He did not follow the two people who had just passed. It was too risky to follow two people. He chose to reflect first on the things he had heard and witnessed throughout the day. He received a lot of new information. In his entire life, never in a single day had Chioujen received so many surprises like that.
After about fifteen minutes of spending time sitting there contemplating, Chioujen decided to leave the place. Departing for Jongharng Station was something he could no longer delay. There, he will rest in a simple inn in a commercial area in the subway station complex. After that, he will rest to relieve the fatigue in his body. Chioujen couldn't deny that he was tired. Tomorrow morning, he will think about the next plan.
The train that passed through Jongharng Station had arrived. Chioujen immediately jumped into the front car. Along the way, Chioujen's mind was constantly spinning on the facts he had just learned. When each time he managed to divert his mind to other things, a few minutes later, his mind returned to the things he had experienced earlier. Chioujen repeatedly wondered to himself. He really didn't know what kind of problem they were in. Chioujen wasn't sure whether the people who had chased after his beaushu's friend yesterday had anything to do with the people chasing Songfei. In addition, the person in the black hat was also very suspicious. He seemed to be a co-worker with someone Jenqyih knew. Tomorrow night, when he got home, he really had to discuss that matter with Shannchyuan.
If things are like this, I'd better be honest with Beaushu!
Arriving at Jongharng Station, Chioujen immediately walked to a shop selling medicine. He didn't know what would happen next, so he had to make some preparations. In Chioujen's opinion, medicine, apart from food, was very important. At the shop, Chioujen bought a first aid kit. He didn't forget to buy headache medicine, poultice plaster, and eucalyptus oil. Chioujen decided to take the backpack he had left this morning in the luggage storage locker at the station.
With full certainty, after picking up the backpack, he stepped into the area where the inn was rented out. There were several inns at the station. Chioujen had seen a super simple inn, like a capsule hotel, there. There were also inns whose room sizes were reasonable for a simple inn. He also remembered the simple inn with slightly more luxurious amenities. For a moment, Chioujen was tempted to try resting in a capsule hotel. But after he thought again, he decided to stay at a simple inn. The capsule hotel was too cramped. Chioujen couldn't sleep in such a tight space. He was not afraid to be in a narrow and closed place, just feeling uncomfortable.
After finishing the administrative matters, which turned out to be very simple, he right away entered the room. Chioujen simply put his backpack on the side of the bed. After taking off his jacket and clothes, Chioujen patched some poultice plaster on the parts of his body that felt tired. He then straight away threw himself on the relatively soft bed. Tired of having walked quite a distance, it took little time for Chioujen to arrive in dreamland.
Chioujen didn't know he had been asleep for quite some time when he suddenly woke up. He was hungry. Even though he had eaten earlier, now his stomach was making a loud sound. It was an alarm reminding him to fill his stomach. After changing clothes, Chioujen went outside the room to look for food. He didn't forget to bring a flashlight, just in case. He even put a sign on the door handle so as not to be disturbed. Chioujen didn't want anyone to enter his room when he wasn't in the room. But after he thought again, there was no way the inn maid would come in to clean the room at night. He already put the sign. He hesitated for a moment but hastened on. Chioujen was sure the maids there wouldn't care. After all, he had already walked far enough from the bedroom door, so he was lazy to come back again.
With quick steps, Chioujen headed to the area of the station where there were many food vendors. The food at the station was quite complete. Several restaurants were quite spacious. On the other floor, there was a food court which was not exactly small. There were also several small stalls selling food. In such a hungry state, Chioujen did not intend to choose dishes too long. After midnight like that time, the foods sold there were not as complete as in the morning, afternoon, or evening. As long as he saw the food that seemed suitable for him to enjoy, Chioujen would order it right away with little thought.
Anything I can eat now! Hunger in the middle of the night was so excruciating!
There was a stall selling fried noodles combined with roasted turkey. Chioujen hadn't eaten roast turkey in quite a while. Even when he looked back, he had never eaten roast turkey at the station. So he just sat down on the long bench there. Two other people were also sitting. It seemed they had already ordered food at the stall. The two of them were quite old men. If Chioujen didn't guess wrong, they were both in their sixties. When Chioujen came, they were busy talking.
"What do you think of Huangmuh?" Asked one of the two people talking.
"Huangmuh, who?" The other person asked back. Casually, he sat right to the left of Chioujen. He wore a dark green coat.
"Huangmuh Jenjyh. That very famous soccer player." The person who had spoken first said. He was wearing a brown jacket. The jacket looked a bit rundown. "Haven't you heard?"
"Heard about what? The news about him missing while hunting in the woods? That's been a while."
"Not too long ago. Just three months ago."
"Then?"
"He's been found!"
"In that case, good."
"This adds to the list of missing persons who were later found."
"People are missing, then they're found. Isn't that natural?"
"You're right. But these people have something in common."
"As far as I know, these people come from different backgrounds."
"That's not what I meant. I was talking about their mental state when they were found."
The person wearing the dark green coat looked at his friend's face. "You seem to have an interesting story."
"Those people were in a daze when they were found." The man in the brown jacket shouted.
Out of the corner of her eye, Chioujen glanced at the person. Their conversation was exciting.
"Dazed? Do you mean they don't know what has happened to them during their disappearance?"
"It's not like that. That's not all they forgot!"
"So they lost their memories?"
The person with a brown jacket leaned forward. He raised his hands and rolled his eyes. "Not completely oblivious. But they don't seem to remember a lot of things."
"Like what?"
"They forgot about things that had just happened in their lives. They even have a hard time recognizing the people they are close to."
"From what I've read, it looks like they're doing fine."
"Physically, they are fine. But mentally, there seems to be a problem."
"Are your sources reliable?"
"Not one hundred percent, but in general, I think he's quite credible."
"You asked about Huangmuh Jenjyh earlier. How exactly is his health?"
"Just like the others. He knows he is Huangmuh Jenjyh, but when he speaks, he seems unsure of himself."
"Who did you hear the news from?"
"From the servants who work at Huangmuh's house."
"Have they been working there long?"
"That's not the case. Huangmuh Jenjyh knew personally the people who worked in his house. He personally selected everyone who worked for him. He investigated all the backgrounds of his employees thoroughly. However, Huangmuh Jenjyh, who had just returned after being missing for a while, was completely different. He could indeed tell others about who he is, what his achievements are, who the people around him are. But there seems to be no interaction between him and what he tells. He stared at the trophy he won with a cold gaze, not as bright as before. He greets the people who work in his house formally. Whereas before, he has a nickname for everyone who works there. When he says something, he looks like someone who is just repeating a story that is previously told by someone else. That's weird, isn't it?"
"Looks like he has amnesia." The tone of the green-coated man's voice sounded so sure. "Then, there are other parties who try to cover it up by giving him information about Huangmuh Jenjyh. That's why he seems to be reading by rote when he tells about himself. People who memorize things will only get the words out of their mouths without any emotional connection to what they should have experienced."
"I think you can use this as material for your next project."
"You think so?"
"Of course!"
"I have to admit that is a great idea! But right now, I'm swamped."
"You can start gathering data on that."
"You're right. But I'm not the same as I used to be. At this age, I can only focus on one project." The man in the dark green coat laughed. "We'll discuss this later after I finish my current project."
The man in the brown coat nodded. "By the way, how about your ongoing project? Is it going well?"
"Yeah, it's okay. Even though there are a few distractions sometimes, I can handle everything."
"Observing people isn't easy. If they realize you're watching them, it's going to be a mess."
"Yes. I know. Although I have been used to observing and monitoring people's movements for over forty years but somehow, in the last five years, in doing this process, many people have realized that I am watching them. Even though I was cautious. The older I get, the more skilled I am, the more careless I am. Maybe I'm just not fit to do something like this."
The person wearing the brown jacket laughed at his friend's words. "If it's true that you are not suitable to do this, you must have given up long ago. The proof is that you are still doing it. It means that in your heart, you feel very suitable to do these things. I think it's because your physical condition is not the same as it used to be, so you are less agile in moving. You have a lot of limitations."
"I don't know! Maybe you're right. But maybe I need to reevaluate the things I've done so far. There are so many things I don't fully understand."
Who are these people? What kind of project are they talking about?
"Enough, already. Don't talk too much. The food has arrived. Let's eat first," said the person in the brown jacket while giving the plate and chopsticks to the person wearing a dark green coat.
The two of them then started to eat the roasted turkey fried noodles, which smelled so tempting. Chioujen didn't have the slightest idea what they were talking about. But certain words in their conversation made him interested in hearing them. He wanted to keep eavesdropping on their conversation. After a while, the food he ordered was ready. Chioujen looked at the dish with sparkling eyes. His stomach was screaming, begging Chioujen to immediately put the dish in his stomach. With a steady motion, Chioujen started digging into the food with his chopsticks.
"What about those people? Did they do anything extraordinary?" The man in the brown jacket spoke again.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. They are doing their normal activities. Daily routine." The man in the dark green coat shoved the food into his mouth.
"Didn't you say they had lost their jobs?"
"Yeah, about three months ago, they lost their jobs in a row. I don't know if it was a coincidence, or they were just unlucky. But as I recall, for the last two weeks or so, they went out every day in the morning and came back in the afternoon. Like people who are busy working every day."
"Maybe they've got a job."
"Not yet. They're still unemployed. They're very picky when it comes to working. If they feel they don't really fit the job offered, they won't accept it."
Hearing the series of sentences that the two of them had just said, Chioujen became even more curious. He listened carefully. Because he had to listen to the conversations of the people next to him, this time Chioujen couldn't focus on enjoying the dish he was eating. But he knew his beaushu could understand. In such circumstances, some things were far more important to do.
"Are they really that unique?"
"Everyone has their own uniqueness. I see them as interesting people." The man in the dark green coat sounded so enthusiastic.
"They're all middle-aged, right?"
"You could say that. Although often their way of thinking and speaking is not very similar to the way middle-aged people think and talk. Sometimes their behavior and speech are more like people in their twenties. I don't know why they act like that. Maybe I should research their background as well. What happened to them since decades ago is probably no less interesting topic."
"That would be very difficult."
"Yeah, it's almost impossible to even for me to do. They came from far away from here. I don't think I would have gone there to research their past lives."
"Was there a change in their character?"
"I haven't watched them long. As far as I know, nothing has changed."
"Everything static?"
"I've been watching them for the last six months. Lived around them for the past five months. Before that, of course, I don't know."
"Are they typical people from Yeuandong?"
"Not really. But I don't know what the typical person from Yeuandong is like. But clearly, their nature and habits are very similar to each other. I haven't been able to determine whether the similarities between them are the result of their mutual influence during their stay together or whether they've been similar from the start. It's natural for people who have the same interests to form a club. So it's possible that the eldest among them is deliberately gathering people who look like him to live together."
"The eldest of them, isn't he the one who used to work at the used bookstore?"
"Yeah, that's him. He's the leader of the group. Even though he looks the youngest in appearance, he's the oldest."
Uh? Are they talking about Beaushu?
"I think that person is also somewhat similar to you." The person in the brown jacket said with a serious face. After that, he laughed.
The man in the dark green coat didn't answer. He even ate voraciously. The way he ate reminded Chioujen of his beaushu, Shannchyuan. Upon closer inspection, of course, with stealth, Chioujen realized this person did indeed look a little like Shannchyuan. That person was thinner than Shannchyuan. But as Chioujen recalled, Shannchyuan was also very skinny many years ago. Although the frequency and amount of food that entered Shannchyuan's stomach was very high, his body's fast metabolism made him difficult to gain weight. Shannchyuan didn't gain weight until he was close to forty. When Chioujen last saw him about six months ago, Shannchyuan weighed sixty kilograms. Chioujen still remembered when Shannchyuan was in her twenties. He never weighed over forty-five kilograms. According to Chioujen's estimation, this person in the dark green coat weighed only about fifty-two to fifty-five kilograms.
"After this project is finished, I will move at once," said the man in the dark green coat.
"How much longer will this project you're working on be over?"
"I can't say for sure yet. Maybe between two weeks and a month. But it depends on other things too. Maybe there will be new developments that will require me to stay here longer."
"Oh, I see! Then where do you want to go next? Are you going to tackle the new project right away?"
"Still don't know. But I don't think so. In fact, this project is just about to enter the next stage."
"Then the case of Huangmuh and the others who had disappeared would likely not interest you."
"I still don't know. There's so much I still need to do on this project."
"What stage have you reached?"
"This observation stage is only the initial stage. There are still many stages to go through. Of course, with the help of several assistants and people who are willing to help me."
"In this early stage, is there no one else to help you?"
"Of course there are. But they're not always around. Only at certain times."
"Don't your assistants always report to you? As far as I know, you ordered them to observe also?"
"Yes, in past projects, sometimes they also observe. In this project, they also observe several times. Even though I usually order them to observe from a distance. Don't interact with the object we are observing. I want their report to feel more natural," said the man in the dark green coat.
"Then how did it turn out? In this project, do you feel their reports are more natural?"
"It was the same."
The man in the brown jacket laughed. "Isn't that just how you feel?"
"It's also possible that I've been less sensitive lately, so I can't judge reports well. Even so, their reports are quite detailed. They do add some unnecessary things sometimes."
"I don't understand. Please explain further."
"I have two assistants who have extraordinary powers of imagination. When I read their reports, I feel like reading a novel. They love to embellish what they observe with their imagination. This is, of course, not what I want. Clearly, it is not their job to mix facts with fictitious things. I warned them. But still, such a habit is hard to change. Luckily I've been doing this since time immemorial, so I can predict which part of their report is fact and which part is just fantasy only."
The conversation between the two people was getting more and more interesting. Chioujen ate slowly so that he wouldn't finish the meal, so he had a reason to sit there for a long time. In fact, he had planned that if the two of them were to converse any longer, Chioujen would order another serving of roasted turkey fried noodles. It tasted pretty good. Although, according to Chioujen, the roast beef was a bit undercooked. Chioujen really preferred meat that was cooked very well. This differed from Shannchyuan, who did not have a particular preference in choosing dishes made from meat.
For Shannchyuan, overcooked, moderately cooked, three-quarters cooked, half-cooked, quarter-cooked, or even raw meat was never a major problem. Processing raw meat into a delicious dish was not just a matter of overcooked or not. There were many things that made dishes made from meat worth eating. For example, the quality of the meat, the completeness of the spices, then also the right composition of the spices. Certain dishes were better when the meat was cooked thoroughly, but certain dishes were more suitable when the meat was half cooked.
"What about your other assistants? Is there a problem?"
"It's not that there's no problem. But the problem isn't there. Everyone has certain strengths and weaknesses. My other assistants are the same. There are always things they don't do as I expected. It's just, it's not as bad as my two imaginative assistants."
"I think you should be more careful. Don't push them too hard. It's a good thing they're still willing to work for you, even though you move around a lot."
"You're right. I think I'm fortunate. I even have an assistant who's been following me for the past ten years. It's tough to find people with high loyalty."
"Therefore, I suggest that you treat them much better than now in the future. Even if you have to rebuke them, do it in a gentle way as much as possible."
"Yes, I know. If I had always rebuked them harshly, by now, none of them would have been willing to stay by my side."
The conversation between the two of them was pretty clear. But Chioujen failed to get the gist of what they were talking about. Chioujen didn't know what kind of project the dark green coat was working on in this place. His incomprehension only added to the curiosity that churned in his chest. When he saw that the person in the brown jacket ordered extra food, Chioujen also got ready to order another dish.
Turned out the guy ordered a black pepper turkey. Chioujen actually also wanted to taste the black pepper turkey, but he was worried that if he ordered the same food, he would attract the attention of both people. Chioujen read the names of the dishes written on the stall wall. He decided to try a dish with a slightly unique name, namely turkey fried in butter sauce. Chioujen didn't know what kind of food it was. He just wished the rabbit meat was fried more thoroughly.
Not long after, that person's order came. Chioujen's order also followed about five minutes later. While eating, Chioujen eared well. But their conversation then just revolved around things that had nothing to do with the topic Chioujen wanted to hear. They'd just been talking about what kind of turkey would make a better stew. Such a conversation might be interesting another time, but at that time, Chioujen was more interested in hearing the continuation of the project that person was working on.
While Chioujen was engrossed in eating the dish in front of him, someone walked towards them. At first, Chioujen didn't pay much attention to the person because he was focusing on the two people sitting next to him. The newcomer then sat on a bench in front of the stall. It was located right next to the stall that Chioujen came to. Chioujen turned to the stall next door. The food stall sold food that used tuna as the principal ingredient. Chioujen looked at the face of the newcomer. That person's face made Chioujen so shocked. That person was none other than the person previously wearing a luxurious suit and a black hat. At that time, he was wearing different clothes. But Chioujen clearly still remembered that it was the person he had been following for some time.
Luckily, I had changed clothes before going to this stall. If not, then there's a chance he'll recognize me!
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