Chapter 040
Jongharng Chioujen
Chioujen was still sleepy. After returning from the underground passage, he went straight to his room at a modest inn in the mall under the station. He couldn't sleep too long. He had so many things to do. Therefore, now he was awake. After sitting pensively on the bed for about five minutes, he finally got up from the mattress that he felt so comfortable. He went straight to the bathroom. Even though he was lazy to take a bath, he had to fight that feeling of laziness with all his might. He had to take a shower as soon as possible.
He had no intention of checking out from the inn that day. Later, at ten o'clock at night, he had to go home. So at least he still had to rent the room until tonight. Now, he had to go to do some investigation. The heavy backpack, which he brought home from another city, would stay in his room for a while. Chioujen believed that the place was safe.
After getting dressed neatly, Chioujen stepped out of his room. He walked briskly towards the platform at the subway station. He was going to the train station he visited last night. Yesterday, Chioujen left his clothes in one locker at the station as he followed the tall man in the expensive suit. The clothes he left were not expensive, but he felt uncomfortable if he had to throw them away. After all, Chioujen felt bad if he just left the clothes there. Such a thing would add to the work that the station staff had to complete.
After the time limit for storing goods has passed, the locker manager will remove the items from the locker. They would then put the things into a warehouse at the station. If no one came to pick up the items within three months after that, they would mark the items as unowned. Once every six months, all subway stations would send the goods left by their owners to the central station. There, the things were recorded carefully and placed in a giant warehouse. After two years have passed and no one has claimed, the item would be auctioned off. They would use the money from the auction as an additional fee for the locker maintenance.
On the train car, Chioujen still felt a little sleepy. Suddenly, he remembered something. He forgot to eat breakfast! Chioujen sighed. Later, as soon as he stopped at the destination station, he would look for a food stall to fill his stomach right away. Although traveling on an empty stomach was really uncomfortable, he had to endure it until he reached his destination.
Why did I forget? This kind of thing will not happen if I am traveling together with Beaushu or the others.
The atmosphere on the train was not too crowded. Therefore, Chioujen still got a seat. The whole way, he was nodding off. He had to work hard to hold back the drowsiness so he wouldn't fall asleep. If he fell asleep and missed the destination station, Chioujen would have to turn around. And that would be quite a hassle. In addition to being time-consuming, energy would also be wasted.
After arriving at the destination station, he rushed to the luggage storage locker to get his clothes before stopping at the stall to enjoy breakfast. He ate quickly because he wanted to hurry to his next destination, Dafeisy Tower, which was very far away. If he left late, he might not get there after two o'clock in the afternoon. Yet, at the latest, he must return from there at sunset so that he could reach the house on time that he promised, which was ten o'clock in the evening.
"Good afternoon Mr. Jongharng!"
Chioujen stopped walking. Someone greeted him. He turned his head to the right, in the direction the voice came from. Chioujen saw two well-dressed men. They smiled as Chioujen looked at them.
"Good afternoon!" Chioujen had never seen the two of them.
"Are you Mr. Jongharng Chioujen?" asked one man. He was a man in his mid-forties. Above his lips grew a thin mustache.
Chioujen nodded. "Right! May I know who I'm dealing with?"
"My name is Tzuooren Tzyymoh. " The man with the thin mustache said his name. "This friend of mine is named Sykow Yeushiuan."
"Can we talk for a minute?" The other person, named Sykow Yeushiuan, bowed respectfully. He was older than the person who claimed to be named Tzuooren Tzyymoh. Chioujen guessed that the person's age was in their early fifties. His face was neatly shaved. He didn't have a mustache, let alone a beard.
Chioujen realized that what they were about to say must be something important. But he was worried that the conversation would be time-consuming. He wanted to get to Dafeisy Tower as soon as possible.
"It won't take long." Tzuooren's face looked pitiful. Looked like he was tired.
"Okay!" Chioujen smiled politely. "Where should we talk?"
"Don't you want to get out of this station?" asked Tzuooren.
"Indeed." Chioujen nodded. "I have to go somewhere else. But if I take the train from here, it will take me a very long time to get there. So I'll take another route."
The man named Sykow nodded. "Not far from the station entrance, there's a pretty big restaurant. The place is quite comfortable. We'll talk there."
The three of them walked towards the exit. The steps of the two of them were so fast. It reminded Chioujen of Shannchyuan and Yihshyong. Fortunately, Chioujen's stature was not short, so his footsteps were long. Chioujen had no trouble keeping up with the two people's steps.
The sun's rays dazzled Chioujen. Reflexively, he raised his hand to cover the top of his face. He continued to follow the two of them. Just as one of the two said. The place they proposed turned out to be very close to the entrance and exit of the subway station. Maybe not even fifty meters away.
It seems they are familiar with the situation in this place!
"What would you like to discuss with me?" Chioujen looked at the two of them as they sat inside the diner.
"You must be surprised that suddenly someone greeted you in the crowd at the station down there." Sykow once again bowed respectfully to Chioujen.
Chioujen chuckled. "The last few days, I've had a lot of strange things going on. So I guess I'm not surprised anymore when it comes to new surprises."
The waiter came to greet them. Chioujen just finished eating. It was natural that he didn't want to fill his stomach again for a while. The two people who took Chioujen there also had no intention of eating. The three of them just ordered drinks only.
The man with the thin mustache took out a business card. He gave the business card to Chioujen. It clearly stated that person's job.
"Ah! So, both of you are freelance journalists?"
The two of them nodded. The man whose face was shaved neatly also reached into his pocket. He handed a business card to Chioujen.
Chioujen smiled at the person's business card. The shape was not common, namely a square. "Nice to meet you both."
Do they want to interview me? About what?
"There are a few things we'd like to ask you." The tone of the man with the thin mustache turned much more serious. "About what happened to you the other day."
"What do you mean?" Chioujen still didn't understand what that person was going to talk about.
"A hostage-taking incident at a restaurant in Yangau." The person in his early fifties leaned forward.
About the incident in Yangau? I haven't seen it with my own eyes! There's nothing I can tell them.
"Oh! You're asking about what happened? I didn't know the news got here. People here rarely know anything about what happened in Yangau."
"We were also in Yangau, Sir, when the incident happened."
So they are from Yangau? But it seems they already know the ins and outs of this area?
Chioujen patted his forehead. "You are barking on the wrong tree. I was not at the restaurant when the criminals took the hostage."
One day before returning to Yuehjao, Chioujen and four employees assigned by their company to conduct a site survey decided to celebrate their success by having lunch at a well-known restaurant in Yangau. Just as they were about to start their meal, one waiter approached them. The waiter said that there was a phone call for them. It turned out to be a phone call from someone they had just met. Indeed, they had previously told that man that they were going to have lunch at that very famous restaurant.
There was a slight problem related to the location they were planning as a place for their company to open a new branch office. The person authorized to settle the matter was not Chioujen, but one of Chioujen's four colleagues. That person didn't want to go alone to solve the problem. He asked Chioujen to accompany him. Since they had to deal with it soon, they had to hurry. Chioujen had to put off his dream of tasting the delicious dishes at the well-known restaurant.
About an hour after Chioujen and a friend had left the diner, there was a hostage-taking there. Chioujen's three co-workers who were still eating there became the ones who were held hostage by the gang of criminals who stormed the restaurant. The hostage-taking did not last long. In just a few hours, the hostages were free. They were all directly sent to the police hospital in Yangau.
"We know, Sir." The man with the thin mustache nodded. "What we want to ask is not directly related to the hostage incident."
"Wait a moment!" Chioujen raised his hand. "You guys came all the way from Yangau just to meet me here?"
"We are not from Yangau but from Yuehjao. We went to Yangau because we wanted to investigate something," said Sykow.
Uh? Just like me, they also work in Yuehjao?
"So the two of you went to Yangau to hunt for some news?"
"That's right, Sir!" Sykow nodded. "There is something we are investigating. The clues we got led us to go to the city of Yangau. However, the following clues forced us to go to this city."
"Did you guys come all the way here specifically to look for me?"
Sykow smiled. "No, Sir! At the station, we saw you by chance. We have met you before, so we instantly recognized you. You also have something to do with the things we are investigating. So, we want to talk to you. It was a coincidence. Before, we didn't know how to contact you."
"Where have we met before? Sorry, I really don't remember."
"It might not be right to say that we've met before," said Tzuooren. "Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we have seen you before, but perhaps you did not notice our presence. Therefore, we understand you do not recognize us."
"When? Where?"
"At the police hospital. At that time, the hostages had been successfully evacuated to the hospital. Many people came to the hospital to look for their friends or family who were victims. You came there to visit your friends who had been hostages. On that occasion, you gave information to the police regarding things you had witnessed at the restaurant before the incident happened."
Oh! There were a lot of people there. I can't possibly remember the faces of everyone present in that place!
"Ah! You two were there."
"That's right, Sir! When the police questioned you, we sat right behind you. So we heard everything clearly."
"Sorry, I didn't recognize you."
"It's okay, Sir. We know that you must have focused on your friends at that moment. So you must not have had time to pay attention to other things." The man with the thin mustache smiled.
The two of them were always smiling. These two did not look like the people from Yuehjao.
The waiter came back with the drinks they ordered. Chioujen and the two promptly took a sip of the drinks. The freshness of the liquid that entered Chioujen's throat made him even more excited.
"What if you just tell it chronologically? That will definitely make things clearer," Chioujen said.
"Okay, Sir!" The person who was in his mid-forties nodded with a powerful gesture. "The hostage-taking incident was a major event. A lot of media and freelance journalists are putting their all into investigating it. But as we have stated before, that is not what we are investigating. We are investigating a woman who was at the time of the incident, was also there."
"That woman also became one hostage?"
"True, Sir. But they were not among those who were later released."
Chioujen recalled that in that event, the hostages managed to escape. They also took several people hostage. Chioujen didn't know how things would go because the next day, he had to return to Yuehjao.
"Until now, the police could not catch the criminals. The people they took away have not been found either," said the man with the thin mustache.
So they are currently investigating the person who was kidnapped. So what does that have to do with me?
Tzuooren, the man with the thin mustache, seemed to be able to read Chioujen's mind. "Before the hostage-taking incident, you talked to that woman."
"Eh? I spoke to the woman? You mean, I know the woman?"
"We don't know, Sir! In fact, now we want to ask you about it."
"I don't understand what you mean. Please tell me more."
"Shortly after you left the restaurant, you and one of your friends talked to the woman and her two friends."
"Two friends? So, there are three of them?"
"That's right, Sir! But the person we are investigating is the woman. Not the two men who came with her."
Chioujen recalled the things that happened that afternoon. "When we came out of the restaurant, we did meet three people. Do you mean the woman in the wide hat?"
"Yes, Sir."
The woman's hat was so wide that it covered part of her face. I couldn't see the woman's face clearly. How could these two be sure that the woman was the person they were looking for?
"We didn't know the woman. Neither did we know the two men who were with her. We spoke to her because the woman had spoken to us first."
"What did the woman say to you?" Sykow's face was so serious.
"Wait a minute!" Chioujen straightened his back. "How do you know we were talking to the woman? It happened outside the restaurant. In fact, the exact location was forty or fifty meters from the restaurant entrance. I didn't even know that the woman and her two friends were heading towards the restaurant."
"There is a CCTV camera installed in front of the building where the woman was talking to you, Sir. The camera did not capture what was happening in front of the restaurant but recorded the people passing by. Since a month ago, we have been tracking the woman. We have information that the woman was seen in the area near the restaurant. We have questioned several people who had been hostages. They told us that the woman and her two friends were among those who were taken away by the criminals who came to storm the restaurant."
Chioujen nodded. "The woman said nothing important. She just asked where we were from. My friend and I did come from far away from here. My friend and I then explained where we came from."
"Why did the woman ask that?" Tzuooren's face was so curious.
"I don't know. First, she greeted us. Then, all of a sudden, she was asking questions like that. We didn't have any prejudice. So we just answered honestly."
"You can't think of a reason why people you don't know suddenly ask where you're from?" Tzuooren was still urging Chioujen.
"At the time, I thought the woman was just curious when she heard my strange accent. She heard when I spoke to my co-workers."
The two of them looked at each other.
"Did the woman say any more words?" Sykow widened his eyes.
"Nothing. That's all she asked."
"What about the two people accompanying the woman?" asked Sykow.
"They were just making small talk. Warmly, they said welcome to us. They said there were many interesting places for us to visit in the city."
The two of them looked at each other again. Chioujen didn't know whether they believed it or not with the things he had just revealed.
"Okay, Sir. Thank you for the information you gave. Later, if you remember other things, you can contact us." Sykow said.
"How can I contact you, gentlemen? Where are you two staying?"
"We always move, Sir. Every night we stay in a different place," said Tzuooren. "But you can call the phone number listed on the business card we gave you."
Chioujen re-examined the two business cards. There was something he hadn't noticed. "Eh, this is the Yuehjao area's phone number. Now, both of you are in this city."
"We call there every day. So if you leave a message to the person who answers the phone, we'll know in a few hours."
Chioujen nodded. He wasn't sure there was anything else he could say. But nothing was certain. Maybe both of them were right. Perhaps tomorrow Chioujen will remember something.
"Once again, thank you, Sir," said Tzuooren.
Chioujen smiled. "You are welcome, Sir." He quickly reached into his pants pocket and took out his wallet.
"Don't bother, sir," said the man with the thin mustache. "This time, we will pay for everything."
"You don't have to." Chioujen laughed. "I'll pay for everything."
"This is no small talk, sir," Sykow said. "We brought you here. So we have to pay for everything."
Chioujen didn't want to argue any further. He had to hurry. "Okay! I have to go now. Thank you very much."
Chioujen got up from the chair. The two of them also stood up in a flash. Chioujen bowed respectfully to them. After taking two steps back, he instantly turned around and walked out of the diner.
Just as he stepped outside the building, Chioujen waved his hand to stop a taxi. He had wasted enough time. He intended to take a cab to the subway station, where there was a subway that went directly to the station near Dafeisy Tower.
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