Chapter 066
Nangong Iren
The police and health workers had entered all corners of the building, including the part of the building where Iren and his friends were. As far as Iren knew, everyone around them fell unconscious or at least briefly fainted. The strange incident they had just experienced had created a confusing situation. Everyone looked at each other questioningly.
Iren and his friends sat where they had previously sat while waiting for the food they ordered to be ready. The police told them to remain there. Apart from them, several other diners, who had previously fainted inside the restaurant, were also forced to spend time there. Probably almost all of the restaurant staff were also gathered there. Iren didn't know how many staff there were in the restaurant, so he couldn't confirm that everyone was in the spacious room.
In order to prevent chaos if at the same time everyone was scrambling to get out of the building, the police set the time and route for visitors to exit the building. The presence of the police seemed to be able to calm them down. Everyone patiently waited for their turn to leave the building.
Since Iren and his friends were on the fifth floor, they had to wait a long time until it was their turn to get out of there. While waiting for their turn, the police forbade them to walk to other parts of the building. The atmosphere was a little eerie but, at the same time, boring. Even though the police were already there, Iren couldn't hide the anxiety running through her heart.
Jenqyih, who also looked so bored, suddenly stood up.
"Yihge, where are you going?" Chioujen looked on in surprise.
"I feel so bored." Jenqyih sighed. "Aren't you bored?"
Tsaehorng nodded. "I'm sure we all think the same. But we have to wait patiently."
"How long should we wait?" Jenqyih frowned. "We don't have much time. We have to get home as soon as possible."
"There are things we can't control," said Iren. "We have to accept that fact."
"Then how about Shinnshiow?" Jenqyih was still standing. It seemed that he was already prepared to take a step forward. "What if the kidnappers lose their temper and take their anger out on Shinnshiow?"
"Let's just think positive, Uncle," said Tsaehorng. "Hopefully, the kidnappers can understand that we tried hard."
"If they can understand and we can talk to each other nicely, surely they won't kidnap people." Jenqyih clenched his palms. Iren knew that Jenqyih's mood must be horrible.
Whatever I am going to say, it definitely will not make his mood any better.
Jenqyih finally inched away from the table where they sat.
"Yihge, where are you going?" Iren repeated the question Chioujen had previously asked.
"I'll ask them." Jenqyih pointed at the two policemen who were guarding the entrance to the restaurant. Jenqyih moved toward them right away.
Iren acted quickly. He quickly stood up and followed Jenqyih. The distance between their table and the entrance was close enough that Iren could hear clearly when Jenqyih started asking questions. It was just as Iren expected. Jenqyih asked about the situation in the main hall, which was located on the ground floor of the building.
Yihge must have thought Dahge was there!
One of the two policemen said their colleagues on the ground floor were evacuating the victims lying in the great hall.
Good grief! What happened down there?
The policeman then explained that there had been a light explosion on the ground floor. Iren and Jenqyih looked at each other. It was clear that the look in Jenqyih's eyes had a hint of anxiety.
Besides being on the fifth floor, this restaurant is located deep inside. No wonder we didn't notice an explosion of light that had occurred down there!
When Jenqyih tried to walk out of the entrance. The two policemen stopped Jenqyih from continuing his footsteps. They said they had orders to forbid anyone from approaching the main hall where the explosions of light occurred.
Iren and Jenqyih had no other choice but to return to where they were sitting.
"I'm afraid things are a lot worse downstairs than we thought." Jenqyih looked at Tsaehorng and Chioujen, who looked at them expectantly. He then explained the information they had just heard from the two policemen.
"Did they have anything else to say?" Tsaehorng asked.
"None." Jenqyih answered quickly. "In fact, from the way the policeman answered my question, I had the impression that he was forbidden to go into detail about what had happened in the great hall down there."
"You think that implies that the incident this time was much bigger than the light explosion a few days ago?" Iren looked at Jenqyih.
"I think so." Jenqyih bit his lower lip. "They said the victims were lying in the hall. Isn't that a terrible thing?"
Iren turned his gaze towards Chioujen. Their youngest housemate was silent. But from the facial expressions he showed, Iren could tell that Chioujen was racking his brains. He turned to Iren. Apparently, he realized Iren was watching him.
"Renge, what's wrong?" Chioujen smiled. But that smile looked so forced.
"Nothing. What do you think we should do now?"
"We have to go home as soon as possible," Chioujen replied.
"What about Dahge?" Jenqyih asked in a disapproving tone.
"Since the police forbid us to wander around this building looking for him, it's useless for us to spend time here. So we'd better hurry home. Everything is uncertain. We don't know if Beaushu was injured in this incident. It's possible that he has been waiting for us in the parking lot for a long time." Chioujen explained the reason.
"Yes. We really have to get home as soon as possible. I'm sure Shyongge is currently restless because he has to be alone when he receives calls from the kidnappers," said Iren.
"He is not alone. There are the driver and Tsaehorng's assistant," said Jenqyih.
"My assistant is very agile. So he will definitely help Uncle Shimen with all his might," said Tsaehorng.
Chioujen nodded. "But there's something else we really have to do."
"What's that?" Jenqyih leaned forward.
"We have to find out which hospital the victims were taken to. So later at home, we have to negotiate with Shyongge to decide who will focus on trying to free Shiowge from the kidnappers' hands, and who will join in finding out about Beaushu's whereabouts."
"You're right! We do have to share tasks," said Iren.
A policeman, not one of the two cops guarding the entrance, stepped quickly into the diner. He said in a loud voice to all the people who were there. It seemed that it was the turn of the people in the restaurant and the nearby shops to leave the building.
Iren approached the policeman to say that their vehicle was parked underground, so they would not exit the building via the ground floor. The policeman said that they divided the group into two. Namely, the group that would leave the building through the main door on the east side of the building's ground floor and the group that would go to the underground parking lot.
At first, Iren was pessimistic that people could safely leave the building in accordance with the predetermined route. However, in reality, the evacuation effort took place in an orderly manner. Indeed, there were four or five people who tried to violate it, but the police and other visitors were quick enough to prevent it, so those people, like it or not, had to follow the instructions that had been given.
Finally, they arrived at the underground parking lot. The police car that had been parked next to their car was still there. The police on guard looked relieved to see them.
"Where's Mr. Duanmuh?" The policeman immediately opened his mouth when he didn't see Shannchyuan.
"We don't know. We were separated," said Tsaehorng.
"Can one of us go to find Mr. Duanmuh?" asked Jenqyih.
"Better not, Sir. Things are still so chaotic. I suggest you to go back home."
"But we want to know about Mr. Duanmuh's whereabouts. We are worried that he is one of the injured people," said Iren.
"Then, later I will try to find out about which hospitals receive victims from this incident," said the policeman.
"How about you?" Iren asked the policeman. "Are you all right?"
"I didn't sleep last night. So when I was resting in the car, I fell asleep. I happened to have earplugs in my ears, so I didn't hear anything at all.
This cop is very lucky. Negligence like this brings blessings!
"Alright, now we're going home." Jenqyih saluted the policeman.
"Be careful on the road, Sir!" The policeman nodded respectfully to all of them.
On the way out of the building's underground parking area, Tsaehorng's way of driving the vehicle was a bit different from before.
"Is there any problem?" Jenqyih tapped Tsaehorng on the shoulder.
"It's okay. I just have a little headache."
"You'd better drive slowly. It's already this hour. The kidnappers must have called our house long ago. So we don't need to rush." Iren tried to calm Tsaehorng.
Tsaehorng lowered the speed of the car. This time, as Iren suggested, he drove the car slowly. Actually, it was unnecessary because right after they arrived at the main street in front of the mall, they faced an annoying reality. The traffic was far from what they expected. Severe traffic jams made it very difficult for their car to move forward. The incident that just happened inside the mall was one reason for the heavy traffic in the area around the gigantic building.
Everyone in the car could only look at each other. They couldn't say anything. They patiently waited for their car to move. Fortunately, an instant later, a group of traffic police showed up to put things in order. However, too much time had been wasted. Even though the mall was close to their house, it took them more than half an hour to reach their house.
When the car stopped, they all rushed out of the car quickly. The gate was not locked. They all went straight to the house. Immediately, the front door of the house opened when Iren set foot on the front porch of the house. The people in the house seemed ready to open the door when their car arrived.
"You're taking too long," Yihshyong emerged from behind the door. His face was a mixture of both worried and relieved.
"Something extraordinary happened. I don't know whether Shyongge has heard of it or not."
"What happened?"
"There was an extraordinary incident in the mall in front of Jongharng station. On our way home, we stopped by the mall first." Iren explained briefly.
"You mean the incident at the mall? I've heard it. The police have told me briefly. After all, there's already news on television," Yihshyong replied. He pointed at the television set that was on. On the television screen was the mall building where they had stopped. He then let everyone in.
After they all entered the house, Yihshyong was still standing at the door. Jenqyih went straight to the kitchen. Chioujen ran towards the bathroom. Previously, in the car, he had said that he needed to defecate.
Hopefully not too late!
Iren and Tsaehorng quickly sat on the sofa in the living room. Jinqkang, who had been sitting in the dining room, joined Tsaehorng and Iren in the living room straight away. Yihshyong closed the front door and sat down on the couch.
"How's Juger doing?" Tsaehorng asked.
"Worse than this morning, Sir. Now he is sleeping in the bedroom. He had lunch and took medicine," answered Jinqkang.
"We haven't even had time to eat yet," Tsaehorng said.
"When you stopped by the mall, didn't you all eat there?" Jinqkang asked.
"We did buy food. But we wrapped it up to eat at home. The package that Jenqyih just brought into the kitchen was our lunch," Iren replied.
"Where's Dahge?" Yihshyong, who realized that Shannchyuan was not coming home, looked sharply at Iren.
"I don't know how to tell this." The words slipped out of Iren's lips at a plodding tempo.
"Just say it," Yihshyong said. "But briefly."
Iren nodded. "While we were ordering food, suddenly Dahge ran out of the restaurant. After that, we didn't see him again."
"What do you mean by saying you don't see him anymore? Where did he go?" Yihshyong frowned. Surprisingly, his voice was also thunderous. Yihshyong rarely showed such an attitude.
Shyongge must be really pissed off right now!
"We don't know where Uncle Duanmuh went," said Tsaehorng.
"There was a woman who was standing in front of the restaurant for a brief time. As soon as the woman left, Dahge suddenly ran out to chase the woman," said Iren.
"What woman?" Yihshyong's face is hard to describe. He looked angry and confused.
"That's the woman who a few days ago had a conversation with Dahge," said Iren.
"Hah?" Yihshyong raised his eyebrows.
"I mean, she's the woman Dahge chased into the mall three days ago," said Iren.
Yihshyong's face turned very strange. He looked at Iren with an odd look.
Shyongge must agree with me that Dahge has really gone mad!
"But he didn't run outside the building, did he?"
Iren and Tsaehorng looked at each other.
We had not considered that possibility at all.
"Ah! We didn't think that Dahge would go out. But could that be the case?" Iren said.
"Could Uncle Duanmuh possibly do such a thing?" Tsaehorng asked.
"Maybe. He's been acting weird lately," said Iren, holding back a laugh.
"I'm seriously asking about Dahge's whereabouts," Yihshyong said.
"I don't know where he is now. The worst possibility is that he was lying in a hospital bed because he was injured during the incident," said Iren.
"We have to find him," Yihshyong said.
"Earlier, Chioujen also said to discuss this with you. But now let's talk about other things first," said Iren.
"Which matter?"
"What else besides that? It's about the calls from the kidnappers!" Iren said.
Yihshyong took a deep breath. "You guys eat lunch first. I'll tell you later. I'm going to the kitchen to help Jenqyih prepare lunch." Yihshyong got up from the sofa. He walked towards the kitchen.
Iren also got up from where he was sitting. He asked Tsaehorng and Jinqkang to move to sit in the dining room.
Not long after they sat in the dining room, Chioujen came out of the bathroom. He soon joined the others. Jenqyih and Yihshyong emerged from the kitchen carrying some dishes.
"Don't worry. Even though I was sitting on these dishes, they're still delicious." Jenqyih laughed.
"Sit on the food?" Jinqkang looked surprised.
"That's a long story." Iren smiled. "We'll tell you another time."
"You guys, please have lunch. Jinqkang and I already ate," Yihshyong said.
Iren ate fast because he wanted to hear Yihshyong's story about the calls from the kidnappers as soon as possible. The dishes were actually really delicious, but right now, it wasn't Iren's priority.
"I'm done eating!" Iren said in a loud voice as soon as he swallowed the last bite in his mouth.
"I'm not going to start talking until everyone's finished eating," Yihshyong said.
Iren glanced at Jinqkang.
"Jinqkang won't say anything either until I start," Yihshyong said.
Chioujen laughed. "Don't worry Renge. We're almost done eating, too!"
"I'm not nearly done yet," Jenqyih said. "But it's fine if Shyongge wants to start talking."
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