Chapter 008
Jongharng Chioujen
A man ran quick. In his current state, additional abilities that he never had came out of his body. Under normal circumstances, he could not possibly have run so fast and so far. The heavy breathing made him feel chest pains. It felt like he had been running for a long time. He didn't know how much longer he could run before his body fell due to fatigue. Wherever he turned, that man was still chasing him from behind. This chase seemed like an eternity.
Slowly, the dark night turned into a black shadow, ready to swallow him. The person was already running and running, but it seemed as if he was only turning around on this seemingly endless path. He hoped this was just a nightmare. But it was definitely not a dream because he could not wake up at all and escape from all of these. From hours ago, he was being hunted like a wild animal that had to be eliminated.
Should I just give up? Let the man who is chasing me catch me and put me inside the cage they have prepared!
As he thought this, his legs felt even weaker. His breathing was heavy and chasing. It almost made his lungs explode. His lungs ached more and more. He lacked oxygen. At this time, he wishes he could stop running to take a deep breath. But it meant the man who was chasing him could catch up with him straight away.
I can't give up! It's crazy, but I have managed to get this far. I must endure! Must be strong to survive!
He tried to kill the negative thoughts that came to his mind.
A few dozen steps later, he turned around again. This time, he was running on a surface that felt very hard to step on. There was a lot of gravel scattered in some parts. He ran as if he was sliding on the slippery gravel. If he was not careful, he could fall on those small stones. And it happened then. A few steps later, he fell off. Fortunately, He fell on his stomach. So, he still was able to hold it with both hands so that his face did not hit the hard surface. Immediately, he managed to stand up. He felt pain because his palms and wrists were covered with scratches. But he had to bear it. He must forget the pain.
It's no big deal! I can't stop now! If I stop, it's all over!
Because of this fall, a lot of time was wasted. He felt his pursuer was getting closer.
I must find a hiding place as soon as possible!
During the chase, he never looked back. Just ran forward and stared straight ahead. Looking back would only slow him down. He did not see the pursuer at all and only wondered how far he was from the pursuer. By his estimation, the pursuer was quite far behind him. Maybe between eighty and a hundred meters behind him. As he continued to run, he looked to the right or left of the road for gaps that could become temporary hiding places. The whole day seemed to be raining quite heavily. Some parts of the surface of the ground he had been through were muddy. He hoped this situation would help him somehow. Then he saw that about a hundred meters ahead of him, there was a corner. The corner turned to the right. He thought that maybe after the turn, he could use a tiny hidden spot as a hiding place for a while.
He sped up his run to the corner with all his remaining strength. Three meters from the corner, he almost slips. Fortunately, he still could hold his position so that he did not fall. As soon as he passed the corner, he spun his attention to the right and left side of this surrounding. The hiding place should not be too far from the corner. If his pursuer had reached the corner behind when he jumped into hiding, his efforts would be in vain. About ten meters ahead, to the left, there were thick bushes. In the darkness of this night, hopefully, it would be a perfect hiding place. Fifty meters further on, there was another corner. The path turned left at the bend ahead.
Without wasting time, he jumped into the thicket to his left. He instantly fell and laid his body parallel to the ground. He hoped the man chasing him would continue to run down the path that curved in front of him. About thirty or forty seconds later, the person chasing him arrived. As expected, the chaser continued to run down the path. Right now, he had to act expeditiously. Perhaps fifty meters ahead of him, the pursuer would turn left on the track. But after that, he probably noticed that the person he was chasing was no longer running in front of him. At that point, he could turn around. He would probably walk toward where he was hiding, carefully examining the bushes on the left and right of the path in that section, one after the other.
After the pursuer turned left, fifty meters ahead, quickly the man rises and comes out of the bushes in which he was hiding. Without wasting much time, he straight away ran in the opposite direction, which was the direction he had come from earlier. About ten meters ahead of him, there was a bend. He speedily turned left in the direction he had come before. But he did not continue running along the path. About twenty meters from the corner, he threw himself desperately into the bushes on his right. This time he did not fall and lay his body down as before but kept trying to move forward.
Behind the bushes were full of thorny plants. The man bit his lip in pain as sharp thorns scratched his body. Behind the thorny plants was a fairly dense forest. There were many enormous trees. The ground was planted with grass that grew very tall. It was challenging for him to move. But he had to keep moving. At this point, the pursuer might have noticed and turned around. The darkness made it even harder to find a way through the trees. But he kept moving forward and forward. Until, at last, he couldn't take it anymore. He was exhausted and fell to the ground's surface, covered with tall grass.
After he fell, he was still trying to crawl. There was a gigantic tree in front of him. It was behind the tall grass. At once, he crawled there quickly. He wanted to rest for a while by leaning his body against that immense tree. Finally, he reached the tree and sat, leaning his fatigue body to the tree in a flash. He tried to catch his breath. Trying not to make any sound, hoping that the pursuer wouldn't catch up with him to the place.
He sat leaning against the tree. He was thirsty and hungry. Wanted to eat something. But there was nothing to eat or drink. Perhaps he should be patient and wait until dawn to move around, searching for things to drink or eat. His hand touched the ground. Feeling wet and a little sticky. Moving his right hand back, he touched the immense tree trunk he was leaning on. His fingertips felt a slightly rough texture of the tree trunk. But suddenly, he felt there was an empty part. Immediately, he groped the tree trunk even deeper.
It turned out there was a hole at the bottom of the tree trunk. The spot was not clearly visible because the tall grass covered it. He tried to turn his body around so that he could feel accurate. Now he was facing on the surface of the tree trunk that he had just leaned on. The trunk of this tree was enormous. It's clear to his eyes. The diameter was probably over two meters. To the left of where he used to lean, there was a hole at the bottom. He tried to feel the gap with his fingers. The hole was not too big, but he thought it should be big enough for him if he dared to get inside. Suddenly, a small animal ran out of the hole. The animal ran outside and immediately disappeared behind the tall grass. From its voice, it seemed like a rodent.
If there are rats inside, it means there are no snakes in that hole!
Suddenly, he felt drops of water falling from above, making his face wet. The drops of water became more and more. Even though he took shelter under the gigantic tree, he would still get caught in the rain because the treetop was so high.
Ah, it's raining again! I have no choice but to find a better shelter!
The man crawled and bowed to see if he could get in there. After trying a few times, he thought he could fit inside the hole. Slowly, he tried to get himself into the hole. He knew maybe this was a stupid thing to do. What if he gets stuck inside? No one could help him. If he had screamed, the pursuer would have been there quickly and caught him. But he didn't care anymore. He crawled on and slowly pushed himself into the hole.
Eventually, he made himself inside. It turned out that the inside of the hole was quite spacious. The hollow in the enormous tree was more than enough to accommodate a grown man. Of course, he had to curl up because it wasn't high enough. Still, it was much better. It's better than being caught outside in the rain. Or even it's better than being seen by the person who had been chasing him.
Outside was pouring. Maybe the pursuer had given up by then and was no longer out. But the man still had to wait until dawn. Walking through the dense forest in the middle of the night in such bad weather was most likely more dangerous. Especially when he was hungry, thirsty, tired, and injured. A sane person would not do that.
Slowly but surely, his body began to adjust. All the time he had been running has made him fatigued. He needed rest. Now, in a much more relaxed situation like this, his body's alarm went back to normal as usual. Fatigue made him sleepy. Within minutes, he had fallen asleep.
"Excuse me, Sir! That's my book."
Jongharng Chioujen suddenly heard a voice from the front. He put down the novel he had just been reading. In front of him was a woman who was about thirty years old. She pointed to the book Chioujen was reading.
"Oh, sorry," Chioujen said. "I found this book lying on the bench. I don't know whose book this is. So I read it for a while. I was waiting for the book's owner to come back to this place to pick up this book."
The woman smiled. Then she sat down on the bench right next to Chioujen. Chioujen then handed the novel to the woman.
"Thank you, Sir!" the woman said.
"You are welcome," Chioujen said. "What is a novel about, anyway? I only had time to read chapter one."
"I haven't finished reading it either, Sir! Just yesterday I got this novel. So I've only read it only up to chapter three. So far I can't say anything about the entire content of the novel. But people who have finished reading this novel said that this novel is a mix of various genres. So it's very difficult to classify it into a particular genre."
When he picked up the book and then tried to read it, Chioujen did not pay attention to the author's name and the novel's title. Only then did Chioujen try to take a look at the author's name and the title of the book. It turned out that the title of the novel was The Empty Nest, while the author's name was Liowmuh Ellisan. It was written on the cover of the book.
"I rarely read novels. So I don't know much about novelists. Is this person one of the most famous writers?"
"I don't know either, Sir! I hardly ever read novels. Yesterday, my friend gave me this novel as a birthday gift."
Chioujen nodded. "By the way, why did you leave this bench earlier?"
"Because it's rush hour, so the train is full of passengers coming home from work. So I try to read this novel here while waiting for time to pass until the train becomes quieter. Maybe I'll just be home a little later. But I'd rather come home a little late than be tormented on the way home. Standing crammed into public transportation is very tiring for me."
So true! I also agree with this opinion!
Suddenly I saw someone I seemed to know. He was standing there." The woman pointed to a tavern about thirty meters in front of them.
Chioujen's eyes were still good, so he could still clearly see the place she was pointing at.
Ah! It looks like the food sold there is very delicious. I suddenly became starving.
After taking a breath, the woman continued her speech. "I called him. Even though I screamed with all my might, but maybe because the distance between us was too far, so he didn't hear. The person then moved away from that place, so I ran to chase him there." The woman pointed to a shop about a hundred meters from the bench where the two of them were sitting.
This time, the place the woman pointed at was quite far away. Chioujen could still see it, but he couldn't clearly see what the shop was selling.
This woman is amazing if she can still see clearly at such a long distance!
"After losing track of that person, I tried to find him, but he was gone. A few minutes later, I realized I had left this novel on this bench. If it were to be lost, of course I would feel bad for my friend. Next year he may be reluctant to give me another birthday present."
Although sometimes Chioujen thought of other things when he was talking to someone, he always paid close attention to all the words of the person he was talking to. Just like that time, Chioujen listened to the woman's explanation seriously. He can understand the guilt feeling when he loses an item that is a gift from someone else.
The woman then looked right into Chioujen's face. It made Chioujen feel a little embarrassed.
"As I explained earlier. Now is rush hour. The train is very crowded with passengers. I wait until the train is not too full," said the woman. "Are you also like me, waiting until the train is not too crowded?"
Ah! This woman really likes to invite other people to chat. Could it be that the man was deliberately pretending not to hear so he wouldn't have to talk to this woman!
"Oh, no. I'm going to the building around here. But I promised to get there at night. So now I'm waiting here to waste some time."
"You didn't bring an umbrella?" The woman turned the conversation to other things.
I have to quickly find a way to get out of here as soon as possible!
"The weather forecast says it will only rain during the day. It will be sunny tonight."
"But Sir! It's been raining for a few days suddenly around dusk. After that, the rain stopped. Later in the evening, it rained again. If I were you, I would go to that building right now. Even if after getting there you feel it's still too early, that's not a problem. You can rest in the building. I think it's much better than getting soaked in the rain in the middle of the road."
Chioujen thought for a moment. He felt that what she said made sense.
Thank You! It's a good reason to get out of here right away.
"Ah, then I'll just go now. Thank you," said Chioujen.
"You are welcome, sir!"
After saying that, Chioujen got up and walked out of the station complex. He walked hurriedly out of the subway station door. It is now dark. The woman's words turned out to be reasonable. It looks like it was going to rain again, like a few hours ago. The intersection in front of the station is also very quiet tonight. As far as Chioujen recalled, the situation at this intersection was rather quiet at sunset, but it usually got a bit crowded again towards evening. At the moment, only one or two vehicles were passing by. Almost no people were walking.
Among the six of them, Chioujen was the first to migrate to this city. Unlike the other five people in their group. Chioujen did not intend to venture into faraway places. Chioujen was born and passed childhood in the same city as Shannchyuan. He had known Shannchyuan since he was a student in elementary school. At that time, Chioujen was a friend of Ilaang, who was the son of Shannchyuan's third cousin, on his maternal side, named Chauryang.
Chioujen often comes to play at Ilaang's house, not far from his house. Shannchyuan also frequently visited Ilaang's place. When it happened that the two of them were there, they often got involved in discussions on various topics. Unlike Ilaang, who didn't really enjoy reading books, Chioujen really liked to read anything, making it suitable to be friends with Shannchyuan. Over time, Chioujen was even closer to Shannchyuan than to Ilaang, even though Chioujen's age was far below Shannchyuan.
When Chioujen was in Junior High School, Chioujen's father, who worked as a civil servant, was transferred to a very remote city. He served there until his retirement. Therefore Chioujen finished school and grew up in that faraway city. He never returned to his hometown again.
Three years ago, Chioujen moved to this city. There was his friend who, for some reason, had to take a sabbatical. Chioujen replaced his friend and worked at the company for one year. After that, because his friend was active again, Chioujen looked for another job in this city. One year of living in this city made Chioujen feel at home, so he decided to stay. Incidentally, at the same time, there was a new company that was founded. Chioujen immediately applied to work there.
One year later, Chioujen coincidentally meets Shannchyuan, who was visiting this city. When Shannchyuan and the rest of his friends decided to try settling in, Chioujen gave them advice on places they could choose to stay. After getting a house, Shannchyuan instead invited Chioujen to live with them. Incidentally, Chioujen is also looking for a new place to live, closer to his new office. So without much consideration, Chioujen joined and lived with Shannchyuan and his friends.
Chioujen only stayed with them for about six months. The company Chioujen works for has made tremendous progress. Then they will also open a new branch in Yuehjao, a large city far to the north. The company sent Chioujen to work at the new branch.
Chioujen had been working for half a year in Yuehjao. This morning he left for this city because he had an important business. Actually, he really had to return to this city because the company determined to pull him back to the head office based in this city. But the initial plan was not to come back here until next week. There was an emergency that forced him to go home early.
Two days ago, he received a strange package from his friend, Songfei. Maybe it was not quite right to say that he just received the package two days ago because the package actually arrived a week ago. Songfei sent it to the office's address where Chioujen worked in Yuehjao.
When the package arrived, Chioujen was not in Yuehjao City because two weeks ago, Chioujen went to Yangau, a city located about two hundred kilometers from Yuehjao. As the company he worked for had made tremendous progress in a short period of time, they would once again open a new branch, namely in Yangau. Chioujen was one of five employees sent by the company to Yangau to survey the location of their branch office. Therefore, Chioujen only received the package after returning to Yuehjao two days ago.
The contents of the package were bizarre. In the letter attached to the package, Songfei wrote he was investigating what could be a criminal offense. Songfei said the criminals were likely aware that they were being investigated. Even though he was worried about his safety, Songfei was still determined to investigate the matter. He asked Chioujen to retrieve some items stored in a unit on the tenth floor of a building on the border of this city. The unit in that building was rented by Songfei to store several items related to the club he managed, namely the detective and mystery club.
Songfei then asked Chioujen to keep the items for an undetermined period. The young man also wrote that Chioujen would not tell anyone about it. Songfei did not explain in detail what crimes he was investigating. Nor did it say why Chioujen shouldn't tell anyone. That was also one of the reasons why Chioujen had intended to come at night. By entering the building at night, he will only meet the night watchman.533Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWKhmCc4NT
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