Chapter 119
Dongfang Jenqyih
Quickly, Jenqyih and Yihshyong put on the life jackets. After releasing the rope that tied the canoe to the pole on the edge of the lake, the two of them put the bags they were carrying into the canoe. Finally, they both climbed into the canoe. The canoe could carry five people. Jenqyih and Yihshyong immediately put their bottoms on the canoe. Each sat in the first and last seats. They put the big bag they were carrying in the middle of the canoe.
"Now help us push the canoe," said Yihshyong.
The driver pushed the canoe towards the middle of the lake. Yihshyong and Jenqyih then started rowing. They were not used to rowing, so it was very difficult for the canoe to move forward. But finally they could do it. Gradually, they reached the middle of the lake.
"Shyongge, the anchor, please." Jenqyih reminded Yihshyong.
Yihshyong nodded. With alacrity, he threw the anchor into the lake. The lake was not so deep, maybe just a few meters. But still there was concern in Jenqyih's mind. He was afraid that when the anchor was thrown into the lake, the canoe would lose its balance. As he said, Jenqyih couldn't swim. The lake water that morning was freezing. In such a tired and sleepy state, soaking in cold water was not a pleasant event.
Fortunately, Jenqyih's worries turned out to be unfounded. The canoe remained stable.
"Now what? What else do they want us to do?"
"I don't know." Yihshyong shook his head with a movement that in Jenqyih's eyes looked like the movement of someone who was not sure. "The instructions end here."
"Let's look here. There may be other things."
Jenqyih looked around at him. There weren't many hidden places there. He reached under the board on which he sat. His hand felt a box there. He took the box out and placed it on his lap.
"Trying to open the box is a good idea," said Yihshyong.
"This box is locked. Maybe the key was to open this box."
Yihshyong reached into his pocket. He took out the key that Jenqyih had found, along with the letter in the drunken man's bag. In a flash, he held out the key to Jenqyih.
The distance between them was more than one and a half meters. Jenqyih had to take pains to retrieve the key. He did not dare to move too freely for fear that the canoe would become unbalanced and the craft could capsize on the lake.
After the key was in his hand, Jenqyih immediately opened the box. It contained a letter. He took out a letter from the box and showed it to Yihshyong.
"You read the letter." Yihshyong's face looked tired as he said that.
Jenqyih read the letter right away.
"The kidnapper asked us to shoot the gun three times in the air!"
"What gun?" Yihshyong's face changed hearing Jenqyih's words.
"This gun!" Jenqyih took out a flare gun from the box.
"After firing the gun, what should we do then?" Yihshyong frowned.
"There will be a raft approaching us, and then we will transfer this bag onto the raft."
"Are there any other items inside the box?"
"Two handcuffs. But no key."
"What are the handcuffs for?"
"To tie us to this oar hook."
"When should we handcuff ourselves?"
"Later, after finishing putting this big bag on the raft."
"Don't you think it's dangerous? What if this canoe loses balance and then capsizes? We could drown."
"We're wearing life jackets."
"But if we are handcuffed to this canoe, then we won't be able to go anywhere. If this canoe sinks, then we will sink too."
"I don't think we have any other choice."
Yihshyong sighed. "You're right. We've come this far. Like it or not, we have to continue all that.
"Now I give you a cuff." Jenqyih took out a handcuff from the box and handed it to Yihshyong.
"When we get home, our hands and feet will definitely feel sore," said Yihshyong. Once the handcuffs were in his hands, he immediately hooked one side of the handcuffs onto the oar hooks in the canoe.
Jenqyih also did the same thing. After that, Jenqyih took out three bullets from the box. He loaded one bullet into the flare gun.
"You ready ya! I will start shooting this flare gun." Jenqyih was ready. He was already gripping the orange pistol tightly.
"Wait a minute! Have you ever fired a flare gun before?"
Jenqyih shook his head. "Of course I haven't. But I know how to use it. I've read about how it works. Also, I've seen people shoot it."
"You mean, seen on television?"
"That's right. I've only seen it on television. But I've seen it many times. So it's safe to say that I've learned it."
"Reading and seeing how something is done is definitely not the same as learning it."
"Reading and seeing is the definition of learning."
"You're right, if you mean the theory. But for a skill, it takes practice and enough practice."
"Okay! Shyongge, I'll tell you a secret."
"What secret?"
"Decades ago, I learned how to shoot. I used to practice shooting with both long-barreled and short-barreled firearms."
"But they were real guns. It's a flare gun. Not the same things."
"Shooting with a real gun is harder than shooting with a flare gun."
"Okay. But all that was long ago. Do you really remember?"
"Of course I still remember. Things like that aren't easy to forget. So what? Did Shyongge want to shoot this gun?"
Yihshyong thought for a while. But then he shook his head. "You do it."
"All right! I'll count to three!"
"Wait a minute. In that letter, did the kidnappers also say when they would release Shinnshiow?"
"They wrote that if all goes well, as soon as they confirm we are delivering the genuine items, then they will release Shinnshiow with no delay."
"Which means it will take time. The is no such thing as no delay. Maybe a few more hours before they release Shinnshiow."
"That's if they manage to get away with this stuff and then get away from here."
"I hope the trick they've prepared won't disappoint."
"We all hope that all these problems will be over quickly. Now I'm starting to count!"
"Eh! Wait a minute! I'll cover my ears."
"Ah! I almost forgot. There are other things in this box." Jenqyih took two pairs of earplugs from the box. He held out a pair of earplugs towards Yihshyong.
"I had asked you!" Yihshyong glared at Jenqyih. With difficulty, he reached out to grab the earplugs. After successfully getting it, Yihshyong immediately put the pair of earplugs into both of his ears.
Jenqyih just laughed. He pointed the gun straight into the sky. He looked down and closed his eyes.
"One, two, three!"
Bang!
Even though he was wearing earplugs, he could still hear the sound of explosions coming from the gun. The sound was not loud. Much like the sound of a silenced gun. The difference was that the sound of the flare gun was much weaker.
Jenqyih opened his eyes. He looked around him. Yihshyong's face looked slightly pale. Either because he was tired and sleepy or for other reasons. Yihshyong looked around them. He pointed towards the edge of the lake where they had been.
Jenqyih turned his head back to look in the direction Yihshyong was pointing. He was surprised because there were people who suddenly appeared along the edge of the lake. He then looked towards the edge of the lake on the other side. There, also already started a lot of people. Most likely, the people that filled both shores of the lake were the police who had previously been hiding.
Why do they even appear like that? Wouldn't this make the kidnappers even more hesitant?
Jenqyih gave a signal to Yihshyong. The sign that he will fire the second bullet. That time, even though Jenqyih was looking down when he fired the gun, he didn't close his eyes.
"One, two, three!"
Bang!
Jenqyih felt shooting a flare gun like that was quite fun. Opportunities like that were very rare for him to get.
Yihshyong seemed calmer than he had been after the first shot. He even looked like he was smiling.
Maybe he also enjoys moments like this a little. This is really great material for us to write about in our memoirs.
Jenqyih beckoned again. He was ready to fire the last bullet.
"One, two, three!"
Bang!
This time, Jenqyih did not close his eyes. Also, didn't bend over. He shot while looking up at the sky.
Jenqyih removed the earplugs from his ears. Yihshyong imitated what Jenqyih did. After that, the two of them fell silent as they waited for what would happen next.
There were more and more policemen on both sides of the lake. But so far, they have only stood by. Do absolutely nothing.
"Is this really the police plan?" Jenqyih looked at the people on both sides of the lake.
Yihshyong sighed. "Of course not. At least, earlier at the police station, they never said they would act like this."
"The police have already appeared like this. Do you think the criminals still dare to appear?" Jenqyih shouted while half grunting.
"If the thugs have been around here since earlier, I don't think there's any reason for them not to show up," Yihshyong said.
"Given this kind of behavior, I suspect that all the nearby roads have been blocked off." Jenqyih was really worried. "Do you think it's possible that the kidnappers will decide not to show up, and delay again as before?"
"I don't think they will delay any longer this time. As we calculated, they must have devised a trick to escape. So I have no doubt that they will show up."
As soon as Yihshyong finished speaking, from the east there was an object moving rapidly toward the canoe they were in.
"What is that?" Yihshyong's eyes widened.
"I think that's the raft they meant."
"No one is above it."
"Maybe the raft was moved by remote control."
"It doesn't look like a raft."
Indeed, the raft was more like a box without a lid. It's not really that similar either, because the shape of the base of the raft wasn't square or rectangular at all. But the shape of a regular hexagon.
While continuing to stare at the object, Jenqyih said, "perhaps a modern raft looks like that. We've never researched the different forms of rafts."
Once the raft was close enough, Jenqyih could hear a slow hum. The sound of the raft engine was very smooth. In an instant, the raft had stopped in front of them. Yihshyong and Jenqyih immediately lifted the bag they were carrying and transferred it to the raft. When they were done, the raft moved away from the canoe a little. Unlike before, the raft didn't make any sound at all. The raft then stopped at a distance of about three meters from the canoe.
"I think we should take the next step," Yihshyong said.
They both then handcuffed their hands. In such a state tied to the canoe, they could go nowhere at all.
Straightway, Jenqyih's eyes turned back to the strange raft. Then there was a layer that rose out from the six sides of the raft. The layer extended horizontally so that it completely covered the raft. Now the raft looked exactly like a box with a regular hexagonal base.
"What technology is this?" Yihshyong shouted. His eyes did not blink looking at the raft.
"I think this is one of the secret technologies that came from the ancient ship that brought our ancestors to this new world," said Jenqyih. "To get an object like this, it's definitely not easy. No wonder they delayed the delivery of this ransom so many times."
"If they used top secret technology that must cost a fortune like this, then the values of the ransom we just provided must be enormous."
Suddenly, there was a flash of light in the sky. Jenqyih also heard a slow popping sound. The flash of light was coming from somewhere on the other side. Although he couldn't say for sure where the source of the flash was, Jenqyih estimated it was at least six hundred meters from their canoe.
"What is it?" Yihshyong asked. He didn't see the flash because it was happening behind him.
"Across this lake, behind you. I think someone launched a rocket fire over there!"
Yihshyong looked confused. "What rockets? Early in the morning? What are they celebrating?" He then looked back to see more clearly.
The flash of light occurred once again.
"You're right! It's a rocket firecracker. What freak starts his day with a firecracker?" Yihshyong shouted while laughing.
Playing firecrackers before sunrise like this, maybe is not a bad idea. Someday, if we have passed all these difficulties, maybe we should also try it.
They then heard a very low humming sound. Jenqyih turned to the raft, which was still about three meters away from them. From the sound, the raft looked like it was about to start leaving the place. And it turned out to be true. Slowly, the raft began to move. The policemen on both sides then started to follow the raft. But so far, they were only moving on the side of the lake. No one dared to enter the lake.
"Let's see how the kidnappers can get to the things we have provided. This place is heavily guarded. I am sure that the police are currently guarding both ends of the lake," said Yihshyong.
"Wouldn't Shyongge prefer it if the crooks got their hands on the stuff?" Jenqyih asked. "So after that, they will immediately release Shinnshiow."
"You're right. Precisely that. Now I want to see what method the kidnappers will use to escape from here?"
Jenqyih's eyes turned back to the raft. At that time, the raft was about a hundred meters away from them. Then the raft stopped. After about three seconds, the raft started going up.
"The raft is floating in the air!" Yihshyong shouted.
The raft was now hovering about a meter above the surface of the lake water. For a few seconds, it stayed there. Jenqyih turned to both sides of the lake. The police looked panicked. Jenqyih realized they didn't know what to do either.
Jenqyih felt that the appearance of the police was also a fatal mistake. They shouldn't need to show up like that. Some of the transmitters they put in the bag could already represent the presence of the police. All they had to do was just follow the signals emitted by the device.
Even if it turned out that the tool didn't work, they didn't have to do any weird stuff. They just have to wait until someone came to collect the goods on the raft. After that, only then did they secretly follow that person. However, the rice had become mush. What had happened could not be changed. Jenqyih could only hope that such a fatal mistake would not threaten Shinnshiow's safety.
About fifteen seconds later, the raft was drifting higher and higher.
"Really advanced technology! The raft can fly," said Yihshyong.
"Isn't that a drone? So nothing new at all."
Yihshyong laughed. "But so far I've never seen a drone that, after walking on water, then flies. Besides, the drone was able to close like that. It looks like the material drones are made of isn't the material we've seen so often."
"Yes, it means that this is a super-sophisticated drone," said Jenqyih.
At that time, the object was already flying very high. At least, the drone was already about a hundred meters above the ground. The drone stopped again.
"After walking a few tens of meters, it looks like it should stop for a moment," said Yihshyong. "Perhaps this is the thing's weakness."
After about fifteen seconds, it shot away eastward. It flew quickly away from them.
Jenqyih and Yihshyong stared at the object until it disappeared from their sight.
Yihshyong took a deep breath. Then exhale slowly. "I hope the kidnappers keep their promise to release Shinnshiow soon."
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To be continued to The Six Dragons' Diaries : The Next Sequence | Penana
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