Chapter 046
Jongharng Chioujen
Chioujen sighed. What he had just experienced was not an experience that one might have easily got in everyday life. Many people who live their whole life just run their daily routines without ever experiencing extraordinary things. From this point of view, Chioujen felt he was one of the lucky ones.
However, is this a good thing? I can't answer such a question.
Chioujen blinked his eyes. He had come out of the hole in the roof of the small building located on the top of Dafeisy Tower. The sun was so blinding. After being in the dark rooms for a while, Chioujen's eyes took a little while to adjust.
Hannrong was still there. The young man walked toward Chioujen with a relieved look on his face. He immediately crouched down to close the hole.
"I don't think you need to lock it. I mean, just leave the padlock there. But don't lock it yet. Maybe I'll come down again after this."
"But, Sir!" Hannrong seemed to be hesitating. He looked at Chioujen with a sharp gaze.
"That's all right. There's no way anyone would climb onto the roof of this building and then enter the chamber below." Chioujen tried to convince Hannrong.
Finally, Hannrong relented. He didn't lock the padlock. He left the padlock after attaching it to the hook on the iron plate that closed the hole.
"Come on, let's go down now!" Chioujen patted Hannrong's shoulder.
Chioujen asked Hannrong to come down. Not only got down from the roof of the building that housed the lift service but also got down to the ground floor of the building. Hannrong also didn't lock the door where they had appeared on the roof of the building. So, Chioujen could easily go up to the roof and enter the secret booth behind the service lift.
Chioujen had been feeling thirsty all this time. Arriving at the bottom, he quickly headed to Hannrong's study. After drinking a few glasses of water there, he felt refreshed. Chioujen then returned to the Managing Manager's room. He stretched out the plan of the building again. His fingers played on the paper that contained the plan.
He wanted to return to the secret room again. But Chioujen realized he couldn't just descend into the room. He must be well prepared. At least he had to bring something that he could use as a weapon if he suddenly met someone. Chioujen wasn't sure that someone was hiding in one room down there, but it didn't hurt to be on guard. Vigilance was so crucial.
The manager's room was not too big. In one sweep, Chioujen could see the entire room. He found a wooden stick similar to a police baton in the shape of the letter T hanging on the room's wall. It wasn't the side-handle baton the police used when they were on patrol. It was the Tonfa, a traditional weapon commonly used in various martial arts. Although he felt strange about the weapon's existence in that place, Chioujen had little time to think too far. He took it from the wall and tucked it around his waist.
Chioujen met Hannrong at the reception desk. Immediately after seeing Chioujen, Hannrong's face looked worried. It was clear he had already guessed that Chioujen already had a plan that might get him into trouble.
"Don't worry! I'm not telling you to go upstairs again." Chioujen laughed out loud.
Hannrong also laughed after seeing Chioujen laugh.
"But don't you want to go upstairs again now?" Hannrong pointed up with his index finger.
"Of course! But this time I will go alone. You just carry on with your duties here," said Chioujen.
"You don't plan to investigate the secret room until the evening, do you?" Hannrong's face changed again.
"Of course not. I'm just continuing what I didn't have time to finish. After that, I'll be going home. So you don't have to worry. You stay on guard here."
Chioujen tried his best to calm Hannrong down. Although he wasn't sure that he wouldn't be in the dungeon for long this time.
Hope everything goes well. If something unexpected happens, I don't know what kind of words to persuade Hannrong once more!
"Yes, Sir!" Hannrong straightened up.
Chioujen left Hannrong to continue his duties at the reception desk. Right away, he headed for the elevator to go up to the twelfth floor. Chioujen realized that everything he did would most likely be directly reported by Hannrong to another party who might be Hannrong's actual superior. The party, which could be, was their enemy. But Chioujen didn't really care. What he was currently investigating had little to do with the trouble Songfei was facing or the people chasing the young girl who was with Shannchyuan.
Chioujen moved swiftly towards the roof of Dafeisy Tower. Then he went straight to the building above the lift service location. Just as before, he went up to the top of the building and entered the chamber that was inside. Quickly, he began to move down the stairs in the room. Unlike the first time he explored this place, he wasn't too tense right now. He was more relaxed but moved faster. Chioujen couldn't wait to get to the B4 floor to open the door quickly. It led to another room on that floor. He didn't know what he would find there. But at least this time, he was more prepared. He already had a Tonfa in his hand.
Finally, he arrived at the door in the chamber on the B4 floor. For a moment, he froze where he stood. A glimmer of doubt crossed his mind. But soon, he pushed away from his brain the unfounded doubt sense. Right now, he just wished that the door was unlocked so he could open it. Chioujen moved the flashlight from his right hand to his left. He stretched out his right hand. Slowly, his palm began to touch the door handle.
In a split second, the door handle was in Chioujen's hand. Slowly, he tried to move the door handle. There was a distinctive sound of a door opening. Turned out the door wasn't locked at all. Chioujen began to pull the door leaf. Little by little, the air from behind the door poured into the room where Chioujen was standing.
When the door was half-open, Chioujen stopped pulling the door again. He took a deep breath. Using his strength, he pulled the door leaf with a loud jolt. The door was wide open. Chioujen stepped his right foot to the place behind the door.
Chioujen again moved the flashlight from his left hand to his right. He was currently on the B4 floor. He walked extra carefully. Apart from being dark, it was also because he didn't know what he was going to face.
This B4 floor felt more stuffy. Maybe because there was almost no air circulation. Floors B1, B2, and B3 were actually stuffy too. However, because there was still little air exchange with the room above, the condition was not as stuffy as this B4 room. Every time he took a breath, Chioujen had to take a deep breath in order to be able to inhale a large amount of oxygen. Chioujen was not afraid of stuffy air or a lack of oxygen. He was just worried that certain mushrooms would grow in damp and stuffy places that secrete a toxin that could make people hallucinate.
The layout of the B4 floor was almost the same as the B3 floor. Maybe the only difference was the space used for a backup power generator on the B3 floor. The other rooms were more or less the same. Chioujen tried to open the rooms on the B4 floor one by one.
Not unlike the rooms on the B3 floor, these rooms on the B4 floor were partially locked, and some of the other rooms could easily be opened by Chioujen because they were not locked. Chioujen tried to turn on the lights in the rooms. But none of the lights he managed to turn on.
Floors B1, B2, and B3 received electricity from the electrical substation outside the building, although the electricity had been currently turned off. This B4 floor clearly did not receive electricity from the substation. Chioujen didn't know where this B4 floor got its electricity from. Probably entirely from the backup power generator on the B3 floor. Or maybe the B4 floor had its own power generator located in one room on the B4 floor.
About twenty minutes later, Chioujen arrived at the door of a room. He opened the door straight away. Just like the previous rooms, this room was also dark. The flashlight made him realize that this room was much bigger than some rooms on the same floor that he had previously entered. What surprised Chioujen even more, was that he saw that there were stairs there. Chioujen approached the stairs. The stairs connect the room with another room on the B3 floor. Chioujen remembered that he had tried to enter a locked room on the B3 floor earlier. He failed to enter the room because there was no key to the chamber among the ring of keys he carried. According to Chioujen's estimation, the room was right above this room.
Apart from that, there was still one other thing that made Chioujen's eyebrows rise. The stairs in front of him were not just stairs going up. But also stairs to go down to the floor below. The stairs connected the room to another room below the B4 floor.
So there's another floor under the B4 floor? This is amazing. Does Songfei know about this? If not, he would definitely be very excited if I told him about this bizarre fact.
Chioujen laughed alone as he imagined the look on Songfei's face. The young man's fondness for things involving puzzles and mysteries was a bit beyond normal. However, Chioujen himself didn't really know what a person's reasonable limit should be when they pursue a hobby. Chioujen never had a special hobby that made him willing to sacrifice all his energy, mind, and money to do that hobby. He really enjoyed reading and watching movies. But not to the point of being infatuated with books or movies. Even when Chioujen was the same age as Songfei, not once had he ever overdid what he liked.
Or maybe it's just me that's not normal!
Chioujen decided to go down to the room right below that room. He could feel the blood in his veins flowing much faster. The frequency of his heartbeat increased sharply. Chioujen stepped lightly but full of vitality. A moment later, he had set foot on the floor of the room that was on the floor that wasn't even in the plan he had studied earlier.
Just as Chioujen had just made his first steps into the room, another surprise was waiting for him. There was a powerful arm gripping him. Chioujen tried hard to free himself, but the man's grip only grew stronger. Chioujen used his right foot to kick back. The man let go of the clutch but immediately caught Chioujen's left hand. The flashlight slipped from Chioujen's hand. He tried to reach the Tonfa tucked in his right waist. Chioujen managed to pull out the Tonfa, but before he could slash the Tonfa back, the mysterious person grabbed the Tonfa.
Chioujen turned around. Just at that moment, the Tonfa hit his left shoulder. Chioujen groaned. His right hand automatically moved up to hold the shoulder that had just been hit by the Tonfa. In the darkness, there was a faint shadow of a hand ready to hit Chioujen's head. Chioujen's left hand rose to parry the man's attack. The man attacked again. With the Tonfa in his right hand, he hit Chioujen's stomach, which was utterly defenseless.
Chioujen was pushed back. He turned around. Close combat in the dark like this didn't benefit him at all. That person was much taller than Chioujen. Chioujen tried to run. That person didn't let Chioujen walk away. Chioujen could clearly hear the footsteps chasing him. Grippingly, the atmosphere was very dark. He tripped over something and fell to the ground. That person promptly sat on Chioujen's back. He used the Tonfa to press Chioujen's neck.
"I give up! I give up!" Chioujen shouted while enduring the pain.
That person still didn't relax his pressure.
"Let's have a friendly talk! Please, don't use violence!"
That person loosened the pressure a bit. By remaining seated on Chioujen's back, the person tied both of Chioujen's hands.
"Who are you?" asked Chioujen.
The person didn't make a sound at all. Chioujen was worried that the person did not understand the words he said. The person might have been from another area whose language was completely different from the one Chioujen was currently speaking.
“My name is Maachaang Shentay!” Suddenly the figure who was still sitting on Chioujen's back spoke. His voice was thunderous.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Jongharng Chioujen!”
The person who called himself Maachaang Shentay stood up. He then sat right in front of Chioujen, who was still lying face down.
"Mr. Jongharng Chioujen! Sorry, I had to be very careful."
That person was holding Chioujen's flashlight. He quickly shone the flashlight right at Chioujen's face.
Chioujen closed his eyes. The flashlight was so blinding.
"Who are you?" Chioujen repeated his question. He wanted to know who this person really was. Not just his full name or face.
"Before I answer your question, I must first ask you about it!"
"Okay! I'll answer. But please turn off the flashlight."
The person then turned off the flashlight right away. Chioujen opened his eyes. The man was silent. It seemed that he was waiting for Chioujen to continue.
"I am a resident of one unit in this building," Chioujen said.
"This building is empty. Nobody lives here!"
"Certainly not the actual residents living here. I am a tenant of one unit on the tenth floor."
Hopefully, Songfei doesn't mind me claiming to be the unit's tenant.
"Once again, sorry, Sir! I was just doing my job," said the man.
What kind of strange task was this guy referring to?
"May I sit down?" asked Chioujen.
"Please!"
That person then helped Chioujen to change his position. Now Chioujen sat opposite that person.
"What exactly is your job?" Chioujen asked while blinking his eyes. His hands were still tied behind his back. That person still didn't want to untie the knot. It had crossed Chioujen's mind to scream for help. But he undid it at once. The floor was isolated from other floors. No matter how loud he shouted, it was almost impossible to hear from the other floors. Moreover, the place where Chioujen was located was about twenty meters below the ground floor. Obviously, there was no way Hannrong would have heard if Chioujen had screamed for help from that place.
"I'm in charge of keeping my coworkers safe!"
Coworkers? So is there anyone else here?
The man turned on the flashlight again. He then pointed his flashlight at a corner of the room. There, there was a bed. There seemed to be someone lying on the bed. Chioujen couldn't see clearly. The figure didn't move an inch. Chioujen didn't know the person was sleeping, fainted, sick, or even injured.
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