Chapter 03
The man sits down on the floor inside a lift. Now he is in the middle of a conversation with a cute girl who has been trapped inside the lift with him.
"Which city centre?" asks this girl.
This girl seems very curious about what happened. She asked many things to the man. She even asked when he last met a friend who rented a room in this building. It is true that the man last met Sōngfēi, his friend, at a restaurant located in the city centre. However, the girl's question also makes sense.
The man realises that it is actually inaccurate to call their meeting place as a city centre because it implicates that there is only one city centre. This vast city is verily made up of small towns. These small towns are in turn made up of even smaller towns. So in fact, this city can be described more as a group of towns that are well integrated. Since there are many small towns, there are also many city centres.
When he first arrived in this city, the man was also confused. There are different terms to describe the area here. Usually, outsiders do not understand these terms. The point is this huge area is called a City. The city is divided into twenty-five smaller areas called Towns. Then each town is divided into nine boroughs. Each Borough is made up of several Hoods. The number of Hoods varies. It ranges from twenty to thirty in each Borough.
This city has also been integrated with many towns and villages around it. The integrated area is called a Metropolis. Then this Metropolis is also surrounded by several other major cities and their satellite cities. The large region that includes the Metropolis and other large cities that surround it is called the Megapolis.
"The city centre of Píngyuán," the man replies.
"Oh, the one near Yuèmíng," says the girl.
"Right," the man replies.
Píngyuán and Yuèmíng are boroughs that belong to a town called Gāolín. Gāolín is a town located in the middle of this city.
The man continues his words.
"At that time, he didn't say anything about his new house. In fact, I don't think all my friends realise that he had moved out of his old place. "
"Then where did he call you from yesterday?"
"I don't know. I think from somewhere out of town. Sōngfēi called in a short time, so I didn't have time to ask anything. All he said is that he was in danger. I don't know what he is involved in this time? "
"Was there ever an incident where he was in danger?" asks the girl.
"There have been two incidents. This concerns his passion for detective stories and mystery novels. The first was when he hosted a mystery game. At that time, the game was held in an old house that was said to be haunted. It later turned out that the neighbours, because their voices were perhaps too loud, called the police, so the police came. My friend Sōngfēi explained that he had received permission from the owner of the house. However, when the police called the house owner, who lived elsewhere, he explained that he had not given any permission. So obviously the person who had given Sōngfēi permission was not the house owner at all. "
The man watches that the girl is listening well to the explanation he gives.
"Then, the second thing was when my friend was visited by debt collectors. It turned out that one of Sōngfēi's friends, who is a member of the Detective and Mystery Club, had borrowed money from a finance company. Unfortunately, this person gave Sōngfēi's name as his guarantor. Because he failed to pay and disappeared instead. The finance company then instructed the debt collector to come to Sōngfēi. At that time, the atmosphere was tense. Many of the debt collectors were ex-convicts. Therefore, we were indeed very concerned about Sōngfēi's safety."
Yìngyuè nods her head at the man's detail explanation.
After a while, the man can not hear the girl's voice. Feeling that the girl has fallen asleep, the man sighs. He stares at the figure who is sleeping. He is astonished. The man feels sorry for this young girl. She has been orphaned since she was a child. This situation must be shaping her perspective. When a girl has been trapped inside a lift with a stranger, she feels agitated and most likely crying. But this girl is acting normal. Maybe she's used to experiencing extraordinary things like this in her life.
The man looks at her face and thinks.
This girl is so brave.
He admires this young girl.
This girl is okay although she has been trapped here with me. There is no reason for me to feel upset about this situation.
Reminds of his own life. The man has absolutely no regrets about everything that has happened. When he determined to leave his hometown, about two years ago, it was the time when he was ready to accept any risks that might occur in his odyssey. He trully enjoyed his adventures on this odyssey.
It has been a long time since the man wanted to feel the rhythm of another life but had not had a chance at all because it was impossible for him to leave his mother alone at home. This man is so dear to his mother. For the past few decades, he has always been by his mother's side.
Two years ago his long-lost younger brother suddenly appeared in the man's life. After the younger brother came home, this man felt that his opportunity came. The younger brother, who is also a very successful businessman willing to take care of their mother, therefore, this man did not hesitate to step foot into the outside world.
For several decades, he could save enough because his daily expenses were not much. His savings is enough to pay for his odyssey. Although of course he always tried to save money. He doesn't want to have to go home because he ran out of money after only a few months of wandering.
The man never stopped too long somewhere in his adventure, usually only for a week or two before moving to another place. Sometimes the man also works part-time when he is bored with walking around. Usually, the part-time job available is physical work that does not require particular skills. Such as washing dishes, peeling food, and cleaning the room in the restaurant.
After arriving in this city a year ago, he decided to stay for a few years. Of course, since the beginning, the man has wanted to explore this city. Still, the original plan is to stay in this city after three or four years of travelling.
After living in this city, many things happened. Far more than the things he experienced for decades living a monotonous life at his hometown. Yes, he was unhesitating to quit his decades-old job and wandered off because he saturated with his daily routine.
Suddenly the man remembers that today he has no dinner yet. During a chastening hunger, he regrets why he did not eat something before stepping into this building. Although typically, he chooses to eat at the small restaurants or food stalls in the underground station, but today he saw there were several places to eat on the way here. He should try one of those places. Luckily he had lunch so much that until now there is still enough energy.
The man also recalls that around ten o'clock this morning, he had fainted. After finishing the locker business at the station, he went to a shopping centre. While using the toilet in the building, he was unconscious. He only realised that he had been unconscious for almost four hours in the toilet after returning home. Now, it makes him realise that he has to pay more attention to his health condition.
The man tries his best to stay awake. He told this girl that last night he had a good night's sleep so that tonight could open his eyes just in case something happened. But over time, just like this girl, his eyes feel heavy, and his neck is not strong enough to bear the weight of his head. Just a few minutes after this girl fell asleep, the man is also stranded in a dream world.
The man is one of those people who every time he sleeps, always dreaming. Even this time, he gets a dream. In his dream, the man is like being in a vast meadow. As far as his eyes can see, only the expanse of green grass can be seen. The grass in the meadow is not very high, only limited to the man's calf.
This dream seems so real. It is as if he is literally stranded in that meadow. The man bends down and grabs the grass growing there. His palm can actually feel the slightly damp and sticky grass.
Even though the sun is directly above his head, but he does not feel the searing heat. The weather is very sunny. The temperature is like the temperature in early spring. The man hopes that this lovely weather would not suddenly turn into heavy rain that fiercely pours water on the earth.
Just as is in his conscious state, the man feels hungry in the dream. He looks in all directions but could not see anything but the stretching grass, not even a single tree. The man hopes to find a fruitful tree so that he can get rid of his hunger.
He's been walking long enough. It's already sunset when this man feels something strange. By evening, of course, the temperature will drop. But at the moment the temperature is rising drastically. The man was overheating. The hunger that has been torturing him at this time is increasingly piercing his stomach. Now he also feels very thirsty. This thirst makes the straddle dry.
The expanse of grass that once adorned the earth's surface no longer exists. The man arrives in a large field. This field is a clay court. The length is about three hundred metres, while the width is about two hundred metres. What is even weirder is that there is a small brown building made of wood in the middle of the field. Astonishingly, the man continues to walk towards the building. Turns out the building is a small shop. Up close, he could see that the shop is selling sweets. It's a sweet shop on the meadow.
The man approaches the sweet shop and then, without hesitation, gets inside. There are a lot of sweets in the shop. The man doesn't see anyone there. The inner chamber is rectangular in shape. In the opposite direction to the entrance, there is a door to the room in the back. A moment later, the door opens. Someone comes out of that door and immediately stands face to face with the man. The man is surprised to see the face of the newly arrived figure.
This girl again!
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