Chioujen was still sleepy. After returning from the underground passage, he went straight to his room at a modest inn in the mall under the station. He couldn't sleep too long. He had so many things to do. Therefore, now he was awake. After sitting pensively on the bed for about five minutes, he finally got up from the mattress that he felt so comfortable. He went straight to the bathroom. Even though he was lazy to take a bath, he had to fight that feeling of laziness with all his might. He had to take a shower as soon as possible.
He had no intention of checking out from the inn that day. Later, at ten o'clock at night, he had to go home. So at least he still had to rent the room until tonight. Now, he had to go to do some investigation. The heavy backpack, which he brought home from another city, would stay in his room for a while. Chioujen believed that the place was safe.
After getting dressed neatly, Chioujen stepped out of his room. He walked briskly towards the platform at the subway station. He was going to the train station he visited last night. Yesterday, Chioujen left his clothes in one locker at the station as he followed the tall man in the expensive suit. The clothes he left were not expensive, but he felt uncomfortable if he had to throw them away. After all, Chioujen felt bad if he just left the clothes there. Such a thing would add to the work that the station staff had to complete.
After the time limit for storing goods has passed, the locker manager will remove the items from the locker. They would then put the things into a warehouse at the station. If no one came to pick up the items within three months after that, they would mark the items as unowned. Once every six months, all subway stations would send the goods left by their owners to the central station. There, the things were recorded carefully and placed in a giant warehouse. After two years have passed and no one has claimed, the item would be auctioned off. They would use the money from the auction as an additional fee for the locker maintenance.
On the train car, Chioujen still felt a little sleepy. Suddenly, he remembered something. He forgot to eat breakfast! Chioujen sighed. Later, as soon as he stopped at the destination station, he would look for a food stall to fill his stomach right away. Although traveling on an empty stomach was really uncomfortable, he had to endure it until he reached his destination.
<
The atmosphere on the train was not too crowded. Therefore, Chioujen still got a seat. The whole way, he was nodding off. He had to work hard to hold back the drowsiness so he wouldn't fall asleep. If he fell asleep and missed the destination station, Chioujen would have to turn around. And that would be quite a hassle. In addition to being time-consuming, energy would also be wasted.
After arriving at the destination station, he rushed to the luggage storage locker to get his clothes before stopping at the stall to enjoy breakfast. He ate quickly because he wanted to hurry to his next destination, Dafeisy Tower, which was very far away. If he left late, he might not get there after two o'clock in the afternoon. Yet, at the latest, he must return from there at sunset so that he could reach the house on time that he promised, which was ten o'clock in the evening.
"Good afternoon Mr. Jongharng!"
Chioujen stopped walking. Someone greeted him. He turned his head to the right, in the direction the voice came from. Chioujen saw two well-dressed men. They smiled as Chioujen looked at them.
"Good afternoon!" Chioujen had never seen the two of them.
"Are you Mr. Jongharng Chioujen?" asked one man. He was a man in his mid-forties. Above his lips grew a thin mustache.
Chioujen nodded. "Right! May I know who I'm dealing with?"
"My name is Tzuooren Tzyymoh. " The man with the thin mustache said his name. "This friend of mine is named Sykow Yeushiuan."
"Can we talk for a minute?" The other person, named Sykow Yeushiuan, bowed respectfully. He was older than the person who claimed to be named Tzuooren Tzyymoh. Chioujen guessed that the person's age was in their early fifties. His face was neatly shaved. He didn't have a mustache, let alone a beard.
Chioujen realized that what they were about to say must be something important. But he was worried that the conversation would be time-consuming. He wanted to get to Dafeisy Tower as soon as possible.
"It won't take long." Tzuooren's face looked pitiful. Looked like he was tired.
"Okay!" Chioujen smiled politely. "Where should we talk?"
"Don't you want to get out of this station?" asked Tzuooren.
"Indeed." Chioujen nodded. "I have to go somewhere else. But if I take the train from here, it will take me a very long time to get there. So I'll take another route."
The man named Sykow nodded. "Not far from the station entrance, there's a pretty big restaurant. The place is quite comfortable. We'll talk there."
The three of them walked towards the exit. The steps of the two of them were so fast. It reminded Chioujen of Shannchyuan and Yihshyong. Fortunately, Chioujen's stature was not short, so his footsteps were long. Chioujen had no trouble keeping up with the two people's steps.
The sun's rays dazzled Chioujen. Reflexively, he raised his hand to cover the top of his face. He continued to follow the two of them. Just as one of the two said. The place they proposed turned out to be very close to the entrance and exit of the subway station. Maybe not even fifty meters away.
<
"What would you like to discuss with me?" Chioujen looked at the two of them as they sat inside the diner.
"You must be surprised that suddenly someone greeted you in the crowd at the station down there." Sykow once again bowed respectfully to Chioujen.
Chioujen chuckled. "The last few days, I've had a lot of strange things going on. So I guess I'm not surprised anymore when it comes to new surprises."
The waiter came to greet them. Chioujen just finished eating. It was natural that he didn't want to fill his stomach again for a while. The two people who took Chioujen there also had no intention of eating. The three of them just ordered drinks only.
The man with the thin mustache took out a business card. He gave the business card to Chioujen. It clearly stated that person's job.
"Ah! So, both of you are freelance journalists?"
The two of them nodded. The man whose face was shaved neatly also reached into his pocket. He handed a business card to Chioujen.
Chioujen smiled at the person's business card. The shape was not common, namely a square. "Nice to meet you both."
<
"There are a few things we'd like to ask you." The tone of the man with the thin mustache turned much more serious. "About what happened to you the other day."
"What do you mean?" Chioujen still didn't understand what that person was going to talk about.
"A hostage-taking incident at a restaurant in Yangau." The person in his early fifties leaned forward.
<
"Oh! You're asking about what happened? I didn't know the news got here. People here rarely know anything about what happened in Yangau."
"We were also in Yangau, Sir, when the incident happened."
<
Chioujen patted his forehead. "You are barking on the wrong tree. I was not at the restaurant when the criminals took the hostage."
One day before returning to Yuehjao, Chioujen and four employees assigned by their company to conduct a site survey decided to celebrate their success by having lunch at a well-known restaurant in Yangau. Just as they were about to start their meal, one waiter approached them. The waiter said that there was a phone call for them. It turned out to be a phone call from someone they had just met. Indeed, they had previously told that man that they were going to have lunch at that very famous restaurant.
There was a slight problem related to the location they were planning as a place for their company to open a new branch office. The person authorized to settle the matter was not Chioujen, but one of Chioujen's four colleagues. That person didn't want to go alone to solve the problem. He asked Chioujen to accompany him. Since they had to deal with it soon, they had to hurry. Chioujen had to put off his dream of tasting the delicious dishes at the well-known restaurant.