The apartment building was an ordinary apartment building. Not the luxury apartments that were usually strictly guarded. In the lobby, there was no guard at all. Zhengyi easily got in and went straight up to the sixth floor. The elevator was so slow that Zhengyi felt a little irritated. The sixth floor of the apartment building was quiet. There are about twenty apartment units on that floor. Zhengyi directly headed to the apartment unit numbered 606.

There was a bell on the wall near the apartment door. Zhengyi pressed the bell, but there was no response. After pressing many times, still no response.

Maybe he wasn't home.

After that, Zhengyi rested for a while. He squatted in front of the apartment unit door. After two minutes of squatting, he was already bored. Zhengyi got up again, stood facing the apartment door, and pressed the bell again.

If he's not home, why do I keep ringing the bell?

Despite thinking like that, Zhengyi still pressed the bell.

"You haven't changed at all. Still messing with other people's doorbells!" Suddenly, a deep voice came from behind Zhengyi's back.

Hearing the voice, Zhengyi turned and smiled. "I thought you passed out inside!"

That person, who turned out to be the resident of that apartment unit, opened the door without delay and invited Zhengyi to come in.

Although the apartment building was an ordinary apartment, it turned out that the inside was quite spacious. According to Zhengyi's estimation, the area was over one hundred square meters.

"Ten meters by twelve meters. So the total is one hundred and twenty square meters," the person said as if he could read what Zhengyi was thinking.

"Not bad," said Zhengyi.

Then they sat down on chairs in the living room.

"So it took six months for you to finally decide to visit me," the man said.

Before Zhengyi had time to answer, the person had spoken again. "Don't tell me you're busy. Because I have a hunch that you haven't really been busy lately!"

An unmistakable guess. Zhengyi just smirked at hearing that person's words.

"What do you want to drink?" the man asked.

"Anything is fine."

The man got up and walked towards the kitchen. He was back with two cans of drinks in his hand a moment later. He straight away sat down on the sofa and put the two cans of drink on the table. Then he turned on the television and set the volume loudly. Zhengyi glanced at the two drink cans the person had placed on the table. He placed the two drink cans upside down.

Then, sitting down, the person said in a loud voice. "The bathroom is over there. But if you want to clean the stains on your clothes, you have to go to the laundry room, which is next to the kitchen!"

After that, the person got up and walked straight to the kitchen. Instantly, Zhengyi followed him.

Inside the laundry room next to the kitchen, there was a washing machine. Above the washing machine was a cupboard mounted against the wall. The man opened the cupboard and took out a device similar to a transistor radio that was the size of a palm. Then he pressed a button on the device and then pointed it at the clothes Zhengyi was wearing. He carefully scanned all parts of Zhengyi's clothes.

After several attempts and unsuccessfully finding the sound-tapping device, the person finally shook his head. "I don't think there's anything on your shirt."

Zhengyi observed as his friend returned the appliance to the cupboard above the washing machine. He seemed to be very careful. The person asked Zhengyi to return to the living room soon. Arriving there, the friend quickly turned off the television. He then sat down in the exact spot he had been before they went into the kitchen.

"You know the guy who wear the reversible jacket?" suddenly the person asked Zhengyi.

Zhengyi laughed. "I think you've been watching me from the station earlier."

"Farther than that." The man reached for a can of drink that was on the table. Opened a can and gave it to Zhengyi. After that, he opened another can and drank it.

"I saw you when you got off the bus earlier. Believe it or not, I happened to be there after visiting one of my friends. I wanted to say hello to you, but I saw something suspicious."

"The guy in the reversible jacket?"

"Right. So I didn't say hello. I decided to see what would happen."

"What happened then?"

"After you enter the restaurant, that person is waiting at the street stall across from the restaurant."

"Oh," Zhengyi mumbled short.

Turns out I wasn't wrong at all!

"Do you know who he's talking to there?"

"Anyone else watching me?"

"He was talking to the person you asked about when you got off the bus."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"You mean that guy in his thirties who looks like an office worker?"

"Yeah, you right. I don't think it's a coincidence."

"What did they talk about?" Zhengyi was so curious.

"I don't know. I'm not close enough to them."

"You weren't disguised as a tree in a pot that time, were you?" Zhengyi asked, laughing.

That person also laughed at Zhengyi's words. It reminded them of things that happened decades ago.

Zhengyi's friend said seriously. "I think you've lost your touch so you don't notice such a trivial thing."

"I've always been unskilled in that area. That's your area of expertise." Zhengyi sighed.

The person then got up and walked again towards the kitchen. He came back again with more cans in his hand.

"What exactly are you in trouble for?" asked the man, placing the cans on the table.

"I don't know," said Zhengyi.

"You do not know?"

"Not only I do not know what the problem is. I also don't know who they are. I don't even know who their actual target is either!"

"How about you just tell me now the things you know?"

Without the slightest doubt, Zhengyi told the things that had happened during the last two days. His friend listened to Zhengyi's story seriously. Every now and then, he asked, and Zhengyi answered clearly.

"So, what do you think?" Zhengyi asked after ending his story.

The man took a sip of his drink. "Same as you said earlier. Not enough information to guess who they are. Most likely, they are related to your friend, who is an amateur detective. However, there may also be other parties involved. After all, as you might have guessed, there are two parties of people following you. So, as you said earlier, everything is still a blur."

"Well then, I'll just go home now. I think my friends are worried about me right now." said Zhengyi.

"Where do you live?"

"Pingyuan," Zhengyi replied. Indeed, when they met six months ago, Zhengyi did not tell him where he lived. Even when the person gave his home address.

"Close to the mall where the light explosion happened yesterday?"

"So close. We walk there almost every day."

The person then looked towards the apartment window. "I think the guy in the reversible jacket is still in front of this apartment building."

"Does this building have a back door?"

"Not in this building, but in the building next door."

"How do I get across to the next building?" Zhengyi asked.

"On the roof, there is a small bridge that connects these two buildings. Not many people know because it's a bit hidden away. It's not a permanent bridge anyway, just a makeshift bridge made of wood. Few people think of using it."

"All right. Now you take me upstairs."

Before leaving, the man briefly went into his room and came out again with a leather jacket. He handed the jacket to Zhengyi. "Wear this jacket. At least you look different in this jacket. I mean, the clothes you're currently wearing are too flashy."

Zhengyi at once put on the leather jacket. Sure enough, his body looks bigger after wearing it.

The two of them right away went up to the roof. This apartment building was quite tall. Impressive enough to make Zhengyi amazed. The roof was located directly above the 28th floor. Zhengyi was a little afraid of heights. Having to climb the wooden planks that connect the two roofs of buildings with a height of more than a hundred meters was not a simple thing to do. But right now, Zhengyi had to suppress his fear in order to leave the place safely. The man also crossed over to the next building. He then guided Zhengyi down from the roof to the ground floor. It was apparent his friend had used this route many times.

Arriving on the ground floor, they headed to the back door of the building straight away. From there, Zhengyi and his friend came out and met an alley. The person walked in front, and Zhengyi followed him. They entered another building which was behind the previous one. After that, they walked inside the building to go to the exit on the front of this building. Finally, they came out of the building. They were on a street parallel to the road that was right in front of Zhengyi's friend's apartment building.

"Now we cross!" Zhengyi's friend's voice sounded so steady.

They both cross the road. This street was bigger and busier than the one in front of Zhengyi's friend's apartment building. After reaching the other side, Zhengyi's friend walked to the left for about a hundred meters. From there, they entered a grocery store. Then they entered the room at the back of the room where the grocery store sold goods. The grocery store clerk seemed used to seeing Zhengyi's friend there. He allowed them to enter the room that was inside.

From the room inside, they rushed to a door that led to the garage. Arriving there, Zhengyi's friend stopped in front of a black motorcycle. He straight away took two helmets that were there. Zhengyi's friend was wearing one helmet. He gave the other helmet to Zhengyi and told Zhengyi to wear it. After starting the motorcycle engine, they rode the motorcycle out of the garage.

It turned out that Zhengyi's friend would take him to the train station. But not the station where he got off earlier. He took him to a station which was quite far from there. The journey by motorbike took almost half an hour. Just like earlier, that person parked his motorbike in a garage in a grocery store.

Perhaps the secret agency made the grocery store as part of its network of operations!

Zhengyi had to quicken his pace to keep up with his friend's advance, who was moving quickly and very efficiently.

From the grocery store, they walked to the station. Zhengyi's friend said. "This station is indeed further away. But from here you can directly take the train that goes to the station. No need to change trains again."

"Ah! That's right," said Zhengyi happily.

After that, they speedily entered and went downstairs. Zhengyi forthright bought a ticket and waited in front of the platform. The man didn't buy a ticket, but he showed a card to the station clerk, so he was allowed to come into the front of the platform.

They then waited for the train to arrive at the seats on the platform. Zhengyi's friend handed Zhengyi a piece of paper. Zhengyi instantly glanced at the paper. Turned out it contained a phone number.

"Feel free to contact me if things turn out to be more dangerous!" Zhengyi's friend said.

Soon, the train arrived. Zhengyi forthwith got into the carriage. It was past rush hour, so it was pretty quiet. As the train started moving, Zhengyi waved to his friend through the window. The train started moving. Zhengyi took a deep breath. He then sat down and tried to enjoy the ride home.