One day before returning to Yuezhao, Qiuzhen 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 Yangao. 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 Qiuzhen, but one of Qiuzhen's four colleagues. That person didn't want to go alone to solve the problem. He asked Qiuzhen to accompany him. Since they had to deal with it soon, they had to hurry. Qiuzhen had to put off his dream of tasting the delicious dishes at the well-known restaurant.

About an hour after Qiuzhen and a friend had left the diner, there was a hostage-taking there. Qiuzhen's three co-workers who were still eating there became the ones who were held hostage by the gang of criminals who stormed the restaurant. The hostage-taking did not last long. In just a few hours, the hostages were free. They were all directly sent to the police hospital in Yangao.

"We know, Sir." The man with the thin mustache nodded. "What we want to ask is not directly related to the hostage incident."

"Wait a moment!" Qiuzhen raised his hand. "You guys came all the way from Yangao just to meet me here?"

"We are not from Yangao but from Yuezhao. We went to Yangao because we wanted to investigate something," said Sikou.

Uh? Just like me, they also work in Yuezhao?

"So the two of you went to Yangao to hunt for some news?"

"That's right, Sir!" Sikou nodded. "There is something we are investigating. The clues we got led us to go to the city of Yangao. However, the following clues forced us to go to this city."

"Did you guys come all the way here specifically to look for me?"

Sikou smiled. "No, Sir! At the station, we saw you by chance. We have met you before, so we instantly recognized you. You also have something to do with the things we are investigating. So, we want to talk to you. It was a coincidence. Before, we didn't know how to contact you."

"Where have we met before? Sorry, I really don't remember."

"It might not be right to say that we've met before," said Zuoren. "Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we have seen you before, but perhaps you did not notice our presence. Therefore, we understand you do not recognize us."

"When? Where?"

"At the police hospital. At that time, the hostages had been successfully evacuated to the hospital. Many people came to the hospital to look for their friends or family who were victims. You came there to visit your friends who had been hostages. On that occasion, you gave information to the police regarding things you had witnessed at the restaurant before the incident happened."

Oh! There were a lot of people there. I can't possibly remember the faces of everyone present in that place!

"Ah! You two were there."

"That's right, Sir! When the police questioned you, we sat right behind you. So we heard everything clearly."

"Sorry, I didn't recognize you."

"It's okay, Sir. We know that you must have focused on your friends at that moment. So you must not have had time to pay attention to other things." The man with the thin mustache smiled.

The two of them were always smiling. These two did not look like the people from Yuezhao.

The waiter came back with the drinks they ordered. Qiuzhen and the two promptly took a sip of the drinks. The freshness of the liquid that entered Qiuzhen's throat made him even more excited.

"What if you just tell it chronologically? That will definitely make things clearer," Qiuzhen said.

"All right, Sir!" The person who was in his mid-forties nodded with a powerful gesture. "The hostage-taking incident was a major event. A lot of media and freelance journalists are putting their all into investigating it. But as we have stated before, that is not what we are investigating. We are investigating a woman who was at the time of the incident, was also there."

"That woman also became one hostage?"

"True, Sir. But they were not among those who were later released."

Qiuzhen recalled that in that event, the hostages managed to escape. They also took several people hostage. Qiuzhen didn't know how things would go because the next day, he had to return to Yuezhao.

"Until now, the police could not catch the criminals. The people they took away have not been found either," said the man with the thin mustache.

So they are currently investigating the person who was kidnapped. So what does that have to do with me?

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Zuoren, the man with the thin mustache, seemed to be able to read Qiuzhen's mind. "Before the hostage-taking incident, you talked to that woman."

"Eh? I spoke to the woman? You mean, I know the woman?"

"We don't know, Sir! In fact, now we want to ask you about it."

"I don't understand what you mean. Please tell me more."

"Shortly after you left the restaurant, you and one of your friends talked to the woman and her two friends."

"Two friends? So, there are three of them?"

"That's right, Sir! But the person we are investigating is the woman. Not the two men who came with her."

Qiuzhen recalled the things that happened that afternoon. "When we came out of the restaurant, we did meet three people. Do you mean the woman in the wide hat?"

"Yes, Sir."

The woman's hat was so wide that it covered part of her face. I couldn't see the woman's face clearly. How could these two be sure that the woman was the person they were looking for?

"We didn't know the woman. Neither did we know the two men who were with her. We spoke to her because the woman had spoken to us first."

"What did the woman say to you?" Sikou's face was so serious.

"Wait a minute!" Qiuzhen straightened his back. "How do you know we were talking to the woman? It happened outside the restaurant. In fact, the exact location was forty or fifty meters from the restaurant entrance. I didn't even know that the woman and her two friends were heading towards the restaurant."

"There is a CCTV camera installed in front of the building where the woman was talking to you, Sir."

"Are you sure that the woman who spoke to me is the woman you are looking for? Are there any other CCTV cameras that recorded the woman entering the restaurant?"

"Besides that camera, there are no other CCTV cameras around, Sir. Since the restaurant is outside the camera's coverage area, the CCTV did not capture what was happening in front of the restaurant but recorded the people passing by. Since a month ago, we have been tracking the woman. We have information that the woman was seen in the area near the restaurant. We have questioned several people who had been hostages. They told us that the woman and her two friends were among those who were taken away by the criminals who came to storm the restaurant."

Qiuzhen nodded. "The woman said nothing important. She just asked where we were from. My friend and I did come from far away from here. My friend and I then explained where we came from."

"Why did the woman ask that?" Zuoren's face was so curious.

"I don't know. First, she greeted us. Then, all of a sudden, she was asking questions like that. We didn't have any prejudice. So we just answered honestly."

"You can't think of a reason why people you don't know suddenly ask where you're from?" Zuoren was still urging Qiuzhen.

"At the time, I thought the woman was just curious when she heard my strange accent. She heard when I spoke to my co-workers."

The two of them looked at each other.

"Did the woman say any more words?" Sikou widened his eyes.

"Nothing. That's all she asked."

"What about the two people accompanying the woman?" asked Sikou.

"They were just making small talk. Warmly, they said welcome to us. They said there were many interesting places for us to visit in the city."

The two of them looked at each other again. Qiuzhen didn't know whether they believed it or not with the things he had just revealed.

"Okay, Sir. Thank you for the information you gave. Later, if you remember other things, you can contact us." Sikou said.

"How can I contact you, gentlemen? Where are you two staying?"

"We always move, Sir. Every night we stay in a different place," said Zuoren. "But you can call the phone number listed on the business card we gave you."

Qiuzhen re-examined the two business cards. There was something he hadn't noticed. "Eh, this is the Yuezhao area's phone number. Now, both of you are in this city."

"We call there every day. So if you leave a message to the person who answers the phone, we'll know in a few hours."

Qiuzhen nodded. He wasn't sure there was anything else he could say. But nothing was certain. Maybe both of them were right. Perhaps tomorrow Qiuzhen would remember something.

"Once again, thank you, Sir," said Zuoren.

Qiuzhen smiled. "You are welcome, Sir." He quickly reached into his pants pocket and took out his wallet.

"Don't bother, Sir," said the man with the thin mustache. "This time, we will pay for everything."

"You don't have to." Qiuzhen laughed. "I'll pay for everything."

"This is no small talk, Sir," Sikou said. "We brought you here. So we have to pay for everything."

Qiuzhen didn't want to argue any further. He had to hurry. "Okay! I have to go now. Thank you very much."

Qiuzhen got up from the chair. The two of them also stood up in a flash. Qiuzhen bowed respectfully to them. After taking two steps back, he instantly turned around and walked out of the diner.

Just as he stepped outside the building, Qiuzhen waved his hand to stop a taxi. He had wasted enough time. He intended to take a cab to the subway station, where there was a subway that went directly to the station near Dafeisi Tower.