The police and health workers had entered all corners of the building, including the part of the building where Yiren and his friends were. As far as Yiren knew, everyone around them fell unconscious or at least briefly fainted. The strange incident they had just experienced had created a confusing situation. Everyone looked at each other questioningly.
Yiren and his friends sat where they had previously sat while waiting for the food they ordered to be ready. The police told them to remain there. Apart from them, several other diners, who had previously fainted inside the restaurant, were also forced to spend time there. Probably almost all of the restaurant staff were also gathered there. Yiren didn't know how many staff there were in the restaurant, so he couldn't confirm that everyone was in the spacious room.
In order to prevent chaos if at the same time everyone was scrambling to get out of the building, the police set the time and route for visitors to exit the building. The presence of the police seemed to be able to calm them down. Everyone patiently waited for their turn to leave the building.
Since Yiren and his friends were on the fifth floor, they had to wait a long time until it was their turn to get out of there. While waiting for their turn, the police forbade them to walk to other parts of the building. The atmosphere was a little eerie but, at the same time, boring. Even though the police were already there, Yiren couldn't hide the anxiety running through her heart.
Zhengyi, who also looked so bored, suddenly stood up.
"Yige, where are you going?" Qiuzhen looked on in surprise.
"I feel so bored." Zhengyi sighed. "Aren't you bored?"
Caihong nodded. "I'm sure we all think the same. But we have to wait patiently."
"How long should we wait?" Zhengyi frowned. "We don't have much time. We have to get home as soon as possible."
"There are things we can't control," said Yiren. "We have to accept that fact."
"Then how about Xinxiu?" Zhengyi was still standing. It seemed that he was already prepared to take a step forward. "What if the kidnappers lose their temper and take their anger out on Xinxiu?"
"Let's just think positive, Uncle," said Caihong. "Hopefully, the kidnappers can understand that we tried hard."
"If they can understand and we can talk to each other nicely, surely they won't kidnap people." Zhengyi clenched his palms. Yiren knew that Zhengyi's mood must be horrible.
Whatever I am going to say, it definitely will not make his mood any better.
Zhengyi finally inched away from the table where they sat.
"Yige, where are you going?" Yiren repeated the question Qiuzhen had previously asked.
"I'll ask them." Zhengyi pointed at the two policemen who were guarding the entrance to the restaurant. Zhengyi moved toward them right away.
Yiren acted quickly. He quickly stood up and followed Zhengyi. The distance between their table and the entrance was close enough that Yiren could hear clearly when Zhengyi started asking questions. It was just as Yiren expected. Zhengyi asked about the situation in the main hall, which was located on the ground floor of the building.
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Yige must have thought Dage was there!
One of the two policemen said their colleagues on the ground floor were evacuating the victims lying in the great hall.
Good grief! What happened down there?
The policeman then explained that there had been a light explosion on the ground floor. Yiren and Zhengyi looked at each other. It was clear that the look in Zhengyi's eyes had a hint of anxiety.
Besides being on the fifth floor, this restaurant is located deep inside. No wonder we didn't notice an explosion of light that had occurred down there!
When Zhengyi tried to walk out of the entrance. The two policemen stopped Zhengyi from continuing his footsteps. They said they had orders to forbid anyone from approaching the main hall where the explosions of light occurred.
Yiren and Zhengyi had no other choice but to return to where they were sitting.
"I'm afraid things are a lot worse downstairs than we thought." Zhengyi looked at Caihong and Qiuzhen, who looked at them expectantly. He then explained the information they had just heard from the two policemen.
"Did they have anything else to say?" Caihong asked.
"None." Zhengyi answered quickly. "In fact, from the way the policeman answered my question, I had the impression that he was forbidden to go into detail about what had happened in the great hall down there."
"You think that implies that the incident this time was much bigger than the light explosion a few days ago?" Yiren looked at Zhengyi.
"I think so." Zhengyi bit his lower lip. "They said the victims were lying in the hall. Isn't that a terrible thing?"
Yiren turned his gaze towards Qiuzhen. Their youngest housemate was silent. But from the facial expressions he showed, Yiren could tell that Qiuzhen was racking his brains. He turned to Yiren. Apparently, he realized Yiren was watching him.
"Renge, what's wrong?" Qiuzhen smiled. But that smile looked so forced.
"Nothing. What do you think we should do now?"
"We have to go home as soon as possible," Qiuzhen replied.
"What about Dage?" Zhengyi asked in a disapproving tone.
"Since the police forbid us to wander around this building looking for him, it's useless for us to spend time here. So we'd better hurry home. Everything is uncertain. We don't know if Beaushu was injured in this incident. It's possible that he has been waiting for us in the parking lot for a long time." Qiuzhen explained the reason.
"Yes. We really have to get home as soon as possible. I'm sure Xiongge is currently restless because he has to be alone when he receives calls from the kidnappers," said Yiren.
"He is not alone. There are the driver and Caihong's assistant," said Zhengyi.
"My assistant is very agile. So he will definitely help Uncle Shimen with all his might," said Caihong.
Qiuzhen nodded. "But there's something else we really have to do."
"What's that?" Zhengyi leaned forward.
"We have to find out which hospital the victims were taken to. So later at home, we have to negotiate with Xiongge to decide who will focus on trying to free Shiowge from the kidnappers' hands, and who will join in finding out about Beaushu's whereabouts."
"You're right! We do have to share tasks," said Yiren.
A policeman, not one of the two cops guarding the entrance, stepped quickly into the diner. He said in a loud voice to all the people who were there. It seemed that it was the turn of the people in the restaurant and the nearby shops to leave the building.
Yiren approached the policeman to say that their vehicle was parked underground, so they would not exit the building via the ground floor. The policeman said that they divided the group into two. Namely, the group that would leave the building through the main door on the east side of the building's ground floor and the group that would go to the underground parking lot.
At first, Yiren was pessimistic that people could safely leave the building in accordance with the predetermined route. However, in reality, the evacuation effort took place in an orderly manner. Indeed, there were four or five people who tried to violate it, but the police and other visitors were quick enough to prevent it, so those people, like it or not, had to follow the instructions that had been given.