Yixiong turned towards the voice. He saw Xuande Zhanji, their kind neighbor, standing in front of the fence of his house. He was holding a plastic bag that seemed to contain the daily necessities he had just bought.

"Good afternoon, Sir! Did you just come back from shopping?" Yiren smiled widely.

"No. I just went to buy soap and toothpaste. Is your friend injured or sick?"

"While visiting here, he suddenly felt unwell. We have given him headache medicine, but to no avail. Since his condition is not improving, we decided to take him to the hospital," Yixiong replied.

"Ah, I see. I hope your friend will recover soon."

"Thank you, Sir!"

"Are you guys having an event?" Xuande Zhanji raised an eyebrow. "Looks like your house is full of people. Was there a party, or something like that?"

"No, Sir! It's just a coincidence that they came here." replied Yiren. "We haven't seen them in a long time. No particular purpose."

Xuande Zhanji looked at Qiuzhen and Jingkang.

"They are Mr. Duanmu's relatives." Yiren explained.

"Oh! So you guys are from Yuandong too?"

"That's right, Sir! But we also live in this city," said Qiuzhen.

Jingkang just smiled. He didn't say anything. Maybe the young man didn't know what to say.

"Nice to meet you," said Mr. Xuande.

"You are welcome, Sir!" answered Yixiong and his friends.

"I didn't see Mr. Duanmu. Where is he?" Xuande asked.

"He happened to be away, Sir. He got an interview call to work in a library," Yixiong answered.

"Ah! That's good news." Xuande clapped his hands. "I hope he manages to get the job."

"Thank you, Sir! We hope so too," said Yixiong. "How about your new television? Is there no problem anymore?"

"Oh, the picture is so sharp. The sound that comes out is also very clear. I am very happy."

"Very well then, Sir!" Yiren said.

"Okay! I have to put these things inside," said Xuande.

"Please, Sir!"

After Xuande Zhanji entered the fence of his house, Yixiong and his friends also went back into their house.

"Yiren, I want to talk for a moment." Yixiong took Yiren's arm. "Come on, let's go to the back porch."

The two of them then headed to the terrace behind the kitchen. Arriving there, Yixiong quickly sat down.

"You must want to ask about the two small bags, right?" Yiren preceded Yixiong in starting the conversation.

"Right! You haven't told me any of the things the police told you."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Yiren then briefly told about the things they experienced in the house that were right behind the house they lived in.

Luckily, this time he actually told everything in a nutshell.

"I've been thinking that, too. When are we going to start inspecting this house?" Yixiong nodded.

"I think we don't have time now. It's almost four o'clock. We'd better get ready to wait for the phone call now." said Yiren. "After they finish calling, then we do a thorough inspection of our house. We have to be absolutely sure that our house is clean of eavesdroppers."

Yixiong nodded. The two of them then returned to the dining room. After calling Jingkang, the three of them then gathered in front of the phone. Yixiong and Jingkang put the earphones connected to Huaxiang into their ears. After turning on the two Huaxiangs, Yixiong could hear a voice greeting.

"Good afternoon!"

It was Qiulin Xinzhang's voice. Apparently, he had been on standby since earlier.

"Good afternoon!" Yixiong replied. "I am Ximen Yixiong."

Yixiong turned his head to see the faces of his friends. He tried to present a voice full of authority. But from the expressions on the faces of his friends who were there, it seemed that his efforts had failed miserably.

"Mr. Ximen, what about the things Mr. Bobai has been talking about?"

"Sorry, Sir! We haven't had time to do that yet. A lot has happened this afternoon."

"We understand, Sir! But we hope today we will have confirmation."

"We'll try, Sir," answered Yixiong.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Sir!"

"You're welcome, Sir. How about the latest developments?"

"We are ready to monitor incoming phone calls. Now we are waiting for what they have to say," said Qiulin Xinzhang.

"Regarding the previous phone call, have the police not been able to trace where the call came from?" Yixiong urged Qiulin to reveal it.

"I'm so sorry, Sir. We haven't succeeded yet. It's possible they're using new technology that could disrupt our tracking process. But we'll keep trying! That's all we can say for now."

"Right now, Mr. Duanmu Shanquan is not here yet. Have the police received any new information regarding his whereabouts?" Yixiong asked.

"We have started receiving a list of the names of the victims. Due to the large number of victims, they are scattered in several hospitals and health clinics. So there are indeed some problems there. So far, there is no Duanmu Shanquan's name on the list of victims that we received."

"Alright, we understand. Please let us know if there are recent developments regarding the victims of this afternoon's incident," said Yixiong.

"Yes, Sir," said Qiulin Xinzhang. "Is Mr. Duanmu Jingkang also ready now?"

"I'm ready!" Jingkang answered firmly.

Yixiong glanced at the clock that adorned the light blue wall in the room. Four o'clock was only a few minutes away. He turned to his friends. They all put on a tense face. Even Qiuzhen, who often had a straight face in various situations, this time showed an unusual facial expression.

Yixiong waited anxiously. He glanced back at the clock on the wall.

Four o'clock has arrived!

Nothing happened. No incoming phone calls.

The faces of the people in the room grew tense. Yixiong was sure they were all guessing in their hearts as to what was going on in the kidnappers' stronghold. So far, the kidnappers had always contacted them at the time they promised.

Five minutes had passed. Still no call.

Are they testing us?

Ten minutes from four, their phone still hadn't rung.

What is this? Did something bad happen there?

"Be patient, gentlemen!" A voice came from the earphones plugged into their ears. Qiulin Xinzhang was probably worried that the delay would make Yixiong and Jingkang very nervous.

Yixiong tried to calm himself down. He had been nervous ever since. The delay didn't make things any worse, but it made Yixiong even more nervous. He glanced at Jingkang. The young man seemed to be trying to appear calm. Yixiong didn't know if in his heart the young man could really control the anxiety that arose at such a crucial moment.