With the steps that weren't too fast, but not too slow either, Nangong Yiren entered the kitchen carrying two dirty plates in his hands. Arriving at the dishwasher, he saw two dirty dishes. Yiren smiled. He intended to spend the next few minutes of his life washing those four dirty dishes.

He could hear Yixiong's voice clearly when his friend was talking to Qiuzhen. Like the night before, tonight would be a long night filled with adventure. He shook his head excitedly.

Yiren remembered their promise, that each of them would take the time to write a memoir. At first, he thought his memoir would be very boring. They have indeed experienced many unique events in this city. But Yiren felt the events were not so unique that it would be interesting for people to read their memoirs. The series of events of the last few days had completely changed everything. He could already imagine that the memoirs he was about to write would be full of unexpected things, which would very likely thrill the hearts of those who read them.

Speaking of unexpected things, today, while tailing someone, Yiren also experienced such things. What he had heard and witnessed were not things that could be taken lightly. He already wanted to tell all of those things to Yixiong. But he must find the right place and time. Previously, Yixiong had clearly forbidden him from telling all the things they had witnessed, related to Duanmu Shanquan, to other friends.

After washing the dishes, Yiren returned to the dining room. The number of people sitting at the dining table had increased. This time, Zhengyi and Caihong were also sitting there.

"It's almost half-past six in the afternoon." Yiren looked at Caihong and Qiuzhen. "Shouldn't you guys be getting ready already?"

Caihong opened his mouth right away. "Yuehming isn't far from here, Uncle. Even if the traffic was heavy, it still wouldn't take us long to get there."

"You're right," Yixiong said. "While waiting for the time, you better tell us about Zhuge's situation. Since arriving this afternoon, you haven't explained that to us at all."

Caihong's face turned very serious. He nodded with a strong motion. "That's right, Uncle! I do have something to explain. This is very important."

"So, how's your driver doing now?" Yiren stepped towards the chair that was right next to Caihong's seat. "I hope everything is much better than yesterday."

"The doctors were having a hard time explaining to me about Zhuge's condition." Caihong's face looked slightly tense. "His health is very unstable. His condition has fluctuated drastically. This morning, when we got there, he was getting better. But thirty minutes later, he was getting worse. They said it had happened many times."

"Have the doctors never encountered such cases?"

"Judging from the symptoms, this is similar to the case of the pandemic that occurred five years ago. But it's not exactly the same. There are several things that are different. For example, his fluctuating conditions."

Yiren felt like he was thrown from a high place. This was really dire. The pandemic that occurred five years ago really left a deep wound in everyone's heart. The pandemic that lasted for three years had taken the lives of many people closest to them. If that happened again, Yiren really didn't know what to do.

"Are you serious?" Yixiong's voice was a bit stuttering.

"The doctor said so, Uncle," Caihong replied.

"But if that's true,then the proper authorities must have issued an order to quarantine everyone who was currently in that hospital. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must have come to us," Qiuzhen said.

"We've all been vaccinated," said Zhengyi.

"That's right, Uncle," said Caihong. "The doctors said that Zhuge's condition did not endanger anyone. So they did not apply quarantine procedures to him."

"Zhuge already got the vaccination, right?" asked Yiren.

"That's it, Uncle. In accordance with government regulations, we will only hire people who have been vaccinated against the raging virus several years ago."

"Maybe there is a certain condition of his body that makes him sick," said Yixiong. "I'm not saying he's not sick because of a virus or bacteria. But certain conditions that Zhuge has may make him more susceptible."

Qiuzhen nodded. "This could be another virus whose symptoms are similar to those of the disease that became a pandemic five years ago."

"We have some things to clear up first." Zhengyi also opened his mouth. "The pandemic that started five years ago and ended two years ago has not hit everywhere. There were places that had not been touched by the pandemic."

"You're right," Qiuzhen said. "This happened because, at that time, there were many areas that immediately isolated themselves as soon as the epidemic broke out in other areas. They did not allow anyone to enter their areas. Therefore, those areas were relatively safe."

Zhengyi continued his words. "This gigantic city and its surrounding areas and our New World Capital and its surrounding areas were two of dozens of areas that were relatively safe."

"I guess," said Yiren. "That's one of the reasons why people here don't seem to understand how bad things can get if the virus manages to spread widely."

"I hope this is all just a false alarm. Hopefully Zhuge recovers from his illness soon. Now it's better if we discuss other things. What do you think?"

Yixiong's remarks closed their conversation about the pandemic. Yiren was relieved Yixiong stopped the conversation on that topic. Their area of origin, namely Yeuandong, was one of the many areas that had been severely affected. Talking about the topic in their hometown would usually make people fight each other because of differences of opinion that sometimes were difficult to bridge.

The pandemic had truly had extraordinary consequences in all aspects of life. Unlike in other areas where the most obvious impact was in the economic sector, in Yeuandong, the pandemic resulted in a multi-dimensional crisis. Even in the political field, the local government was almost overthrown. Political adventurers ruthlessly take advantage of an unfavorable situation to discredit the government, which had worked hard. Luckily, the worst didn't happen. There were still many good people who had sincerely worked hard to prevent further damage from happening.

Yixiong looked at the clock hanging on the wall. He then turned his gaze to Qiuzhen and Caihong. "I think you should leave now."

Qiuzhen and Caihong nodded. They quickly got up and got ready to leave. However, at that moment, a familiar sound startled them.

Ring!

Everyone stopped moving.

Ring!

Yixiong and Yiren ran towards the phone. The lights on their Huaxiang didn't twinkle.

"I hope the kidnappers don't change their plans again," Qiuzhen shouted.

Ring!

Yixiong picked up the phone.

"Hello!"

After saying that few short words, Yixiong only listened to what the other person said. Yiren, who was standing next to Yixiong, could clearly see Yixiong's face changing. He looked angry and very irritated.

"You can't just decide something like that." After just listening for nearly two minutes, Yixiong finally opened his mouth again. He spoke while shouting. Yiren had never seen Yixiong look that angry.

"The time is too tight. This is impossible!" Yixiong was still screaming. "You guys are crazy! At least you have to give us twenty-four hours!"

Everyone was approaching. They all crowded behind Yixiong.

"Fine! We'll try! We'll see!" Yixiong slammed the receiver down.

Everyone looked at Yixiong with anxious looks.

"Eh! You cut off the phone just like that? Won't they be mad?" Zhengyi's voice was full of worry.

"I don't care! They really have gone mad!" Yixiong's voice still sounded so loud.

Yiren was surprised. He really didn't expect that Yixiong's emotions could overflow like that. As far as Yiren knew, so far, like Shanquan, Yixiong had always been able to control his emotions. What he witnessed this time completely overturned the assumptions he had believed so far.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Their Huaxiang twinkled. The police wanted to talk.

"You go talk to the police. My feelings are messed up. I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing." Yixiong patted Yiren's arm.

Yiren hesitated. He looked at the other friends.

"What are you waiting for?" Zhengyi looked at Yiren while frowning.

"You guys do the talking." Yiren begged his friends to take their place to talk to the police.

Qiuzhen stepped to the phone. At the same time, Zhengyi also came forward. They put those Huaxiang earphones in their ears.

Yiren grabbed Yixiong's arm. The two of them then backed away and sat down on the chairs in the dining room. Jingkang followed behind them. But the young man did not sit down. Instead, he speedily ran to the kitchen..

"I am Dongfang Zhengyi." Zhengyi identified himself to the police. Zhengyi's voice was so strongly and tightly. Yiren could hear clearly.

"I am Zhonghang Qiuzhen." Like Zhengyi, Qiuzhen spoke those words firmly. "We apologize! Mr. Shimen is not available. So we will represent him."

Jingkang returned from the kitchen. He gave a glass of cold water to Yixiong, who took a sip of the water in the glass straight away. In such a short time, Yixiong gulped down the water.

"Would you like another glass of water?" asked Jingkang.

"Thank you," said Yixiong. "This is enough."

Even though Yixiong said so. But Jingkang still ran back to the kitchen. He soon reappeared with a bottle of water. Instantly, the young man poured water into Yixiong's glass. After that, he put the bottle on the table.

Yiren looked back at his two colleagues, who were talking to the police. Qiuzhen and Zhengyi looked serious as they listened to what the police had to say. The two of them nodded rapidly. Occasionally, they answered with short sentences.

Except when thanking Jingkang, Yixiong didn't make a sound at all. He just sat quietly, occasionally sipping water from his glass.

After about five minutes, the telephone conversation ended. Yiren had no idea what had actually happened. They must be discussing about the phone call from the kidnappers. However, the short sentences that Zhengyi and Qiuzhen spoke while conversing with the police did not adequately describe what the kidnapper had said to Yixiong earlier to make him so angry.

Zhengyi and Qiuzhen moved towards the dining table. Caihong followed them. Quickly, they all returned to sit at the dining table.

"Shyongge! You don't need to say anything. Please, just let Yihge and I explain to the others." Qiuzhen patted Yixiong on the shoulder.

Yixiong nodded. His face still looked tense.

"As we expected, the kidnappers changed their plans again. This might lead some of us to suspect that there is a possibility that these kidnappers are testing our patience or that they really don't know the basics of planning. But I tend to have other ideas on the matter." Qiuzhen's voice was authoritative.

Had Qiuzhen chaired meetings like this many times? It seemed he was used to it.

Yiren realized he didn't know what position Qiuzhen had at the company where he worked. Qiuzhen hardly ever talked about it.

"This time they asked us to do something very difficult. We may actually understand their request if they then give us enough time to fulfill it. But with time constraints, it's rather impossible for us to fulfill their request one hundred percent."

Caihong and Jingkang's faces looked confused and tense. Qiuzhen did not immediately say what the kidnapper wanted. That seemed to make Caihong's and Jingkang's faces look even more contorted.

Please don't talk in circles! Just say it as soon as possible!

"The point is, after we transfer Songfei's belongings into the new bag, the kidnappers want us not to just randomly fill the old bag. They want us to fill the old bag with the same items as the ones we moved."

"So they want us to look for items that are like the other items we moved into the fresh bag?" Caihong raised his eyebrows.

"Right!" Qiuzhen said.

"That's impossible!" Yiren shook his head. It was only natural for Yixiong to be furious. It was an unreasonable request.

"I realized it would be very difficult for us to get items that were one hundred percent the same, but at least from the same brand and type," said Qiuzhen.

"As Qiuzhen said earlier, it is not impossible for us to do this if there is enough time," said Zhengyi. "The problem is they only give us such a short amount of time."

"How much time did they give? When should we hand over the two bags to them?" asked Yiren.

Zhengyi took a deep breath. "Just three hours!"

"Three hours from twelve? Does that mean they want us to drop the bags off at three o'clock, before sunrise?" Jingkang's eyes widened.

"That's right," Qiuzhen said. "They again postponed the handover of the ransom goods to three o'clock, when the situation was not much different from midnight."

"What is the kidnapper's excuse?" asked Caihong.

"Based on information from the police, the kidnappers reasoned we should do this so that the police would not become suspicious. The police will definitely check the items in Songfei's bag before we take them to the place where the ransom items are handed over," Zhengyi said.

"The police really have to check the bag. In cases like this, usually the police will install a tracking device on the bag used as a container for goods or ransom money. To install a tracking device, the police must open the bag. Once the police open the bag, of course they'll realize we've changed the contents if we just put other items at random instead of the ones we've moved into the extra bag," Qiuzhen said.

"So, actually, the kidnappers' demands are quite reasonable." Caihong nodded.

"Of course it makes sense. However they should have given us sufficient time to search for the same items. Moreover, they should have emphasized this point in the letter they sent us last night. By using such an annoying method like this, it's obvious that they don't know what planning is all about." Zhengyi grumbled.

"I believe the kidnappers already suspect that we are cooperating with the police. So it really doesn't matter what items we put in Songfei's bag," Qiuzhen said.

"So you think there's another reason?" Zhengyi turned to Qiuzhen.

"As I mentioned earlier, when I opened our emergency meeting." Qiuzhen nodded in a reassuring motion. "First, they delayed the handover of the ransom items from ten at night to twelve at night. Then now, they've postponed it again until three o'clock. I feel this delay has a lot to do with their plan. Escaping from the police is definitely not a simple thing. They need a lot of preparation. So I'm sure this delay is part of their preparations. Maybe something has happened to them, so they need extra time to smooth out their actions."

"But Mr. Gongyang's original bag will only be filled with replacement items. Why did they plan such a clever strategy to take the bag and run away from the police?" Jingkang looked straight at Qiuzhen.

Ah! Maybe this kid is a bit tired, so this time he was a bit slow at digesting Qiuzhen's words.

"They didn't plot a proper route to escape the drop off bag containing the replacement goods. They're hatching a plan to escape from the new bag drop-in area, which we've filled with genuine stuffs. I'm pretty sure they already know that we've informed the police about the two bags plan. They knew the police would be on guard in both places. So they need a good plan to escape." Qiuzhen looked at Jingkang..

"Ah! So that's it," said Jingkang. "If they already know, then why are they continuing this plan of two bags?" Jingkang asked.

"The first possibility is that they don't know for sure whether we are cooperating with the police or not. If we don't cooperate with the police, of course they are safe, but if we cooperate with the police, of course they have to come up with a new strategy," Qiuzhen said.

"And the second possibility?" asked Caihong.

"The second possibility is that they just want to make us let our guard down. If we think we've outsmarted the kidnappers, then we'll be off guard. So we and the police will carry out our plan without thinking that the kidnappers have other plans," Qiuzhen smiled bitterly..

"So, what did the police say?" asked Caihong.

"The police said they could provide some items that were in Songfei's bag," Qiuzhen said. "They already took inventory of the items yesterday morning. So actually, they are ready with replicas of some items. But there are still items that are difficult for them to get in a short time."

"Actually, what's in Mr. Gongyang's bag?" Jingkang asked.

"Apart from a few pieces of clothing, there were iron handcuffs, a mustache trimmer, a toothbrush, a towel and a large brown envelope," said Yiren.

"What's in the envelope?" Jingkang looked very curious.

"It contains a piece of paper full of handwriting, a photo that looks like it was printed decades ago, and a map," Zhengyi replied.

"It doesn't seem too difficult to find the items or make copies of them," Caihong said. "The problem is we don't have enough time to get those things."

"What items are the police having trouble finding similar?" Jingkang asked.

"Handcuffs and trimmers," Qiuzhen said.

"The police must have a lot of handcuffs," Jingkang said. "And trimmers? I think we've got some trimmers in this house."

"The handcuffs are special handcuffs. The police said earlier that the handcuffs used to belong to a famous magician. So apart from the material and shape being different from the standard handcuffs using by the police, there are also not many of them in the world because less than twenty units have ever been produced," said Zhengyi.

"That mustache trimmer is also a special edition. It's out of production. The police say they know where they can get it, which is in another town very far from here. But it should take twelve hours to get it here as fast as possible," Qiuzhen said.

"In an emergency like this, can't things be sped up?" Jingkang asked.

"The problem we are facing right now is only an emergency for us, but not for all residents in this city," said Qiuzhen. "We can't force the special forces of the Imperial Guard, who have the power to bypass everything, to bring those things here."

"Then, according to Uncle Dongfang, what should I do now?" Caihong glanced at Zhengyi.

Zhengyi glanced at the clock on the wall. "Of course you have to leave now. Carry out the plans we have made. Let us here handle this matter."

"Fine, Uncle!" Caihong nodded. The call from the kidnapper had kept Qiuzhen and Caihong in this house. They should have left the house by now.

"You have to hurry. Don't be late to meet Mr. Hetian," said Yiren.

"Because they delayed the delivery of the ransom goods, so we also postponed the departure time from this place," said Qiuzhen. "After midnight, traffic is relatively light. So the two teams will leave here at two in the morning."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Caihong and Qiuzhen immediately walked out with a quick, hurried step. Jingkang got up from his chair to lead them all the way to the gate.