《Once Upon a Time in a Foreign Land》Chapter 054 : Zhonghang Qiuzhen
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Qiuzhen was still sitting on the bench on the platform. He did not follow the two people who had just passed. It was too risky to follow two people. He chose to reflect first on the things he had heard and witnessed throughout the day. He received a lot of new information. In his entire life, never in a single day had Qiuzhen received so many surprises like that.
After about fifteen minutes of spending time sitting there contemplating, Qiuzhen decided to leave the place. Departing for Zhonghang Station was something he could no longer delay. There, he would head straight to a simple inn in a commercial area in the subway station complex. After that, he would take rest to relieve the fatigue in his body. Qiuzhen couldn't deny that he was tired. Tomorrow morning, he would think about the next plan.
The train that passed through Zhonghang Station had arrived. Qiuzhen forthwith jumped into the front car. Along the way, Qiuzhen's mind was constantly spinning on the facts he had just learned. When each time he managed to divert his mind to other things, a few minutes later, his mind returned to the things he had experienced earlier. Qiuzhen repeatedly wondered to himself. He really didn't know what kind of problem they were in. Qiuzhen wasn't sure whether the people who had chased after his beaushu's friend yesterday had anything to do with the people chasing Songfei. In addition, the person in the black hat was also very suspicious. He seemed to be a co-worker with someone Zhengyi knew. Tomorrow night, when he got home, he really had to discuss that matter with Shanquan.
If things are like this, I'd better be honest with Beaushu!
Arriving at Zhonghang Station, Qiuzhen speedily walked to a shop selling medicine. He didn't know what would happen next, so he had to make some preparations. In Qiuzhen's opinion, medicine, apart from food, was very important. At the shop, Qiuzhen bought a first aid kit. He didn't forget to buy headache medicine, poultice plaster, and eucalyptus oil. Qiuzhen decided to take the backpack he had left this morning in the luggage storage locker at the station.
With full certainty, after picking up the backpack, he stepped into the area where the inn was rented out. There were several inns at the station. Qiuzhen had seen a super simple inn, like a capsule hotel, there. There were also inns whose room sizes were reasonable for a simple inn. He also remembered the simple inn with slightly more luxurious amenities. For a moment, Qiuzhen was tempted to try resting in a capsule hotel. But after he thought again, he decided to stay at a simple inn. The capsule hotel was too cramped. Qiuzhen couldn't sleep in such a tight space. He was not afraid to be in a narrow and closed place, just feeling uncomfortable.
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After finishing the administrative matters, which turned out to be very simple, he right away entered the room. Qiuzhen simply put his backpack on the side of the bed. After taking off his jacket and clothes, Qiuzhen patched some poultice plaster on the parts of his body that felt stiff. He then straight away threw himself on the relatively soft bed. Tired of having walked quite a distance, it took little time for Qiuzhen to arrive in dreamland.
Qiuzhen didn't know how long he had been asleep when he suddenly woke up. He was hungry. Even though he had eaten earlier, now his stomach was making a loud sound. It was an alarm reminding him to fill his stomach.
After changing clothes, Qiuzhen went outside the room to look for food. He didn't forget to bring a flashlight, just in case. He even put a sign on the door handle so as not to be disturbed. Qiuzhen didn't want anyone to enter his room when he wasn't in the room. But after he thought again, there was no way the inn maid would come in to clean the room at night. He already put the sign. He hesitated for a moment but hastened on. Qiuzhen was sure the maids there wouldn't care. After all, he had already walked far enough from the bedroom door, so he was lazy to come back again.
With quick steps, Qiuzhen headed to the area of the station where there were many food vendors. The food at the station was quite complete. Several restaurants were quite spacious. On the other floor, there was a food court which was not exactly small. There were also several small stalls selling food. In such a hungry state, Qiuzhen did not intend to choose dishes too long. After midnight like that time, the foods sold there were not as complete as in the morning, afternoon, or evening. As long as he saw the food that seemed suitable for him to enjoy, Qiuzhen would order it right away with little thought.
Anything I can eat now! Hunger in the middle of the night was so excruciating!
There was a stall selling fried noodles combined with roasted turkey. Qiuzhen hadn't eaten roast turkey in quite a while. Even when he looked back, he had never eaten roast turkey at the station. So he just sat down on the long bench there. Two other people were also sitting. It seemed they had already ordered food at the stall. The two of them were quite old men. If Qiuzhen didn't guess wrong, they were both around their mid-sixties. When Qiuzhen came, they were busy talking.
"What do you think of Huangmu?" Asked one of the two people talking.
"Huangmu, who?" The other person asked back. Casually, he sat right to the left of Qiuzhen. He wore a dark green coat.
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"Huangmu Zhenzhi. That very famous soccer player." The person who had spoken first said. He was wearing a brown jacket. The jacket looked a bit rundown. "Haven't you heard?"
"Heard about what? The news about him missing while hunting in the woods? That's been a while."
"Not too long ago. Just three months ago."
"Then?"
"He's been found!"
"In that case, good."
"This adds to the list of missing persons who were later found."
"People are missing, then they're found. Isn't that natural?"
"You're right. But these people have something in common."
"As far as I know, these people come from different backgrounds."
"That's not what I meant. I was talking about their mental state when they were found."
The person wearing the dark green coat looked at his friend's face. "You seem to have an interesting story."
"Those people were in a daze when they were found." The man in the brown jacket shouted.
Out of the corner of her eye, Qiuzhen glanced at the person. Their conversation was exciting.
"Dazed? Do you mean they don't know what has happened to them during their disappearance?"
"It's not like that. That's not all they forgot!"
"So they lost their memories?"
The person with a brown jacket leaned forward. He raised his hands and rolled his eyes. "Not completely oblivious. But they don't seem to remember a lot of things."
"Like what?"
"They forgot about things that had just happened in their lives. They even have a hard time recognizing the people they are close to."
"From what I've read, it looks like they're doing fine."
"Physically, they are fine. But mentally, there seems to be a problem."
"Are your sources reliable?"
"Not one hundred percent, but in general, I think he's quite credible."
"You asked about Huangmu Zhenzhi earlier. How exactly is his health?"
"Just like the others. He knows he is Huangmu Zhenzhi, but when he speaks, he seems unsure of himself."
"Who did you hear the news from?"
"From the servants who work at Huangmu's house."
"Have they been working there long?"
"That's not the case. Huangmu Zhenzhi knew personally the people who worked in his house. He personally selected everyone who worked for him. He investigated all the backgrounds of his employees thoroughly. However, Huangmu Zhenzhi, who had just returned after being missing for a while, was completely different. He could indeed tell others about who he is, what his achievements are, who the people around him are. But there seems to be no interaction between him and what he tells. He stared at the trophy he won with a cold gaze, not as bright as before. He greets the people who work in his house formally. Whereas before, he has a nickname for everyone who works there. When he says something, he looks like someone who is just repeating a story that is previously told by someone else. That's weird, isn't it?"
"Looks like he has amnesia." The tone of the green-coated man's voice sounded so sure. "Then, there are other parties who try to cover it up by giving him information about Huangmu Zhenzhi. That's why he seems to be reading by rote when he tells about himself. People who memorize things will only get the words out of their mouths without any emotional connection to what they should have experienced."
"I think you can use this as material for your next project."
"You think so?"
"Of course!"
"I have to admit that is a great idea! But right now, I'm swamped."
"You can start gathering data on that."
"You're right. But I'm not the same as I used to be. At this age, I can only focus on one project." The man in the dark green coat laughed. "We'll discuss this later after I finish my current project."
The man in the brown coat nodded. "By the way, how about your ongoing project? Is it going well?"
"Yeah, it's okay. Even though there are a few distractions sometimes, I can handle everything."
"Observing people isn't easy. If they realize you're watching them, it's going to be a mess."
"Yes. I know. Although I have been used to observing and monitoring people's movements for over forty years but somehow, in the last five years, in doing this process, many people have realized that I am watching them. Even though I was cautious. The older I get, the more skilled I am, the more careless I am. Maybe I'm just not fit to do something like this."
The person wearing the brown jacket laughed at his friend's words. "If it's true that you are not suitable to do this, you must have given up long ago. The proof is that you are still doing it. It means that in your heart, you feel very suitable to do these things. I think it's because your physical condition is not the same as it used to be, so you are less agile in moving. You have a lot of limitations."
"I don't know! Maybe you're right. But maybe I need to reevaluate the things I've done so far. There are so many things I don't fully understand."
Who are these people? What kind of project are they talking about?
"Enough, already. Don't talk too much. The food has arrived. Let's eat first," said the person in the brown jacket while giving the plate and chopsticks to the person wearing a dark green coat.
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