Yixiong waited anxiously in the living room of their house. It was almost half-past twelve, yet Shanquan and the others had not yet returned. Indeed, there was still more than half an hour before the kidnappers were supposed to call them. But before twelve o'clock, they should be ready. There was no way that Shanquan, as soon as he entered the house, immediately had to take a call.

The situation he was in really wasn't something that normally happened in their daily lives. Not only them, things like that were also not common in other people's lives. Because not many people had experienced those things, there was no manual that he could read to determine the steps he should take next.

"I've noticed that since a while ago, you seem very restless." Duanmu Jingkang opened his mouth. Just like Yixiong, the young man was sitting in the living room.

Yixiong turned to the young man. His voice was indeed very similar to Shanquan's voice. With almost the same accent, if Yixiong had not come face to face with the young man, he would not have known that it was not Shanquan speaking. Such a coincidence was truly a rare thing.

"Not just nervous. I'm really panicking right now." Yixiong sighed once again. "Where have they been? It shouldn't take so long to give statements to the police. After all, even if it took the police a long time to extract information from them, Dahge could have gone home first. He didn't have to wait until it was over."

Did the cops forbid him to go home alone?

"Don't worry, Sir! I think they'll be at the door soon. I'm also sure they have good reasons not to hurry home."

Such remarks are completely unfounded.

Naturally, Yixiong knew Jingkang was trying to calm him down. One hundred percent, he realized he shouldn't make things more complicated. The restlessness he showed could have made the young man sitting near him feel uncomfortable. But Yixiong was unable to hide what he felt. The thing that was happening was not an everyday event that he could take lightly.

"I hope you're right." Yixiong forced himself to smile.

I hope my smile doesn't look so awkward.

Jingkang nodded quickly.

"How is Mr Juger doing?" Yixiong shifted their conversation to something else that he considered also quite important.

"Last time I saw, Mr. Juger was still sleeping. So I don't know how he felt. Maybe he's getting better. But maybe not."

"Does he have any health conditions that require special attention?"

"I don't know, Sir. As you already know, I haven't worked there long."

"I hope it' won't be a big problem."

"I hope so too, Sir."

"You understand why I think this way, don't you?"

Jinqang nodded. "The disease outbreak that occurred a few years ago was truly terrifying, Sir. It left a deep trauma in the minds of many people in our world. I understand that you and others are worried like this."

"The government declares that the epidemic is over. But we can never be completely sure about the truth of that statement. It is possible that some of these viruses mutate into other viruses, which are no less dangerous than the previous viruses."

Jingkang didn't answer. He just nodded a few times.

Ah! I must sound like a crazy old man raving about absurd hypotheses!

"Are any of your close relatives also victims of the plague?"

"None of my relatives who are here got the plague, Sir. But some of my relatives in Yuandong who have passed away."

"Ah! The people of this city are not affected by the plague."

When the plague first broke out, this gigantic city was one of the few areas that immediately closed all its borders. No one entered or left the city. The borders were opened only months after the central government announced that the outbreak of the disease had ended. So Yixiong could understand that the people of this gigantic city did not have the same impression as those from other regions, who were exposed to the plague with such severe consequences.

Yuandong was one of the areas where the death toll was high. Not the highest because there were several other areas whose conditions were much worse. However, that did not mean it was an achievement worth celebrating. What had happened was a humanitarian catastrophe that profoundly affected everyone's life. Regardless of the number of lives lost, everyone mourned all of them with a heart-piercing sadness.

Like other people, Yixiong felt deep sadness when he heard and witnessed many people who had lost the people closest to them in their lives. He was so happy when the plague was over. But all left traumatized. Yixiong, and others, realized that something like that might happen again. That's why when Yixiong saw someone whose condition had suddenly deteriorated, such thoughts came out again.

Yixiong hoped the anxiety he was feeling was just a completely unfounded anxiety. There's not enough reason to think that far. Positive thinking was what he should be doing. Yixiong was absolutely not allowed to frighten the youth around him with negative thoughts that would harm them.

He turned his gaze back to Duanmu Jingkang. The young man was amiable. For the past few hours, Yixiong had spent conversing with the young man. Yixiong was happy that he had someone to chat with. The young man also seemed delighted. It might be because that day he didn't have to work.