Tian Qin wasntrge, and was divided into different zones based on the different seasonal and temporal calendars. Although Zone 3, which Yaba Ind was a part of, did not sound like a primary district, it was actually the capital of the entire Tian Qin system. It was also the most prosperous area. After all, it held holiday resorts famous across the entire ster system.
Yan Suizhis only impression of Zone 3 was crowded, very crowded, and extraordinarily, exceedingly crowded.
After exiting the port where the space shuttle was moored, he got caught in a rush of traffic on both the hover and surface roads, as well as in the traffic on the way to Zone 3.
The roads are jammed again. The taxi driverined from the front seat. At this hour, the people on the ind would just have had their fill of fun and are all on their way back to Zone 3 or to the port.
To preserve the atmosphere at Yaba Ind, the resorts were extremely expensive. Most tourists would thus choose the more economical option of staying in Zone 3, heading to the ind in the morning, then returning at night after appreciating the evening view.
This was what caused Zone 3 to be so overcrowded.
A jam in the morning, a jam in the afternoon, and another jam in the evening; life will be over before you know it. The driver shook his head, saying.
A few case-rted electronic pages wereid across Yan Suizhisp. Without lifting his gaze, he smiled and said, In traffic jams, seconds pass like hours. To be able to live so many years can also be considered a blessing.
The driver was amused by his quip. So you say.
He nced at Yan Suizhi in the rearview mirror, asking curiously, Are you here on holiday alone?
Work. Yan Suizhi answered concisely.
Youre an office worker?
The driver sounded a little surprised. At this, Yan Suizhi finally raised his eyes, seeming to find the drivers words interesting as he asked, Do I look very much like a student?
Yeah, your features do. But I get a different vibe when I talk to you. The driver cackled,plimenting, Either way, youre a smart man. If you ask me, there cant be a wiser decision than picking a man-operated taxi here.
God knows, if it werent for his status as an intern and having to report his travel expenses, Yan Suizhi would definitely have chosen an unmanned smart taxi.
Because he preferred the car to be quiet, lips zipped shut without anyone talking.
But when he really encountered such a chatty driver, he would still respond with a few words and a hint ofughter in his voice. No one could tell if he was really in the mood for conversation, or if he was just being polite.
So what if its a smart car, youll be caught in this jam all the same. And smart taxis are expensive, itd be toote to cry after a day in traffic, said the driver. Except for those on the tinum roads, everyones gonna be stuck here for a good couple of hours.
Yan Suizhi cast his gaze down again, scanning the page as he casually replied, Even tinum roads cant save us, we still have to cross the intersection ahead.
This time, the driver was genuinely astonished. How did you know?
The tinum roads was actually a very old expression that came about several decades ago when the many transportation systems in gxies were being upgraded. Orbital routes, including hover and surface roads, had to be abandoned and rebuilt. Some people with busier schedules were afraid of being caught in traffic jams and started to build additional roads for their private use.
At that time, those who were able to do so were only the rich and powerful.
However, this frenzysted no longer than half a year before the alliance called a halt to it, fearing that the building of private roads would interfere with the mapping of public roads.
The private roads that had already been opened were not cordoned off and remained to the present. But due to their low frequency of use, few people had ever used them before, thus they were jokingly dubbed as tinum roads.
In reality, some of the tinum roads were still in use today, such as the route under Joes family name that was used to bring them to Yaba Ind thest time. As long as one knew the unique road number and could pass the gic encryption, changing the drive settings would be enough to grant them ess.
Whereas some other tinum roads had gradually fallen into disuse.
I dont think you were even born when tinum roads came out, no?
The driver nced at Yan Suizhi through the rearview mirror a few more times, giving him a lookover, saying in his mind, Could I have picked up a kid from a rich family? But that cant be, what kind of rich kid would call for such a taxi when leaving the house instead of indulging himself
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Can fingers be so beautiful?
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By the time the driver awkwardly put down his hands and looked back into the rearview mirror, he found that that passenger had already set his fingers down, his profile angled sideways as he looked out of the window at the unending stream of traffic. The summer sun of Zone 3 shone radiantly on his fair face, muting any facial expressions he had.
He looked perfectly calm. However, unwittingly, the driver kept silent.
For some reason, he kept feeling that this passenger wasnt in a good mood. He was afraid that he might have identally said something to upset him.
However, the driver soon realised that it was probably a trick of the light, because the passenger eventually looked away from the window and smiled at him, reminding, The car in front of you has moved.
The driver jolted, hastily drawing back his gaze to keep up.
He blithelyughed, cracking a joke, My mind wandered; I seriously thought for a moment that you were going to quote me a tinum road number.
3990131, try it. Yan Suizhi recited a string of numbers out of nowhere.
The driver swore in his head. Did he really pick up a rich kid?! He was already inputting the numbers into the system when he heard thetter half of the sentence. As for the encryption, I cant do anything about it.
The driver,
I almost fell for your bullshit.
The driver was about to re at him through the rearview mirror, only to see a smile being directed at him. Thank you for the hard work. Take your time, Im not in a hurry.
The driver silently took back the almost-re.
The cumbersome congestion on Tian Qin was something that Yan Suizhi had anticipated, so the appointment had been arranged for the next day. It was the truth; he really wasnt in a hurry.
Not failing to live up to expectations, the taxi took all afternoon to enter Zone 3, finally dropping Yan Suizhi off at the hotel. Before alighting, the warmhearted taxi driver scanned the surroundings, and he couldnt help but remind him, Youd best check out if theres any other hotel you can stay at for the next few days. The people in this area are a little rowdy, itd be safer to stay closer to the central if youre alone.
Rowdy? Yan Suizhi froze for a moment.
But this was a hotel booked for him by the legal assistant. It wasnt too far off from the detention centre, which made it less of a hassle to make trips down to and fro.
Its the year-end, the drivers brows furrowed. Anyway, keep an eye out on your bags and valuables when youre on the road. There are always suchlike in crowded areas.
Yan Suizhi nced down at himself, joking, Unless they cut my finger, I probably have nothing much to lose.
Apart from his smart device, he didnt really have any valuables.
The taxi driver, Your entire outfit doesnt look cheap, if Im being perfectly honest.
Yan Suizhi,
But Yan Suizhi often forgot that he was a true-to-life crows mouth. To his great misfortune, this taxi driver might be one as well.
Thebined effect of the two peas in a pod instantly disyed its potency
At seven in the evening, Yan Suizhi went downstairs to buy something at a convenience store a short distance from the hotel when a few drunkards suddenly staggered out of the alleyway between the buildings next to him, stumbling straight towards him.
The strong reek of liquor was unpleasant; Yan Suizhi gave way to them.
As he stepped to the side, his fingers bumped against something startling cold in this hot and humid summer night. When Yan Suizhi looked down, he saw a short knife in the hand of a man who had squeezed into the crowd next to him.
The de of this knife was particrly thin and had a hooked tip. Where there was a crowd, he could take advantage of the thick crowd to sh and hook bags, and many items would fall into his clutches.
The other person possibly didnt expect to be caught in the act so soon. He immediately twisted the de, hooking it towards Yan Suizhis finger. The face shadowed under the brim of his hat was tight, and his mouth was curled menacingly, probably hoping to frighten off Yan Suizhi like this and take the chance to flee.
Watch out! A youngdy nearby shouted.
However, in the next second, Yan Suizhi had already caught the de, easily twisting it.
Hss The thugs fingers were twisted as well, and along with it his posture, such that he was unable to use any force. Right then, Yan Suizhi urately pinpointed his ulnar nerve, knocking it sharply.
WhaFuck!
How the hell did you use so much force?!
The thug swore. His fingers instantly went numb and the thin knife nged to the ground.
He shook off Yan Suizhis hand and was about to lunge for the knife when a high-heeled shoe with a thin heel suddenly flew over, whacking the thug in the face.
When Yan Suizhi saw the strength of the hit, he silently clicked his tongue.
The thug immediately covered his aching nose and cried out, tears streaming as he staggered backwards, knocking into a drunkard who had juste out of the alleyway earlier.
The two of them, each bringing down the other, fell into a messy heap.
The drunkard was an obese man. He hazily used the thug as a meat cushion to prop up half his body. He stared at the thugs face in bafflement for three seconds, then with a giant belch, puked.
The thug, who was just about to spring back up, choked on the stench and fell back down to the ground.
Seeing that Yan Suizhi had evenly stepped on the knife and that the thug and drunkard had fallen into a heap again, some of the bystanders immediately called the police, while others beat the thug up.
Yan Suizhi borrowed a tissue from someone and bent down to pick up the knife.
I never expected that someone with such a delicate face can actually fight.
When Yan Suizhi stood back upright, he lifted his eyes and saw a youngdy in a neat ponytail hobbling over to him, one leg standing taller than the other. She wore the high heel that had whacked the thug back on.
I cant fight. Yan Suizhi wrapped the knife in a tissue. I only know how to pinch theulnar nerve; it can barely get me by in emergencies.
You found it so urately, I bet you must have practised it loads. She gave Yan Suizhi a once-over.
Who would have the leisure to practise such a thing? Wasnt it only a person with extraordinarily crap luck, often encountering such situations, who could thus pinch it to such precision?
But that youngdys attention quickly shifted. Her gazended on Yan Suizhis hand and she softly eximed, Hey, your fingers bleeding. You must have got it when you caught the de earlier; its not a small cut either.
s, Yan Suizhi crooked his fingers. He said, Its just a scratch.
The youngdy immediately fished out a small box of band-aids from her bag and passed one to Yan Suizhi. You scared me too; I cant believe you actually dared to grab the knife directly when he pointed it at you. This can staunch the blood, just stick it on for now and take it off in a while.
Yan Suizhi hadnt intended to take the band-aid, but he noticed the line of blue text printed on the packagingHardymont Diving Club.
His client in this case, Chen Zhang, belonged to this diving club.
Before, the first thing he did upon receiving the case file was to look up information on the diving club, trying to find out Chen Zhangs history in the past years. But actual useable information about the club was scarce. After the incident happened, the club had likely gotten a whiff of the news and deleted all associations to Chen Zhang.
Yan Suizhi took the band-aid and smiled at the youngdy. Thank you.
Several minutester, the policeman responsible for this area arrived, tossing the thug and the drunkard into the car together.
Yan Suizhi and the women were also brought along to assist the investigation.
A policeman in charge of registering their information came over and said, Zhou Jialing? Ruan Ye? Can you provide me with an emergency contact number?
The youngdy named Zhou Jialing was slightly perplexed. What do you need a number for?
Oh, its nothing much. You guys havent been in a police station over here before, right? This is just procedure. There are a lot more tourists and fewer locals here than other ces, so there are special regtions, the young policeman said.
Zhou Jialing gave it a thought, and gave a name andmunication number.
Yan Suizhi was slightly distracted, but he quickly recovered, giving an apologetic smile. I dont have anyone to fill in.
The policeman froze. Ah My condolences. Do you have a significant other, or any friends? Or people that you contact on a more frequent basis from your address book will also do.
Yan Suizhi contemted briefly, then took a look at his address book. After a slight hesitation, he tapped into the one with the longest name and told the policeman the number.
Ten secondster, the policeman who kept prattling on about procedure dialled themunication number of the emergency contact person on the spot.
Yan Suizhi,
Far away in the Redstone system, Gu Yan was in a hotel arranged by the review board and had juste out from a shower when he received amunication request. He nced down:
Source: Tian Qin Zone 3
Category: Police Department Public Line
And he immediately had a foreboding feeling
Hello, is this Mr Gu? We are just making a routine inquiry. Do you have a friend by the name of Ruan Ye in Tian Qin?
As expected
Mn. Gu Yans hand, rubbing a towel against his hair, stopped. Did anything happen to him?
Great, were just confirming his identity. Its the year-end, many fugitives tend to make a break for it around this time. Thank you for your cooperation. Other than that, your friend, Ruan Ye, is at our police station now. A thug had cut his hand.