《Once Upon a Time in a Foreign Land》Chapter 017 : Zhonghang Qiuzhen
Advertisement
Qiuzhen wasn't so sure that Hanrong would obey the instructions he gave. So he went downstairs to keep an eye on him. From inside the building, he saw Hanrong go outside and lock the gate. After that, he saw Hanrong enter the building again and lock the front door of the building. Qiuzhen escorted Hanrong out of the building through the back door of the building. About twenty meters from the back door of the building, there was a parapet that separated the building complex from other building complexes facing the opposite direction. On the back wall was a small door. Behind the door, which was in the area between the two complexes facing opposite directions, a small path led to the subway station near the intersection. After seeing Hanrong leave, Qiuzhen immediately returned to the building and went upstairs to the tenth floor to rest there.
"Today really is a strange day," Qiuzhen muttered to himself. Qiuzhen then looked around for the item that Songfei asked him to keep. But he did not find the big blue bag he was looking for.
"It might have been taken by Beaushu." Qiuzhen once again said to himself. He often did things like that when he was alone. This was another thing that he had subconsciously imitated from Shannchyuan.
Maybe it's because I haven't given an answer for too long, so Songfei asked Beaushu to pick up and store his things. But where should I give the answer? In his letter, he did not write about how I would contact him.
To be sure, then Qiuzhen searched all the rooms in the unit once again. He didn't find it. After a bit of deliberation, Qiuzhen intended to take a shower before resting. He really had to sleep to recover his strength. Tomorrow morning, he will just decide what steps he will take next.
Water still flows smoothly in this building. So Qiuzhen could bathe in peace. After bathing, he felt hungry. Remembered that he hadn't had dinner yet. This unit had a kitchen. Qiuzhen opened the cupboard that was there to see if there were any edible ingredients. It turned out that there were still several packets of instant noodles.
The kitchen was also equipped with an electric stove, microwave, and several other cooking utensils. He immediately cooked the instant noodles.
While eating, he kept thinking about Shannchyuan. Hanrong didn't see him coming home. Shannchyuan couldn't possibly just leave the building.
Advertisement
If he doesn't see Hanrong below, there is no way Beaushu will just leave. He will definitely lock the building doors and gates. Is there any chance Beaushu still here?
To Qiuzhen's knowledge, Songfei only rented one unit in this building. So it was improbable that Shannchyuan was in another unit inside this building. Shannchyuan couldn't possibly have the keys to any other unit in this building, so there was nowhere to hide.
Then who are those people? What are they looking for in this building? Was the sedan parked on the street in front of this building's yard their car?
Thousands of questions filled Qiuzhen's mind. He decided to just go to sleep. Although there were no beds in this unit, there were some sleeping bags inside one room. Qiuzhen and friends had also slept inside the unit using a sleeping bag. After finding the sleeping bag, he immediately took the sleeping bag to the main room and slept there.
Qiuzhen didn't know how many hours he had been asleep when he suddenly woke up. His throat felt dry. He went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. After that, he intended to go back to sleep. Suddenly Qiuzhen realized something. He quickly got up and sat on a chair in the main room. He remembered there was a place in the building that might become a temporary hiding place.
Why didn't I think of that?
Qiuzhen grabbed his bag and searched for something inside. He took a flashlight. After that, he entered a room inside the unit that functioned as a warehouse. After searching for a while, he picked up an iron rod that looked like a baseball stick. It turned out to be quite heavy. Then rushed out of the unit door and headed for the stairs. He chose to use the stairs to be more free to move. In fact, he could run if at any time there was a danger that threatened.
Qiuzhen descended to the ninth floor. He remembered Shannchyuan had said that there was a room on the ninth floor rented by a friend of Songfei's. Shannchyuan didn't tell himself which unit he was referring to. Qiuzhen also didn't know Shannchyuan knew exactly or had only heard of Songfei. It was possible that Songfei also held the key to the unit's door on the ninth floor and then sent it to Shannchyuan. Of course, the only way to be sure is to check one by one the units on the ninth floor.
Advertisement
Qiuzhen had already arrived on the ninth floor. Suddenly, he heard the sound of something falling.
There's something on this ninth floor!
He opened the stairwell door very carefully. After pausing for a while, he began to walk without making a sound. With short strides, he crept toward the front door of one unit on the floor.
It was dark because there were no lights in the corridor or in the units on the ninth floor that were lit. Qiuzhen aimed the flashlight he was carrying up to the ceiling to see if there was anything stuck above. Then he also pointed the flashlight down to check the surface of the tiles on the ninth floor. He couldn't find anything suspicious. When he passed through one of the unit doors on the ninth floor, he saw a streak of bright light coming out of a small gap under the unit's entrance.
Is there anyone inside?
Qiuzhen looked at the door in front of him. Then he put his left ear to the door leaf. Of course, Qiuzhen was aware that such efforts would not yield the results he wanted. Qiuzhen didn't have any superpowers, so he couldn't possibly hear any sound from behind the door. But somehow, he still did it. Sometimes Qiuzhen, like Shannchyuan, did things for no apparent reason.
The ray of light that had seemed to come out of the small gap under the door was now out of sight. Qiuzhen then grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it. Turned out it wasn't locked.
Maybe someone is in this unit!
Qiuzhen hesitated for a moment. He was undecided whether to continue or to return to the tenth floor. He had no right to barge into this ninth floor's unit.
But what about the sound of the falling object? What if someone is injured or unconscious?
Qiuzhen then made up his mind to step into the unit. He felt he had no bad intentions. Once inside, he closed the door again. After that, he looked around for the light switch. The layout of the rooms in this unit was almost the same as the layout of the rooms in the unit rented by Songfei on the tenth floor. It wasn't long before he found the switch in the main room.
After the lights came on, Qiuzhen immediately inspected the main room. He didn't find anything suspicious. Everything seems to be in its proper position.
What light did I see?
Qiuzhen then tried to open the rooms inside the unit. But the rooms were locked. He then knocked on each door of the rooms and asked if anyone was inside. It turned out that there was no answer. Qiuzhen then sat on the sofa in the main room. He was still undecided about what to do. He could not determine whether behind the locked doors there was someone behind or not. After sitting for about three minutes, he finally decided to check the other units on the ninth floor.
Qiuzhen then left the unit. When he passed the other units, he witnessed the same thing that had happened before. In the unit next to the one Qiuzhen had entered, he also saw a beam of light coming out of the gap under the unit's entrance. This time, without waiting for the light to go out, Qiuzhen immediately grabbed the door handle. He immediately opened the door.
When the door opened, Qiuzhen saw a dazzling light. Because it was so bright, Qiuzhen couldn't see anything except the bright light. Three seconds later, Qiuzhen's vision became blurry. The blurry vision quickly turned to darkness. Qiuzhen lost his sight!
Qiuzhen was surprised. He staggered. Unable to see, Qiuzhen hit the wall inside the unit. His head hit the wall hard. Qiuzhen then felt his head hurt a lot. Then he fell to the floor. Qiuzhen tried to get up, but the pain in his head made it difficult for him to concentrate. What's more, he couldn't see anything.
After much effort, Qiuzhen finally managed to stand up. He tried to walk. His hands were reaching forward, trying to find a grip. After walking three steps, he tripped over something. Maybe one of the furniture in the main room of the unit. Qiuzhen then fell to the ground. This time, his head hit the floor. Qiuzhen groaned in pain. Five seconds later, he was unconscious.
Advertisement
The Runesmith
What happens when a man gets transported into a foreign world filled with magic?Will his knowledge in hardware technology help him out after he discovers its correlation to the words of power?How will he fit in with the other noble houses as the lowly 4th son?How will his story play out in a world where stats and skills equal power and status?Come and find out as we embark on his journey.
8 438How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis
What if you were transported to a fantasy world with no special abilities, no OP weapons and no status screen to boost your stats? Never mind finding the dragon’s treasure or defeating the Demon Lord, you only need to worry about one thing—how to stay alive. A group of young Brits wake up in a strange, fantastical land with creatures from myth and legend. They are given archaic weapons they don't know how to use and told to do their best. Convinced it has to be some kind of virtual reality RPG, all the people summoned form parties and set off on their adventures, leaving behind the people nobody wants in their group. Story of my life, thinks Colin. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK 10: Welcome Home Chapters released twodays a week (Tuesdsay and Thursday). Early Access chapters available on Patreon. Mobile-friendly chapters can be found on MoodyLit.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For those wishing to support the author, Books 1-7 are now available to buy on kindle and epub: Book One|Book Two|Book Three |Book Four |Book Five |Book Six ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have a moment, please vote for my story at Top Web Fiction. No signup required, just press the button. Voting refreshes every week. Vote.
8 218A Hardness of Minds
(35 Chapters >70,000 words, edited version available on Amazon) A Near-Future Hard Sci-Fi about Data, War, and First Contact in our Solar System. Life exists under Europa’s ice, but there’s doubt in the data. Against of backdrop of escalating tensions, double-sided revelations of first contact ripple through all involved as the probe attempts the first landing on the ice of Europa. The novel intertwines perspectives of Earth and under Europa as all struggle for truth. For fifteen years, the Europa Clipper has hinted at life under the ice-shell of Europa. An eccentric mogul, bent on expanding his legacy—funds and launches the first privately funded probe to Jupiter. The robotic submarine can reach the ocean floor and returning by an expertly trained AI. Tensions flare between the United States and China, while cyberattack threatens the project. Meanwhile, Dalton, a self-sabotaging synthetic data engineer, longs to make a name for himself in the scientific community, even at the cost of being infamous. Unknown to Earth, alien society has penetrated up the kilometers of ice, and has long researched ‘Nullworld,’ the mysterious ‘ether’ beyond the ice from which no sonar returns. Tensions in their global society have escalated as their city-state fights with a neighbor whose hydrothermal vent has run cold. Now the military caste is in control, halted all research, and pressed capable scientists and engineers into militia service. The alien scientist must escape and bring back research he hopes will diffuse tensions: the revelation of another water world. This is the second hard sci-fi novel by author Eric Kay (No Lack of Sunshine). It explores issues of data integrity in the age of adversarial information warfare, moving minds away from the brink of war, and experience versus knowledge by proxy.
8 84Making magic, Forging fame.
Waking up with no memories.In a world of magic.A new adventure begins. The story however, starts with the red fox in the mirror.
8 70Smoldering Embers
Unjustly, he was put in prison. He carefully managed the spark within, waiting for a chance when it suddenly appeared. Towers sprang up all around the world, without any disturbance, as though they had always been there. A change was coming but for him, it was a chance to get his revenge. Release schedule: For now I will be trying 3 chapters/ week. Chapter Size: Around 2k words. The cover is not mine. Shout out to the artist who made the amazing thing: https://unsplash.com/photos/xXj3ctfRmvw
8 59Never After
Harmonia is a teenager born with a silver spoon and the inability to use magic, unlike her peers. After years of living a stagnant life and a dream that kept plaguing her mind, 17-year-old Harmonia Fleur seeks for a way to fix her problems, but to no avail. Until one day, she overheard a conversation between her father and an agent, about a Dangerous Prisoner, with knowledge of magic that far surpasses anyone of this age. With newfound motivation, she goes against her father's words and seeks for the Prisoner. Leading her to an encounter that she thought would fix her problems, What transpired was nothing she could've thought of, a full-scale prison breakout. When the very thing that plagued her mind appeared right before her eyes, Harmonia realizes that her life is about to take a drastic turn.
8 165