Chapter 81 – Abandoned Factory (1)
Jiang Yujin, halfway through his meal, ran off to fight the big monster fish.
The cause was during their meal when he discovered that the other party was also playing Xiaoxiaole, and their progress was far ahead of his. He claimed that only idle monsters could play so fast, and the big monster fish argued that anyone with a brain could be that fast.
Being called brainless, coupled with the resentment from being defeated in over a hundred levels before, the two of them started fighting.
Perhaps it shouldn’t be called a fight. At the first sign of trouble, the big fish monster jumped out of the window, and Jiang Yujin followed suit.
Next to the restaurant was a river, and without distinguishing between sea and river, the big fish monster fully utilized its advantage as a sea king. In an instant, it dived into the river and submerged downstream.
Jiang Yujin didn’t want to wet his clothes, so after jumping over the river, he walked on the darker side of the riverbank.
When the head surfaced in the river, he waited for the other party to emerge on its own.
The river was bustling along its course, with shops on both sides brightly lit, but the light couldn’t reach the river surface. The big fish monster went into the water and swam fast. Jiang Yujin followed, all the way from the lively upstream to the poorly lit downstream.
This side had completely passed through the relatively prosperous area. In the quiet, only the sound of the river flowing could be heard, and shadows in the darkness were restlessly moving and growing.
The water broke, and the big fish monster that had been in the water came ashore. With disheveled cyan hair, he looked towards the other side of the dark river, and the dilapidated factory could be vaguely seen. He said, “There’s something else here.”
The response to him was a punch.
Mermaid King: “…”
The Mermaid King counterattacked.
…
Half an hour later.
The window was open, and two figures flipped in through the window. The private room, originally empty, finally had people again.
Jiang Yujin rubbed his arms, his clothes damp with some wet marks. He opened his eyes and looked at the person sitting across from him, unbelieving, “You actually went so hard.”
The Mermaid King, with a head full of bandages and a slightly swollen cheek on one side, stared at the white-haired person in front of him, “Did you hold back?”
Jiang Yujin felt like he did hold back.
Holding back, referring to removing that stinking red string.
After a few glasses of alcohol and before fighting again, the two individuals who had just been brawling now had their arms around each other’s shoulders. They added each other as friends in Xiaoxiaole, exchanging energy to show friendliness.
What started as a proper meal turned into a large-scale Xioaxioale Technical Exchange Conference. On this side, the academic atmosphere was strong, while the atmosphere next door became extremely lively, turning into complete chaos.
Several young men who had just come of age and tasted the flavor of alcohol were eager to make Chen Jing their sworn brother today. This decision was unanimous because he helped them with their homework the most. Chen Jing didn’t want to take on the role of a big brother and tried to sober them up with kind words.
His well-intentioned advice didn’t manage to clear their heads, and they remained in an extremely excited state even after finishing their meal.
After leaving the restaurant, the waiting taxi hadn’t arrived yet. A group of soon-to-be college students stood on the roadside, enjoying the breeze and chatting. The wind carried the fragrance of youth.
While waiting for the car, someone walked out of the restaurant. Chen Jing heard his name being called. Turning around, he saw a person with white hair waving at him, looking quite cheerful. Behind him, a man with cyan hair followed.
“…”
This person had indeed gone to do something before. Chen Jing turned his head, and his classmates also turned their heads. Then, their eyes lit up, and suddenly, their minds weren’t tired, and their backs weren’t hunched anymore. They stood up energetically.
“What a coincidence, turns out you guys were eating nearby too.”
Jiang Yujin walked over, took a glance at the energetic soon-to-be college students, stood at a distance, and asked Chen Jing, “Is it over?”
Chen Jing nodded, “I’ll go back in a while.”
He glanced at the highly excited individuals beside him and said, “I’ll drop them off at home before going back.”
Jiang Yujin waved, “I’ll leave first.”
To be honest, to avoid letting the soon-to-be college students smell the alcohol on him, he didn’t really want to go back together.
Like someone with a permanent lucky buff, as soon as he stood by the roadside, a taxi conveniently stopped right in front of him. After getting in, it drove away directly.
Watching the yellow taxi disappear from sight, the person standing next to Chen Jing tilted his head and quietly asked, “Class Monitor, is that your brother?”
This person didn’t seem like their peer, but he was also young and appeared very familiar with Chen Jing. They speculated he might be a cousin or an older brother with a good relationship.
Someone else joined in, shy yet bold, saying, “Hey, Class Monitor, can you give us your brother’s contact information?”
Whenever one person expressed interest, others joined in the excitement, making the scene lively.
“…”
It’s hard to describe the current mood. Chen Jing’s eye corners couldn’t help but twitch.
“That’s my dad,” he said.
He asked, “Do you all want to be my dad too?”
Classmates: “…?”
For a moment, the classmates didn’t know whether to be shocked that the person earlier was his dad or be intrigued by the depth of the word “too.”
Judging by Chen Jing’s expression, it seemed like it wasn’t the first time someone wanted to be his other parent.
…
Jiang Yujin was the first to return home among everyone. Later, Xu Tonggui came back, and when he returned, he had already changed into his pajamas. Hearing the sound of the door opening, he showcased himself in a full 360-degree display in front of someone, indicating that he didn’t drink too much tonight.
Xu Tonggui saw the white hair on his head but didn’t say much, just complimenting him with a smile.
The next morning, the early morning mist had not yet dispersed.
Shops on the street were gradually opening, and the sound of rolling shutter doors turning was evident in the spacious street.
Amidst the sound of the turning shutter doors, there were mixed footsteps, urgent and disorderly. A man looked around, caught sight of the sign hidden in the mist, took a couple of breaths, and then fumbled his way upstairs.
Following the sound of footsteps on the stairs was a series of knocks on the door that didn’t cease.
The bespectacled man knocked for a long time, his chest rising and falling continuously, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed to tremble along. Just before he was about to despair, a leisurely sound of footsteps echoed from inside the door, growing louder. Then, the main door opened with a creak.
“Squeak.”
A person in pajamas, with a messy bedhead, looked down with eyes that still seemed half-closed.
Forced awake from sleep, Jiang Yujin, still somewhat blurry-eyed, yawned and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Then, his pant leg was grabbed and couldn’t be shaken off.
The door finally opened, and feeling a slight relief, the man suddenly went limp and fell to the floor. However, his hand still firmly held onto Jiang Yujin’s pant leg, as if grasping the last straw for dear life.
Waking up early in the morning and being unexpectedly clung to by a middle-aged stranger, Jiang Yujin instantly sobered up. He shook a couple of times to try and shake the person off, but when that didn’t work, he attempted to negotiate, his expression hard to describe, “Brother, can you let go first?”
The man finally released his grip, leaned against the wall, stood up, and walked inside. Before entering, he glanced back as if fearing something might appear behind him.
Once the door was closed, sitting on the sofa, the man finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Forced to get up early, Jiang Yujin, with dull eyes, went to the kitchen to pick up the breakfast left by the two father and son before they went out. He sat down in front of the middle-aged man wearing glasses.
Taking a bite of the sweet red bean bun, then sipping some milk, he looked at the person sitting across from him and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Before the man could answer, his stomach growled.
Jiang Yujin paused his chewing on the small bun, then turned back to the kitchen. He took out a few more sweet red bean buns and handed them to the person sitting on the sofa.
The man with glasses was touched, “Thank you!”
“No need to thank me,” Jiang Yujin smiled, “That’ll be fifty.”
A few buns priced at fifty, even without water, it’s hard to say that this person doesn’t have a psychological desire for revenge for being disturbed early in the morning.
“…” The man with glasses nodded reluctantly, “Alright.”
After enjoying several delicious sweet buns, the man with glasses explained why he had come here.
He mentioned that he was a small business owner who had previously bought an abandoned factory. This was the premise. Yesterday afternoon, he happened to pass by the factory and had some free time, so he decided to investigate on-site. Unexpectedly, strange things happened during the investigation. Unexplained shadows appeared, constantly approaching him.
When he thought he was about to be caught, there was some commotion outside that attracted the attention of the shadow. Taking advantage of this opening, he ran away. He ran fast, but his phone and wallet were left inside. With the situation urgent, he couldn’t retrieve them in time, so he just kept running forward.
While running, he looked back one or two times, and each time he saw the shadow still chasing him. Every time he turned back, the figure got closer and closer, so he dared not look back again. It was nearing dark, the place was remote, and no one passed by. He blindly ran until he arrived here, finally not seeing the shadow anymore.
Although he had escaped from the shadow, he still needed to go back. His lost phone contained important documents, and all his identification cards were in his wallet. He had to retrieve them.
While passing by a convenience store, he inquired if there was anyone near the convenience store owner’s booth who could handle this kind of task. The convenience store owner recommended this agency, saying that the agency’s owner was experienced in such matters, and it was most effective to contact him in the morning.
Jiang Yujin raised an eyebrow and asked, “Is the person at the convenience store missing a hand?”
The man with glasses nodded.
“…”
It was indeed the sweet Liu Cheng.
Jiang Yujin asked, “Didn’t you notify the SIU?”
The man with glasses said he did. He called them as soon as he noticed something was wrong, but they thought it was just his speculation and anxious hallucinations.
He gestured with his hand and said sincerely, “If the phone and wallet are recovered, this is the commission fee.”
The money-conscious Citizen Jiang quickly nodded.
Work had to be done early. After breakfast, he changed into different clothes and went downstairs with the new client.
He was generous this time, considering that the client had just finished running yesterday. So, he hailed a taxi.
The man with glasses thanked him for his kindness.
The helpful Citizen Jiang waved his hand, “Remember to reimburse the taxi fare.”
In the client’s silence, the taxi moved forward and became increasingly familiar.
Passing by the restaurant where they had dinner last night, the taxi continued forward. Vaguely, you could see a river not far away, and the houses on both sides of the road gradually decreased. Finally, the wide road turned into a one-way street and stopped in front of a large gate with rusting metal.
Jiang Yujin got out of the car, looked around the building and its surroundings. This was an abandoned factory, judging by the rust on the corrugated iron of the courtyard wall, it should have been abandoned for many years.
Next to the factory was a river, the river surface was wide, and despite no rain last night, there were obvious signs of dampness on the grass, trees, and ground on both sides.
Jiang Yujin withdrew his gaze and asked, “Did you hear water sounds yesterday?”
“Yes,” the man with glasses nodded and then asked, “How did you know?”
Jiang Yujin smiled, “Guessed.”
he called him Dad🥹