Ch65 – Surveillance

“You actually brought our ID cards!” Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng went to room 406 at the top cabin, and Yu Hao was instantly over the moon. The VIP guest rooms weren’t fully occupied yet, so Zhou Sheng bought the tickets. He signalled to Yu Hao to keep his voice down and scanned the room card to open the door, then the two slipped in. Coincidentally, the door to presidential suite 402 opened at the same time, and Lin Xun walked out.

The moment Lin Xun came out, the door to 406 slammed shut. Yu Hao had just entered the room when he heard the sound of the door to the presidential suite closing. Zhou Sheng immediately made a shh gesture, then leaned against the peephole to look through it.

“He went out.” Zhou Sheng placed his ID card on top of the bedside cabinet, “I was afraid that we wouldn’t be able to pass through the security checks if we were going to chase him to the airport, so I brought our ID cards along, and it’s lucky I did so. Just look at the manager’s face when we were booking the VIP room, he was absolutely delighted. It’s a problem that can be resolved with money, so what’re you so nervous for?”

Yu Hao once again became acquainted with this world where anything goes so long as you had money. As soon as Zhou Sheng said that he wanted to reserve the 9,888 premium set, and furthermore upgrade it to the luxurious package, everyone immediately stopped bothering them. The presidential suite faced Lin Xun’s room as it would be inconvenient to be separated by a corridor. The VIP room costs 9,800, and Yu Hao managed to enjoy some super VIP treatment too. Zhou Sheng made another call and got the crew to send them their meals. Yu Hao asked, “You’re still eating? I can’t eat anymore.”

“Eat ba.” Zhou Sheng went to the liquor cabinet to search for drinks, “Catch up on some sleep first, that guy can’t escape.”

“Aiya.” Yu Hao was utterly elated. He was on a business trip at public expense, and even got top-notch treatment. He hoped that Lin Xun wouldn’t leave this ship too quickly, then they could play here for a few days in passing too. Moreover, this room is a king, size, room!

“Food and sex are men’s greatest desires.” Zhou Sheng went to the balcony to observe the surrounding terrain, “Young……student Yu Hao, eat well and have fun.”

Yu Hao laughed. He laid in bed and pressed a button on the remote control to watch TV. Huang Ting’s call came.

“I’m at the pier.” Huang Ting said.

“We’ve already been sailing for 2 hours!” Yu Hao said.

Huang Ting said, “I know. The ship will leave the province soon, I’ll go complete the procedures for detaining him in a foreign place.”

Zhou Sheng returned and sat on the side of the bed. Yu Hao changed the phone to speaker mode.

“……Lin Xun still doesn’t know that we’re pursuing him. His destination is the municipality that the ship will eventually dock at. He might call on Chen Laoshi’s father, or he could fly directly to Los Angeles from there and leave the country……”

Zhou Sheng said, “Okay. We’ll keep track of him and report to you promptly!”

“Don’t draw his attention before we arrive.” Huang Ting said, “The ship you’re on will stop at its first supply station at noon today, but it’ll only stop there for 10 minutes. Tomorrow, it’ll stop over at its first big stop to let passengers off for some sightseeing. I sent the location of the berth and the time when the ship is supposed to dock there to Zhou Sheng’s WeChat.”

“I’m calling the public security bureau of the first province to request for their assistance, then I’ll go back to pick up Chen Yekai and set off through a land route. However, that province is very small, and we’re afraid of missing it. If we can smoothly obtain assistance, we’ll be able to get on that ship by tomorrow morning at the latest and take him back. Wait for the station to notify the captain of that ship now; don’t worry, he can’t escape.”

On Zhou Sheng’s side, Chen Yekai’s call came again.

Zhou Sheng said, “Kaikai, where’s the ulti we agreed on? When will Liang Laoshi unleash her ulti?”

Chen Yekai’s tone sounded a little irritable, “We’re in the midst of recollecting her memory, don’t be so anxious.”

“Is it Zhou Sheng?” Liang Jinmin’s voice rang out, “Or Yu Hao?”

“Ai, Liang Laoshi, we’re together!” Zhou Sheng said.

Liang Jinmin asked, “Have you checked in yet?”

“It’s pretty good!” Zhou Sheng and Yu Hao spoke in unison.

Yu Hao, “Thank you Liang Laoshi for treating us to such a luxurious cruise!”

Liang Jinmin said, “Thank you, you’re all good children. I’d like to implore you to pay attention to one thing, he has a laptop……”

“That he carries around with him.” Zhou Sheng immediately continued.

“Sure enough, it’s with him.” Chen Yekai’s voice rang out from beside the phone.

Liang Jinmin talked to Chen Yekai, “I can’t, Nicky, I’ve really tried my best. I really can’t remember, I keep thinking that there’s still something else……”

Chen Yekai said, “Please keep trying, Liang Laoshi.”

Yu Hao said, “Is it very important?” But it didn’t require much thought for him to realise that a laptop that Lin Xun carried around while on the run would definitely have secrets on it that can’t be divulged. Yet Zhou Sheng just waved his hand dismissively and motioned to Yu Hao to not ask anymore questions.

“I’m talking about something else, before I lost consciousness……there are some electronic receipts, forms, and chatting records inside it.” Liang Jinmin didn’t try to conceal anything and spoke unperturbed, “It’s very important evidence regarding the report of his projects’ expenditures. Since he’s carrying it around with him, then I’m sure of it now. Okay then, thank you both.”

“Wait.” Yu Hao suddenly asked again, “Liang Laoshi, do you know his password?”

Zhou Sheng and Yu Hao looked at each other. Yu Hao said, “Later ba, if I can get that laptop.”

“Was that the Dean?” Yu Hao asked.

“The Dean went to visit her.” Zhou Sheng stated casually, “Money can make the devil turn the millstone……Liang Laoshi isn’t someone who’s easy to deal with either na.”

“What’s the ulti?” Yu Hao asked, baffled.

Zhou Sheng said, “Kaikai said, Liang Laoshi had already thought of a way to collect some evidence on Lin Xun before she fell unconscious. Don’t tell me she forgot everything after her nap ba.”

Yu Hao, “She’s thinking about it now, isn’t she? Hopefully……”

Yu Hao yawned, and Zhou Sheng said, “Sleep for awhile first.”

The two of them heard the door to the adjacent room close; Lin Xun was back. Yu Hao became vigilant again. Zhou Sheng waved his hand to motion that it was okay, then jumped onto the bed and laid beside Yu Hao. He turned on the silent mode for the TV and played around with the remote control.

Yu Hao turned sideways and fell asleep beside Zhou Sheng. This bed was too big, and it was so comfortable to sleep in. He didn’t know how much time passed before he felt Zhou Sheng get up. He looked up and saw Zhou Sheng holding a glass cup, and was propping it against the wall to listen to any activity on the other side.

Yu Hao quickly got up. Zhou Sheng made a “calling” gesture, and Yu Hao mouthed the words “what is he saying?’. Zhou Sheng shook his head to mean that he couldn’t hear it clearly and got Yu Hao to come over to listen.

Not a moment later, they heard the door of the adjacent room open. Lin Xun went out again.

“There’s still 20 minutes before the first stop.” Yu Hao said, “Would he get off the ship?”

Zhou Sheng shook his head, “Not sure, let’s go steal his laptop?”

There was a wall that separated the balconies of these two rooms, but that wasn’t a problem for Zhou Sheng at all. Zhou Sheng went to the balcony and looked at the adjacent room. Strong winds blew, and there was a heavy downpour as the ship sailed to the heart of the river. Yu Hao said, “Be careful. Or just don’t go over ba, what if he suddenly comes back?”

Zhou Sheng was a bit hesitant, “I’ll make it quick.”

The storm raged on, and once the ship left the river, the tempestuous storm intensified. Zhou Sheng was blown until his whole body was drenched, and his white T-shirt that stuck to his chest was now the colour of his flesh. His whole body was dripping with water.

Zhou Sheng climbed over. Yu Hao didn’t want him to take this risk alone, so he followed along and climbed into the presidential suite’s balcony. The balcony door was locked, but there was a ventilation window on top that could be pushed outwards. Yu Hao got into a horse stance and intertwined his fingers. Zhou Sheng took off his slippers and stepped onto his interlocked hands, then rode the momentum up and flipped into the presidential suite. He opened the balcony door from the inside. Yu Hao hurried in as he carried the slippers, then turned around and locked the door.

The storm battered against the balcony door time and time again. The presidential suite was more spacious and luxurious than the VIP room. The laptop bag was placed on the sofa. Zhou Sheng went forward to rummage through it — no laptop. Yu Hao was drenched from head to toe as well, and quite a bit of water dripped from the two of them onto the wood flooring. They quickly looked for something to clean the stains up with lest it gets discovered by Lin Xun.

The air conditioner was too strong, and Yu Hao shivered all over from the cold.

“He carries the laptop with him everywhere he goes.” Zhou Sheng said, “That guy’s too careful.”

Yu Hao, “Do we just snatch it from him? Then after we snatch it, we can lock the door from the inside. We only need half an hour after we get the laptop to connect to our hotspot and send over what Liang Laoshi wants.”

Zhou Sheng answered, “We can’t. That laptop is considered his personal belonging. Once the ship calls the police, he’ll definitely take the laptop back with the help of security, and we’ll be locked in the office. By then, once his vigilance is roused, he’ll end up deleting the evidence, then we’ll lose out even more.”

A “beep” sounded from the door, and before he could react, Zhou Sheng yanked Yu Hao into a wardrobe. Zhou Sheng quietly closed the wardrobe door. The door opened, and Lin Xun walked in.

“Yes……” Lin Xun said, “That’s the situation now. They can’t arrest me, and can only summon me.”

Lin Xun had a laptop clamped under his arm. Apparently, he had received a call on his way out, so he returned to his room to take it. He placed the laptop on his desk in passing, charged it, turned it on, and after pondering for a moment, he pressed down several keys. A program started running on his laptop, then Lin Xun got up and walked to the balcony window.

Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng were hiding in the wardrobe. Yu Hao thought, this presidential suite’s wardrobe is too big ba, I thought we’d have to hug and squeeze together.

“It’s a common occurrence in our generation for couples to hit each other, our life abroad changed her……ai……” Lin Xun glanced around while he was on the phone, “You know what Jinmin is like, she has a particularly foul mouth, sometimes she’s just reaping what she sowed when she gets hit. Of course, I’m at fault too, I got a bit high from drinking and couldn’t hold back for a moment. But running over now to say that I tried to murder her, that’s too……a day together as husband and wife means endless devotion for the rest of your life. We’ve already been married for 20 years, but just for the sake of getting a divorce…that’s completely unscrupulous. Yes, yes, what love between husband and wife? It’s all nothing in the face of money……by the way, what can prove that a person, at a particular time, was in a coma? I thought about it, and that charge shouldn’t be tagged onto me……”

Zhou Sheng gently kicked off his slippers in the wardrobe.

“I admit that our altercation escalated into a physical fight, and now I’m at a disadvantage because I didn’t get my wounds inspected……” Lin Xun looked down and saw the water stains below the balcony window. He stretched his hand out to pull it open and looked outside.

Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng came barefoot out of the wardrobe silently. Zhou Sheng looked at the laptop on the desk and his brow furrowed. Yu Hao carefully turned around with his back to the door. Zhou Sheng reached his hand out without making a sound and approached the desk.

However, in the next moment, Lin Xun unexpectedly turned around, and his voice immediately stopped.

Zhou Sheng made a prompt decision on the spot; he went forward to close his laptop, and Yu Hao immediately opened the door. But Lin Xun was even faster than Zhou Sheng — with one sudden big stride forward, he grabbed his laptop!

Zhou Sheng simply changed his intention from stealing to snatching. He stepped onto the desk barefoot, then spun around, and his foot swept through the air. Lin Xun shouted, “There are thieves!”

Within that very short moment, the cruise ship suddenly shook violently — it had reached the shore.

This one shake made Zhou Sheng suddenly lose his balance. He slipped on the desk and fell down — it was rare for Zhou Sheng to slip up. Yu Hao immediately rushed towards the desk. There was still water on the wooden floor that hadn’t been wiped dry; Zhou Sheng slid on the slippery floor, lost his footing, and fell out along the balcony window!

“Zhou Sheng!” Yu Hao rushed forward. Outside was the side of the ship, and with that one slip, Zhou Sheng almost fell through the ship’s railing and into the river. Fortunately, Yu Hao had rushed right in front of him and grasped him tightly.

Lin Xun immediately shouted, “Thieves! Thieves!” Then he stuffed his laptop into his laptop bag, grabbed his laptop bag, and ran out.

“This floor is too slippery! Fuck!” Zhou Sheng almost died from anger, The two of them both rolled and crawled to get up, then turned around to run past the carpet. Yu Hao found the slippers and threw them to Zhou Sheng. They strode forward, drifting and darting out of the room.

“Why did you want to take his laptop?” Yu Hao only mentioned this now.

Zhou Sheng, “Weren’t you the one who wanted to take it?!”

Yu Hao, “I was just saying that……in any case, he can’t escape now!”

Zhou Sheng, “He was deleting something just now, didn’t you see it?”

The two of them rushed down the stairs and knocked into a waiter who was carrying tea, and the tea splashed all over their bodies.

Yu Hao, “Sorry!”

Zhou Sheng, “Catch him!”

Lin Xun flew down to the lobby at top speed, but he slowed down at the last few steps before walking down, composed. Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng’s rapid dash down from the top floor had already attracted the crew’s attention. Lin Xun looked back doubtfully, and after a brief glance, he turned around and entered the deck corridor.

“What are you guys doing?!” Someone rushed forward. Zhou Sheng bent down, yanked Yu Hao down the lobby, and rushed onto the deck. When they reached the deck, Lin Xun was already walking swiftly off the ship.

“What the hell is your ship doing?!” Zhou Sheng dissed angrily, “No one’s catching the one who’s supposed to be caught! Is no one keeping an eye on him at all!?”

Zhou Sheng turned sideways, sat on the railings of the ship ramp, and slid down. Lin Xun looked back. He carried his laptop bag as he ran onto the pier!

“Catch him!” Yu Hao urged anxiously, “He stole something!”

“Catch him!” Zhou Sheng rushed onto the pier, and Yu Hao slid down behind him. There was still a slight drizzle on the pier. The two of them chased Lin Xun, Lin Xun looked back again and in a panicked state, rushed into the bazaar located on the side of the pier.

“Chase him ah!” Yu Hao said, “Don’t mind me!”

It’s really too difficult to chase people in slippers.” Zhou Sheng said, “I can’t run too fast either!”

This was a small county town near the mountains and rivers. The highway was halfway up the mountain, and there was a bazaar at the foot of the mountain. It was drizzling today, yet there were still quite a lot of people. As soon as Lin Xun slipped into the crowd, they lost sight of him immediately. Zhou Sheng and Yu Hao crossed half a street and were gasping for breath when Yu Hao suddenly found Lin Xun, who was still carrying his bag, hailing a cab by the road.

“There!” Yu Hao called out.

Zhou Sheng immediately ran onto the steps leading to higher ground and dashed to the road. Yu Hao tried his best to catch up with him from behind.

Lin Xun stood at the roadside on elevated ground outside the pier. He was extremely nervous and uneasy, and when he looked down at his phone, he heard a “buzz” as a motorcycle rushed past him. Lin Xun was caught off guard and stumbled forward — his laptop was snatched away.

Yu Hao, “……”

Zhou Sheng, “………………”

The two of them rushed to the side of the road. When Lin Xun saw that they had caught up to him, he immediately turned around and ran along the road. Zhou Sheng gave chase, and when Yu Hao caught up, he turned around and dashed towards the other end of the road.

Zhou Sheng, “Lin Xun!”

Lin Xun, “You……why……you……”

Lin Xun ran until he was out of breath, and he wasn’t Zhou Sheng’s opponent at all. Zhou Sheng rushed to his back, leapt up in one move, twisted in mid air, and immediately wrung Lin Xun over onto the ground. Lin Xun still struggled in an attempt to escape.

“Who told you to not stay obediently on the ship, wasted Laozi’s 9,800……”

Zhou Sheng exerted 80% of his strength to give Lin Xun a punch in his face, and the world turned quiet.

“Yu Hao?” When Zhou Sheng turned around and realised that Yu Hao had disappeared. He immediately shouted, “YU HAO——!” Then he looked at the bazaar below again, and three crew members had caught up, so he immediately ignored Lin Xun in favor of turning around to chase after Yu Hao.

Yu Hao dashed down the road, but the motorcycle had already disappeared without a trace. There was a waste collection station by the side of the road, and there was a pile of worn out bicycles parked outside it. Yu Hao asked the boss at the station a question, who gave him a direction by pointing at the other side of the mountain. Yu Hao took his slippers off and darted all the way down to chase the motorbike.

This is a downslope, so it’s still okay, still okay……Yu Hao almost exhausted himself to death when he was running uphill, so the chase downhill was much better. He rode the force of his momentum to dash all the way down, and when he reached midway down the mountain, the path converged onto another highway. Yu Hao looked left and right, then chose a direction to run towards. The rain was lighter now, but the path was still extremely difficult to traverse. Yu Hao was on the verge of breathing his last from all this running, but he suddenly saw a trail next to the highway. There were a few farm houses at the end of the trail, so he immediately got off the highway and ran towards those farm houses.

Zhou Sheng chased Yu Hao along the road that Yu Hao had ran towards. He passed by the waste station, got on a worn-out bicycle, and the boss immediately shouted, “Wei! Wei!” Zhou Sheng said, “Here’s 200! I’ll take this bike!” As he spoke, he fished his phone out and scanned the code on the refrigerator, then continued, “Give this to me ba, go and pick up another one for yourself!”

As he spoke, he grabbed a brick with a plastic rope tied around it that was used to hold down some plastic bags outside the waste station. With a “whoosh”, he mounted the bike and rushed down the mountain as swift as the wind.

“Did anyone see……” Yu Hao ran to the farmhouse and slowed down. A big dog tied up with a metal chain rushed out and began barking madly at him. Outside the dilapidated farmhouse, there was a motorcycle parked in the middle of the road. One person was riding on the motorbike while another was rummaging through Lin Xun’s laptop bag. Both of them had cigarettes in their mouth, and there was a well beside them. They were in the midst of casually rummaging through the bag to find any valuables and were prepared to throw the laptop bag away afterwards.

Yu Hao, “……”

The two men spoke in the local dialect. They threw their cigarettes away, and biker A came forward, grabbed a thick rod, and walked over as he prepared to beat Yu Hao. Yu Hao took half a step back.

“Oh found them, but it’s troublesome now.” Yu Hao muttered to himself, “Zhou Sheng hurry up……”

Immediately afterwards, biker A ruthlessly swung the rod down at Yu Hao! As a conditioned reflex, Yu Hao dodged by ducking under his armpit, then he used both of his hands to protect his head. The two of them looked like they were in a boxing ring as Yu Hao passed by, turned around, lifted his leg, and kicked his leg until it bent. That guy actually staggered from getting kicked and immediately swore loudly!

Yi? Why do I know that move? Yu Hao subconsciously shielded his face with his arms. Biker A rushed forward again, while biker B came forward and hooped his arms around Yu Hao! In front of him, biker A used a rod to stab Yu Hao’s stomach.

Suddenly, Yu Hao was struck with an epiphany and, seemingly out of pure instinct, jumped off from where he was standing; he flipped around while he was locked down by biker B from behind, spun around, and kicked the chin of the person in front of him. Following up, he then turned sideways and caused the person behind him to lose balance, then both of them fell to the ground at the same time!

Yu Hao was dumbstruck, “When did I learn how to fight?”

However, his movements were done out of pure instinct. Biker A in front of him bit his tongue when he was kicked, and now his mouth was full of blood. He turned ruthless in an instant and fished out a knife before lunging towards Yu Hao. Yu Hao quickly locked down his wrists with ease, twisted them, kneed him, and threw him onto the ground.

Biker B, who was behind him, had already pushed the motorbike forward. He pulled out a watermelon knife from the covered box at the back and cursed viciously in his dialect. Yu Hao retreated instantly. In the next moment, a bicycle flashed past his side like a bolt of lightning, and Yu Hao felt his vision blur for a moment. Zhou Sheng collided with the biker along with his bicycle, thereby knocking the motorbike onto the ground and sending that guy flying more than two metres away!

“Are you okay?” Zhou Sheng was holding a clothesline with a brick tied to it.

Yu Hao, “I’m……I’m okay, I suddenly know how to fight? What’s going on? It’s all self-taught too!”

“Laozi taught you!” Zhou Sheng said, “Self-taught?! Don’t get ahead of yourself!!”

The biker crawled and staggered up from the ground. Zhou Sheng wielded the clothesline-cum-brick like a meteorite hammer and swung it out in one move.

“Who told you to go become a biker or whatever instead of a decent human being, huh?”

Zhou Sheng’s move struck the biker’s ankle, which knocked the guy onto the ground. His watermelon knife slipped out of his hands, and the biker was flung onto the ground so hard his face was all bloody now. He kept pleading for mercy and had kicked the brick away with a swift kick from both feet. Zhou Sheng kept his “meteorite hammer”. He turned around and saw that biker A, who had knocked Yu Hao down, was planning to escape, so he threw another move at him.

“You dare snatch a bag in front of Laozi? Shouldn’t you ask who I am first?”

Yu Hao, “……”

The two of them had just crawled up when they were smacked onto the ground again. Yu Hao quickly picked up the laptop bag and rummaged through it — the laptop and passport were still there, along with quite a few materials, cash, and bank cards.

“Found it! This is great!” Yu Hao cheered.

Zhou Sheng picked up the worn-out bicycle and flung it to the side. Yu Hao asked, “Where did you get that?”

“Bought it on the way.” Zhou Sheng said, “I don’t want it anymore.”

Yu Hao rebuked, “How much was it? What a waste!”

“200! We have a motorbike now so who cares about a bicycle?” Zhou Sheng lifted up the bikers’ motorbike, straddled it, then said with much satisfaction, “Just a small fight and a bicycle turns into a motorbike……let’s go! To the police station!”

Yu Hao picked up Lin Xun’s laptop bag and sat on the back seat of the motor bike. Zhou Sheng twisted the handle and started the motorbike. With a “vrooooooom”, the motorbike rolled up quite a bit of mud and made a turn out of the trail and onto the highway. He took Yu Hao away on the motorbike that rumbled loudly and passed through the rain that fell everywhere as they sped towards the end of the highway.

—