Chapter 6 Section 5

  On that day, the opening ceremony of AHS Group Sales Elite Exchange Conference was postponed. Thirty-two representatives who came to attend the conference, including Lian Chengzhou and local police, launched a search for missing children in the mountains together.

  A young man named Liu Rong and a middle-aged man who looked quite stable and mature, named George, were divided into one group.

  According to the introduction, both of them are from Huaxia Operation Strategy Department 2, responsible for sales promotion in Xiangjiang City and Yangcheng and other coastal cities.

  Liu Rong was quite talkative and kept asking Cheng Zhou questions all along the way. When there was nothing to say, he would ramble on a bit.

  The man who called George was also good at responding, making Cheng Zhou feel that these two people were like a pair of partners with a deep understanding. Maybe they had a cooperative relationship in the second department of business strategy?

  Unlike himself, no matter what he does, he is always alone. The company seems to have no one willing to partner with him, and his supervisor doesn't seem to want to assign a new person to let him show off.

  "What aspects of the company are you in charge of?"

  "Oh, what did you say? Oh, you're talking about work. I mainly assist my supervisor and handle some internal affairs of the company. In addition, during busy periods, I also engage in foreign trade transactions."

  "Wow, you're amazing! I didn't expect that you look younger than me, yet not only do you help your supervisor manage the company's internal affairs, but also handle foreign trade. Which country are you mainly in charge of? Country J? It seems like you can speak the language of Country J." Liu Rong's tone was full of admiration.

  Yes, that's right. I'm in charge of assisting our supervisor with everything he doesn't want to do or is too lazy to do, handling all the trivial matters within the sales department that others don't want to do or are too lazy to do.

  During peak hours, everyone is busy and can't keep up. I'm in charge of running outside the company to nod and bow to sales personnel who don't care much about clients they don't want to give up on, sending them calendars and souvenirs to maintain contact, so that during slow periods, they can still bring in business. If any client is dissatisfied with the company and needs to vent their anger, then my importance will be even more prominent. Look, how great my existence is for the sales department! Ha!

  George gazed at Cheng Chou with a thoughtful smile.

  "Hey, what are you smiling at? Look at our supervisor, he's in charge of so many things. And he's even younger than me! You always say I'm too young and not mature enough, never willing to let me take sole responsibility for clients. This time when we get back, you'll have to reconsider, won't you?"

  "Hehe, don't rush. When you're in a hurry, you can't eat hot porridge, and no one can become fat overnight by eating just once. Taking responsibility may look glamorous on the surface, but without rich experience and good psychological quality as a foundation, it can crush you to the point of crying out loud. You are excellent, but what you have accumulated is not enough to bear the pressure you will face in the future, some things need to come slowly." George said, facing Liu Rong, his eyes looking in the direction of Cheng Zhou.

  "So when do you think I'll be able to afford half of the responsibilities that you've taken on?" Liu Rong asked, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

  "Hehe, Chengzhou, what do you think?"

  "What? Me?" Cheng Zhou pointed at his own nose and was stunned.

  "Recognizing each person's abilities and potential is also part of a company's internal affairs, isn't it?" George smiled.

  "Ah...... yeah. You're right, but I'm not in the mood to analyze this now, sorry about that. I want to find the kid first, otherwise there's always something on my mind." Cheng Zhou scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

  George Zhang was about to say something when Liu Rong suddenly said, "Look, there's a public toilet ahead. The child might be hiding in there."

  "Let's go and take a look." Cheng Zhou didn't wait for George to express his opinion, lifted his leg and ran in the direction Liu Rong pointed.

  This public toilet looks very clean and tidy.

  The color and appearance of the toilet are also in harmony with the beautiful scenery, and there is hardly any stench peculiar to public toilets.

  "Is anyone inside?" Cheng Zhou shouted towards the women's restroom.

  No one answered.

  The women's restroom is done, now let's go check out the men's. It just so happens that he also needs to use the bathroom a bit.

  It was a bright day at noon with sunshine everywhere outside, but inside the bathroom, the fluorescent lights had to be turned on.

  The dense forest outside completely blocked the lighting of the toilet, and the chill unique to the mountains combined with the dampness of the toilet made Chengzhou suddenly not want to go in.

  "Little friend, are you there? It's big brother, the one from last night." Cheng Zhou stood at the entrance of the men's restroom and shouted inside with a hint of expectation.

  The empty bathroom seemed especially deserted today, even the echo didn't want to accompany Cheng Chou.

  Why is it so dark in here? Standing at the entrance of the bathroom, Cheng Zhou found that he couldn't see clearly inside. He turned his head back and thought to himself that those two guys were walking really slowly. He turned his head again to look into the toilet, there was no sound, people shouldn't be in here. Hmm, might as well go in and take care of some business.

  One minute later, Cheng Zhou backed out of the men's restroom step by step.

  "How's it going? Is anyone there?" Liu Rong and the others also arrived outside the bathroom. Liu Rong turned back to ask George if he wanted to take care of his business, but George shook his head and said no need.

  Cheng Zhou heard a human voice and seemed to be startled, stiffly raising his head.

  George noticed Cheng Chou's expression and felt that something was wrong with him.

  "There is no one," Cheng Zhou slowly opened his mouth and said, "but there is a corpse."

  The two of them stood there in stunned silence.

  "Haha!" Liu Rong burst out laughing, "You're really good at joking, looking at your expression I thought you were being serious. Hahaha!"

  George's expression also relaxed.

  "Ugh!" Cheng Zhou suddenly clutched his neck and bent over, vomiting violently.

  "Cheng Zhou?" George and Liu Rong were stunned.

  Cheng Zhou wiped his mouth, straightened up, and just as he was about to explain something, he looked up and saw the public toilet. Suddenly, his tongue retracted, a wave of nausea surged up, and he bent over again, vomiting uncontrollably.

  "Chengzhou?" Could it be true? George and Liu Rong exchanged a terrified glance.

  I've vomited enough, the nausea has stopped for now, and I'm certain that nothing else can come out. My lips are too tired to even wipe them off. Cheng Zhou straightened his waist and continued walking forward steadily.

  "Hey, where are you going?" Liu Rong hastily asked.

  Cheng Zhou turned around, his face expressionless, and said blankly: "I'll go call the police."

  Twenty minutes later, police arrived. An hour later, this public toilet was completely sealed off with yellow tape by the police.

  Onlookers and locals stood at the periphery, wildly speculating.

  This morning, the people who found Cheng Zhou saw the police asking him questions. Cheng Zhou's expression was as listless as ever, with a hint of fear. Almost everyone who had seen him thought of the eight words "biological father kills son and abandons body".

  As the first discoverer, Cheng Chong was interrogated for an entire afternoon and couldn't get a good rest. He had instant noodles for dinner - courtesy of George's kindness.

  It wasn't until now that he realized this exchange program he had been dying for actually required all members to cook for themselves during the meeting period! The only things provided by Yamayuraya were bedrooms, kitchens and ingredients. Fortunately, Yamayuraya also had a large hot spring bath.

  So he decided to go and thoroughly enjoy the hot spring bath, then sleep soundly without thinking about anything. Best if it could make him forget the scene of seeing a dead body with his own eyes. That thing was really unbearable for human eyes!

  But when he walked towards the hot spring area with a yukata in his arms, he was stopped by Kawau, the person in charge of the meeting.

  Kawau's expression was quite severe. Cheng Chou didn't dare look him straight in the eye.

  "Has the child been found?"

  "...Nothing." The man shrugged his shoulders without much energy.

  "What are you doing now?"

  "I'll... go find it now." Cheng Zhou turned around and walked towards the outside of the mountain villa.

  "You've wasted everyone's entire day, and I don't want to see tomorrow's meeting not being held again. Of course, if you're willing to take full responsibility for the consequences that will be a different story." With that said, Kawau turned around as if he didn't want to look at Seiichiro anymore and walked in the opposite direction.

  Chengzhou didn't even put down the bathrobe, placing it on the chairs on both sides of the passageway. He turned his head to watch Kawabe walk towards the large bathroom with the bathrobe in hand, feeling so envious that he almost went over and kicked him hard.

  What's the big deal? Isn't he just a small meeting leader? What's there to be fierce about? Wait till I become the overall person in charge of the Asia-Pacific region, and you'll be the first one I'll get rid of! Hmph!

  "Oh, right. The police said that the murderer is likely still lurking in the mountains, so be careful when you go out to look for him." Kawabe suddenly turned his head back and gave Seijun a faint smile.

  Ouch! A chill ran down Cheng Zhou's spine from head to toe.

  Without a word of response, Cheng Chou immediately rushed out of Shan Le Zhuang at his fastest possible speed.

  It's all over! Everything is over. Don't mention a promotion, he may even be on the layoff list at the beginning of next year.

  Cheng Zhou was immersed in melancholic thoughts, wandering aimlessly in the mountains like a headless fly. It wasn't until he was blown calm by the mountain wind that this gentleman realized he seemed to have lost his way.

  Scratching his head and looking around. Where is this?

  The small hill that looked insignificant during the day now appears so majestic after dark, with dense forests surrounding it on all sides. The distant stars twinkling like bright dots make it hard to distinguish whether they are lights or will-o'-the-wisps. The gentle gurgling of the brook sounds as if someone is whispering secrets in a hidden place.

  Chengzhou swallowed his saliva, turned his head to look at the winding mountain path behind him, and could only see about ten or twenty meters in front of him. Beyond that, everything was submerged in a hazy darkness. He had already forgotten which fork in the road he had climbed up from.

  Going forward, it's still a small path, about 10 meters away, there seems to be an opening that goes off to the left.

  Looking back or moving forward, Cheng Zhou was hesitant.

  "By the way, the police said that the murderer is likely still wandering in the mountains, be careful when you go out to look for him."

  The warning from that bastard Kawau echoed in his ears, and Cheng Zhou touched his face, a layer of goosebumps rising to the surface.

  He had been trying hard not to recall the scene he saw in that public restroom during the day. It was more like... a human corpse, rather than... don't think about it! Don't think about anything at all.

  Wanting to turn back, but afraid of getting lost and unable to find the child, going back would also have to rely on others' facial expressions, and at night it's likely that he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly. Moreover, the police are already suspicious of him, and even strongly suggested that before leaving J country, he must notify the local police station once.

  Whether he can find the child has now become a key factor in whether he can leave the country. Unless... he admits that he was lying and says that he didn't see any little kid.

  Cheng Zhou smiled bitterly, could he say that? He was convinced that at the time he had not produced any illusions. The child really existed. Not to mention the consequences of admitting a lie, but also the condemnation of his conscience could overwhelm him.

  No way, he must find that child.

  In addition to clearing his own innocence, it was also for peace of mind.

  Look, where can a little kid run to? Maybe the child is in some kind of danger right now and waiting for someone to rescue him.

  Taking a deep breath, Cheng Zhou told himself there was nothing to be afraid of. He immediately took big strides forward, not looking left or right, only at the ground beneath his feet. Walking and walking, he arrived at the fork in the road he had seen earlier. The sound of water grew louder. It seemed that ahead should be the small waterfall the locals spoke of, so... he turned left.

  He didn't dare to walk towards the waterfall, so he turned his head and walked towards the fork in the road on the left. Fortunately, the road wasn't very narrow, and there were streetlights every hundred meters to illuminate the way. He just kept walking forward with his head down. Neither looking left nor right, nor turning back.

  "Tap tap tap." The leather shoes made crisp sounds on the gravel road.

  "Tap tap tap, tap tap tap."

  Cheng Zhou had never regretted wearing leather shoes to go out so much. If he wasn't worried about walking all night, he would definitely take off his shoes and walk barefoot.

  The dim streetlights stretched his silhouette long, sometimes in front and sometimes behind.

  At first, he was staring at his own shadow on the ground as he walked, but when he found that his shadow would occasionally have an extra horn or a few strangely shaped tentacles, he didn't dare to lower his head again. Although he knew that most of the things that appeared on his shadow were probably just branches stretching out from the side of the road.

  "Hmm."

  Cheng Chou walked quickly with his eyes fixed on the front, thinking that maybe he could sneak back to the mountain villa and beg the thin, small man who looked very good to accompany him to find the child.

  "Hiss..."

  A sound like someone taking a breath arose from just behind me.

  I didn't hear anything. Cheng Zhou wished he could plug his own ears.

  Huh? This road... he seems to have walked it before? That's right, he remembers there being a small bridge here, and next to the bridge is a cigarette vending machine. At the time, he found it strange that this vending machine was placed here - would it even get any business?

  "Hmm..."

  This time it became a person's gasping sound, and it seemed to be getting closer.

  The voice was very soft and almost inaudible, but for some reason, Cheng Zhou felt that the voice seemed to be right next to his ear, crystal clear.

  It was just the wind. Cheng Chou walked quickly across the small bridge.

  "Huff huff." The panting sound grew urgent, as if chasing after something.

  Chengzhou didn't look back and walked quickly forward... gradually turning into a small run.

  Actually, I just need to turn around and take a look, then I will know that it's just my illusion. Turn around and take a look, just take a look!

  Suddenly, Cheng Zhou stopped in his tracks.

  A concrete building lit up by night lights blocked his way.

  The building stood less than twenty meters in front of him, the milky white walls emerging with a faint blue color under the pale light of the night lamps, like the shadows of the black night.

  Tall trees surrounded the building, dense and lush, looking even denser than in the daytime.

  Where is...that public restroom?

  "Hehe."

  "Who!" Cheng Zhou suddenly turned his head back.

  Desolate little path, dim streetlights, a few faint insect calls.

  Looking further ahead, a small bridge in the distance seemed to have a cluster of dark shadows standing on it.

  "Who? Who are you!" Cheng Zhou shouted in a mixture of Chinese and Japanese.

  The dark figure slowly turned its head back, a pair of dark red eyes staring in this direction...