After more than three hours on the plane, Xiao Luo finally arrived in Dongjing, Ri Nation.
Xiao Luo looked at his watch, and it was 11 at night. Dongjing was an hour ahead of Hua Nation, so it was already midnight when the plane made its approach to the airport. But, Dongjing, being a city that never sleeps, looked like a monster with a glowing body, quietly lying across this vast sprawling land. Looking down at the city by night, lights shimmered and blinked with the same brilliance as the milky way. It is breathtakingly beautiful, and this was what Xiao Luo saw from his window seat.
But he was influenced by Zhang Dashan’s words, and he could not stop thinking about the sleaze that was a part of this city’s glamor.
He did not know why, but he still felt lingering discomfort from the effect of using the Yi Jinjing to regulate his body. After sitting on the plane for a little over three hours, Xiao Luo still had not recovered. Excessive saliva was continually forming in his mouth, and he spat it all out into a piece of tissue when he disembarked, then proceeded to search for a bin to dispose of it.
As soon as he stepped out of the passageway, he saw a bin. He walked over to throw the tissue into it. But a light breeze blew, and the tissue fell on the ground beside the bin instead.
“Just look at him. Hua Nation people are so uncultured. Look at how he tossed the rubbish outside of the bin. It’s uncivilized!” a voice spoke.
It was a Western man and his wife, both with prominent noses, who had been on the same flight as Xiao Luo. As soon as they saw this, the husband immediately criticized Xiao Luo’s actions.
Xiao Luo had intended to pick up the tissue paper and dispose of it properly in the bin, but he immediately thought otherwise when he heard what the man said. Xiao Luo felt the urge to react but held himself back as he was now overseas. He was aware that his words and actions would reflect on Hua Nation and did not want to give his country a bad name. The cogs in his head turned, and Xiao Luo decided to offer a riposte in Japanese. “You f*cking idiot!” he spewed.
He said it with a perfect Dongjing accent.
The Western couple was stunned, and then realization dawned on them. “He’s not from Hua Nation. He’s from Ri Nation!”
And as they were in Ri Nation, so it was only natural that they refrained from criticizing the locals if they could help it. They left hurriedly, but their impression of the Ri Nation people changed considerably.
Xiao Luo heaved a sigh of relief. He was a little impressed by his wit.
When Xiao Luo walked into the arrival hall, he saw a young Ri Nation man holding a board with the name “Xiao Han” written on it. He was holding it high above his head. Xiao Luo was almost right in front of the man, but the young man still kept looking around, not recognizing Xiao Luo.
Was the man blind?
Xiao Luo felt a little down in the dumps. He walked right up and cleared his throat before saying in Japanese, “Hi, I’m Xiao Han!”
The young man finally shifted his gaze and took a good look at Xiao Luo. He said excitedly, “Hello, Xiao Han. I am Kimura Akino, and I’m a police officer. I’m here to welcome you. Pleased to meet you!”
He bowed as he introduced himself to Xiao Luo, the expression on his face conveying a degree of respect and politeness.
Xiao Luo frowned and said, “I thought Miyazaki Ronjin was the one who was supposed to fetch me?”
It was what Ji Siying had told him before he left for Ri Nation. The Hua Nation police officers had been in contact with their counterparts in Dongjing and had been informed that a Police Sergeant would meet him, and that man was supposed to be Miyazaki Ronjin.
Kimura Akino had an apologetic look on his face. “The Police Sergeant suddenly had an upset tummy,” he explained.
“Ooh…” Xiao Luo responded, dragging out the vowel sound.
“Mr. Xiao Han, I am to wait in the carpark for him after I have welcomed you. Let us head over right now,” Kimura Akino said.
“Sure!” Xiao Luo nodded.
“Let me help you with your luggage, Mr. Xiao Han.”
“That’s alright, thank you. I don’t have a lot on me. I’ll carry it myself.”
“You must be thirsty, Mr. Xiao Han. Let me buy you a bottle of water.”
“I’m not thirsty. You are too kind.”
Kimura Akino was so hospitable and obliging that Xiao Luo did not know how to react.
The airport carpark was right outside the main concourse. Kimura Akino had driven a black sedan to pick Xiao Luo up. He explained that it was the car assigned to Miyazaki Ronjin. It looked ordinary on the outside, but underneath the hood, it had been modified and could accelerate from 0 to 100 in under eight seconds. It was a great car to be driving in any pursuit.
“How’s the progress on the case of the missing Hua Nationals here? Are there any leads?” Xiao Luo was in no mood for small talk and cut to the chase.
Kimura Akino nodded stiffly. “Yes. Our surveillance team has linked an unregistered SUV without number plates to the abduction of all the five missing Hua Nationals. We will solve the case the moment we can find that car,” he replied.
“Have you found the car?” Xiao Luo probed.
Kimura Akino shook his head. “No, but don’t worry, Mr. Xiao Han. The Dongjing Police are leaving no stones unturned in finding the vehicle, and I believe we will make progress within the week.”
“A week? It will be too late by the time you find anything. Those people might have already have come to harm by then,” Xiao Luo said.
“What, you don’t trust the Dongjing Police?” A harsh voice rang out from behind him.
Xiao Luo turned his head to look behind. Walking toward him was a sloppy-looking man in his late 40s, with tan skin and a cigarette pinched between his fingers. Before the man could even get close, Xiao Luo could already detect the overpowering stench of stale cigarettes.
Kimura Akino immediately introduced the man. “Mr. Xiao Han, this is Sergeant Ronjin. Sergeant Ronjin, this is Mr. Xiao Han from Hua Nation.”
“Hello, Mr. Xiao, welcome to Dongjing.”
Miyazaki Ronjin extended a hand to Xiao Luo with a smile on his face.
Xiao Luo eyed that hand of his, stained yellow from cigarette smoke, and then his two rows of tobacco-stained teeth when he flashed his smile. He was a chain-smoker. But out of respect, he reached out to shake the man’s hand. “Hello!”
Miyazaki Ronjin addressed him as Mr. Xiao, and it was the proper way the Ri Nation people would address strangers. It was an honorific, and they only used this manner of address on people with an appropriate status.
“Get in the car. There’s someplace I have to bring you.”
Miyazaki Ronjin said nothing else as he walked over to open the door. Compared to Kimura Akino, his attitude towards Xiao Luo was a lot colder.
Xiao Luo kept silent. When Kimura Akino opened the door to the passenger seat, he sat down without hesitation.
“Mr. Xiao, it is written in your file that you’re a Sergeant 1st class, so your rank is on par with mine. I’ve toiled for several decades before I made this rank, but you managed to rise to yours at such a young age, which is extremely rare. It would be an understatement to call you a genius police officer. It is no wonder why you are here to represent the Hua Nation Police to supervise and guide us for these missing person cases.”
Miyazaki Ronjin spoke with the cigarette between his teeth as he drove, and his tone made it difficult for Xiao Luo to read the man.
It discomforted Xiao Luo. The way Miyazaki Ronjin spoke was more unsettling than the pungent smell of cigarettes coming off the man.
“After this case of the missing Hua Nationals is closed, I can finally announce my retirement and start afresh,” Miyazaki Ronjin said, showing little regard to the limit of propriety.
Observing Miyazaki Ronjin’s lax, devil-may-care attitude, Xiao Luo could not help but question if the Dongjing Police were giving this case any priority at all.
