As it was nearing Christmas, the shops in the mall began to make preparations.
Some hung up colored lights, some plastered Santa Claus stickers, and some placed elaborate Christmas trees in front of their doors, adorned with little presents.
But the next moment, the well-placed Christmas tree suddenly started to shake, and the little presents flew off the branches and flew forward.
A khaki-colored van sped past the mall's escalator. Zhang Heng turned on the windshield wiper and swept away the two greeting cards stuck on the window. The rear of the L300 swung past a counter full of expensive skincare products, and the red kidneys on the counter swayed in the wake of the gust of wind.
…
The driver of the Toyota Voxy was very cunning. He kept swerving at the intersection, and after making a big circle, he wanted to sneak back to the road he came from. But the next moment, the glass on the mall's right-hand side suddenly shattered without warning.
A khaki-colored van with Christmas decorations sped out of the mall.
What the hell?! Did Santa Claus come so early this year, and instead of riding a reindeer, he drove a car?
The Voxy's driver was shocked. He had been looking at the rearview mirror and did not see any pursuers. He had no idea where this guy had come from, and this entrance was a little too exciting.
The distance between the two cars shortened to only six to seven meters. The Voxy's driver's scalp went numb, and he had no choice but to step on the gas pedal, trying to shake off the pursuers.
But what happened next made his jaw drop. Even with the Voxy's performance, it lost to the battered L300 in terms of acceleration.
Both men stepped on the gas pedal at the same time, and the distance between them grew. Zhang Heng used the front bumper to ram into the Voxy's left rear, and the Toyota began to tilt uncontrollably. The driver was sweating profusely, gripping the steering wheel tightly. But no matter how hard he sped up, he could not shake off the pursuers.
Seeing that it was about to overturn, the Voxy had no choice but to slow down. As if it was planned, the L300 behind it slowed down as well. Zhang Heng could have chosen to overturn the pursuers, but he was wary of Ameko inside, so he did not press too hard. In the end, both cars stopped by the roadside.
The Voxy driver knew very well that there was no way he could shake off the other with his skills and car's performance. So, he opened the door and pushed the unconscious Ameko to the side of the road. Zhang Heng watched the dark blue Toyota disappear into the night and let go of the bow in his hand.
He did not give chase. Firstly, he could not just leave Ameko on the side of the road. Secondly, those people had guns. Even though they seemed to be restraining themselves and had not opened fire yet, who knew what they would do if they were forced into a corner.
Thus, the battle ended with both sides taking a step back.
In a sense, the appearance of this group of people was a relief to Zhang Heng. When he saw the fire at the seafood store, his first reaction was similar to Ameko's — thinking that Takeda Tetsuya had been killed, and that the culprit had used this method to destroy the evidence. But the appearance of the Voxy indirectly proved that the seafood store owner was still alive.
Otherwise, they would not have needed to lure Ameko here to kidnap her. The girl's life was very ordinary, no different from most Japanese students. The fact that these people had targeted her meant that they were planning to use her to threaten Takeda Tetsuya.
But then again, who was that guy in the Voxy? He had started a fire and was armed. In a country like Japan, where gun control was extremely strict, anyone who could get their hands on a gun must have a powerful background.
Zhang Heng had shot the tattooed man in the calf earlier because he wanted to keep him for questioning. He did not expect that they would have an accomplice waiting for them. Luckily, Ameko was not lost.
Zhang Heng carried the girl to the car and gave her a quick check. Other than some minor scratches on her elbow and calf, she was unharmed. He breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, he heard the sirens of the fire trucks in the distance. To be fair, the firefighters had arrived pretty quickly. Everything that had happened earlier might have been a close shave, but it had only been a few minutes since he called the police.
Zhang Heng took off his jacket and covered the girl. Ameko had invited him to her rented apartment a few times for hotpot, so he knew where she lived. But it was not a good idea to send her back now. She was obviously involved in something. If the culprit could trick her out once, they could do it again.
His priority now was to figure out what had happened before he could come up with a countermeasure.
Even though the people in the Voxy had escaped, Zhang Heng knew that there was someone else who could give him answers.
Everything that had happened tonight was obviously related to Takeda Tetsuya, or rather, Yosuke Tsuchiya. It was time to listen to this guy's story.
But before that, he had to find the culprit first.
That was not difficult for Zhang Heng. He drove around the seafood shop owner's favorite izakaya, a traditional restaurant, and a karaoke parlor. Finally, he found his target at the abandoned pier where he used to practice driving.
The sky was starting to brighten. The seafood shop owner was wearing a wide-brimmed hat to hide his face, holding a fishing rod as he mingled with a group of elderly fishing enthusiasts.
When he heard the tires screeching against the ground, he knew who it was. When he got up and saw Ameko in the passenger seat, he was stunned.
"Why is she here?"
"That's the question I'll have to ask you." Zhang Heng jumped out of the car. "I found her in front of your seafood shop. A bunch of guys wanted to kidnap her, but don't worry. She just fainted. It's nothing serious."
"Someone kidnapped her? What do they look like? "Takeda Tetsuya looked nervous, which was rare for him.
"There were about three of them. They were all wrapped up, wearing sunglasses and masks. I don't know why, but they didn't cover up the tattoos on their necks."
"What did the tattoos look like?" Takeda Tetsuya did not care about the other details except for this question.
Zhang Heng thought for a moment. "They were too far away. I can't be completely sure. It looks like an eye, I guess."
Takeda Tetsuya's pupils shrank at that. Then, he fell to the ground as if he had lost all his strength. "So they're here?"
"What's here?"
"It has nothing to do with you. All they want is my life." The seafood shop owner smiled bitterly. "I thought I could hide from them by hiding my identity and keeping a low profile all these years. I didn't expect them to still not let me go. But it's okay. As long as I go and look for them, you won't be in danger anymore."
Contrary to what Zhang Heng expected, the seafood shop owner did not seem interested in talking about his past.
Zhang Heng was still thinking about how to get the man to talk when a voice came from behind him. "So, you divorced your mother because of this?"
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