It only took Feng Bujue twenty minutes to arrive at the Alfred Hotel.
He didn't need to ask for directions, nor did he need any transportation. He just followed the people who had just gotten off the cruise ship. They looked like tourists at first glance as they walked in one direction, and soon, they arrived.
After all, the island was only so big. Although there was more than one place to stay on the island, there was only one place that could be considered a "hotel."
After arriving at the entrance of the hotel, Feng Bujue didn't rush in. He stood on the street and looked into the lobby through the glass wall for a while. Then, he turned around and left.
As an efficient person, Brother Bujue naturally wouldn't go in during the peak check-in period. Anyway, he didn't have any luggage to store. It was better to use the time he spent waiting in line in the hotel lobby elsewhere.
And so, Feng Bujue began his exploration of the island.
The weather was good. The temperature wasn't too high, and the humidity and strong winds that were characteristic of the seaside weren't too obvious.
Feng Bujue found a small shop that rented bicycles near the hotel. With his excellent eloquence and bargaining skills unique to Chinese, he successfully got a bicycle at a price that even the shop owner faintly wondered if he had been cheated.
Then, he took a "travel guide" from the shop owner and rode the bicycle that was basically borrowed from him. He set off along the island's ring road.
…
Kochi Koti was a typical tourist town. Places like this often had some very subtle similarities. The tourists liked it very much, the businessmen didn't comment on it, most of the young indigenous people wanted to leave, or had already left, and the old people on the island all had the attitude that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives here.
Such was life on the island--a day in heaven, a month in hell, a lifetime... well, almost no one stayed here all their lives, not even the old people. They didn't stay here all their lives.
Aside from the bustling scene during the tourist season, the rest of the year was an island town with a relatively poor economic and living standard.
Luxurious hotel rooms, first-class public facilities, all kinds of modern products … These were all prepared for the tourists. The residents on the island couldn't afford that kind of life. They just lived a very ordinary life, like the people in a second or third tier city.
Other than the tourism that was only profitable for a few months in a year, what really supported the economic and social stability of Kochi Koti was … tuna.
Or rather … "Herbert Company."
Forty years ago, when Old Herbert sailed out to sea in his small tattered fishing boat, he certainly didn't expect that one day he would become one of the most influential people on the island, or even all of Wales.
Now, his picture had spread throughout Europe and even the world. Of course … it was printed on various canned fish.
Seven years ago, Herbert Sr. died of illness, and his eldest son, John Herbert, took over the company. Now, most of the residents of Kochi Koti work for John.
The fishing fleet, the canning factory, the logistics company … Herbert Company provided jobs for almost all the adult residents on the island. Even though the Alfred Hotel was not run by the Herbert family, they had invested in it.
Other than that, even the few police officers and civil servants on the island had to show some respect to the Herbert family. After all … their family members worked in the Herbert family's factory.
In short, for the residents here, rather than "Kochi Koti," the island was more like "Herbert Island."
…
Circling the island took longer than Feng Bujue expected. One reason was that his physical condition in the scenario was worse than his physical condition in real life, and the other reason was that he would often stop to chat with passersby while he was on the road.
At dusk, Brother Jue returned to the starting point. When he returned the car, the shop owner's expression seemed to say, "If I were ten years younger, I would have killed you already."
Feng Bujue was quite embarrassed, so he gave the shop owner some extra money and took a bottle of drink and two packs of snacks.
He ate as he walked, and he arrived at the Alfred Hotel.
This time, the hotel lobby was much emptier. Feng Bujue walked slowly to the front desk to check in. As he expected, for a 'single guest who did not have any special request for a room', he did not have to worry about not having a room.
Since he did not have any luggage, he did not need anyone to lead the way. He took the key card from the front desk and went upstairs.
The moment he took the key card, the system announced, "Quest completed."
Feng Bujue opened the game menu to take a look. He noticed that there was a tick next to the quest 'Stay at the Alfred Hotel', and a new quest had appeared below it, 'Wait for the case to happen.'
"How straightforward …" Brother Jue mumbled to himself as he reached the elevator.
Ding!
Coincidentally, the elevator arrived at that moment.
The elevator door slowly opened, and a figure appeared.
He was a middle-aged man, not more than forty years of age; his appearance was not unusual, at least in Western Europe, in Saxon features; he was dressed in a dark suit, and wore on his head a rather new-looking Panama hat, the brim of which was pulled down, as if he did not wish his face to be seen.
When Feng Bujue and the middle-aged man walked past each other, they did not exchange glances, nor did they nod to greet each other. The two of them just walked past each other, and neither of them showed any unusual behavior.
However, in that two seconds, Feng Bujue understood that this man was probably related to the case that was about to happen.
This was because … with just this one encounter, Brother Jue had already guessed his identity and found some clues on him that might be clues.
"Hey! Wait! "
A few seconds later, when the elevator door was about to close, a man's voice came from outside, accompanied by hurried footsteps.
Feng Bujue's thoughts were interrupted by the shout, but he still helped the man press the button to open the door.
Soon, the elevator door opened again, and the man who shouted "Wait!" appeared at the door.
"Hah … Hah … Thank you …" He panted as he entered the elevator.
Feng Bujue sized up the young man in front of him. The young man's clothes looked ordinary at first glance, but if one knew what they were made of, they would realize that he was wearing expensive branded clothes, but the style was more low-key. Looking at his appearance, he was obviously a student, probably not even twenty years old. He was about the same height as Brother Jue, but his body was thinner. Judging from his face and accent, this young man was most likely from China. By the way … he was quite handsome.
If there was anything special about this young man, it would be … the sports bag he was carrying on his right shoulder. The zipper was unzipped, and a cat was poking its head out from the gap of the zipper, looking outside.
For some reason, the cat's gaze seemed to be fixed on the middle-aged man outside the elevator.
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