Since he suspected the other party was a kidnapper, Chen Xiao held onto a sliver of hope that they might contact them. He stayed in the coffee shop all day, hoping they would at least make a phone call.
But a whole day passed, and there was still no news.
During the day, Chen Xiao called the hotel again to tell the Takeuchi sisters to stay by themselves. Xiao Qing stayed by Chen Xiao's side without leaving for a moment. In the afternoon, seeing how tired Chen Xiao looked, she couldn't bear it and finally said, "You should rest for a while."
Chen Xiao shook his head: "How can I be in the mood to rest right now!"
Xiao Qing felt a pang of sadness and said softly, "You should rest. If something happens, you won't be able to handle it if you're so weak and tired. You need to get some rest..."
Chen Xiao sighed, and finally, at Xiao Qing's urging, he went to the sofa in the next shop and lay down to rest with his eyes closed. He was exhausted after all, and after a while, he actually felt sleepy, but just as his consciousness began to fade, he was awakened by a commotion!
As he sat up, he saw several people rush into the coffee shop. A few young men in martial arts uniforms stood guard at the door, while a gaunt old man in a Tang suit was hunched over the counter. Despite being so old that he had almost lost all his teeth, he clung to the counter like a child, excitedly shouting in a southern accent, "It really is! It really is Old Lin's handwriting! It really is!!"
As he spoke, it was impossible to tell whether his expression was crying or laughing. He hugged the corner of the table, jumping and shouting as if he had gone mad.
Xiao Qing stood to the side, her head bowed in helplessness. She opened her mouth, then gave a bitter laugh, "Chen Xiao… this… this is the patriarch of my Xiao family…"
Chen Xiao quickly stood up and was about to greet him politely.
The old man then turned his head and glanced at Chen Xiao, seemingly very impatient, before quickly waving his hand and saying, "No need, no need!"
He didn't seem to care much about meeting Chen Xiao at first, and immediately turned his head to continue looking at the writing on the table, but then suddenly his body jolted! As if he had just realized something, he turned his head sharply and stared intently at Chen Xiao's face!
A sharp glint suddenly flashed in those murky old eyes!
That gaze seemed to have etched Chen Xiao's face into its very essence, staring at him for a full minute! Chen Xiao felt a faint stinging sensation on his face as he was being stared at by such a sharp gaze.
The old man's lips trembled slightly as he raised his hand and pointed at Chen Xiao: "You! You! You!"
Chen Xiao was a little surprised and touched his nose: "What about me?"
The old man's breathing suddenly became rapid, his old face flushed red, and then he suddenly opened his mouth and coughed violently. While coughing, his eyes were still fixed on Chen Xiao, pointing at Chen Xiao, his fingertips trembling.
Xiao Qing, who was standing nearby, quickly came over to rub his chest and back. After the old man's cough finally subsided a bit, the old man took two deep breaths and spoke in a thick southern accent, his voice even trembling slightly: "You! Young man, come here, what is your surname?"
Chapter 222 of the main text: [Tch!]
At K City Airport, in Exit 4, Lao Tian swaggered out with the flow of people, stretching as he did so. He subconsciously reached for his cigarette case in his pocket, about to take out a cigarette, when he spotted the No Smoking sign on the wall next to him. He couldn't help but give a wry smile, held the cigarette to his nose, took a deep, greedy breath, and then put it back in the case.
The other passengers around him kept their distance from this strange fellow: Lao Tian was still wearing his somewhat dirty mechanic's uniform, which was covered with spots of engine oil stains that looked like they hadn't been washed for years.
Even on the plane, his attire caused the beautiful flight attendants in first class to stare at him incessantly. After a while, Lao Tian couldn't help but say, "What, haven't you ever seen a mechanic sitting in first class before?"
Old Tian chuckled to himself as he recalled the expression on that pretty young woman's face.
"It's better to go home!"
Standing in the airport terminal, Lao Tian shook his head and sighed, muttering, "After drinking Japanese sake for so many days, it still doesn't taste as good as baijiu!"
His behavior drew attention from onlookers, and even the two airport security personnel standing far away couldn't help but cast suspicious and wary glances at him.
Less than fifty meters away, in a wicker chair in an airport café, a pair of eyes with a strange look were watching Lao Tian, who was stretching lazily, from afar. Large sunglasses covered most of his face, but his tightly furrowed brows were visible behind them.
This person was dressed very simply, in casual summer clothes, with a travel bag beside him. Such a person would be completely unremarkable in a crowd.
However, his companion seemed far too conspicuous. On a wicker chair next to him, a woman with short black hair was giving her sunglasses-wearing companion a cold look—her short black hair gave her a sharp, capable appearance. Her oval face was quite delicate, but what should have been a beautiful face was instead covered by a layer of frost, as if everyone owed her millions. This expression was practically a "Keep Out" warning written on her forehead. A black shirt, black jeans, black sneakers—combined with her dark expression, made the men who were secretly admiring her sigh inwardly: such a beautiful girl, how could she have such an unsightly expression, like a cursed star, it's such a waste of talent…
However, if Chen Xiao were here, he probably wouldn't be surprised by this woman's expression—this woman with the dark face was none other than the unfortunate first ability user that Chen Xiao had purified. "Black Seven," a former field team member of the service organization, whose real name was Suo Suo.
Since Soso is here, it goes without saying that the guy sitting next to her wearing sunglasses is none other than the Service Agency's number one wanted traitor, the mad scientist Shi Gaofei.
Shi Gaofei, however, used some unknown method. His originally Caucasian skin had transformed into the yellowish complexion typical of East Asians. His once high nose bridge had also slightly flattened, making his face look even more distinctly that of a yellowish-Asian.
"What are you looking at?" Soso frowned.
"I saw an old friend." Shi Gaofei withdrew his gaze from observing Lao Tian from afar and muttered to himself, "I didn't expect to run into him at the airport."
Suo Suo also saw Lao Tian and was slightly surprised: "Did you make an appointment with him?"
"Of course not." Shi Gaofei curled his lip and glanced at Suo Suo: "We are now the number one wanted person on the latest wanted list issued by the International Superpower Alliance. I dare not contact anyone."
Soso lowered her head, but expressed her dissatisfaction in words: "You know perfectly well, yet you still insisted on coming here! Don't you know that this kid is being watched by countless superpowered organizations? The closer you get to him, the greater the risk of being exposed!"
Shi Gaofei chuckled softly: "Exposed? Please, it seems like we're already being watched. Sigh. This time it's probably another bounty hunter, isn't it?"
Soso was stunned for a moment. After being purified, she lost her superpowers, and her strength had greatly declined, making her almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person. Hearing Shi Gaofei's words, she couldn't help but look around immediately. Shi Gaofei sneered, "At twelve o'clock, that guy with the magazine next to the bookstore, humph... what a joke. Coming to follow me. At least have some brains. Although this guy isn't wearing an earphone-style detector, the watch on his wrist is a brand-new band detector that came out last year! Humph. This guy must have bought a counterfeit from the black market, thinking he can fool me with that."
Indeed. Not far away, next to an airport bookstore, a tall, thin man was casually flipping through a latest movie magazine, wearing an exquisitely designed wristwatch on his left wrist.
Soso couldn't help but ask, "How...how did you know the watch he was wearing was a detector? I've never seen this kind of watch before..."
"Hmph, I designed this thing." Shi Gaofei chuckled dismissively, then patted his pants and stood up. "Let's go, let's find a place to take care of this guy who's been following us."
He picked up his travel bag and strode out of the coffee shop toward the public restroom next door. Soso immediately put two banknotes on the table, got up and followed behind Shi Gaofei.
Sure enough, as soon as the two left, the man who had been flipping through the magazine also casually put it down and followed them. He watched as Shi Gaofei walked into the men's restroom, while Suo Suo turned and walked towards a vending machine in the distance.
The man hesitated for a moment, calculating in his mind, but ultimately the thought of capturing Shi Gaofei prevailed. The bounty on the international black market for Shi Gaofei was already astronomical. He had unintentionally followed this most wanted criminal; if he could catch him…
This guy was also a well-known lone wolf bounty hunter in the superpower world, and he quickly walked into the men's restroom.
The men's restroom was empty; there was hardly anyone else there. The guy went in and saw Shi Gaofei standing by the mirror, whistling and combing his hair, looking quite relaxed. He also took out an MP4 player, put the earphones in his ears, and was nodding and swaying to the music.
The bounty hunter cautiously took a few steps closer and spoke coldly, "Mr. Shi Gaofei."
Shi Gaofei sighed, turned around, and looked at the man: "You're here to catch me too, right... What bad luck, you bounty hunters are like flies, constantly bothering me."
The bounty hunter said coldly, "One billion US dollars plus a set of A-grade equipment promised by the service agency is enough to make many people risk their lives."