The ultimate blue sea

Chapter 3 - "Little Grey"

Just after Su Qing was carried away by two kidnappers from some unknown planet, the door to his apartment, not shut tight to begin with, was once again pushed open by an unknown element. The person who opened the door was a long-legged and vigorous young man wearing a jacket with the zipper open all the way, indistinctly revealing the outlines of two guns at his waist.

Behind the young man came a tall young woman with her hair in a ponytail.

The door had been open to start with. It opened wide automatically at a light touch. It was completely empty inside. The young man took out a gun and made a gesture towards the young woman. The two of them went inside one after the other and searched. No one.

The young man frowned and said towards the watch on his wrist, "Captain Hu, Qin Luo and I have arrived. There's no one here. The door was open."

After a moment, Hu Bugui's voice came out of the "watch": "Copy."

The two of them left without a sound.

When Su Qing woke up again, he once more opened his eyes to the sight of dismal white. After a moment of blank staring, he quickly shot up—he remembered; he had been kidnapped. The kidnappers had left him in a little room with no windows. They hadn't tied him up. He looked down. None of his clothing was missing. Even the thirty-two yuan and fifty cents of spare change in his pocket were still there.

Su Qing sniffled—he really had caught a cold. He got up, swallowed, and, willing to try anything in a crisis, began to mentally count sheep, as though this move could not only hypnotize a person but could also calm him down.

Actually, it really did do some good. When he had counted to thirty-eight, Su Qing's long-inactive brain at last undertook the monumental task of its proper duty. In these dire straits, he outdid himself. He restrained his fear and began to examine his surroundings, considering his circumstances.

Suddenly, there was a slight movement over his head. Su Qing tipped his head up and saw a security camera in a corner. As he walked around the little room, it followed him closely, swinging left and right, like a pair of eyes hidden in the darkness.

Su Qing cleared his throat and stood properly facing the security camera. He put his hands behind his back, forced a smile, and sincerely said, "Brothers, I'm only an unemployed youth. I have no family and no profession. I haven't broken the law, I haven't cheated on my taxes, and even my last fight was three or four years ago... Of course, I also have nothing to do with the collected public security forces..."

He thought, it didn't matter who his kidnappers were; first he would disclaim connection to both sides. He still had this drop of wit. When Su Qing got nervous, he started to babble, as though if he kept talking he could relieve the symptoms of cramp in his calves. He went on at length: "Well...look here, don't you think there's been some misunderstanding? I promise you, I didn't see anyone clearly, not the fellow who knocked me out, and not the fellow wearing the sunglasses. And if I had seen clearly, I wouldn't go around blabbing. Look at my honest eyes!"

As he spoke, he got close to the security camera. The security camera had no speakers. It only looked at him coldly.

Su Qing clutched his hair and racked his brains. He suddenly saw the light. "Oh...this isn't because of my dad, is it? Oh, hey, in that case, you've got it all wrong. My dad's got some stinking money, but that has nothing to do with me now. It's been two years since the old man disowned me. The old fellow has already said that even if I kick the bucket, he won't shed a tear for me. If you're expecting ransom money for kidnapping me, it's no use. He'll be only too happy for someone to clean up after him—ah, of course, I'm not telling you to..."