Chapter 396: Positioning |
The old gatekeeper's words almost left Yang Haoran dumbfounded.
However, with a little thought, he understood why the other person would say such a thing.
This is a crematorium, not a food street. He didn't come here because of a death, did he come here to eat instead? The gatekeeper's words were just a bit too direct.
"Old man, you misunderstood, I'm the only one left in my family now, even if I wanted to look after your business, I couldn't." Yang Haoran said with a smile.
"No one died at home, did your friend die?" the old gatekeeper asked again.
"No, I just want to ask you about someone," Yang Haoran said with a smile.
"Ask about someone? Who?" The old gatekeeper asked in confusion.
"A distant relative of mine, Zhao Hong," Yang Haoran said.
"Zhao Hong? You're Sister Zhao's relative?" The old gatekeeper seemed somewhat unbelieving.
"Yes, I'm her relative, but I haven't contacted her for many years. Did she come to work today?"
The old gatekeeper shook his head and said, "You came at a bad time, she's been on leave for a few days, seems like something happened at home."
"On leave for a few days?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Haoran was slightly stunned, then reacting, he smiled and asked the old gatekeeper, "Old man, do you know what happened at Sister Zhao's home?"
"How would I know, I'm not her husband," the old gatekeeper said impatiently.
Yang Haoran smiled awkwardly and nodded in understanding.
"I haven't been in contact with Sister Zhao for many years, so I don't know anything about her now."
The old gatekeeper took a puff of his cigarette, grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"Although I'm not Sister Zhao's husband, I'm actually quite familiar with her. I know quite a bit about her affairs."
Upon hearing this, Yang Haoran's face showed delight.
"Oh? Really? That's great then, can you tell me about it, old man?"
The old gatekeeper picked up the extra-large teacup in front of him, took a sip of the low-quality strong tea, and then started telling Yang Haoran some things about Zhao Hong.
The real reason Yang Haoran was lingering with the old gatekeeper was to learn more about Zhao Hong from him.
Although the information Captain Luo sent over was very detailed, not everything was recorded in the information. Some things or habits that weren't recorded could be learned from other crematorium staff.
Yang Haoran was skeptical about this old gatekeeper claiming to be very familiar with Zhao Hong. However, as the old gatekeeper kept revealing Zhao Hong's habits and preferences from his mouth, Yang Haoran secretly rejoiced. This old gatekeeper indeed wasn't bluffing, he really knew quite a bit about Zhao Hong.
When it came to Zhao Hong, the old gatekeeper was spitting all over the place. His familiarity with Zhao Hong was simply like understanding his own wife.
The old gatekeeper went on for about an hour. Throughout the process, except for occasionally responding, Yang Haoran was mostly just listening.
If it weren't for other staff members coming to find the old gatekeeper, he might have continued telling Yang Haoran.
"Young man, I'm still on duty, so I can't tell you more. I've given you her phone number. You can contact Sister Zhao directly. She's a nice person, I believe you'll like her."
The old gatekeeper wasn't going to continue, and Yang Haoran wouldn't insist either. Being able to learn so many things not in the information from him, he was already very satisfied.
"Thank you, old man. I won't disturb you further."
As the words fell, Yang Haoran didn't linger and turned to leave.
After just a few steps, Yang Haoran paused, then turned back to look at the old gatekeeper.
"Old man, let me give you a piece of advice. If possible, you'd better quit this job. You're not very suited to work here."
The old gatekeeper's expression changed, and then his face became somewhat unsightly.
"Hey! What do you mean, kid! Old man, I kindly told you so much! Now what are you saying? Are you implying I'm slacking off at work?"
Yang Haoran smiled and shook his head, then replied, "Old man, you misunderstood me. What I mean is that this place has heavy yin qi, and it's not very suitable for you."
"Stop talking nonsense. What era is this? I'm an old man who doesn't believe in ghosts and spirits. You're a young man who actually still believes in such things. If there were really ghosts in this world, how come I haven't encountered a single one in over ten years working here?"
Seeing that the old gatekeeper didn't believe him, Yang Haoran didn't continue explaining. He smiled, nodded at the old man, turned, and left.
This time, he didn't stop again.
Yang Haoran told the old gatekeeper about the warning because he sensed the yin qi coiling around the old gatekeeper, and it was quite a lot of yin qi.
If the old gatekeeper didn't heed the advice and continued working here, the yin qi coiling around him would only grow heavier, and he might even lose his life because of it.
However, judging from the old gatekeeper's reaction, Yang Haoran felt that he probably wouldn't quit this job just because of his few words.
He had given the warning, but how the old gatekeeper chose was his own business, unrelated to Yang Haoran. The only reason Yang Haoran warned him was because the old man had told him quite a bit about Zhao Hong. Otherwise, he would have been too lazy to care.
Back in the car, before Yang Haoran could speak, he was met with Bai Xue's resentful gaze.
"What did you have to talk about with an old gatekeeper for so long?"
Yang Haoran naturally heard the dissatisfaction in Bai Xue's tone. He chuckled and responded.
"I learned quite a bit of information about the target from the old gatekeeper, information that wasn't in the materials Captain Luo sent over, so I talked to him for a bit longer."
As he spoke, Yang Haoran looked at the note in his hand, which had a phone number written on it - Zhao Hong's phone number.
"Whose phone number is that?" Bai Xue glanced at the note in Yang Haoran's hand and asked.
"The target's phone number," Yang Haoran replied.
His words immediately made a puzzled expression appear on Bai Xue's face.
"The target's number? Didn't the information Captain Luo sent over already have it? Why did you separately record another one?"
Yang Haoran didn't hide anything and explained to Bai Xue.
"The reason I recorded this phone number is partly so the old gatekeeper wouldn't become suspicious, and also, I want to compare this number with the one in the information to see if they're consistent."
As he spoke, Yang Haoran took his mobile phone back from Bai Xue and compared it to the number in the information.
After comparing them, Yang Haoran's smile intensified slightly.
"What's wrong?" Seeing the change in Yang Haoran's smile, Bai Xue asked.
Yang Haoran didn't answer but handed his mobile phone and the note to Bai Xue. After Bai Xue compared them, her expression also changed.
"The phone numbers are different. Does she have two phone numbers, or is the number in the information incorrect?" Bai Xue asked in confusion.
Yang Haoran smiled and shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.
"What the situation is, we'll need to trouble Captain Luo to investigate. Moreover, the target isn't at the crematorium. She's been gone for several days, supposedly back to her hometown. But whether she really went back to her hometown still needs Captain Luo to check."
At this point, Yang Haoran took the mobile phone back from Bai Xue, drove away from the crematorium to an area with better signal, and then called Captain Luo.
"Captain Luo, the target isn't at the crematorium. I'll give you a phone number. Try to locate her position with it. If this number can't locate her position, try the one in the information."
"Got it, no problem."
After getting Captain Luo's agreement, Yang Haoran hung up and sent him the number on the note.
Normally, locating a target's position via their mobile phone number is no problem. But if the target has put their mobile phone into an independent space, then their position can't be located.
Yang Haoran couldn't be sure if Zhao Hong had put her mobile phone into an independent space, so he could only have Captain Luo try first.
[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]