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墨書 Inktalez
Looking around, I didn't see anyone, and Hu Xiaoyi seemed a bit worried. I suggested that she might have gone to the restroom or to buy something, and we should wait a bit; she might come back soon.
However, Hu Xiaoyi thought differently. He pointed at the chairs and said, "When we left, the chairs weren't like this. The leftover fruit wine is gone, but there are stains on the table where the wine was spilled. Even if they took the bottles away, they couldn't have spilled the wine on the table. And look at the floor; there are messy footprints."
Under normal circumstances, I would think his attention to detail stemmed from excessive nervousness. But in this unfamiliar place, I could understand Hu Xiaoyi's concern. To reassure him, I specifically called over a hotel staff member nearby and asked if he had seen the young girl who was sitting here earlier.
Due to the large number of foreign tourists in Pattaya, most of the staff here can understand Chinese and English, as well as some basic Japanese and Korean. When I inquired, the young Thai boy looked puzzled at me and Hu Xiaoyi and said, "She was taken away by her friends; didn't you know?"
"Friends?" Hu Xiaoyi immediately panicked and said, "This is our first time here; we don't have any friends here. Who took her away?"
The bartender said that shortly after we left, four or five men came in and dragged the Chinese girl away. She seemed somewhat resistant, but how could she stand up to those burly men? She even got slapped. Then they forcibly took her away.
I was stunned by this revelation. Hu Xiaoyi rushed forward and grabbed the bartender's shirt, shouting, "Why didn't you stop them! You saw she didn't want to go; why didn't you intervene?"
The bartender looked innocent and said, "Because they claimed to be friends of this Chinese girl and that they were just trying to calm her down because she was upset. We only provide service; we don't guarantee safety."
Although this sounded unreasonable, I had to admit he wasn't entirely wrong. An open bar doesn't offer much in terms of safety unless things escalate significantly; then the bar might step in. I guessed that Qin Zhenzhen's struggles weren't very forceful, which is why the bartender thought it was no big deal.
Hu Xiaoyi was almost in tears. Most people who come to Pattaya love to drink. What could drunken men do when they randomly grab a young girl? It was easy to imagine. My heart sank as I asked the bartender where those men had gone.
The bartender pointed in a direction and said they went that way, but several minutes had already passed, and with so many people around, it would be hard to find them. He subtly indicated that one of those who took Qin Zhenzhen was part of a local gang in Pattaya. Unless it was someone particularly important, it would be better not to provoke them.
Hearing this made me want to slap him in anger. What did he mean by "not important"? She is my friend! Regardless of her importance, if something happened while she was here with me for fun, how could I face her?
Last time, when Boss Zhang Qichao got into trouble, it was because of my inexperience; I took them to a chaotic little bar. This time, to prevent any accidents, not only did I stay in a five-star hotel with Second Uncle, but I also specifically chose a safer location. I never expected that an accident would still happen!
Hu Xiaoyi grabbed my clothes, his eyes red, constantly asking, "What should we do? What should we do? Let's call the police! Hurry and call the police!"
Even if we called the police now, it wouldn't be of much use; by the time they arrived, whatever was meant to happen would have already happened. I thought for a moment and then pulled him along, saying, "Let's go look for them first; maybe we can find those people."
On the way, I called Second Uncle and told him that Qin Zhenzhen had been taken away and that we were currently searching for her. Second Uncle, being more easygoing, said, "Don't worry too much; it should be fine. People who come here are usually just looking to have fun; it might just be a joke. You two keep looking; I'll come over right away."
The loud music and women's laughter coming from the phone indicated that Second Uncle was likely at some bar. I wasn't sure if he realized the seriousness of the situation, so I emphasized that he needed to hurry.
As the waiter had said, Pattaya's nightlife was indeed bustling with people. Everyone knew this was a city that never sleeps; nightlife was its true highlight. Hu Xiaoyi and I jogged along, continuously calling out Qin Zhenzhen's name. After about twenty minutes, Second Uncle found us.
At this point, Hu Xiaoyi had already cried his eyes out. Second Uncle frowned and asked if we still hadn't found her.
I sighed and said helplessly, "There are so many people; how can we find her?"
Second Uncle asked me who had taken Qin Zhenzhen away. I replied that I didn't know; I only heard from the waiter that it was related to a local gang, involving both Thai individuals and some from Europe and America. Second Uncle speculated that this might be some gang members entertaining guests and seeing Qin Zhenzhen alone might have led them to think she was an easy target.
Hu Xiaoyi cried out that it was all his fault for going to the restroom; if he had stayed behind, this wouldn't have happened.
What good is saying all this now? The most important thing is to find her!
Just then, Hu Xiaoyi suddenly shouted, "It's Qin Zhenzhen! I see her!"
Following his finger, I indeed saw a group of people moving around. Among them was a smaller figure who looked somewhat blurry but appeared to be struggling. I couldn't be sure if it was really Qin Zhenzhen, but since Hu Xiaoyi said it was her, we had no choice but to take action.
However, those few people got into the car and closed the door. Fortunately, Second Uncle also drove here and parked nearby. We quickly got into the car to chase after them, speeding all the way until we found that car at a slightly secluded hotel.
Second Uncle parked the car and took us inside, asking the front desk which room the people who just came in were staying in.
The waitress politely informed us that it was customer privacy and she couldn't disclose that information. Without wasting any words, Second Uncle pulled out a wad of cash from his wallet and tossed it over, then asked, "Which room?"
The waitress glanced at the money on the counter, and after a few seconds, she quietly took the cash and then whispered a few numbers. Second Uncle put away his wallet and headed towards the elevator first.
Since the hotel was not in a very busy area and considering there were quite a few people on the other side earlier, I felt a bit worried and asked Second Uncle if we should call the police first to avoid any trouble. Second Uncle confidently replied, "Here, I still have some influence; it will be fine."
Seeing him say that, we had no choice but to follow behind.
Once we reached the floor, we walked to the room number that the waitress mentioned. Second Uncle knocked on the door directly. No one responded from inside until he grew impatient and started kicking the door, at which point it finally opened.
A tall Westerner frowned at us and asked in English, "Who are you?"
Second Uncle looked up at him and replied that we were here to find someone. At that moment, cries from a girl and loud laughter from a man came from inside; the voice sounded familiar—it should be Qin Zhenzhen. Hu Xiaoyi couldn't hold back and was about to rush in.
However, just as he squeezed to the doorway, that man suddenly punched him in the face while cursing.
Seeing him take action, I naturally couldn't hold back either and rushed up to jump and hit him. However, this man seemed quite skilled; he easily dodged my punch and grabbed my clothes. I felt my body drop suddenly, landing on the ground like a toad.
Second Uncle had always been protective of me; how could he stand by while I was being bullied? He was also quite skilled in fighting; he kicked the man's calf and then landed a punch on his chin. The man raised his hands to protect his face and quickly retreated a distance.
Second Uncle helped me up and then walked inside, cursing as he said, "Dare to lay hands on me; do you know..."
He hadn't finished speaking when I was horrified to see a thick stick swing out from behind the door. Second Uncle was caught off guard and was struck on the head, collapsing to the ground with a loud thud.
At that moment, I was stunned. I never expected the people in the room to be so brutal, nor did I anticipate that the usually arrogant Second Uncle could be easily knocked down. Although this was an ambush, it was enough to shock me.
At the same time, several people rushed out of the room, pulling Hu Xiaoyi and me inside and shutting the door before launching a brutal beating. I wanted to resist, but after throwing a few punches, I was knocked down by someone wielding a stick. Hu Xiaoyi cried out, scrambling around as he was beaten.
He was an honest person, slightly more open than Liang Xi, and certainly no match for these ruthless thugs. Perhaps in his mind, such a scene of being beaten up only existed in movies or his imagination.
At that moment, I saw Qin Zhenzhen. She was pinned down on the sofa, her clothes torn and hair disheveled. When she saw us come in, her eyes were filled with hope and surprise, but at the same time, they were filled with despair. Because our arrival not only failed to rescue her but also put ourselves in danger.
Especially Second Uncle; when I was knocked down, I saw blood continuously oozing from his head. I felt an overwhelming panic inside me, unsure of how he was doing now. Even when I learned that Second Uncle had been injured by a mortar shell from drug dealers in Cambodia, I had never felt this scared.
I began to regret not calling the police immediately. If we had come with the police, perhaps this situation wouldn't have happened.
Perhaps our arrival dampened their spirits a bit. The man who had been assaulting Qin Zhenzhen grew impatient and released her. He turned around and squatted down, grabbing my hair to take a look at me while speaking a few words in an unfamiliar language. I couldn't understand it; I didn't know which language it was or what he was saying.
But everyone around was laughing—a derisive laughter.
I thought he might be saying something like, "You idiots came here for no reason just to get beaten up? Are you tired of living?"
One of them rummaged through my belongings and pulled out my visa. He took it and looked at it before laughing mockingly and asking in broken Chinese, "Chinese guy?"
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