Chapter 7 6

2:19 The office of the "Alpha City" hotel.Kaoru sat in front of the computer with an unhappy expression.The image captured by the surveillance camera at the door appeared on the LCD screen.The image is clear.There is a time display in the corner of the display.While comparing the numbers on the paper and the time on the image, Kaoru used the mouse to quickly call up the image or freeze it.It seems that it is difficult to say that the operation is smooth.From time to time she looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Wheat and Crickets come into the office. "What's the matter, Kaoru?" Mai asked.

"Serious face!" said the cricket. "The DVD of the surveillance camera," Kaoru replied, still staring at the display screen, "by roughly confirming the time, we should be able to know what kind of guy beat the child, right?" "But there were quite a few guests coming and going at that time. Can you tell who did it?" Cricket said. Kaoru tapped the keyboard awkwardly with her thick fingers. "The other guests came in together. It was 10:52 when he picked up the key to room 404 at the door. It was 10 minutes after the woman was brought by motorcycle - Sasaki at the front desk Said so."

"Then, just call out the image of ten fifty-two minutes." Wheat said. "The problem is that it didn't go so smoothly." Kaoru said, "It seems that it is difficult for me to deal with this kind of digital stuff." "Can't you use your strength?" Wheat said. "Exactly." "You were born in the wrong era!" Cricket looked serious. "It's two thousand years away." Wheat echoed. "Things are not that simple," Kaoru said, "you don't know it either. Do you?" "No!" The two said in unison.

Kaoru entered the time into the "Search" column on the screen, clicked, and wanted to call up the scene at that time, but it was not smooth.It seems that the order of operations has gone wrong somewhere.She stuck out her tongue, picked up the operation manual and flipped through it, but she still couldn't get the point, so she threw the book on the table in frustration. "It's a mess! Why can't it work? It should have come out, but it just didn't come out. It would be great if it was Takahashi at this time, and he hit it right away." "But Kaoru, what if you figured out what that person looks like? You shouldn't call the police, right?" Mai said.

"Well, it's better for the police to stay as far away as possible." "Then what are your plans?" "Think about this next step slowly." Xun said, "But with my personality, I can't just let this despicable guy go, anyway. Bully the weak, beat the women, and take away their clothes. That's not enough. Forget it, the hotel bills are all spent—the scum of a man!" "This kind of bastard who deserves to be castrated must be caught and beat to death!" said Cricket. Kaoru nodded deeply and said, "That's exactly what I want. But no matter how stupid he is, he will never show up in this hotel, at least for a while. But we don't have time to look for him all over the street!"

"Then, what should I do?" Wheat asked. "So don't you think about it in the next step!" Kaoru almost exerted all her strength, and half-anxiously hit it twice in a row.After a while, the scene at 10:48 appeared on the screen. "All right!" Mai Mai: "You really have it! The so-called where there is a will, there is a way!" Cricket: "Computers must be bullying too." The three of them remained silent, holding their breath and staring at the screen. At 10:50, a young couple came in. They looked like students, and they were very nervous.The two hesitated for a while in front of the room layout, then pressed the button of room 302, took off the key and went to the elevator, but they didn't know the location of the elevator, so they wandered around there.

Kaoru: "This is the guest in Room 302." Mai Mai: "It's 302. It looks simple, but it's actually very powerful. These two people. When they went to clean up the room, it turned upside down and turned into a mess." Cricket: "It doesn't matter, you are young, you should make troubles. After all, you spend money to come to this kind of place." Mai Mai: "However, I'm still young, but I haven't been able to make a fuss at all recently." Cricket: "Hey, you're not enthusiastic enough, Wheat!" Wheat: "Enthusiasm?"

Kaoru: "Hey, 404 guests are here, watch carefully, don't say it's useless!" A man appeared on the screen at 10:52. The man was wearing a light gray double-breasted trench coat. He was in his mid-thirties, maybe in his late forties.Wearing a tie and leather shoes, he looks like a company employee.Wearing a pair of small gold-rimmed glasses, he didn't take anything, and put his hands in his pockets.The height, shape and hairstyle are all very ordinary, and it is almost impossible to leave an impression when you meet on the street. "What, this guy is very ordinary!" Wheat said.

"Ordinary guys are the worst." Xun rubbed his chin and said, "I'm afraid it's because of the mental pressure." The man glanced at his watch to confirm the time, took off the key to room 404 without hesitation, then walked quickly towards the elevator, and the figure disappeared from the camera's field of view.Kaoru locks the image here. She asked the two of them, "So, what can you see?" "Looks like a company employee." Wheat said. Kaoru looked at Mai Mai in surprise, shook her head and said, "Hey, you don't need to talk about this. The people in suits, leather shoes and ties at this time must be company employees who are off work."

"Sorry." Wheat said. "I said, this guy seems to be quite familiar with this industry," Cricket commented, "It doesn't matter if he has been in the field for a long time, in short, there is no hesitation." Kaoru agreed: "Yes, immediately took off the key, and went straight to the elevator - the shortest route, concise and clear, without looking left and right." Mai: "That is to say, isn't it the first time you've come here?" Cricket: "The so-called old customers." Kaoru: "It's possible. I'm afraid I bought women in the same way before."

Mai: "There is a special line for Chinese girls." Kaoru: "Well, there are quite a few guys with that kind of hobby. The problem is, since he is a company employee and has been here many times, it is very likely that he works for a company near here." Wheat: "That's what happened." Cricket: "Then, it should be mainly the night shift." Xun looked at Cricket in surprise and said, "Why do you see it? After a day's work, where to drink a cup of mood, you can't wait for a woman—this is also the case, right?" Cricket: "But this guy is empty-handed! Things are left in the company. If you want to go home, you should have them in your hands, such as purses and documents. There are basically no people who go to get off work empty-handed. From this point of view, this The guy is probably going to go back to the company and continue working. I think so." Mai: "Working in the company late at night?" Cricket: "There are still some people in the world who stay in the company and work until dawn. Especially in computer work, this is often the case. After everyone else finishes work and returns, a person is tinkering in a place where no one is. Computers. Because it is impossible to stop the entire system when everyone is working. In this way, they work overtime until two or three o’clock, and then take a taxi home. The company provides taxi coupons for such people.” Wheat: "That makes sense. In other words, this guy really has a computer-like face. But, I said Cricket, how come you are so familiar with this?" Cricket: "Don't look at my virtue, to be honest, I used to work in a company. I was an OL① in a decent place." Mai: "Seriously?" Cricket: "Look at you, it's a company after all, so of course you have to be serious." Mai Mai: "Hey, then why do you..." Kaoru interjected in an anxious voice: "Hey, okay, this is what we're talking about now, the kind of personal history that can't be explained at the moment find another place to talk about it!" Wheat: "Sorry." Kaoru backed the image back to 10:52, then advanced slowly, turned it into a still image at an appropriate place, enlarged the part where the male image appeared in stages, and started printing.The faces of the men are printed in color and in a rather large size. Wheat: "Awesome." Cricket: "This kind of thing is really easy to catch, it's like "Blade Runner"②." Mai Mai: "It can also be said to be convenient. Thinking about it, this world is really scary. Looking at it like this, this love hotel is not easy to enter." Kaoru: "So, you better not do bad things outside - I don't know where there are cameras." Mai Mai: "Heaven knows, Earth knows, and digital cameras know." Cricket: "It's true, but you have to be careful." Kaoru printed five or six copies of the same image.The three of them looked at the face carefully. Kaoru: "After zooming in, the image is a bit rough, but the shape of the face can be roughly distinguished, right?" Mai: "Well, next time we meet on the road, I'm sure I'll recognize this guy." Kaoru turned her neck around "creaking" while thinking about it silently.After a while, I suddenly felt something. "After I went out just now, did you two use the phone number in this office?" Xun asked the two of them. The two shook their heads. Wheat: "It's useless." Cricket: "Me neither." Kaoru: "That is to say, after that Chinese girl used this phone, no one dialed the number?" Mai Mai: "I didn't even touch it." Cricket: "Even a finger." Kaoru picked up the receiver, took a breath, and pressed the redial button. The calling bell rang twice, and a man picked it up, saying something quickly in Chinese. Kaoru said, "Hey, I'm the hotel in 'Alpha City'. A girl from your place was called here by a guest at about eleven o'clock tonight, and she was beaten up in a mess, right? The guest's photo is in my hand. , captured by surveillance cameras. Maybe you want it?" The other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds, and then said in Japanese: "Wait a minute." "Just wait," Kaoru said, "as long as you like." There seemed to be a conversation on the phone.Kaoru put the earpiece against her ear and kept turning the ballpoint pen held between her fingers.During this time, Maimai used the broom handle as a microphone, and sang affectionately: "The wind and snow are blowing...you still haven't come...I'm waiting...forever..." The man appeared on the phone again: "The photo, is it in your hand now?" "Just came out, brand new." Kaoru said. "How do you know this number?" "Machine is omnipotent these days," Kaoru said. The other party was silent for a few seconds. "Be there in ten minutes." "Wait at the door." The phone hangs up.Kaoru frowned and put down the receiver, and turned her thick neck again "creaking".There was silence in the room.Mai Mai spoke hesitantly. "Hey, Kaoru!" "what?" "Really hand over the avatar to those guys?" "So didn't you just say that? You can't spare the guy who beats the innocent girl! Firstly, it makes me angry for refusing to pay the hotel fee, and secondly, I don't like the face that looks like a company employee." Wheat: "The problem is, if those guys find this kid, why don't they tie him to a big rock and sink him into Tokyo Bay with a plop? It wouldn't be a good idea to get involved with that kind of thing!" Kaoru still frowned: "Oh, it won't kill you. No matter how Chinese people kill each other, the police won't take it seriously, but if a serious Japanese is killed, that's another matter, no good It's over. Catch and speak clearly, and cut off one ear at most!" Wheat: "Ah, it hurts!" Cricket: "Become Van Gogh!" Mai: "But Kaoru, do you think you can find someone with just such a photo? After all, it's a big city." Kaoru: "Once those guys want to do something, they will do it all the time. In this kind of thing, they will never let go. If they are tricked by the novices in this area and swallow their anger, they will definitely not be able to explain to the woman in front of them. There is no face among my friends. And if I lose face, I will not be able to get along in that world.” Kaoru picked up the cigarette on the table and put it in his mouth, lit it with a match, pursed his lips and took a long puff towards the computer screen. Magnified man's face on still screen. ten minutes later.Kaoru and Mai are waiting by the door of the hotel.Kaoru was still wearing the leather jacket, the woolen hat was pulled down, and her arms were tightly folded on her chest as if it was cold.Not long after, a man riding the same large motorcycle as before arrived.He parked the motorcycle a little far away from the two of them, still did not turn off the engine, took off the helmet, put it on the fuel tank, carefully took off the glove on his right hand, and put the glove into the jacket pocket, just like that, without any intention of taking the initiative response.Kaoru strode over to the man and handed out three printed head portraits. "It seems that the employees of the company near here often work in the middle of the night. I seem to have found a woman here once before, maybe it's from you." She said. The man took the headshot and stared at it for a few seconds, but he didn't seem to be particularly interested in the picture. "So?" the man looked at Kaoru and asked. "So, what?" "Why did you give me a photo?" "Thought you might want to. Don't want to?" The man didn't answer, he pulled down the zipper of his jacket, put the folded three photos into something like a file folder hanging around his neck, and pulled the zipper up to his neck again.During this time, he kept looking at Kaoru, without moving away once. The man wanted to know what kind of reward Kaoru needed for providing the information, but he didn't want to take the initiative to ask.He kept his original posture, remained silent, and waited for the other party to speak.Kaoru just folded her arms and stared at the man's face with cold eyes.She didn't budge either.A suffocating silence continued.After a while, Kaoru saw Huohou and gave a fake cough, breaking the silence. "Listen: If you find that guy, can you let me know?" The man holds the handlebar with his left hand and rests his right hand lightly on the helmet. "If I find that kid, can I tell you?" The man mechanically repeated. "That's what it means." "Just tell me?" Kaoru nodded: "Just whisper in your ear. I don't really want to know in the future." The man thought for a while, then tapped the top of the helmet twice with his fist. "Tell me when you find it." "Wait." Kaoru said, "Still cutting off your ears now?" The man twisted his lips slightly: "There is only one life, but two ears." "Perhaps. But without one, I can't wear glasses." "Inconvenient." The man said. That's the end of the conversation.The man put on his helmet, stepped on the pedal hard, and turned around. Kaoru and Mai stood on the road without saying a word for a long time, just staring at the direction where the motorcycle disappeared. "Okay, this guy looks like a monster." Wheat finally said. "It's the time when monsters come and go." Kaoru said, "Scary enough." "Of course it's scary." The two returned to the hotel. Kaoru was the only one in the office.She put her legs on the table and took the printed head portrait in her hand again for a closer look.Closeup of man's face.Kaoru snorted and looked up at the ceiling. (Note: ①Japanese English office lady is abbreviated, female clerk of the company. ②Bride Runner, an American film directed by Riley Scott. )