It wasn’t that Nozaki Cangjian didn’t want to answer the phone.
It was that he simply hadn’t been able to make it home.
On his way there, he was kidnapped.
Let’s turn back the clock by more than half an hour.
When Yan Valley Dalang started closing in and Nozaki Cangjian had left the scene, having successfully completed his mission, he was ready to go home.
But on his way, he was stopped by a white Volkswagen sedan driven by a blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner who asked him for directions in broken Japanese.
Seeing that the man was a foreigner, Nozaki Cangjian let his guard down; after all, it’s not unusual for foreigners to get lost.
After giving directions, the foreigner pulled out a cigarette from the car to thank him. Nozaki Cangjian, completely unguarded, went forward to accept it, but that’s when he was caught in a trap.
As he approached the car window, the foreigner’s other hand, which had been hidden, pointed a gun at him and forced him into the car.
Just like that, confused and coerced, he was taken to a deserted spot in the countryside, completely unaware of the second robbery that had occurred in front of the bank.
During the drive, he had asked who his captor was and why he was being kidnapped, but the man didn’t respond at all.
About an hour later, a black van appeared in his line of sight, slowly approaching from a distance.
As a police officer, he had a good memory and instantly remembered seeing this van in front of the bank.
The black van stopped in front of Nozaki, the dust kicked up by the tires as it braked splattering his face.
Then the door opened, and five men wearing masks and hats jumped out; they took off their masks and hats, revealing Caucasian faces.
The man who had kidnapped Nozaki Cangjian greeted the five individuals. Although Nozaki couldn’t understand them, he could tell they were speaking Russian, and they seemed to be in high spirits, as if they had accomplished something.
The Russian who had abducted Nozaki said something, prompting the other four men to look at him.
Feeling uncomfortable all over, Nozaki forced a stiff smile on his face and said the only Russian phrase he knew, "Suka Bure."
His grandfather, who had served in the Russo-Japanese War, had taught it to him, claiming it was a greeting exchanged among Russians about each other’s mothers. He never imagined it would come in handy today.
Knowing a bit of a foreign language really is important, he thought.
Then he was met with a brutal beating.
The longstanding hatred between Russians and Japanese meant that the six men didn’t hold back as they kicked him around.
"Suka Bure! Suka Bure!" Nozaki Cangjian curled up into a ball, enduring the savage assault from the six men, while pleading loudly for mercy.
But this only made them hit him harder.
Idiot! What’s wrong with these guys! They’re completely unreasonable! I showed them a cooperative and friendly attitude, and they still beat me up viciously?
He felt the relentless kicks falling upon him.
In a daze, he seemed to see his great-grandmother.
"Wait!" The young Russian holding Nozaki suddenly seemed to realize something and stopped the others. "He doesn’t seem to understand what that phrase means."
The other five men finally stopped, cursing and swearing.
Nozaki Cangjian, his ears ringing and vision blurring, saw the five Russians looking at him menacingly and saying "Suka Bure," and suddenly everything clicked.
Damn you, grandpa, you’ve really screwed over your grandson.
Don’t expect me to burn offerings for you on your next death anniversary!
"I’m Ivan," the young Russian who had kidnapped Nozaki helped him to his feet, speaking to him in Japanese and pointing to a bald, burly Russian, "Our boss, Sergey."
"Hi! Hi!" Nozaki Cangjian, holding his cheek, nodded repeatedly, "Why exactly did you kidnap me?"
"You robbed; we saw," Ivan pointed at him, then at himself, "You dared to rob the cash transport van, it shows you’ve got guts and need money, and you managed to escape in that situation, which means you’ve got some skills. Our boss appreciates you and hopes you’ll join our team to make a fortune together!"
Nozaki Cangjian looked at Sergey with suspicion.
Sergey showed him a friendly smile.
Though he was the one who had hit him the hardest just moments ago.
"You failed in your robbery just now, but we succeeded," Ivan boasted of their team’s strength.
Nozaki Cangjian realized then—it seemed the Russians had also set their sights on the bank’s cash transport van.
Both parties had made their move on the same day; the Russians had cunningly played the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
"We’ve just arrived in Japan recently, and we’re not familiar with the terrain. No one else but me speaks Japanese, so we need a local to guide us," Ivan continued speaking to Nozaki.
To guide Russians to rob his own country’s money.
Wouldn’t that make me a traitor?
Nozaki Cangjian instinctively resisted the idea, but then he thought if he didn’t agree, he might not live to see another day.
And, if he could manage to turn these guys over to Police Chief Aoyama, wouldn’t that be a great achievement?
This was an international crime syndicate!
Right away he said, "Hi! I can agree to cooperate, but how will the profits be divided?"
He couldn’t agree without conditions.
That would just make him more suspicious to them.
"Don’t worry, we are very fair. We will definitely not shortchange you," Ivan smiled, and to reassure Nozaki about the cooperation, he revealed more information, "Today’s robbery was just to make some seed money. Our real moneymaking business doesn’t require so much risk, and we’ll certainly earn no less from it."
Nozaki Cangjian’s spirits lifted; well now, this sounds like a big catch that couldn’t be allowed to get away.
His future promotions and fortune depended on these people.
"Pleasure doing business," he extended his hand.