But in such a dense crowd, where was he supposed to start looking? Currently, the security guard was standing right in the center of Dragon Gate Space Station's Waiting Plaza, a very vast central area. To find the fat man, he had to choose a direction, but around him, there were eight possible directions to choose from. This meant that even if he committed to one direction, ignoring the complex flow of people, his chances were merely one in eight.
Moreover, the dense crowd would obstruct his direct line of sight. In other words, even if he chose the correct direction, it wasn't guaranteed that he would find the detestable fat man. The Waiting Plaza wasn't so crowded that people were squeezed against each other, but still, every three meters there was a pair of dudes, every five a couple, occasionally a pair of unscrupulous lovebirds or a family of three. In such a place, how could he go about his search?
But who was he, a security staff member? He had the important duty of ensuring the safety of Waiting Plaza, especially during a time when a virus was rampant. How could he possibly let someone without a mask escape, especially after the fat man had fooled him in such a contemptible way? Both officially and personally, the security guard decided he must catch the hateful fat man.
Thus, with his blood pressure rising, he quickly activated his communicator, contacting nearby security personnel to encircle and intercept the fat man, while his brain rapidly filtered through the potential directions the fat man might have taken.
In his opinion, the first likely place the fat man would go was Central Street Plaza. Normally, over 50% of Dragon Gate Space Station's visitors would pass through Waiting Plaza to enter Central Street Plaza territory, to hail a taxi, wait for a friend's pickup, or simply to find a hotel.
However, the security guard quickly dismissed this thought. Although the fat man might go to Central Street Plaza, there's a saying that goes: "The most dangerous place is the safest place." Common wisdom suggests that what he could think of, the other party might also consider. Seeing the tricks the fat man had played on him, the security guard believed this guy's thinking was peculiar and not straightforward. He needed to think carefully and act prudently, which is a standard method in counter-tracking and investigation.
It must be said that every staff member on duty at Dragon Gate Port are ex-military. Our guy was no ordinary person, and his first instinct was to rule out Central Street Plaza.
That left him with seven other options.
Among these seven options, the most likely place the fat man would go was back the way he came, returning to the Waiting Hall. But he felt that the fat man wasn't that stupid, because the Waiting Hall was a dead end—once spotted by surveillance, there'd be no escape. Given the fat man's bizarre way of thinking, he should be able to foresee this, so the probability of him heading to the Waiting Hall could be discounted as well.
Well then, that left him with six remaining options. Speaking of which, while these six options might seem difficult to choose from, if he carefully analyzed and ruled out the places where the fat man was least likely to be, it wasn't hard at all.
The difficulty lay in the fact that he had to consider not his own thoughts, but the fat man's—those of a person with a quirky train of thought. It certainly involved some guesswork, but, whatever, just commit to one route and go for it.
Suddenly, the security guard paused in his footsteps; no, he had to be responsible for the safety of the people and couldn't make rash decisions. He couldn't just gamble; he had to rely on his intellect and experience to find the fat man and make him wear a mask.
But the question was, how familiar was the fat man with this place? After all, Dragon Gate Space Station was not the same as inland areas. Usually, people either frequented the place or had only been once or twice in their lifetime. The fact that the fat man wasn't wearing a mask suggested it was his first visit, and he was not familiar with the surrounding area at all.
In other words, how could he be so sure that the fat man knew about the surrounding environment? The fat man might not even know about Central Street Plaza and could be quite unfamiliar with the nearby surroundings. If things were as he suspected, then the fat man's most likely course of action would be to follow his instincts and head to where the crowd was thickest.
And where was the crowd thickest? Definitely at Central Street Plaza.
For a moment, the security guard had an epiphany. He felt he had the potential to become a private detective and even considered quitting his job after receiving this month's salary. As these thoughts crossed his mind, a sly smile appeared on the security guard's face.
"Hahaha… Stupid fatty, prepare to meet your end. Let's see how you can escape from my grasp."
With the smile still on his face but not slowing in action, the security guard quickly took large strides in pursuit. He had already wasted 30 seconds—a long time for ordinary people. But remember what the security guard does for a living; his main job is to patrol back and forth daily. Chasing down someone wouldn't even cause him to break a sweat, let alone catching a clueless fatty.
So, with his mind made up, he went straight in the direction where the fat man had disappeared.
At that moment, the security guard weaved through the crowd as if it were empty space, akin to a pickpocket adept at slipping through throngs of people. Now and then, he would sidestep pedestrians or leap aside to keep a distance, moving as agile as a monkey hopping up and down. In the blink of an eye, he spotted the brown leather jacket that the fat man was wearing.
Hahahahaha, you won't escape, chubby!
At this moment, the guy was only thirty meters away from him. Despite the dense crowd periodically blocking his view, it wasn't much of a hindrance; he just needed to quicken his pace and believed it would only take several breaths to catch up to the fat man.
A few moments later, the security guard was within an arm's reach of the fat man.
Seeing the plump man hurrying along, he went up without a word and struck with a capture-and-hold throat lock, instantly flipping the plump man to the ground…
"See where you can go now."
With a whoosh… Bystanders scattered in all directions…
The plump man being held by the throat still didn't realize what had happened, looking at the security guard with blank eyes, "Who are you, what do you want, do we know each other? If you're just trying to chat me up, be a bit nicer to me."
This, this turned out to be a plump man with a very similar back view.
The security guard was initially stunned, then realizing the mess he was in, suddenly burst into laughter, "Hahaha, old neighbor, forgot about me, eh? I'm Old Wang from next door, what a coincidence running into you here."
"Eh...? Old Wang from next door."
"Yeah, when we were kids, I lived right next to you, I used to play at your place all the time, there's no way I'm wrong, you're definitely Little Geng."
"You've got the wrong person." The poor soul who was called Little Geng explained that his parents died early, they all perished in a car accident, and he grew up in an orphanage, so don't talk to him about neighbors, he didn't even have a childhood.
The embarrassed security staff member was stunned again, this was too awkward, so he patted the plump man's back hard, "What's up Little Geng, big money's made you forget your old friends now? Let me tell you, we must be sincere in life, you know."
At this moment, the surrounding passersby were also accusing, blaming this unlucky plump man for making big money and not recognizing people, and some were also video recording this.
"I really don't know you, please let me go, please."
The security staff member was sweating coldly, especially after noticing that someone was filming him, realizing that if it got uploaded to the internet, his job might not be secure. Therefore, he became even more determined not to change his story, chuckling, "You are Little Geng, alright, go do what you need to if you're busy."
"I told you, I'm not Little Geng."
The security guard's face was lined with frustration, thinking why are you being so stubborn with me, and said, "If you say you're not, then you're not."
This sentence sounded rather odd, and now the plump man was the one feeling disgruntled, "Hey, what do you mean by that? I'm really not Little Geng."
"Alright, alright, alright." The security guard said 'alright' three times in a row, "So if you're not, then so be it."
But the more he said this, the more it seemed like the plump man was denying it, making the plump man get anxious, "We can't go until this is sorted out."
"What's with you, when will you ever let this end?"
Just as the security guard was saying this, someone patted him from behind. Turning around, he saw the very plump man, Zhang Xiaobo, whom he had been desperately searching for. Before the security guy could speak, Zhang Xiaobo said preemptively, "You've mistaken me for someone else, I am Little Geng."
Seeing the newcomer, the security guard almost exploded!
"Right, you're Little Geng, no no no, you are Little Geng, it's you I've been looking for."
Just as the security guard was about to grab the plump man, he was hugged tightly by another plump man, "Don't go, we can't wrap this up unless we clear things up."
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