Chapter 43 (1/2)
Chapter 43: Tokyo Drift XIII
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As Christmas was approaching, the stores were already making preparations for the season.
Colorful lights had been hung up with the season’s buntings, and elaborately decorated Christmas trees adorned with tiny little presents could be seen in stores.
Suddenly, the faux firtree shuddered violently, shaking the little ornaments off its branches, sending them flying all over the place!
A mustard minivan hurtled past the escalator. Zhang Heng turned on the wiper, swiping away the two greeting cards that had found their way on to his winds.h.i.+eld! The tail of the L300 whipped past a shelf filled with expensive skincare products, the rush of wind causing the s.h.i.+seido bottles to totter.
…
The driver of the Toyota Voxy was very sly and abruptly turned at every intersection. After making a big round, he was going to sneak back to the road, but the gla.s.s door of the mall to his right suddenly shattered! A yellow minivan with Christmas decorations dangling from it burst through the entrance!
What the h.e.l.l?! Did Santa come early this year? And since when did he exchange his sleigh for a car?
The startled Voxy driver had been continually monitoring his rearview mirror. He did not see anyone tailing them – so where did this guy come from? And what a dramatic entrance that was!
They were now only 6 to 7 meters apart. That got the Voxy driver’s dander up; he stepped down on the gas pedal, trying to shake off the tailing car with his speed.
But to his surprise, the beat-up L300 was actually catching up to the Voxy!
Both drivers stepped on it, drawing closer to each other. Zhang Heng used the front b.u.mper to clip the left rear end of the Voxy. The Toyota began to lose control, and in a panic, its driver tightened his grip around the steering. No matter how fast he drove, though, he could not seem to shake off the tailing van.
Seeing that they were on the verge of turning-turtle, the Voxy was forced to slow down. Then as if ch.o.r.eographed, the L300 behind also decelerated! Zhang Heng could have knocked the other van on its side but decided to go gentle when he remembered that Ameko was inside the vehicle. In the end, both cars stopped by the roadside.
Realizing that he could not escape the other van with his skills, the Voxy driver opened the car door and tossed an unconscious Ameko out! Zhang Heng watched the dark blue Toyota disappear into the night before loosening his grip on the bow and arrow.
He did not continue the pursuit because one, he could not just leave Ameko on the side of the road, and two, the kidnappers had guns. Even if they had refrained from shooting the weapons earlier, who knew what they would do if they were backed into a corner.
Hence, this brief skirmish between the two ended with both sides stepping down.
In a way, the appearance of those kidnappers put Zhang Heng at ease. When he first saw the fire at the shop, his shared Ameko’s a.s.sumption that Takeda Tetsuya had been murdered and his killer had burned the corpse to get rid of the evidence. But when the emergence of the Voxy told him otherwise – the seafood store owner was still alive!
Otherwise, they would not have tricked Ameko to the s.h.i.+p and kidnapped her. The girl lived a very ordinary life, no different from most j.a.panese university students. Those goons probably took her intending to blackmail Takeda Tetsuya.
But who the h.e.l.l were those people in the Voxy? Causing trouble and starting fires. They even had guns! In a country with such strict regulations on weapons, getting their hands on firearms meant that they worked for someone influential.
Zhang Heng shot the tattooed man in the calf intending to keep him for questioning, but their other a.s.sociate appeared so unexpectedly. Thank goodness they did not manage to get away with Ameko.
Zhang Heng carried his friend into the van and did a quick a.s.sessment of her condition. Other than a few scratches on her elbow and calf, the different parts of her body were completely unharmed.