Once Upon in Nanjing-Chapter 8 - 7 14255

Arriving at noon, He Leqin dragged Bai Yang to a store in the mall to have Japanese cuisine, specifically Wagyu Sukiyaki.

"I can't believe I'm having Japanese food with a grown man," He Leqin said, "Achievement unlocked."

"What achievement?"

"Being surrounded by men on all sides - straight man plus mega man, all manly men!" He Leqin rattled off in one breath.

"You are quite colorful," Bai Yang nodded.

"Not at all!" He Leqin immediately felt wronged.

"Look, there's a girl in a white skirt over there, her skin is so fair, kinda looks like Zhao Lusi," Bai Yang pointed with his chopsticks.

"Where?" He Leqin snapped his head around, "Where's Zhao Lusi?"

Bai Yang seized the opportunity to snatch some fatty beef from He Leqin's bowl with his chopsticks.

The air conditioning in the shopping center was cranked up high, and once inside, neither wanted to leave. In this increasingly hot era of summer, their lives were saved by air conditioning.

The terrazzo floors were shiny and bright, the lights overhead were dazzling; young girls with long legs passed by, either clutching a shoulder bag or a young man's arm, their heels clicking crisply on the floor. They came together not as a crowd but as a trendy flow. Bai Yang and He Leqin, dressed plainly as students, crossed this fragrant and vibrant stream like silly civet cats.

Of course, He Leqin was no civet cat.

Bai Yang was.

This was the busiest shopping area in not only Nanjing City but also the whole country, with tens of thousands of people passing through each day. Standing on Xinjiekou Pedestrian Street, they looked up at the towering buildings around them, tightly enclosed, and the Xinjiekou subway station beneath their feet was the largest subway station in the country, with twenty-four exits.

He Leqin always felt proud standing at Xinjiekou as the turntable in this subway station was constructed by his family's company.

"What do you think about buying a mystery box as a gift for Brother Yan?" He Leqin asked.

"What mystery box?" Bai Yang was slightly distracted.

"They've just released a new version at Pop Mart."

"Pop what?" Bai Yang asked.

"Pop Mart."

"What Mart?"

"Pop Mart."

"What's special?"

"Drop it," He Leqin poked at him with his chopsticks, "Remember, you owe me for the 'Goodbye Mr. Loser' movie tickets."

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

Bai Yang leaned back to dodge him.

"What's on your mind? You seem distracted," He Leqin asked, "Got any troubles? Any relationship issues? Talk to the number one romance guru from Nanjing South Airlines High."

"I've been planning a shortwave communication session for a long time, and it failed," said Bai Yang.

"Oh, you mean that radio..." He Leqin slapped his forehead; he of course knew what Bai Yang was messing with. Bai Yang had been scheming to conduct a long-distance communication for a week, spending much of his free time preparing, from checking the antenna to the radio, and ensuring that his calls wouldn't get him a visit from the authorities, indeed it was a painstaking effort.

"That's not a radio!"

"Okay, a radio station, alright?" He Leqin corrected, "Didn't you say that thing could pick up broadcasts? Did you hear anything? Did they offer you US Dollars? Did they offer you girls?"

Bai Yang shook his head.

"Neither money nor girls, so they just want to convert you?" He Leqin was shocked at the stinginess.

"Sometimes I think you're my dad's real son," Bai Yang said, "Both of you always after US Dollars and girls."

"The love for beauty is common to all," He Leqin remarked, "US Dollars, beautiful women..."

"The United States?"

"If their president were to offer it to me, then I'd reluctantly accept."

"I couldn't connect with anything," Bai Yang sighed, "Perhaps there's really no one on the shortwave channel, or maybe it was too late and everyone was asleep. Anyway, my plan completely failed, using shortwave for long-distance communication is very difficult..."

"No one at all?"

"Not a single person..." Bai Yang then remembered he actually did connect with someone last night, "No, there was one person."

"A man or a woman?" He Leqin asked.

"A woman."

"Nice, a girl," He Leqin nodded his head, "What does she look like?"

"How would I know?" Bai Yang rolled his eyes, "You think radios come with screens?"

"Okay, go on, what happened next?"

"There is no next," Bai Yang recalled last night's communication, "She was on a rogue station, no callsign, no location provided, just blabbing nonsense in the channel, all spooky and weird."

At that moment, Bai Yang was indeed startled. As a novice in external communications, his first call encountered someone completely unpredictable; the questions asked left him baffled... how many people there were, whether there was a lack of supplies, any casualties - logically, the mention of casualties should signify an emergency communication. According to the rules of amateur radio use, emergency communications have the highest priority among all amateur radio communications. In an emergency situation, users can bypass all rules.

It can be said, the ultimate purpose of amateur radio existence is emergency communication - when major disasters occurred, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, etc., and all normal external communication methods failed, the radio station would become the last lifeline. It could reflect distress signals through the ionosphere to the outside world; it's rough, fragile, noisy but never ineffective.

But was last night's encounter really an emergency communication?

He had never noticed this before, but now thinking back, Bai Yang's brow furrowed deeply.

Regretfully, Bai Yang was indeed a greenhorn lacking experience, faced with this situation didn't know how to handle it properly. If his old dad had been there, perhaps he would have managed it.

Thinking of this, Bai Yang started to worry secretly.

Could it really have been an emergency communication?

Could the girl have been in some sort of trouble?

She might be in a dire strait, using her radio station to call for help.

Had he then inadvertently done something terrible? Missing a chance to save someone?

"If it's a failure then it's a failure; there are plenty more opportunities," He Leqin comforted him, "You can try other channels tonight, one by one, you're bound to encounter someone eventually."

"14255."

"14255?"

"I'll try 14.255 MHZ tonight, see if I can connect with anyone else..."

Bai Yang decided to attempt another communication tonight, he still remembered that frequency; many veteran hams had their usual fixed frequencies, Bai hoped 14255 was that girl's usual channel, maybe he could connect with her tonight.

But what if last night was her last call?

He Leqin noticed Bai Yang's troubled expression, gently nudged his shoulder, "Little Bai? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Bai Yang shook his head, "Let's eat, the pot's almost dry."

The hot Sukiyaki pot bubbled in front of them, but Bai Yang suddenly lost his appetite, who wants hot pot in this big summer heat?