Chương 36: Noodles
Kazuki and I left the console and made our way out of the building. Luckily for us, after finding no threat during their countless minutes of search, the people around the complex were almost already convinced of a false alert scenario. After we made sure that we were not being followed, we simply walked into the backstreets of the city the DSN complex was in. This was a long walk, and I was tired. We eventually stopped near a small apartment to have a short rest.
"So... I think I will leave now to the embassy in China, so I can deliver this important data." I said.
"Yes, but slow down a bit, comrade." Kazuki said, trying to catch his breath after all that running. "I won't be coming to China with you, so if we want to cooperate, we need to make the rest of our plans first."
"Can't we just call each other?" I asked.
"No. Too much unpredictability." Kazuki said. "Face to face is, right now, the most private form of communication we can use."
I was thinking that he was being a bit too apprehensive, but this was the nature of both of our jobs here. I couldn't argue.
"Okay... So, what is the plan?" I asked. "You know this planet and the Federation better than I do."
"Correct, but making plans still isn't easy. I will have to think everything carefully..." he said.
There was a long silence. Kazuki was staring at the ground, thinking of something. Meanwhile, I was watching the surroundings. I did not know the name of the city we were in, but it was surely a pretty busy one. I could hear the sounds of many aircraft passing overhead, and people chatting in the streets.
The door of the apartment building next to us opened, and a young girl came walking out, whistling a melody. She momentarily looked at us two men standing there, and walked away silently. It seemed like nobody was suspecting anything. I relaxed a bit.
"Hey." Kazuki said. "I have an idea."
"Tell me."
"Why don't we go get something to eat?" he suggested. I was baffled. I was expecting him to say something more serious.
"...sure?" I said.
"Okay, now, I know a good restaurant near here." he said and started walking. I followed him. We walked through a few streets and eventually came in front of a pretty small restaurant. Kazuki just pushed the door open and we walked in.
Inside the restaurant, there was a long wooden table where all the customers sat. There were two men working behind that table, cooking the food and serving it at the same time.
Kazuki went and sat on a chair. I sat beside him.
"Ramen." Kazuki said. The waiter looked at him.
"The usual?"
"The usual." Kazuki nodded.
I knew almost nothing about Japanese cuisine. Not knowing how or what to order, I had to quickly come up with something; otherwise it would be awkward.
"I want the same." I said. The waiter just looked at me and nodded.
After a while, two bowls of food were ready; one for me, one for Kazuki. Kazuki got the chopsticks and started eating. Needless to say, I wasn't as comfortable as him.
"Did you try the Chinese version of this?" Kazuki asked me.
"Ramen?" I asked.
"Yeah." he said. "But they don't call it 'ramen' over there."
"No, I never ate something like this." I said. "Wait, now thinking of it... I think I ate something similar back on Mars, but it wasn't nearly as 'liquid' as this."
"Makes sense, I guess..." Kazuki said. "After all, Martian culture originates from a combination of Earthly cultures. Someone might have brought ramen."
"I am sure it was a Turkic restaurant, though..." I said.
"Oh, I know, they are a part of Turkic cuisine as well... and they call it something completely different." Kazuki said. "I think there is an Persian counterpart too, but they have a different approach to this sort of food."
"Seems like noodles are pretty much a universal thing." I said. Kazuki tried to agree with me as he put some more ramen into his mouth.
All this talk about food was making me more hungry, but I could barely handle the wooden sticks. It felt like I was spending more energy trying to eat, compared to what I could get from the bowl of ramen.
"So..." Kazuki said. "Here is the plan. You go to China, deliver the data by hand; and while Republic tries to decide what to do with it, you fly to Turkey and meet with me at those coordinates at this time."
He handed me a piece of paper as he said that. On the paper, there were the coordiantes in the form of latitude and longitude, and the time in UTC.
I activated my Vineura to take a look at the coordinates.
Vineura (it's name originating from 'VIsual modification by direct NEURAl stimulation') was an advanced device that could project screens in a person's view by directly stimulating the neurons in the eye, removing the need for actual physical screens. It had useful tools like a calculator, map and navigation services, a (fairly inaccurate) measurement toolbox, and a communication service between Vineura users. Some later versions even had a real-time universal translator, simple video games and support for third-party app development on the Vineura's operating system.
The Vineura was controlled entirely by the owner's mind and could be deactivated if required, but it couldn't be removed easily without some medical help.
This miraculous device was only produced by a single US-based company, but it was really popular through the whole Solar System; mostly because the company producing the Vineura wasn't affiliated with the US or the Federation in any way.
The Vineura had caused some serious privacy concerns among people when it was revealed for the first time. However, despite those concerns, the Vineura remained in the market as a useful multi-tool device, replacing the old fashioned 'smartphone' concept in a rather short amount of time.
I opened the map on my Vineura, and took a look at the satellite view of the coordinates. The only thing I could see was lots of trees.
"There is nothing at those coordinates." I said. "It is the middle of a random forest. Are you sure this is where you want to meet me?"
"There isn't simply nothing at those coordinates." Kazuki said. "Move a bit northeast."
I moved the map to travel northeast in the satellite view.
"There are just more trees." I said.
"Of course, you idiot; this is what they want you to think." Kazuki said.
"It is a secret base?" I asked.
"Not out of necessity, but simply because they want to stay hidden. However, as I worked in one of those DSN complexes, I know a lot about that place." Kazuki said.
"Alright." I said. "I will be on my way as soon as I deliver the first data fragment to our embassy in China, and I will meet you in Turkey."
"Great." Kazuki said, and paused. His eyes slowly turned toward the table. "Are you going to eat or what? It is getting cold already."
I looked at my bowl of ramen, and sighed.
No one seemed to be paying attention to our conversation, but perhaps a restaurant wasn't the best place to plan illegal activities.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Strawberry_Pancake
Strawberry_Pancake No, I wasn't hungry when I was writing this.
Additional Reading
Noodles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noodle
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