The Numbers

At police station sat Dan fastened by a pair of handcuffs.

"I have known that I am wrong. I should not have robbed that apartment. Please let me go!" implored Dan clasping both hands.

"I am delighted that you are conscious of your guilty," the police officer picked up a pen ready to take a statement and replied. "But firstly tell me every single detail of the robbery."

Staring at the ceiling, Dan scratched his head and remembered; all the things resurfaced in his mind.

Slouched on the roadside, Dan dipped into his jacket pocket yet found no money.

"Alas, without job and money, how can I face my family?" with stomach rumbling he knitted brows tightly and pulled a long face and thought.

Rummaging through his bag for some food, he instead saw the knife for usual self-defense. Suddenly, a wicked idea flashed across his mind. He guessed that perhaps he could get money in another way.

Grasping the sharp knife, he quickly found an apartment with a light on and pounded forcefully on the door. As door opened, Dan stood still in great astonishment with mouth agape. What burst upon him was a dark-haired yellow-skinned Asian.

"What? A foreigner?" he exclaimed with googly eyes.

The Asian smiled and said hello to Dan in broken English. After asking Dan in and closing the door, he pulled out a mobile phone from trouser pocket, dialed a number and soon handed the phone to Dan.

As Dan answered it with a puzzled air, a voice on the other end of the phone said, "Hello, I am the landlord of Mr. Kakashi, the Asian who stand before you. He is Japanese who cannot speak English and cannot understand English either. May I help you?"

Dan seized the sharp knife, weighted it, drew a long deep breath and bawled at the landlord, "I am a hijacker! Tell the Asian give all his money to me!"

Dan handed back the phone to Mr. Kakashi and pointed to mobile phone connoting "talk to your landlord". Mr. Kakashi kept the phone to his ear and talked for a while in Japanese, then said "wait" to Dan and returned to his room. As a shadow of content smile crept around the corners of mouth, Dan guessed that the Asian was to fetch money.

After a moment, Mr. Kakashi came from his room. However, instead of money, a paper was brought, which said: "34982.5, 35013.2, 30.7, 76.75" Dan gazed at these numbers and thought, "Does he want me to choose a number? If these numbers refer to the amount of money, I will surely choose the biggest." Thereupon, he stretched out his hand, pointed at the maximum number - 34982.5 and looked at Mr. Kakashi. Mr. Kakashi nodded his head enthusiastically and took out the money promptly, placing