Author: Kinky

Evil As Humans Ch67

Kinky2 Comments

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 67: The Walls Have Ears

Inside the black door was pure darkness.

“Have a nice trip, everyone,” Fang Yuanyuan said.

A weird smell of dust and flesh floated from the door. The breath-like wind blew out a warm feeling. Yin Ren glanced at Zhong Chengshuo as he stood in front to go first.

He tentatively stretched out his right foot toward the darkness. After making sure there was solid ground inside the door, he moved forward with confidence.

Zhong Chengshuo trailed Yin Ren with light and alert steps. Yin Ren subconsciously wanted to grab the other’s hand, but thinking about touching Zhong Chengshuo’s skin that day, he came to an emergency brake and retracted his hand that was about to move.

The strange sense of uneasiness resurfaced with a kind of subtlety.

…However, Great King Yama was so close that he wouldn’t lose him. Yin Ren scratched the tip of his nose and continued walking forward.

At the beginning, it was darkness that completely obscured his field of vision.

It was like being immersed in viscous, warm water. Yin Ren’s entire body was supported by buoyancy as he moved forward with strange ease. There was a little flickering light in the distance that swayed quietly, like a faint sunlight shining at the bottom of a lake above the surface water.

Yin Ren continued to walk towards the light. The temperature was just right, and the shade was gentle. Walking in this darkness, he had an unprecedented sense of relaxation, even feeling a bit drowsy.

“Zhong Chengshuo…” He tried to call Zhong Chengshuo but found that his voice was muffled as if there was a water film between them.

Zhong Chengshuo’s footsteps sounded steadily behind him. After making sure that the other party didn’t react abnormally, Yin Ren stopped talking and accelerated his pace.

The piece of light was getting closer, and finally, as if stepping out of the water sideways, Yin Ren walked out of the darkness.

The “buoyancy” suddenly disappeared, and his entire body became heavy.

At this moment, Yin Ren didn’t have time to care about this—he looked at the scene in front of him and held his breath.

Even with the most absurd techniques, he had never seen such an illusion.

He was standing at the entrance of a street.

The street looked brightly lit at first glance, with plenty of light, and there were pedestrians walking around—that was, if you only looked at the vague outline.

Upon closer inspection, the street seemed endless. The buildings on the streets were distorted, intersected, and fused into an impossible formation. They were so high that they stretched into the sky, and he couldn’t see the top.

These buildings were more dilapidated and dirtier than the streets of Haigu. The surface was covered with blood vessels-like “creeping vines” that twitched and deflated.

Yin Ren reached out and touched the wall of a convenience store closest to him. It was uncommonly warm to the touch, like steaming internal organs.

He raised his head and looked in the direction of the “growth” of the building.

In this world, there was no sky or sun. There was only a vortex full of darkness above Yin Ren’s head. A viscous gray mist exuded from the edge of the vortex that kept turning all the time, stirring the top of the building that leaned in. The mess floating weightlessly, disappearing into the depths of darkness.

The vortex was like an eyehole that looked down at all beings, silently.

Yin Ren raised his head and stared in fascination at the void. When Zhong Chengshuo shot out from behind, Lord Ghost King’s hair almost exploded.

When Yin Ren turned his head, he was taken aback.

The clothes of the other three people had changed.

Ge Tingting had an extra set of hypertrophic school uniforms from some unknown school. The bright blue was lined with white, looking a bit rustic. Huang Jin’s clothes became a maintenance worker’s uniform, and he was wearing an additional cap on his head.

Huang Jin took off the cap suspiciously and threw it away. After a while, an identical cap appeared on the top of his head again.

Zhong Chengshuo’s outfit had become an extraordinary formal suit. Unlike the uniform of those sales staff, this black suit was just the right cut and it clearly outlined his figure.

The shoes he was wearing became leather shoes that were polished and shiny. Coupled with Zhong Chengshuo’s frameless glasses, this person looked like an elite who had just left a meeting.

Zhong Chengshuo knocked on his leather shoes uncomfortably and unbuttoned two buttons on his neckline. He rarely wore slim-fitting clothes as he didn’t like the excessive restraints.

After looking at Comrade Xiao Zhong, Yin Ren looked at himself speechlessly. His long hair was scattered again, and at some point, his t-shirt was replaced with an old-fashioned tunic.

Fortunately, it was still black, so it didn’t make him look like Fu Xingchuan No. 2.

“Hey, hey. Can you hear me?” Lu Xiaohe’s voice came out from the one-sided headset. “Don’t worry if you find that the clothes you’re wearing have changed. That’s Guo Laifu’s consciousness correction—based on your appearance, he transformed you into a more understandable image.”

Ge Tingting tugged at her high school uniform with a trace of fascination on her face. However, when she looked at the crest on the school uniform, the young girl’s expression slightly changed.

[%#@#% High School]

The text in front of it was a string of garbled code. The pattern structure looked like words but wasn’t, and they couldn’t make out any meaning.

Yin Ren also discovered this.

The signs of buildings, the street advertising posters, and the packaging of vending machines were full of garbled characters—at first glance, they looked normal, but they didn’t exist in the world.

The pedestrians on the street were even more wrong. When they looked closely, they only had a vague human shape. Those “people” had no facial features, and all their clothes and belongings lacked details, like a few scribbled color blocks spliced together, looking extremely off-putting.

Ge Tingting stood closer to the outside of the street and was almost knocked down by a “person” who was quickly walking by.

She wanted to apologize but found that the person didn’t even stop. The thing first maintained the appearance of being bumped into, and then continued to move forward with extremely awkward movements. After a dozen steps, its posture gradually returned to normal.

The young girl’s face turned a little blue. She silently retreated behind a convenience store’s sign, trying to hide herself.

“Don’t be afraid. Those are not real people. They have no thoughts,” Huang Jin said succinctly. “You guys can also—”

Huang Jin looked in the direction of Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo, and his words of comfort got stuck in his throat.

Zhong Chengshuo was scraping the wall skin with glowing eyes as he put it in a sample box. Yin Ren was poking a vending machine with interest, trying to make it spit out some mysterious items.

Huang Jing: “…….”

Huang Jing: “Miss Lu, do you have any new instructions on your side?”

“Find a base and get familiar with your surrounding environment first. It’s not recommended to spend the first night outside.”

Lu Xiaohe’s voice sounded a bit distant.

“I suggest using an office building or a hotel. What you see are Guo Laifu’s impressions. The architectural characteristic should be obvious.”

Shian building, Unit 9 Office.

After saying that, Lu Xiaohe looked at Guo Laifu’s brain waves on her screen.

The entry of living things into the brain would cause it to react. Her teammates should soon usher in the first “night”.

Lu Xiaohe clicked her mouse worriedly as she cast her gaze onto another big screen.

There were four sets of data jumping on it.

That was the mood swing of the four members of Unit 9.

Emotions were roughly divided into two basic categories: “Fear” and “Satisfaction” with “Sorrow” and “Hate”, and “Joy” and “Love” extended below.

Under the four categories, various smaller branches such as “Disgust”, “Anger”, “Shame”, “Relaxation”, and “Curiosity” branched out, creating a dazzling array of data.

In the Archive, emotions would become easier to monitor. If the person inside had a different mind, no matter how superb their acting skills were, it was difficult to fake their true emotions when facing their companions.

Hatred, malice, disgust… These suspicious emotions would be directly quantified and transmitted through the wristband the four were wearing.

To be honest, Lu Xiaohe didn’t like the feeling of monitoring her teammates, but this was an order from her immediate boss. Lu Xiaohe now deeply realized the necessity of this kind of monitoring.

Ge Tingting looked excited and nervous, while her fear readings weren’t too high or low.

Huang Jin’s mood was relatively stable. He seemed numb to this strange scene. His readings had only a faint “Helplessness” and a slight “Hope”, which was a standard working state.

Yin Ren’s emotional reading seemed to be dancing.

His “Curiosity” was like a roller coaster going up and down, interspersed with “Happiness”, “Nervousness”, “Worry”, and a sporadic “Confuse”. What was suspicious was that Yin Ren’s “Love” reading at this moment was a little higher than those of teammate love and friendship. She didn’t know where this increase came from.

Just looking at the changes in his emotions, Yin Ren was more energetic than Huang Jin.

…The problem was with Zhong Chengshuo.

There was a bit of “Curiosity” and “Excitement”, with some “Love”, but nothing else.

Starting from the top with “Fear”, all the subordinate branches of “negative feelings” for Zhong Chengshuo were zero.

Is Zhong Chengshuo’s wristband malfunctioning?

Lu Xiaohe made several remote restarts and reconnections, but the emotional branch for Zhong Chengshuo still remained zero.

Facing such an incomprehensible vision, Zhong Chengshuo had no fear, nervousness, or uneasiness at all.

This person was simply curious.

This kind of data couldn’t be explained by “personality disorder” alone. Lu Xiaohe frowned and unconsciously bit her pen.

“Xiaohe Jie, we only came in the morning, so it’s far from night. Isn’t it too early to prepare a base right now?”

Yin Ren’s voice came from the device, and at the same time, his “Curiosity” reading rose again.

Luo Xiaohe quickly collected herself. “Oh, oh, oh. The days and nights in his head don’t follow real life. Everyone is regarded as an invading foreign body, so his subconscious will definitely react. You still have about half an hour. Hurry up.”

……

15 minutes passed. The four of them had gathered in a hotel room.

Guo Laifu didn’t seem to have ever stayed at a good hotel. While the outside looked like a hotel, his impression of the interior seemed pretty bad.

This hotel was the closest to four of them and only had two floors. The interior was close to a third-rate hostel, with big white painted walls that were peeling, exposing that muddy-gray color behind it.

The curtains were dark purple, stained with dirt, and were closing tightly. There were cheesy decorative paintings hanging on the walls, and the cement floor was full of cracks and covered in dust.

Under the flashing incandescent lights, the four single beds reeked of dampness. There were suspicious stains on the sheets, and the bedside table was filled with dirty Coke cans and birth control supplies.

Zhong Chengshuo blankly took out a dust-proof plastic cloth from his backpack and covered it on one of the beds, then put over a sheet. After preparing all this, he sat upright on the edge of the bed.

Ge Tingting and Huang Jin, who just sat directly on their beds: “……”

Huang Jin: “There shouldn’t be any germs in the human mind”.

Even if the “Archive” could materialize the world inside the mind, it couldn’t conjure living viruses or bacteria out of thin air. Things in real life couldn’t be so well constructed. As a spirit smith, Huang Jin knew this well.

Zhong Chengshuo replied solemnly, “I know. It just looks uncomfortable.”

Huang Jin looked at the “mental health is also health” thought floating over Zhong Chengshuo’s body and then at the alcohol wipes that he took out speechlessly for a while.

Yin Ren took the opportunity to glance at Zhong Chengshuo’s luggage. Very good. Zhong Chengshuo didn’t bring any waterless cleansing wipes. A good start was half the battle.

He paced to the window in a good mood and pulled the curtains…

Peeping eyes were plastered outside the glass window.

They grew neatly on a piece of skin and tightly blocked the window. Following Yin Ren’s movements, those eyes turned their overly large pupils and looked at Yin Ren.

The well-informed Lord Ghost King: “…”

Oh.

While the other three children didn’t see it, Yin Ren smoothly fetched a broom from the corner of the hotel. He opened the window with a smile and poked at the cobwebs full of eyes. Tears welled up when the eyes were poked, and they fell resentfully away from the window, drifting to who knew where.

When he first entered Shian, he himself had played this trick. How could he put this… Guo Laifu’s impression of a “hotel” was quite sick.

Without the cover of the cobweb skin, the room suddenly became much brighter. From this angle, he could see the weird street below.

It was only around 10 a.m., but the streets were already showing signs of nightfall.

The light from unknown sources disappeared during the day, and under the dim street lights, the clothes of “pedestrians” became a little shorter. They staggered around, laughing and cursing much louder than during the day, but it was just repeated loops of the same sound, like background noises recorded in advance.

Ge Tingting plucked up the courage and leaned in front of the window to look at the weird scene outside.

“It’s getting dark.” Zhong Chengshuo looked at the sky as he broadcast his statement.

“Good,” Lu Xiaohe said. “Make sure the doors and windows are closed, and then go to the front of the window to look out. Remember, no matter what you hear or see, you must never leave the room.”

“What you see next is extremely important for you to understand this mission.”

Huang Jin had just locked the door when Ge Tingting let out a cry of alarm.

Yin Ren had just run to his suitcase to get out some jerky when he hurriedly straightened up and looked at the scene outside the window.

It was completely dark, and shadows engulfed both sides of the streets. As the streetlights came on, many “things” suddenly appeared on the spacious street.

The street seemed to grow a layer of mold in an instant. Those things covered the entire street as they squirmed forward.

They all looked different, but they were far from the evil things that Yin Ren knew. This strange procession advanced unhurriedly, surging past the window in turn—

Four lone spider feet stuck together, stomping around and hugging each other in the dense mass. Something like a slimy fern, bent and stretched in every direction. Mixed in with them were a number of twitching gray “xanthium“, which squirmed like worms as they crawled slowly along the side of the street.

In the shadows were more writhing things that couldn’t be clearly seen.

This category of monster wasn’t large. They were about as tall as someone’s calves, and they just squeezed through the streets in a mighty way.

Wherever they went, the already chaotic buildings would become more distorted. The “pedestrians” on the street were stained with these things. They were quickly torn into scattered colors, seeping into the stone bricks on the street like sewage.

Slightly taller, somewhat vague human figures—about three meters tall, looking like scorched corpses with their arms raised high. These things stretched out their dark and long limbs, swinging frantically in the night.

The laughter and cursing all disappeared. The street was now crowded with all kinds of monsters, but there was a strange, dead silence. Ge Tingting subconsciously covered her mouth and nose while Yin Ren put down the half-eaten bag of jerky, politely keeping quiet.

None of these were the worst.

In addition to these weird, unknown things, there was also a huge monster on the street.

Yin Ren squeezed his face against the window and barely managed to see the entire thing.

It was an orange cone covered with huge holes.

It floated in the air with a texture that was similar to that of a snail’s shell and was larger than the hotel building they were staying at. There were circles of jellyfish-like tentacles on the bottom of the conical shell. Its huge body floated on the street, aimlessly bumping around.

Where it collided, the building became even more distorted and exaggerated. The straight office building twisted into a spiral and looked like it was about to break.

As if sensing Yin Ren’s gaze, the snail shell suddenly approached the window where the crowd was, and something jutted out from its bottomless hole…

It was a dark, moist eyeball. It had no pupils and only bits and pieces of viscous material.

The eyeball was several times larger than their window.

The next moment, the eyeball whizzed back into the depths of the snail’s shell, as if nothing had happened.

At some point, Zhong Chengshuo had walked to Yin Ren’s side. He frowned and stared at the giant object outside the window that was clearly visible.

These things weren’t evil beings. Yin Ren knew this in his heart.

He didn’t feel any evil qi, let alone Evil Force. These things were almost integrated with the current environment and were essentially no different from the “pedestrians” on the street.

…But if this was really Guo Laifu’s imagination, like Lu Xiaohe said? Wasn’t this imagination too odd?

“Boom boom!”

A muffled sound interrupted Yin Ren’s thinking.

It sounded clearly like the movement of flesh colliding with hard objects. Yin Ren quickly turned around.

Just two steps behind them, Huang Jin knelt on his knees. At some point, a fleshy gray “xanthium” had stuck to his head.

Its long thorns mixed with Huang Jin’s hair and were twitching like a sick little animal.

Oddly enough, Huang Jin was unaware of it. He collapsed on the ground and pressed his temples with both hands as his eyes darted randomly. His complexion was blue, and he looked so anxious that he was on the verge of vomiting.

“Will Ding Lizi be okay after I leave? She has no relatives to take care of her, and her memories haven’t been erased. I should spend more time with her…”

“But I have no position to reject Shian now. I don’t want to go to jail, which is an even worse situation…”

“Did I forget to lock the door before I left? I can’t go back in five days to confirm…”

He was muttering quickly to himself as his wristband on his right arm emitted a ticking alarm.

“Huang Jin?” Zhong Chengshuo pressed Yin Ren behind him as he tentatively called out. Huang Jin turned a deaf ear as sweat continued to trickle down his cheeks.

“Something has invaded the room? Don’t panic guys.”

At the sound of the alarm, Lu Xiaohe took the initiative to speak in a calm tone. “Zhong Chengshuo, go and confirm the point of invasion. Yin Ren, Ge Tingting, stay away from Huang Jin—”

The next moment, only a loud noise was heard. Huang Jin’s wristband buzzed. His entire body shivered twice, and his gaze froze for a few seconds.

He seemed to have just recovered from a nightmare. Gasping for breath, his eyes still looked glazed.

The fleshy xanthium slid across his back and fell to the ground with a snap. Its sharp thorn was twitching constantly in the air.

It seemed like an electric shock seemed to work on that thing.

Determining that Huang Jin was safe, Zhong Chengshuo dutifully left the window and found the invasion point. Ge Tingting was like a frightened cat. She rushed to a corner of the room and tried to stay away from that thing.

[Ear Person: It’s screaming.] After making sure she had shrunk to the tightest corner, she texted a message to her companions.

“It’s okay. Don’t panic. They can’t cause you any harm,” Lu Xiaohe comforted her. “Leave it alone. When the time comes, it will disappear by itself.”

Following her explanation, Huang Jin convulsively stood up. He rubbed it away and fell toward the dirty bed, leaving the strange thing alone to twitch in place.

Seeing that Comrade Huang Jin was extremely capable of taking care of himself, Yin Ren took out his phone in silence. He was about to comfort Ge Tingting but found a dozen messages had popped up on the screen.

[Siren: Can I eat it?]

[Siren: Can I eat it?]

[Siren: Can I eat it?]

[What is that?] Yin Ren quickly replied.

[The weak that can be eaten.] It gleefully explained.

Yin Ren smiled. [I see. Don’t eat it.]

[Siren: ?]

Dog Thing was stupid, so Yin Ren never believed all the information it gave. It dared give this thing a similar rating to his own, so what exactly was he? A weak thing that couldn’t be eaten?

But if Dog Thing’s words were credible, this thing was by no means a simple illusion.

Yin Ren looked deeply at the fleshy xanthium that was twitching on the ground. He thought for a moment, then slipped to the door and picked up a basin under the sink.

Next, he pressed the basin and a heavy object together in one motion, breathing a sigh of relief.

The fleshy xanthium crackled and fluttered inside; there was a little fatigue in its thumping sound.

Yin Ren ignored it. He imitated Ge Tingting’s movements and leisurely hid in another corner.

Well, at least he was stronger than this weird little thing.

At this moment, Zhong Chengshuo was following Lu Xiaohe’s instructions and blocking the peephole in the bathroom…

When he looked around, he really found such a flaw. The hole was the size of a coin and was hidden behind a tattered poster that still had dry mucus on it. The “xanthium” probably came from there.

Zhong Chengshuo tore open some tape and neatly blocked the hole.

He was just about to go into the living room when he heard a click. The hole he had just sealed was poked open by something.

A thin human finger pulled back from the hole, then a sound of squeezing was heard, and another “xanthium” had pushed itself in.

At this moment, Zhong Chengshuo saw it clearly. The thing was painfully drilling itself in, looking like it came in involuntarily. However, as soon as the xanthium discovered Zhong Chengshuo, it suddenly became energetic and rushed over.

At the same time, there was a soft hum that came from the peephole.

“Snap.”

Zhong Chengshuo whipped the xanthium that was flying towards him and narrowed his eyes at the hole.

‘Interesting,’ he thought.

In addition to them, there were other “people” here.

The author has something to say:

Xiao Yin: Is this the new era? (Holding jerky with shakily pupils)

Xiao Zhong: It’s not hygienic.jpg

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Criminal Psychology Ch129

Kinky4 Comments

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 129

The air in the thin blanket quickly became sultry due to the dense carbon dioxide they exhaled.

In the quiet love suite, in the middle of the night, under a blanket, both Xing Conglian and Lin Chen panted and lifted the blanket at the same time.

Perhaps because they were panting too loudly, or maybe it was because they were breathing too much together, but Xing Conglian once again heard Wang Chao’s high-pitched voice ringing in his ears.

“Captain, A’Chen! What are you doing?! You can’t treat A’Chen Gege like that, you beast!”

“Shut up.” Xing Conglian felt that the situation wasn’t right, but he still steadied his mind and asked, “Where did you drive the car?”

“Ah! I’m at Heping Avenue, YOYOYO*!”

*Slang for LOL.

Wang Chao’s voice became even louder.

The sound of the night wind clashed with the sound of the crazy engine, mixed with the hearty laughter of the teenager came through the headset. Xing Conglian said coldly, “Park the car at Heping Avenue and tell us the current situation.”

However, Wang Chao had fallen completely into the extreme excitement of drag racing. “The situation? The situation is very cool! Hahahahaha, Captain, are you asking me? Beg me!”

Xing Conglian rubbed his temples and began to regret, deeply.

“You’d better not let him touch the steering wheel in the future.” Immediately, Lin Chen’s voice sounded close to his ear.

“Indeed.” As he said this, he could hear the sound of the car rubbing against some cement surface through the headset again, so he looked at the ceiling and couldn’t help but add, “Consultant Lin, according to your experience, interpret what’s wrong with this. How the hell can touching a steering wheel be no different than smoking marijuana?”

“The reverse-upgraded version of road rage.” From Lin Chen’s voice, Xing Conglian couldn’t hear any traces of drunkenness, but he was convinced Lin Chen was still inebriated. Although he didn’t lose his ability to think and act, his thinking and logic weren’t as clear as usual.

“Some people, when they encounter some ‘trigger points’, will become another person.” Lin Chen’s clear and drunken voice sounded.

Xing Conglian would like to ask, “For example, if you encounter alcohol, is that the same?”

However, Wang Chao had interjected into their conversation with interest. “Captain, A’Chen, what are you doing? Are you just purely chatting underneath the blankets? Fuck, at least pretend a little. Aren’t you afraid you’ll get caught? Get high*!”

*Org. written in English. It’s netizen language referring to enlivening the atmosphere (get excited, get happy).

As soon as Wang Chao finished speaking, before Xing Conglian had time to ask what he wanted, he suddenly felt the person next to him move.

Lin Chen lifted up the blanket and suddenly rolled over onto him.

Naturally, laying shoulder to shoulder was completely different from this current posture. Although Lin Chen had just straddled him in the darkness, at that moment, Xing Conglian could clearly picture the position they were in.

Lin Chen had sat down from his waist, and his legs were spread apart. His feet were covered by a cotton blanket, with his ankle exposed.

In fact, the word slender may not be appropriate because, while Lin Chen was thin, he was well-proportioned, which was a typical example of someone being thin but not delicate. However, in Xing Conglian’s opinion, Lin Chen’s ankles were still slender and fair.

Xing Conglian didn’t know why he was imagining these kinds of things right now, but when he thought of Lin Chen’s legs that were further up, suddenly it became Lin Chen’s hands.

Lin Chen’s hands were now gently propped up on his chest, shaking lightly as he breathed.

He looked at Lin Chen’s face. Right now, his consultant’s eyes had changed from indifferent and emotionless to misty; distinctly gentle from the loss of focus.

It was too gentle.

Xing Conglian opened his mouth lightly, trying to say something, but before he could speak, Lin Chen slowly leaned down, pressing their stomachs and chests together…

Then, at the moment when their lips and teeth were about to intertwine, Lin Chen turned his face, buried his head in the crook of Xing Conglian’s neck, and breathed gently.

Because he was very close, Xing Conglian discovered that Lin Chen was indeed drunk. His body was hot, and he smelled full of absinthe, with the unique sweetness and warmth of alcohol.

Although Xing Conglian believed the gasping was just Lin Chen’s uncomfortable groaning due to alcohol, those warm breaths that sprayed in his ear, side, and neck had an unexpectedly seductive effect.

In the deep night, next to one of his ears, the breathing of one of his same-sex friends sounded, while his other ears picked up the sound of the night wind and a teenager’s wanton laughter. When he was almost about to pull out the headset and put his arms around Lin Chen’s waist, there was a sound of braking, an engine stalling, and the laptop opening and closing from the headset. In an instant, those sounds became clear.

Lin Chen must have heard it too, because his voice was calm as it rang in Xing Conglian’s ears. “Wang Chao, continue to check on Lily.”

Xing Conglian couldn’t tell how he felt right now, but he thought it was truly like Lin Chen. Under such circumstances, he was still focused on investigating the case.

……

In the Jeep, Comrade Wang Chao heard Lin Chen’s voice assigning him a mission, but he didn’t immediately start looking for information.

As a professional and upright electronic information practitioner, he naturally carried more than one laptop with him.

After stopping the car, the first thing he did was quickly open a small video in Room 1105 of the Oho Hotel, and then, after carefully placing the tablet and adjusting it to a perfect angle, he began to search for what Lin Chen asked him for.

“Lily doesn’t sound like a real name,” he muttered as he hacked into Royal One’s system. After flipping through a few pages in boredom, he looked up and saw two vaguely overlapping figures in the dark picture. He thought to himself, ‘My god, it’s a pity there are no potato chips here!’

Comrade Wang Chao sighed regretfully, then lowered his head and looked through the photos of the background page by page. God knew why normal people would want to make themselves into such a ghastly look. Their almost indistinguishable faces flashed before his eyes, suddenly dazzling him. Going through the photos was useless and only made him want to vomit. He quickly turned off the webpage depressingly and obediently looked at the salary records.

Sure enough, how could a shady place like Royal One put money on the salary records!

He looked through all the records and found that none of the princesses or young masters in Royal One had any salary records or social security records. Wang Chao recalled the magnificent building and suddenly felt it was like a dark, cannibalistic cave.

He touched the goosebumps that appeared on his arms and continued to report. “A’Chen, I haven’t found Lily’s real name yet, because there’s nothing in their system that can prove Lily’s identity. The social security and medical insurance records of all the staff don’t include the young masters and princesses who accompany customers at the table.” As Wang Chao replied, because he was too busy looking for the blank records, he didn’t have the mental energy to continue to observe the dynamics between the two on the tablet.

“What about medical records?”

At this point, he was startled to hear his boss’ voice, which was deeper than usual. It was even a little hoarse, with a hint of forced calmness.

Wang Chao grinned, and then he heard his brother A’Chen speak again.

Lin Chen said, “Yes, clubs like Royal One must have regular medical examination records presented to customers to prove that their people are clean and problem-free, and hospital medical exam records are supposed to be difficult to falsify.”

“Oh!”

Wang Chao became aware of this and immediately began retrieving medical examination records from all large and small hospitals in Fengchun. Sure enough, he found the regular medical examination reports of Royal One.

However, although he found the report, he also stumbled upon a bigger problem. He looked at the names and photos of the reports woefully and said to the two on the other end, “I found the records, but Captain, A’Chen, you have to wait a bit. The photos of these people here are all liquefied into a mess. I can’t use the photo retrieval function, so I have to compare each medical record one by one!”

“How long will it take?” Xing Conglian asked suddenly. As if he thought of something, he said, “Wait, if the alarm is because of Lu Xu’s snitching, they will most likely go to Room 1103 where Xu Ran’s incident happened, so keep an eye on it.”

“I’m keeping an eye on it,” Wang Chao hurriedly replied. He looked up at the erotic pornographic video, pressed the recording button, and then pulled out another tablet and brought up the full surveillance of the elevator and emergency exit.

The moment the picture appeared, Wang Chao’s heart almost jumped out of his throat. As Xing Conglian said, a group of heavily armed security guards had just taken the elevator up to the 11th floor.

At the same time, he looked at the video recorded by the pinhole camera in the room again. He returned to the main interface of the other party and found that someone was turning on the video in room 1105 to view it. He quickly said, “Captain, someone really went to it. Ahh!”

Because there was no corridor surveillance, Wang Chao felt like a blind man.

“Captain, a team of security guards just went to the 11th floor, and there are people watching the video in your room. Hurry up and act! Don’t just be still. If you’re exposed, you’ll be caught!”

He shouted nervously, but after he finished speaking, he heard his brother A’Chen’s weak and calm voice. “Wang Chao.”

“I’m here, A’Chen Gege!”

“Turn off the video of our room and don’t watch it, then delete the ones you just saved.”

Shit. What are you doing that you don’t want to be watched!

Wang Chao shuddered and couldn’t help but look around the Jeep. The surroundings were pitch black, but why was his back so cold!

“No, A’Chen Gege, how can I record your video? Later, I can also help you delete it. Believe me. I’ll take care of it!”

“Turn off the surveillance,” Lin Chen repeated solemnly.

……

With the end of Lin Chen’s last words, Xing Conglian heard the clear sound of the door opening and many people entering the room to search in Room 1103 next door.

Lin Chen obviously discovered that too, because his consultant raised his head and put a little distance between them as he stared at him in a daze.

The tips of their noses touched each other. Lin Chen was obviously hesitating.

But soon, Lin Chen seemed to have made a decision. Xing Conglian felt Lin Chen’s body start to slide backward, and at the same time, he arched his back.

Xing Conglian guessed what Lin Chen wanted to do in an instant. He grabbed Lin Chen’s wrist and said softly, “No need to do this.”

After he finished speaking, he pushed his knees hard, protected Lin Chen’s neck with his other hand, turned over, and pressed Lin Chen under him.

Because of the sudden inversion, Lin Chen was lying on the bed with his head up. Xing Conglian looked at the person under him quietly and found that Lin Chen was still staring at him. His eyes were gentle and serious.

His hand was still between Lin Chen’s neck, which made Xing Conglian recall what Lu Xu had said when he approached Lin Chen.

He said, “You smell good.”

At that time, Xing Conglian felt this sentence made him sick, but at this moment, he leaned on Lin Chen and couldn’t help but think of it.

Although there was no incense smell in the love suite and Lin Chen didn’t smell of soap or shower gel, Xing Conglian still felt Lu Xu’s words weren’t wrong. The smell on Lin Chen’s body was clean and refreshing, which was quite comforting…

And it was really fragrant.

Footsteps came out of the next room, one after another. The security guards obviously didn’t find them there, but perhaps the next moment they would knock on the door to the room where they were.

It was truly a tense moment right now. One door away were the security guards who were chasing them, but he was quietly lying on the body of his friend and colleague.

Xing Conglian felt that he hadn’t been this stimulated in a long time, but, although his senses were stimulated, he suddenly felt he needed to calm down.

Because Lin Chen was calm.

“Sorry.” He reached out and caressed Lin Chen’s face, and then started to move.

When Lin Chen heard Xing Conglian apologize, he felt choked up for a while. It was truly a bittersweet moment.

Lin Chen looked at the man on top of him.

The surroundings were dark.

This may be the only opportunity in his life, and a person who was as unlucky as him may not be able to get the same opportunity a second time.

He would not get drunk again; not forced to enter an erotic love suite with Xing Conglian after being drunk; he would not be pressed down under Xing Conglian to avoid the chasing security guards; and be as close to Xing Conglian as he was now.

The current situation was the result of numerous coincidences.

Now he only needed to simply raise his head and kiss Xing Conglian’s lips. Xing Conglian might push him away or he might respond to him, but it was more likely that Xing Conglian would regard this as just common drunken promiscuity, and he could even explain that there were some drugs added to the drink he had consumed.

He would definitely be able to find an excuse for this gaffe.

But Lin Chen knew exactly where his physiological response came from. When normal men experience movements such as theirs, even if they were facing a wall, they would still react a little. What was more, this was the Xing Conglian he loved. Even if he were hugged by him, this would make him happy.

How normal all this was.

It was normal enough that he could reach out and put his arms around Xing Conglian’s neck, kiss him, confess to him, and seriously state his physiological response.

However, this was the wrong time, the wrong place; everything was wrong.

Because more than half a month ago, Xu Ran suffered inhumane abuse in the room next door, and there was probably someone who had suffered just like Xu Ran on the bed they were lying on, perhaps even more inhumane things.

But in the final analysis, it was because Lin Chen was clear that it was the most irresponsible behavior to use being drunk as a cover-up, so that he could use it as an excuse if his test failed. At least, Lin Chen thought he didn’t want to use such an excuse. He wanted to respect Xing Conglian more.

Lin Chen stared at Xing Conglian’s dark eyes. He didn’t know whether he was drunk or not. If he was really drunk, it turned out that people could still be sober and rational even after being drunk.

Desperately sober.

……

It took a long time before Wang Chao’s voice sounded in their ears again.

“Captain, A’Chen, the security guards are gone.”

Xing Conglian finally stopped.

That was a really awkward moment. Lin Chen nodded at him and tried to control his expression as usual.

“We’re going to the next room. Open the door for us.” Xing Conglian rolled off of him. His voice instantly switched to a calm, clear state. He acted as if nothing had just happened.

However, Lin Chen still saw traces of panting on his chest.

“Holy shit, Captain. Are you guys seeking death?” Wang Chao shouted. “You’ll be discovered!”

“It’s fine. When they come to outflank us, we’ll have a chance to leave. Can you control an elevator? I remember there’s another elevator next door to room 03. We’ll go to the basement parking lot. Can you help us find a way to leave safely?”

Xing Conglian looked at him and commanded logically and clearly.

“Oh! That’s a good idea! The elevator is computer-controlled, so I have no problem opening it for you,” Wang Chao responded solemnly.

“By the way, call us a taxi at the exit of the parking lot.” Xing Conglian raised his watch and glanced at it. “It’s 1:05 a.m. After five minutes, open the door to the next room.”

“Roger!” Wang Chao said. “But Captain, I can also drive and pick you up!”

“I want to live a few more days,” Xing Conglian said coldly, and Wang Chao sensibly shut up.

“Are you okay?” After Xing Conglian arranged everything, he turned his head and asked Lin Chen.

“I’m going to wash my face.” Lin Chen sat up in his bed and fumbled out of it in the dark. However, because he was probably too restrained just now, his muscles were tense, so his legs suddenly twitched when he stepped on the ground in pain, and he staggered violently. Just as he fell to the bedside table, thinking he needed more calcium, his waist was supported by a broad and strong hand. Xing Conglian had wrapped his arm around his waist and said, “Be careful.”

This was really an afterthought.

Lin Chen felt that his face must be red.

In the end, it was Xing Conglian who helped him to the bathroom.

Lin Chen turned on the faucet, lowered his head, and let the water wash over the top of his head and the ends of his hair. The biting cold made him suddenly sober up.

For a minute, none of them spoke. There was only the sound of water flowing through the porcelain sink. When Lin Chen raised his head again, he saw Xing Conglian standing with his arms crossed. As he calmly puffed out rings of smoke, there was a faint odor of smoke in the air.

Now it was more like an afterthought.

Lin Chen pulled out a towel and wiped his face, adjusted his mood, and finally said, “What time is it?”

“There’s one minute and three seconds left.” Xing Conglian looked at his watch as he responded.

Then, there was silence between them again.

Lin Chen dried his face and looked at his eyes in the mirror, which had become red from the alcohol. He said, “Xing Conglian.”

“Hmm?”

“Your skills should be good, right?”

“Is Justice Bao satisfied?”

“Uh, do you need me to recuse myself?” In the quiet bathroom, the joking voice of Wang Chao sounded.

Lin Chen suddenly thought that if he hadn’t known that Wang Chao was listening and that someone was watching them, he might really have made a move on Xing Conglian.

It seemed he wasn’t such a righteous man either.

Thinking of this, he laughed with relief. Sure enough, everything was wrong.

He put the towel back on the shelf and said to Xing Conglian, “Let’s go?”

“Okay.”

Wang Chao was always the typical example of efficiency taken to the extreme.

When they walked out of the love suite, the door of the next room opened in response.

There was no need to be reminded. At the moment when Xing Conglian opened the door, Lin Chen thought that the security alarm of the entire building would sound again.

After all, their purpose was different. After entering, Xing Conglian turned on all the lights in the room.

However, when Xing Conglian wanted to take out his gloves and inspect the room, they both were stunned…

Because the furnishings, though they looked the same as the one next door, were completely different.

This room was very new and seemed unused.

The carpet was spotless, and the cabinets still had burrs. Under the bright light, the bed and cabinets, and even the handcuffs hanging from the ceiling in the room, seemed to glow with a shiny luster.

Lin Chen sniffed the air, which was filled with formaldehyde and the smell of banana water that would only be found in newly renovated rooms.

It seemed that someone had just completely remodeled this room.

Indeed, if they remembered the deleted video records, how could they not clean up all the physical evidence.

It would be strange if any evidence could be found here.

Beside him, Xing Conglian squatted down and touched the carpet, then raised his head and said to him, “The carpet is also new.”

“It seems they are much more meticulous than we thought,” Lin Chen said lightly.

“Captain, A’Chen, the taxi has arrived… What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing. We just reached a dead end again.”

After Lin Chen finished speaking, Xing Conglian took out his phone and took a few photos of the scene from multiple angles.

Afterwards, Xing Conglian quickly put it away, glanced at his watch, and then asked, “Wang Chao, report the current situation.”

“A group of security guards is rushing down from the 13th floor, and another wave is outflanking from the emergency exit on the 7th floor. Hurry!”

Xing Conglian nodded.

As if he had timed it perfectly, Xing Conglian went to the back door and glanced at his watch again.

About ten seconds later, he suddenly opened the door, and almost at the same time, the indicator light for the elevator that had just reached the 11th floor lit up.

At the moment when the elevator closed, Lin Chen seemed to hear a team of security guards shouting out from the emergency exit.

As the elevator slowly sank, Lin Chen didn’t have the slightest fear of being chased; rather, he felt quite calm.

If Xing Conglian knew what he was thinking at that time, he would probably hold his hand and say, “What a coincidence. When I was on the bed just now, I looked at you with the same calmness.”

However, they were now in an after-the-fact state and couldn’t communicate with each other.

Therefore, the two of them simply faced the smooth inner wall of the elevator, waiting silently for the moment when the door would open again.

……

The process of escaping from the parking lot was smooth.

Wang Chao’s ability to command was quite good, and Xing Conglian’s sense of direction matched it frighteningly well.

Lin Chen followed Xing Conglian through hordes of luxury vehicles, listening to the footsteps that were chasing them from far behind. At the moment when the security guards were almost close enough to smash their baton into the car window, they got into the taxi that Wang Chao had called in advance.

The taxi driver stepped on the gas and looked at the angry, nervous, and disappointed faces of the security guards. Lin Chen actually felt like he was escaping from ascension.

The driver was also frightened. Although he subconsciously stepped on the gas, he still shook his hands nervously when he saw the security guards waving their batons while rushing towards him. “Who the hell are you?”

“Police. Handling a case.”

Xing Conglian quickly flashed his badge.

The moment the driver saw the badge, he seemed to have powered-up and slammed on the gas again. The taxi smashed through the guardrail of the parking lot, flying like an arrow released from a string, and flew frantically into the distance.

“Police. It’s great you’re the police. I really want that place checked out. It’s best if it gets shut down!”

After the taxi driver said this to them, the taxi started zooming down the wide road at a speed of no less than 100 kilometers an hour.

Xing Conglian put his hand on the car window. He glanced at the name on the badge and praised the taxi driver. “Master* Guan, there are very few men with a strong sense of justice like you. Ordinary men can’t wait to soak in there all day.”

*He’s addressing him as shifu (关师). It’s a term frequently used for cab drivers or other skilled laborers in modern times.

The driver blushed and said honestly, “I can’t afford to go. It’s too expensive.”

Xing Conglian laughed heartily.

“What case are you investigating?” The driver asked again.

Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian and heard him reply, “It’s not convenient to speak of it.”

The driver gave a long “Oh” and said, “I mean, it’s no wonder those security guards are like mad dogs. Don’t worry. I’m a top-notch driver. They won’t be able to catch up!”

“Do you often come here to pick up customers?” Xing Conglian suddenly asked.

“Occasionally, but who hasn’t come to Royal One to pick up a few people if you’re working the night shift.”

Xing Conglian’s eyes lit up. “Then do you know where the princesses of Royal One usually live?”

“I don’t know about that.” Master Guan laughed shyly again. “I’ve come here to pick up guests a few times, but I can’t tell who the young masters and princesses inside are.” As Master Guan said this, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He smacked his forehead and said, “Wait, wait, let me ask for you. We have a radio station. I can ask about it!”

Before Xing Conglian had time to refuse, Master Guan had already pulled out his walkie-talkie and shouted, “Hey, which one of you often does business at Royal One? Do you know where the princesses and young masters usually live?”

Soon, chattering voices from many night shift drivers sounded on the radio.

Someone said, “Lao Guan, what’s wrong with you? Are you dissatisfied with your wife?”

Another person said, “Yes, Lao Guan. Finally, you want to have some fun!”

The middle-aged man named Lao Guan coughed twice, pretending to be righteous, and interrupted them. “Be serious. Right now, I have two police comrades who are handling a case. I’m asking for them.”

“Are they real cops?”

Lao Guan looked back at Xing Conglian. Xing Conglian nodded, took the walkie-talkie, and said to the drivers, “I’m Xing Conglian. My police badge number is 20151014xxx. You can verify it.”

Following that, more chaotic sounds erupted from the radio station.

“It’s really Mr. Police Officer!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Mr. Police Officer!”

“I hope everyone can provide clues to what Master Guan asked just now. It will be very helpful for us in solving the case.” Xing Conglian’s relaxed voice quickly calmed the commotion on the radio.

Taxi drivers were probably the most enthusiastic group in the city. When they heard there was a police investigation, the drivers immediately began to give ideas. Some said the girls lived on the east side of the city, while others said they lived on the west, but there was no accurate number.

Finally, a Mr. Driver who seemed to have received the notification suddenly said loudly, “I—I—I—I know, uh. Just now, Master Chen called me in a hurry and asked me to listen to the radio. I know. Royal One, uh, I usually pick up a few ladies there every night and send them home. Most of them lived on Red Street, but cars can’t be driven in, so I don’t know where they live!”

Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian again.

“Thank you very much,” Xing Conglian said sincerely to the drivers.

On the subsequent drive to Red Street.

Master Guan chatted with them. Most of the time, Mr. Driver was telling them about his heroic experiences and those of his old buddies who had rounded up thieves or transported supplies to rescue teams.

Although they couldn’t exchange the same stories with him, listening to his pleasant boasting voice, because of the effect of alcohol, Lin Chen fell asleep again.

By the time he woke up, Master Chen had already driven the car smoothly to the location of Red Street.

He and Xing Conglian got out of the taxi, only to find that, at some point, it was slightly drizzling. The rain hardly wetted their clothes, but it plunged the entire city into a misty fog.

Xing Conglian took out his wallet to pay, but Master Guan pushed it away. “You’re the police handling a case. It’s appropriate for citizens like us to assist. I don’t want your money!”

Xing Conglian was used to paying, and rarely did he encounter a situation where someone would refuse payment. He smiled and said, “You’re quite enlightened, but money still needs to be collected for services rendered. We also have our own rules.”

“Oh, I’m not charging you anything, or else I’ll be teased to death by those guys later!”

Seeing the 100-yuan bill about to be crushed by them, Lin Chen stepped forward and said to the driver, “You can accept it. If you don’t, I’ll report him for not paying a taxi driver when I go back.”

Lin Chen thought that his face must have looked serious, since after he said it, Master Guan finally accepted the money.

Xing Conglian had already gone ahead, and Lin Chen followed after him.

“Mr. Police Officer.”

Suddenly, the hoarse voice from smoking too much of the middle-aged driver sounded from behind them.

“Royal One isn’t really a good place. Can you shut it down?”

The streets in front of them were dark, and behind them was an ordinary citizen who was making a selfish request.

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian.

Xing Conglian’s figure paused under the streetlight, before it turned back. He stopped in front of the taxi, bowed forward solemnly, and said, “Don’t worry.”

……

Just like Royal One was named Royal One, Red Street was exactly as it was named.

From beginning to end, there were endless spa parlors with most of the doors closed. They walked slowly inward and found that there were still a few shops open. The air was filled with a dirty smell that came from the sewers. The alley was narrow but just wide enough.

Lin Chen and Xing Conglian walked side by side, bathed in the veil-like drizzle and fog in the alley.

The shops were glowing with pink light, and some of it flowed out from the cracks in the doors while others leaked from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Lin Chen looked at the shops that were still open and saw that most of them were filled with ladies lying in various promiscuous positions. Some were extremely old, while others looked as if they had just become adults.

It was really late. Most of these ladies were lying on sofa beds and didn’t even have any desire to attract guests.

The problem had become clear again.

How were they going to find Miss Lily’s residence in this long street full of alleys?

“Wang Chao, did you find it?”

“No!” The teenager responded angrily.

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian. Apparently, Xing Conglian’s order had prevented him from driving again, which made Wang Chao angry.

However, Wang Chao could only voice it, as Lin Chen heard the sound of him clicking on a mouse. “I just checked the medical examination records of the hospital. You don’t even know what I saw. God, just now, I’ve seen five cases of AIDS, not to mention countless cases of herpes and genital warts. A’Chen, I feel like I’m going crazy. I feel so uncomfortable.”

“Ah, I know,” Lin Chen said calmly.

“Why is this happening? Why do they have to do that kind of thing? Can’t they make good money!”

“Wang Chao,” Lin Chen stretched out his hand to hold back Xing Conglian and stood with him under the quiet light. “Not everyone is entitled to choose their own life.”

“But—but why are they so unclean? Wear a condom? Is it that difficult?!”

“Actually, you can look at these people from two points of view. First, they are indeed engaged in illegal industries. From this perspective, you can despise them and spurn them without any problem, but you can also imagine what kind of family they grew up in and what kind of life experience they have, which caused them to live such a life of selling their bodies. Of course, it’s true that they broke the law, and their life experience is just our speculation, but I think… Among those girls, there must be people who wanted to go to a good college and make a decent living by working in an office. I think some of them want such a life, but, really, not everyone in the world is qualified to choose their own life trajectory, and even some do not know they have the right to choose.”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian.

The other party did not speak, but instead placed his hand between his neck and gently shook it.

This was a slightly intimate and familiarly comforting action.

But at that time, neither of them noticed that this action was not only intimate but also ambiguous.

Probably because they had slept together just now, even Lin Chen didn’t feel anything strange, as if this were normal and natural.

After a long silence, he finally asked, “Well, did you find Lily yet?”

Perhaps it was because of what Lin Chen said, Wang Chao’s voice had some choking in it, but the teenager quickly adjusted his emotions and said to him, “Found it, A’Chen. Lily’s name is Zheng Wenli, female, 21 years old.”

“Any information on her residence?” Xing Conglian quickly asked.

“Wait for me to check her records.”

After a while, Wang Chao said, “Damn, I found it. It’s really in Room 502, No. 3-117, Red Street. Zheng Wenli’s card paid the utility bills for that place. God, that old driver is really experienced!”

The teenager sincerely sighed.

Lin Chen stopped and looked at the house number. They were about to reach it.

In fact, he was a little surprised. He thought that a princess like Lily, who worked in a high-end club, should have enough income to provide her with better housing, but there was obviously no so-called better housing on this street.

No. 3-117 was an old-fashioned residential building with mottled walls. The corridor door was open, revealing a rusty door frame. Lin Chen looked up, and there were all kinds of dazzling underwear hanging from the balcony. Some windows were lit with pink and purple lights, which looked quite ostentatious. Lin Chen thought they had found the right place.

However, the process of finding Miss Lily was quite difficult. They stood in front of the locked, old-fashioned iron door and fell into trouble again.

Xing Conglian rubbed his nose and asked Lin Chen, “Is it illegal to break into a private residence?”

Lin Chen leaned against the handrail of the stairs, feeling a little dizzy. “What do you think?”

“Can you not report me?”

Lin Chen silently turned around.

Kinky Thoughts:

Keep in mind that Wang Chao is only a teenager, so the things he says sometimes can be immature, but as an 18-year-old raised by Xing Conglian and given his experience with the police force, I would’ve imagined he would be more worldly.

Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with prostitution, and it shouldn’t be looked down upon. Unfortunately, many people who go into it are often victimized and exploited, and some are even forced. As Lin Chen says, it’s best not to judge others, especially when you don’t know their circumstances.

Just some food for thought.

Oh, and in case you missed it, Lin Chen and Xing Conglian were pretending to fuck in this chapter.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Criminal Psychology Ch128

Kinky3 Comments

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 128

“Why can’t they be reimbursed?” Lin Chen couldn’t help but ask with a smile.

“Contraband products. The finance department won’t reimburse you for those, so I have to pay for them myself.”

Hearing what Xing Conglian said, Lin Chen felt both funny and annoyed. At any rate, he was a man who took out a bunch of membership cards casually, but he was so brokenhearted by the fake checks that were five yuan a piece. It was terribly confusing.

They chatted, and while talking, he followed Xing Conglian into the remote bathroom at the end of the corridor.

Xing Conglian became cautious. As an experienced policeman, he pushed open every bathroom stall to check and then nodded at Lin Chen. “No one.”

“Wang Chao?” Hearing this, Lin Chen called to the teenager listening on the other end in a low voice.

Wang Chao’s voice sounded in their ears again inside the bathroom, where it was only the two of them.

“A’Chen, I just checked the strings of numbers given by the captain. The owner of the phone number is Lu Xu. He was imprisoned for three years for organized prostitution. After he was released from prison 12 years ago, he…” The teenager paused and then said, in disbelief, “Has never had any social records.”

“What do you mean there are no social records?” Xing Conglian asked.

Just after inspecting the stall, Xing Conglian was leaning against the marble wall by the window. When he heard Wang Chao say that Lu Xu didn’t have any social records, he couldn’t help but ask rhetorically.

Wang Chao said, “That is to say, there was no payment information for housing, medical care, or social security when Lu Xu was released from prison. Not only that, but he also doesn’t even have bank card records, let alone Alipay. It feels like he’s a ghost!” Wang Chao specially lowered his voice and said, “Captain, this damn Lu Xu is so terrible. He doesn’t have any social records after being released from prison, which probably means all his transactions are cash-based. I don’t believe he’s not doing shady business!”

“I see.” Xing Conglian nodded. He rubbed his hair and said to Lin Chen, “Lu Xu lives so cautiously. It’s very likely he’s a small boss of a prostitution ring. He introduced Xu Ran to Li Jingtian, so it’s very possible that he’s a ‘key person’ that we’re looking for.”

The door to the bathroom where Xing Conglian and Lin Chen were suddenly pushed open as soon as Xing Conglian’s voice fell.

Xing Conglian glanced at Lin Chen from a distance and saw him nodding at him, so he turned around and pretended to walk inadvertently to the wall-mounted urinal in the corner. After he reached the position, he opened his zipper and casually looked towards the sink again.

He saw Lin Chen standing in front of the sink, gently turning on the faucet as he slowly rolled up his cuffs. Lin Chen bent down, splashed a handful of water on his face, and rubbed his face twice, as if he were in a state of drunkenness and trying to sober up. In short, the level of their performance was superb.

Like all men who were bored when they were relieving themselves, Xing Conglian moved his eyes to the man who had just entered the door.

It was a middle-aged man who had a fat belly. He had a wide forehead and convex eyes, but he wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looking like a bloated toad. He was so fat that the belt on his pants could hardly hold up his pants. Xing Conglian noticed that the man’s black suit cuffs were stained with blood and his knuckles had hard brown smudges that looked like caked blood.

Xing Conglian saw him walk towards Lin Chen, turn on the faucet, and begin to wash his hands. The other party seemed to notice him and glance at him. Instead of looking away immediately, he shrugged at the man indifferently and finally turned his gaze back.

The space in the bathroom became quiet again, leaving only the sound of gurgling water echoing.

Just now, Wang Chao didn’t hear either one of them respond and quickly shut up.

In fact, if the middle-aged man had pushed open the door later and hadn’t interrupted Wang Chao’s report, they would have heard him say, “Captain, I found a picture of Lu Xu when he was in jail. I’ll send it to your phone.”

If Wang Chao could’ve finished speaking or sent the photo directly to them without saying anything, they would realize that the person in question had just walked into the men’s bathroom where they were.

Amazingly, sometimes things were so coincidental, it was as if there was a screenwriter or some brain-dead author behind the scenes, arranging these coincidences. If Wang Chao hadn’t been interrupted, Xing Conglian would know that the “key person” they were looking for was five meters away from him and was having some unclean thoughts about his consultant.

Obviously, Lu Xu didn’t walk into this bathroom because he knew in advance that two police officers were investigating him, and it wasn’t because Miss Lily tipped him off either, because at this moment, she was fighting with the other girl over the distribution of the check book, and there wasn’t time to check its authenticity.

Getting down to business, when Lu Xu received Lily’s message just now, he thought it was just an ordinary guest who wanted to have fun. He stopped in the restroom to wash the blood off his hands since he just finished educating two disobedient girls. This just happened to be the closest men’s restroom to him.

Lu Xu turned on the faucet, rubbed his hands, and looked around boredly. When he saw the man standing by the sink, he almost instantly forgot about washing his hands.

It was a young man who looked very indifferent. The other party was thin, but not like a matchstick. He had a beautiful back and a thin waist, and a very handsome and noble aura that gave him a sense of unattainability. In short, the young man washing his hands was unlike the other young masters in this place and was the type he preferred.

Lu Xu thought he might be some rich man’s plaything, well-bred and favored, so he couldn’t be blasphemous.

The reason Lu Xu came to this conclusion was because he analyzed Lin Chen’s clothes. Lin Chen had rushed from Hongjing to Fengchun overnight, so he was still wearing a white shirt that was soaked from the day’s sweat. The shirt looked dirty and a little old, and of course, cheap.

After mixing in here for a long time, Lu Xu could tell who was wearing big brand-name clothes and what year style. The clothes of this young man next to him obviously didn’t belong to any luxury brand. It was ordinary, cheap clothing from a typical mall. It had the obvious signs of having been washed many times, as there was a natural fragrance of detergent. Lu Xu became itchy thinking of this.

In fact, if he hadn’t drunk so much alcohol, he would have thought more deeply. If the people around him were just playthings raised by rich people, how could they be dressed so poorly?

But at that time, Lu Xu didn’t have time to think so deeply because Lin Chen had put his wet hands down and stood up.

The spotlight on the sink was bright, and Lu Xu smelled the clean scent of detergent.

Lu Xu watched as a crystal-clear drop of water flowed down the young man’s cheek to his jaw. Lu Xu wiped his wet hands on his shirt twice, then put his arms around the waist of the young man beside him.

Unlike the young man’s hands, his body appeared flexible and warm. Lu Xu reached out and touched the other’s cheek.

“Hello.”

Looking at the handsome and angular face of the young man, Lu Xu leaned down. He felt the scent of fresh green leaves that was mixed in the air, which made him want to bury his head in the other man’s neck and sniff his body.

From the time the fat, middle-aged man moved his gaze toward Lin Chen, Xing Conglian had already felt the sordid desire from that gaze. He quickly zipped up his pants and walked towards them, but his steps weren’t as fast as Lu Xu’s hands. The distance from his position to the sink was too far. Before he could reach Lin Chen, the fat palm of the middle-aged man had already touched Lin Chen’s cheek. This made Xing Conglian furious. People like him rarely get angry. At that time, he was about five steps away from Lin Chen and had already clenched his fists and sketched in his mind the most painful way to take this bastard out without killing him. He was ready to swing his fists fiercely, but suddenly, everything seemed to have entered a state of slow motion.

He clearly saw Lin Chen at the sink, pulling his hand out from under the running water, turning off the faucet, and then turning around. Lin Chen’s left hand was holding the fat palm that touched his face, while his right hand was raised high and pressed on the back of the middle-aged man’s head. Then, he saw Lin Chen’s hands, which usually held pens or books, grab the middle-aged man’s hair and pull. He held the other party’s bloated head back as he pressed it down abruptly. Lin Chen immediately took a step back, and at the same time, his knee hit the lower part of the middle-aged man’s ribs. When he connected to the middle-aged man’s stomach, Lin Chen let go and watched as the man covered his abdomen as he kneeled to the ground, slowly falling down.

Although Lin Chen’s movements were broken down slowly in Xing Conglian’s eyes, in fact, his set of movements to his knee strike was completed within a second.

It was precisely because Lin Chen’s movements were fast and ruthless that the middle-aged man’s scream wasn’t heard immediately. Experienced people knew that a hard blow from the knee to the stomach would be so painful it was impossible to breathe, let alone scream.

At that moment, Xing Conglian felt the preciousness of life for the first time.

He slowly shifted his gaze from the middle-aged man on the ground to his advisor.

However, Lin Chen acted as if nothing had happened just now. He turned around calmly, turned on the faucet again, pressed on some soap, and continued to wash his hands. Xing Conglian felt that he couldn’t see through Lin Chen’s psychological reaction to what just happened.

The water washed over the lavender soap on Lin Chen’s hands, over his slender fingers, and then flowed down from his slightly clear fingernails.

Xing Conglian swallowed.

It was quite frightening to see him wash his hands as if nothing had happened after beating someone.

It wasn’t until Lin Chen finished washing his hands and turned off the faucet again that the unfortunate middle-aged man on the ground finally began to scream. Xing Conglian quickly came over and knocked him out.

“Are you okay?” He finally searched his guts and found a response that he could express concern without being too over the top.

However, hearing what he said, Lin Chen raised his brows at him as if to say, “How could something happen to me? What nonsense are you talking about?”

……

No matter where they were, of course, when they hit someone, they had to leave as soon as possible. Although they were the police, they were conducting an unannounced visit, so they couldn’t make a big ruckus.

Xing Conglian felt regretful walking out of the restroom because he couldn’t take a swing at the unconscious man.

After leaving, Lin Chen took out his phone and dialed the string of numbers they just got.

As if it were too coincidental, the moment the phone connected, the sound of extremely vulgar electronic dance music came from the door behind the men’s restroom that they had just left.

Lin Chen stopped in his tracks and looked at Xing Conglian in bewilderment.

“Tell me, when I was calling just now, how likely is it that someone else called that idiot at the same time?” Lin Chen looked back at the restroom’s door and asked.

God knew that even if Lin Chen called someone an idiot, he really didn’t want to kill them.

“Small,” Xing Conglian said.

Lin Chen curled his lips, turned around, and walked back to the restroom just now.

Perhaps, nothing could be more refreshing than letting someone go, but fate forced you to continue your uncompleted mission.

Xing Conglian walked to the sink.

Lin Chen had already turned the faucet on again, picked up a handful of water, and sprinkled it on the head lying on the ground.

The middle-aged, fat man lying unconscious was stimulated by the cold water and instantly woke up.

Lu Xu, who was as heavy as a few sacks of lead, seemed a little unclear about what just happened. He bowed toward the sink and braced himself to get up.

The moment he raised his head, Xing Conglian obviously saw the look of horror in his eyes, and this look reached its peak when Lin Chen turned back as he locked the restroom door.

“Who are you and what do you want!” Lu Xu shouted in panic.

Lin Chen didn’t answer.

Xing Conglian grabbed Lu Xu by his collar and dragged him into the nearest stall.

Although he admitted that he was being a bit heavy-handed, he wasn’t too fierce. Despite that, the middle-aged, fat man in front of him slid directly from the toilet seat to the ground. “You two, I’m really sorry. I drank too much just now and was out of my mind. I’m sorry!”

Lu Xu changed his face as quickly as flipping a page in a book, almost to the extreme. He sobbed and begged for mercy, then began to slap himself in the face.

This was a typical hob* begging for mercy. Once they realized that they were in trouble with someone they couldn’t afford to mess with, they would start frantically begging for forgiveness, disregarding all human dignity.

*Internet term refers to someone who’s arrogant and unreasonable.

Xing Conglian glanced at Lin Chen and saw him just leaning against the wall opposite the stall, with his arms crossed and without any expression on his face.

This meant: What happens here is not my responsibility.

Xing Conglian felt that he was a grunt collecting accounts for his boss. He squatted down and continued to hold the back of the middle-aged man in front of him by the neck and said helplessly, “I’m not going to kill you. Don’t be so nervous.”

As soon as he said this, Lu Xu cried even more miserably, causing Xing Conglian’s eardrums to hurt.

“Brother, I’ll beat you again if you keep crying.”

As soon as Xing Conglian’s voice fell, Lu Xu stopped crying. This kind of slick guy was really difficult to deal with.

Xing Conglian pointed to the toilet and then said to Lu Xu, “Open the lid.”

The fat middle-aged man wiped off his snot and tears, turned around carefully, knelt on the ground, and opened the toilet lid.

Then, unexpectedly, Lu Xu actually stuck his head into the toilet.

Xing Conglian was shocked to see this. What’s wrong with this guy?

At this moment, Lin Chen finally spoke up.

Xing Conglian listened to his consultant click his tongue impatiently and said slowly, “What are you thinking? I didn’t want you to drink toilet water. Answer a few questions I have.”

Hearing Lin Chen’s voice, Lu Xu suddenly wanted to push his head out of the toilet, but because he had stuffed himself in too tightly, he bumped the back of his head when he pulled out.

He groaned in pain, then quickly shut up and sat down on the toilet extremely obediently. It seemed that Lin Chen’s education just now had improved his memory.

Xing Conglian retreated behind Lin Chen. Obviously, what Mr. Lin said now would be more effective than him.

Lin Chen stood with his arms crossed and pursed his lips slightly, looking as cold as ice.

“Do you know Xu Ran?” Lin Chen asked directly.

Lu Xu suddenly raised his head.

At that moment, a very stern look flashed in Lu Xu’s eyes. Xing Conglian saw the cruelty, indifference, and unsympathetic look in them. He believed that Lin Chen probably saw the same thing.

However, Lin Chen didn’t say much. He just took another step forward and said, “I ask. You answer. It’s very simple. I don’t want to repeat the same question a second time.”

Lu Xu changed back to his timid appearance again and said, “I… I know Xu Ran.”

“What’s your relationship with her?”

“Who are the two of you?” Lu Xu asked curiously.

“I didn’t give you the right to ask questions,” Lin Chen said loudly. “On Sunday night, three weeks ago, did Xu Ran come to Royal One?”

Lu Xu’s eyes darted twice, as if he had guessed something. He clasps his hands into fists, showing great panic. “Mr. Policemen, this really has nothing to do with me!”

“How long is the sentence for organized prostitution?” Xing Conglian heard Lin Chen ask him.

“Fixed-term imprisonment of more than ten years or life,” he replied.

When Lin Chen heard this, he turned to the middle-aged man on the toilet. “Did you hear that? People like you usually have no way of coming out alive if they go in.”

“It’s really not my fault!” Lu Xu began to cry. “This was all voluntarily done by that little bitch, Xu Ran. She came here that night but was working normally. I don’t know why she was like a chaste woman that day and refused to obey. Later, she was beaten badly by the guests and thrown out through the back door.”

Hearing this, Xing Conglian was shocked. He looked at Lin Chen, but Lin Chen still had an indifferent, otherworldly look.

“That’s all?” Lin Chen asked again.

“Yes…” Lu Xu replied.

“You haven’t told me who the guest was.”

“Mr. Police Officer, I really don’t know who they are. Look at the people who come here. Everyone pays attention to privacy. How can a little ass like me know who the guests are? I’m responsible for telling the girls the room number and letting them in.”

“That is to say, before Xu Ran entered the room, she didn’t know what kind of guests she would face, right?” Lin Chen asked.

Hearing this, Lu Xu suddenly regained his energy, and his tongue became slicker. “Mr. Police Officer, I know you have good intentions, but think about it. How long has that little bitch been in this business? How can she not know anything? Don’t be deceived by her… Later, that little bitch said it was Li Jingtian who raped her. She really wanted to blackmail him. I guess that didn’t work out for her in the end, so she went to sue someone else. Haa, bitches like her use such tricks all the time. I’ve seen a lot of it before…”

Suddenly, Lu Xu’s words stopped, because Lin Chen walked extremely close to him. He leaned down and grabbed the back of his head again, causing Lu Xu to scream in pain.

Lin Chen put a slight force on his hand and raised the middle-aged man’s fat face. “I told you to answer what I asked, so why aren’t you listening?”

“I—I…”

“Answer my question. Before Xu Ran entered the door to that room, did she know who the guest would be?” Lin Chen continued to apply force to his hand.

Seeing his consultant leaning over slightly, Lin Chen’s thin back and arms had become taut due to the exertion. Xing Conglian swallowed again.

“Yes, she didn’t know!” Lu Xu replied.

“Which room… Which room did you send Xu Ran into?”

“Room 03, on the 11th floor,” Lu Xu replied without hesitation.

“One last question. Where is the private room booked by CA Entertainment today?” Lin Chen said calmly, without giving Lu Xu another chance to speak. “I think you’re very used to taking CA’s business, so I don’t want to hear you say you don’t know where, okay?”

“9th floor! 901!” Lu Xu quickly replied.

Lin Chen nodded as if satisfied. He let go of Lu Xu and walked out of the bathroom without turning back.

Upon seeing this, Xing Conglian walked to where Lin Chen was just standing, took out his phone, and shook it in front of Lu Xu. “I recorded all that just now. Watch your mouth. If anyone knows that we’ve been here, then…” he said as he made a motion of slitting his throat.

After Xing Conglian finished speaking, he heard the sound of the restroom door opening and closing.

He rushed out the door and followed Lin Chen. Lin Chen was walking in front but was obviously staggering, so he rushed up to support him. “What’s wrong with you?” He couldn’t help but ask.

Lin Chen shook his head and said, “I seem to have drunk too much.”

“It’s just half a glass of absinthe,” Xing Conglian said in disbelief.

“What’s the ABV?” Lin Chen asked.

“Uh…” Xing Conglian thought for a while, then replied, “The one you drank just now seemed to be 55%.”

At that moment, Lin Chen’s mind churned up countless curses.

What “just half a glass” and what “only 55% ABV”? 55% already belonged to the category of spirits. Half a glass of that stuff could completely make people intoxicated, which was equivalent to getting locked up until sober and fined for drinking and driving.

Does everyone drink vodka like wine in your country?

Holding back all kinds of nausea and dizziness that were churning up, he said to Xing Conglian, “Let’s go to the 9th floor.”

“We’re already in the elevator, and I have already pressed 9 just now.” Xing Conglian’s voice sounded uneasy around him.

Lin Chen continued to rub his brows and forcibly focus his attention. “That Lily has a problem. She must know something. We’ll go find her later… Wang Chao…”

After he finished shouting, the nervous voice of the teenager sounded from the headset again, as prompted. “A’Chen, I’m here. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.” Lin Chen paused before he continued, “Thoroughly check the identity and background of Miss Lily. Just now, even Lu Xu, who runs the prostitution ring, didn’t know who Xu Ran was going to face. Why did Lily hand over his contact to Xing Conglian after he mentioned Li Jingtian’s name? She should know something. There’s something up here.”

“Oh, oh, okay, A’Chen Gege!” Wang Chao’s voice sounded exceptionally well-behaved.

Soon, with a soft ding, the elevator door opened again.

When he walked out of the elevator, Lin Chen heard Xing Conglian ask with concern, “Can you hold on?”

“I’m fine,” he said.

Although he said he was fine, he felt as if he was stepping on clouds instead of soft carpet. He looked at the room numbers next to him and calculated according to the order of the rooms. Room 901 should be at the end of the long corridor. Lin Chen had never felt that a corridor could become this long.

His head was getting heavier. Through the doors of the private rooms, he felt he could clearly hear many shouts and laughter coming from inside. Some people were singing, and some were screaming. Everything around him seemed to be fragmented like a reflection after the glass shattered.

Fortunately, Xing Conglian was by his side. He tried to guide Lin Chen’s body with his hands.

Just as he was about to walk to the end of the long corridor with great difficulty, suddenly, a nervous call from Wang Chao came through his headset. “Captain, A’Chen, the security system of Royal One seems to have issued an alarm. The alert is aimed at you!”

Lin Chen suddenly sobered up.

“Speak clearly.” Xing Conglian lowered his voice.

“I don’t know. I don’t know for the time being. There are too many blind spots in the surveillance here. I just saw a large number of security guards rushing out of the lounge. Their destination is the 9th floor. Did you threaten Lu Xu just now? He dares to seek death?!”

Wang Chao prattled on.

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian, but the other party just turned his head and said to him, “I just hit him lightly.”

“Lu Xu is more courageous than we thought.”

Standing at the door of Room 901, Lin Chen noticed that his tone had become cold.

Through the thick, frosted glass, he could see some lights and figures coming from his head.

Perhaps Mu Zhuo was inside, and maybe even Li Gaoqiang. Perhaps there were more clues just a door away from them, but now they had no way to get in.

Although they were separated by a door, it was like a gap in the sky.

Lin Chen retracted his gaze and heard Xing Conglian ask Wang Chao, “How’s the surveillance situation?”

“A security guard is going to the 9th floor. Captain, there’s an emergency exit on your left.”

“I know.”

As he spoke, Xing Conglian led Lin Chen into the emergency exit.

As soon as he walked from the bright area into the dim space, his eye had a short period of discomfort. Lin Chen squinted and continued to listen to the unusually calm dialogue between Xing Conglian and Wang Chao.

“You just said there’s no surveillance on the 8th and 9th floors here?”

“Yes.”

“But this building has more than 20 floors. What’s upstairs?”

“It seems to be a hotel upstairs, called the Oho Hotel!” Wang Chao said.

“Is there any surveillance?”

“Let me check it out. Captain, what do you want to do?”

“Just now, Lu Xu said he sent Xu Ran to room 1103, so if I’m not mistaken, there should be close ‘business contacts’ between the hotel rooms upstairs and the clubhouse downstairs…”

“Shit, Captain. Are you saying the upstairs is the prostitution den of the club? Wait, do you want to go upstairs?”

“Open a room for us in the hotel on the 11th floor,” Xing Conglian said decisively.

Lin Chen realized that Xing Conglian had asked him to hold on to the cold iron handrail as he led him up.

“Huh? Captain, are you kidding me? You want to hack the system, so you’ll just hack it. You want to open a room, so you’ll just do it? How can you be so domineering and cool!” Wang Chao’s hands were flying. The more nervous the teenager got, the more talkative he became. Suddenly, the button clacking sounds stopped. Wang Chao said nervously, “I just saw a security guard on the 7th floor walking into the emergency exit. I suspect they will come from downstairs to outflank you, so you have to hurry and get to the 10th floor in 20 seconds.”

Sure enough, before Wang Chao’s voice fell, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed in the emergency exit beneath them.

Lin Chen tried his best to follow Xing Conglian, making his steps as inaudible as possible.

The sound of door panels opening and closing quickly filled the emergency exit on the 9th floor. In the dimness, Lin Chen saw Xing Conglian nod at him, and they started running to the 11th floor.

“Wang Chao!”

The exit was within reach as Xing Conglian shouted.

“I took a look at the 11th floor. Room 5 happens to be empty. Go out from your passage, then turn left. The penultimate room is there. The good news is that although there’s surveillance on the 11th floor, I found it to be false surveillance, which means it won’t pick up anything. I wish you good luck and hope you don’t get caught!”

After Wang Chao finished speaking, he quickly hit the Enter key.

Xing Conglian slammed open the door of the emergency exit.

There was soft carpet under his feet and a long passage in front of him. Lin Chen walked in the corridor with Xing Conglian.”

“The third door. It’s open for you.”

As Wang Chao spoke, the door lock in front of them lightly flashed. With a soft click, Room 1105 opened in response.

Xing Conglian quickly opened the door to the room, and Lin Chen followed in a flash.

The moment the door closed, Xing Conglian stood at the entrance, habitually wanting to turn on the lights.

Wang Chao’s voice sounded again. “Captain! Wait, I suggest you don’t turn on the lights and go quickly to bed…”

In the dim space, Xing Conglian pressed the headset repeatedly, thinking that there was something wrong with his ears. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, Captain, I’m not joking.” Wang Chao’s voice sounded a little awkward. “Didn’t you ask me if there’s surveillance on the 11th floor? It’s fake monitoring, but there are pinhole cameras installed in every room. Shit, well, to be honest, I saw a lot of discord going on in many of the rooms. I suspect the hotel is secretly recording pornographic videos for their guests. Captain, I think I need my eyes stabbed by needles after watching these.”

Xing Conglian was confused. He digested it for a while and then asked a somewhat idiotic question, “So, we also have them in our room?”

“Yes, but it’s pitch black now. If you turn on the lights, you’ll be in trouble!”

At this moment, Xing Conglian heard Lin Chen’s voice. “So what about room 1103? The room of Xu Ran’s incident. Are there any records?” Lin Chen asked.

After Lin Chen entered the room just now, he sat down on the carpet while leaning against the wall. He tried to stand up but obviously failed.

Xing Conglian hurriedly squatted down and helped him sit down again.

Wang Chao obediently checked the records, then replied apologetically, “There should be, but I checked and found that room 1103 doesn’t have any video records since three weeks ago. The video from then was obviously deleted, so…”

“So, our trail is broken again,” Lin Chen whispered.

“These people are really courageous.” Xing Conglian suddenly became alert. There were all kinds of elites and dignitaries at Royal One. In the face of wealthy and powerful people, the club actually dared to secretly record them. Then this wasn’t simple boldness. Obviously, they had other plans for these secretly recorded videos.

Xing Conglian thought of this and found another problem. If Li Jingtian dared to accept a girl from Lu Xu here, it would show that he was comfortable here. In other words, Li Jingtian didn’t know that he was secretly being recorded.

So if he didn’t know that the guest rooms of Royal One would secretly record videos, how could he spend the effort to clear all video files in his room afterwards?

There were obviously more questions that deserved a deeper investigation, but at this moment, they had no way to pry further.

“Wang Chao, you try to gather some ‘evidence’ of their backstage.”

“What evidence, Captain? The opening record or something?”

At this time, Lin Chen spoke. He patiently said to Wang Chao, “He’s asking you to find some sex videos of dignitaries in the background records…” Lin Chen spoke bluntly. He took a breath and continued. “After all, we’re not the local police of Fengchun. Our hands and feet would be tied, and for places like Royal One, it’s very likely they wouldn’t work on non-priority activities. Then, fighting fire with fire is the best way.”

Xing Conglian was a little surprised that Lin Chen was so drunk, yet he could clearly explain his thoughts for him in an organized manner.

“I understand. A’Chen, Captain, what you mean is, take the opportunity to get some videos and post them online. If the local tyrants who patronize here see their ugliness being secretly recorded, they will be furious and will do their best to kill Royal One. This club will definitely be finished in Fengchun by then.”

“You know, so do it quickly,” Xing Conglian said.

He thought things had been thrilling enough, but Wang Chao screamed again.

“Captain, I saw some security guards coming to outflank the parking lot. Fuck me, I’m just the support. Why should I be responsible for pulling agro!”

In this case, Xing Conglian couldn’t criticize Wang Chao. The sound of movements came from the headset.

Wang Chao seemed to have moved to the driver’s seat. The engine sounded, and the teenager’s voice became excited. “I’m going to drive! Go, go, go!”

“He can drive?” Lin Chen asked suspiciously.

“Yes. He has a driver’s license since He was 16 years old.”

“Then why don’t you let him drive the car occasionally.”

“Because his driving… is really bad.” Xing Conglian admitted to Lin Chen.

Sure enough, the sound of a vehicle collision and alarms after the impact sounded.

He could tell from the indistinct engine sound coming from the headset that at this moment, Wang Chao was driving his Jeep at a speed of 100 kilometers an hour on the urban road.

Although it was already late at night and there were relatively few cars on the road, it seemed like it was an exciting night.

Xing Conglian rubbed his temples and wanted to sigh helplessly, but the irritating voice of this brat sounded in his ears again.

Wang Chao’s voice was hoarse, like he had swallowed a hundred cough syrups. “Captain, I forgot to tell you. You have to go to bed and put on a show. Although I opened the door for you, if there’s no one on the bed in the video, those perverts watching the small video screen will definitely become suspicious!”

Hearing this, Xing Conglian finally began to look at the room.

Although the light wasn’t turned on, there was a glimmer of light from the gap in the curtains, which allowed Xing Conglian to roughly see the outline of the room.

In the middle of the room was a round, fun bed. Xing Conglian felt that, judging from the nature of the room, it was likely to be a waterbed.

Above the waterbed, there were two handcuff-like things hanging from the ceiling.

A whip and a fun chair were placed on one side of the room. Xing Conglian dared to imagine that there must be a plethora of sex toys stuffed in the bedside table on the opposite side of the waterbed.

“Consultant Lin, are we going to bed?” He retracted his gaze and asked Lin Chen in a low voice.

Lin Chen was probably drunk. Although it was difficult for Xiang Conglian to see his expression clearly, after hearing him say that, Lin Chen struggled to stand up again by himself. As he leaned against the wall, he said, “Cut the crap and help me up.”

People would say that a person could easily become another person after drinking, but Lin Chen seemed to become a bit violent when he drank.

Xing Conglian thought this, and recalled the scene of Lin Chen beating Lu Xu severely just now. It was rare for him to be a little timid, but he still helped Lin Chen up and brought him to the bed.

Sure enough, the fun bed was indeed a waterbed. When they lay down, occasionally they would roll together.

Xing Conglian drew a thin blanket from the pillow and covered the two of them from head to toe. While Lin Chen was lying next to him, a warm breath came.

Xing Conglian discovered that he hadn’t had experience lying on the same bed with someone else in a long time.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Bu Tian Gang Ch132

Kinky2 Comments

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 132

Otowa continued, “At that time, I hadn’t returned to Japan. In order to find the origin of the stone box, I recruited talented people from all over the world in the name of research. An old man told me that the stone box contained a demon that was sealed in it in ancient times. Because of the balance of heaven and earth, one black and one white, demons can never be killed or destroyed, so there are common people with great abilities who use it to suppress demons with great powers and seal them in stone boxes to prevent catastrophe to maintain the balance.”

Wu Bingtian knew as soon as he heard this that the person who told Otowa this had to be a practitioner who had a deep understanding of the laws of the universe.

The old monk warned Otowa Yasuhiko, who was Asaka Yasuhiko at that time, not to open the stone box. Otherwise, disaster would befall the world, but he obviously didn’t know Otowa’s cold-blooded demonic nature that enjoyed torturing people. Naturally, Otowa wouldn’t listen to such advice, and after hearing what the old monk said, it actually increased his desire to open the box.

“No matter how coercive I was, the old monk refused to help me open the box. In order to prevent the secret from leaking, I had to kill him. There are many dragons and tigers hiding in China and Japan. Eventually I found those who were willing to help me, and it took three years before I finally opened the box.”

Otowa’s breathing became rapid, as if recalling the scene of that year again. He even showed a dreamlike expression, completely ignoring the only audience present.

Wu Bingtian moved his fingers slightly, wondering if he should just violently kill Otowa right now and end everything.

But he quickly found that this idea wouldn’t work because he noticed that there was a very thin red line on the tatami mat between him and Otowa. If he didn’t observe carefully, he would have missed the obvious line.

It was very likely there was an enchantment between him and Otowa, or that the Otowa Yasuhiko in front of him was just a phantom being projected here.

Naturally, Wu Bingtian could choose to launch a sudden attack, but if he failed, he would lose his chance to save the hostage.

In a duel with an old fox like Otowa, a slight mistake would be enough to destroy the entire plan.

Wu Bingtian retracted his gaze from the red line and confronted Otowa. The latter showed him a knowing smile, causing his heart to tremble. It was indeed the correct decision to not act rashly just now.

“So what did you encounter after you opened the box?” Wu Bingtian asked as if nothing had happened.

Otowa said, “At that time, when the box was opened, of all the people present, the two craftsmen and four servants were all swept up by a black qi and fell to the ground. They all died except for me.”

Having said that, an unusual look of excitement appeared on his face.

“Only me. The black qi came to me. Instead of engulfing me, it circled me a few times and finally got into a sword that was in front of me!”

Wu Bingtian said, “And the sword didn’t jump up and kill you?”

Otowa ignored the sarcasm in his tone and seriously answered, “Director Wu, do you think this proves that I’m the legendary person of destiny and the master to receive this demon’s qi? Otherwise, why did everyone that was present die except for me?”

Wu Bingtian also found it strange, but he didn’t show it. He just sneered and said, “Maybe you’re a born demon, and the demonic qi smelled its own kind, so naturally it didn’t kill you.”

Otowa felt that it made sense and nodded. “After thinking about it, I seem to have only this answer. It may be because I killed so many people in China at that time and finally realized that the ultimate happiness in the world isn’t fame or wealth but eternal killing, which fits quite well with the qi in the stone box. That is why it chose me, and I also chose it.”

Wu Bingtian frowned. “Such a sword possessed by demonic qi isn’t an ordinary sword, is it?”

Otowa smiled. “Truly worthy of your title, Director Wu of the Special Administration Bureau. You discovered the key right away. It is indeed not an ordinary sword, but a divine sword that’s unmatched in Japan.”

Wu Bingtian thought for a while, then blurted out, “Kusanagi no Tsurugi*!”

*Legendary Japanese sword and one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan. In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor. It is also allegedly kept in the Atsuta Shrine (where they are now). Due to Shinto traditions, no one is allowed to see the sword.

The Kusanagi no Tsurugi, one of the three artifacts of Japan, also known as the Kusunagi Sword, was obtained from the body of the famous eight-headed snake monster*. It was rumored that it was white all over and was enshrined in Atsuta Shrine for many years. Even the Emperor wasn’t allowed to see it.

*Yamata no Orochi. Legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent.

In the Edo period, a priest recorded its appearance and then suffered a curse, eventually leading to his death. This cast a layer of mystery on the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, but outsiders would never have thought that the sword was actually obtained by Otowa as early as the 1940s and he even used it to refine magic qi.

As a person of Otowa’s background, it was naturally more convenient to do these things than others.

Otowa nodded. “The Kusanagi no Tsurugi is worthy of being a divine weapon. Not only does it absorb all magic qi, but it’s also able to infuse it little by little into my body, allowing me to turn it to my own use. When I was young, I was in a car accident. I suffered from painful aftereffects and developed headaches as a result. Since I slowly merged with the demonic qi, my body has changed quite a bit. Even the headaches had healed without medicine. More than that, even my aging has slowed down. Now, as long as I eat a fresh heart regularly, I can maintain my life and strength. Don’t you think this is amazing?”

Wu Bingtian said, “The Kusanagi no Tsurugi is known as a Japanese artifact and is heavily guarded. Even if you are part of the royal family, they might not be willing to let you take it out so easily and pollute it with the magic qi, no?”

Otowa laughed. “You’re wrong! Where is the Kusanagi no Tsurugi? What kind of artifact is it? Since it came from the body of a demon, naturally, it’s a veritable magic sword. Besides me, who else can control it? If it wasn’t for the demonic qi from the stone box, I wouldn’t have had such an opportunity. How many people in ancient and modern times wanted to obtain the secrets of the Tsurugi Sword but lost their lives. Only me! Only when I was greeted by fate, blending the magic qi in the stone box, and turning into a demon was I qualified to become the master of the Kusanagi no Tsurugi!”

Wu Bingtian said in disdain, “How vain. You have outlived most of your usefulness and are nothing more than an old coot, and your knowledge is short-sighted. The Mara we killed in Southeast Asia is a real demon. You’re just a mouse hiding in the gutters with some demonic qi. What’s there to boast about?”

Otowa didn’t care about Wu Bingtian’s deliberate provocation and said with a sneer, “Mara? That’s just a doppelganger of the Demon King. It’s not the Demon King himself. Just because it was separated from the main body and has a sense of autonomy, it thinks that it’s self-righteous. Songen was also an out-of-control idiot who thought he would become a demon by assisting it. If he had handed over the demonic qi to me, I wouldn’t have delayed for so long. But it’s not too late now since I have a more ambitious goal and I’m already gradually realizing it.”

Wu Bingtian: “The stone tablets.”

Otowa smiled mysteriously. “Yes, the stone tablets. Do you think it’ll be useful for you to work so hard to prevent me from destroying them? In fact, what I told you was just what I wanted to tell you.”

Wu Bingtian’s heart thumped, but his expression remained calm. “Your information about the stone tablets was stolen from China. Do you think we don’t know it? Why bother with such charades?”

Otowa shook his head. “You don’t know, because this is a message I got when I merged with the demonic qi from that stone box.”

Wu Bingtian wanted to wait for him to say the most critical message, but Otowa stopped and refused to continue.

He glanced at Wu Bingtian slyly, as if he could see through the anxiety under his calmness.

“Director Wu, I have two suggestions now. Do you want to hear them?”

Wu Bingtian: “I have been sitting here listening to your nonsense all this time. Do you still have to ask?”

Otowa smiled. “My first suggestion is to switch to my camp. As you know, I’m from a royal family. Even if I change my name now, I still have unlimited wealth and power. In Japan, there is nothing I can’t do. I heard that Director Wu’s favorite thing is to be an official, but how much can the mere title of Deputy Director of the Special Administration Bureau give you?”

Wu Bingtian snorted coldly. “What a joke! Leave China’s Special Administration Bureau and join you to be a lackey?”

Otowa said, “Of course China is vast, but you’re subjected to many restrictions. If you’re in Japan, it’ll be different. I can let you take charge of the priests and onmyojis in Japan, and you’ll receive countless amounts of money and power. When the darkness completely descends into the world and swallows it up with its demonic qi, those who looked down on you in the past and suppressed your position will prostrate at your feet, crying bitterly and begging for your forgiveness.”

Wu Bingtian was suspicious. “When will the darkness fall?”

Otowa smiled. “That you don’t need to know for now.”

Wu Bingtian: “And your second suggestion?”

Otowa: “The second suggestion is you meet the same fate as Dong Zhilan or Ding Lan.”

Wu Bingtian narrowed his eyes. “It seems that Ding Lan really died at your hands.”

Otowa smiled and said, “Do you want to see him?”

He clapped his hands, and the surrounding environment became pitch black, as if he were in a closed room that had all its lights suddenly turned off. Even Otowa disappeared into thin air. Although Wu Bingtian knew the other party was prepared, he couldn’t help but secretly rejoice that he hadn’t acted rashly just now. Otherwise, he would definitely fall into a trap.

A faint light flickered and dimmed, floating in from outside.

Wu Bingtian seemed to feel something, turned his head abruptly, and saw a boy walking slowly with a round white lantern.

That boy had an ordinary face that didn’t match Ding Lan’s at all.

“Didn’t you say you were going to show me Ding Lan? Where is he?” Wu Bingtian said coldly.

“Ding Lan’s heart was eaten by me while his body was refined with magic qi. I’m afraid you won’t be able to see it. The only thing you can see is probably this lantern.” Otowa’s voice came into his mind from an unknown, dark place, as if he were everywhere around him.

“This is his body oil that is used to light this lantern. Director Wu, this is the only memorial left by your colleague in this world.”

If he could hold back when he heard this sentence, then he wasn’t a man, and he couldn’t even call himself a human.

Wu Bingtian felt that he was at least a human. When compared with such a beast as Otowa, he could even be considered a saint.

He didn’t choose to be patient any longer. Suddenly, a gray shadow burst out from his hand. It didn’t jump towards the boy holding the lantern, but at a certain point on his right!

In the darkness, someone seemed to be surprised. Wu Bingtian felt that his whip had indeed hit something, but there was still darkness in front of him. He could only act based on his intuition and couldn’t help but think of Long Shen and Tang Jing, hoping there was progress on their side.

……

At noon, Atsuta Shrine was relatively quiet. Tourists from tour groups either had already made their visit and went to eat or would come later in the afternoon. At this moment, there were more individual tourists or locals. Many people were wearing traditional outfits as they brought the elderly and the young. Long Shen, who was dressed in casual clothing and wearing a backpack, was mixed in. Because of his tall and upright figure, even though he was wearing sunglasses, he still attracted a lot of attention.

After the three of them arrived in Tokyo, they acted separately. Wu Bingtian was in the light, Tang Jing was in the dark, and Long Shen was between the two. He didn’t disguise himself like an old man like Wu Bingtian, but his face was slightly modified to become less handsome, though even then it was still regarded as handsome, nonetheless.

“Sir, are you a photographer?” A young girl couldn’t help but step forward to strike up a conversation.

“I can only be considered an amateur at best.” Long Shen took off his sunglasses and grinned. For people who have met Long Shen before, they would never witness such a sunny and bright photography enthusiast as he was now.

Long Shen showed the girl photos from his camera. The girl exclaimed, “This level is the same as a professional. You’re being too humble!”

If Dong Zhi were here, he would be surprised to hear his master speaking in fluent Japanese almost without having to think about it. The pronunciation was a standard Tokyo accent, and the girl was convinced and regarded him as a native Japanese who often traveled around the world.

Long Shen could have gone in alone, but if a man and woman were traveling together, the goal was always better than traveling alone. The two of them talked as they strolled along. As he was disguised as a photography enthusiast, he picked up on the history of the shrine easily and spoke with eloquence, earning him admiration from the girl.

The two kept talking as they strolled along, all the way into the shrine.

“Sorry, Yoshiko, I have to go to the bathroom. Why don’t you go on ahead?” Long Shen said.

The girl hurriedly replied, “Just go. I’ll stroll around here and wait for you!”

Long Shen nodded and turned to walk to the bathroom.

After entering the bathroom stall, Long Shen locked the door and took out three short incense sticks and a small porcelain bottle from his pocket.

The porcelain bottle contained a talisman stained with Li Ying’s blood. Before they set off that day, Li Ying’s master on Mount Maoshan specially sent it to them. With this, Long Shen could find Li Ying’s location.

As soon as he entered the shrine just now, he keenly felt an aura that was seemingly absent. According to the time, Wu Bingtian and Tang Jing agreed to act on the same day with him, and now they had to act separately. He didn’t know if the fluctuation came from Wu Bingtian or Tang Jing.

Without stopping, Long Shen lit the short incense and inserted it into the porcelain bottle.

The incense curled up, but it folded down in mid-air, as if an invisible hand pinched the smoke and forcibly twisted it in one direction.

Long Shen looked in that direction. The topographic map of the shrine he had seen before appeared in his mind. He immediately found the direction it was referring to.

He pinched the smoke, threw the short incense into the toilet, and flushed it. He then cut his fingers and dripped the blood into the porcelain bottle. After doing all this quickly, he put the porcelain bottle back in his pocket, opened the door, washed his hands, dried them, and walked out of the bathroom without stopping for a moment.

The entire process only took a few minutes. The girl who was wandering outside wasn’t annoyed by the neglect at all. Just when she wanted to invite Long Shen to visit the treasure museum, she heard the other party apologetically say, “I just received a call. A local friend heard that I was here and wanted to see me. I’m afraid we won’t be able to continue anymore.”

The girl was a little disappointed and couldn’t help but say, “If he doesn’t mind…”

Long Shen smiled embarrassedly. “Sorry, it’s a girl.”

The girl immediately understood and forced a smile. “That’s okay. I’ll give you my number. If you want to go somewhere during your stay here these days, I can be your guide, Mr. Tanaka.”

Under the cherry blossom trees, there were a few tourists who occasionally stared at this man and woman. The man was handsome and upright, and the woman was delicate and beautiful. When she spoke, her words were shy and timid. It was inevitable that it was reminiscent of first love.

The truth was far from what others imagined. Of course, the girl had a good impression of Long Shen. However, they met by chance, and Long Shen simply used her as a cover. With someone walking with him as they chat, it would look more natural than him looking around by himself, which made it look less suspicious.

Long Shen bid goodbye to the girl, then hurriedly left under the other party’s disappointed gaze as he walked towards the gate.

He went out the main entrance but turned in another direction and walked around the perimeter of the shrine, turning from the main road to a small path, and finally stopping at a place.

Long Shen took out the small porcelain bottle, and suddenly a wisp of green smoke rose from it. Just like in the bathroom, the smoke broke halfway and pointed forward.

This method of finding people was taught by the school in Mount Maoshan, and it was somewhat like He Yu’s way of looking for his junior brother in Guangzhou.

Long Shen’s gaze fell on the corner of the wall.

Three flowers grew there.

They were wildflowers of an unusual variety that were often seen everywhere. They grew at high altitudes and were resistant to cold and drought, which made them a favorite to use as a decoration on grass. Though it was winter, the sun was warm, and the flowers and trees swayed gently, giving off a leisurely, calm atmosphere.

But this wasn’t the reason why Long Shen was staring at them.

Of the three wildflowers that grew side by side, only the middle one remained motionless in the wind, as if its entire body was firmly clung by an invisible force.

Long Shen suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled out the wildflower in the middle.

He used very little strength, as ordinary wildflowers weren’t difficult to pick. As soon as he picked it, the scene in front of him changed.

The stone wall that was blocking him suddenly gave birth to a door that was trembling slightly, as if it had been visually distorted after being steamed in hot weather. Without hesitation, Long Shen pushed open the door and walked in.

Immediately, after he fully entered the doorway, the stone wall returned to its original state. Except for the missing wildflower, everything else was the same.

Several tourists passed by and stood by the stone wall for a group photo, but they didn’t notice anything unusual.

But Long Shen knew that the door was actually an enchantment, and the wildflower was the key to triggering it. He had now entered the enchantment. He was still in the shrine, but it wasn’t considered part of the shrine. The surrounding area was a space opened by magic, just like the rooftop of the Special Administration Bureau.

However, the rooftop of the Special Administration Bureau was a collection of efforts from several masters and was slightly superior compared to this. There was no rotation of the four seasons, nor was there day and night. Long Shen looked around and saw that the clouds above him hadn’t changed positions since he entered.

The stones and bricks on the ground were neatly arranged, and a path stretched from his feet to the door of a house in front of him.

The light smoke from the porcelain bottle rose intermittently, pointing towards that house.

Long Shen walked slowly along the path, but just as he took his sixth step, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed. The ground beneath his feet had warped into a crater with boiling lava inside, while he was on a suspension bridge that could barely accommodate a person.

All around him was a tumbling sea of fire. Sparks were flying, and the billowing heat was steaming up from the lava below. After a while, his shoes became so hot that they almost melted. The wooden planks were baked at a high temperature, with occasional pieces falling into the molten sea, leaving only a few isolated iron cables on the bridge. Without the wooden planks, each link was at least five or six steps away, making it hard to maintain physical balance, let alone cross the bridge.

A little spark splashed on the back of his hand. The burning pain quickly passed from his skin to his nerves.

Long Shen knew well that all this in front of him wasn’t a simple illusion, but a product of a combination of illusion and reality. Now that Otowa had turned into a demon, he must have mastered the ability to distort space; overlapping the real lava sea of fire with the location here, creating a space where truth and lies could blend, just like the rooftop of the Special Administration Bureau.

If he were an ordinary practitioner, most likely he would think that it was just an ordinary illusion, but if he were to accidentally step on air and fall, he would inevitably fall into real magma, leaving not even bones behind.

Long Shen’s complexion remained the same. As soon as he turned his wrist, he immediately added a long sword to his right hand. The entire body of the sword was dark, but it faintly glowed with white light.

He let go of his hand and let the long sword fall straight towards the magma, but halfway through the fall, the sword suddenly stopped and then made a sharp turn. It flew up instead and landed on Long Shen’s feet. The blade rapidly became bigger and turned into a golden light that directly covered the iron suspension bridge.

Long Shen walked forward. His sword was as stable as a rock, and even the chains on the suspension bridge didn’t shake.

In just a moment, he had already walked the entire length of the bridge, and the surrounding scenery suddenly changed. The courtyard was still a courtyard, and the path was still a path, as if everything was just a dream. Long Shen didn’t hesitate much and opened the door directly on both sides.

In a very ordinary Japanese-style room, Li Ying sat crossed-legged in the middle. There was also a boy beside him, holding a dinner plate, as if to deliver food.

Hearing the movement of the door opening, both of them walked towards it.

Li Ying was overjoyed. “Boss Long!”

The boy was taken aback when he saw the stranger’s face and scolded, “Who are you?! Leave at once!”

Naturally, Long Shen didn’t comply and instead strode towards them.

The boy let out a low growl and rushed towards Long Shen, but halfway through he turned into a white wolf with bloody fangs.

“Boss Long, be careful!”

“How’s the situation now?”

Long Shen asked as he turned his head sideways to avoid the wolf’s fierce pounce. The white wolf moved extremely quickly. As soon as it landed, it turned around and pounced again. Long Shen made a casual move, and the sword light swept in from the outside and flew steadily into his hand. He raised his sword and slashed. Suddenly, the strong wind howled, and the snakes danced wildly. The white wolf was hit by the sword on its waist and abdomen. A deep bone wound appeared instantly, causing it to wail as it pounced at Long Shen again.

Li Ying seemed to be trapped by something. Seeing Long Shen’s arrival, he sat still, but he wasn’t unhindered from speaking. He also knew that Long Shen had limited time, and he didn’t know when Otowa would be alarmed, so he hurriedly briefed him.

“Ding Lan is dead, Yu Buhui’s whereabouts are unknown, and I’m trapped in an enchantment! Otowa is extremely powerful—much more than any human or demon. He seems to have completely turned into a demon and has an arsenal of magic weapons and monsters in his hands. He is a beast. I watched him burn Ding Ge’s body with my own eyes, and he refined it into a lamp with corpse oil—”

Having said this, Li Ying choked for a moment. His eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth, barely able to finish speaking.

“Otowa didn’t kill me because he wanted to use me as bait to lure you over. Boss Long, please leave me. Otowa has placed a ban on me, and he has even more powerful means…”

As soon as he finished speaking, the white wolf was beheaded by Long Shen. Li Ying suddenly disappeared. The messy room seemed to have triggered some mechanism and instantly turned into an overlapping space composed of dozens of mirror images. There was the same room everywhere, and the same Li Ying was trapped in each room.

“Long Shen.”

A voice came from afar, illusory, that sounded old and gloomy.

“You’ve finally come. I’ve been waiting for you. I didn’t think Wu Bingtian would really dare to come alone.”

Long Shen moved slowly in the mirror space, as if he wanted to find the source of the sound.

Seeing this, Otowa smiled. “Don’t waste your energy. I’m not here at all. This space is perfect. You won’t find any flaws. I’d like to see if the famous Director Long is really that powerful!”

Long Shen said, “There’s no absolute perfection in the world. Any formation and space always have a fulcrum.”

Otowa: “I’m afraid your companion will be dead before you find a way out. Your Director Wu has just been caught by me. But don’t worry, I won’t kill those ordinary people so easily, especially you. You’re my rare and precious prey. I’ll refine you into the most powerful weapon in the world.”

Long Shen’s movements weren’t affected by Otowa’s words. He walked slowly in the space, stopping from time to time as if to check on the surrounding movements.

Whether Wu Bingtian was captured or whether Otowa was lying, neither had the slightest effect on Long Shen’s heart.

Through a mirror, Otowa could clearly see his enemy trapped in the mirror space, just like in real-time surveillance. With a smile at the corner of his mouth, he watched like a hunter determined to capture his prey.

“I heard that Long Shen isn’t human,” he said.

“I have also heard this kind of rumor. I also have heard that his true body is the famous Seven Star Longyuan Sword in China.” The person sitting next to Otowa was the familiar Fujikawa Aoi that had gone to Yinchuan to destroy the stone tablet and was later captured. He had lost half his life when he returned to Japan.

The other party’s face was pale, and his figure looked ricketier. No longer was he the cold and majestic person on Changbai Mountain, but he now looked more like an ordinary old man.

But this little old man was once an all-powerful figure in the Japanese practitioner circle.

“The Seven Star Longyuan Sword?” Otowa smiled playfully.

Kinky Thoughts:

Kusanagi no Tsurugi

A legendary Japanese sword and one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (天叢雲剣, “Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds”), but its name was later changed to the more popular Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (“Grass-Cutting Sword”). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor.

—

Yamata no Orochi

A legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent.

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Criminal Psychology Ch127

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Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 127

All in all, things went smoothly.

The security guards successfully found the membership card to their club among the pile of cards taken out by Xing Conglian. It was a golden card that matched the style of Royal One.

At first, the security guards were a little hesitant because there were no markings on the card, making it hard to identify. Then, one of them took out the card reader and scanned it.

“Welcome, distinguished Super VIP member.”

The card reader recited in a very doggy, mechanical tone.

In an instant, the drop of a pin could be heard in the hall. The young masters and princesses looked at Xing Conglian as if he were a gold mine.

The stunned security guard came back to his senses as exclamations sounded in the hall.

Xing Conglian acted as if nothing had happened, like taking out a bunch of top membership cards for the elite clubs was as casual as paying bills in a supermarket.

He still acted like a dandy and ordered two beautiful “princesses” in the hall, including, of course, the pure and lovely Miss Lily.

Although the two charming young ladies pestered Xing Conglian to go to the private room, Xing Conglian didn’t have the slightest pity for jade*. He smacked his mouth and said impatiently, “Why are you talking so much nonsense? Like I said, take me to where it’s lively.”

*(怜香惜玉) Idiom referring to being tender towards women.

He dragged his tone and spoke languidly.

Finally, due to Xing Conglian’s perfect acting skills, they sat down in the luxurious hall of Royal One. When they arrived at this place, Lin Chen was at a loss for words.

Surrounded by bright purple lights and misty smoke, various changing spotlights dye the huge space with strange colors. On the stage was a blood-tingling erotic dancer. The floor under their feet trembled as laughter and sounds of kissing could be heard mixed among the explosive dance music, which was so loud it made their internal organs tremble.

It wasn’t a pleasant experience. In fact, Lin Chen admitted that he relied on his imagination for the laughter and kisses around him. The sound of the music was so deafening that he couldn’t hear what was being said near him, and because the surrounding lights were too dim, he couldn’t see Xing Conglian’s face clearly.

Of course, this was also because Miss Lily, whose tutu was so short that it didn’t cover half her thigh when she sat down, was squeezed between him and Xing Conglian. Miss Lily stuck to Xing Conglian as if she were an extension of his body.

Sure enough, the treatment of distinguished Super VIPs was indeed different.

Lin Chen raised the iced water that the waiter had just brought over, took a sip, and then realized what kind of drink it really was; a highly alcoholic drink.

He put down the glass and rubbed the space between his brows.

Xing Conglian finally made room. He took out his noble membership card from his shirt’s front pocket and threw it on the table. He said to the two girls around him, “Go get some drinks.”

Anyone with common sense in a nightclub knew that the majority of income for hostesses depended on the corkage fee. With Xing Conglian’s lax attitude, it seemed he didn’t care at all about how expensive the drinks were, so they could order as much and as expensive as they wanted.

The two girls were so happy that they jumped up abruptly and grabbed the card as if they were grabbing diamonds. They ran out, but didn’t forget to look back and blew a kiss at Xing Conglian, but Master Xing remained impatient. He leaned on the leather sofa and glanced at the two of them, causing the two girls to take a half step back with great interest before happily running away.

“Where did you get so many cards?”

Seeing the girls run away, Lin Chen stroked the rim of the cup, feeling a little dizzy.

However, the person who answered his question wasn’t Xing Conglian, but Wang Chao through the headset. “A’Chen Gege, don’t you see the nature of our captain?”

“Well… I have some understanding,” Lin Chen replied with a low smile.

“Cut the crap. Did you find that Li Gaoqiang?”

Apparently, Xing Conglian also heard Wang Chao’s words. Within a second, his tone changed back to the serious and calm tone of a police officer. However, after he reprimanded his little subordinate, Xing Conglian said to him in a gentle and joking tone, “It’s all necessary stuff to handle cases.”

“Oh?”

“A’Chen Gege, don’t believe it. Let me tell you, the maintenance box in the trunk of the Captain’s car is full of all kinds of things covered in gold. You have to look through it when you have time!”

“Wang Chao…” Xing Conglian’s tone was sluggish. “The limited edition of Magneto’s helmet is gone.”

“No!!!” The headset exploded with the teenager’s scream. “No way!!!”

The teenager’s scream was so miserable that Lin Chen couldn’t help rubbing his ears.

“Where is Li Gaoqiang?” Xing Conglian asked again.

“He hasn’t swiped his card yet, so I don’t know what room they are in. Moreover, there’s a problem with the surveillance layout of this club. There are many blind spots. The surveillance on the 9th and 10th floors isn’t turned on at all. So, you’ll have to rely on yourself, muah.”

After Wang Chao finished speaking, he simply shut up.

“Trunk?” Lin Chen recalled the clues that Comrade Xiao Wang had provided earlier.

Xing Conglian coughed dryly and said, “Just let go of unimportant things.”

When he finished speaking, the girls that he had sent away came back. They reluctantly returned the valuable membership card to Xing Conglian.

Afterwards, the waiters brought over two trays of drinks, which were all foreign wines. The bottles looked expensive, but there weren’t that many, so the bill shouldn’t be too high.

Indeed, a big boss like Xing Conglian made even a hostess who was used to seeing all types of people yearn for him, so they weren’t willing to go too far all at once and possibly cut off future contact.

People were like this. When the temptation was great enough, everything could be changed.

The waiter wanted to open the red wine and brought over the decanter. Xing Conglian waved to him and asked the waiter to take it away. He opened the bottle himself and took two sips from the opening. It looked like he was drinking a five yen bottle of beer on the street, and he definitely didn’t think there was any difference between the two.

“Do you have any exciting things here?” Xing Conglian put down the wine bottle and asked the girl next to him.

The girls looked at each other, as if they thought rich people were too straightforward, and were eager to talk.

“I’m here to have fun, but I’m not having fun,” Xing Conglian said with a smile, but his eyes remained indifferent. Under the enchanting light, there was a hint of cruelty and bloodthirstiness, just like a rich man who pursued the ultimate cruelty and lust.

Lin Chen picked up the glass of alcoholic drink that looked like ice water and watched the young master perform.

“Aren’t we fun?” Lily and the other girl spoke tentatively.

Xing Conglian glanced up and down at the two girls with a smile on his lips. “How much for one night?”

“Five… Five thousand…”

“Your life is only five thousand?” After he finished speaking, he picked up another bottle of wine and took a sip, then put it down again. He said to the two girls, “Let’s go. I may be a little heavy-handed, but don’t worry. I can usually save your life.”

The two girls were so scared by what he said that they couldn’t control the expressions on their faces. Their entire body language indicated that they wanted to stay as far away from this gold master as possible.

Lin Chen thought this was really interesting. He never knew that Xing Conglian’s acting skills were so good.

“Sir, we don’t provide that kind of service you need here,” Lily said to Xing Conglian with a smile on her face.

“Oh.” Xing Conglian seemed less interested, as expected.

He then took out a stack of things from his pocket and slammed them on the table. Lin Chen looked around and found it was a stack of fixed checks, each with a face value of 10,000 yuan.

Lin Chen couldn’t help but take another sip of his drink to suppress his shock. He even felt that he would have a psychological scar on Xing Conglian taking things out in the future.

However, the man who was immersed in acting didn’t feel there was anything wrong with taking out a checkbook casually. He leaned on the table and said lazily, “Okay, tell me where to go to have fun, and the rest of the checks are yours. My patience is very limited.”

He moved quickly, and after speaking, he really started to tear off the checks one by one and stuff them back into his pocket. After a while, the checkbook on the table was one-third less.

The two girls watched the checks fly away, both longing and shrinking, but more so expressing their distress for the checkbook that was slipping away through their fingers.

Xing Conglian sighed and stopped suddenly. “I have a friend who said that your place is very good. He’s a little star.” He picked up the wine bottle on the table and took a few swigs, then stared at Miss Lily.

Miss Lily’s eyes fluttered, and she looked at half the checks on the table. Finally, she swallowed and said, “You—if you’re his friend, you should know.”

“A little star like Li Jingtian isn’t worthy of talking to me,” Xing Conglian said indifferently.

Lily’s face changed. When she heard Xing Conglian directly say the name, the girl changed from anxiety to nervousness. She looked around, covered her mouth, and looked at Xing Conglian in disbelief. Her entire body was completely frozen, like a sculpture.

After a long while, Xing Conglian started tearing up the checks again. Lily shuddered and said, “I—you… Let me ask for you.”

As she spoke, she took out her phone and sent two WeChat messages. After a while, the response over there seemed pretty good. The girl smiled as she showed Xing Conglian a number and said, “This is Lu Ge’s number. You can just call him.”

Xing Conglian glanced at the number, nodded, and got up and left, leaving the checkbook on the table.

……

Walking out of the door, Xing Conglian quickly reported a series of numbers in an empty space. “1893706XXXX.”

Lin Chen nodded, indicating that he remembered.

“Received!” The teenager, who had been listening to the entire scene, also reacted quickly.

Xing Conglian reeked of alcohol. He looked around and walked straight to the bathroom.

“Is the Captain pretending again?”

Lin Chen followed behind him, listening to Wang Chao’s question.

“Well, the young master probably spent about half a million just now,” Lin Chen replied.

“Shit, that’s a lot of money, Captain. Why don’t you buy me Magneto’s helmet!” Wang Chao shouted.

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian with a smile.Xing Conglian slowed down and said to him with a sore face, “It’s just a prop. A prop. They cost five yuan, and you can buy them on Taobao. They can’t be reimbursed, making them especially troublesome.”

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Evil As Humans Ch66

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Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 66: Opening

Kong Wanqing looked at the information in his hand blankly.

This was already his 20th year of joining Sunken Society—as a member of the Kong family, he entered Sunken Society at 19. Nowadays, he didn’t need to get involved in too many troublesome cases.

Truthfully speaking, Kong Wanqing’s talent wasn’t top-notch, but he acted cautiously. The Kong family was old and held many unique ghost-fighting spells, which made Kong Wanqing even more famous.

He mostly served as auxiliary support for live human experiments with Evil Force. Compared to other easily exposed positions, this job was quite easy.

Or so it should be.

Who would have thought that he first failed to recruit a newcomer surnamed Yin, and then was overturned in the Feng Qi case? There were very few high-quality ghosts on hand, and he urgently needed to replenish.

Now, Sunken Society had given him the opportunity to “pick” a ghost himself but also given him corresponding requirements.

“Just the day before yesterday, Shian transferred Guo Laifu to the municipal hospital. Yesterday, I sensed the opening of the Archive,” the person sitting in the office chair said. “Guo Laifu isn’t an important person, so most likely they’ll send Unit 9 from the Special Investigation team to investigate.”

After all, Shian, like them, was particularly interested in the two newcomers. There was no place that exposed human nature more easily than the “Archive”. This arrangement was easy to guess.

Unfortunately, Fu Xingchuan believed too much in the security of the “Archive”—no, rather, someone deliberately gave Shian such an illusion.

“This is information about the targets in Unit 9. One of them is the biological son of Wei Huaxian and Kong Miao, and the other is one of the people involved in the breaking of the Evil Spirit seal. Your task is simple. Persuade them or get rid of them.”

On the profile were two young and handsome faces.

“Wei Huaxian and Auntie Kong’s son?” Isn’t that your…” Kong Wanqing sat on the sofa, frowning.

Opposite of him, the head of  Sunken Society of the Haigu branch— was Wei Huaqian.

Wei Huaqian and Wei Huaxian were brothers. They weren’t born into an aristocratic family but had extremely high talents as spirit smiths. Compared with Wei Huaxian, the elder brother who was crazy about human products, Wei Huaqian was more cruel and calm.

28 years ago, Wei Huaxian and Kong Miao were both arrested and executed soon after, while Wei Huaqian slowly climbed up Sunken Society. Now that he was in his early fifties, he controlled Sunken Society in Haigu, which rivaled that of Shian.

It was no secret that Wei Huaxian and Kong Miao had a son. The baby back then was adopted by a pair of police officers. As he slowly grew up, he became Kong Wanqing’s target on paper.

Unfortunately, though both of Zhong Chengshuo’s parents were crazy metaphysical geniuses, he himself had no talent. Wei Huaqian had taken an interest in Zhong Chengshuo when he was young but had quickly lost it.

Now this person had entered Shian and had repeatedly appeared in front of Sunken Society as a science post, encountering incidents related to Evil Force time and time again.

There weren’t so many coincidences in the world of the metaphysics.

“My nephew, your cousin,” Wei Huaqian said lightly. “Is there any problem?”

“It’s okay to persuade, but getting rid of is a bit—” Kong Wanqing hesitated.

In the metaphysical world, “flesh and blood of blood relatives” had various mystical uses. If Zhong Chengshuo were to die in the Archive, there would be no bones left, so they wouldn’t have the chance to recycle his body.

“He chose to be loyal to Shian. Sooner or later, he’ll become a problem to us.” Wei Huaqian nodded. “There’s also Yin Ren. A month has passed, and Shian hasn’t given him any special treatment. That guy is either a dumbass or a hidden master.”

Kong Wanqing: “I see… Uh, one more thing. According to Shian’s rules, it’s impossible for only the two of them to enter the ‘Archive’. What about the rest?”

“Kill. Can’t you do it?” Wei Huaqian replied naturally. “Keep your hands clean, and don’t leave too many clues.”

Kong Wanqing’s facial muscles twitched. In the end, he remained silent and just nodded as he lifted the bag by the sofa—Wei Huaqian didn’t like procrastinating and waiting. When he knew the content of the task, Kong Wanqing had already packed his luggage in advance.

Wei Huaqian opened the drawer and threw him a 5-meter-long red rope and let him wrap it around his wrist.

The red rope was full of Evil Force. Kong Wanqing’s brain began to buzz after only a brief contact. He did his best to endure without saying a word.

After Kong Wanqing wrapped the red rope around, Wei Huaqian ordered him to take seven sheets of A4 printing paper, overlap them on the wooden floor, and then step on them.

By this time, Kong Wanqing was already dizzy. He didn’t dare open his mouth for fear that he would puke.

Ignoring his blue face, Wei Huaqian opened the refrigerator, cruised around in the cold air, and took out a tube of cold blood.

Guo Laifu’s blood sample.

Seeing the pus and blood flowing from Kong Wanqing’s nostrils, Wei Huaqian snorted and took out a glass dipping pen engraved with runes. He leaned down, dipped it in Guo Laifu’s blood, traced around Kong Wanqing’s feet, and drew countless obscure patterns on the printing paper.

The moment the nib of the pen left the paper, the printing paper turned into a smooth white swamp.

The blood-drawn patterns gradually distorted. Kong Wanqing dizzily sank down with dilating pupils.

The paper gradually submerged his waist, chin, and the top of his head. Within half a minute, Kong Wanqing and his luggage disappeared from the room without a trace.

Wei Huaqian didn’t remain idle. He took out four nails and nailed them to the place where Kong Wanqing disappeared. He then pulled out a few meters of long red rope of Evil Force and wrapped it around the nails a few times, creating a square “rope circle”.

Finally, Wei Huaqian poured Guo Laifu’s remaining blood on the rope circle. As the blood spread, the rope quickly changed from bright red to dark red.

The special ability of the Charon branch—”Activity Archive”.

Wei Huaqian couldn’t send living things directly to the “other side”, but he could send people to a place close to the Archive after specifying the target’s brain. If Shian’s door happened to be open and the target’s brain was the same, he could create a “back door”.

What a pity he couldn’t snatch Bai Yongji and make good use of him. His abilities still had room for improvement, Wei Huaqian thought coldly. Anyway, Bai Yongji had no loyalty to them, so he didn’t particularly feel distressed about it.

However, it was regrettable that he failed to seize that opportunity.

To some extent, the accident in the Bai Yongji case also involved Unit 9’s intervention.

Wei Huaqian sighed.

“Is this a good or an evil fate?” He took out Zhong Chengshuo’s information and casually looked at it with his dull, black eyes.

……

At this moment, those similar eyes in Zhong Chengshuo were lifeless.

He and Yin Ren were pushing a shopping cart and standing in the largest shopping market in Haigu.

Yin Ren was extremely dissatisfied with eating compressed food for 7 consecutive days. He immediately said that he would bring more luggage and get some other food—Lu Xiaohe couldn’t argue with him, so she had to relent.

“Personal belongings in up to one suitcase,” she warned them with a half-smile. “If you lose your things, Shian won’t reimburse you!”

So on the last weekend before entering the Archive, Yin Ren rushed to the largest supermarket in Haigu for a shopping trip. This was a dangerous mission, yet this person was making it look like travel preparation.

The goals of the two were too far apart. They separated as soon as they entered the supermarket.

Zhong Chengshuo picked out a simple pajama set and a set of disposable toiletries, some refreshing coffee, and chewing gum. They were so poorly spread out at the bottom of the shopping cart that they wouldn’t even fill a small bag. As for tools such as a Swiss army knife, he had two at home and didn’t need to buy them specially.

Great King Yama ended the battle in ten minutes and began to wander aimlessly around while pushing the shopping cart.

He made an appointment with Yin Ren to meet him at the exit after an hour, and he still had 50 minutes left. Zhong Chengshuo pushed the cart and slowly passed through the colorful cargo of shelves. If color had sound, it would be extremely noisy in his ear right now.

…Speaking of which, this was the first time he had come to such a lively supermarket to shop.

When Yin Ren didn’t live with him, Zhong Chengshuo would only shop for some necessities online and at most go to the supermarket near the community to buy emergency supplies.

What was life like at that time? It was only a little over a month ago, but he seemed to have trouble remembering.

Zhong Chengshuo stopped in front of the candy shelf. He stared at the exaggerated smiling faces on the chocolate chip packaging.

He looked at it solemnly for a long time, then stretched out his hand and threw two bags into the shopping cart. Realizing that the dazzling smile was transferred into his shopping cart, Zhong Chengshuo woke up like from a dream and wanted to remove them.

He just needed to “like” Yin Ren and didn’t need to do such superfluous things.

As a result, looking at those two extraordinarily bright smiles, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

‘Forget it,’ he thought. It was just feeding chocolate chips to some unknown evil being. The world probably wouldn’t be destroyed as a result… Everything was still under his control. Nothing had changed.

Zhong Chengshuo covered the chocolate chips with his pajamas as he solemnly concluded.

More than a dozen shelves away.

Yin Ren’s shopping cart was packed to the brim.

In order to ensure maximum space utilization, he didn’t buy any puffed food and only bought “dry goods” such as dried meat, preserved fruits, chicken feet, and duck necks. He was planning to sweep the candy section, but he was drawn away by a daily necessities shelf.

[Waterless cleansing wipes, specially for business trips, to give you a refreshing and clean day!]

This thing looked like a new product, as the supermarket had specially prepared shelves and signs for it. The packaging of the cleansing wipes was upright, and the design was fresh and clean, exuding a very soft and pleasant scent.

Lord Ghost King could clean himself, so naturally he didn’t need this, but…

Yin Ren looked at the mint flavor on the left and then at the aloe flavor on the right. He couldn’t help taking two steps forward and sniffing them carefully.

It smelled really good and was especially suitable for someone.

For Zhong Chengshuo, not taking a shower for a few days was probably worse than killing him. If this thing was really useful, maybe Zhong Chengshuo could use it to wipe his body…

Thinking of the scar examination that night, Yin Ren’s fingertips shrank.

He was inexplicably sad because he didn’t like to imagine the pup being injured.

Zhong Chengshuo was very healthy now, and there seemed to be no sequelae. “King Yama” of the Nightwalkers was at his peak, no longer a fragile child, so there wouldn’t be any more problems.

He decided to care for this person openly and honestly, and emotions were a by-product of “caring”.

Yin Ren shook his head solemnly and continued reading the advertisement on the stand, trying to figure out a specific someone’s preference.

He didn’t know which smell Zhong Chengshuo would prefer.

He personally preferred the refreshing smell of aloe vera, but mint seemed more in line with that guy’s temperament… When Zhong Chengshuo became distressed because he couldn’t bathe, he would bring this thing out. Thinking of such a scene, he would look like a man full of confidence and in control.

Yin Ren raised the corner of his mouth. He reluctantly pulled out a few packs of pickled pork rinds and put four packs of waterless cleansing wipes into the shopping cart.

Very good. All was according to plan.

Lord Ghost King curled his hair in satisfaction as he pushed away the shopping cart with his head held high.

……

On Monday, Guo Laifu’s “Archive” officially opened.

A total of four people from Unit 9: Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo, as well as temporary members Ge Tingting and Huang Jin—entered the Archive and were expected to leave at 18:00 on Friday. Lu Xiaohe, as the rear commander, was responsible for the whole process of communication. If they fail to leave the Archive before 12:00 on Sunday, a Class A Investigation Team would go in and rescue them.

This was supposed to be a serious operation, but as soon as Lu Xiaohe greeted her four colleagues in the office, her head started to hurt.

“What are you doing?” she asked in confusion.

Although there was no dress code and there was a luggage “consignment” quota, of these four people, only Ge Tingting was normal.

The girl was wearing a Shian cultural shirt with knee-length trousers that were easy to move in. Her shoulder-length hair was tied in a small braid at the back of her head, and she carried a simple and sturdy backpack with basic daily necessities neatly packed in it. She was holding a phone for communication in her arms with a serious expression and some eagerness.

The remaining three men had their own… peculiarities.

Huang Jin carried the equipment of a spirit smith. If he wasn’t carrying the guitar, he would look quite normal.

Zhong Chengshuo smelled like he was marinated in shower gel, and his skin still had a pink color from excessive washing. He was dressed like he was going on a wild adventure into the wilderness. He had a short knife, flashlight, and compass hanging from his waist. In addition to the neatly packed mountaineering backpack, he also carried two neatly arranged duffel bags.

In one of the duffle bags, the outline of disinfectant was clearly protruding, and there was a plush ball from a nightcap exposed from the little mouth of the bag.

Unlike the suspected camper, Yin Ren was equally opposite, as he looked completely unprepared.

This guy was the most excessive. He only brought a change of clothes and very little cleaning supplies. The rest of his luggage space was given to various foods and his tablet. He was wearing a t-shirt that had the words “Most Troublesome”. She didn’t know where he picked this up from.

Lu Xiaohe subconsciously crossed her arms and blocked the writing on her shirt.

“Huang Jin, leave your guitar for me. Zhong Chengshuo, your compass is useless in people’s minds, and there’s no need to bring disinfectant… Yin Ren, are you sure you want to bring so much food? In case things change, they will not come in handy.”

Yin Ren replied solemnly, “I’m sure.”

Ge Tingting stared at the subtitles on the phone screen. Seeing as she hadn’t been named, the reliable young girl raised her head proudly.

Lu Xiaohe looked at her team members with melancholy and silently gave Ge Tingting a hug.

“Inside the Archive, people’s metabolisms are much slower than outside. In theory, you can survive for a long time without eating or drinking, but in order to ensure you have plenty of energy, Shian has prepared a suitable amount of food, water, and water-collection equipment,” Lu Xiaohe numbly explained.

“When you enter the Archive, you must never act separately for more than an hour. Do not eat or drink anything inside. The most important thing is that you should try to get enough sleep and make sure you’re clear-headed.”

“There may be some terrifying scenes in Guo Laifu’s Archive, and even monsters will appear, but remember, those are all things in his mind, not real evil things or people. In theory, you won’t be in danger. I’ll follow up and contact you throughout the process, so there’s no need to worry.”

“This girl is too young.” Huang Jin reluctantly put down the guitar and pointed to Ge Tingting. “It’s not good to take her in.”

Suddenly, in his vision, Ge Tingting’s body flew over showing the text: [In terms of qualification, I’m your senior and I will be 16 soon.]

“You see. She’s not even 16 yet.” Huang Jin continued faintly. “Give up. I’m not calling you senior.”

Ge Tingting: “?!”

She pointed to Huang Jin in shock and then to the text translated on the screen. She then looked at Lu Xiaohe helplessly with her eyes.

Lu Xiaohe rubbed her temples. “Ge Tingting and Huang Jin both have special abilities and are naturally resistant to human influence… As for personal safety, there’s no need to worry.”

She took out four wristbands and narrowed her eyes at Zhong Chengshuo and Yin Ren.

“You have to wear this.”

Zhong Chengshuo frowned. “What’s this?”

“It’s used for tracking and to monitor your physical condition.” Lu Xiaohe clapped her hands without explaining much. “Okay, ready to go?”

Five minutes later, the elevator stopped on the familiar medical examination floor.

Sure enough, it was the black door during the entry exam. It was moved to the opposite side of the elevator door, but it was still closed tightly.

As on the day of the entry examination, the black door exuded a strong attraction, pulling Yin Ren’s attention like a whirlpool. Zhong Chengshuo and Ge Tingting looked confused. Only Huang Jin looked in the direction of the black door, not knowing what he was seeing.

Who would have thought that Shian was so unethical that they would use a Class A level anomaly as a test for newcomers? If he had opened the black door on the day of the entry exam… according to the information of the “Archive”, he would probably crash into a dark, one-square-meter room and get a bad review for “dying”.

Now too, it was better to pretend that he didn’t see anything.

Yin Ren turned his gaze away speechlessly and looked at the staff not far away. Lu Xiaohe was already on standby in front of the equipment, so it was Fang Yuanyuan who came to send them off.

The woman smiled sweetly as she held a syringe in her hand. The syringe contained half a tube of light-yellow liquid; most likely Guo Laifu’s cerebrospinal fluid.

“Not bad. Not long after you joined, you have such results.” She glanced at Ge Tingting and Huang Jin meaningfully. “Unit 9 sure is efficient, managing to grab new teammates when you go out and solve cases.”

As she spoke, she quickly walked to the front of the black door.

Fang Yuanyuan didn’t seem to be able to see the black door clearly—she fumbled on the door for a while and finally found the position of the keyhole. She inserted the syringe into the keyhole and quickly injected the cerebrospinal fluid into it.

There was a strange twisting sound from behind the black door, like someone was desperately squeezing something into a pulp. The sticky, distorted sound became clearer, and the color of the black door became deeper, almost turning into a rectangle-shaped black hole.

Yin Ren had to exert a lot of self-control in order to not look at it.

“Click.”

The author has something to say:

I feel that everyone may have forgotten Kong Wanqing. Let’s review the past—this is the unlucky guy who tried to poach Yin Ren in Feng Qi’s case and had his 10 ghosts killed by King Yama. (?

——————

Xiao Zhong: I like him, but everything is under control……

Xiao Yin: I care about him very, very much (even feeling a bit distressed), but this is all part of my wise plan!

……Perhaps this is the self-confidence of a fool in love!

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Evil As Humans Ch65

Kinky6 Comments

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 65: Take To Heart

Ping’an Manor itself was deserted, but the surrounding night market was always lively.

Especially in the summer, many people wouldn’t bother to go home and instead stop by and buy a snack with a cold beer, which could relieve the heat and fatigue of the day. On this day, it included two employees from Shian.

“Didn’t you want to eat coconut chicken tonight?” Yin Ren held his breath.

Zhong Chengshuo walked away from the vegetable market to the food stalls with eyes sweeping around, as if he were looking for something.

“Hm, but I suddenly want a serving of shredded chicken with cold noodles,” he replied.

‘Suddenly wanting to eat cold noodles, my ass.’ Yin Ren was expressionless.

If it were the same before, he would drag Zhong Chengshuo to the cold noodle stall and watch with a smile to see how this person would react, but after being confessed to and rejected by this kid, Yin Ren was sure if his mentality had undergone a subtle change.

Half of it was the guilt in his answer—he didn’t really think much when he said, “Give it a try”.

The life of an evil being was quite long. Even if Yin Ren had never entered society, with more than 300 years of experience, he knew enough to be considerate to a mortal until their 100th year. It was like teasing a puppy or kitten—he could also get some novel pleasure along the way.

The “King Yama” in this world was just more cautious but quite cute.

…At least he originally thought so.

When using this face, it wasn’t like Yin Ren didn’t consider the possibility of being liked by humans. He had memorized <***> and even considered the development of “falling in love with people”.

However, Zhong Chengshuo’s incredible action of confessing first and then rejecting came as a complete surprise to him.

What’s up with this? Isn’t Zhong Chengshuo quite slow? How could he be so blindly sharp in areas he shouldn’t be in?

Yin Ren glanced faintly at the food stall, and for the first time, he had no appetite.

As for the remaining half of his mentality, Yin Ren himself couldn’t say, but he was pretty sure it was mixed with a lot of inexplicable desire for attention and a wonderful desire for winning and losing.

For example, at this moment, out of some kind of unclear psychology, he didn’t want it to be discovered that his partner was jokingly called “wife”.

However, if he obstructed Zhong Chengshuo from buying cold noodles again, it would be too obvious that he was trying to cover something up. As they approached the end of the food stall street, Yin Ren’s steps became heavier.

Just as Zhong Chengshuo turned his gaze towards the cold noodles uncle and the sound of funeral music rang out in Yin Ren’s heart, his phone rang.

“Hello?” Zhong Chengshuo stopped. “…Huh? I haven’t eaten yet.”

He took the phone away from his ear and turned to Yin Ren. “Sun Qi’an said she wants to treat us to dinner. Want to go?”

Thanking Ms. Sun, Yin Ren’s spirit was instantly refreshed. “Go, of course.”

Sun Qi’an picked a delicious local chicken restaurant. She wasn’t dressed as formally as she had a while ago and simply wore a t-shirt. Her long, wavy hair was tied into a loose bun.

“I heard you two have done a lot.” Sun Qi’an drank a sip of cold beer happily. “This is a thank you for ridding society of harm and a little selfishness of mine.”

She gently tapped her chopsticks on the table.

“Let’s not talk about keeping me away from perverts. After Bai Yongji’s incident, my family will never urge me to go on a blind date again. Now, whenever dad goes home, he won’t even mention a single word about it—I know you guys were mainly behind this. I heard it from someone when I was making my statements.”

“We just handed in the reports. The main contributor is the police.”

Yin Ren curved his eyes and pushed the topic aside.

“Ms. Sun, are you okay? After all, you had a lot of communication with Bai Yongji.”

“I’m fine. To be honest, I thought he was a good friend before. I’m good now. In a few days, there will be a lot of reports on the case of this ‘friend’.” Sun Qi’an sighed. “It seems that my psychological counseling is so half-assed that I didn’t see anything wrong with him.”

“Thinking about it now, when he looked at Xiao Zhong’s with shining eyes, it was quite scary.”

Yin Ren paused his chopsticks. “Looking at Zhong Ge’s with shining eyes?”

Bai Yongji preferred people who had “suffered a major blow” but were “positive”. In a sense, Zhong Chengshuo could be said to be positive in a weird way… but did he suffer a major blow?

“…Well, he heard that Xiao Zhong wanted to talk to me about some psychological problems, but he didn’t ask any more questions.” Sun Qi’an didn’t notice Yin Ren’s wandering thoughts. “Haa, I could have been wrong.”

In the steaming heat of the chicken soup, she looked a little melancholy.

“Bai Yongji probably investigated us and found out that I was adopted.” Zhong Chengshuo chucked a piece of potato into his mouth and spoke in a flat tone. “For him, it could be a major blow to be ‘abandoned by your biological parents’.”

“That makes sense.” Regarding the matter of “Zhong Chengshuo being adopted”, as the daughter of Officer Sun, Sun Qi’an was aware of it.

The uninformed Yin Ren: “?”

Lord Ghost King was shocked—looking at the attitude of the two elders of the Zhong family, there was no doubt that Zhong Chengshuo was their son. Although they had been partners for over a month, Shian hadn’t given him any information in this regard.

But even Sun Qi’an knew about this, so it must not be an earth-shattering secret.

But he didn’t know.

Yin Ren lowered his eyes and stuffed a piece of chicken into his mouth. The topic at the dinner table had moved to the analysis of Bai Yongji’s criminal behavior, so he couldn’t join in.

He just smiled and ate the delicious chicken while giving Zhong Chengshuo a sideways glance from time to time.

After thinking about it carefully, his partner was wrapped up in a lot of mysteries.

How could such a dangerous tool like the “Evil Fruit” come into Zhong Chengshuo’s hands? Wasn’t he a “good young man” raised by his police parents? Why did he join the Nightwalkers and become King Yama but now join Shian without telling them?

…And that huge scar.

He had only thought about the useful handle of “King Yama” before. He just needed to hang on to his human and never thought about other problems more deeply.

Indeed, he had never seriously understood Zhong Chengshuo as a person.

“Xiao Yin, Xiao Yin?” Sun Qi’an waved her hands in front of him. “You’re drinking from an empty can. Are you okay? Do you want another drink?”

“…” Yin Ren silently put down the empty Coke can in his hand. “I was distracted just now, sorry.”

“Ah, sorry. We talked for so late.” Sun Qi’an glanced at the time. “You guys have work tomorrow, so I don’t want to keep you all night.”

Zhong Chengshuo stood up politely. He was just about to speak when Yin Ren grabbed his arm—Lord Ghost King stood up in a dignified manner, and a smile slowly appeared on his face.

“There’s no need to be sorry. I have benefited a lot,” Yin Ren said sincerely. “Ms. Sun helped me out a ton.”

Although Zhong Chengshuo didn’t need to do anything extra, he already understood that “doing nothing” wasn’t Yin Ren’s style.

Sun Qi’an: “?” She didn’t seem to say anything beneficial. Could it be that Yin Ren was studying criminal psychology?

“Let’s go, Zhong Ge. We’ll get some cold noodles together tomorrow.” Yin Ren leaned over to Zhong Chengshuo’s ear and whispered, “I’m sorry. I made a joke with the owner of the cold noodles stand before and said you were my wife.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s facial muscles twitched as he looked at Yin Ren speechlessly.

Yin Ren stared at Zhong Chengshuo’s ears, which were quite white and were in the process of being dyed red. It was so dazzling that he couldn’t help but want to poke it.

Lord Ghost King snorted triumphantly and the discomfort in his eyes completely faded.

His own sense of awkwardness stemmed from nothing more than his “inability to understand Zhong Chengshuo”. Now, he couldn’t help but care about this person, so it was better to “care” about it to the end and get to know him more deeply.

He would strip that mortal from head to toe, leaving no secrets behind.

When he thoroughly understood Zhong Chengshuo, all his preferences, goals, and motivations would be clear at a glance. Would he be disgusted or still interested in that human…

He wondered who would be more embarrassed and out of control by being teased?

……

At night, Yin Ren lay on the sofa as usual. Zhong Chengshuo took out a book in a foreign language and sat at the dining table reading.

Soft music came out of the stereo, and the unique smell of mosquito coils floated in the air. It was as if nothing had changed between the two of them.

Hu Tao found an empty residence and arranged for Lu Tanfei to live in it. Finally, there was another evil being that she could communicate with, so Ms. Hu Tao was very happy. Since she had some basic knowledge about ghosts, she would take the initiative to explain to Lu Tanfei, so there was no need for Yin Ren to worry about for the time being.

During the day, Lu Tanfei accompanied Lu Yuanyuan, so the two ghosts could only communicate at night. Since Hu Tao came less than usual, in the huge living room, there were only two people: Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo… Well, one person and one evil being.

A strand of black hair climbed up the dining table and crawled past Zhong Chengshuo’s book. The strand wrapped around an apple in the fruit basket and dragged it to the corner of the dining table, which was followed by crisp chewing sounds in the air.

Zhong Chengshuo: “……” Interesting.

Not only did Yin Ren recover from the “confession incident” of that day, he didn’t even bother to hide himself but rather intensified his identity as an evil being.

He had to admit that this trick had a very strong effect on King Yama.

Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze gradually drifted away from the book and looked at the strand of hair that was gnawing on the apple. The tips of the hair swayed left and right, and Zhong Chengshuo’s pupils followed.

Yin Ren himself was still lying on the sofa, intently watching a store exploration video.

Although it was a good thing to not eat on the sofa…

“Yin Ren.” Zhong Chengshuo stared intently at the strand of hair, trying to think about how it could eat. “Can I touch your hair?” The one that’s eating an apple.

“Sure.” Lord Ghost King was quite generous. “Coincidentally, I also have something I want to touch. Why don’t we exchange?”

“What?”

Yin Ren rubbed on the sofa and raised his head. “I want to touch the scar on your body.”

Zhong Chengshuo was silent for about half a minute.

After a long time, he sighed. Zhong Chengshuo put down his book, sat down on the side of the sofa, and began to slowly unbutton his pajamas.

As each button was pressed, the chest, waist, and abdomen were revealed one by one. Eventually, a firm body loomed under the fabric. Unlike the “bathroom accident”, Yin Ren took a real look this time.

“As you wish,” Zhong Chengshuo replied.

Zhong Chengshuo’s skin was taut, and he was beautifully muscled. They covered his body flexibly and didn’t look overly bloated. His body was strong and well-proportioned, like a statue in an art museum.

Bai Yongji’s case had left it with more than a dozen small scratches, so there were some slightly red and swollen areas, but they didn’t seem to be a big deal. As time passed, those wounds would soon disappear.

Only the huge scar was left quietly present.

The scar was basically the same as his skin tone, but with an unnatural depression and protrusion. The suture marks were enlarged by time and lined up on both sides of the scar, resembling the claws of a centipede.

Yin Ren propped one leg on the sofa as his gaze flowed down the scar. Zhong Chengshuo was leaning on the end of the sofa, watching as the man crawled closer with his ochre shimmering eyes.

Yin Ren’s fingertips ran along the scar, causing Zhong Chengshuo’s body to tremble involuntarily.

The fingertips of the evil being were extremely hot as they slowly traveled down his clavicle and carefully traced the shape of the scar. For a moment, Zhong Chengshuo almost thought this was revenge for the scene in the amusement park, but Yin Ren’s expression was solemn, and there were no hints of him playing tricks.

“A cut wound,” he whispered. Yin Ren’s face was so close that his breath sprayed directly on Zhong Chengshuo’s chest. “This has existed for a long time… It was formed when you were a baby or a child.”

Zhong Chengshuo pursed his lips. “Nn.”

Yin Ren’s manicured and rounded nails scratched his skin, making it a little itchy.

“And it’s deep.” Yin Ren pressed the scar with his warm fingers. “The kind of depth that can cut a person open.”

“I don’t remember,” Zhong Chengshuo responded softly.

“Don’t remember anything at all?”

Yin Ren looked up at him. At this moment, the evil being’s hand had already pressed against his abdomen.

“…I don’t,” Zhong Chengshuo replied with a wooden face.

“Pretty good,” Yin Ren said. “This is a fatal wound. It’s not easy to survive.”

Yin Ren’s movements weren’t heavy, but the strange itching gradually made it impossible to ignore. It wasn’t like they hadn’t touched each other, but this time, the touch was different—it was a more subtle shock than a chaotic heartbeat, and his breathing became uneven.

Yin Ren was still studying him wholeheartedly. When his scorching fingertips left the scar, Zhong Chengshuo was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when, in the next moment, the fingertips were replaced by warm palms.

The warm touch instantly exploded, causing Zhong Chengshuo’s muscles to tighten abruptly and his entire body to lean back.

He took a hard, deep breath. “How long will it take?”

“This is enough.” Yin Ren raised his hands. “I just want to know more about you.”

Zhong Chengshuo quickly buttoned up his pajamas. He rushed to the refrigerator and took out a saltwater popsicle from the freezer.

Yin Ren’s expression collapsed for a second. “…That’s mine!”

“I know. I’ll pay you back later,” Zhong Chengshuo said as he bit into it. “It’s your turn. Your hair.”

“Forget it.” Yin Ren lay back down on the sofa and muttered as he turned over and moved the back of his head toward Zhong Chengshuo. “Okay, you can touch it.”

As Zhong Chengshuo sat back down on the sofa, a strand of hair came up automatically, and angrily bit into the saltwater popsicle. It was immediately captured by Zhong Chengshuo and carefully played with in his hands.

A few minutes later.

“Zhong Chengshuo.” Yin Ren turned his face to the back of the sofa and spoke sullenly.

Zhong Chengshuo continued eating the popsicle as he tried to stretch the hair in his hand. “Is your hair sentient?”

“No.”

Yin Ren’s face was still facing the sofa. “I just keep it in good condition.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “…I see.”

The tip of the strand of hair wrapped around his thumb and bit him lightly. Zhong Chengshuo quickly lowered his head, but unfortunately he didn’t see where the thing’s teeth were.

He touched the strand of black hair again. “Alright, I’m going to bed.”

“Good night!” Following Yin Ren’s voice, the strand of black hair happily shrank back, but it didn’t forget to bite a button before leaving.

“…Good night.”

……

The day came as promised. In front of a big screen, Lu Xiaohe’s expression was a bit subtle.

“You two… Ah.” She was wearing a t-shirt with “Allergic to People” printed on it, and her tone was a little sad. “Well, at least rely on me more—you didn’t need to hide it from me that Huang Jin pretended to be Lu Guangzu in the report.”

“We weren’t sure at the time, so we didn’t include it in the report,” Yin Ren hurriedly answered. “I’ll definitely consult with you next time.”

“I don’t think you were excluding me. It’s just that as field personnel, if you don’t trust your rear commander, something bad will happen sooner or later.”

Lu Xiaohe melancholically pulled out the information.

“…Like this mission, for example, relies heavily on the rear commander.”

The detailed information on “Guo Laifu” was cast on the big screen. Next to Guo Laifu’s photo was a document describing the “anomaly”.

[Phenomenon A-D512: Archive]

[Overview: This phenomenon is extremely rare, and the cause is unknown. This phenomenon manifests as a black door that appears within a certain space, has no biological characteristics, and has no ability to think.

The “Archive” is inserted without a key, and the visitor will fall into a dark room of about one square meter and can exit normally. Corpses and other dead objects placed in the “Archive” will not produce any changes.

When the “Archive” has a key inserted, the visitors will enter the memory and thinking space of the owner of the key. The Archive will materialize it in a certain form, making it easy to understand. Corpses and other dead objects that are placed in the “Archive” and are not brought out within 168 hours will gradually dissolve and disappear.

The “key” can be used by the cerebrospinal fluid of the living, but the cerebrospinal fluid of the dead won’t take effect. When entering the “Archive”, it’s recommended that there be more than two peers to reduce the risk of “getting lost”.

Note: The Archive only represents the subjective thoughts of the owner of the key. Please don’t be gullible; the “Archive” of the mentally ill are dangerous. Non-professionals are not allowed to enter; under special circumstances, the “Archive” can be used to treat special mental illnesses.]

Yin Ren was silent.

After a long time, one could really see all kinds of strange things.

Moreover, why was the description of this black door so familiar? Shian wouldn’t take an A-D level anomaly to deceive people, right?

He had a bad feeling. “Xiaohe Jie, this won’t be—”

“Your next job is to investigate Guo Laifu’s mind to see if you can return him to normal. There is also a minimum requirement. You must at least find out why he went crazy.”

Yin Ren: “…..”

Yin Ren: “If we enter Guo Laifu’s mind and someone kills him at that time, what will happen to us?”

The scene of Bai Yongji being shot in the head had left a deep impression on him. If they were trapped in the mind of a dead man, that would be a lot of fun.

“Don’t worry. You’ll have enough time to escape.” Lu Xiaohe laughed dryly. “There was a precedent like this before—previously, Unit 7 went to investigate the brain of a mentally ill murderer, but the murderer suddenly jumped off the building and his head splattered on the ground.”

Under emergency rescue, the members of Unit 7 only broke a few legs, but nothing serious happened. After that, Shian began to administer deep anesthesia to the “owner of the key”.

“We can maintain communication with the Archive, and there will also be a Class B Investigation Team on standby, ready to rescue you at any moment. This is essentially still a Level C Investigation Team difficulty. There’s no need to worry.”

Yin Ren breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Don’t relax too early. Our previous missions were also Level C, but they were all quite—mmph!”

“Quite good.” Yin Ren numbly covered Great King Yama’s mouth. “It’s all good, so this will definitely be the same.”

Lu Xiaohe wouldn’t be following them. Since it was just the two of them, even if they encounter problems, it shouldn’t be too troublesome to act. Besides, entering the Archive could avoid the “sniper” to some extent.

“Oh, one more thing.” Lu Xiaohe scratched her cheeks. “In order to ensure your cognitive stability, Ge Tingting and Huang Jin, two people with special abilities, will also accompany you this time.”

Yin Ren: “…..”

“Also, the items in the Archive are inedible. We have prepared a water collector and seven days’ worth of compressed food for each person,” Lu Xiaohe continued cruelly.

Yin Ren: “…Can we not take this task?”

“No.”

The author has something to say:

Now that things have opened up, when the time comes (?) who will be more out of control and embarrassed?

  1. Xiao Yin
  2. Xiao Zhong
  3. Xiao Yin and Xiao Zhong
  4. Shian’s leadership

Kinky Thoughts:

Probably E. All the above.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Criminal Psychology Ch126

Kinky5 Comments

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 126

When Lin Chen woke up, he thought it was already dawn.

There was a misty white light in his vision as he opened his eyes slightly, and it took him a while to realize that they had arrived at the first stop of their trip—the “Royal One” clubhouse.

Unlike the Tianren Club, where they went when they were in Yongchuan, “Royal One” was truly a place that matched its name. After all, the preferences of the rich would also be different. It was resplendent here, with white Roman pillars, gilt lintels, and fountains that sparkled under the ambient lights.

If decoration was just the hardware of a club, the “software” here was also quite good.

There were two rows of people standing around the golden revolving door in the hall. A row of “princesses” on the left and a row of “young masters” on the right. The princesses and young masters were so tender that you could easily pinch out water*. Judging from their attire, Royal One was probably not that serious of a place.

*(掐出水来) Idiom referring to immature.

Lin Chen retracted his gaze and looked at the two people in the front passenger seat.

Xing Conglian looked forward a few times, apparently noticing the two rows of people in the hall dressed scantily. He turned his head and said to the teenager, “Wait for us to go in. You’ll act as backup in the car. Take out two wireless headsets.”

Wang Chao looked at the rows of stilettos and puffy dresses when he heard this and gave Xing Conglian an aggrieved look. “Why?!”

Upon hearing this, Xing Conglian smacked him on the head. “Have some class, okay?”

“I don’t like this!” Wang Chao stated grudgingly. As he spoke, he moved his gaze back to his boss’ face and seemed to sober up. “Wait, Captain, what back up?! Do you mean you’re going undercover? You’re going clubbing to pick up girls, right? Why aren’t you taking me?!”

“Because there’s more important things for you to do in the car. Very important things,” Xing Conglian heavily emphasized.

Wang Chao was coaxed and became happy again. “What is it? Let me at it!”

“First, check on the surveillance records of this club the night Xu Ran was sexually assaulted. If there’s no video, try to find the on-duty records or work logs around that time. Since Xu Ran changed her testimony and said Royal One was the scene of the crime, if she didn’t lie this time, judging from the scars on her body, Li Jingtian’s actions must not be small, so even if we can’t prove she was tortured here, at least we can find some witnesses to prove that Li Jingtian and Xu Ran were here at the same time on the night of the crime.”

“Ah?” Wang Chao was stunned. “It’s been half a month. It’s highly unlikely that they kept the surveillance records.”

“That’s why I also ask you to find the work logs.”

“You mean anyone that was working on the night of the incident?” Wang Chao was still confused.

When Lin Chen heard this, he couldn’t help but glance at Xing Conglian as he said to Wang Chao, “He’s asking you to find out if anyone related to Li Jingtian opened a private room here on the day of the incident and what ‘special services’…”

Wang Chao was stunned again. “A’Chen, you understand well!”

“Consultant Lin seems quite experienced,” Xing Conglian added.

“It’s just a trivial social experience.” Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian and said, “Moreover, my experience tells me that it’s not very appropriate for Captain Xing to make an ‘unannounced visit’ to this club in such an outfit.”

Xing Conglian smiled and pulled down the rearview mirror to look at his face. “There’s nothing I can do if I’m born upright and awe-inspiring.”

At that time, Wang Chao was already clacking on the keyboard to check the things that Xing Conglian had instructed him to do. Hearing this, the teenager glanced up at him and said, “Captain, your shameless words today are a bit over-the-top. Restrain yourself.”

Xing Conglian ignored Wang Chao.

Lin Chen saw him touch the stubble on his chin and then turned his head and asked through the gap between the seats, “Does Consultant Lin have any good ideas?”

The neon lights outside the car were shining with various colors, but the light inside was dim, causing Xing Conglian’s eyes to shine like jewels.

Xing Conglian was looking at him seriously.

Lin Chen sat forward a bit and grabbed his shirt collar perplexingly. Xing Conglian moved slightly at that time when Lin Chen had already unbuttoned the first collar button, so he whispered, “Don’t move.”

As Lin Chen spoke, he unbuttoned the second button.

They were so close that Xing Conglian’s breath brushed against his ear. When he lowered his head, he could feel the warmth from Xing Conglian’s body through his shirt as the ends of the fingers touched his skin.

In fact, the time it took to unbutton three collar buttons wasn’t long, but Lin Chen wished that time would pass more slowly. After all, there weren’t many opportunities to take advantage of his sweetheart so openly like this.

“Put out your hand.” After unbuttoning the collar, Lin Chen said this to Xing Conglian with some intent.

Xing Conglian stretched out his hand generously. Things like cufflinks could be undone by him, but at that time, Lin Chen and Xing Conglian probably weren’t thinking about it.

Lin Chen held Xing Conglian’s wrist with one hand as he slowly unbuttoned the cuff links and carefully rolled it up.

“Found it!”

Suddenly, Wang Chao roared.

Lin Chen withdrew his hand as Xing Conglian unbuttoned his other cuff, rolled it up naturally, and turned around and asked, “What did you find?”

“I found some clues on the day when the crime happened!” Wang Chao said while raising his head. He looked at Xing Conglian’s open neckline and was stunned. “Captain, why are you unbuttoning your shirt? Did A’Chen Gege help you unbutton them so you’d look better?”

Lin Chen sighed.

Xing Conglian pulled the rearview mirror to take a look again and said with satisfaction, “He did. I also think, with the angle of the neckline, it makes me look quite good, no?”

“It’s particularly immodest.” Wang Chao concluded. He then returned to his work. “First, I checked, and the surveillance was deleted that day. Second, on the day of the incident, there’s a record of a credit card of a PR director from Li Jingtian’s company, CA Entertainment, that was used at Royal One, totaling 184,115 yuan.”

“Pretty good,” Xing Conglian said.

“Yeah, then I checked all his credit card records. It seems that Royal One is a designated consumer merchant of CA Entertainment, and a man named ‘Li Gaoqiang’ is the one that pays the bill, so it’s very possible that this person is waiting to pay for Mr. Mu Zhuo’s celebration. You can find him!”

Xing Conglian glanced at Wang Chao and asked, “What else?”

“Oh, also, the salary records at Royal One are quite detailed. I have read them. On the day of the crime, Li Gaoqiang opened an extra-large private room No. 441. They ordered five princesses and two young masters. One of them has a work number of 3341 and is named Lily. Who is now standing at the door.”

As he spoke, he pointed his finger at the girl, who was near the end of the row.

Xing Conglian nodded, took out an electric shaver from the glovebox, and started to shave. Lin Chen didn’t know why this person kept almost all the necessities of life in the glove box but never cleaned himself up.

He watched the stubble covering the cheeks and lips be neatly trimmed. The moment Xing Conglian looked back at him again, just like in a novel where a scruffy young man with heavy bangs covering his eyes took off his heavy, thick glasses, and changed into a well-tailored suit, turning into a completely different person.

Although this was a bit exaggerated when putting it into words to describe Xing Conglian, the sudden sense of amazement didn’t change.

At this time, Wang Chao had just dug out two sets of transparent headsets from his backpack. When he saw Xing Conglian’s clean-shaven face, he was stunned again.

After a while, he murmured, “Captain, you’re really here to pick up girls, right? A’Chen Gege is at a disadvantage with you looking so handsome and coquettish!”

Lin Chen took the headset, pressed them to his ears, and then looked at Xing Conglian from top to bottom. “As the chauffeur of the young master, I’d better keep a low profile.”

After he finished speaking, he got out of the car, opened the door for Xing Conglian, and made a gesture of invitation.

Xing Conglian understood and happily stepped out of the car.

……

Probably, because they were acting, they couldn’t take it too far.

As they walked into the revolving door, before they could finish enjoying “Hello Boss” from both sides in unison, two heavy, thick security guards stepped forward and stopped them.

It seemed that they weren’t regular customers, or perhaps when they walked in from the parking lot, the security guards noticed that the Jeep they were driving wasn’t high-end, so they got suspicious.

Lin Chen saw one of the security guards press their headset, glanced at them, and said, “Sir, we’re a members-only club. Please show me your membership card.”

Lin Chen was taken aback. He really didn’t expect that there would be such a “threshold” here.”

“You still need a membership card for a lousy place like this?” Xing Conglian reacted quickly, and he spoke arrogantly.

He didn’t know if it was because of Xing Conglian’s performance or if he was born with an aura of a dandy that looked down on everything, but in short, after Xing Conglian said that, the security guard didn’t throw them out but changed his tone, emphasizing more respect. “I’m sorry, sir, we’re a membership only club. Please show your membership card, or please complete the membership application after being recommended by two members and making a purchase.”

“So troublesome?” Lin Chen looked at the ‘young master’s’ face and wondered if he should retreat first.

However, Xing Conglian just raised his chin and said to him, “You wait here.”

After saying that, Xing Conglian went out, leaving him alone in the glorious hall to stare at Mr. Security Guard.

This period of time was quite difficult. Lin Chen felt that Xing Conglian might have left him and just ran away, but the young master was true to his word, and soon, the familiar footsteps sounded again.

He turned his head and saw Xing Conglian with his neckline open, walking gracefully to the front desk in front of the two security guards, took out a thick stack of things from his pocket, slapped it on the table, and slowly wiped it away.

Lin Chen looked over and saw Xing Conglian had opened various cards, large and small.

There were gold, silver, and black cards among them, and even some cards that didn’t have any logo on the surface, but judging by the texture of the card’s surface, it didn’t look like a cheap supermarket membership card. One category, without exception, no matter how the color of the cards changed, the identity on the card surface was top-level, Super VIP; diamond cards, black gold cards, and so on that it created a dazzling spread.

“Go on~ Find your membership card yourself.”

Xing Conglian’s voice rang out slowly and methodically.

Lin Chen looked up, completely dumbfounded.

The author has something to say:

Lin Chen: ……

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Criminal Psychology Ch125

Kinky5 Comments

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 125

“Don’t just leave us hanging. I’m going to have a heart attack,”

Wang Chao paused for a long time, so Xing Conglian urged him impatiently.

“No, Captain, this, I—but the perpetrator of this crime wasn’t Li Jingtian. The case has been closed, and the criminal was sentenced to ten years in jail,” Wang Chao said, then paused again. “I… Are you really sure Li Jingtian is the bad guy?”

As if he had seen something that couldn’t be explained in words, Wang Chao spoke intermittently.

“What stupid thing are you talking about?” Xing Conglian glanced at Wang Chao.

“I—I seem to have discovered another terrible case. Oh god, I’m going crazy!”

“What kind of case?” Lin Chen couldn’t help asking, seeing that Wang Chao was as impatient as if his butt was on fire.

The young man’s ass writhed restlessly in the seat. “Fuck!” He was grabbing his hair with one hand as he was desperately checking something with the other.

In the end, Wang Chao seemed to have determined something. Seeing Lin Chen staring at him blankly, Wang Chao turned his head and said, “A’Chen, I seem to have discovered a shocking injustice!”

Lin Chen thought that, although he didn’t know what Wang Chao had experienced, it was clear that he had met many people in the world. Then, in that young man’s heart, what would the story be like for him to consider it a shocking injustice?

Without leaving them hanging further, Wang Chao sorted out his thoughts and asked, “A’Chen, do you know Song Shengsheng?”

Lin Chen was stunned.

He didn’t expect Wang Chao would mention Song Shengsheng, because that was such a resounding name.

In fact, he didn’t know much about the entertainment industry because that world was too far away from him. For example, when he heard Li Jingtian’s name for the first time, he tried his best but couldn’t match the name to the face. However, probably no one who came from his era would not know who Song Shengsheng was.

After all, nine years ago, as Wang Chao said, while Li Jingtian was still a rookie, the news was filled with Song Shengsheng on the entertainment page.

Compared with a reputable star like Li Jingtian, Song Shengsheng was completely opposite, filled with negative stories.

He smoked, drank, got into fights, went clubbing, and wore earring studs and nose rings on his face. He was the kind of person one’s typical grandmother would say to their teenage grandson, “Good child, you must not be like this person.”

But at the same time, he was indeed talented, with a good voice that could span several octaves. He had written many good songs that were passed around through word of mouth. At the same time, boys and girls loved his rebellious nature.

The reason why Lin Chen knew so much about Song Shengsheng was because Song Shengsheng himself was really good at causing trouble. One day he would quarrel with a certain female celebrity or a certain rich second-generation, the next, he would dress up as a beggar and sing on the street. Truly a strange performer.

The media liked such restless stars the most, so news about Song Shengsheng appeared weekly.

But suddenly one day, an explosive, earth-shattering piece of news caused an uproar across the country.

A newly debuted male singer accused Song Shengsheng of sodomizing him for more than 20 hours.

Lin Chen’s memory of this incident ended here.

Whether it was the specific investigation process or the trial process, too much time had passed for him to recall it. He only remembered that during that time, piece after piece of heavy evidence was exposed, crucifying Song Shengsheng to the pillar of shame.

Ten years ago, society’s acceptance of homosexuality was very low, not to mention Song Shengsheng’s reputation was quite bad. After this incident, Song Shengsheng went to jail, and like a stone thrown into the sea, no news about him had surfaced since. Even his former singles were banned nationwide.

As time progressed, no one knew who Song Shengsheng was anymore.

Today’s darling would become tomorrow’s trash. A person like Song Shengsheng wasn’t even considered trash. Unless he died, he would never be mentioned again.

As he could see, the public was like this, Lin Chen thought. Even he, who was an ordinary person, after so many years, despite Song Shengsheng being a star who once swept across the country and would occupy the front page every time; he no longer had any impression of him.

“Oh, so where is the injustice?”

Xing Conglian seemed to have never heard of Song Shengsheng. After listening to Wang Chao’s story, he commented like so.

And Wang Chao, although he had been excited before, was now also beginning to regain his emotions, saying in his usual relaxed and lively tone, “Captain, guess who was the person that accused Song Shengsheng?”

Whenever this happened, Lin Chen felt that he wasn’t living in the same world as them, as their past had nothing to do with him.

Xing Conglian said, “It can’t be Li Jingtian. It seems that no one online has mentioned anything like this.”

“Of course it’s not Li Jingtian, but… Oh, guess who it is. Aren’t my hints obvious, huh?”

“The one who was in the same group as Li Jingtian?” Xing Conglian guessed.

Wang Chao snapped his fingers. “Bingo. It’s another member of Illi—Mu Zhuo.” Wang Chao said excitedly, “Could it be that the person who sexually assaulted Mu Zhuo wasn’t Song Shengsheng, but Li Jingtian, and he made a mistake and accused Song Shengsheng? There has to be such a possibility, right?”

Lin Chen didn’t know what to say for a moment.

There was nothing wrong with Wang Chao’s reasoning. In fact, it was entirely his idea that Wang Chao could track down this case nine years ago, but now, with a case that was nine years old resurfacing, Lin Chen felt there was a deeper problem.

But if, as Wang Chao inferred, Song Shengsheng was wrongfully imprisoned, then this must be a shocking injustice that could once again stir the entire country.

Lin Chen felt his hands tremble a little involuntarily as he said, “Even if it’s Li Jingtian, without any evidence, we can’t speculate what he did and didn’t do.” He paused, then continued, “I need to see Song Shengsheng’s file, and… If I can find Mu Zhuo or Song Shengsheng, it would be better to talk to them in person.”

When he said this, Wang Chao’s eyes lit up. “Guess what, A’Chen? What a coincidence. Mu Zhuo is holding a concert in Fengchun today. They’re currently celebrating the afterparty. The paparazzi have photographed it. They’re celebrating it at Fengchun Royal One… Are you familiar with the name Royal One?”

Lin Chen thought this was unbelievable. “Is it where Xu Ran changed her confession to?”

“This is such a coincidence. Does this count as God giving us a chance to nail Li Jingtian?!”

……

Sometimes, the harder one tried to track something down, the more coincidental the moments became to the point where you would believe in ghosts.

Whether it was a divine blessing or not, they appeared to have discovered some new clues and restored some hope in Li Jingtian’s case.

At some point, Lin Chen had fallen asleep.

When Xing Conglian was about to get off the highway, he looked at the rearview mirror and saw his consultant leaning against the car window, fast asleep.

A thick stack of files was placed on the seat next to Lin Chen, and a tablet was on his knee. It seemed Lin Chen had accidentally fallen asleep while reading the files in Song Shengsheng’s case that Wang Chao had just sorted out.

Generally speaking, the only one who would fall asleep while reading files was Wang Chao, but today, it was Lin Chen. From this, it could be seen that Lin Chen was truly exhausted.

Wang Chao also seemed to sense something and quickly looked back. “Captain, A’Chen Gege* is asleep!”

*Brother (哥哥) Address towards men who are older than you and are close to you or your actual older relatives.

Xing Conglian rolled down the window and asked rhetorically, “So, only you’re allowed to sleep in the car normally, but not your A’Chen Gege?”

“No, no. I don’t think A’Chen Gege usually sleeps while you’re driving. He must have suffered a heavy blow to his heart today and is so exhausted that he fell asleep. You have to comfort him. Do you hear me…”

Wang Chao kept babbling words like “comfort” and “talk more”. After a few absent-minded “Nn”, Wang Chao suddenly stopped talking. After a while, he heard the chattering teenager let out a long sigh and said to him, “I really feel that A’Chen Gege seems to be holding onto something all the time, living a very, very tired life.”

Hearing what Wang Chao said, Xing Conglian felt a little funny. “Mr. Xiao Wang, why did you suddenly express this?”

Wang Chao lowered his voice and whispered, “Don’t you think so? We used to be regarded as people who did great things, right? But the things A’Chen Gege did seems to be completely different from us. The people and things he encounters always make it feel so easy to fall into despair. A’Chen Gege was crying today. God, my A’Chen Gege actually cries!”

Sure enough, Wang Chao was prevaricated when he asked Lin Chen why, so now that Lin Chen couldn’t hear him, he made a lot of guesses, but actually, he just wanted to gossip and find out why Lin Chen was crying.

Xing Conglian didn’t know why this child was like this now.

“People will cry. When they’re sad, feel pain, or hopelessness. It’s normal,” he said.

“Captain, that’s a bit cold-blooded of you to say that.”

“After all, it’s enough that he’s a psychologist who can interpret people’s minds. We don’t need to be like him.”

“What?”

Wang Chao opened his mouth wide, as if he couldn’t understand what Xing Conglian was saying.

“We don’t need to be sympathetic forever, and he doesn’t need us to sympathize with him, so rather than spending your time sympathizing with him and the world, think about how to protect them and share the responsibility for them.”

It was late at night, so there wasn’t a single car on the ramp.

This was purely a conversation between men, so Xing Conglian didn’t expect Wang Chao to grasp it quickly.

Sure enough, Wang Chao said, “Huh?” in confusion.

“Your IQ is really terrible.” Xing Conglian knocked on Wang Chao’s forehead.

“Then how can we assume the responsibility of protecting this world? For example, if we can’t bring Li Jingtian to justice, should we kill him secretly?”

“What are you saying? Can’t you be more civilized? This is a society ruled by laws.”

“Do you want to have a proper chat? What’s with all your quips? I’m obviously teaching you how to be a man.” Xing Conglian almost wanted to beat the brat next to him.

“Haven’t you given a few similar orders?”

“Seriously, Captain, don’t get off topic. As far as Li Jingtian’s background is concerned, if we really find empirical evidence, most likely we’ll go head-to-head with Lao Li. You haven’t seen the fake files that his family and Lao Li have made for him. If this kind of thing can be done, Lao Li won’t hesitate to cause a real diplomatic dispute to protect his grandson. What are you going to do then?”

“Wang Chao,” Xing Conglian said heavily. “Didn’t you say that the prince committed a crime towards the common people when he broke the law?”

“I did.”

“Then you know what should be done.”

“Captain, ah, I mean, if a short-sighted madman like Lao Li knows you’re messing with his grandson, won’t it become troublesome to deal with protecting your current identity?”

“Hey…” Xing Conglian gave a long sigh.

“What?”

“Mr. Xiao Wang… Li Jingtian isn’t the only prince in the world.”

“Ah?”

“I have more experience as a prince than him.”

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Evil As Humans Ch64

Kinky8 Comments

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 64: Investigation

Fu Xingchuan looked at the report speechlessly.

On the surface, Yin Ren was a person who had “experienced great misfortune but remained optimistic”, which was indeed Bai Yongji’s target type.

Yin Ren’s testimony was basically in line with the traces of the scene, but the “accomplice” that he spoke of couldn’t be found, so suspicion couldn’t be ruled out. Every time there was a case related to an Evil Force, this guy would always get involved in various forms, which rang the intuitive alarm bell in Fu Xingchuan’s head.

So he specially sent relevant personnel to follow up and monitor.

During the follow-up investigation, every diplomatic conversation of that person would be recorded. Naturally, it included a conversation with the owner of the shredded chicken cold noodles shop…

Minister Fu looked at the word “wife” in the report suspiciously, trying to figure out its hidden meaning.

The alley where Yin Ren was attacked did lead to the soup shop. Not long ago in the evening, Yin Ren went to buy two servings of stewed pears and specifically asked for one to be packed with less sugar.

No matter how he looked at it, it should’ve been bought for Zhong Chengshuo.

Fu Xingchuan scratched his head. This information was a bit beyond his ability to comprehend. He was also familiar with Zhong Chengshuo’s information. The straight-laced Comrade Xiao Zhong had always been uninterested in romance, and there was no sign of him liking the same sex.

As a result, only a month had passed before Comrade Xiao Zhong became the “wife” of Yin Ren from the stall owner’s mouth.

Minister Fu put away the information and felt exhausted as he looked to the other side of the desk.

Li Nian was drinking tea emotionlessly.

“The two in Unit 9 are quite troublesome. They’ve been resting for four or five days already, right?” Fu Xingchuan sighed and decided to change his train of thought. “It’s almost time for them to come back.”

Professor Li: “Do you still want to let them work in the field?”

“Field?” Fu Xingchuan smiled bitterly. “The first time they were out on the field, there was cognitive pollution. The second time, they encounter a strong corruption from an Evil Force. This time, not only was there a strong corruption of Evil Force, there was also an unknown sniper… We must keep watching them and continue to let them go out in the field. I believe that an Evil Spirit will reappear in the world again.”

Luckily, there were still remnants of Evil Force on Bai Yongji’s body. Unfortunately, the mysterious sniper position was too far away, so Shian couldn’t determine the source.

The staff found bullet fragments at the scene, but the bullet materials were ordinary. They did, however, find it was mixed with some suspicious ingredients. Even if the damage was beyond recovery, it still had a strange suppression of Evil Force.

Even if Shian’s research on the Evil Spirits was ongoing, the principle behind it was completely beyond their understanding.

“Speaking of that sniper, his purpose seems to be to eliminate Bai Yongji and the source of corruption. If Shian were to appear at that time, it’s not unreasonable for Sunken Society to not want ‘Charon’ to fall into our hands…” As for the destruction of the source of corruption, it could be counted as incidental.

Fu Xingchuan rubbed his eyes and muttered his analysis.

“It can’t be men from Sunken Society. They’re at most in a cooperative relationship.”

Li Nian sneered. “If there is really that kind of talent in Sunken Society, why not let him take us out? That sniper, whatever his origin, is something that Sunken Society can’t control.”

“Also, what do you think of this ‘wife’ in the report—”

“I don’t want to read it.” Professor Li snapped the cap off the bottle he was holding. “You’d better consider work arrangements for those two first.”

……

When Yin Ren returned to Shian again, he visited with Lu Tanfei. Zhong Chengshuo should have gone with him, but as soon as Comrade Xiao Zhong stepped into the Shian building, he was called away by Professor Li.

The situation of the victims this time was so special that all seven victims were left on Shian’s campus for treatment. A week later, they had returned to their human form, but their bodies were still tightly attached to the fused appliances.

The thin Lu Yuanyuan was lying on the bed. His legs were fused to a TV set, but his mind was sober.

The memory of the incident was removed by Shian, so Lu Yuanyuan thought he had encountered an accident on his way to buy something. The TV set that was connected to his legs was sealed with fabric and was described as “some kind of special treatment machinery”.

Lu Tanfei had returned to his normal appearance as an old man and stayed by Lu Yuanyuan’s bedside the entire time.

“Grandpa!” Lu Yuanyuan turned his head and poked his face towards his grandpa by the bedside. “Grandpa, I’m sorry. I was careless…”

Being corrupted by the Evil Force, even if it was completely removed, there would often be sequelae—”being able to see ghosts” was just one of the most insignificant sequelae.

Lu Tanfei stretched out his hand cautiously. The thin hand stopped above the boy’s forehead. When he was about to touch it, he tremblingly retracted his hand again.

Ghosts and evil spirits would always have an impact on living things.

“It’s not your fault. It’s Grandpa’s fault.” Grandpa Lu couldn’t stop muttering, and his smile was uglier than his crying. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Grandpa will always be with you from now on…”

Yin Ren didn’t disturb the two of them. However, before he could close the door, a figure rushed into the ward.

It was rare to have a peer of the same age. Feng Qi was hugging a game console and came to greet the new guest excitedly. He politely greeted Lu Tanfei, then sat down beside Lu Yuanyuan. “My name is Feng Qi. I’m also here for treatment. Do you want to play together?”

Lu Yuanyuan blinked. “Okay.”

Yin Ren showed a smile and closed the door gently. Lu Tanfei followed out, leaving the two children to play inside.

“I want to continue to follow you. I want to become stronger.” There were still pale red tears on the old man’s face. “At least strong enough to hug Yuanyuan so as not to affect his body…”

“You will,” Yin Ren said as he moved towards the next ward.

Ge Tingting was in Fan Yong’s ward. Because she actively provided support in this case, Shian specially gave her a bonus. Ge Tingting had gone to buy eight cups of milk tea, one of which was on Fan Yong’s bedside.

The mover was fast asleep. Half of his body was liberated, while the other half that was merged with the chair hung at the end of the bed, but it didn’t seem to cause any discomfort. Fan Yong was amazingly thin, but the expression on his face was peaceful.

……

In the last ward, the name plate showed “Ding Lizi”.

She was melded with a guitar, and at this moment, it was firmly stuck to her chest. The sunlight streaming in through the window was just right, with golden rays striking her diagonally. Suddenly, it seemed like she was going to play her guitar.

The young girl leaned against the head of the bed, smiling as always. However, two weeks of a nightmare-like experience still left traces on her body. Compared to the photos, Ding Lizi was a lot thinner, and her face was still in a daze.

As the first victim to wake up, Ding Lizi refused to have her memories erased.

“I finally have the lyrics, and I don’t want to do it again.” Was the reason she gave to Shian. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.”

Huang Jin sat near the hospital bed, swiping his phone silently. Just by looking at his face, he was a bit more haggard than Ding Lizi. He had dyed his hair back to black and cut it short, removing that ruffian aura that belonged to “Lu Guangzu”, leaving only gloominess behind.

Seeing Yin Ren stop at the door, Huang Jin put his phone in his pocket and stood up silently.

“I’ll be back in a while,” he said to her.

The sound insulation at Shian’s ward was good. With a soft click of the door, it was as if there were two worlds between them.

“It seems that Ms. Ding is recovering well.” Yin Ren crossed his arms and spoke in a brisk tone. “Since you’re still here… Shian intends to let you atone by working?”

The police had enough evidence to convict Huang Jin. However, this person had a weird ability to “see people’s thoughts”, so it wasn’t suitable for centralized detention.

Huang Jin pulled up his pant leg in silence. There was an electronic monitoring anklet around his ankle that was slowly flashing.

“I’ll serve my sentence at Shian.” He lowered his eyes and didn’t look at Yin Ren’s face. “Thank you this time. As I said last time, if you’re worried about me talking too much, I can give you my birth date and bazi…”

“No need. Your hang-ups are quite obvious, so you won’t do stupid things.” Yin Ren smiled. “I’m just a little curious… You can see Zhong Ge’s thoughts and understand mine, so in your eyes, what do I look like?’

“…” Huang Jin hesitated for a long time. As if finally accepting his fate, he answered, “I can’t see what you’re thinking at all.”

“The surface of a spirit weapon will have running thoughts—the spirit smith will give it rules through runes for its operation, which is similar to a person’s thoughts, which is why I’m very good at making spirit weapons.”

“Plants, animals, and evil objects will have simple thoughts. Without language and behavior as references, I can’t interpret their runes… but I can see clearly. I just don’t understand it.”

“You’re different. I have never seen this situation. The thinking on your body is like a mosaic, chaotic and unclear, so I can’t concentrate on reading it at all.”

The smile on Yin Ren’s face froze.

“You mean, in your eyes, I’m a large moving mosaic?”

“Nn.”

Yin Ren: “……”

He was sluggish for a few seconds before he slowly took something out. “You said there would be thoughts on the surface of spirit weapons. What about this thing?’

Huang Jin took the phone and held it for a while. “Strange, there’s also a simple mosaic on it… Is this a spirit weapon you made?”

The spirit smith seemed to be seriously puzzled, as if the words “your mosaic is leaking” were on his face.

The visual impact of seeing a large mosaic pulled out of a phone stained with mosaic was also quite strong. Yin Ren put away Dog Thing and only felt that the world in front of him was getting more unkind.

“Just take it as it is,” he said numbly.

Could it be that Dog Thing was also an Evil Spirit? Was there really such a weak and useless Evil Spirit in this world?

And it had never classified itself as “an Evil Spirit that’s defined by humans”.

Knowing that Huang Jin couldn’t see his thoughts, Yin Ren began to think freely on the spot.

…Forget it. Dog Thing was in his hands, and its biggest threat was just barking loudly. He had plenty of time ahead, so he could explore slowly. He would have the means to resist when the attack came. There were quite a few things he didn’t understand now, and this was just one of the less important ones.

For him, the sniper of unknown origin was a little more troubling, but even if the sniper attacked again, he could protect Zhong Chengshuo the first time, so he could do it a second time.

Rather, why did he protect Zhong Chengshuo?

In Huang Jin’s eyes, the mosaic slowly squirmed for a while as it swayed away melancholically.

At this moment, Zhong Chengshuo was sitting in an empty conference room. The air conditioning was turned on, so the temperature inside was much cooler.

Not long after, Professor Li pushed the door in, causing the green plants by the door to shake gently. He was still dressed in an old-fashioned suit and had an expression like he had just eaten three students alive.

“Recently, Yin Ren has been our key investigation target. The frequency of accidents surrounding him is a bit high, and you know there aren’t so many coincidences in the world.” Li Nian looked directly into Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes as he got to the point. “And you have passed our investigation. You’ve been in contact with Yin Ren long enough. If you have the intention of changing partners…”

“No, I don’t want to change partners.” Zhong Chengshuo’s sitting posture was unusually upright, and his answer was unusually straightforward.

“Even if he might bring you more danger?” Professor Li’s demeanor was unsurprised.

Zhong Chengshuo: “Danger often means new discoveries.”

Li Nian pulled out a chair and sat down. He quietly stared at Zhong Chengshuo for a while.

“A little personal advice.”

He recounted without emotion.

“Don’t get too involved with those who are not related to science. The world in your eyes is completely different.”

“One day, you will part ways because of these differences.”

Zhong Chengshuo raised his eyes. “But your partnership with Minister Fu is very stable.”

“Because we’re not friends,” Professor Li commented indifferently. “Besides, it’s obvious Fu Xingchuan won’t live long. It’s already a miracle that he’s still gasping for air.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “…..”

For a moment, he suddenly felt Professor Li Nian was absolutely well versed with <The Art of Communication> and was committed to putting the content into practice.

Zhong Chengshuo: “Thank you, but I still don’t have thoughts of changing partners.”

Li Nian nodded without much persuasion.

“Then I need to inform you in advance that your next mission is dangerous. Taking into account the development of previous field operations, your mission will be completed on Shian’s campus this time.”

“An internal mission?” Zhong Chengshuo clasped his hands and frowned slightly.

“Remember that crazy Guo Laifu?”

“I do. A murderer who has symptoms of ‘crazy ravings’ and lost his mind,” Zhong Chengshuo answered rigidly.

On the rainy night when he met Yin Ren, Guo Laifu ate his eyeballs and nose and severely pierced his ears. After Shian woke Guo Laifu up, he couldn’t even handle his own bowel movements and would only scream wildly from time to time.

Later, Feng Qi specifically interpreted this person’s madness. Except for “Mom, I’m afraid”, Guo Laifu didn’t say anything else that was meaningful.

No matter how anyone looked at it, he was plain crazy.

“It turns out that conventional treatment has had no effect on him, and we haven’t found any lesions in him. Next, we need an investigation team to enter his mind and organize his ‘spirit files’.”

Zhong Chengshuo was silent for a while before he was sure that he heard it correctly. “Enter his mind… Does this mean hypnosis or something?”

“No, it’s entering it in a physical sense. We have our methods, and that’s also the reason why Shian chose this place to establish its headquarters,” Li Nian explained indifferently.

“It’s fine for non-science posts, but for science posts, this may be a task enough to shake their foundation of faith. I repeat, Zhong Chengshuo, you’re very talented. If you continue to partner with Yin Ren, you’ll inevitably be affected by our investigation of him.”

“If you have thoughts of changing partners, you can talk to me at any time.” Finally, Professor Li stood up and ended with those words.

Zhong Chengshuo also stood up.

When he met Professor Li, he always assumed a cautious appearance, and the expression on his face was always serious, but at this moment, facing Professor Li’s back, Zhong Chengshuo showed a smile.

“We won’t have a day when we part ways,” he said softly.

“Perhaps our world isn’t that different.”

Li Nian left as Zhong Chengshuo stood quietly in the empty conference room for a while.

[Final Fruit: Do you want to eat coconut chicken tonight?]

[Fruit Knife: Eat.]

[Final Fruit: The stewed pears from two days ago were pretty good.]

[Final Fruit: Let’s go to the night market together tonight. I’ll take a look at that shop. My parents might like the taste.]

[Fruit Knife: No!!!]

[“Fruit Knife” withdrew a message.]

[Fruit Knife: I don’t mean anything by that. I’ll just buy it for auntie and uncle. The night market is crowded and dirty. You won’t like it. Were the stewed pears too sweet? Just tell me what you didn’t like.]

[Final Fruit: I’m going to buy vegetables over there. Don’t you like the shredded chicken cold noodles? You can get a serving.]

[Fruit Knife: Let’s eat rice instead.]

[Final Fruit: What’s wrong with you?]

[Fruit Knife: I’m tired of cold noodles. I especially want to eat rice.]

[Final Fruit: No, why don’t you use your emojis anymore?]

Yin Ren threw a 😖 emoji and didn’t reply.

Zhong Chengshuo cocked the corners of his mouth.

At the same time, Haigu, a certain underground area.

A figure sitting by a photo wall was talking to someone.

“Mr. Wei, we understand that ‘Charon’ is very important to Sunken Society, but in that situation at that time, it was going to fall into Shian’s hands. Mr. Qiu made a clear judgment on his own. We have no other intentions.” There was a soft female voice coming over the phone.

“’Charon’ isn’t so easy to catch. You could have used another arrangement.” Mr. Wei didn’t sound very happy.

“Mr. Qiu has his own targets,” the female voice continued. “We cannot interfere with his will.”

“Then please tell him, at least let… No, please ask him to ignore two targets. There are two people on Shian’s side that cannot be touched.”

He turned his head sideways and looked at the wall of photos beside him.

This was probably the most hapless photo information wall in history. It was incompatible with the dark atmosphere of the underground space.

On half of the wall was a handsome young man with glasses. There were pictures of him going to and from various grocery and convenience stores. His bag was always stuffed with vegetables, eggs, and fresh lean meat. His expression was more serious than the uncles and aunties around him.

On the other half of the wall was a young man with long hair who was ridiculously beautiful. In the photo, he was sitting in various corners of the night market like a fly in the corner of a shop, eating with a serious expression, like a thumbnail of an eating video.

“Shian’s special group, Unit 9, Zhong Chengshuo and Yin Ren. Please don’t touch these two. The others are up to him.”

“I see. I’ll convey it to Mr. Qiu,” the gentle voice replied. “Do you have any special arrangements here?”

“You don’t need to worry about the rest.”

Mr. Wei sneered and glanced at the photo wall beside him again.

“We have our own arrangements.”

The author has something to say:

Huang Jin may become the person least affected by Xiao Yin’s appearance.

A mosaic floating in a sea of thoughts.jpg

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