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.”
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!
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.”
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?
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.
“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.”
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.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Huang Jin raised his head weakly. He saw an exceptionally organized group of thoughts.
Those thoughts were neatly arranged and rotated precisely to form a perfect black ball, looking like a mysterious machine that surpassed the current era. Based on the outermost thoughts of that person, he was probably here to help.
On the indoor surveillance cameras, there was another scene.
The visitor was a tall and thin middle-aged man who was wearing a gray shirt. His thin shoulders reminded people of weathered cliffs. There were no wrinkles on the man’s collar and attached was an outdated old tie. On his chest was an ID badge with the name “Li Nian” written on it.
He took a seat opposite Huang Jin, separated by a table full of wastepaper and a tablet with a cracked screen.
“Li Nian.” The person’s self-introduction was direct.
Huang Jin turned his bloodshot eyes and looked at Li Nian in silence.
“You’re not a cultivator, and you have no special abilities.” Huang Jin spoke without any anger in his tone. “I don’t want to chat with people right now.”
“Thinking aimlessly will yield no results. I have seen the materials you submitted, and it’s no different from gambling,” Professor Li commented unceremoniously.
Huang Jin didn’t respond. He seemed to have lost even the strength to be angry. He only knew how to write and draw mechanically.
“Swish.”
Professor Li tore away his draft paper.
“You fucking—”
“Don’t rely too much on your own abilities. If you can do stupid things like fake surrendering for her, then she must be quite special to you.”
Li Nian’s tone was firm, as always. He clasped his hands and unconsciously rubbed the wedding ring on his hand.
“Aside from the messy thoughts you see, tell me the three most vivid fragments you have of her.”
The most vivid fragments?
Huang Jin grabbed a draft paper close at hand and unconsciously squeezed it into a ball. There was a terrifying persuasion in Li Nian’s words—this person was obviously sure of what he was doing and was convinced that he was right.
Before Huang Jin’s mouth had time to refute, his tired brain had already begun to function.
The most vivid fragments…
The first clip was probably the day he stepped into the bar.
At first, Huang Jin didn’t have much interest in Ding Lizi, but there was free food at the concert, and he needed it.
So he took the flier to the small bar.
The bar was crowded with people. All kinds of thoughts surged frantically, converging into a sea of chaos around him. Huang Jin found a secluded corner, grabbed a bottle of beer, and drank slowly.
Under the spotlight, the man on stage was affectionately singing a love song. The thoughts on his body were wrapped in mud, quickly surrounded by “so many beautiful women” and “which one shall I get today”.
Huang Jin looked away, disinterested.
Then Ding Lizi came on with her dazzling tornado of thoughts.
Ding Lizi’s voice wasn’t too high. She hugged her guitar and sang as she played it. Her singing was clean and full of emotion. Supposedly, she had written the song herself.
However, the audience cared more about her so-called “weird, sick eyes” than the singing. The audience buzzed non-stop among the endless sound of clicking as they took pictures. From time to time, dirty or curious thoughts flooded the stage, washing away like a tide.
Huang Jin stared at the thought tornado.
Happy melodies and lyrics resounded in them as fierce feelings enveloped them. Ding Lizi sang as hard as she could, as if this was the most important concert in the world.
Why are you working so hard?
After singing her song, Ding Lizi showed a big smile. She waved her hand vigorously at the audience as if she were greeting someone.
“Mr. Good Guy, are you listening—?”
Huang Jin put down his empty bottle of beer and silently left the bar.
……
The second fragment.
Huang Jin was sorting out his mother’s items. There were many braille textbooks among them. He stared at them for a while, thinking of someone who might need them.
With luck, these can be exchanged for a few bottles of beer, he thought.
Ding Lizi was happy.
“I don’t even know where to buy these. Many second-hand products on the internet are so expensive,” she happily said. “Thank you. You helped me a lot!”
In the tornado of thoughts, she began to repeat “good guy, good guy, good guy” again and again. Huang Jin found it quite ridiculous—he was wearing human skin on his face while his back was sunken, giving him an ambiguous vibe, yet there was actually a day that someone would refer to him as a “good guy”.
It seemed that Ms. Ding’s heart was as blind as her eyes.
The two had a drink in the corner of the bar.
When the waiter served them snacks, Huang Jin reflexively adjusted the position of Ding Lizi’s cup. After taking care of his mother for so many years, some reactions had become habits.
His movements weren’t graceful; they were rough but natural.
Ding Lizi was taken aback for a moment but said nothing.
Under the dim light of the bar, Huang Jin slowly read the rotating thought tornado. It was still all those boring and trivial scenes mixed with the weak echo of “good guy”.
“Rent has increased by another 80 again”, “He’s a good guy”, “Can I still get my pay from customer service?”, “He’s a good guy”, “Business at the bar hasn’t been good recently”, “I have to find another job again next month”…
He didn’t know why, but the impression of a “good guy” made Huang Jin a little irritable.
“Actually, I can make some trinkets that can help you change your fortune.” Huang Jin used his most familiar technique. “Your life isn’t going well now. You just need to move a little luck from the future—”
“No need,” Ding Lizi said with a smile.
“I know my situation isn’t good, and it’s difficult to see how it gets any better in the future.” Her tone was relaxed. “It’s useless.”
Huang Jin’s hand holding his glass froze for a moment. In an instant he seemed to see another self.
“Then why are you so…” desperate?
The smile in Ding Lizi’s voice was sad for a moment. “People have to live. Even if I’m struggling and drowning, I still want to look my best.”
This time, she spoke from the heart.
“Let’s not talk about this. I’m having the luckiest moment of my life. Cheers—”
Perhaps he was drunk. Huang Jin knocked his glass onto the table as he thought about it in a daze.
“Are you stupid?” he said. “Luckiest? Just for a few books?”
“No,” she responded with a smile. “Because I met a good guy.”
It was “Mr. Good Guy” again. This time, she said it directly. Huang Jing put down his glass silently, and his irritability became even stronger.
“I wonder if Mr. Good Guy still has more braille books.” Huang Jin lowered his eyes. Ding Lizi’s thoughts were jumping around the table. “If you do, can you wait until I save up enough money…”
“I still have a lot,” he blurted out. “How about this. I won’t charge you money. You can teach me how to play the guitar instead.”
After he said this, he regretted it. It seemed he had given up a good opportunity to make money.
The thought tornado stagnated for a moment, then turned happily. “Okay!”
……
The third fragment.
“Look, this is a video of my niece. Isn’t she cute?”
“Why do you always show me these?” This person couldn’t see. She could only hear at most.
“Because you don’t seem very happy all the time,” Ding Lizi said. “Aren’t we friends? I also want to help.”
“It’s useless showing me this. My eyes aren’t good either.”
Huang Jin fiddled with the guitar in his arms and didn’t look at Ding Lizi’s phone.
“I have a genetic disease. I can’t see people clearly. I can only recognize faces in photos.” He told her the truth.
Besides, Ding Lizi didn’t have many friends to gossip to—she was running around desperately to make a living and didn’t have much social time. Even their meetings were essentially lessons linked to remuneration.
“You can only recognize faces in photos?” Ding Lizi took a deep breath.
Huang Jin didn’t look up. “Nn.”
He didn’t know why, but as they got along, he gradually didn’t want to see Ding Lizi’s thoughts.
Especially those about himself.
Ding Lizi didn’t inquire further. She quickly grabbed Huang Jin’s phone and jerkily pulled up the camera app. She slipped behind Huang Jin—
“Click!”
Huang Jin had never seen such a bad photo.
The angle was strangely poor, the figures looked deformed, and the lighting was fuzzy. In the background of a simple private room of a bar, with uncollected trash scattered on the ground, Ding Lizi smiled a bit exaggeratedly. Half her face had simply disappeared from the edge of the photo.
They look stupid.
“I look like this. Remember,” she happily said. “It’s a pity I can’t see you.”
Huang Jin: “……”
His thumb stopped on the delete button, but in the end he didn’t press it. After a few seconds, he took back his phone and didn’t comment on it. “Continue to teach me how to play the guitar.”
Today, she taught him a new song. The melody was so soft and warm that it made him tingle as if he were being scalded.
“Help me play it. I want to concentrate on writing the lyrics.” Ding Lizi smiled embarrassedly. “When the song is finished, I’ll give it to a very good friend.”
Huang Jin paused. “Very good friend?”
He suddenly hated this song even more.
“I’ll tell you next time!” Ding Lizi smiled. “Learn to play the song first, and I’ll try to sing as you play next time.”
After speaking, she hummed the melody again, as if trying to figure out the appropriate lyrics.
A gentle tornado swept across Huang Jin’s feet.
Learning guitar wasn’t a big deal. Huang Jin wasn’t interested in music, but he would wipe down the guitar, then clean up the messy sofa under it and then the dirty floor.
Finally, the entire room.
Guitar lessons had become an anchor point that was neither light nor heavy—because of this wonderful chain, he could tolerate a song he didn’t like. With it, he was at least willing to live until the next day.
But they didn’t have a “next time” anymore.
When Huang Jin came to the bar with his guitar on his back, the news of “Ding Lizi’s resignation” hit head-on.
Huang Jin returned to his residence. He sorted out the braille books that he had wrapped up neatly. He rubbed the book in confusion and called Ding Lizi.
The phone was off. The phone was off. The phone was off.
He walked out the door in silence, returned to the street where they first met, and called Ding Lizi again.
The phone was still off.
Huang Jin exited the call interface and clicked on the photo album. In the empty photo album, there was only a single botched photo.
Ding Lizi didn’t have many things except a guitar in a backpack, so she could leave without leaving any traces. She had no close friends, so no one would care about her leaving.
…Does no one care? Huang Jin took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
He took a taxi and went to Haigu’s Public Security Bureau.
……
Two weeks later, Huang Jin dripped the accidentally obtained blood into a mortar to make human fragrance, then took out Lu Guangzu’s demon painted skin from the drawer.
He called the police, and they had recorded the case, but Huang Jin knew they wouldn’t treat it as an urgent one.
If the culprit personally provoked and made the case known to everyone in the metaphysical world, would things be different?
Huang Jin thought that he must be crazy. They were just friends who met in passing. Why was he doing this?
To this day, he still didn’t have an answer.
“Maybe I’m just…”
At this moment, opposite Li Nian, Huang Jin’s eyes gradually turned red.
“Maybe I’m just curious about the unfinished song.”
Professor Li didn’t say much. He closed his eyes and thought for a long time, then he made a phone call, and a brand-new guitar was delivered.
Huang Jin looked at it blankly.
Professor Li dialed a certain number, put it on speaker, and set it in front of Huang Jin.
“Ms. Ding is a very interesting person,” he said softly. “Maybe she’s also thinking about the same thing. Let me listen to that song.”
“Impossible!” Huang Jin blurted out. “She must be in pain now…”
Halfway through speaking, he suddenly fell silent.
[Even if I’m struggling and drowning, I still want to look my best.]
It wasn’t the first time she had tasted pain.
Perhaps that friend was indeed very important to her. At least it could alleviate her despair a little.
Under the gaze of Professor Li, Huang Jin picked up the guitar with trembling hands and started to jerkily play it.
She only taught him once, and his memory was already thin, so he could only play it intermittently.
The out-of-tune melody resounded through the earpiece in the interior of the room on a certain floor. In the darkness, countless displays on the big bed flickered non-stop, reflecting constantly changing images.
“Continue.” There was a voice coming from the earpiece.
Huang Jin closed his eyes.
He seemed to be sitting on the stage of that small bar, and she was by his side. Her singing was clean and full of emotion. In the darkness, something huge stood quietly under the stage, listening carefully.
Huang Jin knew himself well.
For example, he didn’t like the world. For example, he had never been a good person… For example, he actually liked this song very much.
His life was a mess and full of refutations. He failed to escape the dark vortex and was still an invisible mouse in the gutter, but it didn’t matter.
At this moment, he was performing the most important performance in the world.
His fingers were cut by the guitar strings, and blood dripped down. From trembling to stable, from jerky to proficient.
…This was a very gentle and firm melody.
“So, that’s it. No wonder. Her thinking, has been, in a loop.”
A weird voice sighed.
“She is here. Singing.”
From misalignment to coincidence, the sound of the guitar flowed continuously like warm water. It repeated over and over again, gently scouring the broken space.
“Thinking, positioning is completed. Synchronous calculation, turned on.”
That weird voice came from the phone again.
“Shangguang District, Fanhua Street, Scrap Yard, West Side Warehouse.”
Huang Jin didn’t stop playing. He didn’t look up, and his body trembled slightly.
“…Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She’s here, singing solemnly.” The voice on the other side replied.
“She’s thinking, she’s late.”
“She’s thinking, this is a song, for, Mr. Good Guy.”
……
“The case report already came out. So fast,” Yin Ren muttered.
In the evening of the next day, Yin Ren sat at the dining table. When the email of the case report came, he was writing the work report from yesterday with a bitter face. Zhong Chengshuo was wearing the apron that had “Dangerous Person” printed on it and was serving chicken salad on the table.
“All the remaining victims were found. They were hidden by Bai Yongji in a warehouse in Shangguang District. The warehouse was completely concealed.”
When it was discovered, one of the guitars was still playing on its own; playing a weak but beautiful melody.
The report said that Shian had determined a treatment plan. With the help of professionals, the victims were expected to be restored to their original state. However, taking into account the physical and mental health of the victim, the memory of their experience would be erased.
Except for Bai Yongji, no one died.
Bai Yongji was turned upside down by the police and Shian. He used his media work to reach out to all the victims, and his modus operandi was extremely proficient. In the aftermath, his plan to try to frame the “accomplice” and swallow the contaminant was exposed.
“This guy did formal psychological counseling. At the time, the counselor asked him to come into contact with more positive people.”
Yin Ren clicked his tongue. This Mr. Bai’s way of thinking was truly unique.
Later, Bai Yongji came into contact with Lu Guangzu and learned about the existence of “Sunken Society”. He obviously didn’t turn to any police friend for help but met with them in earnest.
It was just that he thought that wishing for a perfect killing technique was more “stress-free” than wishing to rescue the project.
Considering the harsh nature of the case, the Haigu police specifically contacted the police of Country X, where Bai Yongji had studied, to determine whether there had been a similar disappearance.
Huang Jin was detained by Shian because of Lu Guangzu’s murder case and was waiting for a follow-up investigation. After obtaining Yin Ren’s permission, Lu Tanfei rushed to Shian to accompany Lu Yuanyuan.
Everything seemed to be settled, except…
“Bai Yongji’s weird ability as well as the mysterious sniper weren’t reported by Shian.”
Yin Ren turned to the last page and raised his head suspiciously.
“Most likely, that exceeds our viewing rights.” Great King Yama untied his apron with a calm face.
“Oh.” Yin Ren glanced at Dog Thing that had entered the trash can for a second time—it was sent back to Shian when it was picked up. Zhong Chengshuo had even mixed potassium permanganate into the cleaned water.
The phone had been hanging at 1% battery life for the entire day.
“The salad isn’t enough, so I’ll go out and buy something.” Yin Ren stood up and tried to escape the rest of the work.
“Go ahead.” Zhong Chengshuo picked up a piece of chicken breast covered in vinaigrette and chewed slowly.
This man knew the identity of Yin Ren was a dangerous evil being, yet he made an earth-shattering confession, but his attitude towards him didn’t change—as usual, Zhong Chengshuo even remembered to prepare him a bottle of hot sauce.
On the contrary, this made Yin Ren a little uncomfortable.
At one point, he even wanted to make a personal debut in front of Zhong Chengshuo. However, Great King Yama was used to seeing big storms, so this little trick probably wouldn’t scare him.
Lord Ghost King turned the hot sauce bottle melancholy while glancing at Zhong Chengshuo, who was eating in a gentle manner, from the corner of his eyes.
“I’m going to destroy the world,” he said.
“Go ahead. Make sure to come back before 11,” Zhong Chengshuo replied calmly.
Yin Ren: “Oh.”
Ignoring the security personnel who were following to “guard” him, Yin Ren staggered to the cold noodle stall. Seeing his regular customer, the stall boss had already started working with his hands. “Two of the usual?”
“Just one,” Yin Ren said listlessly. “I have a bad appetite today.”
“What’s the matter? Are you in a bad mood? Your wife didn’t like the stewed pears two days ago?” The old man yelled.
The stone that was lifted the day before yesterday landed on his foot again, causing Yin Ren to choke. It seemed too late to correct the old man’s thoughts now.
“I didn’t buy it.” Yin Ren faintly stared at the cold chicken noodles. “And they kicked me out.”
The uncle’s face was full of empathy. “Young man, it doesn’t matter if you quarrel at the head or the end of the bed! You look so handsome that your wife can’t bear it!”
After the cold noodles were in hand, Yin Ren thought for a few seconds. This time, he dragged two Shian tails with him and entered the soup shop. The stewed pears on the menu picture were crystal clear and tempting. Yin Ren sniffed carefully and didn’t smell any spoilage.
The ingredients were good, so this shop was an honest store.
Zhong Chengshuo wouldn’t worry about it, though. Not to mention bringing back food or not, even if Yin Ren threw his head everywhere around the living room, Zhong Chengshuo would only tell him to pay attention to hygiene. The identity of him as an evil being that was supposed to be a “deterrent” seemed to be an odd positive point for that person.
Realizing this, Yin Ren became a little sullen.
“Two servings of stewed pears,” Lord Ghost King listlessly ordered. “Put less rock sugar and more fungus in one serving.”
In the aroma of stewed food that filled the room, Yin Ren poked Dog Thing and began to type quietly—between Zhong Chengshuo’s incomprehensible brain circuit and the enemy with unknown strange powers, he suddenly felt the latter was easier to deal with.
[Details on the sniper?]
[Siren: I don’t know!!!] It was obviously still angry with its treatment.
Yin Ren didn’t have the mind to care about it: [Is it an “Evil Spirit” defined by humans?]
[Siren: No!!!]
Yin Ren continued patiently. [According to your definition, what’s the strength of the sniper?]
Dog Thing was silent, longer than usual.
[Siren: Medium.] It replied after a long time.
[Siren: An “Evil Spirit” is no match for it at all.]
[Siren: Never make an enemy of it.]
Kinky Thoughts:
This marks the end of this arc. Summary below.
With the previous case just solved, a new case emerged. Lu Guangzu admitted to being a serial killer, turned himself in to the police, and said he has hidden 7 bodies and wants the police to find them. Since he’s part of the Nightwalkers, Shian became involved, and the case was assigned to Yin Ren’s and Zhong Chengshuo’s unit. Lu Guangzu had intentionally provoked both the Nightwalkers, with specific mention of King Yama, and Shian during his confession.
To dig out more information Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo visited the ghost market, a market for the Nightwalkers. There, Yin Ren discovered a similar smell that he had smelled on Lu Guangzu. After investigating, he found that the smell came from “human fragrance”, a kind of cream that can mask someone’s smell to make them smell like whoever they wanted.
In the process of his investigation, Yin Ren stumbled upon an auction house and won a bid for a “human chair”. It turned out the human chair was one of the victims of the self-confessed serial killer. Using some special technique, they had merged a human perfectly with a chair while still keeping the human alive.
Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo found this suspicious and further interrogated Lu Guangzu. Demanding to speak with Yin Ren alone, Lu Guangzu wanted to cut a deal with him. It turned out that Lu Guangzu wasn’t him at all, but Huang Jin disguised himself as Lu Guangzu with demon-painted skin.
Huang Jin had a unique ability to read people’s thoughts and was able to uncover the true identities of Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo. Hoping to use this as leverage, he wanted them to solve the serial killer case because one of the victims was a friend of his.
However, things backfired when he discovered just how powerful those two truly are.
After knowing the truth, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo decided to become “accomplices”. Through a series of actions, they led Shian to discover Huang Jin’s disguise while also leading them onto the right track for finding the true culprit.
To lure out the true culprit, they devised a plan by chatting with him using the online chat room the Nightwalkers use. Zhong Chengshuo pretended to be someone who was also interested in his work and wanted to know more about his “preservation” technique.
Things came to a head when Yin Ren got kidnapped by the true culprit, which turned out to be Bai Yongji. Bai Yongji revealed that he was a struggling artist and couldn’t make beautiful works of art. Through Lu Guangzu, he was able to get in touch with Sunken Society who gave him a “lucky coin”. This coin was contaminated with Evil Force and allowed him to merge humans and materials together. However, everything came at a price.
Taking advantage of Huang Jin’s confession, he wanted to pin all the blame on him and hope to get Shian involved so they would deal with Sunken Society, allowing him to keep his lucky coin without any repercussions.
However, with Yin Ren’s and Zhong Chengshuo’s meddling, he had to revise his plan, so he lured out his “like-minded accomplice” in order to pin everything on Zhong Chengshuo and act out a script of him being a person who was forced into this by the “true culprit”, which was why he kidnapped Yin Ren.
Bai Yongji didn’t expect, though, that Yin Ren was actually that powerful and was easily captured. In his desperation, he swallowed the lucky coin, became corrupted by its Evil Force, and turned into a human that possessed special abilities, which Shian labeled as a class under Chiron.
Before Bai Yongji had a chance to escape, he was shot and killed by an unknown sniper. Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo managed to escape and once again fooled Shian with their silly antics.
Thanks to Huang Jin’s abilities, they were able to locate the other victims, and the case came to a close.
Other things to note: Zhong Chengshuo finally realized that what he was feeling for Yin Ren wasn’t some kind of curse but that he actually liked him, and he confessed to him while also dumping him at the same time.
In terms of the process, in the absence of any substantial evidence, he identified Li Jingtian as a suspect based on his personality alone and then tried to find clues to prove Li Jingtian’s guilt. Lin Chen was well aware of the potential problems, but people had opinions. In this case, he felt he had no choice.
Work started quickly.
He asked Wang Chao for all the files in the rape case against Li Jingtian. In fact, these things required some cumbersome documents to be obtained from the Fengchun police.
However, since Wang Chao was here, it took less than a minute from when he asked to see the files to when he actually saw them.
There were printers and shredders in the police lounge. Wang Chao printed hundreds of pages of files at once. Lin Chen sat by the desk lamp and finished sorting out the papers without rushing through them.
“Judging from Li Jingtian’s pathological personality, it’s impossible that he didn’t commit such a similar rape case for the first time, since that would be going against one’s innate desire for someone like him. If so, there must be clues in his files.” Lin Chen looked at the teenager who was motivated in front of the computer and said, “Wang Chao, I need you to thoroughly investigate all files related to Li Jingtian, including his files in Xinni and those in our country. Records, ranging from smoking fines to traffic accidents, including any criminal records that haven’t been officially filed, need to be thoroughly checked to see if there are any cases that have been ignored. Those records may be able to help us crucify Li Jingtian.”
“Understood!” The teenager nodded and turned around to search. He had just typed a few words in when he suddenly turned to ask, “What is the Captain doing?”
Lin Chen looked at the man sitting next to him. Thinking Xing Conglian was his immediate superior, there was no reason for his subordinates to arrange work for his superior.
“Xing Conglian…” But, after some thought, he still said to Xing Conglian.
“Consultant Lin?”
“When is it convenient for us to go to Fengchun?” He asked tentatively.
“Anytime.”
……
As a result, his file-reading work and Wang Chao’s research were quickly moved from the police lounge to Xing Conglian’s car. Within a quarter of an hour, they had already started to drive towards Fengchun, which was hundreds of kilometers away.
Lin Chen always felt that whenever they encountered a case, they probably spent more time in Xing Conglian’s run-down Jeep than their beds at home.
Because there were too many files at hand, he sat in the back seat and switched with Wang Chao, who was sitting in the front passenger seat next to Xing Conglian.
Xing Conglian drove so steadily that he could put a glass of water on the dashboard, and it wouldn’t spill a drop of water.
By 8 in the evening, the flow of people on the road had gradually decreased. Naturally, a city like Hongjing was completely different from Fengchun.
The surrounding lights were silent. The hustle and bustle during the day and the scolding and cursing online didn’t play much of a role in this city. The road was dark, and the more one walked outside the city, the darker it became. At this time, Lin Chen started to believe that, just as day would always come, night would as well. No one in this world could really turn black and white.
“Is it okay for us to go to Fengchun so suddenly?”
Although he proposed to go to Fengchun, and Xing Conglian firmly supported it, Lin Chen suddenly remembered that their sudden actions might still cause trouble for Xing Conglian.
Again, what they were supposed to investigate was the assault case at Ansheng International Mall, but now they uncharacteristically went to investigate a suspected sexual assault case of Li Jingtian’s victim that was already closed. If this matter was exposed online, and he believed it would, let alone Li Jingtian’s fans, even ordinary netizens would criticize the Hongjing police for this.
Xing Conglian glanced at him through the rearview mirror of the car and said, “Since Consultant Lin said we’re going, then we’ll go. That’s all.”
“Is there any problem with the Ansheng International Mall’s case?” he asked.
“Someone is doing the trace test, and there are others checking on the artificial blood used by the assailant, including the source—the nightingale and the rose. There are people following orders. Don’t worry.” Xing Conglian seemed to see through what he was thinking. He said lightly, “Besides, when we go to Fengchun, we’re also investigating the social relations of Xu Ran. Wang Chao also gave me the phone records of her two closest friends. This is serious work.”
Lin Chen was a little speechless. This person was more shameless than he thought.
Although he was worried about Xing Conglian’s situation, they really did have to go to Fengchun.
The reason was because of what Li Jingtian said to him when he left.
He left him his number and said he would return home to recuperate.
Obviously, Li Jingtian was provoking him. He was confident that he wouldn’t be caught.
Even though they found a crime that could nail Li Jingtian, with him at the embassy, he could enjoy diplomatic protection. What was even scarier was that if the problem was serious, Li Jingtian could immediately book a plane ticket to return to his country. Once Li Jingtian left China, they could only watch as the other party escaped sanctions.
So now, every minute was important.
Lin Chen rubbed his brows, turned on the reading light above his head, and looked through the files of Li Jingtian’s sexual assault case page by page.
He saw the examination conducted by the Fengchun police on Xu Ran and saw the densely terrible scars that covered her body and the bloody wounds on her chest. Unfortunately, because Xu Ran was a sex worker, considering her background, the scars on her body could easily be interpreted as self-inflicted or the result of a money transaction, which in itself was incredulous.
Lin Chen couldn’t help but take a deep breath and turn to the next page.
When they approached a rest stop, the teenager sitting in the front passenger seat suddenly let out a long “Ah!”
Xing Conglian was so startled that he almost slammed on the brakes and reprimanded the restless co-pilot. “What are you on about?”
“Captain, how can there be a person like Li Jingtian in this world? He’s obviously a pervert, but there’s not a single criminal record at all. This is truly unscientific!”
Wang Chao put his laptop on the driver’s dashboard, stretched out for a while, then turned his head and said to Lin Chen, “A’Chen, let alone any sexual harassment records, Li Jingtian doesn’t even have a parking violation ticket!”
In the dark car, Lin Chen was astounded. “Did you really look through it?”
“Yeah, after checking, Li Jingtian is crystal clear, just like a fully plucked chicken. I suspect his files are even cleaner than ours!”
“If everyone’s like you, their files would be full of stains,” Xing Conglian said coldly.
“Captain, it takes one to know one. Scolding others just reveals the stains you have.” Wang Chao quickly countered.
Lin Chen frowned and interrupted them. “This is unlikely. Antisocial personality disorder like Li Jingtian would manifest during their early childhood. Were there any juvenile criminal files that were sealed?”
Wang Chao started mumbling. As if recalling something, he lowered his head and searched Li Jingtian’s files again, then said, “A’Chen, wait… If you say that, there might be something wrong with Li Jingtian’s files.”
As he spoke, he put the laptop through the gap between the seats and handed it over. “Look, aren’t these files a little too clean? It’s as if they all have the same format.”
Lin Chen looked at the scanned copies of Li Jingtian’s files when he was young. The more he looked at them, the more frightened he became.
Although he didn’t know what kind of standard of records Xinni had, it was clear that the person who wrote Li Jingtian’s 7-year-old primary school admission file was exactly the same person who wrote his 13-year-old junior high school file. After six years, even the handwriting of the person would change, not to mention that Li Jingtian attended different schools. How could the file writer be the same?
Lin Chen’s finger slid on the screen. He flipped through the series of scans and found the records of Li Jingtian between 7 and 16 were probably rewritten.
He also looked at the electronic files that were the standards of Xinni. The electronic file was brief, just stating what significant experiences Li Jingtian had in a certain year and month. The matter fits with the contents of the scanned paper. Apart from the handwriting issue, in fact, this forged file was beautifully made. If it weren’t for careful investigation, the abnormality wouldn’t be found.
Furthermore, if there was no accident involving a “law-abiding citizen” like Li Jingtian, why would Xinni investigate his childhood files?
For a police officer from another country to see this file, they must first submit an application to the ICPO and then spend a lot of effort waiting for the Xinni police to agree to submit it, and even then there was a high probability it would be rejected, so…
Lin Chen looked at the teenager in the front passenger seat. He probably understood where the “stain” in Wang Chao’s file came from.
“It seems that Lao Li has really worked hard for his grandson.” After listening to his narrative, Xing Conglian dropped another cigarette and spoke calmly.
Perhaps only Xing Conglian would use such a peaceful tone to evaluate a privileged class protected by a family of high status. It seemed that Li Jingtian was more difficult to deal with than they imagined.
“What are we going to do next, A’Chen?!” Wang Chao stretched his waist, but he wasn’t the slightest bit frustrated.
“Li Jingtian is smart. Since his files have been modified, let’s expand the scope of the search. It’s impossible for him to act seamlessly. Check on those around Li Jingtian—former classmates, relatives, and friends. See if any of them have ever reported anything unusual.”
Lin Chen handed the laptop back to Wang Chao.
“Okay!” Wang Chao nodded vigorously.
The car became calm again. Xing Conglian opened the windows slightly to let out the smoke. The smell in the car was filled with his usual mint cigarettes mixed with the smell of the grass and trees at the turn of spring into summer, which made him feel a little sleepy.
At some point, Xing Conglian had turned on the radio.
A soft voice from the male anchor flowed out into the night. “The bloodshed that happened today has filled everyone’s hearts with trauma. Although we don’t know what the truth is, we still hope that music can comfort you. The following song is the most famous single from Mr. Li Jingtian’s group, Illi, called Peaceful. I hope you will like it.”
The voice of the male anchor gradually disappeared, and a soft singing voice flowed out.
On top of the background noise of the rustling radio, the sound of a guitar suddenly resounded. The rhythm was gentle and seemed to pull people’s heartstrings.
Then, Lin Chen heard a clear male voice. It wasn’t Li Jingtian’s voice, because his singing was soft with a terrible explosive power hidden within it, whereas this singer’s voice had a sharp aura that a young person should have. Come to think of it, there should be another person in Illi.
Li Jingtian’s voice appeared later. He hummed the melody softly, blending it with the lead singer’s voice almost perfectly.
Before they knew it, they had all put down their work. Lin Chen was carefully distinguishing the meanings of the lyrics, while Wang Chao listened carefully to the song. Xing Conglian was, of course, still driving.
In a very calm atmosphere, the sound of the song suddenly changed. It was an extremely abrupt climax, like the handover of night and day. Various roaring noises in the background sounded like painful resistance, like people suffering in a war or suffering from ordinary life.
There was almost no libretto in that climax—only screaming, which was so uncomfortable that it was incomprehensible.
Lin Chen put his hand on his chest. He could feel the despair and pain in the scream, as if it were a true scream. From the mirror of the car, he could clearly see Xing Conglian’s frowning brows. Wang Chao reached out to turn down the volume.
But at the moment when Wang Chao was about to touch the knob, the melody gradually softened again. The arrival of that moment was like a mouth blowing on a painful wound, soothing it. The wounds were still clear and painful, but love bloomed, like roses from the muzzle of a gun.
This made Lin Chen suddenly remember what happened in front of Xu Ran’s ward. Xing Conglian was holding him tightly.
He didn’t know when the singing would end.
During the unbearable blank time, Wang Chao looked back at him. The teenager’s eyes were filled with tears at some point. “This song is really hard to listen to, but it is indeed very good.”
Lin Chen put his hand down from his heart.
In the front passenger seat, Xing Conglian didn’t seem affected by such emotions. He suddenly asked, “What happened to Li Jingtian’s former group?”
Wang Chao was startled by him before he began tapping on the keyboard and quickly replied, “It seems they were around nine years ago. Jingtian used to be in an underground band called Illi. At that time, Li Jingtian was still a newcomer. CA Entertainment discovered them at the time, but it seemed they were short-lived. They disbanded eight years ago, and Li Jingtian went solo.”
Wang Chao flipped through the news records, and suddenly, a piece of information seemed to attract his attention.
The sound of the young man tapping the keyboard became much louder. He pressed enter twice and suddenly turned his head and said, in an inconceivable tone, “A’Chen, I seem to have found it. You asked me to look into it. The abnormal reports of people around Li Jingtian were recorded, but…”
The wings on the ball drooped a bit. Yin Ren even forgot to retract them, as his eyes were full of shock.
This wasn’t the development he had expected.
They should have had a quick and calm negotiation… But the situation now…
In more than three hundred years of his consciousness, Yin Ren had come into contact with many humans and even more evil things. He had never become anyone’s “beloved”.
Yin Ren quickly grew another brain in his chest cavity and thought with all his strength.
Zhong Chengshuo was the perfect partner. He was strong, calm, and had a deep understanding of the metaphysical world, but had difficulties detecting anomalies such as Evil Spirits. Even better, he had a secret that couldn’t be exposed to Shian.
Knowing that the other party had doubts about him, Yin Ren set the bait.
From “the cultivator of unknown details” to “an evil being himself”, Yin Ren progressed step by step. He demonstrated sufficient sincerity and bound enough benefits. As long as Zhong Chengshuo was lured to his side, they could become true partners.
There shouldn’t be a problem with the process itself.
“You know that I am an evil being, and this may not be my true appearance.” Yin Ren tried to regain dominance.
“Nn.”
A few strands of hair touched Zhong Chengshuo’s pocket and found the glasses case. They hauled out the glasses and put them back on Zhong Chengshuo’s face.
The wing ball had scattered, and the two of them were completely exposed under the moonlight.
“You said you liked me,” Yin Ren reconfirmed.
“This is an objective fact.” Behind the lenses, Zhong Chengshuo’s black hole-like eyes had a hint of a smile.
Yin Ren was stuck in a rare situation.
For a moment, he wasn’t sure whether the phrase “I kind of like you” was either as a “love object” or a “hunting object”.
…No, they didn’t have time to linger, and they had to act quickly.
Yin Ren’s gaze stopped on the handle of the Evil Fruit that was flashing meaningfully.
Perhaps this was some kind of fate.
He ignored the blade, and his expression of ease recovered a little.
Zhong Chengshuo was quite cute. At least when he put away his sharp claws, he looked straightforward and was funny. He had never experienced such intimate feelings… and if things went well, his cooperation with Zhong Chengshuo would be more stable.
“Honestly speaking, I admire you very much.” After a while, Yin Ren responded hesitantly. “Even though I’m not experienced in this area, it’s not like we can’t give it a try…”
He stretched out a strand of long hair and tentatively wrapped it around Zhong Chengshuo’s wrist.
Zhong Chengshuo slowly and rationally retracted the Evil Fruit. He politely picked up the long strands of hair and put them back in place, then patted them smoothly.
“But I don’t want to,” he said.
Yin Ren: “……?”
Spare Lord Ghost King, who was excellent in all things, but was now completely down at this moment. What was going on? Did he just get dumped?
“Depending on your attitude, we can still coexist peacefully for the time being, so let’s finish things up, quickly.”
Zhong Chengshuo patiently broke up the cartilage and flesh and straightened out his baggy clothes.
Yin Ren hugged his half-drawn wings numbly, and looked at Zhong Chengshuo with an indescribable expression.
“Bai Yongji had a physical change. It takes about 10 minutes for Shian to find out the readings are abnormal, and most likely another 15 minutes for them to gather troops and cordon off the area. Considering the time for communication and reporting, we have 8 minutes left to collude and act.”
Zhong Chengshuo carefully adjusted the position of his glasses and didn’t forget to pick up the rabbit mask.
Yin Ren: “You…”
“Now is not the time to talk in detail.” Zhong Chengshuo opened his arms to Yin Ren.
“You want a hug?” Yin Ren asked in a daze.
After his identity as King Yama had been exposed, Comrade Zhong Chengshuo didn’t seem to bother hiding his strange thoughts. Yin Ren had a faint premonition that he was being played. His hundreds of years of experience weren’t enough to deal with this strange guy standing in front of him.
“No, I shouldn’t be here. Before Shian blocks the area, you have to fly me away and come back by yourself.”
Zhong Chengshuo shook his head. His ears were still red, but his expression was calmer than before.
“Don’t forget your phone. Let it go back to where it was dropped. I didn’t come with it tonight, and I don’t know anything.”
“Zhong Chengshuo, you—”
“The situation is too complicated, so you’d better not lie,” Zhong Chengshuo said solemnly. “Just distort the details… I don’t need to elaborate on how you need to do it.”
Yin Ren was silent for half a minute.
“Forget it.” Lord Ghost King sighed resignedly. He hugged Zhong Chengshuo’s waist tightly. “I hope you don’t faint.”
……
About five minutes later.
Layers upon layers of encircling nets were erected, and all kinds of detectors were ready to go. The highly sophisticated metaphysical team from Shian that was fully armed stepped into Xinxin Amusement Park like sharp knives.
They found a dilapidated bean bag, a headless, naked male corpse, a rookie colleague in a daze, and unexplained craters all over the ground.
There were some remnants of Evil Force on the corpse, but the nearby space was stable. According to Minister Jiao’s feedback, the rookie on the “other side” was completely silent.
Fu Xingchuan slowly turned his head and patted Xiang Jiang. “Am I dying? Is this a hallucination I’m seeing right now before the end of my life?”
Xiang Jiang ignored him and just pointed perfunctorily at Yin Ren. “Isn’t that our observation target? What should I do with it?”
Yin Ren was collapsed behind a bush. His clothes were in tatters, and his limbs had multiple shallow and deep abrasions and bruises. When a few people approached, he seemed to hear their movements and turned his face in their direction.
Even if Fu Xingchuan’s ability to read others wasn’t as good as Professor Li’s, he could see that the other party was collapsed at this moment—Yin Ren seemed to be stimulated by a lot of energy as he looked confused and at complete loss, as if his face was full of question marks.
Comrade Yin Ren looked like he had been run over by a car, and such shock emotion was difficult to fake.
Until he was wrapped in a blanket and had some honey water, Yin Ren’s expression of horror didn’t dissipate.
“What’s wrong?” Fu Xingchuan took a can of coffee and sat down beside Yin Ren.
Around them, the staff of Shian were busy everywhere. The traces were partitioned, the body was sampled, and various lights lit up again in the quiet amusement park.
Yin Ren glanced at Fu Xingchuan faintly. He gulped down half a glass of honey water and began to talk about his “tragic experience”.
In a sense, Yin Ren didn’t lie…
“I was kidnapped by Bai Yongji. When I woke up, I saw a weirdo in a goat costume… He also called an accomplice and said he was going to turn me into a bean bag, but they suddenly clashed… I heard the goat say that he was going to melt his accomplice into the sewer…”
There were traces of three people on the scene. Yin Ren looked at the small canal next to the pirate ship.
“While they were fighting, I fled to the back door, but—but I was caught by the goat again. I could only use all my heart and recruit Grandpa Lu… Maybe it was just after the fight with the accomplice, but the goat was in a bad state. He was seriously injured by Grandpa Lu, who went crazy…”
“Finding that he was in a bad situation, he swallowed something… Then he had a weird ability, and his body quickly recovered…”
Yin Ren trembled dutifully and glanced at the bloody bean bag at the back door.
On his arm was a ghost-summoning talisman that had dried bloodstains on it.
“The goat’s doll costume fell off, and I recognized him as Bai Yongji… I thought I was dead… but as soon as he was about to hurt me, his head was blown up by a shot from nowhere. The attacker kept shooting, so I immediately hid in the bushes and barely escaped…”
Finally, Yin Ren’s gaze turned to Bai Yongji’s body and the weird craters.
His long hair was covered in dirt, cobwebs, and dead leaves from the bushes, giving him quite a miserable look.
Yin Ren did give Shian the facts and only concealed a few trivial details—for example, the accomplice’s name was Zhong Chengshuo, who was a part-time Nightwalker under the alias of “King Yama”; for example, during the hiding process, King Yama had confessed to him even knowing that he was an evil being and then unmercifully dumped him.
Thanks to Zhong Chengshuo, Yin Ren’s current confusion and doubt didn’t need to be faked. He could act in his true colors that even 100,000 lie detectors wouldn’t find anything wrong.
Fu Xingchuan, who had listened to the entire story: “……”
Fu Xingchuan declined to comment. “Where is that accomplice?”
“I don’t know.” Yin Ren looked at the ground. “When they fought, Bai Yongji used some kind of smokescreen prop… After the smoke dissipated, only Bai Yongji chased me to the back door.”
Fu Xingchuan asked Yin Ren to tell the story again. After multiple inquiries, he finally let Yin Ren go.
“Except for some anesthetic ingredients in your body, there are no other serious issues, and your wounds are minor.”
Fu Xingchuan patted Yin Ren on the back.
“We’ll carefully investigate the scene and compare it to your statement. Do you want to go to the hospital or…?”
“I want to go home,” Yin Ren said.
“Okay, okay, we’ll send a special team to guard the outside,” Fu Xingchuan said meaningfully. “Go back and get some rest. Zhong Chengshuo doesn’t need to come either. You two can take a good break.”
At around 5 in the morning, under the escort of the staff, Yin Ren returned to Ping’an Manor.
He gently opened the door.
He didn’t know if it was due to his state of mind, but the usually familiar living room seemed a little strange. The sky was a little brighter as green trees outside the window swayed, accompanied by faint birdsong.
As usual, there was a fresh apple on the table. Zhong Chengshuo had put away the computer and cleaned the dining table. Yin Ren’s snacks were neatly stacked next to the sofa, and the light on the game console was still slowly flickering. His tablet was buckled on the sofa, giving off a quaint and peaceful atmosphere in the room.
Lu Tanfei had returned to his normal appearance and hurriedly rushed forward. Yin Ren waved his hand wearily. “Don’t worry. I can find him without Bai Yongji now.”
He had absorbed part of the Evil Force in the coin and was busy savoring and digesting it. It was extremely pure, without the craziness; perfect and stable.
After gaining new knowledge, Yin Ren could use a little more Evil Force and he became more familiar with the scent of this Evil Spirit. When Shian’s security dispersed outside, he could search for the victims.
Although he had originally planned to rewrite Bai Yongji’s memories and also dig out the location of the victims…
Yin Ren looked melancholy at Zhong Chengshuo’s bedroom, recalling his original plan.
The bedroom door was still firmly closed.
On the other side of the door, Zhong Chengshuo’s breathing was calm and long, as he was sleeping soundly. Yin Ren could almost imagine the head wearing a nightcap shrinking in his blanket.
…So much happened tonight, yet this kid can actually still sleep!
Yin Ren stared at the door speechlessly for a while. Unfortunately, the bedroom door was just a lifeless thing that couldn’t give him any answers.
Yin Ren couldn’t help but walk to the door of Zhong Chengshuo’s bedroom. It was easy for him to open the door as an evil being. He really wanted to get Zhong Chengshuo out of bed and continue the “negotiations” that they had failed to complete normally.
But the sound of breathing in the room was gentle and gratifying.
Yin Ren stood there for a while, discouraged. He sighed heavily and laid back on the sofa.
He had thrown Dog Thing back near the trashcan and ordered it to climb back into it obediently until Shian came and rescued it, along with finding his keys. Now he wanted to find someone to tell them about the weird sniper, but he couldn’t do it.
So Lord Ghost King buried his face down on the sofa like a dumbfounded corpse.
The sky outside the window was getting brighter. The clock in the living room was ticking as the hour hand gradually went to the position of seven. The breathing in the bedroom was still peaceful and calm. Yin Ren couldn’t bear it and walked to the bedroom door again.
He first turned the door handle hopelessly. Who knew that Zhong Chengshuo had left the door unlocked? Yin Ren was unprepared and almost fell forward.
Zhong Chengshuo had closed the curtains, so the bedroom was dark. The window wasn’t open, so the smell that belonged to only Zhong Chengshuo was still fresh, smelling like a deep forest off the beaten track.
Just as Yin Ren imagined, Zhong Chengshuo had put on his nightcap and was sleeping comfortably in the center of the big bed. He was lying sideways, and his body was rising and falling with his breathing.
Yin Ren walked silently to Zhong Chengshuo’s bed and leaned over to look at him.
“What biological clock?” He muttered softly. “We have to make our position clear first, and the victims need to be rescued as soon as possible…”
There was still no response from Zhong Chengshuo. As if in deep sleep, he rolled over, revealing a harmless face that only irritated Yin Ren. Yin Ren gently pressed one leg against the edge of the bed and leaned forward, carefully looking at the side of Zhong Chengshuo’s face. He could feel the heat radiating from the other’s body from this distance.
Whether it was an innocent passerby, a science post of Shian, or King Yama of the Nightwalkers, Yin Ren didn’t think Zhong Chengshuo could pose any threat to him.
But the world had become a little strange.
The source of the mysterious Evil Force, the sniper of unknown strength, and the accomplice that had broken away from his own expectations; his originally smooth journey in life had gradually become turbulent.
“I don’t understand.” Yin Ren sighed softly. “Forget about those things in the shadows… What exactly are you thinking?”
He stretched out a hand towards Zhong Chengshuo’s shoulder but stopped in the process.
Forget it. It’s not too late. If he ruined this man’s sleep again, he would probably have to buy another pot of stewed pears.
“Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding—!” The phone next to Zhong Chengshuo’s pillow suddenly rang.
Zhong Chengshuo suddenly opened his eyes and saw Yin Ren beside his bed, who had his hand stretched out towards him.
Yin Ren: “……”
Yin Ren: “…I have no other intention besides just waking you up.”
Zhong Chengshuo gave him a light glance and answered the call on speakerphone. “Hello, how are you?”
“Xiao Zhong, it’s Lu Xiaohe!” Lu Xiaohe’s voice sounded excited.
“We’ve located the victims! Hey, also, you’re on break right now, so you don’t have to come into work.”
“Yin Ren should already be back, right? A lot of things have happened to him, so let him take a good rest and remember to submit a report after he recovers.”
“…Xiao Zhong?”
Seeing that Zhong Chengshuo hadn’t replied, Lu Xiaohe asked in confusion.
“I see. Thank you, Lu Jie.” Zhong Chengshuo returned to his usual tone. “I’ll learn more about the situation from Yin Ren.”
With a beep, the call was terminated.
“With Shian handling the victims, there’s no need to worry about anything.” Yin Ren smiled embarrassedly as he withdrew his knees that were pressing against the side of the bed. “Then we’re not in a hurry to talk. You can go back to sleep first. I’ll go…”
“If you want to know what I’m thinking, you can ask me directly.”
Zhong Chengshuo leaned against the head of the bed and spoke to him in an extremely calm tone.
Yin Ren froze.
“If it’s the ‘I like you’ thing… Whether it’s pretending or sincere, you’re nice to everyone. I’m not good at distinguishing those things, but so far, it seems that I’m not so special.”
Zhong Chengshuo leaned against a soft pillow while still dressed in his soft pajamas. There wasn’t a single speck of dust on his body, and the Evil Fruit was nowhere in sight, but the faint sense of oppression hadn’t disappeared.
“Your ‘try it out’—I’m not sure if there’s any other purpose. For example, it’ll be easier to maintain the status quo or control me better. I want to maintain the purity of this relationship—it’s enough for me to experience the thrill of ‘liking’. You don’t need to do anything extra.”
Yin Ren: “……” He felt a little guilty.
No, shouldn’t there be more issues to consider? For example, shouldn’t he ask what kind of evil thing I am?
Yin Ren couldn’t control his expression. “According to your theory, if I really like you in the future, you won’t be able to judge.”
“I can judge.”
Zhong Chengshuo touched his red ears and took the initiative to get closer.
“When you lose more control, become more embarrassed… Showing an expression I haven’t seen before and saying you ‘want to give it a try’.”
……
Time returned to 4:00 a.m.
Shian Campus, temporary room for dangerous people.
“No, it’s still not right.” Huang Jin watched in despair as conjectures were crossed out one by one.
Fu Xingchuan asked him to provide “possible thoughts” Ding Lizi would have, saying that he could find people using a special method, so Huang Jin racked his brains and wrote all those things in the “thought tornado”.
However, none of them were right.
He knew better than anyone that as long as people were awake, they would be wrapped in their own thoughts. Whether it was subconsciously or thinking about things, they would stack up in layers. Huang Jin could only distinguish a small part of them with his eyes—after all, his attention was ultimately limited.
Perhaps he didn’t know her well enough. At least he couldn’t guess what Ding Lizi would be thinking two weeks after becoming a “dead thing”.
After all, in his memory, the girl didn’t always smile.
It would be great… if he had looked at her more in the beginning. If he knew a little more about her thoughts and grasped them, he would have a greater chance of rescuing her. He seemed to be unable to do anything smoothly and would never be able to step out of that vortex of despair.
Huang Jin pulled his hair desperately as a bloody smell filled his mouth.
At this moment, there was a soft creak, and the door to the temporary room slowly opened.
The author has something to say:
Xiao Yin: In case I really like you in the future.
Not in case! Not in case! It’s for sure!
Xiao Zhong: I’m happy. This time someone can write their own report (×
The girls were detained together. Xing Conglian wanted his police officers to arraign them, but Lin Chen stopped him.
“We’ll just question them in the detention room.” Lin Chen thought for a bit before saying, “I’ll go in alone.”
Xing Conglian raised his brows. He obviously didn’t expect him to say this. “Don’t push yourself.”
“I know.”
The detention room of the police criminal division was on the negative first floor. Hongjing was originally a humid and rainy city, so there was always a musty and rancid smell in the detention room. Most of the prisoners held there were petty thieves and traffic offenders. The surrounding area was filled with whispers and people retching.
It was thanks to Xing Conglian’s hands that these dainty little girls were held here for more than four hours.
Lin Chen used a key to open the iron door. When they heard the sound of the door opening, all the girls in the room stood up.
But unlike Lin Chen’s imagination, in the dim underground space, those little girls looked furious. Their faces weren’t repentant, and they spoke to him condescendingly. “Okay, Uncle Policeman, can we go now?”
Lin Chen was familiar with the faces of those girls. After all, in his memories, their faces had appeared repeatedly. He still remembered that one of them was wearing pink earrings and the other had a Mickey Mouse doll attached to her satchel. Seeing them again, those memories resurfaced.
Lin Chen glanced at them and sat down on the only bed in the detention room in the same posture as he sat in front of Li Jingtian’s hospital bed. “I’m afraid not yet.”
“Why?”
“What makes you think you can keep us for so long?”
The girls began to chatter again. “We didn’t force her to jaywalk.”
“Because Xu Ran is in the hospital and isn’t out of danger,” he said to the girls.
The girls were stunned. They seemed to have no idea who Xu Ran was.
Suddenly, someone responded, “That’s the chicken?”
“What? It’s none of our business. If she dies, she deserves it.”
“That bitch committed suicide. That has nothing to do with us!” The girl wearing pink earrings said. “Hehe, this is truly divine punishment. It’s retribution, I tell you.”
Suddenly, a short-haired girl said coldly, “Officer, I remember you were also at the scene. Why don’t you think it was you who forced that whore to commit suicide?”
Those words poured into Lin Chen’s ears, but he didn’t feel any anger; just sadness.
He wasn’t prepared to talk about useless nonsense such as love and kindness. “I certainly have an inescapable responsibility for Xu Ran’s serious injury, so I’ll take the responsibility I should bear. For example, making you guys talk.”
“You… What do you want?!”
The girls were quite imaginative. There were some that pulled their shirts and hid by the wall.
“It’s simple. We’ll play a game of questions and answers. The person who gives me the most satisfactory answer can leave first, and the rest will stay here for the night.”
As if to match his words, a drunk driver in the next cell began to vomit, and the violent criminal opposite their cell began to shake the iron door frantically.
The girls were shocked. “I’ll tell my parents. I’ll report you. This is abuse!”
Lin Chen thought, if Xing Conglian was here, he would probably take out a cigarette, narrow his eyes slightly, and say to the girls, “You can try.”
So, he said the same thing.
Without giving the girls time to react, he took out his phone and opened Weibo. He pointed to the post that first appeared, indicating Xu Ran’s location, and asked, “Who is this @EatDrinkSleep?”
The girls looked at each other, as if trying to figure out how to respond.
“I’ll give you three seconds. Three, two…”
When the count reached two, the girl wearing pink earrings suddenly raised her head and said confidently, “It’s me. So what?”
“Congratulations.” Lin Chen didn’t even look at her and instead looked at the remaining girls. “She got the first point.”
“Why did you happen to find Xu Ran’s trail?”
As soon as the girl was about to speak, Lin Chen interrupted, “I don’t want to hear words like ‘it was a coincidence’. I want to hear the truth.”
“Someone sent a private message to @EatDrinkSleep and she asked us to go together,” another girl said.
Humans were very strange individuals. The seemingly unbreakable alliance disintegrated in an instant.
“One point.”
“Someone did send me a private message.” The girl wearing pink earrings named “EatDrinkSleep” gritted her teeth as she responded, looking extremely unhappy that her opportunity was robbed.
“Who?”
“It’s the kind of private message that gets deleted after reading. I forgot the name. She said that she saw a bad woman at the intersection and asked me to find her quickly and that she was waiting for me over there.”
“Do you know that person?” Lin Chen asked.
“I… There are so many Jingtian fans on Weibo. How could I know them all?” EatDrinkSleep looked back at the other girls in the detention room and said, “But it’s not any of them. I know all of them.”
“In other words, none of you knows exactly who the person was who first found Xu Ran?”
“It could be someone from the fan club. Who knows?” EatDrinkSleep grumbled.
The expressions on the girl’s face didn’t seem to be fake. Lin Chen nodded and said to her, “You can leave if you can write down the name of the person who sent you the private message.”
After he finished speaking, he took out a pen and paper and handed them to the girl. After the other party finished writing, she headed towards the door.
Just as she was about to reach the door, the girl who was performing well suddenly stopped and walked back to her companions.
“We’re in this together, so we’re going together!”
This sudden sense of loyalty surprised Lin Chen. He turned his head and looked at the fair-skinned girls in front of him again and said, “Then answer my question.”
His gaze finally fell on the fan club logo on the girls’ chest as he asked the stupidest question ever, “Why?”
Why do you want to do this? Why do you want to hurt Xu Ran? Why can you love someone so much yet hate another equally at the same time?
Hearing this, the girls looked at him as if he were an idiot. Their eyes were filled with the flame of faith.
“We agreed to protect Jingtian until we grow old!”
“We’re not wrong!”
When people were young, they would firmly believe in their own opinions and views, as if their love and hate were incomparable.
Lin Chen shook the key in his hand and walked away from the interrogation room without closing the door.
He walked out to the stairway and found Xing Conglian hadn’t waited for him in the previous place.
He raised his eyes and looked at the police officers that were rushing around. He grabbed one of them and asked, “Where’s Xing Conglian?”
“In the lounge.” The police officer had an angsty expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Chen asked.
“Captain Xing was just on the news. He seems to have shut himself in the lounge to watch TV. Do you want to go see him?”
Hearing this, Lin Chen raised his head and looked at the clock on the wall. It was exactly 7:15 p.m. It shouldn’t have been long since the Hongjing Night News started.
Lin Chen nodded, thanking the other party, and walked to the police lounge.
Of course, Xing Conglian wasn’t the type to sulk alone in the lounge over trivial things like being on the news. When he walked to the door, he could hear an anchor’s sharp voice coming out of the lounge.
Lin Chen knocked on the door and pushed it open. He saw Xing Conglian leaning on the sofa bed while watching the news. His uniform was spread out, his shirt collar was unbuttoned, and he was holding a bottle of mineral water in his hand. There was no light in the room, which made it a bit eerie.
Wang Chao was checking on things on the desk behind him. When he saw Lin Chen enter, he hurriedly made a quiet gesture to him.
Lin Chen didn’t go up to Xing Conglian but instead walked to the teenager, showed him the Weibo name written by the girl just now, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
He didn’t deliberately lower his voice, so this wasn’t considered snooping behind someone’s back.
“The captain was reprimanded by the director just now. Most likely Li Jingtian’s complaint has arrived.”
“Your captain doesn’t seem like someone who would be unhappy because they got reprimanded.”
“Oh, it’s all trivial. An ant can’t shake a tree*, hmph.” Wang Chao carefully opened a post on Weibo and said, “I don’t know what that old man’s thinking, but it could be the online investigation news just now that made him unhappy.”
*(蚍蜉撼树) Idiom referring to a futile effort. || In this context, basically saying these things wouldn’t shake Xing Conglian.
“Hm?”
Lin Chen looked at the news, which showed an opinion poll. The choices were simple: Who do you think is responsible for the stampede in Ansheng International Mall?
The options were: The police, the murderer Xu Ran, Li Jingtian, or Li Jingtian’s fans.
The poll results were obvious. The murderer Xu Ran won with an overwhelming “advantage” of 68.12%, followed by the police with 16.01%, while Li Jingtian’s fans and Li Jingtian ranked third and fourth.
The total number of votes was 15,000. The public appeared to have already made up its mind about the case.
“So, are you using mineral water to relieve your worries?”
Lin Chen looked back at the man on the sofa. Xing Conglian’s eyes had never moved away from the TV screen.
“Good use of that idiom.”
Xing Conglian finally spoke.
Lin Chen walked over and sat down beside him.
The previous news criticizing the work of the police force had passed, and now people were discussing Li Jingtian’s case.
The male anchor was sitting upright as he spoke solemnly. “In fact, regarding today’s stampede at Ansheng International Mall, things are very clear. This is Xu Ran’s retaliation against singer Li Jingtian. In this regard, we randomly interviewed some passersby to hear their views on the case.”
The location of the interview happened to be on the road outside of the municipal hospital.
In the background of heavy traffic, a hurrying old auntie was stopped by the reporter.
“Oh, what’s there to say about this? Let me tell you, this kind of unclean woman is the guilty one. Can the police hurry up and arrest her already!”
“What? A car accident during the arrest?”
“Oh, that’s retribution!”
Within this day, they had heard too many similar words. Just like the fans who guarded their idols and had a clear love and hate, passersby who understood the background differences between Xu Ran and Li Jingtian had come to their own judgments as well.
But now, Lin Chen was almost immune. Those positive and negative analyses, other people’s opinions and views, hardly affected him.
At this moment, the reporter caught a person who looked like a female college student.
“Excuse me, classmate. What are your thoughts on the recent controversy surrounding singer Li Jingtian?”
The girl had a ponytail, and her face was bright. She asked the reporter rhetorically, “Are you sure you want me to express my opinion?”
“Of course. You can speak frankly.”
The girl nodded, faced the camera, and said solemnly, “If a prostitute is sexually assaulted, it is considered self-inflicted or unbelievable. This is a huge challenge in our social legal system. I hope the police can thoroughly investigate it. Even if the prostitute is a criminal suspect in another case, she should be treated with the same fairness under the law…”
The reporter’s face showed embarrassment as the picture was cut off, falling on the girl’s serious face.
Xing Conglian turned his head to the side and said to Lin Chen, “Is this girl also surnamed Lin? Your sister? How come the tone is exactly like yours?”
“I have never said anything so sensible.”
“But you say it in your heart.” Xing Conglian turned off the TV and asked again, “How was the interrogation?”
“Didn’t find any useful clues,” Lin Chen said, “But it seems that someone did lead those girls to Xu Ran. This isn’t a coincidence.”
“How likely do you think that person is Li Jingtian, his manager, or even that little assistant?”
“90% probability with 0% evidence,” Lin Chen said honestly. “They are all at the embassy, so we have no way to search their electronic devices.”
Hearing this, Wang Chao stepped in. “A’Chen, I checked the Weibo account you just gave me. It was newly registered today. The number bound to it is also very strange. It belongs to an 88-year-old lady. At first glance, it looks like someone used another person’s ID card. In other words, the true identity of the account owner can’t be traced.” Wang Chao paused. “I smell a conspiracy!”
“That’s very smart.” Lin Chen tapped the armrest of the sofa lightly with his knuckles. “In fact, even if Li Jingtian induced his fans to chase Xu Ran, it would be difficult for us to hold him criminally responsible for Xu Ran’s accident, unless the driver was also arranged by him.”
“I have reviewed the driver. He’s an honest man with no issues,” Xing Conglian replied.
“If all this was arranged by Li Jingtian in order to use Xu Ran as a scapegoat, the only question is, how can he be so sure that something will happen to her?”
Xing Conglian said, “Indeed, the car accident happened very well and coincidentally. As long as Xu Ran remains quiet, all clues will be broken, but…”
“But?”
“You speak first.”
Seeing Xing Conglian’s eyes looking at him with a burning gaze, Lin Chen thought they were probably thinking the same thing.
“The passerby just told me one thing. In fact, what we have on hand is more than one injury case, and an accident case. There is another case that I think we should continue to investigate.”
“Li Jingtian’s sexual assault case?” Xing Conglian asked.
“Since Xu Ran can’t speak currently, if we want to nail Li Jingtian, I’m afraid we can only start investigating the previous case.”
“Your reason is more than that, right?”
“It’s simple. Because I want to reverse the case for her,” Lin Chen said solemnly.
The author has something to say:
June 1st Small Episode
—-
Children’s Day was on June 1st and was considered an international holiday.
In other words, no matter where you were in the world, as long as you had a child by your side, you had to give him this holiday.
And the most hateful thing was that the United Nations had set the standard for children under the age of 18. Xing Conglian turned his head from side to side and looked at the “child” playing games on the front passenger seat, resisting the urge not to drive him out of the car.
He asked calmly, “Wang Chao, how do you want to celebrate the holiday tomorrow?”
“Oh, that’s simple. In the morning, go to Uncle John’s Pizzeria and eat a 12-inch turkey pizza. After eating, I want to go to the amusement park for a while. In the afternoon, go to the zoo. In the evening, go see the new X-men. Then, watch the fireworks.”
Xing Conglian lowered the car window, took a deep breath of the smog, and calmly asked, “Why didn’t you say you were going to the UN headquarters to hold a celebration?”
“Hey, Captain, we can do that? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
Xing Conglian was irritated. “Do you not understand sarcasm?”
“But tomorrow is my holiday, and you asked me to make a request, so why are you mocking me?”
The child’s eyes didn’t move away from the game at all. It seemed that he had no desire to seriously answer his question. Xing Conglian parked the car, feeling he shouldn’t have any in-depth discussion with Wang Chao on the issue.
“Hey, are we there yet?” When he had just stopped the car, the child put down his phone in a daze and looked out the window as he asked excitedly.
It was an ordinary house, located in an ordinary and calm community, with a small courtyard with pink and blue daisies on the fence, trying to poke their heads out.
It seemed like there was nothing special about this house.
Xing Conglian looked at his watch. The child had already arranged his “equipment” on the front passenger seat.
“It’s 15:00 New York time.”
“Got it.” The child followed him, right on time.
“Let’s go.” Xing Conglian opened the door and got out of the car.
The next day, when the task was completed, it was deep into the night of Children’s Day, but it wasn’t yet midnight.
The pizzeria, amusement park, and zoo were probably closed. The movie theater did have late-night showings, but looking at the child’s sleepy face in front of the laptop, it seemed like he didn’t have the strength to watch movies anymore.
The night news broadcast on the radio had just finished reporting on a gunfight on the outskirts of the city and was interrupted with breaking news of two child sex trafficking victims under the age of 14 who risked their lives to report a terrorist organization that had imprisoned them at the United Nations General Assembly.
Xing Conglian lowered the volume of the broadcast and looked at the dark street ahead.
Although this was a beautiful holiday, not all children were happy in this world. There were children who didn’t have clothes, children who were suffering, and even some children that were fighting with guns at the moment. This had never been an overly beautiful world.
However, he could still try to make the children around him feel some happiness.
Xing Conglian got out of the car, bought popcorn and two cans of Coke, then made a phone call and drove to the top of a mountain.
Wang Chao was awakened by the sound of an explosion.
He opened his bleary eyes and looked at the fireworks in the dark sky in the distance, then shouted excitedly in the car. His cry almost broke through the roof. “Wow, Captain. I want to make a wish.”
“What do you want?” Xing Conglian opened a can of Coke and clinked it with the child’s.
The teenager closed his eyes and really made a serious wish.
He then opened his eyes and looked at Xing Conglian with a solemn and sincere gaze and said, “I wish, ah, for you to marry a good person so we can be a family.”
At that time, Xing Conglian remembered he was smoking a cigarette as he responded loudly, “Stop reading romance novels.”
But now…
Xing Conglian looked back at the person sitting in the front passenger seat and asked, “How do you want to spend June 1st?”
The man turned his head and looked at the boy in the backseat, who was still playing games, and said, “Listen to him.”
Kinky Thoughts:
Aww, that small episode made my heart melt… Not so much the main story.
Kinky Translations 