Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 57: Unethical Behavior

Night.

The fake “Lu Guangzu”—Huang Jin, was lying in a separate guard room, staring straight at the ceiling. In the dim corner of the wall, something seemed to be surging quietly.

The situation had gotten out of control.

Time was limited. He wanted to rely on the human fragrance and demon painted skin to cause a stir so that Shian and the police would devote the maximum amount of manpower to the case.

Even if he didn’t have many clues, Shian should be able to help if it was just a few missing people. When Shian found traces of the real culprit, he would confess again.

However, behind the culprit was Sunken Society, making the current situation out of Huang Jin’s control. Should he just confess to Shian? He thought desperately, but he couldn’t give any more clues now.

Even if Shian knew that he was “Huang Jin” and found his past, it would show he was even less likely to be involved with Sunken Society. In this way, things would only get more complicated.

…No, no way.

Now that things had come to a head, “King Yama” and Yin Ren were his only hope. Those were undoubtedly two powerhouses, so they would definitely be able to find a more suitable solution.

Until then, he could only remain silent and abide by his agreement with the two.

At the same time, two figures sneaked into a corridor.

“This feeling is really good, but I feel bad for Officer Sun.” Yin Ren stood in the basement of Huang Jin’s residence. “Zhong Ge, this is the taste of being an accomplice.”

Zhong Chengshuo was holding two spray cans and was carefully mixing medicine.

“What did you tell ‘Lu Guangzu’?” he asked in the dark.

“I told him that I would investigate the way I wanted to.” Yin Ren leaned against the wall of the basement, still holding the book <Huang Thaumatology> in his arms. “Well, now I prefer to sell him out. What about you? Did you make him any promises?”

“I just said I wasn’t going to make any more trouble than necessary.” Zhong Chengshuo replied sincerely. “Drawing out the true culprit isn’t ‘not making more trouble’, so some sacrifices are necessary.”

“Well, he’ll understand by then.” Yin Ren swiped his phone in the darkness.

If they could advance the case by “exposing Huang Jin”, Huang Jin shouldn’t make it difficult for them on the spot.

It wasn’t hard to “expose Huang Jin”. The two of them only need to prepare a few well-evidenced investigation reports and hand them in at the right time. As for how to make the report look reasonable and legal, Mr. Zhong was quite good at it.

“Speaking of which, are you done yet? You just sprayed around upstairs just now, so what is it…”

“Shh.”

Zhong Chengshuo pressed the spray nozzle.

As if a cold fire had been lit on the spot, the thick darkness was suddenly diluted.

In the small basement, Yin Ren saw the blue-purple fluorescence that almost covered the floor as it extended to every corner.

“Maybe your spirits and ghosts can’t prove this, or maybe some people can get rid of corpses in bizarre ways.”

Zhong Chengshuo leaned closer to Yin Ren and spoke in a soft voice.

“…But there will always be traces left.”

Yin Ren squatted down and pressed on the fluorescent bloodstains. This place was so carefully cleaned that even he couldn’t smell too much blood. At the moment, those bloodstains were clear and vivid. It could be seen that a very intense struggle took place here. In terms of the amount of blood loss, someone had to have died.

For example, a man surnamed Lu who had lost his face.

Click, click. Zhong Chengshuo raised his camera and quickly took photos for the report.

After taking the shots, he hesitated for a moment. “Yin Ren, do you know a similar technique for purifying extracted DNA?”

“Of course not!” Lord Ghost King replied in humiliation.

……

In the middle of the night, the ghost market gate opened, and the two turned onto the street where it was located. Yin Ren was smiling while Zhong Chengshuo took out a notebook. They went straight to the stall of Old Dog Peng and Xiao Mengpo.

Around 2 a.m., the two returned home. Zhong Chengshuo was carefully typing at the dining table while looking at the freshly released ghost market interview records. Next to the small notebook, the relevant interview materials for Huang Jin, Ding Lizi, and Lu Guangzu piled up in a precarious mountain.

The evening breeze blew, rustling the indoor potted plants. A piece of paper was blown to the ground and slid to the floor.

“Here.” Zhong Chengshuo was just about to bend over to pick it up when Yin Ren handed it back.

This was Huang Jin’s neighbor’s interview record. The above information about “Ding Lizi” was circled by Zhong Chengshuo, and a neat short timeline was marked in small print. Zhong Chengshuo glanced at the paper and put it back in its original position.

“Thank you.” His gaze returned to the screen.

When the second hand moved, the time was getting closer to 3 a.m. Countless interviews and data were swirling around Zhong Chengshuo’s head, but he didn’t feel sleepy at all.

Zhong Chengshuo sadly found that regular work and rest were drifting away from him…

While his accomplice was pretending to wear an apron while guarding the kitchen as he swiped his phone—the stew pot in the kitchen was gurgling softly, and the smell of strewed pork wafted out. This would be served with rice noodles later, making a warm late-night meal.

Even though it was late at night, everything had a weird sense of harmony.

“Got it!” Yin Ren suddenly put down the chopsticks he stole and leaned over to Zhong Chengshuo.

Zhong Chengshuo’s typing paused.

Yin Ren put his phone in front of Zhong Chengshuo, unable to hide the smugness in his face.

On the screen was the Nightwalkers’ online chat room. The ghost pawn shop was open for business at this time. It seemed something happened recently, as many Nightwalkers came to watch the excitement, so the online chat room was a bit deserted.

This made several messages particularly eye-catching.

[Anonymous 41: Seeking to buy comfortable sitting furniture. PM if interested.] Because the user turned on the anonymous function, his ID showed a gray color, which almost blended in with the black chat background.

[Demons & Monsters: To the friend above, I suggest Furniture Imports.]

[Xingwang Repair Station (come here for all household and spiritual appliance repair): I have cheap old furniture here. I sent you the link.]

[Xingwang Repair Station (come here for all household and spiritual appliance repair): Fuck this person won’t reply to my PMs at all.]

[Anonymous 41: Seeking to buy comfortable sitting furniture. PM if interested.]

[Lao Zhang Fruit Pancake 028: Why are you still anonymous when you want to buy something?]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: Could this be some secret code?]

[Anonymous 41: Seeking to buy comfortable sitting furniture. PM if interested.]

The person continued as if they hadn’t seen the messages and swiped for almost half a minute. After swiping ten times in a row, he would pause for ten minutes, then continue. Regardless of whether the Nightwalkers taunted or ridiculed, this person had no other response, as if he were like a spam account that was posting advertisements.

Weirdos would appear every year, especially this year, so the Nightwalkers quickly lost interest and chatted about their recent work.

“It’s him?” Zhong Chengshuo took a sip of his coffee and secretly glanced at Yin Ren’s account name—he was logged in as “Favorite Sky”, which should have been borrowed from the Lu family.

“Very likely. I’ll try.”

Yin Ren pulled over a chair and sat down next to Zhong Chengshuo. He also turned on the anonymous feature and clicked on the anonymous user’s private message box.

[Anonymous 83: Bean bag, private customization.]

[Anonymous 41: Accepted. Chat outside the station.]

The anonymous user quickly withdrew the message, which was then followed by a string of URLs.

Zhong Chengshuo opened it and found it was an encrypted chat room on the extranet, which was common among the Nightwalkers. Visitors needed to answer questions from the homeroom owner online to get permission to enter.

“It could indeed be him.” Zhong Chengshuo opened the URL on his computer again, and an input box was arbitrarily placed in front of the two of them.

[Why contact me?] The question was marked in black and white above the input box, and a blood-red ten-second countdown was next to it.

As soon as Yin Ren was about to open his mouth, Zhong Chengshuo had already typed out the response: [Because you’re also interested in me.]

[Why contact me?] With a ding, the answer was approved. However, the next input box popped up immediately without giving them any time to react.

The exact same question with the exact same ten-second countdown.

[I know you are the maker of the chair.] Zhong Chengshuo answered quickly.

“Ding!” The prompt “The owner has approved” popped up again next to the answer.

[Why contact me?] Appeared for the third time, along with the ten-second countdown.

The two glanced at each other and nodded.

Zhong Chengshuo typed: [Appreciate your vivid work.]

The pleasant “ding” sounded for a third time. The interface of the chatroom finally appeared in front of the two of them. The interface was simple and rough, with white characters on a black background. There was a “2” hanging on the column of the number of people in the room, but the IDs weren’t displayed.

This was the first time they faced the “true culprit”.

More than ten seconds passed, but there was no change on the interface.

The other side remained quiet, obviously waiting for them to speak first. ID and opening remarks; they had to be extremely careful not to let this half-cooked duck fly away.

Yin Ren: “Let me think about it…”

Zhong Chengshuo simply registered the ID “skinskip”. “Just let me do it.”

[skinship: Hello.]

After a few seconds, this record was automatically destroyed by the system and disappeared from the interface.

[winner99: How do you know I want a bean bag?] The person got straight to the point.

“Keep him hanging.” Yin Ren quickly leaned over. His long hair slid on Zhong Chengshuo’s bare arm, causing the latter to subconsciously shrink his hands, which slowed his typing speed.

[skinship: Secrets have a price.]

winner99 fell silent. Across the fluorescent screen, they couldn’t sense each other’s feelings. Zhong Chengshuo’s fingers hung on the keyboard for a moment before they started clacking out a line.

[skinship: I want to make a deal with you.]

[winner99: ?]

[skinship: I make people into works, but they always rot immediately. I have never seen that kind of vividness, so I want to take a closer look.]

[winner99: What do you mean?]

[skinship: Don’t put it in the ghost pawnshop next time. Can you show it to me in another place?]

[winner99: There will be no next time.]

Yin Ren clicked his tongue. The culprit was really cautious. He knew that the more his “work” was exposed, the greater the possibility Shian would catch any flaws.

Fortunately, they were prepared. Yin Ren leaned over Zhong Chengshuo’s ear and quickly whispered the planned lines.

[skinship: The first one is a bit eye-catching, but the finished product works well. No one is looking for the next six, so it’ll be much easier.]

[skinship: Your chair is about to collapse, so you want to change to a bean bag.]

[skinship: Hee hee.] In Yin Ren’s shocked expression, Zhong Chengshuo blankly added two more words.

[winner99: ……]

[winner99: How do you know?]

[skinship: Like I said, secrets have a price.]

[winner99: I’ll make a deal. I can produce another work. You can go to the ghost pawnshop and bid on it yourself.]

[skinship: And let you find out who I am? That’s no good.]

[skinship: How about this. I don’t care who Lu Guangzu is. He claims to be the murderer. Why not just plant this on him?]

[winner99: Hmm.]

[winner99: I’ll give you the address after I’ve arranged it. Recently, there’s been a lot of searching from Shian, so it won’t take long for it to be exposed.]

[winner99: Take care of yourself.]

After typing these words, the homeroom owner ID instantly went out, and the person logged off.

The fish had bitten the hook. The two accomplices huddled together and exchanged glances. Yin Ren patted Zhong Chengshuo’s arm and curled his brows. “Not bad, Zhong Ge. I’ll give you the best stew later.”

How unfortunate that this person didn’t become a police officer. When dealing with dangerous people, Zhong Chengshuo seemed to have a natural intuition for it.

Yin Ren hummed as he headed back into the kitchen and began to fill two porcelain bowls with broth. Zhong Chengshuo relaxed his muscles and looked at the chat page again—

The time limit for the messages had long passed, so the records had been automatically destroyed.

Later, he would clear the private messages on “Favorite Sky” and the matter would be completed.

When acting as King Yama, Zhong Chengshuo had done similar work countless times. He was extremely proficient in operations. For a moment, he thought he had returned to the base below the warehouse. It was just…

“Click.”

A bowl of steaming stewed pork and rice noodles was delivered to Zhong Chengshuo.

The rice noodle bowl wasn’t large and was filled with noodle soup that was decorated with fresh, green, crispy lettuce. The stewed meat inside was all lean meat, which didn’t make it smell greasy. Yin Ren’s own bowl was full of red chili oil and didn’t have a single vegetable leaf.

“I’m relying on you, Zhong Ge. I really can’t handle things like reports,” Yin Ren said sincerely.

“I stew this meat according to a recipe. Try it.”

Zhong Chengshuo carefully picked up a pair of chopsticks and put them in his mouth. The taste was mellow and warm, not overly heavy, which was just to his liking.

It was hard to imagine that not so long ago, they were dealing with a cunning serial killer at this table.

“Why do you want to go this far?” Zhong Chengshuo suddenly asked. “This time, the Emergency Management Department has made a move. You don’t need to wade in the water.”

Yin Ren’s identity was unknown, and he was involved with evil things. Once he was exposed, he would definitely lose the peaceful life he had at the moment. Why did he want to take this risk knowing the consequences?

“Hm?” Yin Ren’s chewing paused.

“Because I get upset thinking about it. The true culprit deserves death by a thousand cuts.” Yin Ren thought for a while and replied briskly.

Zhong Chengshuo: “…That’s it?”

“Well, I think you should be able to understand,” Yin Ren said. “After all, didn’t you also wade into the water, Mr. Accomplice?”

……

Two days later, Shian Building, Foreign Object Identification Department.

A huge oil painting replaced the position of the human chair in the white observation room. The medication that stabilized its vital signs dripped down the infusion bag and slowly flowed into the picture frame.

Looking at the picture, this should have been a landscape painting. However, there was no blue sky and white clouds on the canvas; instead, it was filled with red, white, and yellow. The frame of the picture was a bit soft, the fine lines of the border were like reliefs and wrinkles, and the frame itself was bone-like to the touch. It also had the temperature of a human’s body.

A constantly stinking dirt flowed beneath the frame. The canvas swelled appallingly from time to time, like boiling water.

The second Ge Tingting pressed her stethoscope, she suddenly covered her ears—compared to the human chair, the condition of this human painting was even worse. Except for meaningless screams, the victim couldn’t even formulate a single word.

Liang Caihong, female, 49 years old, disappeared more than 50 days ago. She was the second victim to be “found” and was one of the 10 people screened by the police.

Liang Caihong was just an ordinary housekeeper. Her only daughter was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and passed away less than a year later. This consumed the family’s entire savings.

Recently, her husband suffered a sudden stroke, making Liang Caihong the only person to support the entire family. Before she disappeared, almost everyone thought she “ran away without a word”.

But several of her little sisters insisted this wasn’t the case…

“Caihong has a very good temper and would never leave without saying goodbye.”

Facts had proven that this was indeed the case.

They could only see what she looked like in photos now. Liang Caihong looked much older than her real age, but there was a shy smile on her face. The smile suppressed the coldness between her brows, and even revealed a strange girlish expression.

Another living person disappeared into the corner of society and silently turned into a “dead thing”.

Fu Xingchuan stood in front of the window of the observation room with a complicated expression. “Can Ms. Liang’s sanity be restored?”

“If we can restore her human form and then slowly recuperate, there is indeed a possibility of recovery.” The staff next to him reported diligently. “But she’s in an extremely bad state now…”

This painting was found in the basement of one of Lu Gaungzu’s ex-girlfriends.

That ex-girlfriend broke up with him a few years ago. She moved back home, and the old residence she was living in was empty. Last night, Shian’s detection drone went to that area and found abnormal fluctuations of Evil Force and quickly rescued the “human painting”.

As for when it was put there, no one could tell.

Fu Xingchuan wiped his face with both hands and let out a long sigh. “Forget it. Another one, one by one… I’ll ask the minister later.”

“Minister Fu, I’m a little curious.” Lord Ghost King innocently leaned over. “Is this a solid conclusion that Lu Guangzu is the real murderer? I heard Xiaohe Jie say before that it’s unlikely it’s him…”

Fu Xingchuan glanced at him wearily. “Evidence is greater than judgment experience. With things like this, even if he isn’t, Lu Guangzu can’t wipe his hands from this.”

“Really? Strange, it doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t make sense?” Fu Xingchuan pinched the bridge of his nose.

Yin Ren presented a thick report with both hands.

“Minister Fu, this is the investigation report that Zhong Ge and I just planned to hand in… According to our investigation, Lu Guangzu died six months ago at the hands of ‘Huang Jin’.”

“Someone in the bureau is pretending to be a dead man, and someone outside the bureau is planting dead people. Isn’t this weird?”

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 56: Fine Pork

At 11:00 p.m., Yin Ren knocked on Zhong Chengshuo’s door.

After knocking three times, Yin Ren didn’t speak up and was seemingly waiting for something.

At this moment, Zhong Chengshuo had just finished taking a shower and was about to fall asleep. Is this person going to the ghost market again? Zhong Chengshuo got up from bed and walked drowsily to the door.

“I want to talk to you.”

Yin Ren’s tone was solemn.

“At 1 in the morning, the location is on Wanxing Road. It’s at the factory base of those gangsters in Feng Qi’s case. Go alone and remember to turn off your positioning and leave no traces—you should have a way to turn it off, right?”

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t respond, as if he were silencing himself, lest he deliver himself to the front door.

“You can also skip this if you want.” Across the bedroom door, Yin Ren’s voice had a bit of a smile. “It’s good to maintain the current state.”

“I see.” Zhong Chengshuo didn’t give an exact answer.

Yin Ren didn’t reply again. Zhong Chengshuo only heard the door click as he left.

In the bedroom, Zhong Chengshuo’s drowsiness was completely swept away. He slowly took off his nightcap and thought about it for about ten minutes.

Why did Yin Ren suddenly ask him to meet outside? Could it be that his suspicion of Yin Ren was detected, or worse, was his identity exposed…?

He had to confirm it.

When Zhong Chengshuo moved again, his actions were like a series of arrangements—Zhong Chengshuo opened the drawer, took out his usual notebook, and wrote a message on the last page. He then picked up the kettle, poured the water on the indoor green plant, and began to unhurriedly clean up.

After this was done, the time had just reached midnight.

Zhong Chengshuo neatly put on a black sweater, equipped the Evil Fruit, and put the spare phone and cash into his pocket.

When he reached the empty factory building for the last case, the time was exactly 10 minutes before the arranged meeting time.

The factory had been swept by Shian. Though the graffiti on the walls was still there, the garbage and paint cans had been cleaned up, making it even more empty than last time. Given that this place was “haunted”, not to mention the previous gangsters, even the homeless in the neighborhood were reluctant to approach. The only living things here were cockroaches and moss growing in the corners.

It was a good night, as the moonlight shone through the rows of windows, glistening the ground as if it were frozen with a layer of frost.

Yin Ren was in front of one of the windows.

He was sitting on a huge cardboard box. His long hair was scattered, and his eyes were slightly red. There was a strong smell of blood and flesh coming from the box, which seemed to contain something unpleasant.

“You’re here.” Seeing Zhong Chengshuo pull down his hood, Yin Ren showed his usual smile.

Zhong Chengshuo maintained a safe distance without saying a word.

“Zhong Ge, I need your assistance in this case.”

Yin Ren wasn’t uncomfortable with Zhong Chengshuo’s silence. He stood up and started moving.

“Assistance? Why me?” Zhong Chengshuo stood still, but the muscles in his body were completely tense due to his wariness.

Yin Ren’s tone was brisk. “I have a good way of catching the true culprit, but it’s not in compliance, and I can’t hide it from you as my partner.”

When he spoke, Yin Ren put his hands behind his back.

Zhong Chengshuo lowered his body’s center of gravity and stared at Yin Ren’s arm.

Yin Ren didn’t seem to notice and continued, “Zhong Ge, we have been working together for a while, so I can see some things—for example, you think that human life is more important than compliance.”

“Since our purpose is to solve the case, instead of distracting and fooling you, it’s better for us to work together to save people. You can help me keep a little secret, right?”

Zhong Chengshuo maintained a vigilant posture and stared at Yin Ren for a while.

A trap? Or is it a test? How much does Yin Ren know about him?

He originally thought that their peaceful pattern of getting along could be maintained. Who would have thought that this person would give him a surprise attack. For a moment, Zhong Chengshuo was caught off guard.

However, when he thought about it, Yin Ren didn’t mention anything like “I know you are acting differently”. It was more like revealing his strength than testing him. The man’s behavior was explained as “in order to save people as quickly as possible, he chose to confess to his partner”, which seemed to make sense.

He had to choose the most natural response.

Silence spread in the empty factory building. Yin Ren waited patiently; his movements and smile remained unchanged. For a while, only the sound of breathing from the two people was left in the huge space.

“…Okay, I agree.”

After a long while, Zhong Chengshuo finally spoke in a neutral tone. He glanced at the box.

“As long as you’re not endangering others and limit it to this case, I can give you some information and… help.”

“Nn,” Yin Ren smiled, while his brows furrowed.

He approached step by step with his hands behind his back and stopped in front of Zhong Chengshuo. The latter held his breath and moved the calf that was hiding the Evil Fruit.

Bang!

A firework of confetti exploded. Countless confetti sprayed onto the roof of the dilapidated factory. The moonlight was bright, reflecting the smooth confetti with its blinding light.

For fear of an insufficient atmosphere, Mr. Yin hid two confetti sprayers behind his back and started pulling one after the other. “Congratulations on reaching the accomplice alliance achievement—”

Zhong Chengshuo took a step back silently, avoiding the colorful snowflake-like confetti.

When all those little things fell to the ground, he slowly stretched out his hand and patted away the remaining fragments that were still stuck to him. “Do you know that these things still have to be cleaned up?”

“I’ll take care of it later.” Yin Ren waved the confetti sprayer happily. “It’s faster if two people clean it up.”

“What if I didn’t agree?”

“I’ll persuade you again and try to appeal to your feelings and reason. There’s always a solution if we have the same purpose.”

“What if I insist on reporting it to Shian?” Zhong Chengshuo felt a slight headache.

“If you insist on exposing me, then I can only run away. To tell you the truth, I’m very confident in running away.” Yin Ren snorted. “But I am more confident in my vision of reading people. If I succeed, you and I will be in the same boat…”

Zhong Chengshuo held himself back. He couldn’t retort this person’s shamelessness. At any rate, this person was a powerful person, but he seemed to have no such thing as “the dignity” that accompanied powerful people.

“This is not how complicity works.” Zhong Chengshuo wiped his face in pain.

“It is.”

“No…”

“We’re in cahoots*.”

*(狼狈为奸) Idiom deriving from a fable that means colluding with each other to do bad things.

“Okay, we’re in cahoots.” Zhong Chengshuo felt helpless as he pointed to the cardboard box. “Business matters. What’s in the box?”

There was a trace of pride on Yin Ren’s face. “Bait.”

He slightly tore open the cardboard box and revealed the contents…

A wig, an entire pig, a set of butcher’s knives. There was even a bean bag chair in there.

Zhong Chengshuo blankly recalled the definition of “bait*” in modern language. For a moment, he regretted cooperating with this guy.

*Clarity: The word is (钓饵) which refers to fishing bait but is also a metaphor for things that are used to seduce people.

Sure enough, his bad feeling quickly came true. He saw Yin Ren lift the set of knives and enthusiastically place them in front of Zhong Chengshuo.

“The ghost market is quite good. As long as you have money, you can get everything.” Yin Ren lamented. “Come, Zhong Ge, let’s divide up this pig.”

Zhong Chengshuo looked at the complete set of butcher knives numbly. If he really liked Yin Ren, his “like” at this moment would wane a bit.

“You specifically called me here to help you divide up a pig?” Zhong Chengshuo said slowly. “That’s it?”

“What’s wrong? When we’re ready, we have to move things to the ghost market. Oh, there’s also the collusion afterwards, which is very important.” Yin Ren cracked his fingers solemnly. “Don’t underestimate dividing a pig. We have to work together and do it very neatly.”

Zhong Chengshuo took a deep breath and quickly sorted out his mood. “How do you plan to catch the true culprit?”

Yin Ren paused his knife motion. He touched his chin, and his smile became deeper.

“You’ll find out later.”

The knives gleamed in the factory. From time to time, there would be the dull sound of sharp objects piercing flesh. The skin, fresh meat, internal organs, and bones were neatly separated by the two of them. The entire pig was gradually divided and cleaned.

At the moment of completion, Yin Ren dragged over the bean bag..

Zhong Chengshuo finally couldn’t hold back. “…What, are you planning to lie down?”

No matter what Yin Ren did now, he wouldn’t find it strange. King Yama felt quite tired after a long absence.

“Zhong Ge, I do have some special abilities. It’s not convenient to tell you the details, but I assure you that I have absolutely no malice towards Shian or you—”

This time, Yin Ren didn’t evade Zhong Chengshuo as he muttered obscure incantations under his breath.

Zhong Chengshuo saw the bones soften and squirm as if they were alive. They gradually merged into the fabric of the bean bag and turned into a neat, thin support. The fabric and the bones were inseparable, but not as completely integrated as the “human chair”.

Yin Ren was imitating the real culprit’s technique.

This was followed by the internal organs, fresh meat, skin, and the wig. As if molded in clay, they wrapped around the fabric one by one and integrated into the interior of the sofa. The original soft, cloth-like bean bag took shape, and the outline became clearer.

Time passed, and eventually a beautiful and bizarre “bean bag” was completely finished.

It was embedded with countless exquisite “bones” and the backrest and corners were decorated with a low-key and beautiful visceral pattern. The place where it came into contact with people had a standard skin texture, and it felt soft like flesh. The sutures were jet black, like hair, blending everything just right with a touch of eerie elegance.

“As expected of a wig made of real human hair.” Yin Ren touched the bald hairnet. “It really worked.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s expression turned serious. He tentatively patted the cold bean bag.

“This will do?”

“No, this thing still needs to be stained with evil qi.”

This was just a regular pig from a slaughterhouse. There was even a quarantine stamp on it. The pig’s death method was standard, so there wasn’t much resentment. Even if the appearance passed the test, a knowledgeable person could discern the problems.

Yin Ren took out his phone and opened Coffin Nails.

In the next moment, Hu Tao and Lu Tanfei appeared in front of him.

“Wow, this is amazing.” Hu Tao looked at the bean bag with interest. “Did you do it? You ran here in the middle of the night to make a bean bag?”

Lu Tanfei was silent. The old man looked worried, as if he wasn’t interested in anything.

“Come on, both of you.” Yin Ren turned his back to Zhong Chengshuo and said, “Please sit on this sofa for an hour and inject more ghostly presence into it.”

Hu Tao: “What?”

Yin Ren: “And Elder Lu, I’ll teach you a set of techniques for penetrating flesh and objects. You must learn it as soon as possible. It may be useful in the future.”

“Hehe, so it’s true. I’m just here to help you carry the pot in the future.” Hu Tao was obviously thinking about how she had been cheated on learning how to fly before. “But since Zhong Chengshuo is here, it must be business.”

“It is business, I promise.” Yin Ren spoke seriously. “We want to use it to catch the culprit.”

Hearing these words, Lu Tanfei finally reacted. He immediately turned into a human spider and hugged the bean bag tightly in his arms.

“I see.” He opened his six eyes wide and replied in a hoarse voice, “I’ll do my best.”

Zhong Chengshuo waited quietly for Yin Ren to communicate with the air. Only when Yin Ren turned around did he ask questions.

“I probably know what you’re going to do—you’re going to send this imitation work to the ghost pawnshop and ask the boss to send out a message. The Nightwalkers will spread the news since they’re good at it. Still, I have two questions.”

“Hm?” Yin Ren was putting the rest of the meat into the bean bag.

“First, how can you guarantee that the true culprit will definitely respond to you?”

“The real culprit has a love for showing off. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have specially displayed that human chair through the auction—the more obvious thing to do would be to destroy it, leaving Shian with fewer clues. If this were to be publicized, the culprit will likely respond.”

Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t satisfied with this answer. “Then there’s also a possibility of failure.”

“If this was changed to something else, it may fail.” Yin Ren cocked the corner of his mouth. “But with this ‘bean bag’… As long as we provoke properly, he will react.”

Zhong Chengshuo narrowed his eyes and stared at Yin Ren for a while.

“Second question. What are you going to do with the meat? Imitate body parts? Making traces similar to the culprit?” He pointed at the bag of meat in Yin Ren’s hand.

“What are you thinking?!” Yin Ren was shocked. “This is good-quality meat and pork belly. I can’t let it go to waste. I’m taking it home.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “……”

That night, the ghost pawnshop received a secret auction item that looked like a work of art. It was an extraordinarily delicate and beautiful bean bag, with a complete person fused inside that exuded a strong ghostly presence.

Even if Lao Jiang was used to seeing the world, he couldn’t help but lament. The recent auction items were becoming so horrifying that even a corpse like himself found it difficult to bear.

For the living chair, Shian came to question him several times, so he wasn’t able to hold an auction recently. Unfortunately, the Nightwalkers were on equal footing with Shian, and they had their own reasons as well—the ghost pawnshop had stood for 300 years, and its secrecy had been tested against time.

To make such a comeback, this could be considered having earned enough face, so Lao Jiang was very satisfied.

That said, the auctioneer found a strange message attached.

[Your work is beautiful, but mine’s not bad either. I know you want this. Do you want to play hide and seek together?]

[Looking forward to your response, your friend.]

……

The next day, near the old town.

“That’s a lot of money,” Yin Ren said in shock while reading the report.

“Yes, a lot of money,” Zhong Chengshuo repeated without any emotion.

It could be said that the sale went well. Their bean bag sold for a high price of 120,000, which was 20,000 higher than the human chair. The sucker’s surname was Ming’an—since the human chair was discovered, another investigation team had been going to the ghost pawnshop every night, so naturally they wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Unfortunately, this is all going to Lao Jiang.” Yin Ren turned off the investigation report in pain. If he and Zhong Chengshuo dared to touch the money, it would alert Shian, who would come to their door within minutes.

What a pity. It was a handmade souvenir of their first cooperation.

As for the follow-up inspection, the two weren’t worried. The bean bag could fool Lao Jiang, but not the DNA testing device from the Foreign Object Identification Department. Shian would soon discover the truth that the meat was simply pork.

But as far as Shian was concerned, naturally, this result wouldn’t be publicized. This was the bait that was sent to the door, so everyone was anxious for the true culprit to take it.

“There will be results tonight. Wait a bit longer.” Yin Ren leaned over Zhong Chengshuo and whispered in his ears. “How’s it going, Zhong Ge? Does it feel good to be an accomplice?”

“It’s limited to just this case,” Zhong Chengshuo silently replied.

“Yes, I understand. Then let’s exchange some information. Why did you check Huang Jin first?” Is it because you’re afraid of spooking the snake? For “King Yama” of the Nightwalkers, this reason was flimsy.

So Yin Ren added pitifully, “You have dirt on me, so don’t worry. Maybe I can help.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s brows twitch. The feeling of helplessness from last night came up again—this person was clearly testing him, but he couldn’t refuse.

Because Yin Ren might really be able to help, which was something Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t accustomed to thinking.

“Lu Guangzu is most likely Huang Jin in disguise.”

After a long moment of silence, Zhong Chengshuo lowered his head and tried his best to answer in an airy voice.

“Ding Lizi most likely is one of the victims, and Huang Jin has a very close relationship with her. However, Huang Jin chose Lu Guangzu as a disguise, indicating that he and Lu Guangzu also crossed paths, and Lu Guangzu is also involved with Sunken Society—Huang Jin is the intersection of the victim and the suspect. The authorities are lost. Perhaps he has more clues on him.”

“You got this much information just by shaking him?” Yin Ren was speechless.

“I’m better at reading people.”

“Zhong Ge, your confidence is quite strong.” Yin Ren’s facial features instantly wrinkled as if they were writing “as if I believe you” on it.

Zhong Chengshuo slowly looked away. “…I am good at reading people.”

“But if you’re right, I have a good idea. It may be unethical. Do you want to hear it?”

“Remove the ‘may’ first,” Zhong Chengshuo said in a serious tone.

‘This experience was really fresh,’ Zhong Chengshuo thought to himself. Before, he preferred to be alone in the basement, working silently on the evidence board. Now it felt good to have a conversation with a living person… Although he still didn’t know if the other party was actually alive.

“The real Lu Guangzu probably met misfortune,” Yin Ren said. “I recognize that kind of disguise. You need to use human skin…”

“Hey, you two are almost glued together!” Officer Sun waved his hand from the front. “Hurry up. Don’t you want to investigate Huang Jin?”

“Coming!” Yin Ren quickly returned to his normal voice and didn’t continue.

Huang Jin’s residence was close to the old town.

The building was an old-fashioned five-story building with a basement on the ground floor. There wasn’t much domestic garbage in the corridor, but there was still a layer of grayness floating on the cement steps. The tone was full of the sense of the last century.

Huang Jin lived on the fifth floor. It was a residence that wasn’t rented and had been empty.

“Single-parent family. Huang Jin has been living here alone since his mother passed away five years ago.”

Officer Sun opened the home.

The room inside was extremely ordinary. It was full of the aesthetics of the elderly, looking a bit lifeless and dim. The air conditioner and refrigerator were covered with beige knitted sleeves, and a mess of gifts and sundries were stuffed inside the old cabinets. At the corner of one of the brown cabinets was a cobweb-like crack.

Even Zhong Chengshuo’s parents’ home was livelier than here.

The only thing that could show the age of the owner was probably the guitar on the sofa—it was so new that it looked out of place with the surroundings, making it particularly conspicuous.

Officer Sun touched the guitar and sighed. “This Huang Jin’s life is quite difficult. Around the time when he was in elementary or middle school, his mother lost her sight due to illness. He had been taking care of her while studying, so he had debts out through his ass for her medical treatment.”

Based on his experience, Huang Jin didn’t seem like the type who could “strip people’s skin”.

According to the neighbors, Huang Jin had lived here since he was a child. He had always been taciturn, but his temper was good. Unfortunately, his grades weren’t good. He only lasted until middle school. He was recently laid off by his company last year, which showed how difficult his life was.

“How did he pay his debts?” Zhong Chengshuo said as he looked through the information. “He just paid off his debt a few months ago.”

“Making small handicrafts and selling them to young people.” Officer Sun pointed to the balcony—it had been turned into a workbench by Huang Jin. There were still many unfinished small wood carvings on it, all of which looked cute and lovely.

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo looked at each other.

They both knew that what they were looking for wasn’t this.

Huang Jin’s residence was ordinary. The police had searched it many times without finding anything suspicious. When it was discovered, the door of the residence was even locked in a regular manner, and there were no traces of anything shady in the home.

On the surface, this was just a young man who left home one day and never came back.

Zhong Chengshuo: “We want to see the basement.”

“We checked the basement. It’s full of debris that hasn’t been moved for months.” Another young police officer leaned over. “Huang Jin disappeared two weeks ago, so it’s better to look here.”

“We’re just following the process.” Yin Ren answered with a smile. “We’ll just take a quick look.”

The basement in Huang Jin’s residence was indeed full of miscellaneous things.

Relics that belonged to the elderly, old furniture and tools, useless books, rusty bicycles—all kinds of things of little value were piled up in a small space, full of dust.

Yin Ren glanced around and strode to an abandoned bookcase. The basement was a bit damp. Deep in the bookcase, rows of old books exuded a damp and decadent smell.

One of them smelled wrong.

Yin Ren carefully took out the <Huang Thaumatology>—the pages of the book were so worn that they couldn’t be read, and they would fall apart with a hard touch. Looking at the flipping traces, the first half of the book was flipped more frequently. Inside were some introductory techniques for spirit smiths, as well as the production of basic spirit weapons that could affect luck and prosperity.

The book was old, but the skills explained inside were ordinary, so it wasn’t a rare secret book.

Yin Ren gently turned over to the back. Sure enough, he found the recipe for making “human fragrance” and “demon painted skin”. On the page of “demon painted skin”, the corner of the book had more sesame seed-sized, dark brown traces, like old blood.

Yin Ren leaned his nose close to the stain and sniffed carefully.

“I want to take this away.” Yin Ren stuffed the book into the evidence bag and handed it to the police officer. “Please register.”

“There’s blood?” Zhong Chengshuo asked.

“Well, dead blood.”

Zhong Chengshuo paused for a moment, then jerkily said, “Yin Ren, are you interested in being unethical together?”

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 55: The Search

“I’ve checked. Those chat records are true. The other party is indeed Lu Guangzu. Bai Yongji transferred about 50,000 yuan to him, and all the money went to his bank account.”

Lu Xiaohe’s speech was muffled since she was chewing on a pen.

“But that Mr. Bai’s behavior is a bit subtle… Although it can be understood as ‘I want to make a good impression on the friend of the person I’m chasing’, this news came at just the right time. Xiao Yin, Xiao Zhong, what do you think?”

“It could be bait.” “Wait a few days.” The two spoke in unions.

“Don’t worry, Xiaohe Jie. Just leave it to us,” Yin Ren added briskly.

Zhong Chengshuo was even more brisk. “I’ll check the background of this person as soon as possible.”

“Good. You two are getting better at your job,” Lu Xiaohe said with relief. “Alright, time for Teacher Lu to review your homework.”

She pulled up Yin Ren’s “interrogation report”.

“Xiao Yin, you have a lot of typos, so pay a little more attention next time. Let’s start with the contents first…”

Lu Xiaohe pulled up several other reports.

“Indeed, we did a polygraph test and also have the police’s interrogation report. Lu Guangzu may not really be the real culprit. Xiao Yin, you should check the reports from other departments before writing yours. There could be important clues in them.”

“For example, the Inspection Department also issued a report yesterday. The ‘Evil Force’ corruption on Fang Yong is identical to Feng Qi’s case. This case does have the handwriting of Sunken Society.”

Having said that, Lu Xiaohe paused for a moment.

“…But I have another question. If Sunken Society is behind Lu Guangzu, he didn’t have to ‘surrender’ thanklessly. There are numerous ways to demonstrate and spread the news.”

She flipped the pen around in her hand and fell into contemplation.

Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze swept across Yin Ren as he spoke in a normal tone. “If he pretends to ‘surrender’, does this mean he’s providing clues?”

“Exposing the case? Like some kind of part of justice?” The pen in Lu Xiaohe’s hand turned faster. “If he has clues on the murderer, why didn’t he just hand them over to Shian?”

“Perhaps he couldn’t get the evidence, but he was anxious for us to investigate the case, so he took a risk. In theory, this could be a possibility.” Zhong Chengshuo seemed to be implying something. “But looking at Yin Ren’s report, this is unlikely.”

Lu Xiaohe shook her head. “You’re right. I just mentioned it casually. If Lu Guangzu really reported the crime in a self-exposed manner, why would he help Sunken Society recruit Xiao Yin—Xiao Yin, this information is important. You’re not wrong about Lu Guangzu’s intention, right?”

“Definitely true. I swear on Zhong Ge’s innocence.” Yin Ren gave Zhong Chengshuo a meaningful glance.

“Stop talking nonsense.” Lu Xiaohe was indifferent. “Anyway, for our group, the direction from above has been set. The search for the other missing people and the investigation into Sunken Society will be followed up by other groups. You guys will continue to cooperate with the police and be in charge of Lu Guangzu, and also keep an eye out on Bai Yongji to see if you can dig anything up.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Regarding the ‘human chair’, is this all the report has?”

At present, they had only seen the analysis of the Evil Force but the report didn’t say much about the status or cause of the “human chair” itself.

“In fact, the final report hasn’t come out yet. I’m also very concerned.” Lu Xiaohe clacked on the keyboard. She repeatedly inquired unsuccessfully and clicked her tongue.

“Strange, how come the Foreign Object Identification Department is so slow this time… Well, I’ll ask later. Let’s continue working first.”

She closed the inquiry window bitterly, causing the big screen to beep while Zhong Chengshuo spread out the 10 missing people documents.

“Officer Sun investigated all missing reports in the last three months and narrowed the scope to ten people. These ten people completely ‘disappeared from the world’ without any traces or clues left behind.”

Ten files lay in front of them. They included men, women, and children. Through the small photos, they looked at the world outside the photos. Their expressions were either stiff or gentle, but they all had the same vivid look.

“Except for the information of Lu Yuanyuan and Fan Yong, the remaining 8 missing people now have special police forces investigating. Which one did Xiao Zhong think was special yesterday… Oh, this one.”

Lu Xiaohe zoomed in on the last file. A sweet, smiling face occupied a quarter of the big screen. The girl’s features weren’t outstanding, but her smile was very sunny, which gave a radiance to her face. The girl’s eyes were a bit foggy, giving her an elf-like beauty rather than being strange.

“Ding Lizi, female, 21 years old, disappeared two weeks ago. At that time, the Haigu police made a record but didn’t focus on investigating it.”

The police kept a detailed record of the girl’s disappearance—in a sense, the police weren’t negligent.

Ding Lizi was heavily sight impaired, which made her almost indistinguishable from a blind person. Her hometown was in the distant X Province, and she recently came to Haigu with her fellow villagers for work. Ding Lizi worked as a customer representative during the day and would sing at a nearby bar at night, which meant the scope of her activities was relatively small.

Two weeks ago, a young man came to the Municipal Public Security Bureau to report a case, claiming the Ding Lizi was missing.

However, at that point in time, Ding Lizi had just lost contact with her boss—she had sent a voice message to the customer service company and the bar, saying that something was wrong at home and she wanted to return to her hometown with her fellow villagers. The man who reported her missing wasn’t related to her in any way, so the police only made a record but didn’t disclose Ding Lizi’s relevant information to him.

After all, the reporter couldn’t get any tangible evidence, so he could only repeatedly state that “she and I have an appointment” and “she wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye”.

This time, the police thoroughly investigated the disappearance case, and after several turnarounds, they contacted Ding Lizi’s family in her hometown. The family said they had never seen her and couldn’t reach her because her phone was turned off and all communications and payment accounts hadn’t been touched. Officer Sun immediately made the decision to include her in the category of “possible victims”.

Incidentally, the police searched for the man named “Huang Jin” who reported the case and found that he was also suspected of disappearing in place.

“If you’re sure you want to investigate her, I’ll let Officer Sun know and include you on the investigation team.” Lu Xiaohe stopped rotating her pen and put it back on the table. “Don’t put too much emphasis on the investigation of the missing people. The police are the main force for that. Just follow your own ideas…”

“Lu Jie, I personally don’t want to search for Ding Lizi first.” Zhong Chengshuo interrupted Lu Xiaohe and shook his head firmly.

“Assuming that Lu Guangzu isn’t the real culprit, then the true perpetrator is still hiding in the shadows. If my guess is correct, Ms. Ding is ‘more special’. If the true perpetrator finds out that Shian is investigating her specifically, they may destroy the body in advance.”

Zhong Chengshuo took the remote control and clicked back a page.

The page stopped on the information of the person who reported the case, “Huang Jin”.

The young man in the photo had a handsome face and slightly long black hair. He was expressionless, with a gloom between his brows. His eyes flickered slightly through the screen as if he were looking at the edge of the photo.

“Since he’s related to Ding Lizi, we can start with this ‘Huang Jin’,” Zhong Chengshuo said. “The probability of spooking the snake* is slightly smaller like this.”

*(打草惊蛇) Idiom referring to acting rashly and alerting the enemy.

……

When lunch break arrived, Yin Ren grabbed Zhong Chengshuo and zoomed out, heading straight to the cafeteria. Lu Xiaohe stretched while in her chair and did some casual eye exercises.

After a short break, she frantically refreshed the internal website again, trying to get the final test report from the Foreign Object Identification Department. The loading icon jumped around in her eyes, then suddenly, a new report appeared at the top.

Lu Xiaohe instantly perked up. She glanced at the words “Fan Yong” on the report and tried to connect.

[Insufficient authority.]

Lu Xiaohe paused. She had never encountered this situation before.

Could this be a system bug?

She clicked several times, unconvinced, but the cold pop-up window kept hanging in the middle of the screen and the prompt remained unchanged. Lu Xiaohe took a deep breath. She logged out and logged in repeatedly but was still unable to view the report.

She stared at the pop-up window for a while, and finally opened the internal software and clicked on “Hao Wenzhe”.

[Lu Xiaohe: Wenzhe, what’s the situation? I keep getting “insufficient authority” on the report page. Report number SA8729948719】

[Lu Xiaohe: This is a case where we are cooperating with the police. We need to check the progress of the report.]

[Hao Wenzhe: Oh that.]

[Hao Wenzhe: That report is the work of the Emergency Management Department, so you don’t need to follow up. The Identification Department will give you a separate report later. Please read that one.]

[Lu Xiaohe: Wenzhe, it’s not easy to do our job if you guys are like this.]

[Hao Wenzhe: I understand. We will try our best to carry our weight.]

[Lu Xiaohe: Can I ask about the direction of your investigation? I’m onto something.]

[Hao Wenzhe: Looking for the victims.]

[Hao Wenzhe: I have something to do. I’ll contact you if I get any updates.]

Looking for the victims? Lu Xiaohe’s fingers froze on the keyboard. She had never been exposed to this kind of case of “arresting a murderer” and “finding people”.

The task of finding the culprit was handed over to the police and several low-level investigation teams. Instead, the Emergency Management Department was now going to find the victims? The corruption of the Evil Force must be…

She lowered her head, hesitated for a while, and finally selected “Shian—Small Work Group”.

[Milky Way: Regarding the matter of the human chair, the Emergency Management Department is following up on it. Our department must wait for the report.]

[Milky Way: Pay attention you two when you’re out on the field @Fruit Knife @Final Fruit]

[Milky Way: This case may not be so simple. The opponent is Sunken Society, and we don’t know what those bastards have up their sleeves.]

At the same time.

Fu Xingchuan and Li Nian were standing in the elevator. It was rare for Fu Xingchuan to wear a dark-colored outfit. His body was crimson, like a pool of blood that had dried. Li Nian was also dressed neatly, without a single wrinkle on his collar.

Unlike usual, this time there were eight buttons on the elevator and an extremely weird pictographic symbol shown on the digital display.

“You should have transferred those two people out.” Professor Li spoke as the elevator door closed. “This matter has a risk of leaking.”

Fu Xingchuan wasn’t smoking; he even sprayed some cologne on himself. “How should I put this, maybe I’m more sensitive to fate. They checked everything. If you’re worried about Lu Xiaohe… Hao Wenzhe is still reliable. There will be no mistakes.”

“Have you checked everything?” Professor Li snorted.

“Leave the public affairs to the police. They are more professional at investigating cases than we are, and it just so happens they are training new recruits.” Fu Xingchuan didn’t look at his partner. “Us old guys have other ways. Think of it as a double-pronged attack.”

As soon as his voice fell, the elevator suddenly flickered, bumping frantically. It was then filled with a burnt smell, and a few seconds later, the elevator made a scratchy “ding” sound and stopped on an unknown floor.

The elevator door slowly opened.

The scene outside the door was unexpectedly normal. If this were changed to somebody else, they might think that this was a corridor of a high-end hotel.

The corridor was decorated with dim and warm lighting, patterned camel-colored carpets, soft music, and a fluttering fragrance. On either side of the corridor, the doors were closed tightly, with only a single number plate on them.

The two stepped on the soft carpet and walked towards the end of the corridor. Near the end, Fu Xingchuan finally stopped in front of a door.

Unknown whether they sensed visitors, there was a dull sound of bones rubbing together behind the door. Something huge approached the door, which was followed by an old man’s chuckle that trickled out of the crack of the door. The room facing the two of them was silent, and there was only pure darkness in the crack.

Fu Xingchuan ignored the abnormality behind him. He held his breath and knocked on the door respectfully three times.

“Minister Jiao, excuse me,” he whispered.

With a click, the door lock popped open by itself.

The room was spacious, and the layout was like a hotel—that was, if the room weren’t covered by terrible-looking wires, it would be no different from a presidential suite of other hotels.

However, at this moment, those weird wires crawled all over the walls and were drilled into the wallpaper. At first glance, it looked like a mutated blood vessel or some kind of neural network. In the center of the pile of sticky “wires” stood… something indescribable.

At a glance, it was a woman sitting at the head of the bed holding another petite woman across her arms.

But that was just a vague shape.

They hugged each other tightly, with flesh sticking together, and the texture of their bodies was like metal and plastic. Display screens of different sizes were embedded in their bodies, covering all the features of the creature, and abstract patterns that no one could understand flickered frantically on the screen. Just looking at the outline, they—it—looked like a piece of pyrite that had just taken shape.

Only those “wires” with a fleshy texture still showed any semblance of a “living thing”.

The moment the two walked to the bed, Fu Xingchuan’s phone started crazily vibrating. Minister Fu placed it gently at the foot of the bed and turned it on speakerphone.

“Over there. Indeed, there are, newcomers.”

A voice speaking in a strange tone, as if it were synthetic, came from the speakers.

“However, people, incomplete, uncertain, location.”

Professor Li restrained his sharpness and spoke in a gentle tone. “How many people are there?”

“About, seven, they, too far away, incomplete, can’t be found.”

These words seemed to be intercepted from different people’s mouths, and then roughly put together, which made it extremely uncomfortable to listen to.

“They are, still alive, shouldn’t be, there, but, don’t have, anchor point.”

Fu Xingchuan frowned. “Is it not enough to have Fan Yong…”

“Collapsed, crazy, can’t, use,” The voice in the speaker immediately replied. “Thoughts, too broken, too broken. You guy, read the report.”

“Give me, complete, mind. I can, give you, the, coordinates.”

“What?” Fu Xingchuan showed a look of confusion.

“We have to sync the victim’s ‘exact thoughts’ to her. That way, she can find where the victim is on the ‘other side’ and then reverse the position to the ‘real world’.”

Professor Li stepped on Fu Xingchuan’s foot and gritted his teeth as he translated for his partner.

“The analogy is similar to keyword indexing position.”

“Correct.” There was praise in the strange voice.

As long as they could determine the actual location of the victims, not only could they save them as quickly as possible, but they could also find the real culprit as well. But to parse the victim’s thoughts in real time…

“To find a victim, we must first understand the victim’s thinking, but if we can’t get in touch with the victim, we can’t determine their thoughts. This is a paradox.” Professor Li frowned, but his tone remained gentle.

“Hehe, it’s, useless.” The voice mocked.

Fu Xingchuan: “Uh, Minister Jiao…”

“Try the key idea of ‘Grandpa’?” Professor Li pushed Fu Xingchuan away and didn’t show his annoyance.

If Lu Yuanyuan was still alive somewhere, this was the most likely thing for him to think about.

The flicker of countless displays suddenly accelerated, and meaningless weird images gave birth to some kind of deadly temptation. The two men watched with fascination until they were interrupted by a bursting headache.

They quickly looked away, but unfortunately, they were one beat slower. When they turned their heads, both of them had bright red nosebleeds on their faces.

Some fragments of information rushed directly into their brains, causing endless dizziness and nausea. Li Nian covered his mouth and almost vomited. If they had watched longer, their brains might have boiled through their skulls.

But they did feel that strange feeling—the presence of a certain “person” wavering, like a candle in boundless darkness.

“Not enough, the target, too fragile,” “Minister Jiao” replied. “Lu Yuanyuan, hurry, will collapse, can’t be located.”

“Okay, then let’s go to the corruption point of the Evil Force.” Fu Xingchuan wiped the blood on his face and sighed fiercely. “Minister Jiao, please continue your search. If you need anything, just let us know.”

“Chocolate, ice cream. I want to eat, chocolate, ice cream.”

Fu Xingchuan smiled weakly. “Okay.”

Jiao Lian, the current minister of the Foreign Body Identification Department, no longer had a mouth to eat with, but every time they asked this question, she would always give them the same answer.

“The culprit’s, ability, is similar to mine, but not strong, enough.”

Just as Fu Xingchuan was about to hang up, Minister Jiao spoke again.

“He actually, sent innocent people, there, but fortunately, only half, were sent.”

“I will, definitely, let them, go home.”

“I will, definitely, let them, go home.”

“I will, definitely, let them, go home.”

“You two should come back early too.” Fu Xingchuan patted the “wire” at the foot of the bed. “We’ll go first. See you later.”

……

Yin Ren didn’t go to the police immediately.

Similar to yesterday, Yin Ren insisted on dragging Zhong Chengshuo to a nearby restaurant to have a sumptuous dinner, but unlike yesterday, Bai Yongji didn’t appear this time, and everything was normal.

Yin Ren stuffed himself with honey yogurt and narrowed his eyes—he wandered around the street a few times yesterday and then ran to the tallest indoor restaurant for dinner, but the weird peeping feeling he felt during Feng Qi’s case didn’t reappear.

Could it be that despite the fact that he and Zhong Chengshuo had been in charge of the case for a while, Sunken Society wasn’t keeping an eye on them this time?

It was a pity that he was fishing happily but only caught Bai Yongji, whose motives were unknown.

Speaking of which, Bai Yongji was also a bit troublesome. Yin Ren didn’t feel the aura of a cultivator on him, and he also didn’t notice any hostility, which made things really unpredictable.

“Zhong Ge, have you read Bai Yongji’s file?”

Yin Ren didn’t bother to turn on his phone to check. He instead chose to bribe Zhong Chengshuo with a small piece of raisin dessert. The latter stared at him with complicated eyes.

“Don’t stare at me. I can’t see the tricks between those changes in the workplace. This kind of thing still depends on a science post.”

“There’s nothing wrong with his file.”

To be precise, Bai Yongji’s experience was like a replica of Zhong Chengshuo. He achieved excellent results since childhood and had a harmonious family. After graduating high school, he went to study abroad. When he returned, he became extremely successful. Unlike Comrade Xiao Zhong, Mr. Bai was sociable and popular with people. Even his relationships with two people in the past ended amicably, and his ex-girlfriends didn’t have a bad thing to say about him.

A standard young talent.

“He came to Haigu last year and had psychological counseling at the end of the year. Due to the privacy involved, the counseling agency only gave us general information… I can roughly see that he’s worried about some work-related matters, which is very common.”

Zhong Chengshuo scooped up a spoonful of vegetarian pilaf.

“At that time, he had just joined the company and taken over a failing project, so there was a lot of pressure on his performance. However, Bai Yongji survived and brought the entire project back to life. Because of this, his reputation among his colleagues is also quite good.”

This person went on a blind date with Officer Sun’s precious daughter. Officer Sun most likely had more means to investigate his background than Shian. Given that Bai Yongji was invited to the Sun’s home for dinner, it could be seen that there’s really no stain in his past.

Mr. Bai had never even gotten a car ticket.

“Since his problem is so common, why did he get caught up with Lu Guangzu?” Yin Ren asked as if he didn’t understand.

“Lu Guangzu said that he could transfer his luck, after which he probably used ‘some means’ to prove it.” Zhong Chengshuo dug a spoonful into his dessert. He didn’t seem very interested in topics around Lu Guangzu. “Since he’s doing intermediary work, he has means through his own channels.”

“You don’t seem very interested in Lu Guangzu.”

“He’s been caught, and it’s imperative to determine the real culprit,” Zhong Chengshuo replied rigidly.

“Oh—yes, determine the real culprit.”

Yin Ren was now full of food and drink, so he stretched his waist. He looked at Zhong Chengshuo with burning eyes, like a beast stalking its prey in the bushes.

“Lu Guangzu” was a fake. Zhong Chengshuo was unlikely to find more “clues related to the real culprit” from him. After putting pressure on him, Yin Ren didn’t think that “Lu Guangzu” still had the mental strength to deceive King Yama.

Then the so-called “special Ding Lizi”, which Zhong Chengshuo reviewed, and Huang Jin, who was related to her, were worth thinking about.

Zhong Chengshuo probably knew something, but he chose to keep it from Shian.

‘…What a perfect partner,’ Yin Ren thought. The time was just right for him to take his next step.

They would definitely become the perfect accomplices.

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The author has something to say:

Xiao Zhong’s innocence is gone! (x

By the way~

The plot of this novel is just halfway through, and there are many actors (including the protagonist). Many performances also foreshadow some of the setting later. Under this premise, I won’t clarify everyone’s behavior or thoughts.

As for the analysis related to this novel:

①Sometimes I don’t point out the reason for foreshadowing.

② Everyone has a variety of questions. Some ask directly, some misread the original text/forget the previous text/understand it differently. If everyone is guaranteed to understand, this novel will become more like a thesis.

③Due to the plot arrangement, many analyses will be placed in a more appropriate plot elaboration.

Just a little explanation ↑

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Kinky Thoughts:

Regarding the author’s note, if you’ve read other works by Nian Zhong, you know she likes to give foreshadows (sometimes hundreds of chapters) in advance. Some things may be confusing or unexplained now, but you need to finish reading the entire novel to get them. This is why I provide summaries of each arc so that you won’t forget the main points.

After all, the best satisfaction comes when you realize all the plot pieces come together, so be patient. Keep in mind, this is a novel that spans 246 chapters.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 54: Confusion

“You’re not Lu Guangzu at all.”

The exposed left eye was bloodshot and full of unspeakable exhaustion. Yin Ren’s fingertips were vaguely under the man’s real eye, and his movements were neither light nor heavy.

The man’s real and fake left eyes turned up at the same time, looking at Yin Ren. Yin Ren couldn’t see any emotions in the fake left eye because of its deformation, but the fear in the real eye was becoming more obvious.

“A demon painted skin* is even rarer than human fragrance.”

*Referencing a short story from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling. You can read it by going to the Wikipedia. The TLDR: Demon put on human skin and try to seduce a human.

The reason for this was that, whereas human fragrance required only a small amount of flesh and blood, demon painted human skin didn’t…

To make demon painted skin, one needed to remove the entire human skin, marinate it with special ointment, and then carefully remove all impurities. After drying, it needed to be applied to the user’s face for three days and nights to set, and then finely modified with soft glass and ink worms, then glued together with rattan glue. In this way, it could be made into a real painted face. The materials were mixed so finely that even acne and stubble were revealed.

However, the practice of demon painting skins was extremely cumbersome, so it was a test of the craftsmanship of the spirit smith.

If it was badly done, the face would be stiff and swollen that even a layman could see something was wrong. The better the craftsmanship of the spirit smith, the more realistic the demon painted skin would be, to the point where no abnormalities would be found even by scraping it with a knife.

In this world where corpse servants were on the verge of extinction, Yin Ren thought that demon painted skin had disappeared. Even in Yin Ren’s era, this thing wasn’t very popular.

It was better to rely solely on handwork without touching evil qi. However, considering the production cost, the advantage was negligible—at that time, “Mud Meat Zhang’s” technique of body shaping was more popular and much faster and better in comparison. As for the evil qi left by the spell, cultivators had thousands of ways to cover it up.

“But to deceive Shian’s metaphysical examination is quite useful.”

Yin Ren commented objectively.

“The human skin is well peeled. It’s from a dead face you borrowed, right?”

“If you hadn’t borrowed another identity, you’d be in a bad situation—as my partner said, Fan Yong has the remnants of Evil Force on his body. As far as we know, this matter is related to Sunken Society.”

Hearing the words “Sunken Society”, the man’s breathing briefly became chaotic. He gritted his teeth, and a layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. “Please listen to me.”

“Make it short.” Yin Ren tapped the man’s eyes with his fingertips.

“I did pretend to be Lu Guangzu. I originally planned to take off this demon painted skin after the case was cleared…”

“The purpose of your so-called ‘deal’,” Yin Ren interrupted him. “Make it short, do you understand?”

“I hope you don’t expose me and at the same time help me find the real culprit privately.” The man hurriedly changed his statement. “I made both the human fragrance and demon painted skin myself. There’s no one else behind me.”

“Strange. You have the channels to get human fragrance, so you must’ve come into contact with the ‘true culprit’. Why would you go about this in such a roundabout way?” Yin Ren continued calmly.

The man didn’t answer right away. For a moment, a trace of sadness appeared on the broken face.

“Because I saw what he was thinking.”

Half a minute later, the man seemed to have made some major determination and took a long breath. “But I can only see vague and incoherent thoughts. I don’t know the identity of the culprit. I only know that he’s in Haigu.”

Yin Ren looked at the man in silence.

“I passed him on the street… He was thinking that Lu Yuanyuan as the first would be a bit eye-catching, but the finished product worked well. The next six were a lot easier since no one was looking for them. Then he thought again that his chair was about to collapse, and he wanted to change to a bean bag, so he needed better ‘talent’.”

“There were a lot of people on the road at the time, so I couldn’t chase after him. I only had time to release my spirit weapon to scratch him. Relying on his blood, I made the box of human fragrance.”

“Since you can ‘see parts of people’s thoughts’,” Yin Ren thought about this unheard-of weird ability for a while, “then the culprit’s face or figure should be easier to identify.”

The corners of the man’s mouth curled weakly.

“I can’t do it. I have my own limitations.” There was some self-deprecation in the man’s voice. “It sounds like bullshit, right? If I report this to the police and Shian, what do you think they will think?”

“I would tell them I saw the harmful thoughts of a stranger on the street. However, I don’t know their name, if they’re old or young, or any other details. Even if I can get their fragrance, it may belong to someone who ‘has come into contact with Lu Yuanyuan’. I can’t prove that the smell is from the true culprit.”

The man leaned back in his chair wearily. His eyes were a little dazed.

“Even if they are willing to believe in my abilities, maybe that ‘stranger’ is just a delusional person with countless ideas…”

“I have no actual evidence,” he concluded bitterly. “Even if they take the case, they won’t immediately invest a lot of manpower.”

“So you chose to become a ‘murderer’, become a topic in the metaphysical world in Haigu, and let the police and Shian solve the case.”

Yin Ren murmured without making any more comments.

“I know it’s reckless, but this is the fastest way.” Lu Guangzu gritted his teeth. “And I—I thought this kind of culprit would be extremely arrogant, not happy to have another take credit for his deeds, and he might take action…”

Unfortunately, it backfired.

“As a result, the real culprit in turn threw the ‘collapsed chair’ into the public, trying to confirm your identity as the real perpetrator,” Yin Ren said.

Ultimately, the person in front of him made a bad move.

Now that the human fragrance had been exposed, the focus of Shian’s investigation would shift, making him lose the initiative. The real culprit had someone to blame and didn’t intend on taking any action.

The ability to read minds? The ability to see what’s special in others? Things were getting more interesting than he thought. Yin Ren put away his hostility and moved his fingers up the bridge of the man’s nose.

The man shook, but he heard a sticky gurgling sound in his ears. The evil qi turned into spider-like filaments, sewing up the soft skin in a fine manner. The demon painted skin on his face was quickly smoothed and repaired.

“Well, I’ll let you go for now.” After repairing the demon painted skin, Yin Ren withdrew his hand. “But this is not a deal. I’ll investigate the way I want. I only have one request for you—”

The man looked at him steadily.

“Do not tell anyone about Zhong Chengshuo. If you reveal even half a word to others…”

“I understand,” the man replied with difficulty.

“Regarding other things, what you can and cannot say, I think you know in your heart, ‘Lu Guangzu’.”

Yin Ren patted his clothes and glanced at the exit of the interrogation room.

“…You don’t want to ask about Zhong Chengshuo’s secret?” Seeing that he was leaving, the man couldn’t help but speak up.

“His secret can be used by you as an important ‘bargaining chip’, which is enough for me.”

Yin Ren lowered his head again and leaned close to the man’s face.

“King Yama.” He spat out the words and looked with satisfaction as the man’s expression stiffened.

It wasn’t the shock of hearing it for the first time, but the guilt from losing his bargaining chip.

Yin Ren returned to his brilliant smile.

……

“What did Lu Guangzu say?” After Yin Ren came out, Zhong Chengshuo immediately asked.

“He saw that I was strange and wanted to recruit me to Sunken Society.”

Yin Ren scratched the tip of his nose with some embarrassment in his smile.

“It doesn’t look like Lu Guangzu is the real culprit. If I had to guess, he’s only responsible for clarifying the matter and spreading the word for Sunken Society… Forget it, I’ll write it in the report to Xiaohe Jie later. You prefer to read reports anyway.”

Zhong Chengshuo thought for a moment and didn’t continue to ask. “Okay, I’ll wait for your report.”

“Nn.”

“I will also go in and talk to Lu Guangzu.”

“Talk to him? Zhong Ge, you’re not thinking of entering Sunken Society, are you?” Yin Ren put away his headphones. “This is a negotiation. We can’t give him what he asks.”

Before Yin Ren could intervene, Zhong Chengshuo had already picked up the file bag, walked into the interrogation room, and slammed the door shut.

…This scene seemed a bit familiar. Yin Ren bitterly swallowed back the “I’ll go with you” that he was about to say. Forget it, Great King Yama would have his own thoughts.

In the interrogation room, surveillance hadn’t resumed.

Zhong Chengshuo approached the target with his hands resting on the armrest of the chair. Those pitch-black eyes locked onto Lu Guangzu sharply, causing the latter to shrink vigilantly without saying a word.

“I see.” After staring at Lu Guangzu silently for a while, Zhong Chengshuo straightened up.

The cold sweat on “Lu Guangzu’s” forehead oozed out again—he couldn’t perceive Zhong Chengshuo’s thoughts. They were fast and chaotic as a storm, and he couldn’t pick out any valid information.

Zhong Chengshuo ignored Lu Guangzu and opened the file bag. He put the documents on the floor one by one.

It was the list of missing people in the last three months. The police carefully selected and eliminated the muddled disappearances, and accurately screened out ten cases of “disappearing from the world”.

Zhong Chengshuo walked around with the files with photos posted on them; his eyes never leaving Lu Guangzu for even a moment. Lu Guangzu was sweating coldly, and his eyes were wandering suspiciously. He knew these two people weren’t easy to provoke, but he didn’t expect it to be that hard.

He clearly deliberately pushed aside the difficult bone of “King Yama”!

After a while, Zhong Chengshuo put away all the documents on the floor. He took out two of them and put them aside separately.

“You replaced the real culprit and ‘surrendered’ because you want to use Shian and the police to find him.” Zhong Chengshuo spoke in a calm tone. “Obviously, there’s a more appropriate approach… You have a clue in your hand, but it’s difficult to verify?”

“Once you reveal things that have nothing to do with the real culprit, it will be difficult to influence the direction of the investigation. Coupled with the real culprit fishing in troubled waters, you know you can’t control the situation, so you turned to Yin Ren for help?”

“Yin Ren told you—” Lu Guangzu was shocked.

“He didn’t say anything, but covered up for you.”

It was just that Zhong Chengshuo wouldn’t accept all the words of his partner at face value. Zhong Chengshuo flattened the corners of the files without raising his head.

“I know him well. If you’re related to the true culprit, Yin Ren’s mood wouldn’t be so relaxed, let alone helping you hide your identity.”

When he entered the room, this person was such a mess that he couldn’t even maintain his clever disguise. Zhong Chengshuo only needed a small test to sink him with one blow.

It was interesting that he asked Yin Ren for help alone. However, his partner was a monster who could release a powerful and murderous aura. If this person’s “help” was too strong, it would only have the opposite effect.

Looking at the fear in “Lu Guangzu’s” eyes, most likely he was taught a lesson by the “reverse effect”. He didn’t know what kind of expression Yin Ren had shown at that time.

However, Yin Ren was alone, and there was nothing being manipulated, so he wouldn’t just casually reveal his strength. This person should have discovered Yin Ren’s “special” nature and wanted to use it as leverage… Was it a special ability, or…?

No, these things weren’t the point. Zhong Chengshuo put away his curiosity, took the two separate files, and walked to Lu Guangzu.

“Your gaze stopped on Lu Yuanyuan and Fan Yong for a long time but stayed on the other files at almost the same time, except for these two.”

“This lady should be very important to you. The way you looked at her was very soft.”

He placed a file on the small table in the interrogation chair and tapped on the photo on the file.

In the photo, the young girl was smiling sweetly. Her eyes were misty, with a translucent blue film, like a spiderweb.

The words “Ding Lizi” were written next to the photo, and the date of disappearance was two weeks ago. In the special circumstances column, the police noted “visually impaired” and attached a copy of a hospital exam report.

Lu Guangzu pursed his lips tightly. He looked at the file sadly but couldn’t look away.

“And your gaze has always avoided this one… Hm, this is the person who reported Ding Lizi’s disappearance. A male in his twenties, with extremely similar height and body shape to you.”

Zhong Chengshuo pushed another file and placed it next to the woman’s file. His eyes were locked on Lu Guangzu.

“This ‘missing reporter’, is it you?”

The man’s gaze shrank. He suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhong Chengshuo in disbelief.

“Don’t worry. I don’t mean to expose you for the time being.” Zhong Chengshuo withdrew the files and lowered his gaze.

Sure enough.

Self-sacrificing surrender and being able to perceive Yin Ren’s specialness at a glance were really far from the Lu Guangzu they knew. Although he didn’t know if it was through plastic surgery or something else, it was unlikely that this person in front of him was “not Lu Guangzu”.

And when facing the “reporter’s” information, this person’s fear was only mixed with anxiety. He simply tricked the guy, and he fell for it.

Zhong Chengshuo shook his head in disappointment. “The top priority is to find the real culprit. I don’t plan to cut corners. I only have one request for you—”

The man stared nervously at Zhong Chengshuo.

“Don’t reveal Yin Ren’s specialness.”

Zhong Chengshuo said it in a flat tone as he put the reporter’s information on top of the stack of files. “I don’t have any plans on changing partners yet.”

The man didn’t know what Zhong Chengshuo was thinking. His face twitched. “Okay.”

Half a minute later, Zhong Chengshuo stepped out the door.

“How did it go?” Yin Ren leaned over curiously.

“He didn’t want to say anything.” Zhong Chengshuo pushed up his glasses. “I showed him the missing person file. He reacted a bit to one of them. We can start with this.”

He took out the information on “Ding Lizi” and handed it to Yin Ren.

Yin Ren quickly glanced at it. “I see… Zhong Ge, are you free tonight? I have something very important that needs your help.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “…?”

A few hours later, Zhong Chengshuo was looking out a window speechlessly.

They were sitting at the top-floor restaurant called Feng Dezhuang—the view here was exceptional. The lights outside the window were bright, and the sky was blotted with stars. The noisy sirens were left far behind on the ground, and only quiet classical music was left in the room. Their table had a vase filled with fresh red flowers.

Unfortunately, there were tons of shopping bags piled under Yin Ren’s feet that were crammed into a small mountain, which destroyed the elegant atmosphere around them.

Yin Ren’s “I need help with something very important” seemed to be asking him to help him eat. Before they came here, this person also walked around and bought a bunch of junk food for a midnight snack.

Zhong Chengshuo tried his best to ignore the mountain of calories that was close at hand. Just eating this much and not getting fat was enough to arouse suspicion of Comrade Yin Ren.

“My money has finally been reimbursed.”

Opposite Zhong Chengshuo, Yin Ren wiped away non-existent tears.

“I’ve been bothering you in the middle of the night recently, so I thought about thanking you. The vegetarian food here is delicious. I checked in advance.”

Zhong Chengshuo thought about it for a long time but wasn’t sure if this was considered courting. He could only nod his head and carefully taste the vegetarian version of braised pork and squirrel fish.

The braised pork had a rich taste, but there was no greasy aftertaste unique to fat. He didn’t know what ingredients the chef used, but as soon as the food entered his mouth, it could easily slide down his throat, leaving only a mouthful of fragrance and a long aftertaste.

The dishes were delicious, and the prices were equally impressive. In normal times, Zhong Chengshuo would never come to a place like this.

“Is it good?” Yin Ren looked at Zhong Chengshuo with a smile when he found that Zhong Chengshuo’s expression had softened a bit.

“It tastes good… Yin Ren, do you have something to tell me?” Seeing Yin Ren’s sly smile, Zhong Chengshuo had a bad feeling.

“Hmm? No, I’m just inviting you to dinner. There’s no word on the Evil Force on the chair, and Minister Fu hasn’t shown up recently. Things are definitely not easy, which means we’ll be much busier after this.”

Yin Ren held the squirrel fish between his chopsticks, and his voice was muffled. The squirrel fish here was made from potatoes. It was crispy, tender, and delicious, and tasted not much different from real fish.

“Zhong Ge, what do you think is going on with the culprit? Don’t serial killers always pick their victims? Now we have men, women, and even children all combined.” Yin Ren browsed a video website while eating.

“Maybe they all have something in common that we haven’t discovered yet.” Zhong Chengshuo took a sip of his alcohol-free wine. “Maybe you’ve been watching too much <Criminal Minds> and think the culprit harms others for other purposes.”

“I’m trying to find my lost memories. Maybe I used to be a foreign translator.” Yin Ren poked the squirrel fish in the bowl.

Zhong Chengshuo glanced at Yin Ren faintly and made no comment.

“Do you want to watch a crime drama together at night to find inspiration? We can’t hang ourselves on the tree called Lu Guangzu…”

“Mr. Yin?”

A familiar voice interrupted him.

Yin Ren paused as he was about to grab some rice with his chopsticks. Zhong Chengshuo turned his head sideways—Bai Yongji was settling down with a few colleagues who happened to be sitting at a large table next to them.

“Haha, what a coincidence.” Bai Yongji smiled brightly. “You two are also here to eat?”

“Yes, I got my bonus today, so I’m treating my friend to something good.” Yin Ren lied smoothly and scooped up some vegetables with his chopsticks and gave them to Zhong Chengshuo.

“Have you considered my previous offer?” Bai Yongji slightly turned sideways, blocking a colleague who wanted to take a picture of Yin Ren. “We recently need a guest who looks good to make a temporary cameo. The pay is quite good.”

“Sorry, I didn’t…”

“It’s not convenient for him to go.” Yin Ren hadn’t had time to find a good excuse yet when Zhong Chengshuo took the lead. “Yin Ren was involved in an accident before and is still recuperating, so it’s not suitable for him to participate in this kind of activity.”

“Had an accident?” Bai Yongji was startled.

“Yes, I hurt my head and now have amnesia. Now I have to trouble Zhong Ge to take care of me.” Yin Ren gave an “embarrassed” smile. “Thank you, Bai Ge, for your offer. If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll definitely join.”

Bai Yongji was silent for a moment, then sighed. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know about this before. Health always comes first. Let’s talk about it after you recover.”

“We’ll have a good chat then. How are you and Dr. Sun progressing?” Yin Ren changed the subject with a smile.

“Last time I stayed for dinner. Her parents seemed very satisfied with me.” Speaking of Sun Qi’an, Bai Yongji showed a gentle smile. “Actually, I didn’t have such thoughts at first, but after more contact, I feel that Dr. Sun is very…. nice.”

“She doesn’t want to fall in love yet, so I plan to keep it as friends for now. You have to keep it a secret for me,” he quickly added.

Bai Yongji’s colleagues started heckling him. “Boss Bai is infatuated. You have to pay for this meal.”

Yin Ren looked at him for a while as he started to mix soup with his rice.

Bai Yongji wasn’t the type of person who was enthusiastic enough to make people uncomfortable. This elite understood when to stop and didn’t bother the two at the next table. Only when the group was about to leave did Bai Yongji come up again.

“Mr. Zhong, excuse me. I remember last time we met, you wanted to do some psychological counseling.”

“Xiao Sun won’t be free all the time. If the problem isn’t solved, be sure to remember to go to a formal institution and don’t believe in those messy side methods.”

Speaking of this, Bai Yongji lowered his voice. “I’m ashamed to say, I have also asked for psychological counseling before and was scammed out of thousands. That person almost brought me into an MLM organization. Fortunately, I woke up quickly.”

Yin Ren: “Really, is it so scary?”

“Yes, I talked about this with Officer Sun before, and I should have called the police at that time… I don’t know if it’s okay to go now. Here, look, I screenshotted some of my chat history.”

He casually showed them the screenshots in his photo album.

There were more than dozens of WeChat records from half a year ago. The other party’s ID was “Lu Guangzu” written in large characters.

The first were just some intermittent transfer records, but the content of the last screenshot was quite eye-catching.

[Lu Guangzu: Mr. Bai, your problem is a bit difficult.]

[Lu Guangzu: I have to ask for help from our expert. Why don’t I introduce you?]

[In A Flash*: Expert? What expert? Mr. Lu, the matter hasn’t even been resolved yet. I need an explanation.]

*Like a white horse passing quickly across a gap (白驹过隙). Idiom referring to time is fleeting and passes by quickly.

[In A Flash: Are you lying about the things you’ve talked to me about?]

[Lu Guangzu: Don’t worry. I dare not say anything else. Our family is real. You can inquire about us on the streets.]

[Lu Guangzu: Have you ever heard of “Sunken Society”?]

The screenshot stopped at this point, and the rest was empty, indicating the conversation didn’t continue.

“After that, I went directly to an acquaintance who was a policeman and was scolded by him. At the beginning, Lu Guangzu used a lot of pseudo-science as a coverup, momentarily confusing me for a while, which was why I almost fell for it.”

Bai Yongji smiled bitterly.

“Seeing is not always believing. There are many scammers in the world, so you two must be careful.”

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The author has something to say:

Xiao Zhong’s King Yama skin exposed.

Xiao Yin: Happy to pretend to be ignorant and continue to tease King Yama (???

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