Who relentlessly pursued
In the middle of the night, Cheng Xiangwu inexplicably opened her eyes. The few lines of moonlight shining through the curtain gaps on the floor had disappeared. She turned her head and saw a person standing in front of her bed. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the bedroom door was open. She looked up and met the gaze of those blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.
In the darkness, the blue was cold, like two balls of phosphorescence.
Gorson was still sleeping on his side beside her. Cheng Xiangwu lifted the blanket and got up. Na Lan followed her. She raised her hand and waved, put on her slippers and walked out of the bedroom. Na Lan's eyes followed her.
After closing the bedroom door, Cheng Xiangwu turned on the fill light strip under the kitchen counter, took out a cup to fill with water, turned around and leaned against the counter, waiting for the scary guy standing by her bed in the middle of the night to speak.
Half a cup of cold water was poured down her throat, but Xiao Fu stared at her without saying a word. She had changed into her pajamas, but her hair clearly hadn't touched the pillow.
"...Didn't you install a camera?" Cheng Xiangwu could only ask the question herself. She looked around the bedroom and saw that there was no surveillance equipment in the bathroom, but there was one in the gap of the bedside table. Judging from the model, it was not a brand that could be bought in China. She didn't know what this person wanted to do, but she didn't remove it.
After a long, dull silence in the dimly lit space, Xiao Fu clicked his tongue.
"I've figured it out." She went forward, opened the cupboard, and got herself a cup of water.
"What?" Cheng Xiang asked.
“The reason why the entity that destroys connections acts along bloodlines is probably because of the scent.” Xiao Fu said, pulling out a bar stool next to the kitchen island and sitting down, putting his water glass aside. “That entity went to the scene, confirmed the scent of the deceased’s blood, and then followed that line to find the corresponding individuals, that is, their immediate family members.”
The reason and verification method were not explained; perhaps she swallowed them along with water.
"What about Lu Que and Bai Yuntian?" Cheng Xiang asked five times.
“That’s the only exception, so it’s suspicious. When I was asking for information earlier, Xie Wuchang told me that most of the victims’ partners were controlled by someone. Bai Yuntian couldn’t have been controlled, but she didn’t show any signs of it either. Maybe we can find some key clues on her,” Xiao Fu said.
Given the current situation, finding an opportunity to speak with Bai Yuntian is almost impossible, but considering that she is his target and she is destined to die, perhaps she will be willing to reveal something before she dies. Cheng Xiangwu nodded thoughtfully.
"...Although it's the worst-case scenario, it's still better than nothing." Little F smiled.
"Okay." Cheng Xiangwu put down her water glass. "Then what were you looking at, standing by my bed in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
Little Fu didn't answer immediately.
"Do you think I'm dreaming?" Cheng Xiang asked five times.
“There are some things I have to confirm myself,” Little Franz replied.
"Now that you've confirmed it, go to sleep," Cheng Xiangwu said, pouring the remaining water into the sink. She had to go to bed. But when she turned her head, those blue eyes were still staring at her.
"...Do you want to sleep with us?" Cheng Xiangwu asked hesitantly, never expecting that the double bed would triple the workload overnight.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Fu couldn't help but show a disgusted expression, but she quickly fell into thought and then smiled.
“What a great idea,” she said, straightening up. “Let’s do it this way; it’s time to deepen our relationship.”
As she spoke, she took the lead and walked towards the master bedroom. Cheng Xiangwu didn't say anything, turned off the light, and went back to her bedroom.
When she entered the room, Xiao Fu was already lying on the bed and covered with a blanket; the double bed looked like it couldn't possibly fit three people. Cheng Xiangwu thought for a while, then laid down the sofa chair by the window in the bedroom, put on her coat, and lay down inside.
Xiao Fu seemed to want to say something, but Cheng Xiangwu covered her mouth with her index finger, then gave up, covered herself with the blanket and closed her eyes.
In the early morning, birdsong outside the window rang out at a decibel level that a half-asleep person could not pretend not to hear. The leaves rustled in a symbolic response, and the curtains shone with a pale light. The temperature and humidity had not yet escaped the previous night, but a new day had already begun.
Upon waking up to find herself next to someone else, Golsen got up and slapped herself. The crisp slap only made the still-unconscious person frown slightly. Golsen quietly got up and went back to her half of the bathroom to tidy herself up.
There was fog outside the balcony, and the sunlight wasn't strong enough to penetrate this visibility killer, but if you stood there and took a deep breath in the morning air, all the spices of the world would rush into Gorson's nostrils and say good morning to her.
It also allowed her to briefly forget the phantom pain such as "When did she arrive? Was the person lying there last night the one she was talking about last night? How much of what she said last night did she hear?" and return to the vast reality.
“…Let’s go back.” Golson accepted reality and went back inside to tidy up the dining room.
When Cheng Xiangwu returned with breakfast, she found the dining room with its tableware neatly arranged and Xiao Fu dragging his pajamas back to his room. Upon seeing the food on the table, Gao Ersen automatically placed it into suitable containers. The water on the kitchen counter was still warm, to maintain the optimal temperature for brewing tea.
If Cheng Xiangwu were to use a silver plate as a dining dish again, she would feel like she was going to have an upset with the local environment.
"No need." Cheng Xiangwu tried to stop her, but it was too late. "You don't need to do these things next time."
"Actually, it's nothing. My status in my own family is pretty much the same." Gorson waved his hand.
"Status?" Cheng Xiangwu asked, puzzled.
“Slaves,” Golson nodded with a calm smile, casually putting the packaging bag into the trash can.
Cheng Xiangwu had nothing to say.
After breakfast, the three of them went out. According to the original plan, Cheng Xiangwu intended to let Qin Zixi live for another ten kilometers after his release from prison. However, due to Xiao Fu's strong request, he was able to walk to his home alive if he still remembered the way.
"The prison gate is more than ten minutes away from the nearest bus stop," Cheng Xiangwu added after thinking about the difference in physical fitness, "more than twenty minutes."
Afterwards, there will be two express trains a day carrying passengers of all kinds to and from the station square and the city center. The journey takes nearly two hours, with a stop along the way that is more than ten minutes' walk from the southern residential area where Qin Zixi lives.
“I need to check on his status as soon as he gets out of prison, so I’ll go ahead to the vicinity of the prison gate first. After he gets off the bus, I’ll check on him again. Keep an eye on him along the way,” Xiao Fu said as he drove. “I won’t remind you about the rules of conduct. Although I don’t think special circumstances will happen in crowded places, please don’t lose sight of the target’s mind.”
“Mm,” Cheng Xiangwu replied.
"How's your access to the personal data cloud storage site coming along?" Little F asked.
“Go ask about this once it’s resolved,” Cheng Xiangwu said.
"Why not try using convenient and fast modern electronic devices?" Little Franz then asked.
"...I didn't memorize the number," Cheng Xiangwu said after a moment of silence. The person she was asking was Zhou Mi's mother, Zhou Yan, who ran a hotel in the city and was well-informed and had a good memory. She called her "sister," but after changing her phone last year due to an accident, she only remembered the convenience store's landline number and Zhou Mi's personal number.
“I guessed so.” Little Fran chuckled. “There’s no need to save the number of someone who won’t call you. Are you Tree Ring…wait, you don’t have my number in your contacts?”
"Why would I need to remember your overseas information?" Cheng Xiangwu asked, puzzled. "Besides, you didn't use a cell phone before."
She also remembered years ago when Xiao Fu made the strange statement in public that cell phone signals would disturb her thinking.
"...Anyway, you have to remember this now." Little Fran recited a ten-digit number, plus the area code, "After radio signals invaded every inch of the air on Earth, adapting to the new composition of the air is also a part that carbon-based life forms have to endure for survival."
Cheng Xiangwu didn't say anything, took out his phone and called the foreigner's number, then hung up after confirming that Xiao Fu's coat pocket was vibrating.
"Let's add the note when the truth is revealed," Xiao Fu nodded.
The car stopped at the square near the bus stop. Xiao Fu took an umbrella and went ahead. Cheng Xiangwu gave Gao Ersen cash so she could buy some ice cream, snacks, and water to wait for Xiao Fu to come back. She bought a ticket at the station and sat down to wait for the bus.
"Sis, I'm back!" Golson ran out of the shade under the blazing sun, holding two cones of ice cream in her hands. "Which one do you want, chocolate or original?"
"Thank you for this." Cheng Xiangwu took the original flavor and took off her incongruous fur-trimmed coat, handing it to the other person. With only one coat left on, she considered herself to look like an ordinary fitness enthusiast.
"Okay." Golson folded the jacket and put it away. "I'll go back to the car now."
Cheng Xiangwu waved his hand.
After a while, my phone vibrated, and the caller ID showed an "F".
"The target appears, a narrow container filled with aged broth, ingredients 30% anxiety, 30% confusion, and 30% expectation. From an anthropological perspective, this tendency fits the psychological range of a typical labor camp inmate." Little F's strange voice was mixed with the white noise of swaying branches. "As it stands, this person doesn't seem to know what's happening outside those bars, whatever it may be."
It's obvious that almost no one would visit him in prison, and his wife works in another city and is not in the area most of the time.
“Okay,” Cheng Xiangwu said, then paused and asked, “Is there anything about him that seems odd?”
On the other end of the phone, Xiao Fu chuckled twice, the sound mixed with the sudden gust of wind penetrating the speaker, sounding like tinnitus.
“I don’t understand your definition of strange, Five Spices,” Xiao Fu said. “Qin Zixi has a disability in his left foot, which appeared before he went to prison. He also has reflex photophobia in both eyes and obvious signs of lung disease.”
Given the obvious miner's disease, and based on his household registration and place of residence, Qin Zixi's occupation before his prison sentence was most likely that of a coal miner.
The call hadn't ended, but Xiao Fu didn't continue speaking; she was waiting for something. Cheng Xiangwu did have a question to ask her, a very stupid one that would surely be laughed at, but one she had to ask.
Okay, "What does that person look like?" she asked.
"Hahaha—" Little Fu did laugh, "Next time, find an agent for your personal clients, Five-Spice, so you don't have to work overtime."
Cheng Xiangwu did not respond.
"A middle-aged man with no hair on his head, about five and a half feet tall, with multiple freckles on his face, droopy eyebrows and eyes, large ears, and a mole one centimeter below the left side of his lip. He was carrying a red and blue rectangular nylon bag, wearing a gray cloth shirt and shoes, and black pants with patches." After reciting these personal characteristics, Xiao Fu ended the call.
Less than half an hour later, the person who seemed to have stepped out of the character description turned into the station square, somewhat awkwardly bought a ticket at the ticket booth, and joined the end of the queue. Cheng Xiangwu unsurprisingly found that this person was a complete stranger to her. Even though she put him into the shell of "enemy," she still didn't feel much anger towards him, let alone murderous intent.
Whether the problem stemmed from the wrong target or the issue with the subject itself, Cheng Xiangwu no longer cared much at this point. What she cared about was what the target's death would bring. Although she had preemptively put a price tag on Qin Zixi's life, the pricing method followed the traditions of the assassin industry, meaning that the value did not include any subjective elements.
The target's death has no meaning for the assassin, only value. Cheng Xiangwu kept the coach's words in mind.
A white-painted bus pulled into the station, its doors opening to the side. The driver, wearing a baseball cap, got off and helped stuff luggage of all sizes into the lower compartment. Each time he placed luggage, the door of that compartment shuddered. A security guard emerged from the ticket booth to check passengers' tickets, a punch cut off the holes, and the fragments fell to the ground, mingling with the weeds sprouting from the cracks in the brick path. The bus smelled of leather, and the furnishings looked somewhat old but were quite clean. Cheng Xiangwu boarded the bus and found a seat by the rear window. Looking down at the glass, she saw Qin Zixi awkwardly and embarrassedly refuse the driver's help, pushing her nylon bag into the compartment herself before turning around and boarding the bus, sitting not far in front of her.
With the seats filled, the bus is about to depart.
"Excuse me, may I sit here?" A polite inquiry came from the aisle. Cheng Xiangwu realized that someone was talking to her and turned her head to look. It was a young man dressed like a scholar, with burn scars on his hands, carrying a canvas bag, and wearing black-rimmed glasses. There were no empty double seats on the bus, and she was a little late. Her expression as she stopped in the aisle and asked the person by the window showed a hint of unconscious nervousness.
"Hmm." Cheng Xiangwu nodded, then turned her head to continue looking out the window, observing the interior of the car only with her peripheral vision and reflections.
After Qin Zixi sat down, he looked around and started playing with his phone like the people around him. However, his phone was a flip phone, and after fiddling with it for a few moments, he put it away and turned to stare blankly out the window.
"Thank you!" The young man ignored Xiang Wu's cold attitude, smiled and sat down next to her in the aisle. After sitting down, he hung his canvas bag on the hook behind the seat in front of him, took out a data cable and connected it to his phone. The screen lit up, and the battery was still at 80%.
The vehicle slowly began to move, and after the signature engine start-up sound, the box-shaped mobile human canister, half full, drove away from human habitation and into the endless green forest.
"Excuse me," the young man beside him asked tentatively again, "I'd like to turn off the air conditioning that's blowing on me, would you mind?"
Thanks to those words, Cheng Xiangwu realized that the air conditioning was on on the bus. She nodded and raised her hand to close the valves of the air vents blowing on both sides.
"Haha, you also think the air conditioning in this car is too cold, right?" the young man laughed. "It's only July, in two weeks we'll have to just throw ice cubes into the car, won't we?"
“…I think it’s alright,” Cheng Xiangwu replied. In her impression, young people nowadays should be more shy.
"Hey, I do talk a lot." The young man waved his hand. "I came to visit a friend, but I accidentally got off the bus early and ended up in this desolate place. I had to ask around for ages before I found out there was a car that could take me back."
The station plaza is indeed one of the two train stops in Moriko City; the other is in the city center.
"Here, this is a local specialty I brought!" The young man took out a transparent bag from his canvas bag and handed it to Cheng Xiangwu. It was a sheet of butterfly pastries. "These are delicious. I brought a lot to share with everyone. You should try them too."
Her fingers had distinct knuckles, making the burn scars on her palms even more noticeable.
Cheng Xiangwu knew this was delicious because it was a specialty of the city where she worked. Looking at the label on the packaging, she knew it was from a long-established brand that locals would get up early every day to queue up for.
"No need." As soon as Cheng Xiangwu said this, the butterfly pastry was placed on her lap. She picked it up, paused, and looked at the young man to thank him, "Thank you."
"You're welcome!" The young man also took out a piece, and the two of them each took one and ate it.
The aroma of butter and sugar filled the air, masking the raw, fishy smell brought on by the cold air.
"This is my first time visiting during summer vacation, and I brought a lot of short-sleeved shirts, but I didn't expect to need them at all now." The young man casually started a conversation, "My name is Lin Che'an, what's yours?"
"Cheng Xiangwu," she said, then added with a hint of doubt, "Is school on holiday now?"
“University is already on holiday.” Lin Che’an said, unable to help but laugh. “Do you mean I look like a high school student? Oh, you really know how to talk.”
Thinking of Golson, Cheng Xiangwu didn't think Lin Che'an looked like a high school student. It had nothing to do with his face; it was just that there was something about him.
"Hmm." She didn't say anything.
"Hey, some people say I look young." Lin Che'an adjusted his glasses sheepishly. "Speaking of which, when I was asking someone for advice near the train station square, I heard there was a big prison nearby."
As if he had overheard their conversation, Qin Zixi turned his head slightly and glanced at them.
"Yes, there is, but it's a bit far." Cheng Xiangwu nodded.
“That’s not really feasible either. If the station is built next to a prison, the passengers will definitely be worried. Besides, wouldn’t it be easy for escaped prisoners to sneak in and escape?” Lin Che’an looked at Cheng Xiangwu as if seeking confirmation. “Like this train, you can get on as long as you buy a ticket. There’s no security check, and they just glance at your ID card and let you go.”
“That’s true.” Cheng Xiangwu found it quite convenient.
"Moreover, there are very few surveillance cameras. Let's not even talk about the square, here too." Lin Che'an drew a circle with his free hand, "Usually there are cameras on buses, but this bus doesn't. The signal here is already bad, so it's inconvenient to investigate if something happens."
“Yes.” Cheng Xiangwu felt very friendly.
"...You don't seem to care much." Lin Che'an asked with a frown. "It's not good for me to meddle, but you seem to be a local and traveling alone. If you come and go often, it would be better to be careful."
Although Cheng Xiangwu didn't know why this person would worry about her safety after seeing her physique, she knew that at this moment she should reply with something like, "Thank you for your concern, I'm fine, I come here often, I know."
But before that, Lin Che'an leaned closer and carefully lowered his voice, saying, "And my classmate told me that there seems to be a serious murder case in Senhu City recently."
The pupils behind the black-rimmed glasses waited unblinkingly for the listener's reaction.
“…Is that so?” Cheng Xiangwu was stunned, unsure how to answer. “That is indeed quite frightening.”
"That's not how someone reacts when they're scared, is it?" Lin Che'an asked curiously. "Do you know about this? Do you have any inside information as a local that you can share?"
Every place has its share of strange tales. Even stories without a definitive explanation, embellished and exaggerated, can have a bizarre twist, yet people are still willing to listen. As a local, Cheng Xiangwu has heard many tales of dubious veracity since childhood. For example, decades ago, an aquarium was supposed to be built, but it was ruined by a water monster. Or, someone was burning candles in the street at midnight, and when the police arrived, they found only some bloodstains.
In short, it has nothing to do with the recent murder cases.
"What murder case are you talking about?" she asked first.
"It's called a murder case, but I don't really know if anyone actually died. Hey, saying it like that will scare people more!" Lin Che'an smiled sheepishly. "My classmate said that this happened by the river in the city. There were no cameras around, and some nearby residents saw a blurry scene and called the police."
She said in a relaxed tone, "It was said that there was a fight on the banks of the Qingshui River, and one of the bodies was hit by a car and thrown away. However, when the police arrived at the scene that night, they found only tire tracks, no body or blood, so they did not investigate or file a case. It was just passed around by word of mouth."
“…There’s such a thing?” Cheng Xiangwu replied.
Obviously, this is a simplified version of what happened last night. Cheng Xiangwu had anticipated that the surrounding residents might see people in the darkness, but he didn't expect that someone would think it was a fight and call the police, let alone that someone would actually go there.
But since there's no body, the police probably won't care too much.
“But I heard from everyone that this morning they saw that place was cordoned off with yellow tape, and there were people taking pictures on the ground inside. Judging from their clothes, they didn’t seem to be from the local police station. There were even police dogs.” Lin Che’an took a bite of a butterfly pastry and muttered to himself curiously, “There are no bodies left, so what are they still investigating? I’m really curious.”
"That's right." Cheng Xiangwu sighed. She would have to change the tires on that car later, but luckily she had experience with it.
If nothing unexpected happens, those out-of-towners are Xie Wuchang's colleagues. They are a group of highly motivated and keen-nosed individuals. If the traces are not handled properly, they will be followed and knock on the door, asking questions like, "Excuse me, are you Ms. Cheng Xiangwu?" and then saying they want to have a chat.
"It seems this is the first time you've heard of this either," Lin Che'an nodded thoughtfully. "Or perhaps it's the first time you've heard of the aftermath. Maybe you live near the scene of the crime?"
"No." Cheng Xiangwu shook her head. "I only heard about it. What do you want to know?"
"I'm not trying to find out anything special, I just wanted to chat with you." Lin Che'an smiled. "My major in college was psychology, and it's a habit of mine to try to glean information from other people's expressions and attitudes. I'm really sorry if this makes you uncomfortable."
"I see." Cheng Xiangwu thought of Xiao Fu, who didn't need to look at others to get information. "I probably know less about this than you do, so I have nothing to add."
“…Alright.” Lin Che’an adjusted his glasses and said with a gentle smile, “It’s just a rumor, don’t take it seriously.”
As the conversation gradually subsided, the two passengers stopped talking. Outside the window, the camera panned to an elevated view, showing a few small brick houses peeking out from the deep green fields and wetlands, bathed in sunlight alongside the person wearing a straw hat. The aerial decorations consisted of telephone poles and birds perched above.
After exiting the highway, the bus started stopping at several stations. After a few stops, it was the station near Qin Zixi's residence. Cheng Xiangwu prepared to get off the bus with the trash, and Lin Che'an also put away the data cable and put his phone in his pocket.
The bus came to a stop at the station, the doors opened, and the driver prepared to get off by opening the lower compartment door.
"What a coincidence, I didn't expect we'd get off at the same stop." Lin Che'an said, preparing to stand up, but Cheng Xiangwu pressed down on his shoulder.
Stepping across the aisle seats and other passengers, Cheng Xiangwu lowered her head and looked at Lin Che'an. "Your friend is in the city, don't get off the bus early again."
“…Thank you for reminding me.” Lin Che’an said, raising his hand to adjust his glasses.
"You're welcome, thank you for the butterfly cookies." Cheng Xiangwu shook her head and got out of the car.
After throwing away the trash, Cheng Xiangwu stood on the platform and called Xiao Fu. When she turned around, she saw Lin Che'an sitting by the window, looking at her as well.
"How's the situation in the car?" Xiao Fu answered the phone. There was no background noise; it was indoors.
“No special circumstances,” Cheng Xiangwu said. “The scene last night was investigated by Xie Wuchang’s group. They arrived this morning, but they didn’t bother the locals. Be careful on the road. I’ll deal with the tires when I get back.”
The driver helped Qin Zixi pull out his nylon bag. He thanked him several times, then turned around, picked up the dusty bag, leaned it on his shoulder, and smiled. Before leaving, the driver called Qin Zixi back and said something to encourage him to start a new life. Qin Zixi responded, his eyes no longer drooping as he smiled.
“Looks like there’s a lack of communication between the locals and the outsiders.” Xiao Fu’s voice was flat. “The target is fine for now. I’m going to hide the car. You keep an eye on it.”
“Okay,” Cheng Xiangwu said.
The driver closed the door and got on the bus. The bus shook again before the wheels slowly started turning. Lin Che'an smiled and waved.
"Xie Wuchang said she would keep the secrets of those inside the house, but it's hard to say about those outside. Did you encounter anyone in the car who smelled like her colleague?" Xiao Fu asked.
“I can’t smell that kind of scent you’re talking about.” Cheng Xiangwu waved and turned to leave. “But someone did come looking for me. I wonder if they’ll follow. They look a lot like you.”
"What do you mean?" Little F said, very dissatisfied. "Even if you copied all my cells, the synthesized being would never be similar to me. The similarity you're talking about isn't based on race or expression, is it?"
“No,” Cheng Xiangwu said, “you all look quite young.”
"...That's it?" Little Flène asked after a moment of silence, expressing her disappointment.
"That's all." Cheng Xiangwu finished speaking and the phone was hung up.
After walking for more than ten minutes westward from the station towards the densely packed red-walled high-rise buildings, Qin Zixi stopped at the entrance of the residential area. The security guard who came out with a palm-leaf fan asked him a few questions, and he hurriedly started to reach into his pants pocket.
A few sheets of paper, a notebook, a wallet—he still didn't stop. Finally, he unzipped the nylon bag, lowered his entire upper body as if to dive, and finally pulled out a notebook.
He didn't pick up the things on the ground. He just squatted there, flipping through the notebook until he reached a certain page. His gaze darted back and forth between the security guard and the notebook a few times before he handed it over. Only then did he begin to clean up the nylon bags and intestines on the ground. After looking at the notebook for a while, the security guard stopped fanning himself. He glanced back at the security room, then at Qin Zixi, who was still cleaning up on the ground, and finally returned the notebook to him.
Qin Zixi took it, looked up and smiled, saying something. The smile wasn't contagious. The security guard turned around, glanced at the security room, and said something. Qin Zixi's notebook fell to the ground.
He was already squatting, and when he lost his balance, he knelt down in front of his luggage. Ignoring the nylon bag and the words still being spoken, he crawled on the ground a couple of times, tried to stand up but fell again. His gaze was fixed on the security guard, which was probably why he couldn't maintain his balance.
The security guard took two steps back and waved his hand several times. Qin Zixi stood up, picked up the nylon bag with the zipper not even zipped up, and ran into the residential area.
Cheng Xiangwu followed.
The bag must have been quite heavy. Qin Zixi, who was limping, was thrown off balance by it several times, but he kept running forward. He ran through the bumpy driveway, across the parking lot, and straight across the grass to the sidewalk after the right-angle turn. The bag's handle knocked over a bicycle parked on the side of the road. He looked back a few times and then continued running forward.
Cheng Xiangwu followed.
He finally found the building he was looking for. His hands trembled as he pressed the number on the building's door several times, his legs shaking uncontrollably. After several unanswered attempts, he tried calling out inside. Someone followed him—it was the security guard fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. He was carrying a large bunch of keys and had a few colleagues with him. They went up and helped open the rusty iron door of the building. Qin Zixi slipped through the crack, ignoring the nylon bag. Some of the security guards wanted to follow, but the man fanning himself stopped them, shook his head, and the group clattered away.
Cheng Xiangwu followed.
The innermost green door on the target floor was still unlocked, but no one was inside. After knocking a few times, Qin Zixi barged in. His house was now empty; there was no food on the table. Qin Le's school was closed, and she wasn't home. Her grandparents weren't home either. One was lying face down on the floor with his head facing the door, while the other was lying on the bed unable to swallow. His wife wasn't home either.
There was no body in his house, but the flies and mosquitoes that swarmed around it refused to leave. Several of them clung to the family photo taken more than ten years ago, their wings and antennae trembling, emitting a strong, bone-itch-inducing stench along with the poorly ventilated space itself.
He fell downwards.
The door was closed. Cheng Xiangwu stood behind Qin Zixi, who was kneeling facing the kitchen's glass window. Opposite the kitchen was another building, so sunlight couldn't directly shine into the room.
To be honest, she felt that if she turned and left now, there would soon be another corpse in this house. But since Xiao Fu hadn't arrived yet, she had to keep an eye on things.
The door behind them opened and closed silently. Qin Zixi and Cheng Xiangwu turned around at the same time. The new visitor, who had arrived at some unknown time, was a burly tabby cat. It confidently pushed open the door that was trapping its paws, swaggered into the room, rubbed against Cheng Xiangwu's trouser leg, and stopped in front of Qin Zixi.
But compared to a cat, a person is obviously more worthy of another person's attention. Qin Zixi saw Cheng Xiangwu and was so frightened that he lay down in the house, supporting himself with his hands on the ground as he looked up at Cheng Xiangwu's face. His lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but then he suddenly stopped.
“You, you are.” Qin Zixi pointed at Cheng Xiangwu with trembling hands, “You are the child from that building, you are the one who climbed out, the survivor of that fire, you are Cheng Xiangwu.”
“…You still remember me,” Cheng Xiangwu said, slightly surprised.
Xiao Fu still hasn't arrived. I wonder if he's lost or stuck under the door and can't get in.
"You survived, and you've come to find me." Qin Zixi murmured to himself, but then suddenly realized, "You've come to find me to seek revenge, to kill me."
He trembled as if he were a naked living person walking on the tundra; the moment he began to calm down was the beginning of his death.
Then he fell silent in a daze, no longer trembling, but he also lost the strength to continue pointing at Cheng Xiangwu. He was about to become a new corpse in this space, as if he was already ready, and only one last step was missing.
"Kill me," he whispered.
“…I do intend to do that,” Cheng Xiangwu said, “but…” Xiao Furen hasn’t arrived yet.
"Kill me—" Qin Zixi suddenly regained his strength. He crawled toward Cheng Xiangwu, his bitter face contorted with a deathly aura. "I killed your parents, Cheng Xiangwu, kill me, kill me!"
The first to react to the commotion was the tabby cat, which leaped to the side to avoid Qin Zixi's path.
After sidestepping Qin Zixi, Cheng Xiangwu took out her phone from her pocket, wondering whether she should call Xiao Fu.
Having missed his target, Qin Zixi collapsed to his knees, his shoulders above his head. His breaths were whistling from the trembling of his vocal cords, but no tears fell.
"...Please, kill me, give me a quick death. I don't want to live anymore, there's no point in living." He spoke breathlessly, "Lele, Lele..."
Muttering that name, Qin Zixi finally burst into tears. He was almost screaming as he cried, trying to distract himself from the pain by making a sound.
"Lele—" he cried out, "Lele, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Lele, Daddy is so sorry, Daddy will die too, Daddy will go with you—"
Clearly, he hadn't forgotten Cheng Xiangwu or Qin Le over the past decade or so, which is the typical attitude of the deceased's family.
Suddenly, the tabby cat cried out, leaped from the sofa, and kicked Qin Zixi to the ground. It landed next to his head, which had slid to the floor after hitting the sofa leg, and licked away his tears.
As the cat licked him, Qin Zixi gradually calmed down from his convulsions, as if he had been comforted.
Should cats do such things? Cheng Xiangwu, who observed the whole thing, was puzzled, but she didn't understand cats.
"...Lele..." Qin Zixi was still sobbing, but she slowly got up. "...Lele?"
His tone became doubtful, and the sadness was gone.
The tabby licked its lips, bypassed Cheng Xiangwu, and ran out through the crack in the door. When it turned around, even its tail was no longer visible.
"Lele, yes, Lele and her parents passed away." Qin Zixi scratched her head in confusion, getting up from the ground. "Lele has been gone for a long time, ugh—"
Only then did he smell the stench in the room, or rather, only then did he have the energy to deal with the negative emotions brought about by the stench. In other words, he had recovered from the pain of losing his daughter. In that instant, Cheng Xiangwu realized what had happened.
A special phenomenon has occurred; the special phenomenon is caused by that cat, or by that cat.
"Uh, you, Cheng Xiangwu, you..." Qin Zixi realized what he had just said to Cheng Xiangwu, and his face turned pale with fear and cold sweat.
"...Do you still want to die now?" Cheng Xiang asked five times.
"I don't want to!" Qin Zixi answered quickly and decisively, her voice still urgent, but her purpose had changed to saving her life. "Listen to me, there are hidden details about what happened back then, I can tell you everything now! Or do you want money? Those people—"
The glass is broken.
In an instant, Qin Zixi's upper skull shattered, the speed at which his head organs, tissues, blood, and fluids shattered and sprayed out was astonishing. Cheng Xiangwu retreated to avoid most of it, only to see his lips, still opening and closing inertia, remaining in their original positions. There was even some oxygen left in his trachea, which was overflowing from the excessively large new exit at a speed more than ten times faster than usual, and his voice drifted away distortedly.
“Man—” the deceased said.
After passing through Qin Zixi's head, the bullet continued its trajectory. After its initial velocity, it lost some accuracy after hitting an obstacle, grazing Cheng Xiangwu's side as she barely managed to turn to the side, leaving a trail of scorched marks.
Qin Zixi's headless corpse fell forward, his body hitting the ground. He knelt down again, but showed no intention of crawling forward.
Such penetrating power is beyond what conventional firearms can possess. Cheng Xiangwu quickly avoided the open kitchen window, feeling a sharp pain in her side abdomen, but because the skin and flesh were charred, there was no major bleeding for the time being. The new ventilation opening on the glass was high up, and she looked up, meeting the gaze of a flashing light on the balcony of the opposite building.
She rolled sideways out of the apartment door, the stench of decay following her everywhere. As she ran towards the emergency exit, Cheng Xiangwu pulled out her phone to text Xiao Fu, telling her to go home first. The signal was normal, but the message wouldn't send; the chat bubble just kept spinning. She put her phone away and was about to go downstairs when she heard people coming up from the bottom of the stairs—at least five people. Senhu City didn't have police with that kind of mobility, and the security guards couldn't possibly run fast enough.
In any case, the visitor is hostile, so at least we should be prepared to treat her badly.
Turning her head upwards, Cheng Xiang grabbed the railing and took a shortcut up the mountain. After passing several piles of what looked like trash—cardboard boxes and large black plastic bags that were clearly garbage—she kicked the iron chain lock off with three kicks. She also kicked open the rooftop door. The sky was clear and high, and there was no one there.
My phone vibrated late, several times, the last one being long. The caller was F.
"I'm on the rooftop," Cheng Xiangwu said as she quickly applied emergency medication to herself.
"Run east, I'll be waiting for you behind the bicycle shed downstairs in Building 3," Xiao Fu said quickly before hanging up.
Footsteps approached from behind. Cheng Xiangwu was in Building 5, not far from Building 3, but that was the distance between them on the ground. She couldn't turn around and take the stairs right now. She looked up. To the east was the rooftop of Unit 4, at the same height as her, with less than ten meters between them. The sky was clear and there was no rain, and the wind was blowing in her direction.
Cheng Xiangwu drew her knife, put her hands behind her back, took a running start, gathered her strength, and jumped. She stepped onto the railing at the edge of the rooftop, carrying the wind as she soared into the sky. Seeing her target in front of her, her body plummeted due to gravity. She raised her knife and slashed down hard. The kitchen knife pierced the gap in the red bricks, abruptly halting the fall. The falling body trembled due to the strength and weight of its owner. Cheng Xiangwu stepped on the brick gap, gathering strength to prepare for a second jump. The wound on her waist and abdomen tore open, and warmth and coolness passed by at the same time.
However, the pain was not intense. After shifting his weight, Cheng Xiangwu pushed off with both legs and slashed down with both arms, drawing out his twin swords in the process. He successfully climbed onto the edge of the rooftop railing and pulled himself up to climb over onto the rooftop. But he had to be careful not to get any blood on it.
There seemed to be more people at the starting point, and they finally realized that the thing hanging on the edge of the rooftop of the building next door was a person, or the person they were chasing.
Cheng Xiangwu felt a sudden chill on her right shoulder and neck, followed by a burning sensation on her skin. A bullet from behind had nearly pierced her neck. Ignoring the bullet, stained with her blood, that fell into the grass below, she mustered her strength and propelled herself upwards before the new wound and pain could fully register. She vaulted over the railing and crouched down. Several sparking bullets flew overhead, their aim quickly veering off course. This time, it was a 9mm caliber pistol, but there was only one gunman.
Counting the bullets, she took advantage of the air raid to put away her knife, clutched her neck, and rolled to the rooftop entrance. She kicked the rooftop door lock in three kicks from a blind spot, and used the same method to jump down the stair railing. Around the second floor, she jumped out of the passageway window and landed on the lawn among the bushes.
The reason for jumping was that the fire alarm door was located below the escape exit, and pushing it open from the inside or outside would cause screams.
Footsteps came from both sides, much faster and closer than Cheng Xiangwu had expected.
Suddenly, the alarm at the escape route blared, and she paused. Taking advantage of the moment, she dashed eastward, leaping several times to dart into the shadows of the building next door and continuing her run toward her destination. She avoided the bushes, as the dampness on her palms proved that the wound was bleeding uncontrollably.
There was no one near Building 3. Cheng Xiangwu quickly spotted the shed with only a few cars parked there. She heard footsteps behind her and, without hesitation, quickly lowered her body and rushed into the back of the shed.
Xiao Fu waited there. After scanning Cheng Xiangwu up and down, she quickly turned and walked towards the path behind the shed, with Cheng Xiangwu following behind.
The alleyways branched off and twisted, with doors occasionally appearing. The walls on both sides were gray, and puddles occasionally formed underfoot. After Xiao Fu led the way through several erratic turns, the two were finally able to catch their breath. Xiao Fu handed over bandages and then took out a can of spray, spraying it all over Cheng Xiangwu's body, eliminating the stench that clung to his skin.
"Qin Zixi died from a sniper shot; those guys had big guns." Cheng Xiangwu said, while tightly wrapping a bandage around his neck. "But he said everything he needed to say before he died, and some special circumstances occurred."
"Describe the special circumstances," Little Franchi said, continuing to walk ahead.
“A cat ran in at the time. The man was originally quite normal and wanted to die, but after the tabby cat licked his tears, he became abnormal and desperately wanted to live.” Cheng Xiangwu didn’t know how to explain it.
"A cat?" Little F was taken aback. "By your standards, isn't it anything special?"
“No, but I don’t understand cats.” Cheng Xiangwu said, biting through the bandage with her teeth. “Did you see the attacker’s face?”
“One person was wearing a cloak, while the others were completely unmasked; they were just civilians. Their logic is questionable.” Little Fu pondered. “However, the pursuit was extremely targeted and left no room for error. Could they be your enemies?”
"...No one knew I would appear here at this time." Cheng Xiangwu said thoughtfully, bandaging the cut on her waist with gauze to stop the bleeding.
Moreover, given Lin Che'an's status, it's even more impossible for her to do such a thing. Those people were incredibly ruthless when they pulled the trigger; they almost touched her head.
"...You're lucky to be alive." Little F smiled. "Let's go back first. Do you need me to take you to the hospital?"
“No need, I won’t die,” Cheng Xiangwu said, unable to shake her head at this moment.
After a few more turns, there was finally a gap in the wall on both sides, and half of the rear of the car was exposed.
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