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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
Star City, this ancient riverside city, has countless moving legendary stories that have unfolded here, while the Star River, carrying innumerable tales, flows eastward. Star City still stands firm, seemingly guarding its profound history.
As night falls and the lights shine brightly, it is hard to tell whether the reflections of River Noodles embellish Star City or if Star City enhances the reflections of River Noodles. The riverside and the shimmering lights of River Noodles blend together, creating a picturesque scene from afar.
The night in Star City is so romantic at this moment, but nothing is more romantic than the vibrant atmosphere of bars. Is there anything more romantic than a bar? Of course! Those alluring beauties in the bar who wink and blow kisses at you definitely make you realize that romance can be so tangible and clear.
I sat on a high stool at the bar, holding a glass of vodka, listening to soft music, and watching the handsome men and enchanting women in the bar. I couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn it, why are there so many young masters and ladies here?"
Young masters and ladies are professions that involve selling one's physical appeal. This profession relies on innate beauty, which is then complemented by hard work in gymnastics and yoga to become exceptional. Throughout history, many predecessors have left their mark, such as Du Shiniang, Li Shishi, Chen Yuanyuan, and many others.
In the past, among ten people in a bar, there would be at most one young master or lady; the rest were customers. Nowadays, almost everyone in the bar is a young master or lady. Don't ask me how I know this; anyone who frequents bars knows that a person with a ring on their right hand drinking lemon juice is definitely a young master, while someone with a ring on their index finger holding a strong drink is mostly a lady.
"Could it be an awards ceremony?" Fatty beside me laughed and said, "This is a physical job; evaluating labor models doesn't count."
After a few drinks, I found it rather dull. Can you understand that feeling? Just when I thought it was boring, a beautiful woman approached me for a chat. She smiled sweetly and said, three hundred for one time, five hundred for an all-night package...
It was too unexciting. I left the bar with Fatty, strolling along Riverside Avenue where citizens had come out to enjoy the summer breeze.
"Ghost Brother, is your matter with the Ling Family and Yang Family over just like that?" Fatty asked through his betel nut-stuffed mouth. This guy has picked up some bad habits from others.
"What do you expect? Should we announce it on the news?" I scoffed. "Such matters are bound to end without resolution."
"Lingfeng and Guo'er have gone to Beijing; it's been almost half a year since they returned. They can't be under house arrest, can they?" Fatty spat out some betel nut residue and said, "Ghost Brother, have a smoke."
"Everyone has a phone to contact!" I handed a cigarette to Fatty and pondered for a moment, "Lingfeng mentioned on the phone yesterday that he would be back soon."
Since the last script incident, Lingfeng and Yang Guo'er were summoned back to Beijing by their families, and I hadn't seen them for half a year. We could only communicate through phone calls, discussing trivial topics like 'the weather is nice today,' 'have you eaten yet?' and 'the radishes in Beijing are more expensive than those in Star City.'
This situation continued until last month when Lou Wei returned the Greedy Wolf Scroll to me. Only then did Lingfeng start revealing his schedule over the phone. It seemed that things had improved; the crises faced by the Yang Family and Ling Family had been resolved thanks to my Book of Life and Death. From Lingfeng's tone, it appeared that because of the Book of Life and Death, the Ling Family, Yang Family, and Xiao Family had entered the inner circle, and all three families were deeply grateful to me. Damn it, they didn't even give me any benefits; how much is gratitude worth per pound? Where is Guo'er? Why hasn't she come to Star City yet?
As for Lou Wei, he had become the director of the Treasure Office and was stationed in Star City for work. I was surprised when I first saw his work ID; Treasure Office? What a grand name! Lou Wei explained that it couldn't be called the 'Book of Life and Death Office' or 'Life Office' or 'Death Office,' right? Although the name was a bit ridiculous, this office was directly under Office One, which made it quite impressive.
Even though I had little understanding of the other four volumes of the treasure, Lou Wei didn't care at all. During one drinking session, he revealed his thoughts: "Brother, I hope they can't find the treasure; that way, I can keep this position forever! Hahaha, this feeling is amazing..."
This guy is simply a scoundrel who has survived calamities, a failure who has entered the great stage! But... I like him. Because he treats me as a friend and holds significant power. Several times I've thought about giving him a few hundred bucks to help me buy an apartment; it must be in Qinghu District... Fatty summarized it well: for trivial matters, ask Baidu; for important matters, find Lou Wei.
Just as I was chatting with Fatty, an extremely harsh screeching sound suddenly came from ahead. Fatty and I turned our heads toward the sound and saw a van completely out of control speeding toward the sidewalk. With a loud crash, it slammed into a thick Sea Bowl tree nearby and flipped over, scattering its cargo all over the ground.
This appeared to be a delivery van; its side door swung wide open as several cardboard boxes rolled out. One box broke open, spilling various cartoon masks onto the ground—there were Sun Wukong masks, Big Bad Wolf masks, Rogue Rabbit masks, and so on.
Fortunately, no one was hit. After some initial panic, pedestrians gathered around. Someone called 110 while others pulled the driver out from the cabin; he was covered in blood and unconscious.
Others began helping to gather up the masks scattered on the ground while discussing among themselves.
"Wow, he's going to be disfigured now," said a burly man pointing at the driver lying on the ground.
"What's wrong with you? Everyone has compassion; you don't have to help but at least don't stand there making sarcastic comments," said a middle-aged man wearing glasses who had also called for help.
"You idiot!" The burly man spat disdainfully. "I'm just a butcher selling meat; what compassion do you expect from me? If you’re so righteous, why don’t you stop eating meat? Hey! What do you mean by looking at me like that? Not satisfied? If you have guts, come challenge me tomorrow morning at Liu Xi Agricultural Trade Market; my stall is the second one on the left after entering. We'll each take a Butcher's Knife and fight until one of us is dead..."
Glasses Man rolled his eyes and ignored him. The butcher cursed a few times, feeling bored, spat twice without looking back, and turned to leave.
"Such quality!" Glasses Man said lightly after the butcher had walked far away, causing Fatty and me to chuckle softly.
"Why hasn't the police arrived yet?" A middle-aged man with a Square-Faced face expressed his dissatisfaction. He was the one who had pulled the driver out of the car.
Glasses Man seemed to have a good impression of the Square-Faced Man: "I just called not long ago; it shouldn't be that quick."
"I'm worried this driver won't hold on much longer," Square-Faced Man pointed at the driver lying on the ground.
Fatty and I exchanged glances and stepped forward. Fatty crouched down to check the driver's breath and said, "He's not dead."
Glasses Man and Square-Faced Man looked at us in surprise, not knowing who we were. I took out cigarettes and offered one to each of them; it's rare to find someone so righteous in today's society, and a cigarette was a small token of respect.
After chatting for a bit, we learned that the Square-Faced Man was a taxi driver who had just finished his shift and immediately pulled the driver out when he saw the accident. Glasses Man only smiled lightly without revealing what he did; I didn't press further. With millions of people in Star City, who knows if we would meet again?
Before long, two police cars rushed over with sirens blaring. Four or five people got out of the cars; besides several officers handling the scene, there was also a very imposing plainclothes man. Seeing that we were closest to the injured on the ground, he sized us up for a moment before walking over and saying, "I am Public Security Bureau Chief Li Dexin."
We were all surprised; this was just an ordinary traffic accident, yet it had attracted the attention of the Public Security Bureau Chief. Was he really that idle?
Glasses Man exclaimed and extended his hands: "Director Li, I am Sun Jianhua, from Star City University."
Director Li first frowned, then seemed to recall who he was. He extended his hand to shake with Sun Jianhua: "So it's Professor Sun; I've heard your name many times."
Sun Jianhua quickly replied, "Not at all. Director Li, what brings you here?"
Director Li smiled lightly and said, "I happened to be checking work in the 110 duty room when I saw the alarm and came over. What’s going on here?"
Sun Jianhua spoke clearly about the traffic accident, and Director Li nodded repeatedly. In the end, he asked Sun Jianhua to return with the Square-Faced Man to take notes, while one police officer remained at the scene, presumably waiting for a tow truck.
As Fatty and I were about to leave, I heard someone calling my name: "Ghost Brother!"
I turned around in surprise to see it was Snow Aunt, the top mammy from Emperor Club.
"Hey, Snow Aunt, at this time you should be inside the club entertaining clients!" Fatty joked without restraint; after all, a mammy is just someone to joke about.
"Go away!" Snow Aunt shot Fatty a glare and said to me, "I just dropped off a girl in Meiyuan District, and on my way back, I wanted to bring some snacks for the girls. By the way, I picked up a few Masks; this police officer won't recognize me, right?"
"He won't recognize you, but he might hit you!" I laughed. "You can buy those Masks from a Delivery Van for at most ten bucks each. You could buy ten with a hundred bucks; who knows, maybe the boss will give you a discount! Stop pretending to be poor."
Snow Aunt looked reluctantly at the Masks on the ground before bidding us farewell.
"How can she be considered part of the white-collar class yet be so upset?" Fatty muttered behind me.
"That's a lifestyle attitude," I chuckled. "Some people drive luxury cars to the market just to argue with vendors over a few cents... Motherfucker, you might as well laugh; I've actually seen people like that."
Amidst our laughter, Fatty and I left the scene. It was just a traffic accident after all; none of us took it to heart.
——————————Mysterious Divider Line Appears Again——————————
The next time I saw Sun Jianxin was at a private gathering. Originally, Fatty and I had no interest in attending such events—a group of people holding champagne or cocktails gathered in clusters, discussing who targeted today’s Stock Market or how Star City’s housing prices had zero down payment again. I had no interest in such matters at all; Fatty was even less interested. Aside from Health Treatment, there wasn’t much that caught his attention.
But the two of us had to come because the host of the party is Lingfeng. Lingfeng has returned to Star City to serve as the Deputy Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, overseeing Criminal Investigation and Public Security. I don't know if it's impressive to be promoted from the captain of the Public Security Team to the Deputy Director in charge of Public Security, nor do I know if a Deputy Director overseeing both Public Security and Criminal Investigation is considered impressive. Anyway, since Lingfeng told me this, I just listened. To be honest, with the influence of the Ling Family and the Book of Life and Death, I wouldn't be surprised if Lingfeng suddenly became the director.
When we saw Sun Jianxin at the gathering, he was passionately giving a speech. After listening for a while, it seemed that he was saying that in today's society, everyone lives wearing a Mask, losing their true selves and passion. He even cited an example from a recent car accident scene where so many people were just watching and making sarcastic comments, yet only one person reached out to help...
At an emotional point in his speech, Sun Jianxin gestured wildly, seemingly trying to express his inner outrage through body language. Around him, three or four people were listening attentively, including a woman who nodded in agreement from time to time. Fatty and I exchanged amused glances and turned to walk away. Just after taking a couple of steps, we heard a piercing scream from behind, followed by several gasps.
The scream was so chilling that it seemed something extremely terrifying was happening.
Upon hearing that scream, I quickly turned around and caught sight of a horrifying scene.
Sun Jianxin was desperately struggling with his hands covering his face, but his face was covered in blood. From our angle, we could see something starting to tear at his face from his chin upwards.
Indeed, it looked as if an invisible hand was gripping Sun Jianxin's skin and forcefully pulling it upwards. No matter how hard Sun Jianxin pressed down on his face, it was futile. With a crunching sound, we saw his entire facial skin being ripped off. His face became a bloody mess, and after several agonized cries, his voice abruptly stopped. He fell straight to the ground and lay still.
The piece of skin that had fallen to the ground surprisingly transformed into a Mask—a Snoopy Mask.
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