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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
Early on the twenty-first, I arrived at Zhou Mu Yang's house with Lingfeng. Zhou Mu Yang had already prepared a Travel Bag containing one hundred bundles of hundred-yuan bills. I opened it to take a look and lifted it up; it felt like it weighed about twenty pounds. I couldn't help but laugh, "This million isn't heavy at all, it's about the same as a bag of rice."
Lingfeng wasn't wearing his police uniform today, just casual pants, looking quite relaxed. His mood seemed to have improved as he smiled and added, "A hundred-yuan bill weighs about one gram. Ten thousand yuan would weigh a hundred grams, and one hundred thousand yuan would weigh ten kilograms."
However, Zhou Mu Yang didn't share our lightheartedness. He frowned and said, "Officers, I initially didn't want the police involved, but now the kidnappers are demanding your participation. There's nothing I can do. As I've said before, catching the criminals is your job; I just hope my son can return safely."
I nodded, "Don't worry; we don't want anything to happen to your son either."
Zhou Mu Yang still seemed uneasy. He cleared his throat and emphasized, "This one million really isn't much. Previously, my company's headquarters was in Sky Building, and the rent for two thousand square meters was also one million a year. What I mean is, please don't focus on this ransom; my child's life is what matters most."
Lingfeng reassured Zhou Mu Yang, "I also have a child; I understand the feelings of being a parent. You can rest easy."
Before Zhou Mu Yang could say anything else, my phone rang.
I pressed the speakerphone button, and Mr. Qian's cheerful voice came through: "Good morning, Ghost Brother, Ling Ju!"
"You too!" I replied calmly. "The money is ready; where should we send it next?"
"Tsk tsk, I was going to chat with you a bit first, but I didn't expect you to get straight to the point so quickly without any foreplay. You're really lacking in romance," Mr. Qian sighed. "Alright then, since you're so eager, let's get down to business. First, open the Travel Bag you have and dump the money on the ground."
I picked up the Travel Bag beside me, unzipped it, and a stack of red hundred-yuan bills appeared before my eyes. Turning the Travel Bag upside down caused the stacks of bills to fall onto the ground.
"Not bad, not bad," Mr. Qian remarked with approval. "The visual effect of this one million looks pretty good. Now arrange the money neatly in five rows horizontally and four stacks in each row." With that, Mr. Qian cheerfully hung up.
I had to admit that arranging it this way was indeed the fastest method to check if there was one million—five times five equals twenty-five times four equals one hundred stacks; once arranged properly, it would be clear at a glance.
I tossed the Travel Bag aside and organized the money as he requested. After a while, Mr. Qian called back and said with a chuckle, "Now take out the first stack from the second column of the first row, then take out the second stack from the third column of the third row, and finally take out the third stack from the fifth column of the fourth row. Count them out for me once you've taken them out."
According to his request, I took out the three stacks of hundred-dollar bills, wedged my phone against my ear, held one end of the bills with my left hand, and quickly flipped through the money with my right hand. I knew that Mr. Qian did not want to confirm whether there were a hundred bills; he was afraid we might pull a fast one—what looked like a stack of cash could actually just be one bill at the front and one at the back, with white paper in between.
"Very good, very good. It's been a pleasure working with you. Don't think about swapping the money on the way, because I might randomly find an internet café to video call you and have you open the bag to count my money. Hahaha, don't think I'm being troublesome; it's just how it is," Mr. Qian said with a laugh. "Now, put the money into the Travel Bag. Hmm, Ling Ju seems to have driven here, right? Hurry up and set off; try to reach He Park within twenty minutes."
"Reach He Park within twenty minutes?" I repeated in surprise and then exclaimed loudly, "That's impossible! Even taking the subway would take twenty-five minutes, not including the time it takes for us to rush to the station and wait for the train. If we drive, considering traffic lights and everything, it would take at least forty minutes."
"Tsk tsk, why are you shouting? Are you trying to scare me? If you have any objections, you should remain calm. I just want you to get to He Park; it’s not like I’ll do anything if you don’t make it," Mr. Qian chuckled. "However, I advise both of you to arrive within twenty minutes; otherwise, unpleasant things may happen. You must believe me this time; there’s a bomb, really a bomb. Hahahaha… Alright, it’s now nine fifteen; I will call the public phone on the left side of He Park's entrance at nine thirty-five. I hope you can answer my call. Good luck to both of you."
With that, Mr. Qian hung up. He always kept his calls under three minutes; this guy was incredibly calm.
I glanced at Lingfeng, who signaled me to quickly gather the money on the ground into the Travel Bag while he made a call: "Old Jiang, this is Lingfeng. Block all intersections with traffic lights and create a direct route from Chaoyang City to He Park for me. I need to get there within twenty minutes."
After hanging up, Lingfeng urged me to rush out.
I had forgotten that Lingfeng could also coordinate with the traffic police; with their help, we might really make it to He Park in twenty minutes.
Sure enough, we sped along without any obstructions; all the roads Lingfeng took were temporarily controlled by traffic lights. The SUV almost flew through Star City's busiest areas.
Even so, when we arrived at He Park's entrance, it was already nine thirty-seven. The two of us jumped out of the car and rushed toward a row of public phone booths on the left side of the park entrance.
At the third booth stood a middle-aged man holding a ragged sack in one hand and shouting into the receiver with the other: "What? Bomb? What are you talking about? I've got an atomic bomb too; should we throw them together? You throw yours at America while I throw mine at Japan! What? Ghost Brother? I've got an old ghost grandpa here! Are you just some idiot? Hey, you idiot! You still don't admit it? Hurry up and admit you're an idiot..."
Watching the Scavenger yelling excitedly into the phone made my scalp tingle. This phone isn’t something you can just pick up casually! I dashed forward, snatched the receiver from him, and kicked him away.
The Scavenger was furious and was about to get up to fight me when Lingfeng pulled out his gun and pointed it at him while quietly warning, "Get lost!"
At that moment, Lingfeng couldn't care less about anything else.
I took hold of the receiver and shouted loudly: "Mr. Qian, this is Zhong Zhengnan."
"Forget everything else, you need to go beat that guy up right now, or I'll blow up the bomb!" Mr. Qian must have been really worked up after being tormented by the Scavenger, and as soon as he saw me pick up the phone, he immediately yelled his threat.
"Damn, always with the bomb threats. Do you think this is a card game?"
"Mr. Qian, I actually kicked him pretty hard just now!" I replied.
"No, you need to hit him again!" Mr. Qian insisted angrily.
"If I hit him, you won't be able to see it, right?" I couldn't help but remind him.
"If you make him cry out loud, I'll hear it," Mr. Qian huffed. "Is that too much to ask?"
"Fine." I had Lingfeng call the Scavenger over. Without hesitation, I started to give him a beating, making him scream in agony. After a while, I picked up the phone again and asked, "How's that?"
"Not bad!" Mr. Qian laughed. "Good, our cooperation is quite pleasant."
I pulled out several hundred-dollar bills from my wallet and handed them to the Scavenger. He was momentarily stunned but quickly grabbed the money and ran off without caring about his torn sack.
"Next, where do we put the money?" I asked with a light cough.
"Not so fast! Let's play a game first," Mr. Qian said with a smile. "I've placed a bomb in one of the trash cans in the park. The trash cans are numbered—001, 002, and so on. I'll give you a riddle; if you guess it correctly and then break down the number of strokes in the answer, that will tell you which trash can it is. Starting now, you have ten minutes. Listen carefully; I'm about to give you the riddle."
"You..." I said urgently.
I was furious inside; what kind of time was this for playing guessing games? I wanted to repeat what the Scavenger had said earlier: 'Are you stupid or something?' However, I had no choice but to play along with his riddle game because searching through all the trash cans in He Park would take at least half an hour.
"One side has hair and the other is smooth, inserted between two pieces of meat; when inserted it makes a sound, and when pulled out it flows white foam." Mr. Qian laughed lewdly. "It's a common daily activity. Just a hint: it's something you do every day. That's it; I'm hanging up now. I'll call you back in ten minutes."
Damn, what kind of riddle is this? From the wording alone, isn't this just about doing that? One side has hair and the other is smooth—doesn't that refer to a man's private part? And then inserted between those two pieces of meat—no further explanation needed. This bastard actually came up with such a riddle.
After hearing the riddle, Lingfeng was also stunned: "Isn't the answer 'brushing teeth'? The character 'brush' has eleven strokes, and 'tooth' has ten strokes, totaling twenty-one strokes, which means the bomb is in the first trash can?"
"Yes, you go to the first trash can first. I'll ask Fatty if there are any other answers." I had a vague feeling that it couldn't be that simple. I sent Lingfeng to look for the first trash can while I called Fatty, who knew a lot about riddles.
As soon as Fatty heard my riddle, he immediately gave the answer: "Brushing teeth."
Wow, it really was that. A toothbrush has one end with bristles and the other end smooth; a mouth has two fleshy parts, making a sound like 'puff puff,' and foam flows out. Isn't this just brushing teeth? The person who came up with this riddle is simply a Fighter Among Beasts, a VIP among beasts.
Well, the character 'brush' has eight strokes, and 'tooth' has four strokes, totaling twelve strokes, which means it's in the first trash can.
While rushing into the park, I called Lingfeng to tell him the answer was in the first trash can. Hearing this, Lingfeng quickly said, "I'm right next to the eleventh trash can; the next one is the first. Hurry over and walk along the left path when you enter."
When I caught up with Lingfeng, he was standing dazedly next to a trash can. At his feet was a red plastic bag that looked just like the one in front of Yesterday's Sun City trash can. It also had the word 'gift' written on it. Clearly, this plastic bag contained the bomb.
However, this plastic bag was empty; there was nothing inside.
Could it be that 'brushing teeth' wasn't the answer?
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