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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
"This is a kind of competitive mentality, using money to showcase one's social status." I leaned back in my seat and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
"When our country becomes powerful, I want to establish a Taoist company that specializes in selling talismans. Yes, there should be a purchase limit, and people will need to buy them with their ID cards. One yuan can buy a talisman, but if foreigners want to buy it, they better have at least one hundred or eighty yuan!" Kong Xuan said, holding a cigarette in his mouth while resting his hand on the steering wheel and playing with the lighter in his hand.
"I wonder if your wish will come true in this lifetime," I sighed.
At this point, both of us suddenly lost our mood. It is an undeniable fact that China is currently weak and sickly; achieving Kong Xuan's ideal may require the efforts of one generation or even several generations.
After a long silence, I cleared my throat and said, "By the way, weren't you supposed to teach Ai Xue how to swim? Does Ai Xue know how?"
"She can't learn; she seems to resist swimming and won't even get in the water!" Kong Xuan said, a look of helplessness appearing on his face. "For someone like her, a Martial Arts Master, this is truly unimaginable."
I frowned and replied, "Isn't Ai from a single-parent family? She might have had some traumatic experiences that made her afraid of water. I think you should take her to see a psychologist."
"Maybe," Kong Xuan nodded.
Taking a deep drag from my cigarette, I casually flicked the butt out of the car window. At that moment, an old man wearing a red armband suddenly appeared beside the window and sternly said, "Hmph, I've been watching you for a long time. Throwing cigarette butts everywhere incurs a fine of fifty!"
Seeing this old man caught me off guard for a moment. I quickly pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and handed it to him with a smile, saying, "Uncle Li, are you doing this part-time now?"
This old man is a colleague of my father who often came over to play cards at our house, so I have quite a good impression of him.
"Oh, Zheng Nan?" Uncle Li looked down and saw me, smiling as he said, "So it's an acquaintance; that's good."
I thought he would return the hundred yuan to me, but unexpectedly Uncle Li smiled and said, "Since you're an acquaintance, I won't issue a receipt. Just don't throw your cigarette butts around next time." With that, he turned and left.
"Hey, hey, Li/Big/Grandpa, you still owe me fifty!" I shouted.
"Isn't there still someone smoking in your car? Let him throw another one," Li/Big/Grandpa replied without looking back, leaving me and Kong Xuan Noodles exchanging glances.
"There's a way to make money," Kong Xuan remarked after a while.
Just as I was about to say something, my phone rang. Mr. Qian wanted us to get out of the car and go to the Extreme Internet Cafe, find position a8, and then wait for a call.
After parking the car, we grabbed Safe and headed to the Extreme Internet Cafe. We asked the Network Administrator for a seat at position a8. The Network Administrator seemed suspicious, scanning us with doubtful eyes several times before pointing to a corner spot. Not long after we sat down, Mr. Qian called again and gave us a qq Number, asking us to add him as a friend.
I logged into qq and sent a friend request. It was quickly accepted. Wow, the nickname for this number was ‘Whip to the Headboard Naturally Straight’. What a memorable name from 2014!
Whip to the Headboard Naturally Straight: Ghost Brother, your name is quite something.
White Rabbit's Beastly Nature Unleashed: Compared to you, I feel like I've wasted my language studies.
Whip to the Headboard Naturally Straight: Haha, let's skip the pleasantries and get down to business.
White Rabbit's Beastly Nature Unleashed: You.
Mr. Qian sent over a video invitation with a message: Let's do a video call first.
I clicked confirm, and on the video screen appeared a middle-aged man with a scruffy Beard, looking rather sleazy. Wait, could this Mr. Qian be Japanese? I didn't actually expect to see Mr. Qian himself; seeing someone suddenly appear on the screen surprised me. How could he be so reckless? Didn't he fear that I would take a screenshot and have him wanted all over the city?
Soon enough, I was infuriated; the video was not actually of Mr. Qian, but rather a clip from a Japanese Adult Film. The previous shot was just a close-up of his face, and now it was showing an explicit scene.
"Why doesn't Mr. Qian just die?"
"Ghost Brother, how's this video? I downloaded it just for you in case you were bored. Hey, it's been a while since I last saw you, and you still look so lively."
"Have you seen me?"
"The famous Ghost Brother, of course I know what you look like. Haha, just kidding. Now show me my money."
I placed the safe on the table, opened the box, and moved the camera around the safe. Two fifteen or sixteen-year-old students nearby were browsing the internet. When they saw us suddenly display so much money, their eyes widened and their mouths dropped open.
"Same old rules, second bundle in the second row of the third stack, first bundle in the third row of the fourth stack. Take them out for me to check."
I followed instructions and pulled out the two bundles of cash, flipping them in front of the camera as the bright red bills fluttered quickly. The two students were so astonished that their jaws nearly dropped.
"Not bad, no problem. You two go back to the car and wait for my call."
I turned off the video and logged out of QQ. Just as I was about to close the safe, I noticed the two female students were still staring at us in disbelief. I chuckled and pulled out two bills from one of the stacks, handing them to them. "I'll treat you to some internet time!"
The two girls exchanged glances and hesitated for a moment. One girl with a round face reached out to take it, and then I walked away with Kong Xuan, smiling. Behind us, I could hear their discussion: "Are these two people crazy?"
"I don't know; they might be perverts trying to get us to do something for two hundred bucks."
"Yeah right! He thinks he can get us to do that for just two hundred? What does he take us for? Hmph... at least a thousand!"
"Your sister, if it weren't for the two hundred dollars being Mr. Qian's, do you believe I would ask you to return it immediately?"
Back in the car, Mr. Qian's phone rang quickly: “Zheng Nan, drive to Civic Center Square.”
Upon hearing this, Kong Xuan started the car, but Mr. Qian did not hang up; instead, he coldly laughed and said, “Zheng Nan, you really know how to borrow flowers to offer to Buddha.”
I frowned, “What do you mean by that?”
“You used my money to give to your sister. Is that really meaningful?” Mr. Qian said sternly.
My scalp tingled as I looked at Kong Xuan. Kong Xuan also had a shocked expression; how did Mr. Qian know about this? Was he in the internet café at that time too?
I forced a laugh and pretended to be unconcerned, “One hundred and ten thousand, what’s the big deal about missing two hundred?”
“That’s two hundred dollars!” Mr. Qian said sharply. “With one dollar for each ride on the shaking car, I could ride it two hundred times! If I want to ride Pleasant Goat, I can ride Pleasant Goat, if I want to ride Bald Qiang, I can ride Bald Qiang. Each ride could be worth 00, do you know that? The street vending machine sells condoms for one dollar each; if I use one, I could use 00, do you know that?”
Reluctantly, I took out two hundred dollars, opened the Safe, and tossed the money inside: “Alright, I've returned it to you now; you can't complain about this anymore, right?”
“Forget it; I'll let you off this time.” Mr. Qian snorted coldly and hung up.
I leaned heavily against the seat, feeling utterly exhausted. This Mr. Qian was indeed meticulous in his actions; it seemed like everything was under his control, and he could toy with us at any moment.
When we arrived at Civic Center Square, just after stopping for a short while, Mr. Qian called again: “Alright, now take my money and get out of the car. Go to the middle of the music fountain at Civic Center Square, then open the box and place the phone I gave you on top of the money. Take a photo and upload it to Star City Forum's Gossip World.”
This guy was afraid we would swap it out; he specified the location and actions for taking a photo, so naturally, he wasn't worried about us pulling any tricks. Following his instructions, I quickly uploaded the photo successfully. Before long, Mr. Qian called again: “Across from the square is Jinshan Road. Walk straight along Jinshan Road for five hundred meters and you'll see People's Bank. There's an alley next to the bank; I'll call you again when you arrive.”
I hung up the phone and quickly walked with Kong Xuan towards Jinshan Road. We stood in front of the alley for a moment when Mr. Qian called again: "Good, good, the most critical moment has arrived. Do you see that red Buick van at the alley entrance? The doors are unlocked; you should get in now."
Exchanging a glance with Kong Xuan, we approached the side of the van and pulled the door open, which indeed was not locked. Just as we opened the door, both Kong Xuan and I gasped in shock. Inside the back seat of the van lay a young man with his hands and feet bound; it was Zhang Hao. There was also a timed bomb placed on him, showing there were 4 minutes and 56 seconds left.
That wasn't what shocked us the most. What truly astonished us was that the middle floorboard of the van had been cut open, revealing a manhole cover underneath.
The moment I saw the manhole cover, I understood. It seemed Mr. Qian planned to use the sewer to transport the money.
Due to historical reasons, Star City's sewer system is polarized. The three old town districts—Chaoyang District, Qingxiu District, and Yuhua District—turn into water cities whenever it rains. In contrast, Qinghu District and River District, being new areas, have much better drainage; filming a Hollywood-style action scene in their sewers would be completely feasible.
"Get in the car; what are you waiting for? Do you believe I will detonate the bomb?" Mr. Qian said casually.
Kong Xuan and I got into the car. Following Mr. Qian's instructions, we closed the door so that even if the manhole cover was lifted, passersby wouldn't see anything.
"Open the manhole cover; I know Ghost Brother you're skilled at this sort of thing," Mr. Qian said with a smile.
I forced a smile and extended a finger to hook onto the hole of the manhole cover. Taking a deep breath, I pulled it open.
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