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墨書 Inktalez
The woman was locked away, and the village elder apologized to me. I shook my head, signaling that it was nothing. It seemed the people in the village had become desperate due to poverty; what Juan Juan said on the plane might be true—sometimes, for the sake of profit, people can do anything.
I looked at the numerous wounds on my arm, the flesh torn and exposed in an X shape. It appeared that the mouthparts of this Insect Eater were akin to a triangular razor blade, which explained why blood flowed uncontrollably after being bitten by the creature. However, after applying these herbs, the wounds had clearly improved significantly. The pain and itching had vanished.
The elder said, "After being bitten by a venomous snake, one is bound to die within seven steps, but within those seven steps, there must be an antidote. Everything in nature is interdependent; nothing is invincible. Our ancestors discovered the Insect Eater and also found a way to treat its bites. It's like eating too many oranges can cause heatiness, yet the white pith inside is a natural remedy for it. People go through great effort to peel oranges cleanly without realizing that everything in nature has its balance."
The elder's observations were astute; he could derive profound truths from something as simple as eating an orange. He continued, "Now all the insects have been burned to death. If we don't leave behind any black insects' seeds, there won't be another chance to catch them again. Besides that canister in the hands of those young people, there’s no other source."
These insects relied on a black insect for command, and in big cities, the environment and climate were unsuitable for them to survive long. Suddenly, an idea struck me. The receptionist had mentioned that around the Ghost Festival, all surveillance in the company would be turned off because Yang Shuai feared any unclean things appearing on camera.
If those young people were planning something, tomorrow night would be the best time to act. During the Ghost Festival, when the Ghost Gate opens, even security would be on holiday. The entire company would be like an empty shell; Jade would be within easy reach. However, following this line of thought led to more questions.
Who killed Sun Bikun? Was it the young man who went after the jade or one of those three who had already fled the village? Which side suffered casualties in the factory? If someone killed for jade, wouldn’t they be more ruthless and cruel than those who merely stole it?
Human hearts are like vast black holes that conceal everything within; nothing escapes their grasp. From Sun Bikun and Zhao Yu to the three young men who sold jade to Yang Shuai and finally to Yang Shuai himself—none of them were innocent.
It is often said that human hearts are less predictable than water; even calm waters can stir up waves.
I voiced my speculation, and everyone nodded in agreement. Yan Junde said, "This village has no signal; even if we go to town, it takes nearly five hours just to make a call. By then, it will already be dawn. If those three young men plan to act, they would have long since fled."
I nodded; it seemed we could only pray that they wouldn’t act now but would wait until tomorrow night during the Ghost Festival.
After such a commotion in the village, no one felt sleepy at all. The elder instructed someone to bring us two more blankets. Lying on our beds, we could hear voices arguing outside. We could guess they were discussing whether or not to exterminate all those insects.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, we ate something in the village before preparing to leave. Before we departed, the elder gifted us with internal herbal medicine that could expel any insects already inside our bodies. He said, "There are very few young people left in our village; perhaps we won’t have another generation. Let’s go."
The sentiment was hard to describe.
We retraced our steps through the jungle and fortunately did not encounter any Drug Lords. Arriving in the city felt like stepping into another world compared to that small village. Mary booked our flights and found information about those four individuals online—names and photos were clear. The person who died in the factory was named Alai; he was indeed one of those who had left.
I shook my head; if Alai truly killed for a piece of jade and if the elder knew about it or if the villagers found out, they surely wouldn’t have let him leave back then.
The names of the other three could only be translated into English; Mary referred to them as Fatty, Slim, and Shorty. In their photos, it was easy to distinguish between them—one was fat, one was thin, and one was indeed Shorty.
I immediately called the Detective Captain and learned that Tianyu Company had not been robbed, which relieved us. This meant that tonight was the time to act, and by then we would have returned to Magic City. Mary sent the photos and information of the three individuals to the Detective Captain, allowing him to start arranging the search operation.
We boarded the plane at noon, and we would likely arrive back around six or seven in the evening.
Yan Junde remarked on the plane, "So many people have died for this piece of jade. If those people weren't so greedy, they probably wouldn't have gotten involved in this matter. They might have continued living their simple lives, which wouldn't be so bad."
"But people are never satisfied," I shook my head and replied. "Some choose to achieve their desires through hard work, while others resort to illegal activities to fulfill them."
When we returned to Magic City, it was half-past six. The Detective Captain had already begun searching for the three young men throughout the city as per my instructions. The other detectives had started to stake out around Tianyu Company. They disguised themselves as passersby, diners, or shop owners.
Controlling the insects had to be done within a certain range; if those Insect Eaters were going to steal the jade, the person controlling the insects wouldn't be too far away. This street was within the area where the three young men were known to appear. The Detective Captain said over the radio, "We have set up a tight net; as long as they enter this street, they won't be able to escape."
The members of the Special Investigation Team were currently stationed in a high-rise building outside a street we had temporarily borrowed. From the windows, we could clearly see what was happening outside on that street. Through binoculars, it felt like Tianyu Company's name loomed right before us. When the last employee of Tianyu Company walked out and locked the door behind them, we knew that the show was about to begin.
"Is everyone in position? Is everyone in position?" The Detective Captain's voice came through our earpieces. "All units, pay attention; our target is a young man holding a black canister. Everyone has seen his photo before. Acknowledge receipt when you hear this message. Over."
"Received."
"Received."
Everyone was ready now; we just needed to wait for those three young men to attempt to steal the jade. Time passed quickly; night fell, and before we knew it, it was around ten o'clock. During Ghost Festival, there were almost fewer pedestrians on the streets than usual; occasionally, a few hurried past while others nearby burned paper money, adding some color to this festival.
I joked, "I wonder if this Ghost Festival has applied for UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage status; otherwise, if it gets taken by someone else, that would be a huge loss."
Since returning to Magic City, we had been here for five hours already. The paper burners gradually left, and the entire street became eerily quiet. We couldn't help but wonder if those young men would actually show up; catching them might be our only chance.
Magic City was simply too vast with a highly mobile population; finding three hidden individuals here was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack—time-consuming and labor-intensive. And we didn't have that much time left; Yang Shuai could be killed by those individuals at any moment.
At midnight, it had been over half an hour since anyone had passed by. As the saying goes: "It's dark at night for murder; it's windy at night for arson." Suddenly, all the streetlights went out; it seemed someone had cut off the power supply. I said over the radio, "All units, pay attention; suspects may have appeared—keep your eyes peeled."
We were on an upper floor across from Tianyu Company; even though there was a street between us and any potential intruders wouldn't hear us speak, we still dared not make a sound for fear of alerting them. I peered through my night vision binoculars and indeed saw two figures come into view—one fat and one thin—missing only Shorty.
The fat one held a crowbar while the thin one carried a canister. They moved cautiously, glancing back every few steps as if being very careful. I said, "Don't act rashly; wait until they make their move before we close in—stay hidden and don't alarm them."
Thus, they slowly approached Tianyu Company's entrance. The fat one looked around and touched the glass as if trying to find a way to create an opening for the jade inside. Meanwhile, the thin one opened the canister's lid briefly before closing it again; through my night vision binoculars, I could only see small dots—it seemed he had released those Insect Eaters.
"Stay calm!" I said. "Be careful. If anyone gets attacked by the Insect Eater, immediately take the herbs I gave you earlier."
"Understood."
The heavyset man had already started tapping on the glass when suddenly, two figures appeared across the street. I looked over and was surprised to see the Greasy Forensic Doctor and the Fake Taoist. I frowned as the Detective Captain said, "What are they doing here? What should we do?"
The heavyset man and the thin man also noticed someone on the street and stopped their work, pulling out paper money to start burning it in a mock ritual. I suddenly recalled that the Greasy Forensic Doctor had mentioned wanting to catch a monster with the old Taoist, but I hadn't expected their hunting ground to be near Tianyu Company.
"Don't act rashly!" I warned. "Those two don't have any herbs. If they get attacked by the Insect Eater, it could be disastrous! Let's approach slowly and remember not to alert those two!"
As I spoke, the old Taoist and the Greasy Forensic Doctor had already walked up to the two individuals.
I prayed in my heart: Hurry up and leave; don’t cause any trouble!
But the two of them actually stopped, with the old Taoist pointing at the two who were burning money, seemingly discussing something with the Greasy Forensic Doctor. Just then, the thin man suddenly stood up. I shouted in my mind that this was bad and immediately spoke into the radio, "Move out now! Move out now! The target has been alerted!"
A Charming Widow sent a letter to a Young Man, inviting him over for dinner in the middle of the night. Afterward, she let him take her husband's Gallop home. Coincidentally, on his way, he encountered a Young Woman hitchhiking. Her actions after getting into the car made it hard for him to maintain his composure—more benefits for homebodies await with just a click...
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