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墨書 Inktalez
"Wherever there is sleep, there is a bit of confusion."
At this moment, it was already bright outside. Looking down from the hillside behind the village, there were hardly any people on the main road. However, the aroma wafting through the air indicated that it was breakfast time. Zhao Mingkun had hidden the motorcycle behind a few trees before turning to me and saying, "Let's go. Once the villagers finish their meal, it will be harder for us to get in."
Who would have thought that just yesterday he was the captain leading the Special Operations Group in investigating the case, and today he had become a wanted criminal throughout the city? Arriving at the courtyard wall, Zhao Mingkun glanced around, took a few steps back, then ran forward and leaped onto the wall. She crouched down, extending a hand towards me. I quickly grabbed her hand and flipped myself over the wall as well.
Looking around, I noticed that several doors were locked. It was unclear whether Wu Xiufen's family had been here or if the police had locked them up. Zhao Mingkun stood in the yard for a moment, then wrapped her sleeve around a stone and positioned herself by the window, intending to gently break the glass.
I shook my head and said, "Girls shouldn't always resort to violence."
Putting on gloves, I searched around the yard and found a piece of wire. I twisted it into a circular loop and gently pushed it into the padlock's keyhole, feeling a slight spring action in my hand. I pulled out the wire and pressed down on it to create a notch in the loop before inserting it again and pulling upwards.
With a "pop," the padlock clicked open.
The entire process took less than a minute. Zhao Mingkun remarked, "I forgot you grew up with criminals; you've learned quite a bit, haven't you?"
I smiled and replied, "This kind of padlock is too easy to open. Even someone who hasn't learned anything could manage it after some fiddling."
As we spoke, we pushed open the door and stepped inside.
I pointed directly at a large drawer in the room and said, "If there's anything here, it should all be in this drawer. Let's search."
We pulled out the entire drawer and began rummaging through it. Identification cards, various medicine boxes, radio manuals—everything seemed like an endless pit from a woman's bag; we could find anything. The old woman's drawer felt like an entire universe.
After thoroughly searching through the drawer, we still couldn't find any engineering blueprints. Such an important item might have been hidden away. However, I did find a business card inside. It was an architect's card with "Earth Village Creative Dream Factory" printed on it, located at 37 Datong Road. The architect's name was Hu Pei.
"The villagers don't need an architect to build houses, nor do they require complex designs for constructing an activity center. Wu Xiufang certainly couldn't build such a massive underground maze by herself; perhaps this designer created the blueprints while others constructed this underground space?"
I raised the business card and handed it to Zhao Mingkun.
Just as she was about to say something, we suddenly heard noises from outside—the sound of someone unlocking the front door. Zhao Mingkun and I exchanged glances; we both recognized that someone was opening the main door lock. In perfect sync, we quickly put away the drawer and dashed out of the room together.
Zhao Mingkun pulled the two doors apart, and I quickly locked them again.
However, there was nowhere for us to hide in the courtyard, and it was clearly too late to climb over the wall. Just then, Zhao Mingkun grabbed me and pulled me to the base of the wall. At that moment, the main gate swung open.
A person walked in while speaking to another, "The village chief wants us to take everything from that drawer in Wu Xiufen's house. No idea why."
The other person replied, "Wu Xiufen is already a bit eccentric; you know that. I heard it was a police officer who asked for it."
At this moment, Zhao Mingkun and I were wedged between the gate and the wall, able to see the movements of the two men through a gap. Zhao Mingkun signaled me with her eyes to follow her outside. But the old iron gate creaked loudly as it was pushed slightly closed due to years of wear.
The two men heard the noise and immediately turned their heads.
When they turned around, they were met with the dark muzzle of a gun.
Zhao Mingkun said coldly, "If you don't want to die, don't scream."
One villager looked at me in surprise, "You... you're not that..."
"Shut up," Zhao Mingkun growled, keeping her gun trained on them.
She slipped a business card into her pocket, but when she reached back out, she pulled out a blade instead. The motion from pocket to fingertips was almost instantaneous. I suddenly felt uneasy and quickly nudged Zhao Mingkun's arm; the blade flew between the two men and landed softly on the ground.
"Let's go." I urged Zhao Mingkun to retreat.
As Zhao Mingkun slowly moved outside, I carefully closed the gate behind us. Just as I locked it up, I heard shouting from inside: "Help! Wu Meng! Wu Meng!"
"They pose no threat to us," I said. "Why did you try to kill them earlier?"
Zhao Mingkun and I ran frantically up the hillside.
Zhao Mingkun spoke up, "We need to hurry. Number thirty-seven on Datong Road, Earth Village Creative Dream Factory."
"What’s wrong?" I asked.
Zhao Mingkun lifted the motorcycle and said, "One of those people was staring at the business card in my hand. If we don’t eliminate the homicide, the police might find this place before us. By then, they’ll have control over the situation, and our lead will be cut off."
As we mounted the motorcycle, I said, "Is that why you want to kill someone? Life seems pretty cheap to you. If it weren't for me, that person would be dead by now. Can we not resort to murder just because of a disagreement? Look at him; he’s only in his twenties. He has a long life ahead of him."
Zhao Mingkun revved the motorcycle, and chaos erupted in the village as we sped away.
But after a short while, Zhao Mingkun suddenly stopped.
Without turning around, she looked at me through the rearview mirror. "Wu Meng, I’ve told you before; we are not the same kind of people. I’m a fugitive, one with countless blood on my hands. I’ve killed many, some deserving it and others innocent. I’m selfish and ruthless; I only think about my own safety when things go south."
Her voice was laced with anger. "I’m a woman who will do anything to survive. I’ll go to any lengths to achieve my goals. And you—you're just a wronged police officer!"
"Even if you refuse to admit it, you still have an escape route."
Villagers were already chasing us from behind, but Zhao Mingkun showed no signs of wanting to move again.
"Your subconscious tells you that you have an escape route, which is why you can’t bear to see blood or death. Even as a fugitive, the blood of a police officer still runs in your veins! So I’m telling you, once your name is cleared, stay as far away from me as possible; otherwise, I’ll eventually fall into your hands."
I fell silent.
Only then did Zhao Mingkun hit the gas, and the motorcycle surged forward.
I always felt that Zhao Mingkun and I were similar people, but her words made me realize that we were actually quite different. There are no two identical leaves in the world; naturally, there won’t be two completely identical people either. Often, isn’t it just human wishful thinking?
We rode in silence as the motorcycle navigated through alleys. It was clear that Zhao Mingkun knew Dongxing City like the back of her hand, and that knowledge was what had allowed her to evade capture for so long.
When we arrived at the Earth Village Creative Dream Factory Limited to look for Hu Pei, the person in charge informed us that Hu Pei had resigned many years ago. Fortunately, I still had the Special Operations Officer Certificate that Captain Shao had given me.
Although it was no longer valid, it could still serve its purpose of intimidating others.
The Boss told us that after working as an architectural designer for a while, Hu Pei had saved up some capital and ventured into business. It had been over a year since there had been any contact. However, the Boss provided us with an address for Hu Pei's home. After expressing our thanks, Zhao Mingkun led me to Hu Pei's residence.
Following the address, we arrived at the location only to find that Hu Pei's door was ajar.
I felt a sense of unease as I pushed the door open and discovered a person lying on the floor.
Zhao Mingkun and I hurried forward to take a closer look, and we saw that the person's expression was contorted. The corners of their mouth and nose were askew, their eyes wide open with dilated pupils. Zhao Mingkun had already put on gloves and touched the person's neck through the gloves, stating, "There's no saving them."
I frowned and asked, "Is he dead?"
Zhao Mingkun nodded, circling around the corpse before speaking again. "From the appearance of the body, there are no external injuries. The skin color hasn't turned blue, and the lips aren't bright red; it's clear this isn't a case of poisoning."
With that, Zhao Mingkun used a blade to cut open the deceased's wrist but found no blood flowing out.
He furrowed his brow. "After death, blood coagulates and won't flow out. However, looking at the wound, the blood appears dark red; this indicates that the oxygen inside has been depleted. The time of death is over six hours ago. And judging by the expression on their face, it seems they may have died from fright."
"Died from fright?" I found it hard to believe. "Is anyone really so cowardly as to die from fear? I've only read about it in books."
Zhao Mingkun nodded thoughtfully. "It's not impossible. Did you see their hand position? That's a clear defensive gesture. You studied psychology; you should understand this."
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