Chi Qing did not sleep very peacefully.
Dreams could perhaps be contagious; he didn’t hold a deep memory of that gentle older brother’s voice from that day, and he rarely thought of anything related to it during normal times.
After all, so many things had happened that day; aside from the scenes deeply etched in his memory, some minor details had long been forgotten. Yet, quite surprisingly, dreams seemed to be connected to a person’s subconscious, and certain details he assumed had been “forgotten” unexpectedly became vivid within the dream world.
“The two of you go inside,” that gentle voice continued amidst the chaos. “Are you alright? Don’t be afraid. Can you hand me the item in your hand?”
Chi Qing was suffering from neurasthenia back then.
No matter how rational or strong a person was, no one could withstand that kind of inhumane “game.”
The people around him weren’t quite normal. The only normal one was also incredibly annoying, to the point of knocking on the wall just to ask what rank he achieved in the Mathematical Olympiad.
Within the dream, he clearly saw that he hadn’t released his grip. Instead, he uncontrollably stabbed forward with that sharpened piece of stone clutched in his hand.
The person who arrived wrapped his palm around the stone without any resistance, as if holding hands. Chi Qing could feel the stone piercing viciously into the other party’s palm, yet the person across from him didn’t make a sound. When he spoke again, his tone was still remarkably gentle, like a breath of fresh air: “Alright, I’ve caught it.”
He also dreamed of that knocking sound on the wall.
It was undeniable that although Chi Qing found it highly irritating, had it not been for this sound, he likely would have found it very difficult to endure those agonizing nights.
–So what rank did you actually get in the Mathematical Olympiad?
-Not speaking?
-Ignoring me?
-Your rank must be lower than mine.
-……
-Stop knocking.
-Why?
-Annoying.
Another night passed.
-Are you alright?
-Not dead.
-Why don’t you show some concern for me?
-Seeing as you can still knock on the wall, you’re likely not dead either.
-If I died, no one would chat with you anymore.
-That’s great, then the world will be much quieter.
The contents of their conversations touched upon a miscellaneous array of everything.
Ultimately, amidst a loud “thud” that resembled a knock on the door, Chi Qing opened his eyes and woke up.
It took him a moment to realize that the door hadn’t been closed tightly. Little Star had been doing midnight parkour and boldly charged inside, using its tail and powerful cat paws to sweep the phone off the bedside table. The phone screen lit up briefly, displaying the current time: 1:30.
Chi Qing picked up the phone and expressionlessly issued a death notice to Little Star: “Three seconds. Get out.”
Little Star cast a glance at him but ultimately yielded, slipping out through the crack in the door in a flash.
Chi Qing stared at the “1:30” right in the center of the phone screen, noticing that the spot beside him where a person usually lay was empty.
He would never give that cat any opportunity to enter the bedroom, so he was entirely certain the bedroom door had been tightly shut before he slept. This crack in the door was ten to one because Xie Lin was afraid the sound of closing the door would wake him when he went out, so he had merely left the door slightly ajar.
Chi Qing tapped open his contact list and sent over a sentence:
-Where are you?
On the other side, Xie Lin was sitting on the sofa like the owner of the house.
Aside from the vibration of his phone, he also heard a rustling sound that resembled—rats.
“Squeak squeak……”
It wasn’t unusual for one or two rats to occasionally scramble up through the drainage pipes in the dead of night, but the rustling sound was continuously growing louder—loud enough to exceed the normal threshold. Listening closely, one could even discern a faint tearing sound.
“Squeak squeak squeak……”
What were they eating?
Xie Lin stood up following the sound, discovering that the closer he drew to the kitchen, the louder that noise became.
Because this apartment’s lease had been terminated and the utility bills were unpaid, the electricity had been cut off. Pressing the kitchen light switch was useless, so Xie Lin turned on his phone flashlight, directing the piercing beam of light straight toward the cabinet door beneath the sink.
“Squeak—”
Upon pulling open the cabinet door, a dark shadow dragging a long tail fled rapidly, slipping down through the gap in the drainage pipe. The light only clearly illuminated that pitch-black tail.
Xie Lin moved his wrist, shifting the beam of light. In the spot where that rat had just crawled, he spotted a pool of dark red stains.
-I’m on the 13th floor.
-Couldn’t sleep, came up to wander around.
-I might know where the corpse is hidden.
The search team hadn’t been idle at night either. While searching the nearby neighborhood, they received an emergency call and rushed back to the crime scene community overnight. Ultimately, they discovered partial human remains inside the drainage pipes of this residential building where far too many cases had occurred.
This flesh, which had already turned foul and putrid, had been minced very finely, leaving only strands of hair and fingernail clippings wedged against the inner walls of the water pipes. The remaining portions had already been gnawed completely clean by the rats.
An indescribable, foul stench emanated from the water pipes.
A single phrase surfaced in everyone’s minds: The corpse has been found.
That person had dismembered the original tenant, flushed the remains down the drain bit by bit, and then lived in this room with peace of mind, using the deceased’s mobile phone.
Ji Mingrui hadn’t slept much these past two days. Having finally fallen asleep with great difficulty, he was rudely awakened by a phone call just after managing to enter deep sleep. Arriving at the scene, he once again felt a dreamlike sensation.
When he arrived, Xie Lin and Chi Qing were sitting on the sofa, watching the search team lift evidence while wearing rubber gloves.
The first sentence Ji Mingrui uttered upon entering the door sounded surreal: “……Found it?”
Carrying that familiar notebook of his, he pulled a chair over from the side, sat down, spread the thick notebook open, and said, “You two are truly incredible.”
“You both are well-acquainted with this routine; sit down and have a proper chat,” Ji Mingrui said with a thoroughly exhausted heart. “It’ll make it easier for me to report back.”
Xie Lin and Chi Qing practically demonstrated to him just how well-acquainted they were with this routine.
Without needing Ji Mingrui to ask questions, they quite proactively and familiarly accounted for exactly what time they came up and why they came up.
Ji Mingrui filled the notebook line by line: “So why did you come up at this hour?”
Xie Lin said, “Couldn’t sleep, came up to stroll around.”
“……”
This sort of thing was something only these two consultants from their General Bureau could pull off.
Xie Lin: “To be precise, it wasn’t exactly me who found it; I merely heard the sound of rats.”
Chi Qing: “It has even less to do with me.”
The situation was much simpler than Ji Mingrui had imagined. After writing down the circumstances, he asked casually, “Are there any other clues?”
Chi Qing hadn’t arrived all that long ago and took great issue with that group of people “dismantling” the kitchen. He unobtrusively sat in the position furthest from the kitchen. Then, he noticed that when Xie Lin responded, the man paused for two seconds before saying, “No.”
“Alright.” Ji Mingrui closed his notebook, thinking to himself that he could be considered to have fulfilled his duty for today.
Staring at this notebook, he felt a wave of anxiety in his heart.
No matter how thick this notebook was, it couldn’t withstand these two filling it up like this.
After undergoing the inquiry, Xie Lin went to the kitchen.
It was naturally impossible for Chi Qing to step even a single inch closer to the kitchen; he curled up on the sofa, engaging in casual conversation with Ji Mingrui every now and then.
Ji Mingrui still cared about his brother’s romantic status: “How have you two been doing recently?”
Chi Qing: “Can’t you tell?”
Ji Mingrui could naturally tell: “This is your first time dating, yet it’s going rather smoothly. I actually didn’t expect that.”
Chi Qing: “It’s just dating, is it that difficult?”
Ji Mingrui: “……”
With your personality, it’s quite difficult.
Midway through their chat, Ji Mingrui noticed that Chi Qing had been staring at Xie Lin’s silhouette from behind.
Before he could even ask, he heard Chi Qing say, “Don’t you think he’s a bit strange?”
Ji Mingrui followed Chi Qing’s gaze, looking at that consultant surnamed Xie who still looked elegant and untamed even while wearing loungewear.
Ji Mingrui said, “A smile playing on his lips, looking every bit like a playboy—just now, that female criminal investigator specially dispatched from the third team stared at him for at least half a minute, and he minded her feelings just as he always does. Everything is perfectly normal; where is it strange?”
Chi Qing: “……”
Chi Qing couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was amiss either. Clearly, Xie Lin had only uttered two words: “No.”
Yet, he simply possessed a certain anomalous sensation.
Ji Mingrui continued, “Furthermore, you as a person—having known you for so many years, you’ve never even managed to read the room. Your perception must be wrong.”
Chi Qing had never been capable of reading people’s emotions, so if he sensed something, it must mean he was mistaken.
Chi Qing, however, did not think so.
This slightly strange sensation persisted through to the following day.
The nature of the “Priest” case was egregious, and the number of personnel in the investigation team was unprecedentedly high. Two or three teams were merged into one for use, and a conference room was specifically changed just for them.
While everyone was reviewing the case files, Xie Lin left the conference room midway through.
Inside the Bureau Chief’s office.
The individual inside the office was resting with his eyes closed. Having occupied this position for so many years, headaches had already become a routine occurrence.
An incense stick was lit upon the office desk, presumably possessing some sort of soothing properties.
Hearing the knock on the door, the Bureau Chief slowly opened his eyes: “Enter.”
The man who pushed open the door and stepped inside wore a black overcoat, the collar of his shirt casually unbuttoned—a natural clotheshorse. Lazily curling his fingers, he hadn’t even had time to retract his knocking motion when he saw the person inside respond. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he asked in a drawn-out tone, “Is it convenient for me to come in?”
“Xie Lin?” The Bureau Chief’s feelings when facing Xie Lin remained complex. He wanted to carefully consider whether Xie Lin and Chi Qing could participate in handling cases, but cases were arriving one after another, each more severe than the last. Now, they had encountered a “Priest” who was entirely unfathomable to them. He spoke again, “Come in. Is there some new discovery?”
Xie Lin sat across from the Bureau Chief. Once he withdrew those few hints of a smile from his eyes, his gaze appeared much colder. Stripping away that “easygoing” outer shell, he did not look like the type who was easily approachable.
“There aren’t any new discoveries,” Xie Lin said unhurriedly, resting his palms upon his knees. “I merely came to ask you for an item.”
“What item?”
Xie Lin said, “The case files for that kidnapping case from ten years ago. May I take a look at them?”
