Chapter 1
“Go to hell with me”, said the devil with a smile.
Boom—!
The waves of gas raised and smoldering flames assaulted the senses, and rubbles burned and were scattered in the explosion. The heavy walls couldn’t hold it anymore, and a new round of collapses approached from a distance. The fragments of rocks in the flames fell from above like torrential rain, isolating the flickering police lights and the roar of voices in the distance:
“Requesting reinforcements from the Command Center! Requesting reinforcements!
“What about Captain Jiang? Where is Captain Jiang?!”
“Not good, Captain Jiang rushed in! Hurry up!!…..”
……….
Purgatory turned into mottled and twisted patches of color, and all the noise quickly receded like a tide; the palm on the wall was burned, and the blood flowing from the five fingers was quickly evaporated by the flames. But he didn’t feel any pain, and he couldn’t hear anything. No matter how many times the same scene was repeated in the dream, he could only hear his hot, hoarse gasps. He raised his gun at the figure of the devil, who was gradually walking out from the sea of fire—
Bang!
The figure was getting closer and closer.
Bang!
Bang, bang, bang!
The bullet passed through the illusionary shadow, as if passing through the air, and was silently dropped into the fire.
As soon as he loosened his hand on the gun, Type-92 fell on the ground in front of him, making a clicking sound in the sea of fire.
“I’m here,” he heard a serpent-like voice behind him. It leaned gently into his ear with a cold smile, put a hand across his cheek, and said, “Jiang Ting, I’m here.”
For the thousandth time, he turned back in the dream. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see the figure clearly in the nightmare.
“Go to hell with me.” The figure smiled and said, “Everything is over for you… forever.”
He closed his eyes, and with the last bit of consciousness, he heard the police siren approaching from afar. But the soaring fire devoured everything. As the earth trembled and burned, countless demonic claws stretched out from the ground, dragging him alive into the dark abyss…
……….
Three years later, Jianning City
Jiang Ting opened his eyes.
Sunlight poured into the ward from outside the curtains, and the white and clean walls reflected a white halo. The white roses placed in front of the hospital bed still had dew on them and gave off a faint fragrance. The nurse’s soft voice floated in from the gap in the door:
“Bed 538 is going through the discharge procedures today. You tell the director, and prepare the bill for the family…”
“He has been in a coma for several years, and he can still wake up and be discharged from the hospital! It can be seen that people are really…”
“Shh!” the head nurse whispered, “Do your job!”
The footsteps gradually drifted away, but Jiang Ting did not respond.
He remained in the position he had just woken up from, leaning on the reclining chair in front of the window with indifference in the depths of his pupils, which were accustomed to nightmares, and reflecting the lush trees and the blue sky in the distance.
After a while, the door of the ward was gently pushed open, and someone approached carefully. Jiang Ting didn’t look back, and the person who came didn’t stop until he was beside him and said softly, “Brother Jiang.”
Yang Mei has curly hair that has been carefully permed and dyed, a black dress, red nails, a platinum bag, and a large envelope just brought out from the doctor’s office under her arm. Seeing his gaze, she smiled and said, “You were sleeping, so I didn’t wake you up. The formalities are all done, and the car is downstairs, let’s go. “
Jiang Ting was silent and nodded after a moment.
This was a private nursing home with excellent conditions in Jianning. Even if it was just hanging equipment to maintain his life, it still cost a lot of money. What’s more, he was in pretty good physical condition when he woke up, which showed that he had received very meticulous care in the past few years.
But no matter what, after three years of being in a coma, it was still difficult to recover physically immediately.
“Have you heard that bed 538, who has been in a coma for three years, is her fiancé!”
“This rich and beautiful girl is so infatuated…”
“Don’t know what sin he has committed to be like that? Would he be unable to stand up in the future?”
………
Yang Mei personally pushed the wheelchair into the elevator, and the door slowly closed, blocking out the whispers in the air.
The elevator began to descend, and Jiang Ting’s expressionless face was displayed on the metal door. But Yang Mei, who was behind him, was embarrassed and coughed: “When I transferred you here, the nurse asked me to fill out a form, which asked about family relations. I was also anxious and confused for a while…”
Jiang Ting said, “If it wasn’t for you, I would have died.”
“How can you say that? If it wasn’t for Brother Jiang, I still don’t know whether I would be in jail, and today it’s you—”
“But those people didn’t give up on me.” Jiang Ting interrupted her, “It’s inconvenient for me to move, and my life is at risk. Be careful not to be dragged down by me.”
Yang Mei wanted to say something, but when she saw his reflection on the elevator door, she had to hold back because Jiang Ting had already closed his eyes.
……….
The lanterns have not yet come down, and the neon lights of the Sleepless Palace KTV have already been lit up early. A big car stopped at the back door. Yang Mei got out of the car and hurriedly opened the door of the back seat. Just as she was about to go help him with the driver, Jiang Ting raised his hand to stop her.
Jiang Ting grabbed the car door and let out an indistinct groan as soon as he exerted his strength. After a while, he stood up slowly.
“Hey, brother, slow down!” The driver was about to stretch out his hand subconsciously. But Yang Mei was one step faster than him. She held him and walked toward the back door of the KTV.
It had been less than a month since Jiang Ting woke up, and it was not easy to walk on his own. Yang Mei was wearing high heels, so the two of them swayed onto the sidewalk.
Jiang Ting: “It’s still open.”
He was referring to KTV.
Yang Mei: “Well, the contract dispute was settled by you at the beginning. With this store open, you can know any kind of news, and it’s safer—what are you looking at?”
She followed Jiang Ting’s line of sight. Not far from the deserted back door of KTV, there was a young boy with a schoolbag standing on the curb, as if waiting for someone. As soon as the eyes of the two sides met, the boy quickly lowered his head and walked away in a hurry.
“It’s okay.” Jiang Ting looked back, “Let’s go in.”
“The first and second floors are KTV boxes, and the third floor is an office and dormitory. I usually live here. The conditions are average, you can go ahead first. Hey Xiao Zhang! What are you doing, pour water for Brother Jiang!”
The waiter walked out in a hurry, but was stopped by Jiang Ting: “Go, do your own work.”
The sound insulation of the dormitory was quite good, and one could hardly hear the noise of the KTV downstairs. Yang Mei had arranged it beforehand. The window faced the back alley, and the tables, chairs, and beds were fully furnished, like a small hotel suite.
“It’s inconvenient with so many people in the KTV, so I’m going to buy a house in a few days to settle down, so I can have a place to hide. The people from Gongzhou couldn’t find me here. It’s been a few years, they must think you’re already dead. If there’s no movement in another two years, I’ll close this KTV and we’ll fly away together….”
Yang Mei babbled, and her slender figure walked around packing her things and drawing the curtains.
Jiang Ting’s eyes fell on the full-length mirror; the dim yellow light reflected his face. The eyelashes and the bridge of the nose cast an extremely three-dimensional shadow on his face, hiding the cold eye sockets and lips in the darkness.
Yang Mei: “This country is so big. If we hide in the corners of Guangxi and Yunnan, even ghosts won’t be able to find us… Hey, Brother Jiang, I’ll put your laundry here for you.”
When she turned around, she saw Jiang Ting sitting under the lamp. The light and shadow outlined his tall and straight figure, his slender fingers were crossed, and the fingertips emitted a subtle light.
No matter how beautiful the face bestowed by God was, it couldn’t survive the illness, the tragic car accident, and three years in a coma. But at that moment, when Yang Mei looked at Jiang Ting under the table lamp, she felt that he had not changed too much. Some fascinating things came out of his bones, which were no different from when they first met a few years ago.
Yang Mei didn’t dare to disturb him. After a long time, Jiang Ting said solemnly: “After a while, when it will be more convenient to move, I will go back to Gongzhou. You can pack your things and go back to your hometown to avoid the limelight.”
“——What?” Yang Mei was very surprised: “No, Brother Jiang, those people are doing everything to find you. If they find out that you are not dead, they will definitely come to kill you! Besides, there is also that person, that one is even scarier——”
Yang Mei’s voice stopped as if she was being strangled.
There was an even more terrifying existence, which made her so terrified that it was difficult for her to speak.
“I know,” Jiang Ting said, “but when the factory exploded, people in my team were inside, and more than ten lives were lost. I have to explain to them.”
Yang Mei was choked, and Jiang Ting waved at her, which meant she didn’t need to say more.
“Prepare me a set of ID documents, a mobile phone, and a computer, and buy a few fake name mobile phone cards. Go ahead.”
Yang Mei murmured for a moment, sighed deeply, and turned around to go out.
……….
At this time, the KTV was already open for business. The lanterns decorated in the corridor were changing color, the music filled the hall, and young people dressed in trendy fashion passed by in groups of three or five. Yang Mei ordered Jiang Ting’s words to the assistant and explained that she should do it carefully, and then absentmindedly went downstairs to go around.
She came out of the crystal elevator and turned a corner. Suddenly the door of the box in front of her opened, and a tall man strode out, wrapped in a ghostly cry of “I will love you even if you die” in the background, and went straight to the bar. He threw the glass in front of the bartender angrily:
“What do you sell here?!”
Yang Mei couldn’t help but stop. The bartender looked at it for a moment and said: “It’s Long Island Iced Tea, sir.”
“Try it yourself, does this iced tea have any f*cking alcohol?”
“It doesn’t have any alcohol, we sell just iced tea, sir.”
“Without alcohol, isn’t this consumer fraud?”
The bartender immediately turned his face and said confidently: “Don’t talk like this, handsome. Its name is Long Island Iced Tea. It is made with fresh black tea and lemon. It is clearly a high-quality iced black tea. How can it be called fraud?”
“…….” The man’s face twisted with anger, and he said: “Then if I order a Bloody Mary, will you cut your wrist and sprinkle a spoonful of black dog blood in it for me to try?”
Yang Mei: “…….”
This man was in his thirties, his face was really good-looking, and even the changing color light of the KTV couldn’t drown his deep and straight facial features. He was very tall—more than 1.8 meters, close to 1.9 meters. The T-shirt under the leather jacket stretched out a lean line of muscle. When he turned his head to speak, even his side neck showed clear muscle outlines.
Bartender: “Oh, you’re joking, handsome. Bloody Mary, don’t worry, I’ll cut a tomato for you first!”
Snap!
The man pulled out the Swiss Army knife from the back of his trousers, slammed it on the bar counter, and said coldly, “Do you come by yourself, or shall I help you?”
Yang Mei’s eyebrows jumped. She has been on the road for a long time, and she could see a little arrogance on the man’s handsome and unruly face at a glance.
“You, you……,” the bartender murmured, and hurriedly ducked back: “How can you talk like this!……”
“I’m sorry for this, handsome.” Yang Mei strode forward and said with a loud laugh, “I’m the boss here. For safety reasons, we don’t sell blended wines with an alcohol content higher than 40%, so I made Long Island Iced Tea. It’s iced tea without any alcohol. Since you want to order a cocktail, do you want us to make a new one for you? Xiao Liu!”
The bartender—with the name tag on his chest that said “Agatha Don Francisco Tony” in both Chinese and English—immediately called out to Sister Meimei in a low voice.
“Mix a sunset beach for the handsome guy,” Yang Mei smiled at the man: “Sorry.”
The man looked her up and down and then slowly put away the pocket knife and snorted: “It’s quite hard to regulate management here. You’re doing a good job.”
Yang Mei laughed and said, “Don’t flatter me. But our waiter didn’t make it clear. Look, Long Island Iced Tea is listed under “non-alcoholic beverages”. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”
It would be ok if she didn’t explain, but as soon as she explained, the man’s face twisted again: “——a misunderstanding?” He pointed to the wine glass and said incredulously: “You sell this iced black tea for 280 yuan. You’re saying this is a misunderstanding. Do you think I’m blind, or do you think I’m stupid?”
Yang Mei: “…….”
The handsome man turned around and went back to the box, obviously asking his friends to come out and judge. Yang Mei was about to catch up, but suddenly a chef stumbled from the direction of the back kitchen and grabbed her like a life-saving straw: “Yang, Sister Yang, it’s not good! Kitchen, kitchen freezer…”
As soon as Yang Mei lowered her head, she saw the chef’s pale and half-blue face. His whole body was shaking like he was caught in the wind:
“A thief got into the freezer; his whole body was cold as if he was frozen to death!”
……….
Yang Mei stood in front of the open gate of the back kitchen, unable to pronounce a single syllable.
The hustle and bustle of the nightclub seemed far away, and the huge back kitchen was dead silent. The back door of the kitchen, which connected to the alley’s trash can, was half-open, and the wind blew through the hall like the breath of the dead in the ears of the living.
Helpers, waiters, and bartenders hid behind, so silent that they could hear each other’s legs trembling. After a long while, the bartender asked in a low voice, “Di-die-…died?”
A boy in his twenties was on the ground. His face was blue and purple, his eyes were wide open, and his mouth and nose were bleeding. His naked upper body was covered with frost, and he kept his arms slightly open before he died.
“…….” Yang Mei’s chest continued to rise and fall, and she slowly squatted down after a while, her hands stretched out to check his breath.
Suddenly, her hand was held down.
“Ah!” Yang Mei jumped up in shock, and turned her head, only to see that it was Jiang Ting: “Brother Jiang!”
Jiang Ting said nothing and motioned for her to step back. Yang Mei staggered back half a step, only to see him kneeling on the floor. He put on the kitchen gloves, checked the boy’s neck, closed his eyelids, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head.
The little waiter immediately knelt on the ground.
Yang Mei’s knees almost went weak, but she managed to stabilize herself: “This, what the hell is going on? Which thief without eyes was chased to hide in the refrigerator, or who beat him to death and threw him into our freezer? Is the back door of the kitchen still open, manager?! Give me Lao Zhao—”
Jiang Ting stopped her, “Call the police.”
Yang Mei was immediately stunned: “Brother Jiang, this… this is not appropriate.”
During the three years that Jiang Ting was in a coma, she minimized her dealings with the police. She didn’t even dare to drive over the speed limit, let alone leave any records in the public security system. But Jiang Ting stood up against the wall, took a breath, and raised his chin toward the corpse:
“There are no signs of blows to the head, front or back, no alcohol smell, and no trauma. The nipples on the upper body are shrunken with obvious erythema and purple swelling, which is frostbite that formed during the time he was alive, forming a clear dividing line with the waistband of his trousers. He was not thrown after being beaten to death. He was frozen to death here in the freezer.”
The little waitress and the bartender Tony hugged each other tightly and shivered. Yang Mei’s eyes trembled, and her mind was dazed.
Jiang Ting sighed: “Call the police.”
The metropolis, with a population of more than 10 million, was bustling with traffic. The row upon row of high-rise buildings and huge advertising screens were intertwined with each other, illuminating the night of this prosperous city.
At the end of the street, at the main entrance of the Public Security Bureau of Fuyang District, Jianning City, several cars with flashing red and blue warning lights rushed onto the main road, instantly merging into the late-coming traffic.
“Brother Yan, you don’t have to indulge in nonsense with them; just give a direct call to the Industry and Commerce Bureau. This can’t be Master Kang iced black tea, it can only be a Lipton at most. I have drunk almost eight hundred if not a thousand of these since I am young. How can I not recognize……”
The lights in the box were dim, and seven or eight young people were singing loudly with their shoulders connected. Ma Xiang was screaming in Yan Xie’s ear when he was suddenly interrupted by the phone’s ringing.
Seeing the caller ID, Yan Xie stopped him immediately, and said, “Hello, Chief Wei?”
The word Chief Wei was like a spell. Ma Xiang was stunned on the side, only to see Yan Xie making two “Mmm” sounds on his phone, his expression sank as expected:
“The Fuyang branch is already on the way? Well, okay, okay… got it. We’ll go and see.”
“Love in death —not to the fullest, not to be happy—”
Keng! Keng——!
The music came to an abrupt end, and all the young people who had been dancing like demons suddenly stopped and looked over with big eyes and small eyes.
Yan Xie turned on the light with a snap, threw away the beer bottle he used to knock on the table, and said solemnly: “There is news from the command center that someone reported the death of a person near Fuyang Road, and the cars of the police station and the sub-bureau are already on the way. Chief Wei asked us to go to the scene to see.”
Everyone was like a mourning concubine: “No, Vice-Captain Yan!” “You agreed to give us a half-day leave after finishing the case?”
“Where is the scene? Oh shit, our car is still parked in the city bureau…”
“We don’t need a car,” Yan Xie said slowly, “It’s in the back kitchen of this KTV, and the person who reported the crime is the boss here.”
Everyone: “…………”
Yan Xie turned around and pushed open the door, sighing: “Let’s go, you guys—this will be the fastest scene the city bureau has ever seen. Hey waiter! Come here, where is the kitchen?”
The door to the back kitchen was closed, and all the cooks and waiters were locked outside the door. Yan Xie ignored the surrounding discussions, strode forward, and slammed the door: “Open the door! Police!”
The door opened. Yang Mei raised her head and almost turned into a stone when her eyes met with Yan Xie’s. She stumbled slightly, and said, “You, you……”
“What You, you? You sell iced tea for 280 yuan, and now you run into a ghost in your black shop.” Yan Xie took out his ID card from the inner pocket of his jacket and flashed it. The word “Public Security” almost blinded everyone: “I’m Yan Xie, from the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. All of you get out of the way and don’t block the scene. Give us shoe covers. Where is the body?”
For every Ko-fi received for a perticular novel, I will release a new chapter!
Quite an interesting start! I’m excited to read this!