Parasitismus-Eve - Kapitel 5
"As you've seen, her death wasn't so simple," Sun Jing said, shaking his head as he saw the old man and woman's puzzled expressions.
"I won't say anything; it's the rules, and you don't need to ask. The case is still under investigation, so don't go out and spread rumors; it will affect the investigation."
The hallway lights on the second floor came on, and someone downstairs asked upstairs what had happened with all the banging and crashing.
"Oh, it's nothing, I'm sorry," the old woman said at Sun Jing's prompting.
The lights on the second floor went out again soon after, and no one came up.
"Thank you for your cooperation," Sun Jing said softly.
"Look at you, you want to come in..." The old woman was interrupted by the old man who nudged her, stopping her from speaking.
"You go in first," the old man said.
The old woman tactfully went back into the house.
"He's really alert," Sun Jing thought to himself. He slowly stood up and reached into his pocket. The old man stared intently at him.
Sun Jing took out a cigarette and tossed one to the old man.
After smoking most of his cigarette, the old man finally asked, "So you're an undercover officer?"
Sun Jing nodded.
After a while, the old man asked, "Can't I ask about what happened just now?"
"You can ask, but I'm not at liberty to answer." Sun Jing took out another cigarette and handed it over.
"I'm not smoking anymore. If there's nothing else, I'd like to go back to sleep."
Sun Jing shrugged: "Nothing should happen."
The old man smiled, his wrinkles revealing a worldly wisdom that was hard to fathom.
"Then I won't ask. But you said you were in plainclothes, so you have a police ID, right?"
Sun Jing felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
"You didn't forget it, did you?"
Sun Jing's phone rang, and he quickly answered it.
"I'm on the third floor," he said.
"My colleague has arrived," he said to the old man, putting down his phone.
The guy who had just hit Sun Jing with the club ran out quickly, not bothering to close the door, and soon he appeared in front of Sun Jing.
She arrived unexpectedly quickly and promptly.
"How did it get like this?" she said.
Before Sun Jing could even coordinate his testimony, the old man spoke up: "Also undercover?"
Jeans and tennis shoes—she was dressed as casually as could be. It was only then that Sun Jing noticed that her attire was completely different from when they met during the day.
"Could I see your police ID?" the old man continued.
Xu Xu glanced at Sun Jing.
Sun Jing also looked at her.
"You didn't bring any with you either," the old man said, stepping back slightly.
She slowly reached out and opened her handbag, rummaged through it for a while, then took out a small notebook, waved it in front of the old man, and then put it back.
"Slow down, slow down, I didn't see it clearly."
As the saying goes, "If you walk on the dark road too often, you're bound to run into a ghost." Sun Jing completely resigned himself to his fate and secretly gave Xu Xu a signal to run away.
"Then let me show you clearly." Xu Xu tossed the document to the old man.
Sun Jing squinted, watching the old man examine the document very carefully, and then returned the document to Xu Xu.
"I'm so sorry, I always see people using that on TV... well, I guess I won't disturb you on your mission." The old man said with a forced smile, then went back to his room.
Sun Jing slowly pulled Han Shang into her room and openly turned on the light.
"I thought I was about to be exposed."
"There are some things I always keep on hand." Xu Xu then took out her press card and student ID from her bag and waved them in front of Sun Jing's nose.
"With his presbyopia, he could see it all in a hundred years and still not be able to tell it's fake. You saved the day just in time, didn't you? Partnering with me is definitely the right choice. Are you alright with your forehead?"
Xu Xu took out a tissue to wipe the blood from Sun Jing's forehead. Actually, it was clear that there was no serious injury, but Sun Jing's previous arrogant attitude in front of her had made her grit her teeth. Now that he was finally in trouble, Xu Xu couldn't help but want to tease him a little, so her movements were naturally not very gentle.
Sun Jing gasped in pain and grabbed Xu Xu's hand.
"I can do it myself."
"What an insensitive guy." Xu Xu curled her lips, gently pulled her hand away, leaving the tissue in Sun Jing's palm.
"Charm..." Sun Jing muttered softly, shaking his head with a wry smile. He covered his forehead with a tissue and stole a glance at Xu Xu's hand. In his moment of pain, he had used a little force, but he hadn't left a mark on her hand. Somehow, it had slipped and turned and disappeared.
"How did you get into such a mess?" Xu Xu asked, her slender right fingers suddenly rising and falling like waves. Sun Jing quickly looked away.
"I'll talk to you when we go out later." Sun Jing began to look around the room.
The room was tidy, so the open locker stood out. It seemed the person from before was also looking for something.
Sun Jing crumpled the blood-stained tissue into a ball and put it in his pocket. He moved a chair over, took off his shoes, and stood on it. Xu Xu squinted, watching suspiciously as he tiptoed and reached his hand under the chandelier shade.
When something important is within reach, you'd better think twice before reaching for it. Because its importance is often directly proportional to its potential disruptive impact on your current life.
Chapter 03 An Experiment into the Inner World
After leaving the small building, Sun Jing turned onto the main street. With his hands in his pockets, he walked leisurely forward, but because of the very obvious lump on his forehead, his feigned leisurely demeanor made people want to laugh.
Fortunately, there were few pedestrians on the road, so I walked slowly beside him and glanced at him every now and then.
"There's a limit to keeping things a secret. What exactly did you get? If you don't tell me soon, I'm really going to get angry." Xu Xu finally couldn't hold back anymore, her belly full of resentment and anger.
"Three days ago, I received a turtle." Sun Jing told this not-so-complicated story in just a few words. Actually, the story should have been much more complicated, but what happened now was only the beginning.
After he finished speaking, he pulled his hand out of his pocket, opened his palm, and there lay a small, square, thin piece of paper.
He snatched it away slowly.
"A memory card? A 4GB memory card, used in phone cameras and such. Could it be filled with explicit photos?"
"Hmm, your guess is very tempting."
"Tch, actually I bet there's a Swiss bank account password inside, or some confidential information. Could she be a spy?" Xu Xu examined the memory card, as if her gaze could penetrate the storage medium and decipher its contents.
"It sounds like a scene from a movie." Sun Jing pressed his forehead with his hand and rubbed it gently, hoping that the large bump on his head would subside soon.
"Life is always more legendary than movies," Xu replied slowly.
Sun Jing stopped in his tracks.
"My house is just ahead."
"So close."
Sun Jing lowered his hand and looked at Xu Xu.
"So, are you planning to go home and sleep, or what?"
Xu Xu's eyes widened: "What's there to ask? Did you call me here so late for an emergency just to use me and then throw me away?"
Sun Jing smiled and said, "Inviting a woman to my house late at night could easily be misunderstood as having ulterior motives."
"It's alright, men with horns on their heads can't seduce me."
"Actually, you'd better control your curiosity. This matter originally had nothing to do with you. Don't tell me you didn't sense the danger inside."
"Do you think what you're saying is convincing?" Xu Xu asked, looking at the large bag on Sun's camera lens. "Aren't you curious that you'd go to someone's doorstep at night to pick up a tumor? Aren't you curious that you agreed to partner with me on the wizard's skull right under your nose? She offered two million to borrow this thing, why? I bet the answer is in there!"
She held the memory card up to Sun Jing's nose and said, "The wizard's skull was our target from the start. We have to squeeze every last drop of value out of it before we sell it, otherwise we'll lose money. Two million! Han Shang really knows how much to spend. How much do you think the contents inside are worth?"
"She's dead." Sun Jing snatched the memory card from Xu Xu's hand. "If you're not afraid of death, come with me."
He took two steps into the alley, then looked back and was surprised to see Xu Xu standing motionless at the entrance. But in the blink of an eye, she quickly followed.
When Xu Xu caught up, Sun Jing didn't continue walking inside. Instead, he held up a finger in front of his mouth and stared at the entrance of the alley.
"Is someone following us?" Xu Xu asked in a very low voice.
"Perhaps." Sun Jing tiptoed back to the alley entrance. He paused briefly, then suddenly rushed out.
Xu Xu jumped out as well, but saw nothing. She asked anxiously, "What did you see?"
"There seemed to be a dark shadow, but I couldn't see it clearly." Sun Jing stared at the scaffolding in front of him. When he rushed out just now, it seemed like something flashed down there.
"I'll go take a look." Sun Jing rubbed his forehead again; the stinging pain made him even more alert. No matter what, he needed to prevent anyone from doing this again, or things would get really messed up.
"What's with the show-off?" Xu Xu muttered to herself, following behind Sun Jing. The two of them walked diagonally down the scaffolding, one in front of the other.
The old buildings here have been preserved because they are inextricably linked to the city's history. The scaffolding on the sidewalk in front was erected for a small project to repair the exterior walls. Now that the project is finished, these bamboo poles and strips will be removed tomorrow.
In the slightly chilly late night, there were very few pedestrians on this ordinary little street. Even those who did pass by would avoid the scaffolding and take a detour.
Layers of bamboo strips laid on the scaffolding blocked the light from the streetlights, turning the passage below into a dark abyss. Looking in that direction, the shadows and dark shapes seemed to overlap, as if it were the entrance to another world. Sun Jing had only caught a fleeting glimpse, and couldn't be sure if there was actually something inside or if he had just imagined it.
As Sun Jing approached the scaffolding, he slowed his pace. Although it appeared dark from a distance, it wasn't so dark once inside that he couldn't see anything. The scaffolding was only about ten meters long. Sun Jing carefully scanned it, his ears perked up. All he could see were bamboo tubes as thick as an arm; there was nowhere to hide. He could hear the creaking of the scaffolding in the breeze and the soft sound of footsteps behind him.
Did I really see it wrong?
Sun Jing stopped at the end of the scaffolding, at the entrance to the building under repair. The entrance door was open, but there were no lights inside; it was completely dark. Just a few steps ahead, after exiting the scaffolding, was the entrance to an alleyway. This alleyway wasn't a dead end; it had paths leading to other exits and even the next street.
He looked back at Xu Xu, but before he could say anything, a gust of wind blew by, and the scaffolding creaked again.
This time was different. The wind passed quickly, but the sound did not stop; instead, it became even more piercing.
A small pebble fell on his head. Sun Jing brushed it off with his hand and looked up.
The scaffolding was swaying.
Perhaps the scaffolding wasn't very sturdy, but even if there were loose parts, it's not a typhoon season, so why is it swaying like this? It's like a strongman is grabbing a supporting bamboo pole and shaking it desperately.
"What happened?" Xu Xu asked in surprise.
"Get out of here!" Sun Jing darted off the scaffolding and ran another dozen steps until he was completely out of its reach. Xu Xu followed closely behind, but her steps were unsteady, as if she were wearing high heels, and she looked rather disheveled.
When the two men looked back, the scaffolding had gradually stopped swaying and hadn't collapsed. They exchanged a glance, both finding the whole thing strangely unsettling.
"Hey!" Sun Jing suddenly exclaimed.