Complete Metamorphosis Manual

Chapter 14

"Don't be crazy!" the old postman said.

"Tch! You think I'm really going?" Ding Yan turned on the TV out of boredom. The TV was showing news about Yao Ying, and there was even footage of Yang Xin in the news.

Upon seeing Yang Xin, Ding Yan couldn't help but smile and muttered to himself, "That blockhead!"

Although Yang Xin was a bit slow-witted, he was not stupid.

He's been driven crazy by a series of corpse thefts lately. He just can't understand what the thief did with the stolen bodies, especially since they were all women's corpses, regardless of age.

Organ trafficking? Unlikely, as most of the missing bodies had been dead for several days.

Therefore, Yang Xin boldly expressed his opinion at the bureau meeting, saying, "The person who stole the corpse might be from a steamed bun shop or dumpling restaurant, specializing in making human flesh char siu buns!"

His remarks were met with ridicule from his colleagues, who said he watched too many movies. They even gave him the nickname "Char Siu Bao" (a type of Chinese steamed bun).

Comrade Yang Xin, nicknamed "Char Siu Bao," was not discouraged by this; on the contrary, he became even more convinced of his deduction.

Since many people imitate movie scenes to commit murder, then surely some people will also imitate movie scenes to make steamed buns or dumplings.

Therefore, Yang Xin is currently secretly investigating some popular steamed bun shops.

Besides that, he often lingered at the intersection where he broke up with Ding Yan, hoping to run into her again. Of course, he was disappointed; Ding Yan was also very busy during that time.

He stood at the intersection, took out a crumpled piece of paper with Ding Yan's phone number on it. He had counted it before; it had 12 digits.

Chapter Five: The Real Prince Charming

1.

Recently, many hospitals have lost bodies, and the families of the deceased often gather at the hospitals to cause trouble, some carrying knives and sticks, demanding either the return of the body or money. In reality, many people who die are simply dead; the matter is over, and they will no longer cause trouble for or benefit the living. But now it's different; if a body is lost at a hospital, the hospital has to pay compensation.

The families whose bodies were not stolen were somewhat annoyed, blaming their deceased mothers for dying so meaninglessly that even thieves wouldn't bother with them.

In reality, stealing a corpse is not as easy as it is depicted in novels. Carrying a dead person back home, even at night, is still quite conspicuous.

Because stealing corpses, especially large numbers of them, is very difficult, rumors quickly spread in the hospital that the corpses had escaped on their own.

Although mainstream media outlets have been notified and have blocked the news, the internet is much harder to control, and the story has already spread like wildfire. Some say zombies have reappeared, others say vampires have come to the city, and still others claim that a mad scientist is stealing corpses for human experimentation. Among all the rumors, the most credible explanation is that there are moles within these hospitals, possibly an anti-medical alliance or something similar, who specialize in stealing corpses for research and dissection.

The reunion between Wang Xiaofeng and Yang Xin was a completely unexpected event. When the family members gathered to vandalize the hospital, the hospital called the police, and the hospital where Wang Xiaofeng worked happened to be under Yang Xin's jurisdiction.

When Yang Xin was giving his statement after the incident had subsided, he recognized Wang Xiaofeng at a glance. He felt that fate was really strange, as his childhood playmates, of all kinds, had suddenly appeared.

However, neither of them mentioned their encounter with Ding Yan. Since kindergarten, they had often secretly competed, such as who could eat more, run faster, bounce marbles better, and who could bully Ding Yan the most. This "intent" vanished the moment they recognized each other.

They all regarded their encounters with Ding Yan as a bargaining chip in their competition.

Despite their rivalry, they didn't dislike each other and remained good friends, just like before.

2.

A, B, C, and D are very irritable lately. The four brothers have all entered their heat cycle at the same time. They can't help but chase after female dogs to mate, regardless of time, place, or occasion, causing the dog-owning tenants to complain endlessly.

Li Meng, who lives on the 5th floor, even came to our house to make a scene, claiming that Xiao Jia had raped his Bei Bei in the elevator that day. Dami and Ding Yan pleaded with him not to spread the news. In the end, Ding Yan gritted his teeth, spitting blood, and waived a quarter's rent for him, thus settling the matter.

The old postman tied up A, B, C, and D, forbidding them from leaving the house.

Aunt Mei suggested finding some prostitutes for them to vent their frustrations, but the four brothers, A, B, C, and D, strongly opposed it.

Xiao Jia said, "We're dogs, after all!"

Xiao Yi said, "It's a dog that's smarter than humans, it can understand human speech and even speak human speech!"

Xiao Bing said, "How can we fall in love with humans?"

Xiao Ding said, "What's the difference between that and super-restricted porn? We don't do that kind of dirty stuff!"

Ding Yan was furious. He kicked each of them in turn and shouted, "Raping Bei Bei isn't considered 'extremely restricted'? You've caused me to lose a quarter's rent! How are you going to compensate me?!"

So the four brothers lowered their heads and remained silent.

The old postman chuckled to himself, "What if Beibei is pregnant..."

Upon hearing this, Xiaomi blushed and went to her bedroom to read.

Aunt Mei glared at him and scolded, "You old lecher..."

Ding Yan sighed, sat on the sofa, drinking blood while frowning. Aunt Mei looked at her with a mischievous smile and whispered, "Hey...girl, you should..."

"What do you mean, 'should'?!" Ding Yan knew exactly what she was going to say; she was definitely going to set her up on another blind date. She jumped up on the sofa: "She's still a young and beautiful girl! You old witch, don't even think about poisoning the flowers of our nation! Humph!"

Aunt Mei continued smiling, sitting down next to Ding Yan, and said gently, "Aunt Mei didn't mean anything by it. Your parents are gone, and someone has to take care of your marriage... Look, we're like family... Old You and I have always treated you like our daughter..."

Old Postman jumped up and interrupted her: "What? What do you mean, 'Old Postman and me'? Don't talk so ambiguously. It's like we're a married couple!"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Mei pointed at Old Postman's nose and roared, "You wish! Who would want a half-dead, perverted man like you!"

"Who are you calling a pervert? Who are you calling a pervert? You old witch! You child-eating witch!"

"Who are you calling old? I'm so young and beautiful, how am I old?!"

...

Ding Yan sighed deeply and secretly slipped out the door while they were arguing.

Is this what life is like? Occasionally happy, occasionally troublesome.

3.

The night was beautiful. Ding Yan let out a long sigh of relief and smiled and nodded at the tenants who passed by.

Li Meng led Bei Bei for a walk near the small garden in front of the apartment. Strictly speaking, Li Meng was a very charming man; his bronze skin gave off a sense of security, and he always had great taste in clothes.

“Mr. Li…” Ding Yan walked over, “Walking your dog…”

Upon hearing this, Li Meng felt inexplicably embarrassed, to the point that he seemed to shrink back slightly. He smiled, his face flushed, and said, "Oh..."

The two of them glanced at Beibei simultaneously, both feeling quite awkward.

"Uh...I...I...I was taking a walk...hehe..." Ding Yan said hurriedly as he quickened his pace, cursing inwardly, "That damn Xiao Jia."

“Um…” Li Meng caught up with Bei Bei, but his eyes didn’t dare to look directly at Ding Yan’s face. He looked around nervously and stammered, “You don’t need to worry too much about Bei Bei. Actually, the neighbors in the apartment all like those four brothers quite a bit, even though they…” He pointed to his head, “…have some issues, but they’re just simple-minded kids, no one will stoop to their level. Besides, they’ve always been very responsible in their security work at the apartment, which is why everyone feels safe living here…”

"Oh..." Ding Yan was a little puzzled by his nervousness: "Thank you for saying that..."

“By the way…” Li Meng smiled, her teeth sparkling white, “you really aren’t selling this apartment? Actually… I’ve always wanted to buy this place I’m living in now. Price isn’t an issue… because it’s very quiet and safe here…”

“Excuse me…” Ding Yanyi looked at Li Meng’s sneakers; it was rare to see men’s sneakers so spotless. “This apartment was left to me by someone very important to me, and I don’t want to sell it… Perhaps one day he will want it back…”

“Oh…” Li Meng sighed in disappointment, “What a pity…”

"Ding Yan!" A person suddenly jumped out from the intersection ahead, startling Ding Yan. Bei Bei, emboldened by its master's presence, barked loudly.

"Huh? Yang Xin? What are you doing here?" Ding Yan asked in surprise.

"Oh...patrol...patrol..." Yang Xin scratched his head. "Is this...your boyfriend?"

“Oh, I’m Miss Ding’s tenant, and she’s my landlord,” Li Meng quickly explained. “You two talk…you two talk…” Li Meng, holding Bei Bei’s hand, hurriedly walked back, as if afraid of disturbing Ding Yan.

Of course, he was nervous the whole time.

Yang Xin breathed a sigh of relief and walked over happily. "You live nearby? You're the landlord? Hehe, I've been wanting to ask you what you do for a living..."

Ding Yan tilted his head, displeased, and said, "Is this your professional habit? Why do you ask so many questions every time we meet, like you're interrogating a criminal!"

"No...no..." Yang Xin hurriedly explained, "That...about the nurses..."

"Still denying it!" Ding Yan jumped up. "Look, look, you've started interrogating me again!"

"It really isn't..." Yang Xin was sweating profusely. "I saw Wang Xiaofeng last time... and that's when I realized that you actually... actually..."

"Actually what?" Ding Yan was worried that Wang Xiaofeng might say something he shouldn't.

“Actually, I know… you went to the hospital to steal blood…” Yang Xin said.

"So you're here to arrest me?" Ding Yan stretched out both wrists in front of his chest. "Then arrest me! Go ahead and arrest me!"

"Sigh..." Yang Xin pushed her hand away. "I've known about you drinking blood since you were a kid! I just didn't expect you still haven't quit! Don't worry, I won't arrest you!"

"Hmph!" Ding Yan turned her head away. For some reason, she couldn't help but feel angry every time she saw Yang Xin.

“By the way…you…” Yang Xin scratched his head again, “The number you gave me last time was 12 digits…”

"How about 12 digits?"

"Originally...it should have been 11 digits..."

"snort!"

4.

Yang Xin was very happy tonight because he finally managed to get together with Ding Yan for tea. He specially chose the best teahouse in the area, not only because of its pleasant environment, but also because he was quite familiar with the owner and could get a significant discount—police officers don't earn high salaries, especially honest officers like Yang Xin.

"By the way! Do you have any contact with Wang Xiaofeng?" Ding Yan took a sip of tea, pursed his lips, and said bitterly.

“Oh? You know him? You met? Actually, I…” Yang Xin smiled, staring intently at Ding Yan, “I only saw him recently…and it was about work…”

"Has someone committed suicide again?" Ding Yan wondered. She hadn't received any suicide-related service requests recently, so it seemed she was losing a lot of clients. She'd have to give Lao You a good talking-to when she got back.

"No, no... It's because the hospital keeps losing bodies lately..." Yang Xin suddenly covered his mouth; this was something he couldn't tell anyone. Besides, saying it in this kind of situation would be too inappropriate.

"Huh? So the rumors online are true! Are there really vampires? Wow! There really are vampires in this world?" Ding Yan exclaimed excitedly.

"Shh... Keep your voice down. You absolutely mustn't spread this around. The higher-ups are trying their best to suppress it!" Yang Xin said seriously.

"Hmm~ Hmm~" Ding Yan nodded solemnly, "I definitely won't tell! Hey... is there any other inside information?" She poked her head out curiously, looking very cute.

"Hey, hey... hurry up and say it! Why are you staring at me like that..." Ding Yan felt a little embarrassed by the stare.

"Oh...oh..." Yang Xin chuckled awkwardly, "There hasn't been any progress yet."

"Is there anything I can help with?" Ding Yan's interest was piqued even more; disposing of corpses was so exciting.

"What can you do to help? It might have been done by a psychopath! It's very dangerous."

"I suspect it was done by a doctor at the hospital!" Ding Yan frowned, and even her frowning looked adorable to Yang Xin.

"Alright, alright!" Yang Xin was worried that he would let something slip if he kept talking, so he quickly changed the subject: "It's rare to have tea together, let's not talk about these things."

"Let's just chat! I'm very smart, you know. If you encounter any difficulties while solving a case, be sure to tell me..."

Ding Yan kept rambling on and on, steer the conversation back to the topic.

Thus, Yang Xin's first date was constantly entangled with corpses and psychopathic killers.

Is this the tragedy of being a police officer?

5.