Joven Primer Ministro, un ermitaño

Capítulo 48

"I have the Crow Nine Dagger." Xia Chen's dagger appeared, flashing with a cold light, and the bone worms slowed down their movement.

“We need something bigger. Your dagger can only wound them, not kill them. If we had the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow and the Iron-Breaking Sword, our chances would be better. Luckily, I still have this.” Ye Cheng drew his sidearm. “I’ll call my brother. He’ll be here to save us in ten minutes at most.” Luo Shimin took out her phone, only to find there was no signal. None of their phones had a signal. Luo Shimin threw her phone on the ground.

"This is really the end for us."

Ye Cheng aimed at one of the bone worms and pulled the trigger. The sound of gunfire made everyone's eardrums hurt a little, but all nine bone worms were hit. Li Xiao said helplessly, "Your marksmanship is really something else. You can't even hit it at such close range. How did you become a policeman?"

Ye Cheng argued, "I was just a policeman. Policemen aren't armed. Even if I missed the bone worm, the gunshot would attract people nearby, and we'd still be rescued."

Xia Chen pointed to the sky, "Your idea is good, but you forgot this. Even if people nearby hear gunshots, they will mistake them for thunder. By the time we are discovered, we will already be a pile of rotten flesh like tofu."

"Give me your gun now." Li Xiao snatched Xia Chen's pistol and, with a bang, accurately hit a bone worm. The worm was sent flying by the huge impact of the bullet. Li Xiao fired three more shots, sending three bone worms flying and creating a gap in the encirclement.

Li Xiao's actions enraged the bone worms. One of them arched its body, and just as Li Xiao was about to shoot it, the worm disappeared from her sight. Before she could react, something struck the muzzle of the gun with a loud thud, sending a spark flying. The gun barrel lurched, and Li Xiao lost her grip, dropping the pistol to the ground. Hu Rongrong quickly picked up the pistol; the barrel was dented badly from the impact. The bone worms were incredibly strong. Being hit by one was almost like being hit by a bullet.

The pistol was back in Li Xiao's hands. Before she could even aim, she saw all the insects arch their backs. "Everyone, get down!" she cried, but Ye Cheng tackled her to the ground. Xia Chen and Luo Shimin had nowhere to hide; three bone insects were aimed at them. Xia Chen stood in front of Luo Shimin, determined to kill himself rather than let her get hurt. The bone insects were right in front of them. Luo Shimin bypassed Xia Chen and stood in front of him. "I can't let anything happen to you. You still have so much to do. Tang Ying is missing, and you still need to unravel the mystery of the 'Nuwa Project,' find the terrifying files, and ultimately defeat the Xia Group."

"I promised your brother I wouldn't let anything happen to you." The bone worms were already upon him. Xia Chen pushed Luo Shimin aside. One bone worm struck Xia Chen's left shoulder, passing right through him. The immense force sent Xia Chen staggering back two steps. Another bone worm grazed Xia Chen's face as it flew past. The last one was deflected by Xia Chen's Crow Nine Dagger. "Are you alright?" Luo Shimin clutched the wound on Xia Chen's shoulder, blood seeping from between his fingers.

Xia Chen chuckled and said, "It's nothing, it's just another hole opened up, but it's a little different this time, it went all the way through. Let go of my hand and see if you can see behind me from the front."

Luo Shimin punched Xia Chen twice with her fists, "What kind of time is this to be joking around?"

"They're just a few bugs, nothing to be afraid of. This has happened twice already, and I'm still alive. I'll find a stingy bug and take them down."

Ye Cheng and the others scrambled to their feet, not even having time to wipe the cold sweat from their brows, as all the bone worms arched their bodies again, a new round of attacks about to begin. Seeing Xia Chen injured, Ye Cheng asked with concern, "Xia Chen, are you alright?"

Xia Chen clutched the wound on his shoulder. "I have good news and bad news for you. Which do you want to hear?"

"In this situation, I'll start with the good news to cheer myself up a bit."

Xia Chen said with a smile, "The good news is that if you are hit by a bone worm, it won't burrow into your body. The bad news is that it will pass through your body like a bullet. So, the conclusion is that as long as it doesn't hit your vital organs or head, we can still live a little longer in this evil world."

"It's amazing you can still laugh in this situation." Ye Cheng cautiously observed, "Getting hit by a bullet would leave a bloody hole." All the bone worms arched their bodies but didn't attack; they were waiting for the right opportunity. The bone worms that Li Xiao had shot away crawled back; the bullet hadn't caused them much damage.

Li Xiao took two deep breaths, calming her mind to a state of perfect stillness, and maximizing her senses. Everything around her disappeared, leaving only her, the gun, and the nine insects. Luo Shimin stubbornly stood in front of Xia Chen, saying, "You've already taken a hit, now it's my turn." Hu Rongrong stood behind Ye Cheng, tightly holding his hand. Her heart calmed down, and she was no longer afraid.

Suddenly, the insects launched an attack. In a flash, Li Xiao pulled the trigger, firing five bullets, all hitting the incoming bone insects. However, four more shot towards the group. Just as Li Xiao was about to be hit, Ye Cheng suddenly rushed out. He pulled down the metal panel of a nearby filing cabinet and swung it forcefully, knocking away three bone insects with a clang. The remaining one shot towards Luo Shimin. Xia Chen tried to push her away, but Luo Shimin stood firmly in place, refusing to move. Hu Rongrong suddenly rushed out, using her shoulder to block the bone insect. After piercing Hu Rongrong's shoulder, the bone insect lost much of its momentum and fell to the ground a short distance away. Xia Chen gripped his Crow Nine Dagger and frantically slashed at the bone insect several times. The bone insect let out a squeaking scream, and a bluish-white liquid oozed out. In another ten seconds, the bone insect would be cut in two by Xia Chen. The other bone insects quickly adjusted their positions, preparing to launch another attack.

The third wave of attacks didn't give everyone much time to prepare. Ye Cheng blinked, and the bone worms were already in front of him. Li Xiao fired, knocking one away, and pulled the trigger again, but no sound rang out—out of bullets! Ye Cheng closed his eyes; this time it was all over. Hu Rongrong pulled Ye Cheng close and hugged him tightly. Luo Shimin turned around and kissed Xia Chen's lips. Xia Chen was stunned at first, then responded passionately.

The expected excruciating pain didn't come. After a series of soft clanging sounds, everyone opened their eyes. Luo Xie and Meng Po appeared, wielding their peerless blades to block all the bone worms. Luo Xie's face was unusually grim, like a living Yama, as he swung his Great Xia Dragon Sparrow sword, slicing three bone worms into pieces. Seeing the situation was dire, the other five bone worms turned to flee, but Meng Po caught up, wielding her Iron-Breaking Sword and killing two more, leaving only three bone worms to escape.

Luo Xie put away the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow and stared at Ye Cheng with a gloomy expression. Ye Cheng suddenly realized that he was holding the woman Luo Xie loved deeply in his arms, so he quickly let go and said with a charming smile, "It was an accident, it was completely an accident. I originally wanted to hug Li Xiao. I ended up hugging the wrong person. I will be careful next time and will definitely not hug the wrong person again." Hu Rongrong glanced at Ye Cheng, then at Luo Xie, and lowered her head without saying a word.

Li Xiao exclaimed, "No way! I'm so close to you, and you still give me the wrong answer? This is so disheartening!"

Luo Xie ignored Ye Cheng and said to Li Xiao, "Your marksmanship is quite good. Don't be a policeman anymore, come with me to the Batian Gang." Li Xiao politely declined, saying, "I need to think about it."

Overjoyed at surviving the ordeal, Luo Shimin exclaimed, "Brother, how did you all suddenly appear?"

Luo Xie said expressionlessly, "I heard there was a fire at Yishi Academy. I was worried about you, so I came to check on you. I heard gunshots as soon as I entered the campus, so I rushed over immediately."

Meng Po examined Xia Chen and Hu Rongrong's injuries and said, "Their shoulder blades have been pierced, and they need immediate treatment to stop the bleeding."

Luo Xie said, "I called my underlings, and they quickly told me that I had invited the doctor to my house for treatment." Less than half a minute later, two cars stopped at the entrance of the archives room, accompanied by a large group of Luo Xie's underlings, all looking fierce and menacing, which terrified countless students.

Ye Cheng chuckled and said, "We won't go. We need to stay and handle the scene." Luo Xie didn't say anything, got into the car, waved, and the large group of people drove towards Luo Xie's house.

Ye Chang breathed a sigh of relief, "They're finally gone! My god, that scared me to death. Did you see what Luo Xie looked like just now? He looked like he was going to eat someone alive."

Li Xiao said with a wicked smile, "I think Hu Rongrong has a bit of a crush on you. Otherwise, why would she hug you instead of other people?"

"You can't say things like that, especially not in front of Luo Xie. That wicked woman Hu Rongrong argues with me the moment she sees me, how could she possibly like me? I have no money and no status, how could a rich girl like her possibly like me?"

"Haven't you heard that hitting someone is a sign of affection and scolding someone is a sign of love? She's just trying to get your attention by making you angry. It's not wrong to marry a rich girl, is it? With that kind of money, you don't have to live in the police station, and you can treat me to fancy meals every day."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." Ye Cheng changed the subject. "Let's talk about you. You're a trainee police officer. When you first came, you said you were studying forensic science, but I've gradually discovered that you're not only skilled in evidence collection and identification, but also very good at surveillance and tracking. Just now, I noticed that your marksmanship is also amazing, practically superb. Do you think someone who excels in every aspect is just a trainee police officer?"

"I'm just a trainee police officer, but I have a wide range of interests and know a little bit about everything." Li Xiao went outside and brought in her toolbox, taking out a few small bottles from it. "Put the dead bone worms into the bottles; I'm going to study them carefully."

Ye Cheng took the bottle and turned to put the bone worms in it, silently thinking, "Li Xiao, I don't care who you are, as long as you're not from the Xia Group."

Xia Chen and Hu Rongrong were taken to Luo Xie's house and immediately underwent surgery. The doctor first removed the bone fragments from the wound, then used tweezers to insert cotton wool through the wound several times, finally stuffing a piece of cotton wool about the thickness of a finger into the wound little by little. The two of them almost fainted from the pain.

After collecting the bone worms, Ye Cheng and Li Xiao returned to the police station, both covered in soot and their uniforms stained with ashes from the fire. At the station entrance, a colleague joked, "What happened to you two? Did you go to a coal mine?" The other replied, "Nonsense, they're clearly trying to impersonate Black people and infiltrate Africa."

Exhausted, Ye Cheng didn't want to waste his breath arguing with his colleagues, so he gave them the middle finger. A young man in his twenties rushed out of the police station and grabbed Ye Cheng. "Are you Officer Ye, the one in charge of investigating the former Huangtai case? I have an important lead to report to you. Please believe me. I've spoken to many police officers, but they don't believe me. They all think I'm crazy. I'm not crazy, I'm perfectly normal. I've also brought my mental health report."

011 The Mystery of the Former Huangtai

"Speak slowly, say it again, I didn't hear you clearly." The young man was a little excited and spoke very quickly. Xia Chen still managed to catch a key word: the case of Qianhuangtai. He was feeling depressed because he had no leads. He didn't expect that a lead would come knocking on his door so quickly. Could this be the legendary stroke of luck? Xia Chen grinned and showed a set of white teeth.

Just as the young man was about to speak, Li Xiao interrupted, "This is the entrance to the police station, not the place to talk. Let's go inside and sit down to talk." The two led the young man into the police station building, found an empty office, and sat him down. To help the man relax, Li Xiao even poured him a glass of water.

"Now you can speak, but speak slowly." Ye Cheng opened his notebook, ready to take notes of the man's words.

"My name is Bai Linyu, and my father is Bai Binshu." Upon hearing the name Bai Binshu, Ye Cheng and Li Xiao couldn't help but shudder. They were all too familiar with this name; it had been mentioned many times in the files of the former Huangtai Hospital. They had read it at least fifty times, if not a hundred, so much so that the mere mention of this name would remind them of the former Huangtai Mental Hospital.

"Bai Binshu!" Ye Cheng exclaimed excitedly. It seemed that heaven had truly opened its eyes. "The Bai Binshu you're talking about, is it the former Bai Binshu from Huangtai?"

Bai Linyu nodded gently. "Yes, my father was the dean of the hospital many years ago when the Huangtai massacre occurred. He was accused of using mental patients for medical research, which ultimately led to a riot among the mental patients—Bai Binshu! My father has carried this stigma for many years. I want to clear his name. The Huangtai massacre had nothing to do with my father, and he was also an innocent victim."

Li Xiao opened the case file about the Huangtai massacre from many years ago, glanced at it, and said, "According to the case file, the police found that the brainstem of many mental patients had been removed during the autopsy. They found your father's signature in the relevant surgical records. After authentication by a handwriting expert, it was confirmed to be your father's signature. How do you explain this?"

"Liars, they're all liars!" Bai Linyu suddenly became very agitated and slammed his fist on the table, knocking over the water glass and spilling water all over the floor.

"Please calm down." Ye Cheng wiped the water off the table. "We understand how you feel, and we ask you to understand us too. Like you, we also want to find out the truth."

Bai Linyu said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I got a little emotional. You have no idea what kind of impact that case had on us back then. The patients' families came to my house and made a scene, smashing everything up. I was branded a 'little madman,' and people would point and talk about me wherever I went. I couldn't go home and was forced to take my mother and hide abroad. I haven't dared to come back all these years, not even to pay my respects on my father's death anniversary, because there are so many patients' families at the cemetery that day. You can't imagine what my family has gone through all these years. I told the police that the murderer hadn't been caught and that one day it would come back to commit crimes, but the police didn't believe me at all and even..." He was considered insane. A few days ago, I received a call from my friend; the murderer had indeed struck again. My friend also said that the person in charge of the investigation was a young and promising police officer. I felt that the opportunity to clear my father's name had arrived, so I immediately bought a plane ticket and came back. I've studied handwriting analysis over the years. It seems very mysterious, but in reality, it's not that complicated. With a little practice, imitating someone's handwriting is quite simple. Getting my father's signature at the former Huangtai Mental Hospital was easy. My father was a very kind person; even mental patients were treated well by him. He would never engage in those perverted human experiments.

Li Xiao said, "You can say whatever you want, but if you want the police to believe that your father has nothing to do with the tragedy and that the murderer is someone else, you need evidence. Besides, what makes you so sure that the murder happening in Qianhuangtai now is related to the tragedy from years ago? You say that those perverse medical studies weren't done by your father, but who else has that much power besides your father?"

Bai Linyu glanced at Li Xiao, and said angrily, "I was only ten years old when the Qianhuangtai massacre happened, but I can still clearly remember many things. My father made a phone call home when the massacre occurred. He shouted on the phone, 'Patient Zero is a madman... Call the police quickly... Ah... He's eating human bones... He's coming... Oh my god... Bugs... Bugs are killing people... Ah...' Then the call ended. When I saw my father again, he was already a cold corpse. This call was recorded by the telecommunications department, and the police had taken evidence. Originally, in the Qianhuangtai Mental Hospital, only my father had the right to move doctors and patients and approve medical research. But later, a..." "A group of people, they weren't under my father's jurisdiction. My father was a very talkative man, and my mother was a psychiatrist. He often talked to her about his patients. Before the incident, my father talked most about the new Patient Zero, saying he was a madman, a deranged killer, and that he shouldn't be in a mental hospital; he should be at the police station. But the Xia Group insisted on keeping Patient Zero in the mental hospital, and my father couldn't do anything about it. My father even joked that maybe one day everyone would be killed by madmen. I've seen the list of survivors of the former Huangtai massacre, and Patient Zero was on it. The recent murders in former Huangtai are related to insects and human bones, right? I suspect Patient Zero has struck again."

Ye Cheng's breathing became a little rapid. Bai Linyu implied that the Xia Group was the mastermind behind the tragedy, and Ye Cheng believed him. Given the Xia Group's consistently ruthless and cruel nature, they were perfectly capable of doing such a thing. Bai Linyu definitely knew who Patient Zero was. That saying was true: when God closes a door, He opens a window. This was so true; God hadn't just opened a window for him, He had practically torn down a wall. In his excitement, Ye Cheng asked, "You're implying those people are from the Xia Group, right? Why don't you say it outright? What's Patient Zero's name? You must know, right?" Mentioning the Xia Group, Li Xiao's expression became very unnatural again.

Bai Linyu snorted coldly, "We've only just met, and I don't believe you. After the tragedy, my mother said it was related to the Xia Group, but no one believed her. Now the Xia Group has grown into the largest conglomerate in the country. Bribing one or two policemen is not difficult for them. I can tell you that I not only know Patient Zero's name, but I also have his medical records."

Ye Cheng was overjoyed. "Are you serious? Where's the file?"

“I certainly won’t carry something this important with me at all times. I will hand over the file to you after I have gained your trust.”

Li Xiao asked, "How do you have Patient Zero's file? If it's real, please produce it immediately. The police will appreciate your cooperation."

“As I said before, some time before the tragedy, my father was particularly interested in Patient Zero. He secretly made a copy of Patient Zero's file and kept it at home. My father had a habit of not giving us gifts directly; he would hide them somewhere and make us find them ourselves. My house is small, and there aren't many places to hide things, so over time, my mother and I both knew where he hid things. Many days after the incident, the police finally released my father's body to us. On my father's right palm, I saw a question mark written in ballpoint pen. Every time he gave us a gift, he would draw a question mark. After returning home, we found Patient Zero's file. You must be wondering why I didn't take out Patient Zero's file sooner. My mother told the police who handled the case about this, and that very night, our house was burgled. The next day, my mother took me and fled abroad, living under assumed names until now.”

Based on Bai Linyu's account, Ye Cheng gained a general understanding of the ins and outs of the Qianhuangtai massacre years ago. After acquiring the Qianhuangtai Mental Hospital, the Xia Group secretly used mental patients for a perverse medical research project. The hospital director became aware of this, and then the Xia Group somehow acquired a mentally unstable patient known as Patient Zero. During treatment, Patient Zero went into a frenzy, leading to the tragedy. Whether this Patient Zero mentioned by Bai Linyu is the perpetrator of the recent series of horrific murders remains to be further investigated. The current focus is on gaining Bai Linyu's trust and getting him to hand over Patient Zero's file.

Li Xiao threatened, "Bai Linyu, hand over Patient Zero's file right now. It concerns the lives of many people. My friend was just attacked, you know? They are in constant danger. If you don't hand it over, I'll detain you for forty-eight hours for obstructing the police investigation."

Bai Linyu wasn't buying it at all. He simply turned his head away, refusing to even glance at the two of them. Ye Cheng had a plan. Bai Linyu was testing him and Li Xiao. If he didn't want to produce Patient Zero's file, he wouldn't have rushed back from abroad. Once he gained Bai Linyu's trust, he would definitely produce Patient Zero's file. Ye Cheng said in a low voice, "Don't worry, we will never be in league with the Xia Group. In fact, like you, I also have a grudge against the Xia Group. They killed the person I loved most."

Bai Linyu turned around, his face showing no surprise. He clearly knew Ye Cheng's story. "You might have heard my story before, but I'll tell it to you again. My beloved was named A-San. She didn't have a surname because she was an orphan, abandoned at birth and raised in an orphanage. She was living a happy life until one day the Xia Group acquired the orphanage..." An hour passed, and Ye Cheng finished telling his story with A-San, his eyes filled with tears. Li Xiao handed him a tissue, and Ye Cheng lowered his head, silent. Li Xiao felt a lump in her throat; although it was the second time she had heard this story, she was still deeply saddened.

"I'm sorry," Bai Linyu said apologetically. "I know your story. My friend showed me the news about you. I just wanted to confirm things, so I made you relive your painful experience. Now I believe you."

Ye Cheng took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Now you can hand over Patient Zero's file to us, right?"

"I can give you the file," Bai Linyu glanced at his watch, "but it will take another four hours."

"Why? We've already proven that we're not in cahoots with the Xia Group," Li Xiao asked, puzzled.

"I've sent the email by mail, and it will take another four hours to arrive. The simplest method is often the safest. If something happens to me and I can't pick up the email, it will be sent back to my family overseas a week later. So please wait patiently with me for four hours. Patient Zero's file is definitely worth the four hours you wait."

Four hours later, Bai Linyu picked up the mail from the post office, took out Patient Zero's file, and solemnly handed it to Ye Cheng. "Please, you must catch the murderer, find out the truth, and clear my father's name."

"That's our duty as police officers." Ye Cheng bowed first, took the file, opened it, and exclaimed after just one glance, "No way, Patient Zero is actually him." Li Xiao glanced at it, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and she couldn't express her shock even after saying "fuck" five times.

Bai Linyu asked in surprise, "You know him?"

Ye Cheng shouted, "We're more than just acquaintances! We have important business to attend to, so we're leaving you behind." The two of them abandoned Bai Linyu and ran away.

Looking at Xia Chen and Hu Rongrong, both had completed their surgeries; their wounds had been cleaned, bone fragments removed, and the anesthesia hadn't worn off, leaving them both unconscious. Luo Shimin sat by Xia Chen's bedside, touching his forehead with her hand, a pang of indescribable pain in her heart. She kissed Xia Chen's forehead, picked up the Ya Jiu dagger from beside his pillow, and went out. She glanced at Hu Rongrong, who was also unconscious, and quietly slipped out of Luo Xie's house.

Patient No. 012

Luo Shimin tiptoed to the door, about to open it, when Luo Xie's voice came from behind, "Where are you going? My dear sister?" Luo Shimin, like a child caught doing something wrong, turned around and saw Luo Xie holding the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, expressionlessly wiping his treasured sword. Luo Shimin asked pitifully, "Brother, weren't you sleeping? Why are you up again?"

Luo Xie brandished the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, its blade slicing through the air with a soft buzzing sound, a few strands of silver hair fluttering in the air. "Your footsteps sound like an elephant, pounding the floor. Do you think I can sleep? I know what you're thinking. I'm your brother. I watched you grow up."

Luo Shimin drew circles on the ground with her toes. "My boyfriend and my best friend were both injured. I'm very sad. I want to go out for a walk, just a stroll. I want to be alone for a while. It will be fine."

"Do you need to carry a dagger for a walk? No need to hide it, I saw Ya Jiu's dagger. I'm also very sad that Hu Rongrong and Xia Chen are injured, but we don't know who our opponents are yet. If you act rashly, it will be dangerous, so we have to stop you. You should stay at home obediently. When they wake up tomorrow, everything will be fine."

“I won’t.” Luo Shimin’s stubbornness kicked in. “You’re my brother, you should know me better. No one can stop me from doing what I want to do. Not even you or Father. I just suspect that old man Wang in the registrar’s office has something going on, and I’m going to investigate him. As your sister, you should support me. Before they wake up, I want to prove to them that my judgment was correct and that I didn’t misjudge him.”

“Alright, I support you.” Luo Xie sheathed the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow and picked up his coat. “I’ll go with you.”

Luo Shimin refused, "The bone worm's main target is Xia Chen. You should stay and protect him. I will be very careful. I will be fine."

Luo Xie hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. When she got stubborn, she was like a bull, or even a rhinoceros. No one could stop her from doing what she wanted. Her father, Luo Sannu, had once tried to stop her by tying her up and locking her in a room, but she still managed to break free and run away. "Be careful. If you sense anything is wrong, call me immediately, and I'll be right there for you."

"Then I'm off! Thanks, brother." Before Luo Xie could change his mind, Luo Shimin playfully stuck out her tongue and ran out of Luo Xie's house. Watching Luo Shimin gradually disappear into the distance, Luo Xie snapped his fingers, and two capable-looking young men emerged from a corner of the room. "Follow my sister, don't let her see you, and report to me immediately if anything happens. If anyone tries to harm my sister, you can kill them on the spot, and I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

"Yes! We will definitely protect Miss." The heavy rain had not yet stopped when the two young men chased after her, closely following behind Luo Shimin. Luo Shimin was completely unaware of this, feeling a little excited. If she could solve the case of the boneless corpse before Xia Chen and Hu Rongrong woke up, they would definitely look at her with new respect.

At the main gate of Yishi Academy, the sky was overcast and a storm was raging.

Luo Shimin stood blankly at the door, bewildered, unsure where to begin her investigation. A deafening roar followed, then thunder rumbled in the sky. Dense raindrops, like beans, poured down, rustling against the leaves and grass. Luo Shimin shifted her feet; the rustling sound resembled footsteps, as if someone was following her with every step. She was still racking her brains for a starting point when her body, as if possessed, involuntarily took a step forward, without her noticing. Not far away, a person wearing a raincoat hid in the grass, intently watching Luo Shimin. The large cloak of the raincoat obscured her face, making it a dark blur, but her eyes gleamed with a chilling light, exceptionally terrifying. She was petite, appearing to be a woman; why she was there was a mystery. Two henchmen sent by Luo Xie followed her into the school gate. One of them seemed to notice the woman in the raincoat and looked in their direction. Just then, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. Distracted for a moment, I looked back at the grass, only to find it empty.

"How did I get here!" Luo Shimin regained her senses and was startled by her surroundings. She was standing at the door of the burned-out archives. A powerful fear, like a long, venomous snake, instantly coiled around her. A soft, trembling sob reached her ears on the wind. Luo Shimin was startled, suddenly feeling a chill run through her body. Her hair stood on end along with the sob. The sob sounded like that of a wronged woman, beaten by her husband, filled with bitterness but afraid to cry out loud, only able to hide in a corner and secretly wipe away her tears. Luo Shimin held her breath and listened intently. The sob disappeared. Something seemed to be slowly approaching her from behind… Silently, without any footsteps. Luo Shimin mustered her courage and slowly turned her head. Ah, nothing. She breathed a sigh of relief, scolding herself for being too paranoid. Since meeting Xia Chen, she had seen many strange, inexplicable, bizarre, and eerie things. Her courage hadn't grown; instead, it had become smaller.

As Luo Shimin turned to leave, another suppressed sob echoed from the archives. A chill ran down her spine, even her hair stood on end. She opened her mouth, but dared not utter a sound. She suddenly remembered a woman who had hanged herself in the archives. Could it be a female ghost seeking a replacement? Luo Shimin peered into the archives; it was pitch black inside. It was that darkness that gave her the feeling of being watched. It was as if something terrifying was breathing and staring at her from within. Startled, Luo Shimin took three steps back, turned to run, but stopped after a few steps.

The henchman, lurking in the shadows, asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with Miss? She seems strange. Is there something scary in that burned-down house? Should we report it to the boss?"

“We haven’t figured out what happened to Miss yet. If we report to the boss rashly, and he comes and nothing happens, and Miss knows we’re following her, we’ll be in big trouble. Remember Ah Bin, the boss’s former confidant? He was banished to the mountains by the boss just for upsetting Miss. I heard that collecting protection money takes him more than half an hour to drive from one house to the other, and he has to go to the grocery store at the foot of the mountain to buy a pack of cigarettes. He grows some vegetables to supplement his income. He only has two henchmen, one is an old man in his sixties, and the other is still young. I don’t want to be the second Ah Bin.” The two henchmen shuddered at the same time, looked at each other in silence, and continued to keep watch from the shadows.

“I can’t just leave like this. I’m here to investigate a case, how can I desert my post? If it were Xia Chen, he would definitely rush in to find out what’s going on. He can do it, and so can I. I won’t lose to him.” Luo Shimin stopped in her tracks and realized that her palms were covered in cold sweat. Wiping away the sweat, she drew her Ya Jiu dagger and walked step by step toward the burned-out archives. Before she even reached the door, she heard crying again. Upon closer listening, she immediately realized something was wrong. It wasn’t a woman’s crying; the voice was rough and deep—it was a man! Perhaps he was the murderer! Luo Shimin smiled.

As Luo Shimin stepped through the door, footsteps echoed from the burned-out archives, their steps heavy and drawn out. They were coming out! Luo Shimin frantically searched for hiding places, but there wasn't a single suitable spot nearby. Hearing the footsteps approaching the doorway, Luo Shimin hid behind a nearby small tree, leaving most of her body exposed. She prayed on the ground, "Jesus, Buddha, Guanyin, Allah, God, and the Jade Emperor, please protect me from seeing me, from seeing me." Two henchmen hidden some distance away drew their guns and cocked them. Luo Shimin's hiding place was too eerie; anyone who wasn't blind could see her.

A dark figure appeared at the entrance to the archives! Luo Shimin's heart leaped into her throat. Two henchmen locked their guns on him. The figure paused for two or three seconds at the doorway, and Luo Shimin didn't dare breathe. The figure moved, heading in the opposite direction from Luo Shimin. The two henchmen breathed a sigh of relief, engaged the safety on their guns, and holstered them. One of them noticed something at his feet. "What kind of bug is this? It looks strange." Before the other henchman could speak, the bug bit both of them with lightning speed, arched its body, and vanished in a flash. A strong, numbing sensation, like an electric shock, instantly spread through their bodies. The two henchmen tried to warn Luo Shimin of the danger, but before they could utter a sound, they collapsed to the ground.

Luo Shimin's hands trembled slightly, not from fear, but from excitement. Looking at the dark figure's back, he immediately recognized the person emerging from the burned-out archives—it was none other than the Dean of Academic Affairs, Old Man Wang. Coming alone to this eerie place, and making a woman's sobbing sound, there was definitely something wrong. "Catch him red-handed, let's see what Hu Rongrong has to say then." With this thought, Luo Shimin couldn't help but laugh out loud. Fortunately, Dean Wang was already far away, and the sound of the wind and rain drowned out her laughter.

Seeing that Director Wang had already walked away, Luo Shimin quickly followed. Unexpectedly, Director Wang went straight back to his office, picked up a stack of documents, and began reading. Half an hour passed, and Director Wang was still sitting at his desk, intently studying his files. Luo Shimin, hiding outside the door, couldn't take it anymore and cursed inwardly.

"Old man, what are you up to? Why are you looking at documents?" She had no patience to wait any longer. Suddenly, she remembered Director Wang's house. He lived alone; there must be something he wasn't hiding there. Maybe she'd find something there. Luo Shimin completely ignored the fact that outside the office building, the rain, like bursting beans and copper coins, continued to pour down relentlessly. Flashes of lightning, accompanied by terrifying thunder, occasionally streaked across the dark, chaotic sky, whipping up layers of raindrops and whipping everything on the ground with the howling wind. Luo Shimin headed towards Director Wang's house. Shortly after she left, Director Wang looked up, a sinister smile playing on his lips.