CH 41

After being suspected of assaulting a police officer, I was held until the afternoon before being released. Instead of heading back to Ting Tang Road, I decided to make a detour to the store to purchase a fruit basket, and then quickly made my way to Uncle Huang’s house.

I was eager to examine the belongings of the old man. He was unlike Huang Guanxing, the privileged second-generation with shallow intellect who relied on his lower body part to think The old man was a former “police academy student,” equipped with basic criminal investigation knowledge and adept at uncovering the truth.

“I hope I’m not too late.”

I lightly knocked on the door, and an old lady in her sixties opened the door.

“I’m a police officer from the city branch. We were all saddened to hear about the incident with the old man, so I was sent as a representative to come and take a look.”

The room was filled with grief. The old lady asked me to sit on the sofa and went to make me a cup of tea.

“Please accept my condolences,” I said without touching the tea cup on the table. Instead, I walked around the room and asked, “May I see Uncle Huang’s room, where he used to live?”

“Of course,” she replied.

In his room, the old man had set up a small two-square-meter partition where he kept various detective novels and police academy study materials. It was clear that he had a genuine interest in solving cases.

I didn’t touch anything haphazardly. I scanned through all the books and picked out the few that the old man had recently flipped through based on their placement and creased pages.

“There is nothing hidden in the books,” 

I opened the drawer and tore off a few pages from a notebook. Inside, I found a pair of reading glasses, a fountain pen with ink, and everything was neatly arranged, making it easy to see what was there.

Sitting in the chair where the old man used to sit, I asked myself, “If I were him, where would I record a secret that I found interesting?”

“Are you looking for something?” Suddenly, Uncle Huang’s wife appeared at the door. I stiffened for a moment but quickly regained my composure and asked, “No, Is there anything unusual that the old man did recently?”

“Nothing of interest, except that he kept talking about live-streamed murders. Every night, he would lock himself in the room and stare at the computer as if waiting for a program to start. Also…” the old lady hesitated, looking at me for a while before continuing, “He seemed to have sensed that something was going to happen to him. So this morning, before he left for work, he left a letter and instructed that if anything happened to him, the letter should be handed over to the police.”

“Letter？” I tried to remain calm. “What kind of letter is it that has to be handed to us? Is it the old man’s reasoning about the case?”

“He didn’t let me see it. Since you’re here, I’ll just give it to you directly,” the old lady said as she took out a brown envelope sealed with glue from her waist pocket.

“Okay, I’ll bring it back to the office and let the team leader take a look at it.” My heart was pounding as I took the envelope without changing my expression. “Thank you for your time. Please take care of yourself.”

Leaving Uncle Huang’s house with the envelope, I couldn’t wait any longer and opened it right away.

“Live-streaming murder. The first broadcast was at the Peace of Mind Inn and involved five deaths. The second broadcast was at the New Shanghai High School, and the estimated death toll was over ten people.”

“This is not a simple puzzle-solving program. All the bodies inside are real, and the scenes are extremely frightening and thrilling. Moreover, the perpetrator is always able to arrive at the crime scene to film before the police can find them. It is very likely that they are the killer.”

“The same person hosted both broadcasts, and this person has been in and out of the police station many times. They have a close relationship with the team leader of the Criminal Investigation department, and their identity is mysterious. They act decisively, think quickly, and possess extremely 

high investigative and anti-investigation awareness.”

After reading the entire letter, my face turned as dark as ink.

Fortunately, I arrived early. If I had handed the letter to Tie Ningxiang, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

I took out a lighter and burned the letter and envelope to ashes before leaving.

When I returned to Ting Tang Road, I absentmindedly accompanied Xiao Feng to buy her clothes before locking myself in my room.

“Could the Underworld Show be a means of collecting souls for the underworld? Or is their death just a coincidence? Or maybe only those who are about to die can see the live broadcast of the Underworld Show?”

The cause-and-effect relationship was uncertain, but the fact that someone dies every time I make livestream was indisputable. 

“What should I do?” I couldn’t figure it out, so I decided not to think about it and went downstairs to stop Xiao Feng, who was preparing to cook. “Come on, let’s go out for a drink.” 

“Is this a formal date?” Xiao Feng, who changed into a bodycon skirt, a slim-fit T-shirt and took off her long skirt, became even more attractive with her two long, white legs shimmering. Looking at those legs, I instantly forgot about a lot of my troubles. 

“Girl, what are you thinking all day long? If you don’t want to come, I’ll take Bai Qi instead.” Bai Qi, who was lying on the ground, perked up his ears, and his eyes darted around as if he had smelled meat, running over and biting onto the hem of my pants without letting go. 

“Can’t I go?” Xiao Feng pouted and gave Bai Qi a reluctant look. “This dog sticks to you all day long but snarls at me. I feed him well every day, yet both of you bully me.” 

With a shake of my head and a smile, I left the house with Xiao Feng and Bai Qi. We made our way to the night market in Jiangbei, where we sat by the tranquil flowing river and I drank several bottles of beer to dispel the darkness in my heart.

“In two days, it’ll be time for the underworld show to release its tasks again. Life is already difficult, why do we have to make ourselves even more uncomfortable?” I said, a bit tipsy, as I looked at Xiao Feng, whose face was slightly red from the alcohol. 

The city wind blew her hair into a messy tangle, and amidst the fluttering strands, I could see the deep pain and loneliness hidden in her face.

Compared to her, I was much happier; at least I had enjoyed life recklessly and without restraint. I placed my hand on her slightly thin shoulder, and she jumped in surprise like a startled rabbit, but when she realized it was me, she didn’t resist. Her eyes were filled with confusion and tenderness as she leaned her head against my chest.

Two lonely people watched the river in the black night; on one side, there was revelry and noise, and on the other, it was as quiet as the ends of the earth.

“I and my sister are unlucky women, from a young age, our foster parents would curse us as worthless. The old folks in the neighborhood could recite our foster parents’ license plate numbers, but couldn’t even remember my sister’s and my name. We were called labels like cheap goods, bad luck, and monsters. Everyone would point and gossip about us. At first, I didn’t understand why. It wasn’t until my sister was killed by Lu Xing that I realized I was nothing more than livestock in our foster parents’ eyes, like a pig raised to be slaughtered.” 

This was the first time Xiao Feng had voluntarily shared her childhood experiences with me. It was colorless and filled with deep gray hopelessness. “The day I met you, my back had already been stabbed with seven iron needles. In fact, that night, I was planning to sacrifice myself after paying tribute to my sister. But then you appeared. Your eyes were rational and clear, as if you had already seen everything. In reality, it was you who saved me.” 

“From the moment I left the police station until now, this period of time has been the happiest in my life. I know you may not marry me, but can you let me stay by your side in the future? I don’t need any formal status.”

Xiao Feng spoke earnestly, like the nearby river silently enduring a lot without expecting any reward. “Who said I wouldn’t marry you?” I tilted my head back to finish the bottle of beer, feeling a bit drunk at the moment. I was about to say the next thing when a spiky-haired thug approached us, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

“Hey, buddy, can I have a lighter?” He leered at Xiao Feng. “Your friend sure is bold with her clothing. How about we have a drink together?”

He was obviously trying to take advantage of Xiao Feng while I was drunk. “Don’t make me say it twice, get lost!” 

“Wow, you’ve got a mouth on you, kid. Looks like I need to teach you how to talk to people!” The thug held a bottle opener in his hand and swung it towards my face.

I kicked the table away and leaned back to dodge his punch, grabbing the empty bottle and smashing it onto his head without hesitation. Blood gushed out immediately.

“Next time before getting into a fight, go get a haircut. You look like a porcupine. How will the doctor stitch you up?” I was already annoyed, and he had walked right toward me.

“What’s going on?”

“Xiaowei! Damn it, how dare you touch my brother?”

“Bring that girl over here to apologize to Xiaowei!” Suddenly, four or five guys from the neighboring table stood up, with bare arms and bulging muscles on their faces.

“Let’s go, Gao Jian,” Xiao Feng tugged on my clothes from behind, her tone urgent and worried.

“You said you wanted to follow me, so you’re mine now! How can I just stand by and watch you get bullied by others?” I smashed the bottle on the bridge pier, revealing the sharp glass shards. “Come on! Five against one, I won’t back down today or my surname is not Gao!”

“Damn it! Let’s kill him!” The burliest of the five men across from us picked up a stool and charged towards me, standing almost two meters tall with a protruding belly, shouting with great momentum.

I squinted, having drunk quite a bit of alcohol just now, feeling a little dizzy, but that didn’t affect the final outcome.

“Your voice is loud, is that move of yours called a wild boar charge?” I lifted the tabletop with both hands and, while his vision was blocked, bent my knee and kicked him in the most vulnerable part of his body.

As he writhed on the ground clutching his crotch and howling in pain, I grabbed his hair and pushed him down to the ground. “There are still four of you left. Are you going to come at me all at once?” I scanned everyone with my eyes and stopped at a man with a scorpion tattoo on his chest. “I think I’ve seen this face on the surveillance camera before.”

The alcohol hadn’t worn off yet, and it took me a while to remember. “Isn’t this the asshole who smashed my store and flicked off the camera? Very well, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Let’s settle the score today!”

The man with the scorpion tattoo seemed to be their leader. “Me and A Ming will stop him. You two figure out how to bring that girl over. She looks innocent and clueless.”

“You guys have no shame.” I pressed the broken bottle against the neck of the fat pig under my foot. 

“Looks like there will be bloodshed today.”

“Kid, don’t be too arrogant. There are four of us and only one of you.” 

“No, you’re wrong. I still have a dog!” Several thugs looked at Bai Qi, lazily lying by the river, with disdainful eyes. “Are you joking? This scruffy mongrel?” 

I was furious and laughed back, “Bai Qi, did you hear that? These guys say you’re a scruffy mongrel.” 

I had never seen Bai Qi get angry before. It always showed a don’t-care attitude, as if it were just an ordinary dog waiting for life to end. 

But today, lying by the river, Bai Qi showed a different side. 

Its teeth were bared, emitting the unique scent of a predator, completely different from that of a domestic dog. That feeling of making one’s teeth chatter and body shiver was called–killing intent!