Chapter Twenty-Two: Ship Tickets, Subpoenas

Wu Siling, female, 25 years old, from the Imperial Capital, with ancestral roots in Hunan. She serves as an investigator for the Bureau of Paranormal Affairs, though she typically works as a waitress at the "Long Time No See" bar...

Reading this, a brilliant plan occurred to me. "An'an, look..." I started to explain, but An Mingshan was busy eating and showed no intention of paying attention.

I asked, "Is it good?"

An Mingshan looked up at me and replied, "It's good."

"Good your head!" I said. "Listen, call Lu Donghua later and have him talk to the Director. See if we can get Yiyi into the 'Long Time No See' bar..."

An Mingshan countered, "You want to... no, no way. If her father finds out, he'll tear that bar down and turn it into a public restroom!"

"He wouldn't dare!" I said. "Do you know? The 'Long Time No See' bar is just a bar in name; in reality, it is..." Just then, I saw three men enter. They were all wearing suits and dark sunglasses, looking like characters straight out of *The Matrix*. One of them had the handle of a pistol visible at his waist!

I whispered, "We'll talk later. An'an, it looks like trouble has arrived. Let's pull out!" I paid the bill and had someone wipe the table clean, leaving no trace behind. Once outside, I wandered the area with An Mingshan. We ducked into a convenience store, but the three men followed us in. I heard one of them say, "Report to the 'High Priest': the two targets were lost. It is my incompetence... The fat man? Yes, I will definitely make amends. I will not fail the 'High Priest's' trust."

I tugged at An Mingshan, and we left the store to roam the village. I asked everyone I met about the two men and managed to get their home address; I decided to pay a visit.

By the time we took a taxi to their home, it was five in the evening. It was a small farmhouse, and we met their parents. When the elderly couple learned what had happened to their sons, they nearly fainted from grief. I gathered that the two men were just migrant workers who had never made any enemies.

"An'an," I said, "it seems those two were just unlucky—they were in the wrong place at the wrong time." I turned to the elderly couple and said, "Please accept my condolences," before taking my leave.

At seven in the evening, back at the hotel in the room I shared with Liu Shan:

"Did anyone find any leads today?" I asked.

Liu Shan replied, "Lingling and I investigated and found that those two were just ordinary farmers with no grudges against anyone."

"You two are getting awfully close," I remarked. "Any other leads?"

Wu Siling said, "We discovered..." At that moment, Liu Shan coughed several times.

"Discovered what?" I asked.

Liu Shan replied, "You tell us what you found first."

An Mingshan said, "You..."

"The same as you, alright?" I interrupted.

Liu Shan asked, "Nothing else?"

"Only that you need to be careful these next few days; someone is tracking you."

"Who?" Liu Shan asked.

I suddenly remembered the Director's instruction not to mention anything about the Divine Image Sect to Liu Shan, so I said, "It's not clear yet."

Liu Shan said, "I know who it is."

I wondered to myself if he had already found out about the sect. Just as I was searching for an excuse to convince him it wasn't them, Liu Shan added, "It must be those girls who are chasing after me! My appeal is truly great. If they want to chase me, fine, but why resort to stalking? Honestly, I wouldn't refuse if they just asked for an autograph..."

We all fainted upon hearing this.

"Alright, back to business," I said. "What did you actually find?"

Wu Siling replied, "We discovered that this incident was indeed the work of a zombie."

"I knew that already," I said.

Wu Siling continued, "There's more you don't know. Did you know they escaped?"

"They?" I asked.

"I had someone look into it," Wu Siling said. "That zombie is linked to the bombing case from three years ago."

An Mingshan said, "That was the time when..."

I coughed loudly and said, "It’s nothing, nothing at all."

Liu Shan asked, "What time?"

"Never mind," I said. "By the way, Miss Wu, did you find out where they went?"

"I did," she replied. "That group has fled to Linfen." I was shocked to hear "Linfen."

Because Song Linlin had such a rash temperament and always acted on subjective assumptions, she had been transferred to the Yaodu Public Security Department in Linfen, which was her ancestral home.

Her superior had explained it as: she was too impulsive, just like she had been with me. Such a personality wasn't suited for investigative work, so sending her back to her roots as a grassroots police officer would allow her to experience life at the local level, hone her character, and visit her family. But I knew better—her superior must have known my identity and was afraid of offending me, so they sent her away. It went without saying that Song Linlin must hate my guts by now.

"Don't tell me they fled to Yaodu," I said.

Wu Siling replied, "It is exactly Yaodu. How did you know?"

I thought to myself, "It's over. I'm dead."

Just then, someone's phone rang.

"I have to take this," Wu Siling said, and she stepped away.

"An'an," I whispered, "it looks like we're going on a trip to Yaodu."

"How do you know we have to go to Yaodu?" An Mingshan asked.

At that moment, Wu Siling returned and said, "Pack your things. We are heading back tonight. Hurry!"

"What's wrong?" An Mingshan asked.

"The Director has ordered us back tonight," Wu Siling said. "We leave for Yaodu in a week."

"Did we get a lead?" I asked.

Wu Siling replied, "The Director said this mission is special and could be life-threatening. He won't force anyone who doesn't want to go."

For some reason, the three of us stood up as if we had pre-arranged it and said, "Yes! We guarantee the mission will be accomplished!" We gave a salute.

After An Mingshan and Wu Siling left, I hurriedly packed my things, as did Liu Shan. Once finished, we departed.

Reader Q&A:
Q: Mr. Author, can you drink alcohol?
A: No, I don't drink, and I cannot drink. Not just alcohol, but any beverage containing alcohol. Furthermore, besides not drinking, I don't smoke, dance, play major video games, or play cards. This has given me a very disciplined lifestyle.