Officer Li stood up, the muscles on my face twitching, the knife scar from the gunshot looking even more alarming. Two officers stepped forward and restrained me. Heavy knocking sounds came from outside, and as the interrogation room door opened, a junior officer shouted, “The female drug dealer has caught Old Bird!” Officer Li glanced over.
Pressed against the table, I shouted, “If I don’t go out, all of you will die—every single one of you. My cousin will slaughter you all. Take me out to see her.” Sweat beaded on Officer Li’s forehead, and he nodded in agreement.
The NB office was already in chaos. Xie Xiaoyu had knocked over several desks, and the floor was littered with scattered documents. Not far away, someone had already drawn their gun.
She had grabbed an older officer, one who was set to retire next month. Xie Xiaoyu was muttering something incomprehensible. I was brought out and saw the expression on her face. I called out, “Xiaoyu, it’s okay. They’re not bad people. They catch criminals. They won’t wrongfully accuse anyone.”
Xiaoyu slowly calmed down, though her grip on Old Bird didn’t loosen. I added, “They handcuffed me for my own protection.” Xiaoyu shook her head in disbelief, murmuring under her breath. Old Bird’s eyes were already rolling back—if Xiaoyu wanted to kill him, it would take just a second. But if she really did it, I’d never be able to clear my name, even if I jumped into the Pacific Ocean.
I shouted at Officer Li, “Take these cuffs off me already!” Officer Li hesitated but finally unlocked them. I walked over and pried Xiaoyu’s hand away. Old Bird, having narrowly escaped death, scrambled back to safety.
Xiaoyu, whose aura had been terrifying just moments ago, instantly became gentle and sweet. Officer Li signaled for everyone to lower their weapons.
I brought Xiaoyu back with me and resumed questioning with Officer Li. The drug trafficking and murder charges might be dropped, but the shooting at Ocean Park was undeniable. Breaking Hong Kong law meant I could lose my freedom. Regardless of who ended up with the golden urn, I had already been successfully pushed out of the game.
I asked Officer Li to stay behind—something about his face told me he was a man of integrity, not some undercover mole planted by a syndicate.
“I’m innocent,” I said. “I fired at Ocean Park to save lives. Second, your rank isn’t high enough. Get someone like your superintendent to talk to me—someone trustworthy. Lastly, I can help you solve the recent string of murders.”
Officer Li frowned. “What do you mean?”
I lowered my voice. “I only trust you. I’m an undercover agent for the mainland police. I can’t die yet. I can’t lose my freedom. I know telling you this means the word might get out, but you’re the only one I can tell.”
Officer Li hesitated, then finally agreed. Still, he worried about moles within NB and went through great lengths before arranging a meeting with Superintendent Huang.
I told him I’d only speak to him alone. I instructed him to contact Geng Dengfeng from Yunnan Border Defense and Captain Xing from the Jiangcheng City Criminal Investigation Unit. Superintendent Huang gestured for Officer Li to leave. After the door closed, he glanced at Xie Xiaoyu beside me and chuckled. “I hear she’s quite the fighter.”
I smiled bitterly. “She’s not even human. That’s why she’s so strong.”
Superintendent Huang grinned. “Then tell me, how exactly can you help us crack these cases?”
I replied, “The victims had their arteries slashed. Someone’s killing people to feed their zombies—”
“Wait… zombies?” Superintendent Huang had seen movies, but hearing the word still struck him as bizarre.
“Zombies don’t slit wrists,” I said, “but the person controlling them is guilty. Let me tell you this—there are already seven unstoppable killer zombies in Hong Kong.”
Superintendent Huang’s expression darkened. He nodded. “Go on.”
“Hospitals will keep losing blood plasma. I know who’s suspicious. That’s the first case. The murdered female officer—I suspect the killer is Yu Qian, a subordinate of the big drug lord Dai Hao you’ve been after. Everything that’s happened in Hong Kong this time was Yu Qian’s doing. But you won’t find evidence tying Dai Hao to it—it’ll all point back to Yu Qian.”
Superintendent Huang lit a cigarette and motioned for me to continue.
“I might be able to help you catch him.”
Superintendent Huang’s computer had already received my profile from mainland authorities—after graduating college in 2006, I’d dabbled in small businesses, with records of traveling to Thailand for a month.
I told Superintendent Huang about a major case in Jiangcheng City earlier this year.
He smirked. “You seem a bit green to be an undercover agent.”
I shrugged. “There are countless undercover agents in the world. None of them fit a single mold.”
—
The rain poured relentlessly.
Xie Xiaoyu and I left the police headquarters late at night, silently swallowed by the darkness. Officer Li gave me an umbrella. All my belongings—the jade ruler, the compass, the copper snail jar—were intact. But He Xiaomao and Xiao Jian were nowhere to be found.
I had trackers on them. By 1 AM, I was drenched, my clothes soaked through. Near the harbor, I finally picked up signals from He Xiaomao and Xiao Jian—but they were coming from a residential building. The entrance was locked, so I couldn’t get in. Maybe they’d taken shelter upstairs because of the rain. I called out softly, but there was nowhere to hide from the downpour. Xie Xiaoyu clutched my hand tightly.
Just as I was about to leave, the metal gate creaked open. A drowsy female patrol officer in casual clothes peered at me, a cat and a dog at her feet—Xiaomao and Xiao Jian. Clever He Xiaomao had gone to find the kind-hearted Vivi.
“Are you okay?” Vivi asked.
I nodded. “I’m fine.” Earlier, while patrolling near the Regent Hotel, Vivi had spotted Xiaomao and Xiao Jian fleeing. Xiaomao recognized her and followed. Knowing I’d been arrested and the pets had no one to care for them, Vivi—being compassionate—took them in.
She led us up to her ninth-floor apartment. Living alone in a spacious flat, she’d already set up a temporary bed for Xiao Jian and Xiaomao. She helped Xie Xiaoyu change into fresh clothes while I took a shower. Vivi dug out one of her late father’s shirts for me and cooked two bowls of noodles.
I told her Xiaoyu wouldn’t eat, so I devoured both bowls myself. I thanked Officer Vivi profusely. She waved it off, saying she liked the cat anyway.
“This cat’s special,” I said. “A good one.”
Vivi had an early shift, so she went to rest. I dozed off on the sofa, Xiao Jian curled up beside me.
That night, I dreamed. Xiao Jian ascended to immortality. Xiaomao left me, returning to a tomb to become a stone statue. And Xiaoyu… vanished without a trace.
By morning, my body ached, weak with fever—I’d caught a cold. Xie Xiaoyu helped me leave Vivi’s place. Vivi, on her way to work, took me to a pharmacy for medicine. After a day and night of rain, the air was thick with humidity. Fire trucks wailed in the distance—some building must have caught fire. Back at the Regent Hotel, I rested awhile.
The snail crawled out of its bamboo tube and onto me. A warm sensation spread through my body, the bone-deep ache fading, my energy returning.
It was the 29th. The Sotheby’s auction was fast approaching. That afternoon, Zhao Banshan called, saying he’d sold my two paintings. The price could’ve been higher, but since I needed cash fast, he’d had to settle for a discount.
We met at a café in Admiralty. He handed me a Bank of China check for four million RMB—exchangeable even back on the mainland. I thanked him repeatedly. “This is all I can do,” Zhao Banshan said.
A fire had broken out in one of the shops at the Sotheby’s building, though it was quickly extinguished. Yanzi Li San sat in the café, disguised as a successful businessman, watching the fire trucks idly.
After parting ways with Zhao Banshan, the humid air made the sunlight feel scorching. Worried Xie Xiaoyu couldn’t handle the sun, we stayed in the hotel.
All that was left was to wait for April 1st—April Fools’ Day.
—
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