Chapter 29: Things Have Gotten Out of Hand

Early the next morning.

I checked the calendar; it was February 12th. I turned on the television, and the morning news gave me a jolt: local citizens had discovered two bodies on the outskirts of the city—a man and a woman. Even more bizarrely, their bodily fluids had been completely drained.

While watching the screen, I shouted, "An'an, An'an! Come here quickly! Something terrible has happened!"

An Mingshan sauntered slowly downstairs and said, "I know. The terrible thing is that you’ve interrupted my beauty sleep. Don’t you know that if a woman doesn’t sleep well, she’ll get wrinkles?"

I replied, "Forget about sleep, take a look at the news!"

An Mingshan glanced at the television, her sleepiness vanishing instantly. "Something is wrong," she said.

I said, "Do you think I’d call you for nothing? You stay here and watch the shop today. Don't go running off anywhere!"

An Mingshan asked, "Are you going to take a look?"

"Of course," I replied. "You have to realize, draining a person’s fluids completely is not something that happens in an instant, especially when there wasn't a single tool found at the scene."

An Mingshan said, "Oh, I see. You suspect it’s..."

"Keep it to yourself, don't go spreading it around!" I cut in. "It looks like we’re going to be busy these next few days. By the way, do me a favor? Could you lend me some..."

An Mingshan replied, "Anything else is fine, but don't ask to borrow money!"

"It’s not money, it’s... how should I put it? It’s..." I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "It’s some menstrual blood..." An Mingshan’s face turned bright red to the tips of her ears.

"Well... alright then," she said bashfully. "Go, and come back quickly."

I said, "Going quickly is a must, but coming back quickly isn't guaranteed. If I don't make it back this time, take care of yourself."

An Mingshan suddenly looked angry. "What kind of talk is that! You're so capable, you’ll definitely be fine!"

I said, "Calm down. Actually, I just calculated that this is a nine-to-one chance of death. It seems that group is finally making their move."

An Mingshan asked, "What can I do?"

"Hold the fort!" I replied.

"Do you look down on me?" she asked.

"I don't look down on you, but the opponent is far too dangerous. Besides, our location is the first line of defense for the Paranormal Bureau headquarters; we cannot let it fall..."

Just then, Liu Shan arrived and said, "You two still have the heart to flirt? A major incident has occurred!"

I asked, "What happened?"

Liu Shan said, "People are dead, two of them! Don't you feel even a shred of fear?"

I replied, "I didn't kill them, so why should I be afraid? Stay calm. I'll go with you to take a look, won't I?"

An Mingshan chimed in, "I'm going too, I'm going too."

I said, "Didn't you promise not to go? What, having second thoughts?"

An Mingshan replied, "I mean, I'll go take a look; maybe I’ll find some clues."

Liu Shan scoffed, "Find clues? You? You’d better stay here and watch this pathetic little shop!" He put such heavy emphasis on the word "pathetic" that he actually spat.

I snapped, "Who the hell are you talking about? Who has a pathetic little shop, huh? An'an, I support you—let's go together!"

With that, Liu Shan and I put on our Paranormal Bureau uniforms and drove to the crime scene. On the way, An Mingshan and I snacked on the food in Liu Shan's car.

I said, "An'an, eat more."

An Mingshan glanced at Liu Shan and said, "Is this... really okay?"

I replied, "It's fine. You don't have to pay for it, so why not eat?"

It was past eight in the morning at the outskirts of the city, the crime scene.

By the time we arrived, the bodies had already been removed. We were left wandering around like headless flies looking for clues. As I paced the area, I suddenly felt something unusual under my feet. I crouched down, parted the grass, and found a piece of a fingernail; it was hard to notice if you didn't look closely. The fragment was long and sharp, stained with blood. I called the others over, but just as I was about to ask something, Liu Shan said, "Zombie."

An Mingshan asked, "Do zombies really exist in this world? I thought they were just movie fabrications."

Liu Shan said, "Give that to me. It looks like we're in trouble."

An Mingshan said, "What trouble? Aren't you a Taoist priest? Zombies and such are child's play for you. Kill one if one comes; kill a pair if two come; if three come, you've got a bonus."

I said, "Do you think killing zombies is easy? Fine, you kill one for me right now and show me."

An Mingshan replied, "I was just saying that. Don't take it seriously."

Liu Shan said, "Stop messing around, both of you. Back to the bureau!"

In the end, having spent the whole morning searching with no leads, we had to return to the Paranormal Bureau to report. I knew that because I hadn't reported the threatening phone calls and letters in time, two people had died. This had blown up into a serious matter, so I warned An Mingshan repeatedly in the car not to say anything about the threatening letters.

Reader Q&A:
Q: Mr. Author, if you could have one superpower, what would you choose?
A: I would want the superpower to foresee the future. If I could foresee the future, I could know when danger is coming and devise a way to prevent it. That is why I want to see into the future.