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墨書 Inktalez
Indeed, I was going to sneak in. There must be some personal belongings of Li Ping here. Since this is a lounge, it’s likely there would be hair or something similar, which is much easier than trying to get a sample directly from him.
I pretended to be anxiously waiting for my turn and turned to walk down the corridor. As I strolled past the two plainclothes officers, I slowed my pace and whispered, "You two keep him occupied; I’ll go get a sample from his duty room."
The two of them were momentarily taken aback but quickly understood. They exchanged glances and stood up, while I continued to wander toward the end of the corridor. When I turned back to stroll again, the two of them pretended not to know me and followed me toward the Cleaner.
Just as I passed by Li Ping, I heard a loud spit behind me. The man in front had spat right in front of Li Ping. I couldn’t help but glance back and saw Li Ping frowning at the ground.
"Hey, you seem a bit dissatisfied? Aren't you supposed to be cleaning? You might as well sweep it up," the man in front said nonchalantly.
"Don’t spit on the floor in the hospital," Li Ping replied quietly.
"Who told you there are no trash cans around here?" the burly man retorted.
"Hey, hey, can we talk nicely?" The person behind hurried over, appearing to mediate but intentionally blocking Li Ping's line of sight.
I quickly picked up my pace. The burly man's voice grew louder, drawing the attention of several people nearby. I maneuvered around a few individuals and hastened to the lounge door. I remembered seeing Li Ping exit from here earlier; hopefully, it wasn’t locked.
I glanced back; they were still entangled in their argument with a few onlookers gathering around. This was even better; it completely blocked Li Ping's view.
Standing at the door, I turned the doorknob forcefully. With a click, the door opened!
I felt a rush of excitement as I pushed the door open, looked around—thankfully, this was at the end of the corridor, with only the restroom and tool room across from me and no one around. I slipped into the room and closed the door behind me.
Phew! I let out a long breath; I really didn’t expect it to be this easy.
It was my first time doing something like this, and I couldn't shake the feeling of being a thief. I steadied my nerves and began to survey the room.
It was a small room, with a military cot directly opposite the door. I found it odd; not many people used such beds anymore. The white sheets were neatly laid out, with a green blanket on top. Next to the bed was a window, and beyond that, a pile of tools. There were no other decorations, making the space feel extremely simple.
I took a few steps closer to the bed, intending to look for any hair left behind by Li Ping, but I found the white sheets completely clean—nothing at all. There was no pillow, just the green blanket folded neatly.
I casually flipped the blanket, finding nothing underneath, but then I realized something that made me freeze in place!
It was the blanket! This green blanket was standard issue for the military, the kind used in summer. Although it had lost some of its fluff and its color had faded, there was no mistaking it; we were currently using this type of Thin Blanket. The Old Sergeant's blankets were similar to this one.
Could it be that he had served in the military?! I muttered to myself. Turning around, I noticed a green spittoon placed on the windowsill. Unable to resist, I reached out and picked it up. At that moment, my suspicions were confirmed! This was the green spittoon issued uniformly to our troops, marked with a red star. Regular civilians wouldn’t use this; only those who had been in the military would have one! The spittoon had chipped paint in several places, clearly showing signs of long use.
So he really is a veteran? I stood there in shock. Finally, I understood why I felt such a sense of familiarity when visiting Li Ping's home! The arrangement of the room was orderly and almost entirely military in style—simple and neat—except for the lack of tofu blocks. Perhaps he was deliberately concealing his identity!
The window was open, and a gentle breeze swept through, leaving me with an unsettling feeling of sadness. I truly hoped that someone who had left the military wouldn't resort to crime. I wanted to believe my judgment was wrong, but reason told me otherwise; this was reality.
"What are you doing in my room?!" A cold voice suddenly rang out behind me.
I jumped and quickly turned around to see Li Ping had quietly entered without me noticing; he had already closed the door behind him. His gaze was sharp as he looked at me, hands clasped behind his back.
"Oh, I must have taken a wrong turn," I tried to feign innocence. "I'm so sorry." I forced a smile as I approached him, hoping to slip past him quickly before he caught on.
Li Ping said nothing but shifted his body slightly to let me pass. I nodded politely as I walked by him, preparing to reach for the door.
"You didn't come here for a check-up; you're a cop!" As I passed Li Ping, he suddenly blurted out.
I was taken aback and turned to look at him. "What? I don't understand. Did I come to the wrong place?"
"Look at your shoes," he said coldly.
A jolt ran through me, and I instinctively looked down at my feet. I knew where I had exposed myself! To save time, we usually just changed into casual clothes when going out, but we hadn't changed our shoes; these were the three-piece shoes issued by the military. If someone paid attention, my identity would be revealed. In an instant, I thought of his earlier words—did that mean the two people outside were also exposed? If they were, what about those two outside? They wouldn't let Li Ping come back here, would they? Could it be that... No, I quickly dismissed that thought; with so many people outside, it was unlikely that Li Ping would take drastic measures.
In just a few seconds, countless thoughts flashed through my mind. Before I could react, I felt a tightness around my neck. As I raised my head, I met Li Ping's fierce gaze. I didn't know when he had grabbed a piece of wire or something similar, but taking advantage of my distraction, he swiftly wrapped it around my neck and pulled it tight!
Li Ping was trying to kill me! The moment that thought crossed my mind, it felt as if my throat was being squeezed shut, and I couldn't breathe anymore. I struggled violently, trying to pull away from the thin wire wrapped around my neck with all my strength. But no matter how hard I tried, my fingers couldn't get a grip on it; the wire was digging into my skin, and I began to feel suffocated as if my airway was about to be cut off. Despite my desperate struggles and resistance, Li Ping remained tightly pressed against me as we crashed around the room. He gritted his teeth in silence, only continuing to apply pressure; his face, already contorted in rage, looked even more ferocious!
I had no idea how long it had been—maybe ten seconds or thirty—but I knew that in no more than half a minute, I would be dead. Strangely enough, at that moment, I felt no fear; it wasn't that I wasn't afraid; it was just that there was no time to feel fear. All that remained was the instinct to survive.
My vision began to darken as I struggled to stay upright. Just as I felt myself about to collapse, I suddenly reached out with my left hand and grabbed Li Ping's hair, yanking down hard while simultaneously kicking forward with my legs against his knees. Li Ping was already bent over choking me and moving downward with me; this sudden kick caused him to lose his balance and fall.
With a loud thud, Li Ping's head struck the steel end of the military bed frame. He let out a cry and instinctively loosened his grip on me as he fell to the ground.
Feeling the pressure around my neck ease up immediately, I tore off whatever was constricting me and threw it out the window with all my might. Then I gasped for air while enduring the sharp pain as I scrambled to get up and lunged toward the door. Fortunately, Li Ping seemed to be injured badly enough that he didn't try to stop me. With all my strength, I flung open the door and stumbled outside.
Dizzy and unsteady on my feet, I took a couple of steps before collapsing at the bathroom exit. Just then, a woman walked out and screamed upon seeing me.
I opened my mouth wide but couldn't make any sound; all I could do was clutch my neck with one hand while using the other to steady myself against the wall as I staggered toward the stairs.
Luckily, Li Ping didn't appear again. As I leaned against the wall and ran several steps forward, I found a crowd blocking the hallway ahead—of all times for this to happen!
I pushed through the people in front of me forcefully. When they saw me, chaos erupted among them. As they parted ways in shock, I suddenly realized that those two plainclothes officers were lying on the ground, writhing in pain and groaning helplessly.
I was indeed taken down by Li Ping! Breathing heavily, I sat on the ground, disregarding the strange looks from others. I pulled out my phone from my pocket, switched to speaker mode, and called Ah Huang.
The call connected quickly, and I could hear Ah Huang's voice on the other end. The noise around me was loud, and within five seconds, he hung up. I knew he must have understood what was going on.
At that moment, I finally felt relieved. I struggled to move to a chair and looked at my left hand. What the hell! There was a lot of blood! I had been cut! What a ruthless person! Honestly, Li Ping's decisiveness and cruelty were no less than that of the Five Master I had encountered before!
As I waited for Ah Huang to arrive, I began to feel a sense of dread and anxiety. It was a feeling like having danced on the edge of death; you wouldn't understand.
Onlookers had already called for a nurse. Several outpatient doctors and nurses rushed over to me. There were two plainclothes officers on the ground, and medical personnel surrounded me—some were examining my wound, some were shouting for gauze, while others were preparing to help us to the emergency room.
It was chaos! I thought to myself, how could this happen? History truly repeats itself.
As I gasped for breath and was helped to the stairway, I inadvertently glanced toward the other end of the corridor and spotted Professor Qin standing at the door, observing us. Our eyes met briefly before he awkwardly looked away and retreated into his room. What a coward, I thought.
"Make way! Make way!" I heard someone shout! Turning around, I saw Ah Huang rushing in with several people behind him.
(To be continued; more exciting developments tomorrow!)
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