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墨書 Inktalez
It was that old man who did odd jobs cleaning! He slowly emerged from the stairwell door. My eyes lit up; of course, according to the old man's routine, he always cleaned in the underground garage at this time every night! He must have seen something!
I watched as the old man slowly placed a garbage bag on the ground and walked over to Ah Huang. "Officer, I just saw this girl unconscious on the ground in the third-floor parking garage. This," he pointed at me, "this comrade ran up here carrying her. I'm old and couldn't keep up, so I had to come out slowly."
Ah Huang was taking notes while asking, "Uncle, did you see anything else?"
"Nothing at all. I'm old, my hearing is poor, and my eyesight isn't great either. If I hadn't been close, I wouldn't have even noticed someone lying on the ground!"
Ah Huang let out a sigh of relief and said to me, "Old Wang, you're lucky. Now there's someone to vouch for you, so you temporarily have no suspicion. However, this case is still at a deadlock."
I had nothing to say. Ah Huang took his phone and stepped aside to call his superior. Meanwhile, I watched as more people arrived from the elevator; it seemed we would have to slowly figure out a breakthrough. But as long as we identified a suspect, there would definitely be a chance.
I turned to the old man. "Thank you, Old Zhou." Old Zhou didn't respond immediately; he slowly pulled the garbage bag closer to him. "Young man, why are you running around so late? Be careful of encountering something sinister."
I looked at him in surprise. "Old Zhou, what do you mean?"
He said nothing more and struggled with the garbage bag as he walked out of the hall. How strange; could that person downstairs have been him?
No, it couldn't be. The grip of the person holding my hand was decisive and strong; even their voice wasn't as frail as Old Zhou's—definitely not Old Zhou!
But if it wasn't Old Zhou, then who could it be? I frowned as I led everyone out of the television station.
The next day was the weekend. After arranging matters for the unit and giving Old Tang some instructions, I left camp alone and found an internet café. I walked in and logged onto a computer, planning to search for some information.
I opened the browser and thought for a moment before typing in "Soul Guiding." It seemed like those were the words I heard earlier.
The page quickly loaded, but I soon felt disappointed; most of the results showed that it was actually a work by Gu Long. How did Master Gu Long come up with that name? I briefly skimmed through the plot summary and found it had nothing to do with what I had encountered.
I continued scrolling down the page in hopes of finding different information, but unfortunately found nothing. After flipping through dozens of pages and feeling my eyes strain, suddenly an inconspicuous message caught my attention.
It was from a feng shui forum; the poster was anonymous, and the title read "Lost Soul Summoning Technique." Curious, I opened it but was prompted to register first. I quickly followed the instructions to register and entered the post again, only to see a few sparse lines: "In ancient times, when chaos reigned and gods battled demons, human souls were feasted upon as sustenance; thus was created the Soul Retrieval Technique—to draw souls from their bodies to consume them and enhance their abilities. Since ancient times, the Soul Retrieval Technique has not reappeared; it is suspected to have been lost."
What does this mean? It felt rather mystical.
I found some paper and a pen to jot it down. After thinking for a while without any results, I stuffed it into my pocket and walked out.
I planned to visit the hospital to see Xi; I wondered how she was doing. Since I already knew their hospital's address from last night, I bought some fruit and called a taxi directly to the hospital.
Upon arriving at the emergency department, I inquired and found out that Xi was still lying in the resuscitation room. After asking a few questions, I picked up some fruit and made my way to the door of the room.
Through the glass, I saw Xi lying on a bed near the door, accompanied by a few older men and women, presumably family members. I hesitated; it didn't seem appropriate to enter.
What identity should I use to go in? As a staff member from the television station? That seemed inappropriate; what if her parents demanded compensation from me? As a representative of her school? What if her parents held the school responsible? As a friend? But Xi probably had a boyfriend; would that cause misunderstandings? After considering it, I decided to enter as Xi's boyfriend. They likely wouldn't be able to get here so soon and probably hadn't received any news yet.
With my decision made, I pushed open the door. "Excuse me, is Xi here?"
Hearing the noise, several people by the bed turned to look at me. One older man raised his head and asked, "Yes, who are you?"
"Oh, I'm Xi's boyfriend. They know something happened to her and are very worried, so they asked me to come check on her. They'll be here soon after they finish their tasks." I placed the fruit on the table and walked over to look at Xi.
"How is Xi doing?" I asked with concern.
The man replied quietly, "Not well. Her vital signs are stable, but she's been in a coma. The doctors can't determine the cause; there are no external injuries or signs of cerebrovascular disease. They're still consulting."
Looking at Xi peacefully lying on the bed, her beautiful face illuminated by the morning sun, she resembled a jade sculpture—a true sleeping beauty. But this wasn't a fairy tale; where was the prince to kiss her awake?
I sighed, unsure how to comfort them. After exchanging some pleasantries, I took my leave from the hospital.
Once outside, I felt an inexplicable sense of frustration. So many things were happening right before my eyes, yet I felt powerless. This feeling was truly unpleasant.
After thinking for a moment, I called Ah Huang. His voice sounded weary; he had clearly stayed up late. Not wanting to disturb him further, I learned there were no new leads and arranged to meet him later that evening before hanging up.
After wandering around for a while without purpose, I returned early to the base. It was still before lunch, and as I recalled how busy I'd been lately with preparations for Unit Training Commencement, I realized I hadn't been focused or prepared at all. So, I picked up the training materials given to me by my Company Commander and started flipping through them.
Perhaps due to my troubled mind, I couldn't concentrate after a while and grew restless. I pulled out a note I'd brought back from the internet café and read it carefully again. After several readings, my gaze settled on the last few words.
"Soul Devourer?" Did that mean 'to consume'? If so, it would make sense why they couldn't find the souls of the two girls. But what about Xi? Had she also been consumed by the Soul Devourer?
Soul Retrieval Technique—wasn't that the chant that could draw someone's soul out?
In an instant, countless speculations flooded my mind. After pondering for a while without any conclusions, I slammed my hand on the table in frustration. It seemed I'd have to find a way to confront the Japanese directly.
Would they come tonight? Last time when I secretly listened in on their conversation, it seemed they had obtained something very important and were eager to return home. Would he still come tonight?
But then again, this plan seemed quite arrogant. If he truly was behind all this and continued his actions despite two incidents occurring already, he must have been confident that no one could stop him. From this perspective, he would definitely come tonight!
There was also that illusory shadow—what was it, and what did it mean when it finally disappeared? Thinking of this, I opened the bandage on my hand again to take a look. The wound had already formed a scab. I found myself lost in thought; what exactly was drawn on it that could repel that shadow?
I stared at my right hand repeatedly, and suddenly, an idea popped into my mind.
Before six o'clock in the evening, I gathered the team early and took them to the television station.
The security at the television station had been significantly tightened from the entrance to the lobby, likely due to the recent incidents, but also possibly because some celebrities were starting to arrive for makeup rehearsals.
Looking at the vigilant security guards and police officers, I wondered if anything would happen under such tight security.
When we arrived at the Performance Hall, I noticed that the actors had all arrived quite early. There were quite a few people standing on Stage as well. After sending everyone off to their respective posts, I began to wander around the venue; I needed to find that Japanese guy.
Fortune favors the diligent; after circling around twice, I finally spotted him in a corner. What luck! His companion was also absent, which meant less trouble. Strangely enough, although he was dressed in a suit, he still carried that cylindrical object on his back, which looked extremely out of place. What was it? It seemed that he regarded it as something vital.
I slowly approached him, keeping a close watch on his movements.
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
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