“Your name?”
“Lu Yibei.”
“Age?”
“Almost fully nineteen.”
In the inquiry room of the Peony Street Police Station, the expressionless young man behind the desk, after answering the policeman’s questions, some strange thoughts popped up in his mind uncontrollably.
In the past month or two, haven’t there been too many scenes like this?
‘I’ve already visited hospitals, police stations, and mysterious organisations. What’s next? Wait, there won’t be a next time! This will be the last!’
The police officer frowned as he heard Yibei’s weird answers and slammed his hand on the table.
Bang!
“Be serious! Explain to me carefully why you were in there so that we can let you out earlier. Of course, if you want to stay, you’re more than welcome.”
“Right, right…” He sat up straight and nodded. “Continue, please.”
“Alright,” the police officer shuffled through his notes. “Tell me what you were doing between 3:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. inside the abandoned store.”
Yibei grumbled. All he wanted to do was go back home and cook.
Half an hour ago…
In the attic, Yibei knew that chasing a cat trying to avoid him was pointless. Even though he wasn’t very human anymore, the cat proved to be much more nimble than he was.
He attempted to shoot the cat with his toy gun, but it easily dodged the charms.
Hearing that somebody was downstairs, he originally planned to stop chasing the cat and hide out in the attic.
However, the cat, as if it were trying to enact its revenge plan, began scratching its claws on the attic floor and meowing, as if it were trying to attract attention from downstairs!
He hurriedly pounced towards the cat, only for it to jump and land firmly on the coffin.
Meow!
The cat mocked Yibei.
‘Fuck! If I don’t catch this damned cat, then I’m no longer a man!’
Ducking slightly, he rushed forward and lunged at the cat, only to see a teasing flash in its eyes.
The cat vanished before him, and when it reappeared, it meowed between the gap of the coffin and the wall, and its hind legs began to push on the coffin.
‘No… A cat can’t push something that weighs hundreds of kilogrammes.’
And when the coffin tipped forward, he rolled to the side to avoid being crushed by it.
Boom!
The coffin hit the attic floor, and Yibei buried his face into the floor as he heard shouts coming from downstairs.
He sighed as he turned to look at the cat, only for his heart to drop. The cat had its “smile” raised to its ears, revealing an exaggerated smile with its sharp, white teeth.
It backed away little by little, allowing the shadows to consume it as its mottled fur grew rapidly, waving at Yibei as if it were waving goodbye.
A cold wind swept across Yibei, and his eyes began to burn intensely.
As the calico cat retreated little by little towards the darkest corner of the attic, strange and twisted shadows suddenly appeared behind it.
Judging from those outlines, they were all physically disabled cats; some were missing an ear, some were missing a leg, and some had only half their bodies.
Those shadows piled up together as if they were integrated into one body, like a phantom of a cemetery dedicated to cats projected into this attic.
A pair of glowing eyes looked upon Yibei with resentment, indifference, and morbid curiosity.
The complex, negative aura emanating from them caused his ears to buzz, and the maddening meowing in his ears faded away as the shadows consumed the cat, leaving only the orders of the police officer downstairs flooding his ears.
“And that’s how I ended up chasing a stray cat into the attic of the store,” he ended. “I don’t know why they were burning incense or why there was a giant coffin in the attic, so don’t ask me! All you have to know is that I am not a robber.”
Listening to his words, all the police officer could do was stare at his face and look for subtle changes.
The policeman didn’t think he was lying. In fact, he seemed sincere.
“Wait here a moment,” the police officer ordered as he left the room.
The police officer then turned to management and checked for Yibei’s information before returning back to the interrogation room.
You have to admit that Jiangli did a very reliable job forging information for Yibei. The certificates were all government-certified, and they were no different from actual, official documents.
“Jesus Christ, kid!” The police officer frowned as he sat back down. “Eighteen stabs in the stomach? How are you even alive?”
“Ah, right.”
“Anyways, you can leave after contacting your family to come pick you up. We’re done here for today.”
There is no concrete evidence that Yibei was at the store to steal. At most, he was disturbing the public, but how could a young man who was stabbed eighteen times in the name of justice be suspicious?
“Wait a minute, officer.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Well,” he hesitated. “There is no one else in my family right now, so…”
The police officer’s eyes widened as he flipped through Yibei’s file, and only then did he see that both of his parents were deceased. He didn’t expect Yibei to not have any other relatives.
“Is there, uh, anyone else you can contact? You need somebody to come pick you up. Sorry, it’s the rules; I don’t make them.”
“Ah, well,” he muttered, thinking of the people he could contact.
‘Jumeng is definitely a no-go. Professor Ma is busy recovering. As for Shui…’
He hasn’t heard anything from him lately, and he doesn’t know where he’s been fooling around. Perhaps he’s on another business trip with a rich woman, and it’s not like he hasn’t done that before.
‘Jiangli.’
“Can I call my boss? She can come pick me up.”
If she came, then there would be no problem, and he would be able to tell her about the situation in the attic. Two birds with one stone!
Ten minutes later, in Office V of the Night Division.
Jiangli sat at her desk, not playing mahjong for once. She was carefully reviewing the documents regarding the 20 urban legends that she has dealt with this past month until the phone on her desk suddenly rang.
“Hello? Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration… what? Is he in the police station? For trespassing onto private property… to catch a stray cat? I… understand. I’ll be there in a moment.”
“Your name?”
“Lu Yibei.”
“Age?”
“Almost fully nineteen.”
In the inquiry room of the Peony Street Police Station, the expressionless young man behind the desk, after answering the policeman’s questions, some strange thoughts popped up in his mind uncontrollably.
In the past month or two, haven’t there been too many scenes like this?
‘I’ve already visited hospitals, police stations, and mysterious organisations. What’s next? Wait, there won’t be a next time! This will be the last!’
The police officer frowned as he heard Yibei’s weird answers and slammed his hand on the table.
Bang!
“Be serious! Explain to me carefully why you were in there so that we can let you out earlier. Of course, if you want to stay, you’re more than welcome.”
“Right, right…” He sat up straight and nodded. “Continue, please.”
“Alright,” the police officer shuffled through his notes. “Tell me what you were doing between 3:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. inside the abandoned store.”
Yibei grumbled. All he wanted to do was go back home and cook.
Half an hour ago…
In the attic, Yibei knew that chasing a cat trying to avoid him was pointless. Even though he wasn’t very human anymore, the cat proved to be much more nimble than he was.
He attempted to shoot the cat with his toy gun, but it easily dodged the charms.
Hearing that somebody was downstairs, he originally planned to stop chasing the cat and hide out in the attic.
However, the cat, as if it were trying to enact its revenge plan, began scratching its claws on the attic floor and meowing, as if it were trying to attract attention from downstairs!
He hurriedly pounced towards the cat, only for it to jump and land firmly on the coffin.
Meow!
The cat mocked Yibei.
‘Fuck! If I don’t catch this damned cat, then I’m no longer a man!’
Ducking slightly, he rushed forward and lunged at the cat, only to see a teasing flash in its eyes.
The cat vanished before him, and when it reappeared, it meowed between the gap of the coffin and the wall, and its hind legs began to push on the coffin.
‘No… A cat can’t push something that weighs hundreds of kilogrammes.’
And when the coffin tipped forward, he rolled to the side to avoid being crushed by it.
Boom!
The coffin hit the attic floor, and Yibei buried his face into the floor as he heard shouts coming from downstairs.
He sighed as he turned to look at the cat, only for his heart to drop. The cat had its “smile” raised to its ears, revealing an exaggerated smile with its sharp, white teeth.
It backed away little by little, allowing the shadows to consume it as its mottled fur grew rapidly, waving at Yibei as if it were waving goodbye.
A cold wind swept across Yibei, and his eyes began to burn intensely.
As the calico cat retreated little by little towards the darkest corner of the attic, strange and twisted shadows suddenly appeared behind it.
Judging from those outlines, they were all physically disabled cats; some were missing an ear, some were missing a leg, and some had only half their bodies.
Those shadows piled up together as if they were integrated into one body, like a phantom of a cemetery dedicated to cats projected into this attic.
A pair of glowing eyes looked upon Yibei with resentment, indifference, and morbid curiosity.
The complex, negative aura emanating from them caused his ears to buzz, and the maddening meowing in his ears faded away as the shadows consumed the cat, leaving only the orders of the police officer downstairs flooding his ears.
“And that’s how I ended up chasing a stray cat into the attic of the store,” he ended. “I don’t know why they were burning incense or why there was a giant coffin in the attic, so don’t ask me! All you have to know is that I am not a robber.”
Listening to his words, all the police officer could do was stare at his face and look for subtle changes.
The policeman didn’t think he was lying. In fact, he seemed sincere.
“Wait here a moment,” the police officer ordered as he left the room.
The police officer then turned to management and checked for Yibei’s information before returning back to the interrogation room.
You have to admit that Jiangli did a very reliable job forging information for Yibei. The certificates were all government-certified, and they were no different from actual, official documents.
“Jesus Christ, kid!” The police officer frowned as he sat back down. “Eighteen stabs in the stomach? How are you even alive?”
“Ah, right.”
“Anyways, you can leave after contacting your family to come pick you up. We’re done here for today.”
There is no concrete evidence that Yibei was at the store to steal. At most, he was disturbing the public, but how could a young man who was stabbed eighteen times in the name of justice be suspicious?
“Wait a minute, officer.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Well,” he hesitated. “There is no one else in my family right now, so…”
The police officer’s eyes widened as he flipped through Yibei’s file, and only then did he see that both of his parents were deceased. He didn’t expect Yibei to not have any other relatives.
“Is there, uh, anyone else you can contact? You need somebody to come pick you up. Sorry, it’s the rules; I don’t make them.”
“Ah, well,” he muttered, thinking of the people he could contact.
‘Jumeng is definitely a no-go. Professor Ma is busy recovering. As for Shui…’
He hasn’t heard anything from him lately, and he doesn’t know where he’s been fooling around. Perhaps he’s on another business trip with a rich woman, and it’s not like he hasn’t done that before.
‘Jiangli.’
“Can I call my boss? She can come pick me up.”
If she came, then there would be no problem, and he would be able to tell her about the situation in the attic. Two birds with one stone!
Ten minutes later, in Office V of the Night Division.
Jiangli sat at her desk, not playing mahjong for once. She was carefully reviewing the documents regarding the 20 urban legends that she has dealt with this past month until the phone on her desk suddenly rang.
“Hello? Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration… what? Is he in the police station? For trespassing onto private property… to catch a stray cat? I… understand. I’ll be there in a moment.”
