Evil As Humans

Chapter 51: Help Wanted

It could be that the time was too early for Dr. Sun to reply. Minister Fu was taken away by a phone call. Being experienced, Comrade Xiao Lu instantly contacted her immediate boss and got the reply, “You can go rest”.

“Go. To the staff lounge to get some sleep for another 7 hours.” She rubbed her eyes frantically.

“Breakfast…” Zhong Chengshuo was still struggling, “and lunch…”

Yin Ren: “I’ll bring it for you.”

“I’m not eating. I want to sleep.” Lu Xiaohe yawned again. “Don’t wake me up.”

“Okay.”

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo had stayed in the visitor lounge before, but they didn’t come into contact with the legendary “staff lounge”.

As the name implied, the staff lounge was designed for each action group to rest after a task—after all, many people lived far away from the company, and it wasn’t convenient for them to temporarily vacate a dorm.

After seeing the actual lounge, Yin Ren only felt happy and relaxed.

Sleeping in this place was much better than sleeping on a folding bed.

The staff lounge was warm and clean. The main color was a soft earth color, and the curtains had excellent shading. It was currently daytime outside, but the room was dark as night. Only the night light was on at the head of the bed. The temperature and humidity of the room were adjusted just right.

Eight single beds were placed against the wall, and there was a movable screen that divided the area into two: one for men and one for women. Considering the number of members in their Unit 9 group, only four beds had mattresses and sheets.

Lu Xiaohe went straight to the women’s area. She slumped into the bed and casually shook off her shoes. “Good night, comrades.”

After two seconds, she fell asleep.

Zhong Chengshuo shook his head while confirming the bedside table to make sure that the drawers had Shian’s standard clothes inside, then he slowly fell onto the bed.

Given the space utilization rate, the bed density here was similar to that of a hospital ward, with each bed close to the other. Yin Ren stretched his body for a while and turned over with interest.

After thinking about it carefully, the last time they slept together was in a hotel outside of Shian.

He thought Zhong Chengshuo would lie upright, but instead he resolutely turned his back to him and curled up like a shrimp. Yin Ren didn’t know if this was some kind of adaptation to the environment or what, but Zhong Chengshuo’s breathing hadn’t slowed for a long time. It was obvious he was still awake.

Yin Ren slipped out of bed lightly and laid down beside Zhong Chengshuo’s bed. “Hey, what do you want for breakfast?”

Zhong Chengshuo: “A carrot veggie bun, two boiled eggs, and lean meat porridge, or something similar to these.”

“Order something good. My treat.”

“Then one green veggie tofu bun, two boiled eggs, and beef porridge with salted eggs.”

“What about lunch?”

“Beef with garlic sauce, roasted veggies with fermented bean curd, rice, and unsweetened yogurt.” Zhong Chengshuo spoke as if he was reading a report.

“Okay. Pan-fried wagyu beef, stir-fried seasonal fresh vegetables, rice, and unsweetened yogurt. I’ll take it upon myself and add some honeydew melon for you.” Yin Ren responded lightly.

Zhong Chengshuo turned over. He wanted to protest when he met Yin Ren’s smiling eyes.

Yin Ren was squatting on the edge of the bed. His arms were pressing down on the soft mattress, creating a depression. The depression slanted slightly, as if influenced by a gravitational force. His face was only half an arm away from Zhong Chengshuo’s face. The sound of their breathing was clearly audible.

Zhong Chengshuo pulled back, trying to retreat, and almost fell off the single bed.

The smile in Yin Ren’s eyes became a little stronger. ‘This person is simply too entertaining,’ Lord Ghost King thought cheerfully.

Thousands of years ago, there were many humans who wanted to deal with him. Many of them got along with him at first, but then tried to stab him in the back. None of them were like Zhong Chengshuo… They were scheming but shortsighted.

Yin Ren didn’t notice any hostility from this person. Even when the sharp razor slid across his neck when he was cutting his hair, Yin Ren didn’t feel the slightest malice from Zhong Chengshuo… If he had to put it into words, the only emotion he found was similar to “wariness”.

Just like now. Although Zhong Chengshuo would sometimes leak some of this wariness, there was no fear in that alert; only simple vigilance and nervousness.

Yin Ren was in a good mood. “Hurry up and sleep. We have work in the afternoon.”

“I’m just not used to talking to people while lying down,” Zhong Chengshuo explained as he was still shifting towards the edge of the bed.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Really.”

“Okay, okay. I get it.”

“……” Zhong Chengshuo silently rolled back over and turned his back to Yin Ren again.

After Lord Ghost King had played enough, he stood up contentedly and rushed to the cafeteria. Zhong Chengshuo opened his eyes and stared at the empty bed next to him—his body was tired, but his mind was unusually sober.

Without Yin Ren, only Lu Xiaohe’s steady breathing was left in the room. Zhong Chengshuo took out his phone and checked his WeChat messages again.

[Final Fruit: Hello, Dr. Sun. I would like to consult about a psychological problem.]

[Final Fruit: Maybe I really do have some psychological issues.]

[Show Me Your Heart: Oh?]

Sun Qi’an replied a few minutes ago. Zhong Chengshuo thought about it for a moment and decided to continue the conversation immediately.

[Final Fruit: What do I need to do?]

[Show Me Your Heart: Tell me about your situation first, and I’ll refer you to people who are good at the corresponding aspect.]

[Show Me Your Heart: Don’t worry, I’ve taken counseling courses and have a certificate.]

Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t surprised.

Sun Qi’an, the “King of Medicine” of B University, was a medical doctor and a well-known certification fiend. Even Zhong Chengshuo, who didn’t pay attention to the wind outside, had heard of her glorious deeds. If he were to seek consultation from an accountant, Sun Qi’an would probably pull out her CPA certificate.

[Final Fruit: Are you talking about symptoms? I happen to have a friend with similar symptoms. Can that be used as reference?]

[Show Me Your Heart: …….Go ahead.]

[Final Fruit: I have a friend.] To ensure authenticity, he paused for a while.

[Show Me Your Heart: ……] Sun Qi’an returned him a string of ellipses, probably indicating that she was listening.

[Final Fruit: My friend recently had an object of great concern. For some objective reason, he has to observe the other party carefully.]

[Show Me Your Heart: Observe?]

[Final Fruit: Yes. He needs to observe the character of the other party to ensure that they will not harm society.]

[Final Fruit: He has observed many similar objects, but this one is a bit special. When in contact with it, he occasionally has symptoms of rapid heartbeat and facial fever. During breaks, his attention would always turn to the subject of observation.]

[Show Me Your Heart: Well, it may not be nervousness; it sounds like your friend, like the other person.]

[Final Fruit: Absolutely impossible. Their different species.]

[Show Me Your Heart: ???]

[Final Fruit: I have seen cross-species mating, which is similar. Those animals generally have an estrus period, so they either are venting their emotions or they are forcibly locked together by humans or have frequent contact with humans, which causes them to develop species cognitive problems.]

[Final Fruit: My friend has no estrus period, and there’s absolutely no obstacle to species cognition.]

[Show Me Your Heart: ………………………………………………………………..]

[Show Me Your Heart: Classmate Zhong Chengshuo, your thinking is too erratic. Some people like cats and dogs, some people like spiders and reptiles, and even some like large beasts. Cross-species liking is very normal. Maybe he simply likes the object of observation. Of course, if your friend has physical urges, you can ask him to register with the Department of Psychology.]

Zhong Chengshuo curled up in disappointment and continued typing.

If he could, he didn’t want to leave too many personal traces in the public domain. The “characteristic leakage” of the Department of Cardiology and the Department of Psychology wasn’t in the same order.

[Final Fruit: I understand. Then I’ll continue to talk about myself.]

[Final Fruit: I have a colleague, and for various reasons I have to live with him.]

[Show Me Your Heart: Xiao Yin?]

[Final Fruit: Yes, when I was in contact with him, I would occasionally experience heart palpitations, elevated body temperature, and the like. What kind of psychological stress could this be?]

After all, she did just say, “It may not be nervousness”.

[Show Me Your Heart: When you came to visit before, I thought you were tired from work. It turns out that your arrhythmia was due to Xiao Yin. King Zhong, isn’t it because you have a crush on someone?]

[Final Fruit: ?]

[Show Me Your Heart: I’m kidding~ Xiao Yin has a very good personality so it’s normal for you to have a good impression of him. Since you care so much, it’s necessary to distinguish between ‘wanting to be friends’ or other good feelings, so as not to cause embarrassment and misunderstandings.]

The topic finally returned to normal. Dr. Sun was obviously relieved, and the emotions in her words were more cheerful.

[Show Me Your Heart: How about this. At 8 tonight, let’s meet at the White Crow Café on Jiangxue Road and we’ll talk.]

[Show Me Your Heart: My consultation fee will be a cup of mocha~ If necessary, I’ll refer you to an expert in this field.]

[Final Fruit: Okay, thank you.]

Zhong Chengshuo had investigated Sun Qi’an in advance. Dr. Sun’s character was quite good and worthy of a certain degree of trust. The exhaustion that had been hanging in the air for a long time finally surged. Zhong Chengshuo stuffed the phone under his pillow and slowly closed his eyes.

Whether Yin Ren was an evil being or a person with special abilities, he proposed all the possibilities, but the speculations he got were almost the same.

Like? Good impression?

Zhong Chengshuo knew the meaning of these words, but he had never thoroughly understood them. Forget it. He would leave professional matters to the professionals. He believed that Dr. Sun would give him a scientific answer.

……

4 p.m., Foreign Body Identification Department.

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo stood in front of the observation room, quietly looking at one of the victims in this case…

The “human chair” was placed inside the observation room. It was cleaned up and placed on a soft cushion. In the snow-white observation room, about six strange-looking infusion bags hung around the chair, with special needles piercing both sides of the armrest and embedded deep into the wood.

There was a soothing white noise in the observation room, but looking through the glass, the scene was still bizarre.

In the morning, Fang Yuanyuan went to the Municipal Public Security Bureau and did a full metaphysical examination on Lu Guangzu. She went just in time to catch the end of Sun Qinghui’s interrogation.

Lu Guangzu admitted that “Fan Yong”, who had become a chair, was also one of the victims.

Fang Yuanyuan informed Fu Xingchuan of the news as soon as she received it, but Minister Fu didn’t show up again. He had disappeared to who knew where. At present, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo could only carefully read the information obtained by the police.

Fan Yong, 38 years old, disappeared two months ago.

He was an ordinary mover, not even a shift leader. He had an honest and easygoing personality and worked really hard, which gave him a good reputation among his customers.

However, similar to Lu Yuanyuan, Fan Yong’s real situation was also very difficult—about five or six years ago, the old building where his family lived collapsed. Fan Yong’s parents, wife, and children all died in the ruins. Only he survived and lost two fingers. He came to Haigu to make a living two years ago and had been renting a small bungalow in the Old Town.

He was missing for a full month before a client who had a good relationship with him called the police.

It was an ordinary life that had nothing to do with the metaphysics.

The smiling, sturdy man in the photo was now a slightly trembling wooden chair, which could be casually destroyed. Shian didn’t reveal this bizarre event to the police. They only disclosed that Fan Yong had suffered “devastating injuries that are difficult to recover from”.

When the police mentioned that “Fan Yong is still alive”, Lu Guangzu showed an almost distorted smile.

“Then why don’t you bring him back?” He lowered his head and played with his fingers as he replied with a grin. “Lu Yuanyuan’s the same. Everyone’s the same. There is always a time limit in hide and seek, isn’t there?”

Time limit…

Could it be that the other six victims were also turned into objects and hidden in some corner of the city? Yin Ren lifted his gaze from the interrogation video and once again looked at the chair in the white room.

“You can’t communicate with him?”

Yin Ren turned his head and asked the staff on one side.

“No. Even if we did, it’s all wild ravings that we can’t decipher. He’s completely unable to vocalize.”

A male staff member wearing a black seal answered him.

“If this person dies and becomes a ghost, a ghost master can still speak to him, but given his half-dead situation…”

Indeed, Feng Qi’s translation ability could only interpret the “crazy ravings” of the living. Fan Yong couldn’t say a word, which meant the boy couldn’t interpret anything. Yin Ren himself could make a move, but that wasn’t much different from revealing his identity.

Speaking of Feng Qi…

Yin Ren lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. “Can you let Ge Tingting listen?”

“Who?”

“Ge Tingting, a new member of our Unit 9, a rogue corpse servant.”

“This person isn’t dead yet. That’s just too cruel.” The black seal hissed back.

“No, perhaps it’s feasible.” Zhong Chengshuo continued, “Miss Ge can detect remnants of information from corpses, and Fan Yong somatic cells have lost most of their activity. Although it’s not considered ‘death’ in the strict sense, the idea is still worth trying.”

Seeing the staff still wavering, Yin Ren hurriedly added, “It’s still up to Ge Tingting. She’s still a child, so she may not be able to withstand this kind of stimulation.”

It turned out that Miss Ge Tingting was brave.

The young corpse servant bit her lip when she heard that she could save people and came. Ge Tingting held her phone tightly and still had those headphones given to her by Unit 9 around her ears.

When she saw the human chair, she shivered.

“Fan Yong is in an unstable state now, so we can’t give him too much stimulation. Little miss, can you do it alone?” A female red seal gave Ge Tingting a protective suit.

Ge Tingting looked at the real-time subtitles on her phone and quickly typed on her tablet.

[I can.]

[I have read the information for this uncle, and I want to save him.]

“You’re very brave. Do you need anything?”

[Stethoscope.] Ge Tingting made a gesture.

However, after getting the stethoscope, she still hesitated at the door for a few seconds. Her hand holding the stethoscope was trembling imperceptibly. Yin Ren took two steps forward and hung his hand above Ge Tingting’s head.

Seeing that there was no resistance in the other party’s eyes, he rubbed her head gently through the protective suit.

“Don’t worry,” Yin Ren whispered to Ge Tingting. “Zhong Ge and I are outside. If you can’t hear any sound or can’t bear it, come out to us at any time.”

“You’re just a child. It is out of kindness that you’re helping us, not due to work obligations. These things are the responsibilities of adults, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

Ge Tingting clenched the phone tightly and nodded.

[Thank you. I will try my best.]

“Go ahead, Hero Ge.” Yin Ren smiled and retracted his hand.

Zhong Chengshuo glanced at Yin Ren with a complicated expression but didn’t say a word.

Two minutes later, the original bizarre scene in the observation room became even stranger—the infusion bags were still hanging on the ordinary chair, and there was a little girl in a full-body protective suit gesturing with her stethoscope as she pressed it back and forth on the chair.

Behind the mask of the protective suit, Ge Tingting’s brows started to wrinkle tighter.

She first pressed the stethoscope on the back of the chair, listened carefully, and then gestured at the chair for a while with her incomprehensible “ravings”. Finally, she sighed deeply and walked out with red eyes.

Before leaving, she patted the back of the thin chair lightly.

Shian-Small Work Group.

[Ear Person: This uncle seems to be crazy.]

[Final Fruit: ?]

[Ear Person: He keeps saying “I don’t like chairs anymore”, “Don’t want chairs”, “Take the chairs away, please”, “I want to die”, and so on… He didn’t answer my question at all.]

[Ear Person: He’s also speaking all over the place, so the situation is very bad.]

[Ear Person: Can you save him?]

[Fruit Knife: The situation is a bit tricky, but if he’s still alive, there’s hope ]

[Fruit Knife: So amazing, Hero Ge. Shian hasn’t found anyone with such great knowledge. You’re the first to find this new clue. Do you want milk tea later? I’ll treat you.]

[Ear Person: Okay, thank you!]

The haze on Ge Tingting’s face dissipated a little. She took off her protective clothing, put back on her headphones, and gave a jerky smile to the two of them.

However, when Ge Tingting’s figure disappeared, the smile on Yin Ren’s face instantly faded. He pinched his brows and fell into contemplation. He didn’t think for long when his wrist suddenly felt hot.

Zhong Chengshuo had carefully grabbed his wrist and dragged Yin Ren to the empty meeting room of the Identification Department.

“What?” Yin Ren raised his brows.

“Think together.” Zhong Chengshuo picked up a marker and walked towards the whiteboard. “Are you thinking about the case?”

Yin Ren: “Actually, I was thinking about what to have for dinner.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s movement instantly froze. He looked at Yin Ren in disbelief and almost dropped the marker he was holding.

“…Just kidding. I’m really thinking about the case.” Yin Ren held back a smile. “Come on, Zhong Ge, summarize the case.”

Zhong Chengshuo glanced at him erratically and pressed the red marker on the whiteboard.

“Leaving aside non-scientific issues such as things related to evil forces, the nature of the case isn’t complicated—we assume that Lu Guangzu didn’t lie, and that Lu Yuanyuan was the first victim.”

He neatly drew a timeline on the whiteboard, marking the dates of Lu Yuanyuan’s and Fan Yong’s disappearances.

“This means that since three months ago, someone has kidnapped seven victims and imprisoned them somewhere. Recently, Lu Guangzu went to Haigu Public Security Bureau to report this case to the police and Shian, and also named ‘King Yama’ and provoked the Nightwalkers by doing so.”

“Now we have Fan Yong… a witness, suspicion on Lu Guangzu is very high, but after thinking about it along this line of thought, I can’t figure it out.”

Yin Ren tilted his head to look at Zhong Chengshuo.

“Entering the police station to surrender, naming Shian, and stirring up topics among the Nightwalkers all seem to be means of attracting the attention of all parties. If I were a murderer… Well, I would arrange the human chair in a public place with the largest flow of people and smash it to let the blood and guts flow out.”

Yin Ren: “…” He didn’t expect Comrade Xiao Zhong to have such a cruel idea.

“As long as the crime statement is left at the scene, the police, Shian, and the Nightwalkers will all be involved in the incident, and the intensity of exposure will be much greater than it is now. Why did Lu Guangzu choose the path of ‘surrendering in person’?”

“You mean Lu Guangzu has another purpose? Indeed, his temperament isn’t like that of someone who can devote three months to an intricate plan… Perhaps he’s not even the murderer.”

Yin Ren was worried about how he could give clues about the dead smell on Lu Guangzu, but Zhong Chengshuo had already sent it to the door. Lord Ghost King played with the tips of his hair as he started calculating in his heart.

Zhong Chengshuo continued without noticing. “Yes, he probably has another purpose, but I have no evidence yet. We’ll continue to consider this hypothesis—”

“Time to get off work.” Yin Ren glanced at his phone. “Let’s discuss it tomorrow. It’s time to go to the cafeteria and eat.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “……”

Zhong Chengshuo: “You go ahead. I have an appointment tonight.”

Yin Ren was putting the marker cap back on. When he heard this, he almost dropped the cap. “You have an appointment? Could it be a date with a woman?”

Countless plots from those third-rate romance dramas floated through his mind. Yin Ren looked at Zhong Chengshuo with burning eyes.

Zhong Chengshuo: “Yes, I have an appointment with Sun Qi’an.”

“Oh, how amazing. The stone is blossoming.” Yin Ren tried hard to suppress his curiosity and sullenly said, “I wish you all the best and an excellent performance.”

“Thank you for your warm wishes.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded his head solemnly.

He did intend to perform well—Zhong Chengshuo decided to go to the appointment two hours early and spend the time rehearsing the appropriate words he wanted to say in his head.

At 6:10 p.m., Zhong Chengshuo arrived at the White Crow Café.

The good news was that Dr. Sun did have the time to meet with him. The bad news was that Dr. Sun was already there, so he didn’t have time to rehearse.

Sun Qi’an was sitting in the best seat, having dinner with a man. The moment she saw Zhong Chengshuo, she coughed fiercely, almost choking.

Seeing her reaction, the man sitting opposite her turned his head, looked at the door, and stared at Zhong Chengshuo.

The moment he saw Zhong Chengshuo, a glint seemed to flash in the man’s eyes.

The author has something to say:

As we all know, I am a pure love warrior who never writes about a Shura field*.

*Often used to describe romantic relationships where many people appear, and it becomes like a bloody battlefield. 

Just for the record (?

Xiao Zhong Xiao Yin, true-false conversation √

Kinky Thoughts:

If you read Nian Zhong’s other works, you know she doesn’t write love triangles/romance drama/love entanglements, etc.. Her works are more plot focused. Poor Yin Ren. He won’t get to personally experience the love drama from all those third-rate dramas he’s binging on.