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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Nineteen
When Song Bunan opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Xiao Mei's arm draped across his face. The daylight outside was bright, and the lingering fatigue from staying up late made him yawn widely. He attempted to get up, but Xiao Mei, who had woken up at the sound, pushed him back down. Like two stubborn children, they lingered until Shui Su entered the room and asked if they wanted lunch, yet neither of them managed to rise.
Xiao Mei sat on the edge of the bed wrapped in a blanket, trying to negotiate with Shui Su for a chance to have lunch in their bedroom. Shui Su smiled and offered a response that was impossible to refuse. Song Bunan stretched out his hand from under the covers, signaling that he would be ready soon.
"You’re not even going to struggle a bit more?" Xiao Mei regarded him as a traitor. Song Bunan rubbed his face and explained that this was not something he could compromise on. "I could, but what if they say you can't come to my house tonight if we don't go now?"
They had agreed to stay at Song Bunan's house that evening—not for any other reason but because there were matters they needed to verify together. Uncle Meng, as their supervisor, initially wanted to refuse their plan upon hearing it, but after receiving the head of the household's approval, he abandoned his objections and offered to pack some snacks for them to take later.
"Are you two going to start investigating the laboratory?" The head of the household had evidently come specifically for this purpose, slowly asking as he watched them devour their food. Song Bunan nodded and put down his chopsticks to respond. "Xiao Mei said there are many leads at home that might help us find clues. I've already spoken with Lin Mo Hui; I can go directly to collect relevant materials when I have time. Once we compare information from both sides, we should have some direction."
His guiding principle was that as long as there were clues, rewards would follow. After all, based on his connections along both lines, many things could be found in areas others could not access. Years of experience confirmed this belief, so tonight would not only be a fun night with Xiao Mei but also the official start of their work together.
"Alright," the head of the household nodded. "If you need anything from this side, just let me know—don’t hesitate about using cars or people. Your wound isn’t healed yet; make sure to rest well." With that, he stood up and left them to enjoy their meal.
True to his word, just after they finished eating, someone arrived carrying a briefcase filled with all the materials related to the laboratory accumulated over the years—complete with images and text. Song Bunan held up the briefcase and shouted in excitement, causing Xiao Mei to feel a headache coming on.
"Even though you usually focus on helping people burn paper offerings, you've done quite a bit of information dealing too; why do you act like it’s your first time hearing about this?" Xiao Mei asked curiously.
The person sitting down with the briefcase grinned and explained that he never really dealt with experiments since they didn’t concern him much. "Most people come to me asking about matters after death; if they want information about laboratories, they might as well ask teachers at school."
This explanation was hard to refute, and Xiao Mei accepted it readily. "Alright then, clever argument! Let’s go; we’re heading to your house right now!" Just as they were about to get up, someone pressed down on their arms. Turning around, they saw Uncle Meng—the little old man who always spoke in a way that felt refreshing—saying they had to wait because he needed to change Bunan's bandages first.
"Forget about it. Alright, let's go after we finish changing," Xiao Mei said, waving her hand as she headed to the kitchen to find some dessert.
Compared to her brother's method of changing bandages, Uncle Meng was much more professional and gentle. Whether applying medicine or wrapping the bandage, he made the injury feel more bearable, though the pain was still real. Song Bunan noticed that the adhesive tape had animal patterns on it and couldn't help but ask why they still had such tape at home. Uncle Meng stuffed the entire roll into his pocket, explaining that it was specially bought for the kids; they couldn't keep using plain white.
"Uncle Meng, you're amazing!" Song Bunan exclaimed, giving Uncle Meng a big kiss on the cheek, only to be playfully poked on the head and called a little rascal. Uncle Meng was incredibly kind to the three of them, almost doting. Song Bunan knew how to charm him and always managed to get some treats. Besides the tape, he also received a bag of cookies and snacks, which he could enjoy with Xiao Mei at home later—much better than takeout.
He entered the Jiang Family's house empty-handed but left with two large bags. While sitting in the car, Xiao Mei complained about how she never got such treatment when going out. The driver remained silent, but in the rearview mirror, Song Bunan could see him struggling to suppress a smile. Proudly, Song Bunan declared that it was all because he was so likable.
"Whatever," was Xiao Mei's only response.
"The initial disclosure from the laboratory stated that they had mastered how to replace a person's thoughts and habits with those of another person, achieving a one-hundred-percent replication, including the selected individual's memories. When this information first surfaced, everyone thought it might be akin to developing or forcibly acquiring a dual personality. However, after several failed cases emerged, it became clear that they were using unknown methods to destroy a person's original personality.
As failures increased, those who lost their minds transformed into strange beings—similar to what you might see in the mountains. They lacked self-awareness, pain perception, and emotions; they became mere shells of their former selves. They did not react to external stimuli and could only follow pre-set commands while exhibiting remarkable physical abilities. Some recognized former street homeless individuals among these failures; those who were once crippled or blind could move normally after losing their minds.
Later on, the dirty dealings of the Underworld Messenger were exposed, leading some to connect these events and speculate that the methods discovered in the laboratory allowed the Underworld Messenger to take away the souls of test subjects and replace them with something else—possibly ghosts or other entities. However, not all bodies were suitable for this process; those that failed to integrate were turned into mindless enforcers.
The name 'Survivor' was never taken seriously; eventually, people believed that the laboratory was using futile methods to fulfill its desire to create 'zombie enforcers.' In the third year of experimentation, Rongcheng collaborated with other cities to ban this experiment and arrested many involved individuals. Unfortunately, those behind it had long since vanished without a trace and could not be apprehended. Mighty Falcon participated in the ban operation back then; many lives were lost—reportedly only one member of a particular team survived.
When Brother Qian Gu returned, the laboratory had already been shut down for over two years. He was also a discarded failure who had not been successfully replaced and was left in a state of confusion. Since then, the Jiang Family had been keeping an eye out and noticed several suspicious individuals in the funeral circles who seemed connected to the laboratory but could not uncover more information. The materials sent by the family head contained mostly conjectures or unsubstantiated leads; we still needed much more information for an in-depth investigation."
Back at Bunan's small house, the two sat on the living room carpet. Following Song Bunan's suggestion, they decided to focus on their work before planning an evening party. Xiao Mei began recounting everything she knew while Song Bunan took notes on useful information. Arranging things chronologically revealed that many events converged around the time when the laboratory was shut down.
"So it seems that around the time of the laboratory's closure, Ghost Messengers revoked Underworld Messengers' soul-reaping privileges. Yet in subsequent years, some Underworld Messengers continued using their abilities for tasks related to the laboratory while Ghost Messengers claimed there were traitors among them—indicating these individuals were collaborating in criminal activities all along. The loss of Underworld Messenger List may have been part of a larger scheme."
His analysis was met with Xiao Mei's agreement. After all, the sudden appearance of that thing, followed by its mysterious disappearance and the subsequent events, suggested that it had been deliberately hyped up by someone to attract attention. But where did Mighty Falcon get that List?
“Did Mighty Falcon know it was a List when they were asked by the Zhang Family to find this thing?” Song Bunan asked, biting his pen, his gaze filled with curiosity. Xiao Mei leaned back on the sofa, took a long swig of beer, and replied, “I don’t think they knew, but Mighty Falcon is quite troublesome. Even if there are acquaintances inside, they won’t disclose task details to me, so I can’t ask too many questions. But you’ve added that Big Guy as a contact; why not try using your charm to attract some information?”
Raising an eyebrow at Song Bunan, who was always serious yet had a humorous side, Xiao Mei expected him to refuse. Instead, he saw Song Bunan seriously considering the feasibility of the suggestion. Rubbing his slightly rough chin, Song Bunan admitted that it might be worth a try.
“Oh wow, this is the first time I’ve seen you consider such a proposal. You must really care for that person,” Xiao Mei teased with a smile, handing over a beer before remembering that Song Bunan was still nursing an injury.
“I believe Mighty Falcon won’t miss this opportunity either. If I can collaborate with them even slightly, our investigation will gain more support. I may not have charm, but I should be good at making friends. What do you think?”
The question was thrown back to Xiao Mei, who downed his beer in agreement. Song Bunan was action-oriented in this regard; he immediately pulled out his phone to contact Xin Yi. However, Xiao Mei thought it was too hasty and snatched the phone away, suggesting they first gather some clues from Lin Mo Hui before reaching out.
“To cooperate with them, we need leverage. The information gathered by the Jiang Family combined with what that woman has serves as double insurance. You should contact Lin Mo Hui and try to set up a meeting with her tonight,” Xiao Mei said wisely. Although younger than Song Bunan, he considered things more thoroughly in some aspects. His words snapped Song Bunan back to reality; he paused his search for Xin Yi’s chat and began looking through his contacts instead.
Lin Mo Hui was an intelligence dealer who had settled in Rongcheng long ago. Unlike anyone else, she operated independently from all factions and made money selling information. As long as the price was right, she could provide answers about various families in the city and circles beyond it. Someone once attempted to investigate her background but ended up having their tongue cut out before they could finish; since then, no one dared to inquire about her.
Song Bunan knew Lin Mo Hui through his older brother. Over ten years older than him, Song Buxian had already become a company owner before Song Bunan graduated and was always busy without anyone knowing what he did. He explained to the family that he was in e-commerce, buying and selling goods. After deciding to open a store himself, he introduced people who needed such services to Lin Mo Hui while inviting her to dinner to ask her to look out for his younger brother.
No one knew Lin Mo Hui's age; she always appeared young and beautiful whenever she showed up in public. With an air of confidence in every gesture and movement, she possessed remarkable skills and interacted with others like a grand ink painting—perfectly matching her name.
“Six o'clock at Mo Lou's Luo Yan Hall,” came the reply. Song Bunan knew tonight would be a sleepless night.
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