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墨書 Inktalez
I had been walking in the sewer for ten minutes. If Sister Mao had followed my instructions, the police should have already caught up to this point.
The alley where I had Sister Mao drive into had no cameras in the middle, but both ends were monitored. With the police quickly checking the camera footage, they would soon discover my escape route. They would inevitably come down into the sewer to investigate, and within thirty minutes, several entrances would be guarded. If I didn’t want to be cornered in the sewer, I had to escape within this half hour.
I moved forward step by step, mentally mapping out the route through the sewer.
It was dark and silent around me, with only the occasional sound of rats squeaking. Every tiny noise echoed in this place.
According to my plan, after turning left ahead and walking a few dozen meters, I would open the manhole cover above, where there was a path with many directional choices. However, I knew I couldn’t leave Dongxing City; the exits would surely be sealed off immediately.
Fortunately, Dongxing City was large enough that a person could hide here without much trouble.
What I needed to do now was to move from the light into the shadows and expose those who had framed me. Without the resources of the Special Operations Group, accomplishing this would likely take some effort. As I thought about this, I turned a corner only to find myself facing a barrier made of rebar.
I tugged at it and realized that the rebar was embedded in concrete. Without professional cutting tools, there was no way to remove it. I slapped my forehead; I had considered all factors except for this one. During the rainy season in summer, sudden downpours truly tested a city's drainage system.
There were plenty of news reports about people being swept away into sewers. This barrier could serve some purpose after all. Yet now, this rebar fence was isolating me here, making it impossible to move forward. Realizing this, I dared not linger any longer and hurried back.
This unexpected turn of events made my heart race with anxiety. However, planning a new route wouldn’t happen instantly. In any case, I needed to leave this place as soon as possible.
But despite my thoughts, I had seriously underestimated the efficiency of the police. After only a few minutes of retracing my steps, I heard a voice in the distance: “You guys go over there; everyone else follow me this way.”
That voice was all too familiar; it belonged to Liu.
Liu again—truly my nemesis.
Liu had been with the Special Operations Group for half a year, so he naturally understood my working style. The previous Multiple Personality Murder Case had taught us one thing: the sewer system of a city, especially that of a metropolis, was a playground for criminals. If I could think of this, Liu, without even looking at the surveillance footage, could certainly come to the same conclusion. Moving forward meant Liu; moving backward led to a dead end.
Given this situation, it seemed I had little hope of escape.
In the distance, I could hear the voices of several people conversing. Just as I was about to surrender, a hand suddenly landed on my back.
In such an environment, being touched unexpectedly like that nearly made me scream. At that moment, a delicate voice came through: "Don't be afraid, it's me."
It was Zhao Mingkun's voice.
I turned around and indeed found Zhao Mingkun standing behind me.
After my initial surprise came a wave of melancholy; I was happy to see Zhao Mingkun again but worried that we would soon be captured. However, Zhao Mingkun clearly did not share my concerns as she pulled me to move backward.
I asked, "What are you doing here?"
As she hurried forward, Zhao Mingkun replied, "Your Sister Mao spread the word that she was looking for a woman named Zhao Mingkun. I inquired around and used some means to find out your plan."
"Not many people know about my plan," I frowned. "But Sister Mao has never seen you."
Zhao Mingkun smiled lightly. "Whenever someone does something, there will always be traces left behind. That lawyer—you know him—Sister Mao might not recognize you, but that lawyer would figure everything out. Although he doesn't know your plan, from what you told Sister Mao, he could easily guess what you were trying to do. Otherwise, how do you think the police arrived so quickly?"
"That lawyer?" I continued walking forward.
Zhao Mingkun nodded. "I found some clues about your parents' background. I've been wanting to tell you for a while, but there never seemed to be an opportunity. Now, it seems you need to hide just like I do."
At this point, Zhao Mingkun chuckled lightly and said, "It seems that people's destinies are indeed predetermined. After all these years of twists and turns, I never expected things to unfold according to the original script of the story. What I don't quite understand is, if we have no choice, why did you end up on this path as well?"
"What do you know?" I stood my ground.
Every time Zhao Mingkun spoke, I felt a sense of confusion, as if her words held deeper meanings. I thought she must know something about me; otherwise, she wouldn't say such things. I had felt this way since our first meeting.
Now, that feeling was even stronger.
Zhao Mingkun stopped walking and glanced back at me. "The more you know, the more painful it will be. You should understand this principle. I don't want to see you like this. We need to go; they will catch up with us soon."
I remained where I was, refusing to move my feet. "Zhao Mingkun, if it's about me, I have the right to know. No matter how I might react upon learning the truth, that's my business. I'd rather suffer than remain in the dark."
With that, we both fell silent for a moment.
I didn't turn back to look, even though I knew Liu would arrive with people in just a few minutes.
We stared at each other, neither willing to back down. In each other's eyes, we saw a stubbornness that refused to yield. I couldn't understand why Zhao Mingkun was reluctant to tell me about matters concerning myself when they clearly had little to do with her.
We stood there for a full minute without speaking.
It was Zhao Mingkun who finally broke the silence. She lowered her voice so that only I could hear her: "Wu Meng, I know your plan. If you throw it all away here, then all your suffering will have been in vain. Do you really expect the same method to work twice?"
But I still did not move, only calmly said, "Zhao Mingkun, you have been on the run for seven years. During this time, you have never been caught. I believe you must have unfinished business. I think you wouldn't want to be caught here. So, are you sure about this?"
There was silence again.
We both knew that Liu and the others could come at any moment; we couldn't afford to linger any longer.
Zhao Mingkun looked at me and then said, "Wu Meng, I didn't expect you to be so shameless."
I chuckled and replied, "Likewise. So, does that mean you agree?"
Zhao Mingkun said nothing and turned to walk ahead, and I understood that he had tacitly accepted.
At that moment, I hurried to catch up and said, "The problem is, there's a dead end ahead; there's no way out. Given Liu's personality, even if he sees it's a dead end, he would still come to check. Although it’s dark here, they all have flashlights. Where can we hide?"
Zhao Mingkun smiled slightly and said, "When you came in just now, did you see my shadow?"
I shook my head.
Zhao Mingkun continued, "Then that's it. If you didn't see me, he won't see us either."
As we spoke, we had already reached the rebar mesh. Zhao Mingkun glanced at me, grabbed the gaps in the rebar with both hands, and began to climb up. There were several indentations on the ceiling of the sewer where one could grip tightly. Then I saw Zhao Mingkun pressing himself firmly against the ceiling.
The ceiling was quite high; if one didn't realize this fact, I doubt anyone would think to look up here for people. Zhao Mingkun was like a gecko, silently clinging to the ceiling as he slowly crawled outward.
She said softly, "I arrived here before you. When I saw the railing, I knew your plan couldn't be executed. But you didn't see me, which means my method works. Come up, and remember to use a bit of finesse. If you can't hold on, we're both done for."
I nodded and tried to mimic Zhao Mingkun's movements. Watching Zhao Mingkun climb so effortlessly made me realize that this was no ordinary feat when I attempted it myself. I had to exert all my strength just to move slowly along the wall. I gripped the hole with my hands and pushed hard with my feet.
If Zhao Mingkun was like a nimble gecko, then I felt like an awkward panda.
Zhao Mingkun and I crawled out one after the other. The rebar net was too obvious; we had to make it to the middle to avoid being caught in the flashlight's beam.
Several people walked beneath us, their flashlights swaying as they moved.
Zhao Mingkun and I lay still, not daring to move, not even to breathe loudly.
"There's no one here, Captain Liu," one of the officers said. "They must have gone in the opposite direction. Our brothers over there should be able to find some clues."
I heard someone tapping on the rebar net.
"No one can get this open," the officer added.
"Let's go that way," Liu ordered.
I let out a sigh of relief, but Liu stopped right beneath me and stood still.
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