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墨書 Inktalez
Zhao Mingkun was not referring to her home in the country, but rather to the place she had rented earlier. This place was not particularly large; it was divided into two rooms. The outer room was bigger, filled with bunk beds, indicating that everyone would be sleeping there at night. The inner room was smaller, containing only one set of bunk beds. By the time evening arrived, everyone had gathered, except for the middle-aged man who was still unaccounted for. However, judging by Zhao Mingkun's indifferent demeanor, he must have been sent on a special mission.
One of the team members approached Zhao Mingkun and whispered something in her ear. Gradually, her furrowed brow relaxed, suggesting she had received some good news. She glanced at me and said, "Captain Shao, you will sleep in the inner room with me tonight. Since you don't seem to have anything pressing to do right now, you should get some rest. You'll need your energy for tomorrow's competition. I still have some matters to discuss here. You can go now!"
On the surface, it seemed like Zhao Mingkun wanted me to rest well, but what she really meant was that they were going to discuss important matters, and as an outsider, I should excuse myself. Hearing her words, I shrugged and decided not to linger awkwardly. I pushed open the door and stepped inside. The space was small and also contained bunk beds. The only advantage was that it had a private bathroom, unlike the outside where one would have to venture into the woods to relieve themselves.
While this was a benefit, upon closer reflection, it became clear that it was actually a form of confinement for me. Zhao Mingkun wasn't being kind; she simply wanted to ensure I wouldn't use the excuse of going to the bathroom to engage in activities that could jeopardize their organization's interests. The room had no windows and the bathroom lacked ventilation, resembling a sealed cage where I was like a bird trapped inside.
When we were on the boat, Zhao Mingkun knew that even if I had my phone, there would be no signal to contact anyone back home, so she had been relatively lenient with me. However, now that we were here, her scrutiny intensified. Yet earlier that afternoon, I had successfully logged into my MSN account at a shop.
This opportunity arose due to the sudden gunfire that caused chaos among everyone; otherwise, Zhao Mingkun would never have given me such a chance. Due to time constraints, I couldn't linger outside for long. I only managed to log into MSN without having time to type anything substantial; I merely clicked on login—whether I actually logged in remained uncertain.
However, when the shop owner heard the gunshots, he had likely hidden away somewhere and wouldn't return anytime soon to interfere with the computer. Therefore, my MSN account should have been logged in for a considerable amount of time. Based on this assumption and considering Mary's skills as a hacker, she should have been able to pinpoint my location by now.
If they could determine my whereabouts, everything else would fall into place. It was likely that within the next day or two, I would receive a response—one that probably wouldn't come through online means. Knowing about my fleeting login session, they must realize that I couldn't stay online for long or even access the internet at all.
With this in mind, perhaps starting from the day after tomorrow, I would need to contemplate whether the events occurring around me were coincidental or inevitable. Since Zhao Mingkun understood me so well—even knowing why I couldn't hold a gun—it stood to reason that other members of the Special Investigation Team had also been thoroughly investigated. From this perspective, it seemed unlikely they would appear around me directly; instead, they would choose alternative methods.
Of course, all these deductions hinged on one fact: Mary saw my MSN login notification. For this to happen, conditions back home needed to be just right. Firstly, there couldn't be any investigation into the Special Investigation Team; if an investigation were underway, Mary wouldn't be able to communicate with the outside world and thus wouldn't see my message.
Secondly, my every communication method was under twenty-four-hour surveillance by their department. Since that shop didn't have QQ and there wasn't enough time for emails either, logging into MSN was my only gamble. If Mary hadn't considered this possibility, then all of it would be in vain.
Ultimately, everything boiled down to one key point: they believed in me. They believed that what happened in Jing City wasn't my doing and that their department trusted my fellow members of the Special Investigation Team as well. Reflecting on this made me sigh deeply; our parting had come too swiftly and felt all too rushed.
However, I still had confidence that my message had reached the department. I believed in the abilities of my team members, just as they had unconditionally believed in me before. If we could truly make contact, we would be able to trace back and find detailed information about this organization, and then its downfall would be imminent.
Faced with such an organization, which might even have the Mafia as a backing in the future, it was essential to eliminate it as soon as possible. From the current situation, it seemed we still had a long way to go; after all, Rome wasn't built in a day. Just as I was lost in thought, the door creaked open, and it appeared that Zhao Mingkun had finished discussing matters.
I shrugged and said to Zhao Mingkun, "It only takes five people to participate in the game, yet you brought so many this time. Moreover, since we disembarked, I haven't seen that middle-aged man again. If I'm not mistaken, what you're after isn't just a backing, is it? There's an old saying: 'A greedy heart can swallow an elephant.' Sometimes having too big of an appetite isn't a good thing; if you bite off more than you can chew, you'll choke."
Zhao Mingkun casually took off her coat and tossed it onto the upper bunk with a cold smile. "There's another saying: 'The more you know, the faster you die.' You don't need to worry about what we're doing; you should focus on yourself first. I never gamble my life on others. If you can't even control your own fate, that's truly tragic. Don't you think so, Captain Shao?"
I knew Zhao Mingkun was hinting at my current situation—suggesting that my fate was actually in someone else's hands. So far, it seemed to be true. But those of us in this line of work understood one principle: the longer things went on and the more actions taken, the greater the chance for flaws to appear.
Solving cases and interacting with people were both like this; there was no need to rush.
Zhao Mingkun was suspicious, stubborn, and arrogant. If any one of these traits stood alone, they could be seen as flaws. However, when combined, they were harder to dismiss as mere shortcomings. Her suspicion led her to consider everything comprehensively; her stubbornness meant she would never give up easily; and her arrogance drove her to excel at whatever she did.
Together, these three traits made her seem like a man in many ways; yet she happened to be a woman with a daughter. I couldn't tell if that was her greatest strength or her biggest weakness.
At this moment, night had fallen completely, and the noise outside gradually subsided. It seemed that everyone outside had gone to bed. I stretched lazily; the relaxed life on the ship had made it difficult for me to adjust to such intense physical and mental exertion. Although it was only eleven o'clock, I felt utterly exhausted.
Thinking this way, I couldn't be bothered to wash up. I kicked my shoes aside and began climbing up to the upper bunk. To my surprise, before I could even reach halfway up, Zhao Mingkun yanked me down again, nearly causing me to tumble headfirst. I thought women generally liked cleanliness and assumed she was upset about my unwashed feet. So I glared at her and said, "What time is it? We could die at any moment! If you want to wash up, go ahead; I'm not doing it."
Unexpectedly, Zhao Mingkun didn't care about that at all. She replied, "Whether you wash or not has nothing to do with me, but I'm definitely sleeping on that upper bunk! Don't try to take it from me; otherwise I'll shoot you!" With that, Zhao Mingkun pulled out her gun and placed it on the table.
This woman was exploiting my weakness! If it had been a few years ago, I would have shot that bastard without hesitation. Seemingly reading my thoughts, Zhao Mingkun smiled and said, "Oh really? Go ahead and pick it up if you dare! Let me tell you—I fired three shots today and there are still six bullets left inside. Even shooting at your feet could kill you! I'm up here and the gun's down there; if you make a move, I can't stop you!"
I stared at the gun for a long time, unable to bring myself to reach for it. I could only say to Zhao Mingkun, "You're ruthless, truly ruthless. If a woman is this aggressive, if you ever manage to get married in your lifetime, I'll change my surname! You insist on sleeping on top; let's see how far you can go. Why don't you just fly up to the sky?"
"I want to be on top, so what?!" Zhao Mingkun yelled as she threw down her shoes. "You man, stop being so wishy-washy! Sleep! We have a ton of things to do tomorrow."
I thought I was messy enough, but this woman was even worse. As a woman, she didn't even wash her feet at night. No wonder she wanted to sleep on the upper bunk; the smell from her shoes was overwhelming. Plus, there were no windows in this place—only a crack under the door letting in a draft, and all the odors rushed in.
"Can you please come down and wash your feet?" I called from below. "Could you kindly put your shoes outside to air out?"
At that moment, Zhao Mingkun shouted back, "If you can't stand it, go sleep in the bathroom! Do you think I want to be in the same room as you? If it weren't for the orders from above to keep an eye on you, I wouldn't be stuck with you! Let me tell you, once this mission is over, we're done! You can go wherever you're comfortable."
"Such a performer," I said. "Back when we were in Jing City, you were so attentive, dressing up all nice and proper. Now your true nature is finally showing! That smell—have you got athlete's foot or something? Let me tell you, athlete's foot is contagious; if you ask me what to do about it, I'd say just chop it off!"
"Are you done yet?" Zhao Mingkun shot back as she threw down a stinky sock. "I warn you, if you say one more word, I'll lock you in the bathroom—do you believe me? Get lost! Whoever speaks again will have a son with no father!"
What else could I say? I could only endure through this terrible environment for one night and hope that I wouldn't end up with sinusitis or something worse.
On my first trip out to sea, I encountered a well-known Bengal Aid Worker. Young and impulsive, but too poor to really make a move until the First Mate told me that a bag of instant noodles could get me through the night with a group of women... It was quite an experience—intense and involving multiple women.
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