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墨書 Inktalez
By now, only the three of us remained in this game, but each of us had our own thoughts. I initially believed that Poplar, while not blindly loyal, was at least loyal to the organization. However, ever since that incident, I felt disheartened by Poplar's demeanor; it seemed like he was always mumbling to himself.
The others hadn't returned either, and it was already past one o'clock. None of us had eaten. Zhao Mingkun finished organizing things and said to me and Poplar, "Let's eat! I've found a nearby hot pot restaurant. We should enjoy some Chinese food while we're out here. I actually stumbled upon it while scrolling through my phone just now."
"Really?" I couldn't help but exclaim. "I can't believe there's even a Chinese restaurant in this place. Boss is quite impressive."
"It's newly opened; it just started yesterday. Let's go check it out," Zhao Mingkun replied.
When it comes to noodles, Chinese and Italians are on par with each other, but hot pot is truly an Asian specialty. Being with Juan Juan, who is wealthy, has allowed me to travel and experience different types of hot pot from around the world.
There are many delicious options—Korean and Thai flavors are quite good, but Indian curry hot pot is something I can't praise at all; that culture seems unable to eat without curry. And then there's Northern Europe, which leaves one speechless. Cheese fondue and chocolate fondue are hard for me to stomach, yet those girls seem to enjoy them; a small pot of cheese can accompany five large buns without them needing to drink any water…
Thinking about this made us both head outside immediately. However, Poplar appeared hesitant. Zhao Mingkun noticed this as well and said to Poplar, "If you don't want to join us for lunch, you can stay here or eat somewhere else." Only after hearing this did Poplar nod in agreement.
I frowned slightly; Poplar's reluctance was becoming increasingly obvious—something even a child could notice. It seemed Zhao Mingkun's earlier actions had truly hurt him. But how could someone as clever as Zhao Mingkun not realize this? The situation appeared more complex than it seemed on the surface.
I asked, "Zhao Mingkun, you really hurt his feelings..."
Before I could finish my sentence, Zhao Mingkun placed a finger over my lips and smiled, saying, "It's time to eat; let's not discuss anything else."
Upon arriving at the restaurant, we discovered it was bustling with activity. Even before reaching the entrance, we caught a whiff of spicy chili oil that reminded me of hot pot back home—it looked quite authentic. Inside, many people were seated; steam rose from their pots, and among them were one or two Asian faces; the rest were European.
"Are you from China?" I asked the waitress.
As she led us to a table, she replied, "Yes! We're from Sichuan. Our landlady came here with an Italian handsome guy after getting married and opened this Chinese restaurant. Haha! I'm her sister and wanted to come see the Italian handsome guy too; I'm still in college!"
At that moment, I noticed a sexy woman at the counter smoking while eyeing us diners—it must be the landlady. The waitress laughed and said, "We only serve super spicy here; our landlady insists that’s how it should be done. Just look at how those foreigners handle the spice!"
The young girl seemed lively and cute as she continued, "But since we’re all Chinese here, I can reduce the amount of chili for you if you'd like. How does that sound? Want me to tone down the spice?"
I shook my head and said to the young girl, "Usually, when people eat hot pot, they consider different levels of spiciness. But the real hot pot has to be spicy. We've been surrounded by Western food for too long here, and we can't even get anything good to eat ourselves. If we're going to have it, it should be the spiciest—at least five levels. By the way, we're coming back here the day after tomorrow, so make sure to reserve a table for us."
The girl nodded. Even though it was just the two of us, I still ordered a large amount of dishes. I said, "Give me more lettuce; raw is the best, haha!"
After saying that, the landlady at the counter threw me a flirtatious glance, which I returned. Zhao Mingkun, standing beside me, laughed and said, "I heard you really love your fiancée. Is this how you show your love? By flirting? If you have such boldness, how did you refuse me back then?"
"Haha!" I chuckled and replied, "I've been through many flowers but never touched a petal."
Finally getting to enjoy a meal I loved, I feasted heartily, practically eating from one table to the next. Just as I was about to take a break and go for another round, Zhao Mingkun pulled out his phone and said to me, "I just received a text; another body has been found. We need to head over there immediately."
I nodded. Although delicious food was in front of us, life was clearly more important. With that thought in mind, we didn't dare delay and left right away. Zhao Mingkun placed a stack of cash on the counter generously and said, "No need for change." Just as we stepped outside, the young girl ran over and said, "Brother, you dropped something."
I looked down and realized my charm had fallen on the ground. This was my talisman; I couldn't afford to lose it. I took it from her hand and said, "Thank you so much; this is something I can't lose." Saying that, I quickly put it into my pocket.
Zhao Mingkun called Poplar, and within a few minutes, Poplar drove up to us.
Following Zhao Mingkun's directions, we soon arrived at the scene. It was a warehouse filled with unknown items. There wasn't a single person around, which struck me as odd. Who reported this? Why was there never anyone here when we arrived? It felt very strange. But if no one was around, then so be it; as long as it didn't affect our investigation, we could manage. The warehouse door had been broken open; someone had died inside—another case of hanging.
The warehouse had two floors; one end of the rope was tied to the railing on the second floor. It seemed this person had first tied the rope to the railing and then around their neck before jumping down. We carefully lowered the body down. I touched the person's jaw and confirmed that indeed their mandible had fractured—consistent with falling from a height.
So this person had committed suicide again. Not wanting to think about anything else at this moment, I turned the body over and found another word written on their back—a lowercase "i." I pondered my vocabulary but realized I didn't recognize this word in English.
"What are we waiting for?" I immediately said to Zhao Mingkun: "Get your phone out and look it up! This is already the sixth word; even though I don't recognize it, it's clearly a word."
Zhao Mingkun rolled his eyes at me before pulling out his phone to check. There wasn't an English equivalent for this word; however, there was one in Italian. The word meant "glove." I frowned—glove? Mafia? Before I could say anything further, Zhao Mingkun remarked: "Glove means Mafia."
I shook my head and replied: "Mafia is spelled 'Mafia,' originally meaning 'Morto Alla Francia, Italia Anela' (Italy's desire is to eliminate France). Although I don't understand Italian well, I'm an expert when it comes to crime-related matters. It dates back to 1282 when a Sicilian girl was raped by French soldiers. They often left behind black handprints or skulls during their crimes; that's how our people came to call them that."
"But why would they call themselves that?" I asked with furrowed brows. "Calling themselves gloves?"
Zhao Mingkun glanced at me without responding to my words. In his deep eyes, it seemed like there was something hidden. At that moment, Zhao Mingkun said, "Whatever is written is what it is. The words have been spelled out, and I don't think there will be another victim. The current issue is finding the Killer, and that is your task."
I tapped my fingers against my forehead and replied, "From the body, that's all we have for now. Let's leave for now; solving the case can't be rushed."
Just then, a message came through on Zhao Mingkun's phone. He turned to me and said, "I just received a message about the body in the sea. The victim has been dead for three days, and coincidentally, he was also a member of the Mafia. Of course, it's not really a coincidence since this island is controlled by the Mafia; it's not unusual for one or two people here to be affiliated with them."
I nodded and said to Zhao Mingkun, "Regardless of whether this is related to our case or not, it's good to consider all possibilities. Have you noticed that the last letter of this word is 'i,' which is lowercase? However, the letter we saw on the body was 'I,' which is uppercase."
Zhao Mingkun nodded and said, "The two words have one uppercase and one lowercase letter. If this letter were to be added, it could only go at the beginning of the word." As he spoke, he placed this word at the beginning, and the translator on his phone displayed an Italian word meaning 'glove' after adding an 'I.' Upon hearing this answer, I had a rough idea but needed confirmation.
"Zhao Mingkun," I said while looking at the Chinese translation on the device. "We are getting closer to the truth. Now I have a task for you; if you can complete it, I will be more certain about who the Killer is."
Zhao Mingkun nodded and asked, "What’s the task?"
"Find out the identities of these last two victims, including the body in the sea," I instructed him. "I suggest linking these three individuals together in your investigation. This way, we can move faster."
Meanwhile, The Village Doctor sought out Beautiful Widow Nurse late at night while intoxicated. Hearing strange sounds and moans from inside her room, he kicked open the door only to discover his robust son…
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