Chapter 153
by Need_More_SleepChapter 153: A Slip of The Hand
The streets, shops, and even the police station were eerily empty—only the hospitals were packed to the brim.
“Cough! Cough-cough!”
“You okay?” Yiwen hastily poured a glass of water.
The one coughing was a teammate from her unit. Honestly, even after working together for a year, she still hadn’t memorized all her colleagues’ faces.
As a patrol officer—more like Spider-Man, drifting around to fight crime—her circle was small. Even during team missions, she’d often lose track of the group.
“I’m fine. Probably just caught a chill yesterday?” The man waved it off, stubbornly downplaying it.
Officer Chen walked over and patted his shoulder. “Go home. Take a few days off. Come back when you’re better.”
“Huh?” The man shook his head. “No way. It’s just a minor cold.”
Officer Chen frowned. “Colds in midsummer? Unlikely. You’re already showing the ‘denial’ symptom.”
This had happened before—a viral-type ability-user losing control, infecting half of Fanzui City with malignant tumors. Thankfully, the contagion rate was low, and order was restored within two months.
Once the man was persuaded to leave, Officer Chen sprayed disinfectant into the air.
“What’s going on? The streets are deserted, but hospitals are overflowing,” Yiwen asked, confused.
Sensing trouble, she’d immediately suited up—her uniform had toxin resistance.
“An indiscriminate attack by a viral-type ability-user,” Officer Chen sighed. “Victims exhibit completely different symptoms—fevers, tumors, you name it. Not all are contagious, though. My son had a fever yesterday. Couldn’t even get an appointment, and pharmacies were cleaned out.”
“Ah? Is he okay?” Yiwen asked, concerned.
Officer Chen’s son was only six or seven, just starting elementary school after summer break. A fever at that age was risky.
“Gave him leftover fever meds. He’s improving.” Officer Chen pinched his brow.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here today.
But his wife had already thrown a fit. Some jobs made it impossible to balance duty and family.
“Right now, the biggest headache is hospital security. People who can’t get appointments are starting riots.”
“Should I go maintain order?” Yiwen began prepping her gear.
She’d had no idea—everything was fine yesterday. How did things escalate overnight?
“No. Leave crowd control to Ninja alone. More people means more infection risks. The rest of us are tracking the ability-user behind this.”
The sudden surge of varied pathogens was undeniably man-made. But who’s this dumb? A single pathogen could’ve passed as a natural outbreak. This? It’s practically a neon sign screaming “I did this.”
————————
A new month meant new assignments from Wei Shi. He wasn’t one to procrastinate—no last-minute scrambles for him.
Though he called it “Mi Xiaoliu’s mission,” it was really just her tagging along for “experience,” watching from the sidelines as he handled things.
Past experience proved that letting Mi Xiaoliu solo a mission was a guaranteed disaster.
This one’s location was unusual—a hospital.
Given the current crisis, hospitals were anything but safe. A single stroll could leave you infected. Sneaking in was also trickier.
Wei Shi had ordered Mi Xiaoliu to stay hidden, but he never expected her to be this dense—hiding in the next patient’s room, one that was occupied.
A private room, no less. With shortages this severe, only extreme contagion risks or special cases like Beibei’s, warranted one.
The bed held a child under ten, gender unclear—they had no hair.
Frail, even skinnier than Mi Xiaoliu, with an unsettling dark tinge to their features.
Mi Xiaoliu—her arm fully healed—sat curled on the windowsill, staring blankly. The two locked eyes in silence.
“Want candy?” The child broke the stalemate, offering a handful of fruit drops.
From the voice, likely a girl.
Mi Xiaoliu shook her head. “Don’t take candy from strangers.”
Heli had drilled that into her.
But Heli never said other gifts were off-limits.
Mi Xiaoliu’s gaze was fixed on the pastries by the girl’s bedside.
“Mmm…” The girl sucked her thumb, oblivious to Mi Xiaoliu’s longing, and studied her worriedly. “Are you the Black-Clothed One?”
An easy guess—Mi Xiaoliu was still in her beginner combat suit.
“Not telling.” Mi Xiaoliu shook her head.
“Then you are.” The girl’s eyes lit up. “Can I ask you something? Can you… kill me?”
Mi Xiaoliu tilted her head, puzzled.
“The doctor said my surgery has less than 50% success.” The girl hung her head. At her age, “percent” meant nothing.
“Mom and Dad keep borrowing money for my medicine… but I’m gonna die anyway…” She turned away.
I don’t want to burden them anymore.
She rummaged under her pillow, pulling out a pill bottle. “This is your payment. It costs 5,000 mira.”
Mi Xiaoliu took the bottle and handed her a four-leaf clover. “Eat this.”
“Master still hasn’t given up…” Sasha groaned.
Why did this remind her of Easter’s lab-mouse experiments? …No, that’s an insult to the Master.
“Mom says no to strangers’ food.” The girl crossed her arms smugly, retaliating for Mi Xiaoliu’s earlier rejection.
But a sidelong glance showed Mi Xiaoliu quietly retracting the clover, looking dejected.
“…Fine.” The girl took it and chewed.
She’d expected poison—instant death. Nothing happened.
Disappointing.
Disappointed, Mi Xiaoliu returned the 5,000-mira bills to the girl, ignoring her suddenly spirited protests as she left.
Yet after her departure, the little girl faced an ordeal.
Doctors drawing her blood for tests couldn’t believe the results. They pricked her multiple times, hailing it as a medical miracle.
……
Meanwhile, on Wei Shi’s end—
A middle-aged man with a receding hairline, frameless glasses, and a white lab coat stood by the hospital room door.
Unusually, the client was present this time.
“I heard you have undetectable poisons?” The man who spoke was impeccably dressed—suit, tie, gold accessories—yet his face bore none of the joy such wealth should bring.
“Are you sure about this?” Wei Shi turned to the elderly man on the bed.
Wrinkles obscured his original features. A trembling hand clutched a crumpled photo as he stared vacantly at nothing.
When his gaze swept past them, he shouted, “Who are you?!” and hurled objects their way.
This old man was the assassination target—and an Alzheimer’s patient.
Even now, some diseases remain unconquered.
The client stared at his foster father, pain twisting his expression. “Don’t think I’m doing this to free him. Do you know what he did in his youth?”
Wei Shi didn’t respond, his face impassive.
“Yes, he raised me from age ten. He was always kind. But just two days ago, I learned—he killed my entire family in a hit-and-run! He’s a murderer, understand?” He grabbed Wei Shi’s collar, shaking.
Wei Shi shoved him off coldly.
Under that lifeless stare, the client shuddered, regaining some composure. “Before he adopted me, I had a happy family. A father who never took his exhaustion out on us. A gentle mother. A bright, cheerful older sister.”
“If someone commits an unforgivable act, then spends a lifetime making amends—do you think they deserve forgiveness?” He looked to Wei Shi, but got no answer.
Wei Shi glanced at Mi Xiaoliu, who’d somehow slipped in through the window, and tossed the poison to the client. “Here. Do it yourself.”
Not my place to judge, interfere, or set a bad example for the kid.
Only the victim could weigh justice here. Anyone else’s opinion would just be sanctimonious noise.
The moment this man sought validation—or dissuasion—from a stranger, he’d already wavered.
Wei Shi looked at Mi Xiaoliu. Clueless, she studied the old man, then offered him a four-leaf clover. “Eat this.”
The demented old man took it and shoved it into his mouth.
“What did you give him?!” the client barked.
Wei Shi shoved him aside.
Their eyes met. The client retreated silently.
Grabbing Mi Xiaoliu by the scruff, Wei Shi hauled her toward the window. “Don’t interfere.”
They left the client clutching the poison, hesitating—until he pocketed it with a glare at the bed.
Letting him die like this… would be too merciful.
The man exits, leaving the old man gripping a yellowed photo—a snapshot of his younger self with a grinning boy.
A happiness preserved only after destroying another family.
……
“How many people have you fed that grass to?” Wei Shi looked down at Xiaoliu, dangling from his grip.
Mi Xiaoliu counted on her fingers and held up four.
She had counted herself in, but since Wei Shi hadn’t eaten it in front of her, she didn’t tally him.
“Don’t give it to strangers. Don’t waste it on minor illnesses either,” Wei Shi ordered.
Mi Xiaoliu looked up at him, seemingly confused.
Not that Wei Shi felt the need to explain. He simply added, “If you disobey, I’ll beat you to death.”
“Mmm.” Mi Xiaoliu rubbed her buttocks sympathetically at the imagined pain.
She tugged at Wei Shi’s sleeve: “The Red Prince bullied me.”
A tattling maneuver orchestrated by Sasha.
“Not my problem,” Wei Shi replied icily.
Mi Xiaoliu released his clothes and fell silent.
——————–
Nighttime.
Despite the urgent crisis, three special officers were still assigned to closely monitor Zhang Zikun. They weren’t surveillance specialists, but they shared two key traits: extraordinary resilience and superb counter-surveillance skills.
“He’s packing up, though his lease still has two months left. Probably preparing to flee.”
“No sign of the suspected Red Prince target, but all clues confirm his connection… An owl? Haven’t seen one. Rumor says only those favored by Night Hawks’ leader receive an owl’s protection.”
“Wait—is there someone behind him?”
From their vantage point, a tall figure materialized behind Zhang Zikun.
Then, with a motion as casual as “a slip of the hand,” the figure shoved him straight out the window.
——————-
Third floor.
No Red Prince in sight.
Under the stunned gaze of the surveillance team, Zhang Zikun writhed on the ground howling, limbs twisted at unnatural angles.
The perpetrator then made deliberate eye contact with each observer, tossed down a pre-prepared pane of glass, and calmly shut the window.
“Should we… help him?”
“Negative. It appears only limbs are injured. We cannot compromise our position—this lead is too critical to risk. No plainclothes approach either. Let his own people rescue him. White Whale’s read from Clown Girl that this boy is crucially important to the Red Prince.”
And so they watched, for ten agonizing minutes, as Zhang Zikun wailed atop the shattered glass.
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
0 Comments