Inside the cargo bay disguised as a refrigerated transport truck, Huai Shi sat restlessly, looking around, feeling that the few people sitting next to him looked familiar.
Finally, he had an epiphany and pointed at the person opposite him, "Hey, were you the one who jabbed my neck with a needle last time?"
The person opposite him lifted his eyes to glance at him, seemingly uninterested in engaging, and too lazy to even toss a bone his way.
The icy atmosphere of escorting a prisoner to his death made Huai Shi especially uneasy.
"Report, I need to use the restroom..."
The soldier opposite him pointed to a bucket in the corner of the cargo bay.
"I have to do a number two!"
The soldier on the other side still pointed at the bucket without moving, indifferent to whether it was for a number one or a number two.
In the swaying cargo bay, Huai Shi's expression twitched. He leaned back as much as he could to distance himself from the bucket... and prayed that nothing inside would splash out!
He quickly realized something was off. "Wait a minute! Those bastards have seen our faces! How are we supposed to conduct an Investigation? We'd be delivering ourselves right to their doorstep as soon as we walked in!"
Liu DongLi, sitting beside him, pulled out two mask-like things from his chest and tossed one to him.
"High molecular plastic mask."
DING!
Huai Shi added his own sound effects in his mind: You have obtained the legendary item - Human Skin Mask X1.
He curiously examined the strange object in his hands. He couldn't help but wonder why he had been sent here, and why Liu DongLi also showed up looking so dejected.
"It's for a reduced sentence," said Liu DongLi as he sat with his legs crossed, smoking. "Once we finish this one, I'm free. Then it's the sea's breadth for the fish to leap, the sky's height for the birds to fly."
In the silence, Huai Shi looked at him with pity. "...You do know that in movies, as soon as someone says that, they're guaranteed to die during the last mission, right?"
"..."
"It's fine for you to be carefree about dying, but I'm not ready to go yet. Not only am I a virgin, but I haven't even had a chance to get rich. Isn't that a bit too harsh?"
"Relax, relax."
Liu DongLi patted his shoulder, his cigarette in hand as he gestured, "The mission is simple: infiltrate the place, extract information, and if possible, blend into the scene and capture that bastard red-handed. If anything goes wrong, send out an alarm. Over a hundred brawny guys with heavy artillery will come in to rescue you. What are you scared of?"
"..." Huai Shi looked around at the circle of muscular men, feeling slightly reassured. "Do they have experience in rescuing hostages? They didn't bring a negotiation expert either?"
"Ah ha, don't worry."
Liu DongLi chuckled, "The Sublimators Suppression Troops of the Special Affairs Department never negotiate. They just take care of both the kidnappers and hostages together. So, have you picked out your coffin yet? I recommend the one with the crane on it, looks classy..."
Huai Shi rolled his eyes.
He completely lost hope.
At four-thirty in the afternoon, the truck stopped at the back door of a meat shop in Old Pond Town. Following the shouting of the shop owner, two people disguised as movers came out from the inner compartment and carried two pork sides into the shop.
The meat was real, the shop was real, and even the truck was real. They could find its number on the transportation company's website if they checked.
It was just temporarily taking the place of the truck that was scheduled to deliver goods today.
After the delivery, the driver excused himself to have a meal, parked the truck, and after walking a distance with Huai Shi and Liu DongLi, sat down to look at pin-up girls in the restaurant, casually waving his hand to signal the two to go about freely at a distance.
"What should I do now?"
Huai Shi looked around, utterly befuddled. He just saw Liu DongLi pat his shoulder casually and say, "Just stay put, I'll go and buy you an orange tree."
With that, he flicked his hair and walked onto the street, striking up a conversation with an old lady.
It was unclear whether it was Cowherd's overwhelming talent or his astonishing affability. In no time, they were calling each other 'big sis' and 'little bro.' The old lady, beaming from ear to ear, led him away to an unknown destination.
Leaving Huai Shi rooted to the spot, utterly bewildered.
The Three Questions of Life flooded his mind, clueless about what to do next. You say I should sneak in, but you could at least tell me how to do that. How can you just dump me here—what's the deal?
Huai Shi covered his face, only to hear the flapping of wings as a Raven landed on the wall.
Before he could feel relieved, he heard the Raven's voice in his head: Don't speak, you've got a bug on you.
What the hell? Huai Shi's eyes widened.
"Are you dumb, little bro? You're under surveillance," the Raven sighed. "Can't blame you, though, that girl's intuition is too sharp. Honestly, there are some doubts about your identity too. If I had known, I wouldn't have suggested you collaborate with the Astronomical Society, especially since I'm still on the run..."
What kind of nonsense is this?! Huai Shi's eyes widened.
"On the run, you say." The Raven looked at him puzzled. "Ah, I'm a wanted fugitive from the Astronomical Society, I remember being pretty high on their list. Didn't I tell you?"
You didn't say shit! Great, now I, the 'second fifth,' and you, the fugitive, together with this bunch of crazy cult scammers, are all wrapped up together. Eventually, I'll be thrown in jail, you'll be shot, and those nuts will be sentenced—what a bright future for us all.
"Don't panic, she isn't certain yet. Otherwise, she wouldn't have sent you out in the hope that you'd slip up. Listen to me, this time it'll be a close call with no harm done."
Huai Shi rolled his eyes; he had completely given up on these utterly hopeless teammates by his side.
Please, just let me solo queue.
He sighed and stood up, starting to stroll around on the streets. Everything he saw was ordinary and common.
Tinged with a sense of decay.
The streets were mostly populated by the elderly, with barely any young people in sight—probably all gone to work out of town, right?
Makes sense, given that Xinhai's economy hasn't been doing well lately. After all, the last time it was considered a big city was seventy or eighty years ago. The fact that it's still on the map after decaying for so long is a miracle in itself. Any ambitious young person would probably have gone off to work in Yanjing, Jinling, or Yangzhou. I heard that the new Cabinet is keen on boosting the coastal economy, but could it really be better than the inland environment?