Mystery Hunter

Translator: Ca5 Editor: MadHatter

Xiaohong, an office worker, had just finished a long day at the office. When she arrived home, she noticed a man standing in front of her house. This person had dishevelled hair, ill-fitting clothes, and his face was haggard and wretched. At first glance, he did not appear to be a good person. At the top of the stairs, Xiaohong remained frozen, not daring to move. She observed this person’s strange behaviour with bated breath.

This man was currently attached to the wall adjacent to her house, holding a notebook in his hand.

He shifted his gaze up and down against the wall, unsure of what he was looking for.

Xiaohong suspected that this person might be a pervert.

Without daring to speak, Xiaohong crept back down the stairs and sought the security guard.

The security captain watched the girl, whose heart was broken and seemingly on the verge of bursting into tears.

This was the third resident to enter the security room. They all insisted that they had witnessed a man recording something at their front door with a book. “I’m afraid it is a pervert”. The security captain instantly recognized this person as Jiang He based on their accounts of this varying state.

As a result, the security captain had to explain to each person individually that he was not a pervert, but a police investigating the case.

The security captain, nonetheless, was oblivious to Jiang He’s plans.

So, what precisely was Jiang He doing? Jiang He scanned the record book of stolen items for each household’s home address and noted seven in a row. On the back of this notepad were dozens of other symbols. Jiang He had been looking for these symbols on the wall while standing at someone else’s door.

The bulk of these symbols were drawn as lines, while others were drawn on the wall using hard objects or pencils.

And Jiang He took note of all the signs at these people’s doors.

While walking to Li Weiyi’s house, Jiang He used the corridor lights to examine these marks.

As he stood in front of Li Weiyi’s house, he closed the book.

The seemingly inconspicuous graffiti symbols in front of Li Weiyi’s house put Jiang He in a contemplative state.

Jiang He discovered a mineral water bottle and threaded the bottle’s mouth shut. After passing through the door, the thread’s other end was secured to the bottom of the stair railing. Jiang He held the mineral water bottle with half a bottle of water upside down while seated cross-legged. The mineral water bottle was positioned between the two legs and will impact Jiang He’s leg if it moved.

Jiang He stayed at Li Weiyi’s house for the next three days.

He didn’t leave Li Weiyi’s home for three days, seemingly perceiving it to be his home. Three meals a day were delivered to Jiang He by the security captain without any other requirements.

Each time the security captain went to bring the meal, he spotted Jiang He sitting cross-legged on the living room floor and remaining motionless, much like an old monk sitting in Zazen or a peerless master practicing behind closed doors.

After nightfall, the security captain inspected this with his own people. He focused his attention on the window of Li Weiyi’s sixth-floor apartment. The home’s lights have never been turned on, giving it the appearance as though nobody resided there.

A fearful emotion surfaced in the security captain’s subconscious mind.

Right, aside from eating and using the toilet every day, who can tolerate sitting alone on the floor without watching TV or listening to music?

The security captain couldn’t help but think back to what the second guard had said. Was this policeman behaving erratically because he was under the influence of a ghost?

Jiang He was obviously not possessed by ghosts, nor did he think his actions were abnormal. He had been sitting here because he was waiting for someone.

“The probability of tomorrow is 50%, and the probability of the day after tomorrow is 60%, according to my estimated probability…” Jiang He thought to himself as he kneaded the wiped toilet paper into a ball and tossed it into the trash can.

A ball of toilet paper flew through the air and landed in the trash can.

….

Wang Chao nodded, satisfied, and asked the police officer next to him, “Have you looked into it yet?”

“It’s strange, captain, I can’t find this person’s existence,” the bespectacled policeman said, shaking his head.

Wang Chao frowned, leaned forward, and examined the computer screen: “Is the input ‘Jiang He’?”

“It is unclear what these two words mean. In any case, it is the property of the Nylon Road Branch. You are welcome to investigate.”

He checked the information with a “oh” in his eyes.

“No.”

“Look, I even found the name of the cleaner in the police station, but among so many names, let alone Jiang He, there is not even a surname Jiang at all, and there is no one with the same sound and the same word,” Glasses said, scratching his head. “Could it be that you misremembered his name, Captain?”

“Did I misremember?” Wang Chao examined the name on the computer carefully: “It’s impossible, so many people have heard it, how can I be wrong?”

“Then I don’t know.” Glasses shrugged. “I can’t find his name in the file anyway.”

Wang Chao exclaimed, “Damn it, I was tricked,” when he finally realized what had happened.

“Who has the nerve to fool the police captain?” Glasses inquired.

Knowing that this would not be an easy subject to explain, Wang Chao waved his hand.

That explained why he constantly felt something was off when he glanced at Jiang He. He followed him to the Public Security Bureau without greeting him on the way, in quest of the mystery guy.

This Jiang He man was unrelated to the police department. Wang Chao, though, took a momentary pause and pondered why Jiang He, who was not a police officer, was so enthusiastic about the case.

A flash of inspiration struck Wang Chao. The murderer would frequently return to the scene after killing someone. Could it be Jiang He? He was the true murderer; otherwise, how could he be so specific about those details?

But this was erroneous. Should Jiang He be the murderer, what about Li Weiyi then?

Wang Chao had a terrible headache and whispered to himself: “Jiang He, Jiang He, what are you doing?”

……

Sneeze!

Jiang He, who was seated on the ground, sneezed unintentionally. As he stared out the window at the night that was gradually growing darker, his heart was extremely tranquil. He had been sitting here all day and seemed like he was going to keep doing so. Jiang He merely sat there, doing nothing—not turning on the lights, not fiddling with his phone.

Jiang He kept his eyes open until four o’clock in the morning. This was the time for Jiang He’s psyche, who was a night owl.

The bottle of mineral water crashed against Jiang He’s leg.

There was almost no sound because the bottle contained water and struck Jiang He’s leg.

Jiang He’s mouth twitched at the realization that the person he had been waiting for had finally emerged.

He slowly stood up and walked behind the entrance door.

His breath was suppressed as he heard someone softly prying open the door lock right outside.

The other party was cautious as the door lock produced a faint metallic friction sound.

Jiang He finally heard a ‘pop’, which was the lock that was being opened.

A little slot in the door opened softly, and a figure went in slowly through it.

Luo Jinbao crept in on his tiptoes. He took some time lingering at the door. He let go of the doorknob after confirming that nobody had come to investigate the situation. Luo Jinbao has been pursuing this family for a long time for his stealing endeavor.

To be honest, Luo Jinbao had recently visited this family. He shouldn’t have returned here a second time. There is a way to steal, as the saying goes, and you can’t point to a sheep to gather wool. However, Luo Jinbao was powerless. The competitive pressure in this society was far too great.

Thieves were organised and divided up into numerous gangs in keeping with their origins, particularly in these locations and they were now compelled to pay taxes. Do you think being a thief was unpleasant? What type of contractual duty system was in place, taking enough for the collective, giving enough to the boss, and the rest was yours, otherwise you won’t be permitted to steal in that region.

Dealing with those people was something Luo Jinbao never shied away from. He simply robbed people when he was discovered. There were a lot of people, and most people wouldn’t dare to hurt him, so he had to admit he was lucky. Luo Jinbao was left to wander the residential areas since he was unable to get a foothold at the railway station or bus station.

The family’s life was fairly standard after being inspected by Luo Jinbao as he wandered around here.

Luo Jinbao valued people who conformed to these guidelines. Stealing will be the decision as long as the regulations are recognised correctly. The persons who maintained irregular lifestyles, which were tough to begin with, were what Luo Jinbao disliked the most. As a consequence, Luo Jinbao couldn’t stop himself from internally swearing. A definite time for eating and sleeping did not exist for young people nowadays. Stealing from such people was exceedingly risky. Luo Jinbao was nearly captured multiple times.

Each member of this family was dreaming when Luo Jinbao came upon them.

As he slowly searched the living area, an involuntary joyful smile surfaced on Luo Jinbao.

Every time he took something, Luo Jinbao put it in the bag he wore around his waist.

Luo Jinbao knew it was impossible for him to come here anymore, and he would take whatever he could today.

Right as Luo Jinbao was getting comfortable, the light abruptly turned on with a “swish” sound.

The light was accompanied by a yell: “What exactly are you doing?”

Luo Jinbao was currently conducting his ‘business’ with the TV set. He was frightened by the sudden brightness and shouts, leading him to slip onto the ground while shaking all over. While keeping a concentrated look on Jiang He, Luo Jinbao continued to pant and his forehead was covered with sweat.

He reflected to himself: “It’s finished, it’s finished, my master has taught me well, and there is a way to steal. Those who have stolen in the past must not do so again or they will suffer the consequences. Retribution is imminent, and it seems that I will be beaten half to death today.”

Nevertheless, the instant Luo Jinbao saw this person clearly, relief settled in him.

Luo Jinbao wasn’t moronic. If there was anyone else in the house, they would have come out long ago when they heard such a yell, but now there was only one person standing in the living room. This signaled that he was the only one in the space and that, due to his thin build, he might be dealt with.

Furthermore, Luo Jinbao had not seen this person when he made a thorough investigation to initiate his theft activity.

He had previously seen an elderly woman, the hostess, and the male host, but never this individual.

Luo Jinbao’s mind shifted and he realized who this person was.

“It is you.”

“Who do I think I am? It’s a little strange, are you the only one at home?” said Luo Jinbao as he rose from the ground.