After finding that President Lu couldn’t have been the mastermind, I had no clue where to turn. Wei ge suddenly called me and said he’d caught Yue Yingqing. To be honest, a crazy monkey like him being able to catch a pouncing mouse would have been strange enough, so when he said he’d caught the legendary killer female ghost, I wouldn’t have believed him even if you beat me to death. You have to remember, she’d escaped from Xueqing and her gun twice.

“Aren’t you together with Miao Miao? How did you end up chasing after a ghost?!” I suspected he’d lost his mind, so I wanted to see if he was still together with Miao Maio.

“Miao Miao’s the one who brought me to catch her! Hurry over. We’re near the storm drain to the sewer. Check the sewer map and you’ll be able to find us.”

Wei ge catching Yue Yingqing was an impossible thing, but he knew that he’d have a big price to pay for joking about something like this. Even if Xueqing didn’t turn him into a eunuch, Zhenzhen’s fist would be enough to handle him. Was this another trap? Perhaps it wasn’t Wei ge who’d caught Yue Yingqing, but rather, he and Miao Miao had been caught by her?

I opened up the sewer map. The storm drain was at the north-most part of the campus. It wasn’t far from the female dorm. That made me suspect that this was a trap. But regardless of who captured who, we still had to make a trip over there. It would be best if Wei ge actually caught Yue Yingqing, but if it was the other way around, we still couldn’t leave him and Miao Miao to die.

After I explained the situation to Boss, he said that all the police on the campus were under his orders and he would a.s.sist us if possible. But when I asked for some Armed Police to protect us, he said, “The duties of the police are to protect the citizens. How can you ask for someone to protect you? Quit your nonsense and get moving!”

The snake immortal hiding in the sewers could come out at any moment and harm the defenseless students. Spreading the police force more thinly would indeed be difficult. I couldn’t blame Boss for being heartless in this case. He had his own share of problems. There was no other option then. We just had to bite the bullet and go in. Hopefully, Wei ge had really caught Yue Yingqing. If not, Zhenzhen and Xueqing would hold up fine, but my little life might come to an end.

The sun was setting and the sky grew dark. We hurried over to the north end of the campus, but it was unusually secluded and deserted. At the open s.p.a.ce near the drain, we found Wei ge and the others. This guy really caught Yue Yingqing. But she was lying on her side feebly and the pain on her face was very clear. Her body was covered with a yellow powder, and when you approached her, there was a slightly pungent smell. Wei ge wore slippers and his foot rested on top of her body. He shot us a V sign with his fingers, like he was taking a photo. From the tattered clothes on his body, it indeed looked like they’d had some kind of tussle, although the outcome was really inconceivable. Miao Miao was sitting at the side, not too far away. Her face looked very tired, like she’d just gone through a great deal of hardship.

Zhenzhen pulled out her baton and extended it in front of her, pointed at Ying Yueqing. On alert, she moved over to Miao Miao and helped her up. Xueqing pulled out her gun and pointed it at the female ghost, in case she suddenly tried to attack us. We were all on guard, but Wei ge said, “No need to be so anxious. She can’t move.”

I looked at the yellow powder on her body and frowned. “That’s not sulfur on her body, is it?”

“That’s right, it’s sulfur…” As if taking credit for his brilliance, he turned to us and sprayed out, “After we split up with you guys, we just walked around the campus. When we got close to the academic building, Miao Miao suddenly said she was dizzy, and then she said she saw Prof Xiao. Then she kept prattling on nonsense. She insisted that I help her over to this area. I could only do as she asked. Thankfully she’s not very heavy. If it were Zhenzhen, I wouldn’t have been able to support her.”

Zhenzhen glared at him furiously. “Am I fat?” Then he laughed embarra.s.sed, “No, not fat. You’re not fat.”

So women did all care about being called fat. Zhenzhen was no exception. Although she had a very fit and healthy body, and you couldn’t call her fat, she was tall and definitely much heavier than the tiny Miao Miao. Wei ge was just telling the truth.

Under Zhenzhen’s murderous glare, Wei ge continued. “I helped Miao Miao over to this drain and saw that Yue Yingqing was preparing to enter it. Of course she discovered us. When she saw us, she bared her claws and charged at us. Of course, a wise man knows better than to fight with the odds against him. I wouldn’t be able to win a fight against her, but I could still take the chance to run, so I ran with all my efforts.”

“You ran off and left Miao Miao behind, right?!” I looked at him suspiciously, but he had the audacity to say, “I wasn’t running away. It was a strategical retreat. Sacrificing part of the group was better than being completely annihilated. When you bring in a hundred guys to execute her to get revenge for Miao Miao, won’t it all be good?”

“Mm, when I get the chance, I’ll get revenge for you too,” I quipped.

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Wei ge knew he was in the wrong, so he quit quibbling and continued the story. “Maybe it’s because I’m just too handsome, but she didn’t go after the sitting Miao Miao. Instead, she flew at me and pushed me onto the ground, her five claw-like fingers…” He glanced over at Yue Yingqing’s four and a half fingered right hand, and coughed. “I should say, her four claw-like fingers were about to plunge into my heart. I immediately summoned my internal strength. I’m not afraid to tell you guys that I’ve studied the Nine Yin Scriptures. ‘It is the way of heaven to take from what has in excess in order to make good what is deficient…"”

The more this guy talked, the more ridiculous he got. Seeing how Yue Yingqing had been still the whole time, I walked over to him and pulled at his shirt. “More like she grabbed at you and then found the bag of sulfur in your pocket. You can tout your horn with me all you want, but Xueqing and Zhenzhen don’t have the patience for it, I’m afraid.”

Xueqing cooperated and aimed her gun at Wei ge’s pants. Zhenzhen continued to glare at him with disgust. He shivered and then laughed. “I’m just kidding guys. No need to be so serious.”

“Get to the truth. Quickly!” Xueqing called out coldly, like a general giving orders.

Intimidated by Xueqing’s gun, Wei ge didn’t dare to make nonsensical remarks. He said truthfully, “She seemed very frightened after she broke the bag of sulfur. She started retreating, rubbing her hands and trying to get rid of the sulfur. So I figured the sulfur would be able to deal with her and poured it all over her body. At first, she rolled around madly on the ground, but after a bit, it seemed like she couldn’t move anymore, as if she didn’t have any strength left.” (Note: sulfur supposedly repels snakes, but Google seems to suggest otherwise)

“Why are you carrying around a bag of sulfur?” Zhenzhen asked.

“Ah Mu said that there was a snake immortal in the sewers, so of course I have to carry some sulfur on my body. Otherwise, what would happen if the snake immortal bit me?!” Wei ge said, pleased with himself.

“The reason it took you so long was so you could buy sulfur?! You coward!” I snapped.

“This isn’t about being a coward or not. As police, it’s our duty to protect the citizens of our nation. But before we can protect others, we have to protect our own lives first! If not for my foresight, Miao Miao and I would be dead already. And then imagine the countless people she would have killed with that hand!” Wei ge boasted continually. He pulled out four bags of sulfur from his pocket and a receipt. Then he said, “I bought these for work purposes. I can get a reimburs.e.m.e.nt, right?”

“You’re a temp worker on amnesty. You dare to call yourself police?” I took his bags of sulfur. “But if we get the snake immortal, forget a reimburs.e.m.e.nt, getting the boss to give you a bonus out of his pocket shouldn’t be a problem.”

I crouched down by Yue Yingqing, about to ask for her statement, but she weakly said, “I have the right to remain silent!” Although she looked like a dead snake, unable to move and without any power, her mouth was still quite stubborn.

“You don’t have the right to remain silent!” Xueqing said coldly.

“You’ve watched too many Hong Kong and Taiwan cop films. Chinese law doesn’t give its citizens the right to remain silent. We only offer leniency for those who confess and strict treatment for those who resist. You have the obligation to respond to all police questioning,” I said with a smile. Then I put on a more serious tone, “Who is your master? If you don’t confess, then you’ll be charged with all the crimes!”

Faced with my forceful questioning, she simply closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, in the same way that a dead pig wouldn’t be scared of boiling water. Zhenzhen was so angry that she tried to pry open her mouth with the baton. Since it looked like there was no point in questioning her further, I just handcuffed her, and Zhenzhen and I carried her off.

Speaking of, Miao Miao had looked extremely exhausted, but after I handcuffed Yue Yingqing, she suddenly livened up. When I asked her about it, she just said that she felt as if she’d been dreaming before, but she couldn’t really remember anything.

We handed Yue Yingqing over to the Armed Police and called the boss for a debriefing. Boss said, “Looks like we’ll have to use some force to pry open her mouth.”

I laughed. “Whether she talks or not isn’t important anymore. After Yuetong does a comparison to the blood from the female ghost from last night, along with the autopsy report that the murderer was missing a middle finger, convicting her won’t be difficult. As for her master, I suspect he’s still inside the school. We just have to use sulfur on another physical examination…”

“Haha! Since Yue Yingqing’s afraid of sulfur, her master probably shouldn’t be any better. You can even come up with such a trick! No wonder you were the CIB’s rookie of the year.” The boss’ easygoing voice suddenly turned serious. “Finding out the mastermind isn’t an urgent matter. What you need to take care of right now is the monster in the sewers.”

I thought for a moment. “That shouldn’t be hard either. That snake immortal should also be afraid of sulfur. Moreover, according to the sewer map, the area by the sewer drain is pretty wide. Just put some Armed Police into suits covered in sulfur and go back to catch the snake.”

“That… In order to protect the students, it’ll be hard to hand over officers to you.” Boss’ voice sounded from the phone.

“You don’t mean to have us go into the sewers to catch the monster, do you?!”

“Mm, you understood my meaning. I can help with the protective clothing and fire department support, but you’ll have to take care of the manpower yourself. Don’t bring Ah Wei and Xiao Miao though. They won’t be of help.”

“I’m the one who has to figure it all out, right?” I sounded in despair.

“Then it’s decided. You’re in command of the sewer investigation. When this case is over, I’ll treat everyone to a snake banquet.” Then Boss hung up the phone.

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“Ah Mu ge, are you okay? Why are you sweating so much?” Miao Miao asked with concern.

“I’m fine, just a bit hot.” There was imminent catastrophe ahead. Could I really not sweat?

After I relayed the boss’ orders, we headed over to the firefighters near the camphor woods. We borrowed three sets of protective clothing, oxygen bottles, walkie-talkies, etc. Zhenzhen also borrowed an ax. We brought all the stuff over to the sewer drain opening, and Zhenzhen, Xueqing, and I suited up and sprinkled sulfur onto ourselves. I put the remaining sulfur into my tool bag, just in case. Then we entered the sewer. Wei ge and Miao Miao stayed outside and kept contact via the walkie-talkie and took care of other logistics.

The entrance to the sewer was built next to a small, dark river. The entrance was slightly less than two meters tall, and although we didn’t hit our heads on the way in, it always felt like you would hit it. Zhenzhen and I couldn’t help lowering our heads, but Xueqing didn’t seem to be at all affected.

Since the snake demon might attack at any moment, I didn’t dare to lead the group. Of course I also didn’t walk at the back either. Instead, I was sandwiched in the middle, receiving the beauties’ protection.

Zhenzhen turned on the light on her helmet and held out her ax. I followed behind her. Xueqing and her gun brought up the rear. The light on her helmet moved around, searching.

Not long after we entered the sewer, the air quality detector showed that the oxygen level was decreasing. The methane content increased as we headed further inside, so we had to start using our oxygen tanks. The tank was heavy on our backs, and after awhile, my waist and back were sore. But if we got rid of them now, even if I could run faster than Liu Xiang, I’d faint before I got out of the tunnel. (Note: Liu Xiang is an Olympic and world champion hurdler)

The sewer paths were very complicated. They criss-crossed like a big maze. Thankfully, this place was pretty far from the city, so the sewer systems weren’t interconnected. Otherwise, with just the three of us, we’d probably have to spend years to find the b.l.o.o.d.y snake demon.

With the image of the sewer plans in my mind, I instructed the group over to a tunnel where we had to walk single-file. We also had to bend over, with our a.s.ses up, to get through the s.p.a.ce and head toward the dorm. Because we had to walk in a bent position, Zhenzhen became uncomfortable, so I could only have her and Xueqing switch positions. In any case, I wouldn’t be leading. That would just be sending me to my death.

Xueqing didn’t make things difficult like Zhenzhen had. She just raised her bottom and started walking through the tunnel. Walking behind her, I couldn’t help daydreaming a bit. After all, in front of me was a mature woman’s raised, round bottom. I suspect that any straight male would inevitably have some dirty thoughts in their mind. I felt that I could even smell a light jasmine scent, but of course, that shouldn’t have been the case since I was wearing an oxygen mask. And the only thing you could smell down in the sewers were disgusting, vomit-inducing smells anyway.

After a short distance, the sewer water was already up to our knees. There was also a lot of plastic bags and debris floating in the water, and occasionally, there were also some used condoms. The walls were covered in a layer of black mud. I wonder, if it were used for a face mask, would it have whitening effects? Though, I doubt there was anyone who would dare to test it out.

The walls were black. The sewer water at our feet was black. The protective suits on our bodies were also black. Aside from the lights on our helmets, everything in sight was black. I suddenly felt like I was inside a black hole, as if I’d never be able to return to the earth where the sun shined brightly and the warm breeze blew across my face. As we approached the area around the dorm, this feeling grew stronger. I even felt that this filthy sewer would be my burial place.

As I was caught up in my thoughts, I suddenly b.u.mped into Xueqing. Although the feeling wasn’t bad, I quickly backed off, lest I be called a pervert and molester. I didn’t expect that my a.s.s would b.u.mp into Zhenzhen. I thought to myself that if we weren’t stuck in such a narrow s.p.a.ce, she’d have definitely kicked me.

Xueqing gestured for us to be quiet and listen. I pulled my legs together and listened attentively. “Hiss, hiss, hiss…” A faint and strange sound echoed in the tunnel. The things we would have to face, we would have to face in the end. The battle of life and death was soon to come…