Case 4. Cycle

Chapter 47

Eighteen years ago in Nancheng.

It was a city under construction, with construction sites everywhere. Giant chimneys in the northeast of the city spewed thick smoke day and night. Sometimes, due to dust storms, the sky above was orange-yellow. The whole city resembled a colossal steel monster waking up from its slumber, stretching lazily, eager to make a mark in the world.

In mid-September, the city remained hot, and a thunderstorm was imminent. Dark clouds blocked the sun, and the dust floating in the air gave the entire world a sepia-toned filter. It was the peak of the evening rush hour. In a block not far north of Nancheng, people hurried along the streets.

Suddenly, the rain poured down, stinging as it hit, and panicked pedestrians ran in the rain, seeking shelter.

Fate had decided; this was a troublesome autumn.

By the traffic light pole at the intersection, stood a woman. She was well-dressed, wearing a windbreaker and a pair of flesh-colored high heels. It seemed like she was waiting for the traffic light, but despite the changes, she didn’t cross the road. She appeared to be waiting for someone, but after a long wait, no one came. Quietly, she held a red umbrella. The umbrella was a bright red, vivid like blood, making it stand out in this dim world.

Under the sepia sky, the woman’s eyes displayed a crystalline amber color. She seemed a bit trance-like, as if the entire world had frozen. From her perspective, one could see a cluster of gray buildings. That was her prison, her chaotic place. After enjoying this brief freedom, she would once again enter that decaying place.

Just the thought of that place brought various sounds to her ears—screams, coughing, snoring, sighs—disgusting sounds intertwined. And all of it was thanks to that person, the one who pushed her into hell.

She felt like a cracked egg, and even if the egg white hadn’t oozed out yet, it wouldn’t last much longer.

Her death was imminent.

The woman’s chest rose and fell as if struggling to breathe. She raised a hand, as if trying to grasp something.

Then, all the sounds vanished. The rustle of rain replaced everything.

The raindrops filtered the dust in the air, and in the distant sky, a faint blue color appeared.

The woman turned around, her gaze fixed on the towering Nancheng Tower in the center of Nancheng. Suddenly, she felt an impulse to leap from the tower.

In the end, she abandoned that thought. She bit her lip, seemingly firm in her decision, gathered courage, and with determined eyes, walked toward that cluster of gray buildings.

The battle was set, and the outcome would be determined tonight.

Her figure swayed, her steps light, disappearing into the rain.

Eighteen years later.

Time flows like a river, passing unnoticed. With the passage of time, memories of youth become increasingly vague and hazy, as if veiled by mist and gauze. Many things seem like they happened just yesterday, and suddenly, in the blink of an eye, everything has changed. Day by day, month by month, year by year, people traverse through life, and the city evolves accordingly.

Today’s Nancheng is entirely different from over a decade ago. Only some streets and alleys retain traces of decay caused by rapid development, like a elegantly dressed woman with faint lines at the corners of her eyes.

Only the Nancheng Tower in the city still stands there, enduring various storms.

In midsummer, around six in the evening, although Nancheng is not as bustling as during the day, it possesses a mysterious charm unique to the night.

At this moment, people are enjoying their free time, away from the daytime hustle and bustle. The rising heat dissipates with the advent of the night, carried away by gusts of night wind. During this time of day, the most liberating, most tranquil, most relaxing, you can hold hands with your lover and enter a movie theater, enjoy a glass of red wine alone with your phone, or gather a few close friends and try your luck.

To the northeast of Nancheng, there is a wasteland area, almost the boundary between the city and the suburbs. Across a long-dried riverbed, on one side is a lively scene of lights and revelry, while on the other side, it’s a desolate land filled with garbage.

Beside the dry riverbed, the temperature is several degrees lower than in the city. Few people come here during the day, and at night, it becomes extremely quiet, as if a forgotten corner by everyone.

Wanderer Zhao Xiaoxin has long been accustomed to this kind of life. The smell of garbage and the buzzing of flies make him extremely familiar. Since Nancheng started waste classification, people discovered this place and conveniently transported their trash here. It saved time and effort, and no one would notice or know.

Every night, Zhao Xiaoxin would stroll to this area, pick up some garbage, and then return to spend the night under a nearby bridge. He would wait for the sun to rise as usual the next day.

But today, there is something different about the riverside wasteland. Zhao Xiaoxin sensitively noticed that the smell here had intensified, and the insects were more active than usual. After searching around, he found a large black travel bag near the riverbed.

The travel bag was pitch black, the kind of impenetrable black that becomes even denser in the night. The bag was quite large, standing there, almost half a person tall, and the strong smell emanated from that bag.

If it were an ordinary person, seeing such a scene would prompt an immediate retreat. But Zhao Xiaoxin is not an ordinary person. He’s a bit clumsy since childhood, a bit slow, as his parents would say, his brain doesn’t work well. He often stumbles over his words, unable to articulate a complete sentence. Due to this, he cannot communicate with ordinary people and cannot hold a regular job. After his parents died, he became a scavenger.

Zhao Xiaoxin doesn’t feel ashamed. He loves his work and his life.

He just likes this riverside area, where the sky is vast, the land is expansive, there are no people, and everything seems to belong to him, as if he has become a master.

Things that ordinary people can guess take a bit longer to register in Zhao Xiaoxin’s mind. Almost inexplicably, he felt a twinge of greed, thinking the bag looked decent, possibly waterproof, and could be useful to carry things. His life hadn’t been fortunate, so the idea of a stroke of luck from the heavens felt appealing.

Curiosity and avarice led Zhao Xiaoxin to approach the bag, and as he pulled it open, a swarm of flies buzzed out. The flies seemed to have mutated into bees, constructing a hive inside the bag.

Startled, Zhao Xiaoxin, illuminated by the light of a roadside lamp, leaned in to get a closer look… and that’s when he saw something inside the bag – a dead person. It was a fully intact male corpse, curled up, and seemingly not small in stature.

With a gasp, Zhao Xiaoxin stepped back, instinctively wanting to escape. However, as he moved, his clothes snagged on the bag. In this motion, the bag toppled over, revealing the face of the corpse under the streetlight.

It was a semi-decomposed male corpse, bound at the limbs, eerily curled up, with a pair of wide-open eyes staring fixedly at Zhao Xiaoxin, appearing defiant even in death. This unexpected turn of events left Zhao Xiaoxin completely dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected to find an abandoned corpse by the riverside.

Then Zhao Xiaoxin noticed something peculiar. He was a bit stunned, the more frightened he became, the more he wanted to see clearly. In the dim light of the lamp, he finally saw it – in the corpse’s round, open eyes, there were thin red lines wriggling slowly.

It looked like some kind of insect.

This nightmare-like scenario made Zhao Xiaoxin turn around and run along the river, desperate to leave this ominous place.

In the Nancheng City Bureau office, it was now well past nine in the evening, and the office had become desolate, with only a few officers on duty and detectives working overtime.

Song Wen didn’t expect Lu Siyu to come to the city Bureau at this hour. He reached out to take the reinstatement report that Lu Siyu handed over. Surprisingly, the attending physician, Dr. Li, had signed it. Song Wen wondered what method Lu Siyu had used to convince Dr. Li to agree to his reinstatement ahead of schedule.

“Are you in such a hurry?” Song Wen looked at Lu Siyu sitting across from him. “Considering your condition, I recently went to talk to Dr. Li specifically.”

Lu Siyu stood on the opposite side of Song Wen, hands on the table, waiting for Song Wen to continue.

Instead of hastily signing the paper, Song Wen put it down and said, “Last time I went, Dr. Li told me that although you’ve been discharged, there’s still a week of medication treatment. After that, you’ll need rest and recuperation. I remember the medical leave he gave you lasts for a month.”

Lu Siyu lowered his head and said, “But Dr. Li has already allowed me to leave the hospital and signed the paper… I feel I’ve recovered well. The team is short-staffed, and returning a bit earlier would help share the workload.”

In fact, during these days when Lu Siyu was in the hospital, Song Wen did not treat him unfairly. Whenever there was time, he personally went to take care of Lu Siyu, bringing various meals as a consolation for the patient.

Once Lu Siyu could eat, he started having smaller, frequent meals. He ate breakfast at six in the morning, followed by some fruits in the morning, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and a late-night snack – six meals in total throughout the day. After staying in the hospital for a while, he even gained a couple of pounds. Originally slightly thin, he now looked a bit plumper, making his face appear even whiter and more delicate.

Song Wen still didn’t pick up the pen. His hands crossed, and he said, “Firstly, being discharged and resuming work are two different concepts. The medical leave Dr. Li gave you was undoubtedly considering your physical condition. Doctors may not express it directly, but as the team leader, I think you should rest for a bit longer. At least, complete your leave before returning.”

Lu Siyu licked his lips and said, “The medical leave… It’s a bit long, and no one discussed it with me. I just found out recently.”

The medical leave was issued when Lu Siyu had just transferred back to the team. For the leave process, a note was required. Song Wen directly approached Dr. Li, the chief physician at the City Affiliated Hospital, and had him issue the note based on Lu Siyu’s condition.

Holding the test results, Dr. Li had remarked, “Multiple ulcers in the stomach, nearly perforated. Does your team member not value his life?”

Song Wen replied, “Yes, yes. You’re right. I’ll make sure to take extra care of him, keep a close eye.”

So, without consulting Lu Siyu, they hadn’t noticed the duration of the medical leave. Dr. Li, in one go, wrote it for a month and a half. Song Wen promptly submitted the note to the personnel department of the City Bureau. Lu Siyu only learned about it recently from Dr. Li and didn’t expect it to become Song Wen’s basis for refusing him.

Now, after staying in the hospital for just half a month, Lu Siyu was eager to return. Although this might be acceptable to the doctors, Song Wen disagreed.

Lowering his head, Lu Siyu took the reinstatement form back. There were three steps on the form: the signature of the attending physician, the direct supervisor, and a psychological evaluation. Since Song Wen refused to sign, the process couldn’t proceed.

Seemingly anticipating that Song Wen would hinder him, Lu Siyu sighed.

Lu Siyu was usually cold and indifferent, rarely revealing emotions. However, at this moment, a somewhat aggrieved expression appeared on his face, like a rabbit with red eyes.

After a moment of silence, he asked softly, “Captain Song, did I do something wrong? Or did I cause trouble before? Is that why you don’t want me to come back?”

“Nothing, you’ve been doing well…” Unable to bear seeing his expression, Song Wen softened immediately. “The police force has a high workload and a fast pace, as you know. It’s definitely not as comfortable as staying at home, eating well and sleeping well. Health is the foundation of the revolution; there’s no rush to return. Even if you pass my stage, you still need to talk to Dr. Zhou. So, I think we should consider this matter in the long run.”

Seeing Lu Siyu standing there without moving, Song Wen coaxed him like a child, “Be obedient, go back today. Come back next Monday, and I’ll sign for you.”

Next Monday was only five days away, at least a bit earlier than the advance medical leave.

Fu Linjiang, standing nearby, couldn’t help but chime in, “Xiao Lu, don’t worry. Who doesn’t know you’re Captain Song’s favorite? He won’t just let you go. This time, with what happened to you, Captain Song feels even more guilty than you do. He’s taking care of things here while running to the hospital every day to check on you. If you come back without proper rest, he won’t be able to get past his own hurdle.”

“Well… I’ll come back next Monday, then.” Lu Siyu finally said something and left.

Seeing Lu Siyu leave, Fu Linjiang approached and teased Song Wen, “Who was it? Before, you were itching for him to return, but when you saw him, you pretended not to be in a hurry.”

Song Wen, having finally persuaded Lu Siyu to leave, had his thoughts exposed. “His health hasn’t fully recovered, and it’s not that I don’t want him back. Do you know that on the third day after he got out of danger, he was transferred to the hospital on this side of Nancheng? I had just finished handling a case and rushed to see him. As soon as I entered the ward, I saw him using the hand with the IV to write ‘summarize’, ‘report’, ‘general’, ‘conclusion’ on the small table next to the bed. I was so angry at the time. Considering he was a patient, I didn’t argue with him but confiscated the pen and paper. Can I let such a person return to work early?”

The final report was still written by Song Wen himself, and he credited most of the achievements to Lu Siyu. Reflecting on accomplishments in this way would be beneficial for promotions and salary increases. Unfortunately, it seemed that Lu Siyu didn’t appreciate it; he didn’t care much about these things and only wanted to return to the team and resume work.

Fu Linjiang burst into laughter nearby, enjoying the spectacle. “Hey, didn’t you make him responsible for the document work? Why do you seem to pity him now?” He lowered his voice, eyes bright, and continued, “Or do you think this case is serious, and you don’t want him involved?”

Song Wen paused his fingers on the keyboard. The case tonight was originally surveyed by the third team at the scene, but Commissioner Gu suddenly notified him to take over. Such work arrangements were unusual. Song Wen analyzed a few possibilities: either Commissioner Gu believed the third team might not be able to handle the case and assigned it to the higher-solving-rate first team, or Captain Cheng Mo, after obtaining the case, actively expressed a desire for another team to take over. Regardless of the reason, it indicated that the current case would be difficult to handle. Fu Linjiang, being an experienced policeman, undoubtedly also thought of this.

Song Wen didn’t want Lu Siyu to return too early. Besides worrying about his health, thinking he shouldn’t resume work prematurely due to his physical condition, there was also some selfishness. He was afraid that Lu Siyu might find the case too complicated, so he wanted him to stay out of it. By next Monday, there would be a buffer period.

Also, their relationship…

Song Wen admitted that he had developed feelings for him. Before their relationship began, people tend to overthink, especially considering the taboo of office romance, coupled with their professions and identities. He still didn’t know what Lu Siyu thought about him, and there were too many uncertainties about the future. However, the case was pressing, leaving no room for contemplation.

The phone placed aside suddenly rang, and Song Wen checked it. “Old Lin says the body has been transported back. Let’s go take a look at the new corpse.”

TN:
I’ll share some quotes with you guys for this arc that I feel go with the chapter. They are not an accurate description nor have anything to do with the author’s opinion, it’s just me being extra.

“Is it unnatural that I should have absorbed these things and have become what I am today, a treacherous, degenerate, brutal, human savage, devoid of all decent feeling, without conscience, morals, pity, sympathy, principle or any single good trait? Why am I what I am?”