Chapter 5: The 5000 yuan in hand is worth 300 recommended votes plus updates

  Mao Bin looked like a deflated balloon, hung his head in thought for a moment, then silently walked over to the computer and obediently transferred money into my Alipay account. I saw that his finger was trembling when he clicked the confirm button. Indeed, for a swindler, being counter-swindled is not just about losing money, but also about losing face and reputation. Losing money is a small matter, but losing integrity is a big deal. If this kind of thing gets out, this guy won't be able to show his face on the streets again.

  He stood up, glared at me fiercely and said: "You wait for me!"

  I waved the pinhole camera in my hand and nodded: "Yeah, I'm waiting."

  Mao Bin turned around and walked out of the bedroom. I called out: "Wait."

  He stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around.

  "Under the bowl on your right side, there is a train ticket stuck underneath, take it out and have a look."

  He turned his head to take a look, and on the kitchen counter on the right side, there was indeed a bowl. He lifted the bowl, found the ticket, picked it up and took a look, saying: "Guangzhou? What do you mean?"

  "See you off on your journey. Leaving Shanghai. Go a bit further away. So we won't have to see each other again, and when the time comes, neither of us will look good."

  "Even if you don't say it, I'll still leave. This place, I don't want to stay for another minute!"

  Mao Bin took two steps forward and before going out the door, he suddenly turned his head and looked at me.

  I felt a chill in my heart. This gaze... is terrifying. He suddenly changed into a different person.

  "Hahaha!" Maobin suddenly burst out laughing loudly. I felt a chill run down my spine.

  "Ah, I'm leaving." Mao Bin suddenly changed his tone, very relaxed, completely unlike someone who had just been extorted 5,000 yuan. He even waved at me and then took the ticket and quietly closed the door.

  Dizzy, I wanted to ask him if we should bring the fruit on the table onto the train to eat. Why are you walking so fast...

  I quickly recovered from the shock of Mao Bin's last bizarre behavior.

  Thinking of Mao Bin's embarrassed expression just now, a cold smile escaped from the corner of my mouth: Being controlled by me, Lin You, in every rhythm, playing with him like a spinning top, this little Jianghu scammer still dares to put on airs here?

  Taoism? Fantasy? Supernatural? No boundaries? Hehe... Are these things really what I want to say? Those ghostly and mysterious things, even if you believe them, would I believe them?

  In my eyes, those fancy things of Mao Bin are just nonsense, with only a little bit of junior high school level chemistry knowledge.

  Xiao Bin, you're still too tender for me.

  I looked out of the window and saw Cao Bin striding away in big steps.

  At this time, I found a chair and sat down with a thud.

  Thinking back to what just happened, I'm both scared and amused at the same time. My heart is filled with a mix of emotions.

  This young fellow is not old, doesn't have much money, relies on a little show business to make a living, and is probably also a loser.

  Alas! We are all miserable wretches, why must we torment each other so?

  I composed myself, stood up, and took down the inflatable doll from the bed.

  You might wonder: did I know from the very beginning that Mao Bin was a swindler? Did I ever think of letting Mao Bin summon the soul for Xiao Luqi? Then why did I say earlier that I wanted to visit those two people who were like Nan Dou and Bei Dou, and said it so sincerely?

  Actually, I did go with the intention of seeking help from the two mysterious old men. But Mao Bin's words and actions gave me the feeling that he was only trying to cheat me out of money, and wasn't reliable at all. So I had to take some precautions. After parting ways with him, I found an internet cafe and searched for posts about the two old men on a forum, and discovered they were all from the same IP address. This raised my suspicions. When I left the internet cafe, apart from buying everything Mao Bin wanted, I also went to a hardware store and haggled with the owner to buy a pinhole camera, bought some magazines, found an adult goods store and bought a 1:1 scale inflatable doll, and even went to a train ticket sales point to buy a hard-seat ticket to Guangzhou. Actually, at the time I also bought something else, but because it needed processing, I didn't bring it back.

  Maybe you'll also wonder, did you really design this whole thing just to counter-swindle Mao Bin and earn that 5,000 yuan?

  Nor is it.

  I now, indeed only want to save Xiao Luqi, as long as there is a one in ten thousand chance, no matter how unreliable it is, I will try. So, although I don't believe in Mao Bin, I still have a thread of expectation for the soul-calling technique.

  Then you must be wondering if Xiao Luqi is now in the freezer. What's the point of summoning his soul from so far away?

  Now that it has come to this, I might as well tell everything about what happened back then.

  I don't know what the effective range of the soul-calling technique is. Although Mao Bin said that the soul won't go astray, I hope to get Xiao Luqi as close as possible to the effective range of the soul-calling technique. So, Xiao Luqi was actually within the range of the soul-calling technique, right under Mao Bin's nose. When Mao Bin finally pointed his sword at the inflatable doll and called out the soul, he was actually pointing at Xiao Luqi too. If the soul-calling technique is effective, she might really come back to life... Of course, if Mao Bin were a bit more careful, I'm afraid he would have taken that 15,000 from me.

  But aren't you asking, whether on the bed or under the bed, Mao Bin didn't find Xiao Luqi, did he?

  Yes.

  However, on my bed, there are actually two mattresses.

  The one on top is the one I sleep on. The one below, however, was bought by me at a small store last night after parting with Mao Bin (it's another thing that I mentioned earlier as "because it needs to be processed, so I didn't bring it back"). After paying, I made a request to the shop owner to hollow out the left half of the sponge and have it packaged well, and delivered to my home before 6 pm tonight. For this, I even added some extra money.

  The reason I hollowed out the mattress was that my home is too small, so this way I can stuff some things in and save space. Many old residents' homes in Shanghai are very small. In order to save space, people will think of all sorts of ways. So the shop owner is used to seeing this kind of thing and didn't suspect me at all. Moreover, this little shop is near Wujiaochang, far from my home. So even if he had any suspicions, I wasn't worried it would bring me any trouble.

  Do you still remember? I received a call on the bus back home from the company. It was actually the store owner calling me, telling me that the mattress had been delivered and placed at my doorstep.

  When I got home, sure enough, there was a mattress standing there, just like I had asked for. It was wrapped in a layer of opaque plastic sheeting, so you couldn't see the hole that had been dug out at all from the outside... That way, it wouldn't be discovered by any neighbors who happened to be passing by... By now, you probably get it.

  After I moved the inflatable doll away, I lifted up the bed sheet underneath and then moved the mattress on top away. Xiao Luqi's body was exposed, she lay quietly in a plastic tablecloth wrapped in sponge from the mattress, looking particularly peaceful.

  Maybe you're wondering, why bother with a plastic tablecloth? And also, why put the hollowed-out mattress underneath? Wouldn't it be more effective to put her on top and use the summoning spell?

  The reason for laying down plastic tablecloths was so that her hair wouldn't fall onto the mattress and leave evidence.

  There are three reasons why Xiang Liuqi's mattress was placed on the lower level:

  The most obvious reason is that if there are fake people on top, and the bottom is empty, they will be pressed down and become uneven, and more than half of them will be pierced by Mao Bin.

  Secondly, Xiao Luqi's current state is very unstable. If she suddenly moves, the Western mirror will also be exposed immediately.

  There's another reason, I don't know if you can think of it: two sponge mattresses formed a thick package. Have you seen those street vendors who sell ice cream by pushing carts? They don't have refrigerators, so to keep the ice cream from melting, they cover it with a quilt - actually, the quilt is not for keeping warm, but for insulation. You're a living person, and your body has temperature; in winter, when you cover yourself with a quilt, the heat stays inside the quilt and doesn't dissipate into the air, so you feel warm. But if you cover ice cream with a quilt, outside heat can't get in, so it won't melt naturally.

  Xiao Luqi is now as cold as ice cream, and only at this temperature can her body be preserved. The bed board is pressed on top of her, and there are sponges all around her, so the external heat won't invade her icy state. Her body will be able to be preserved for a longer time.

  I'm going all out to do this because I made a vow to protect her and not let her get hurt in the slightest.

  This is a promise from a man to a woman, even though the woman has already died.

  Xiao Luqi! Even if you die, I will still protect you!

  I picked her up and felt her pulse...

  Not a single pulse. It seems that Mao Bin is indeed cheating on me. I let out a sigh, moved the TV on top of the fridge away, opened the fridge, and then carried Xiao Luqi inside.

  This time's gain is that I scared off a swindler and extorted 5,000 yuan from him. Of course, although it was extortion, Maobin cheated first, and with the camera recording as evidence in my hands, Maobin can only be angry but dare not speak out.

  And that camera was turned off before I blackmailed Mao Bin. The Alipay account he transferred the money to was one I temporarily applied for with a new email address at an internet cafe last night. As long as this Alipay account is not linked to a bank card and the money is not withdrawn, it won't be traced back to me. With this money, I can buy things on Taobao. As long as I operate in an internet cafe, even the IP address can't be tracked (at that time, many internet cafes didn't have strict real-name registration).

  So, there is no evidence to accuse me of extortion.

  The little black cat came into the bedroom from the living room, lay down beside my feet and rubbed its head against my feet.

  I took a look at it. Well, that 5,000 yuan will be used to buy cat food for it on Taobao...

  As I gaze at its inky blackness, which never makes a sound, my heart stirs.

  Mò Mò. Let's just call you Mò Mò then. It has the same pronunciation as "silent" or "quiet", do you like it?

  "Momo." I called out softly.

  The little black cat looked at me and meowed.

  It let out a cry.

  This is its first cry.

  A warmth in the heart.