Chapter 8: The Goddess's Mysterious Phone Call

  Took the subway back home, from the south gate of the community. On the way, I bought a drink at a small shop by the road in the community and drank it while thinking about the poor aunt who was scared by me earlier, feeling a bit guilty.

  Okay, nothing to hide —— um, the place I live is called Xinjin 7 Village, and the address is Tianshan West Road 450. This is the south gate address. The north gate, which is the back door that I took when I stole the corpse and moved Xiaoluqi in, has an address of Jincheng Road 333. Friends who are interested can look it up themselves to see what this neighborhood looks like; for those who aren't interested, I'll describe it: This neighborhood is still somewhat large-scale, with relatively wide roads, so one side of the road is packed with parked cars. Each building has windows on the south side and a main door on the north side. Outside each household's window, there are two vertical and one horizontal iron frames set up, with bamboo poles or iron rods on top for drying clothes and bedding —— in order to save space inside the house, this is probably one of the characteristics of Shanghai's old apartments, also known as the "flagpole" of Shanghai-style "flags". (Friends who can't imagine it can refer to the picture below:)

  I walked around to the north side, and this side is where the entrance of the corridor is. There's a puddle on the road - looking at this continuous water trail flowing freely on the ground, it looks like the ground is a big girl with a crying face - definitely someone washed their car here again, how annoying. I looked at the source of the water flow and it was a Peugeot. Alas, they can afford to spend tens of thousands buying a car, but can't even spend tens of yuan washing the car? Must wash it in this neighborhood?

  This narrow road was originally only enough for two cars to drive side by side, and one side was already parked full of cars. The road was also filled with water, so I jumped onto the flower bed on the left and bypassed this puddle of dirty water with white bubbles. Entering the corridor and going upstairs, I met two neighbors who lived in the same building coming down, and I smiled and greeted them. To be honest, I am still a kind-hearted person who often helps sweep the corridors; when I first graduated, I even donated half of my first month's salary to the residents' committee, asking them to help me donate it to a nearby nursing home. So overall, my relationships with others are not bad, and the aunties from the residents' committee and the neighbors on the same floor are all quite friendly to me. This can't be said that I'm intentionally pretending to be charitable, but in fact, I really have a kind heart.

  If you have a kind heart, you will always feel the kindness of others.

  Just as I was about to take out the key to unlock it, I found that the door was actually ajar.

  My heart skipped a beat.

  Rushed to push the door in, and the kitchen at home was a mess. Looking from the bedroom door, the situation on that side wasn't much better, this clearly had the rhythm of inviting thieves. You say why did the thief steal my poor stuff? It's so troublesome to rummage through things everywhere, isn't it tiring? If you have the ability, go steal Chen Ziqi's small villa, can't you just close your eyes and grab money?

  Momo was hiding in a small corner, still shivering with fear, apparently having seen something very frightening.

  I suddenly felt a chill and thought of Xiao Luqi.

  Rushed to the refrigerator, opened the door, took a look, and gasped in shock:

  Xiao Luqi is gone.

  I bought a watch last year!

  I rushed downstairs. Looking around, I saw an old lady sitting on a mat in the opposite corridor of the neighboring building, and hurried over to ask: "Granny, did you just see a car come here to move things?"

  The old lady looked at me and said slowly: "Hmm? It seems like it is."

  "How long have you been sitting here?"

  "I've been sitting here since I finished breakfast. Oh, there was a car that came before, it stopped at the entrance of that building over there, maybe they were moving something, but I didn't pay attention."

  "Oh...... thank you then......" I walked towards the staircase with some disappointment.

  As expected, Xiao Luqi has been dragged far away and will never appear by my side again?

  I returned home, touched the side pocket of my backpack. Walked to the balcony and took a look around, then walked back to the backpack, pulled out something from inside, and left the house, closing the door behind me, and went down the stairs.

  At this time, the phone suddenly rang, I picked it up, a low male voice said: "Are you Lin You?"

  I said so.

  "Are you hiding a corpse?"

  I didn't say anything.

  "The corpse of this woman is in our hands."

  "What corpse?" I still pretended to be stupid and didn't dare to directly admit that I had hidden a corpse.

  That man suddenly burst out laughing and said, "You're not a fool, but playing tricks with me is meaningless. Listen carefully, she's in our hands now, if you want to take her back, it's okay, just agree to one condition."

  "Heh," I laughed, looking out from the hollowed-out window on the landing of the stairs, "What do you mean? I didn't understand. Is the body with you? What evidence do you have? Can you let her answer the phone?" As I spoke, I headed downstairs.

  The man suddenly shouted: "You little brat, don't give face and don't want face! Respect the wine but not drink it, drink the penalty wine! If I were to slash two mouthfuls on this little beauty's face, would you care or not?"

  As soon as I heard this, I became flustered and hastily said: "Don't be like that, let's talk it over. What do you want me to do?"

  The man's tone softened and he said, "It's simple. We're looking for something, and it just so happens that you are too. You seem a bit clever, so we hope you can find the thing and hand it over to us."

  "What's that?" I wondered, "I haven't been interested in anything lately."

  "Wu Prefecture Map," the man said slowly, pausing for a moment before continuing, "You've been looking for this recently, haven't you?"

  I tightened my chrysanthemum. Wipe, I also saw this painting just yesterday, how did he know that I had a relationship with the Wu County regional map? Could it be... could it be that one of Qian Tu or Cao Bin told him secretly? But I didn't show much interest in this painting in front of them! While thinking, I opened the door and pushed it out.

  Since I didn't say anything, the male voice continued: "You don't have to make excuses or shirk responsibility. I'm very clear about your whereabouts, and we've not only found you to be our helper, but also another person. Although neither of you is willing to do things for us, there's no choice. If you can work together as a team and put in some effort for us, the sooner it's done, the sooner it'll end."

  I walked to the entrance of the corridor next door, raised my head and thought for a moment, then said: "If this painting were in my hands, I wouldn't care about it either. If you want it, I'll give it to you. But that painting is not in my hands, what do you want me to do, steal or rob?" As I spoke, I pressed the four digits 0462 on the password lock of the door.

  The man's voice laughed: "No need for you to steal that painting, that painting is already in your hands."

  I hesitantly said: "Alright, nothing can be hidden from you. Fine, let's just say that's the case. Then when I hand her over to you, how can I guarantee that you'll return that woman to me?"

  "One hand gives money, one hand gives goods, you can't be unaware of this rule, right?"

  I laughed and said, "Uncle, you make it sound so easy. What if at that time you're holding a gun to my head and I'm left with nothing? How would I deal with that?"

  "Gun? Ha ha, do you think I'm crazy? In today's world, carrying a gun is against the law, I don't want to get into trouble. Alright, we're all smart people, when the time comes, I'll hand over the little beauty to you, and you can deal with her. I'll take my things and leave, no need for more talk."

  "Really? Uncle, aren't you kidnapping me and demanding ransom? Why not bring some protection?" I said as I walked up the stairs.

  "Young man, let me give you a piece of advice, don't be too arrogant. We're all business people, this isn't about kidnapping or demanding ransom. It's just an exchange of goods. What do you need to bring for self-protection? Are you going to do it or not?"

  I walked up the last flight of stairs and said, "Uncle, you have to prove that the girl's body is in your hands, or I won't be able to decide. Otherwise, I'll just hand over the goods for nothing, and when the time comes, I won't be able to exchange her back. Who will I cry to then?"

  The man's voice sneered and said: "Alright, I'll take a photo with my phone later and send you a text message. You'll believe me then?"

  I finished walking down the last flight of stairs and laughed, saying: "MMS? Uncle can still play with such high-tech stuff? Alas, sending an MMS is expensive, China Mobile is making a fortune. I won't let you waste your money." "Then how do you plan to prove it?" The man's expression had already lost its patience, his tone becoming very stern.

  I leaned against the door and listened for a moment, then said: "Can't I just take a look myself? By the way, I'll also ask about Grandma's health."

  "What?" he exclaimed in surprise.

  I pulled out a tin foil key from my pocket, inserted it into the door, shook it violently for a few seconds, and with one turn, the door swung open.

  At the entrance, a middle-aged man holding his mobile phone stared at me in astonishment.

  I chuckled and said, "Uncle, how's that little beauty doing? Is grandma at home and in good health? Don't glare at me, you don't have a gun, do you?... Can I come in and talk?" As I spoke, I entered the room and closed the door behind me.

  As soon as I entered the house, I saw an icebox placed in the inner room. It was smaller than the one at my home. I felt a pang of pain: Xiao Luqi must have slept very uncomfortably inside it.

  However, I still stretched out my hand politely and said: "Nice to meet you, my name is Lin You, please take care of me."