n

n

n

nIt was followed by another message:

n“Come alone to the first streetlight on Xinhua North Street before 9, I want to talk with you. Don’t be late.”

nIt was still signed with a ‘Ma’.

nWhat does Constable Ma want to do, does he want to make an exchange with me for my dad? But with his character, if he thinks my dad is guilty, he won’t ever let him go, right?

nAnyway, it was not the time to continue celebrating Gong CaiCai’s birthday. I stated I had an emergency and had to leave early. Both Xiao Qin and Ai Mi asked me almost simultaneously what had happened.

nI said goodbye to everyone as if nothing had happened, and refused Xiao Qin’s offer to go with me and Ai Mi’s offer to drive me. I headed out alone and took a cab straight to Xinhua North Street.

nI called my dad’s cell phone several times on the car, but it kept telling me it was unavailable. I couldn’t reach him through the hotel’s landline either.

nDid my dad really get caught? I would like to ask Constable Ma his ulterior motive of meeting with a suspect’s son in private.

nXinhua North Street was once one of the most prosperous streets in Dongshan city, but along with the reconstruction of the city, many department stores closed down one after another, leaving only big “demolition” words on the old red walls.

nI really don’t know what’s Constable Ma thinking meeting in this place.

nAnd the first street light specified in the text message was broken. As the sky grew dim, I felt uncertainty welling up inside.

nI know that Constable Ma is very punctual, and it is only 8 o’clock. He asked me to meet at the designated place before 9 which made him seem like he had a lot of time to wait for me, but he’s usually very busy with narcotics work in the morning and organized crime in the afternoon.

nI might have placed too much trust in those text messages. The contents and tone may be consistent with Constable Ma’s character, but it really could have been anyone.

nRight as I was about to leave, I noticed four tall and sturdy men walking towards me from both ends of the street. They were each wearing a ski mask like a bank robber and carrying a baseball bat.

nIt’s my enemies, but I don’t know who. I’ve made enemies with many teenagers before but none of them ever hired grown men as thugs to create a fake text to lure me out…. it has to be someone who knows me well, who was the one who sold me out?

nThe attacker’s bat struck the post of the street light with a clang. I dodged while asking them their identities, but since they were wearing masks, it meant they had no intent of revealing themselves. They were completely silent while attacking me like they were all zombies.

nI was heavily outnumbered and they had weapons. Even someone like me who isn’t that smart knows to retreat first.

nI stared into the eyes of the tallest masked man and sent him killing intent with my eyes.

nOf course, you can’t actually kill people with your eyes. I just wanted to test if they were professionals.

nHowever, he didn’t show any response to my killing intent, but was rather indifferent.

nIt was extremely unusual. Due to over 100,000 years of hunting instincts, men will always get excited in fights no matter how weak the opponent is. But my opponent was completely apathetic like he was a walking dead.

nWait, don’t tell me they are actually zombies? I’m not an alien orphan nor have I been bitten by a mutant animal, so it’s not necessary to send zombies to deal with me. Since I didn’t know their backgrounds, there’s nothing to be ashamed of from running away from four adults, so I turned and ran.

n

n

nAlthough their expressions were apathetic, their movements weren’t sluggish. The four men arranged themselves in an orderly fashion and blocked my escape routes from all directions.

nThe wind pressure created by the bat swept past my head and the side of my body. I broke out into a cold sweat as I dodged left and right and exhausting myself.

n“Who the hell are you people?” I asked again, but no one answered.

nAnother swift and merciless blow came at me, although it didn’t hit me, it still grazed my pockets. I hope my phone did not break.

nWait, I can use my cell phone to call for help. If I call Peng TouSi, he can take down anyone regardless if it’s 4 adults or 8 zombies. I shouldn’t have tried to act tough, if I listened to Ai Mi and brought Peng TouSi with me, I wouldn’t be in this predicament.

nBut there was a deeper reason for refusing Ai Mi’s offer and it was because I thought it was Constable Ma who invited me out here. If Ai Mi was here with me then it might have been awkward if she might my dad since she was his ex-wife’s daughter.

nBut now the situation is completely different, it was a trap. I didn’t even have time to take out my phone and make a call against the four masked men.

n“Hey, hey, what’s your emergency?”

nThe phone in my pants suddenly asked loudly in hands-free mode.

nI was stunned and didn’t immediately react, then the voice said again.

n“110 is not a joke, if you call 110 and it’s not an emergency, then it is a waste of national resources. It’s a serious matter and you may be found liable for….”

nEh, when did I dial 110? I always lock the phone after I use it, so there’s no chance of accidentally dialing the police. Did the swing of the bat earlier accidentally brush against the phone and dial 110 with one in 100,000 odds?

nAlthough I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t pass on this god given opportunity. I did my best to answer the 110 operator and said:

n“I, I have an emergency. I’m in a dangerous situation where I’m being attacked by four masked men with baseball bats! I’m at Xinhua North Street, you’ll have to collect my corpse if you don’t send someone fast.”

nThe operator may have received too many false alarms, because he didn’t believe me and asked, “Why are they attacking you?”

nAs if to verify my words, the four masked men launched a new round of attacks. The bats collided with a brick wall and let out an unmistakable ring. I dodged while frantically yelling at the operator:

n“Now do you believe me? I’m dead if you don’t send help.”

nThe operator then believed my words and instructed me: “I’m immediately sending people over, hold on.”

nAlthough the situation hasn’t changed, I was much more confident with police assurance and I bellowed at the four masked men.

n“I don’t care who you are, but the police are coming, so get ready to eat lead.”

nAlthough I know not all police officers carry guns, it’s always good to scare the criminals.

nThe result was better than I expected. The four masked men exchanged glances and easily gave up and retreated.

nThe police arrived on scene as the last masked man disappeared into the night. I later learned that the nearest police station was less than 100 meters away, that’s why the policed arrived so fast.

nThere were traces of the fight left at the scene which proved I didn’t lie. According to regulations, I had to go to the police station to record a statement. They asked me if I knew their identities, I could only say my luck was bad and ran into a rebel youth motorcycle group.

nThey weren’t really a motorcycle group since they didn’t even have motorcycles.

nI was in deep thought on my way home after the police let me go.

nFirst, I contacted my dad again, and this time I was lucky enough to get through to his cell phone. He said he was getting harassing phone calls two hours ago, so he turned it off.

nAs for the matter of being caught with drugs, it was completely false.

nI really can’t figure it out.

nThe person who lured me out with a fake text message must be someone who knows me very well. He even deliberately harassed my dad on the phone and confirmed beforehand that he was not at the hotel, making me believe that my dad had really been arrested.

n

n

nAnd it definitely wasn’t a simple prank. The four adults looked like they spent at least half a year in the gym to get their physiques. Someone who has those kinds of resources is definitely not just trying to prank me.

nHowever, the most puzzling thing for me was the call to the police.

nI have never won a lottery in my life. Even the number of times I’ve won those another bottle prizes in soft drinks can be counted on one hand. How can someone who has such ** luck make a lucky call to 110?

nI would have died today without the call to the police.

nI can even say that I was actually saved by my cell phone.

nAlthough I was walking down a brightly lit street, I was only 50 meters away from my neighborhood before I was struck by fear.

nThe mental patient Fang Xin once predicted: my phone will save my life.

nDoesn’t today’s events prove his prophecy?

nBut, that’s… impossible. Something this unscientific changes my view of life.

nFang Xin also once said: if I don’t go to him for help, then someone I love will die…

nI always took his words as nonsense, but I don’t know after what happened today.

nThat night at 10 pm, I sent a text to Xiao Qin and asked if everyone got home safely. Xiao Qin said everyone got back safely because the class leader instructed everyone to call her after arriving home to make sure they were safe.

nI still didn’t feel reassured, so on the next day June 27, I used the last day of the break to call all my acquaintances I could think of. Although they felt strange for suddenly receiving my call, none of them suffered the accident Fang Xin predicted.

nExcept for one person.

n

n