Explosives

"Luo... Luo Ningsang?"

Qingjiu stood up and looked down at the young man curled up on the floor, his disheveled hair scattered around him. Having suddenly regained his breath, he was coughing violently and could not help gasping for air.

He lay sprawled on the floor, a complete mess.

What a pitiful sight.

Shen Yu felt he had nearly been strangled to death. His violent movements had made the drug take effect faster, leaving him too weak to move, yet the shadow of his brush with death had sent his brain into a state of high alert. The two forces pulled him back and forth.

Shen Yu summoned all his strength to lift his heavy eyelids. By the faint moonlight, his gaze swept inch by inch across Qingjiu's face, his eyes filled with undisguised killing intent.

"I... will... kill you."

His already damaged throat hurt even when he breathed, but he paid it no mind and insisted on uttering those words, too feeble to even count as a threat to Qingjiu's ears.

Qingjiu unlocked his phone, took a picture of the young man's wretched appearance, and sent it to Luo Ningsang as a provocation.

In the photo, the young man's face was deathly pale, the corners of his eyes red. The blue hair spilling over his shoulders could not conceal the arresting red marks, and the wounds he had clawed into his own arms were even more shocking. He looked as though he had been brutally ravaged... a heartbreaking sight.

Without realizing it, Qingjiu admired the picture for a while, ignoring the barrage of messages from Luo Ningsang, who was blowing his top.

Only then did he look at Shen Yu, who could not even move.

"Then I'll wait for you. I'll wait for you to come and kill me."

"...Nineteen."

"You'll come to my side."

Qingjiu took the outer garment Seventeen handed him and slipped it on. The cyan shirt covered his well-defined upper body, and with it on, his sharp edges seemed to soften, giving him a gentle air instead.

But through the thin fabric, a large, colorful tattoo could be faintly seen across his back.

It gave the thrill of a potent poison wrapped in a sugar coating.

"Let's go."

Qingjiu casually tossed the phone down beside Shen Yu.

"What about him, Brother Qingjiu?" Seventeen was unwilling to let it go.

Qingjiu said casually, "Him? Let's see how long it takes our Detective Luo to find him."

"He said he was going to kill you, boss! Let me take care of him for you."

"...I remember giving you enough face already, Seventeen."

"...S-sorry, boss."

"He's Nineteen, and you're Seventeen. You're brothers, so you should help each other out, understand?"

"...Understood."

"I remember you still have some explosives?"

"Yes, boss."

"Leave our dear Detective Luo a... little surprise~"

Qingjiu's tone was cheerful.

Shen Yu listened to the constant notification sounds coming from the phone, but he could not even lift a hand. His consciousness gradually sank.

In a daze, he felt someone help him up and tie him up again.

A muffled sound rang out, like something heavy hitting the floor.

The sound of a lock clicking shut followed, and footsteps gradually receded.

Bright Insight Private Detective Agency.

Luo Ningsang slammed his phone onto the desk.

"Where is everyone? Where the hell have you all gone?! Get moving and find him, right now!"

Lu Xianchang struggled to keep his sleepy eyes open as he traced the location of Shen Yu's phone, his fingers clattering over the keyboard.

Upon receiving the captain's order, Xu Shenzheng sprang into action. "Boss, I'll take a team out right away!"

Lu Yanjin said nothing. He grabbed his sidearm and dashed out after Xu Shenzheng.

Lu Xianchang looked up and called, "Head to the old town first. I'll send you the exact location shortly!"

Luo Ningsang clenched his fist and hammered it against the desk. Looking at Seventeen's face on the surveillance footage, he said, "Find him. Turn all of Ancheng upside down if you have to."

After a long while, he sighed.

"...Notify the family."

Lu Xianchang kept his hands busy, but his mouth was not idle either. He hurriedly answered, "Yes, boss."

A message popped up on the phone of Lin Xinluo, the team's logistics staff member.

Ding—

Lin Xinluo, who was catching up on sleep on her day off: "..."

Hadn't they agreed not to call her?

Lu Xianchang: Emergency! Emergency! Sister Luoluo! Shen Yu's been kidnapped, and our captain's about to go crazy! Hurry and help us—

Lin Xinluo jolted awake.

Lin Xinluo: What?!

Lin Xinluo hurried out of bed, got ready in a rush, and opened the door to leave. But as she approached the elevator, she regained a little of her senses.

The boss is going crazy, so why should I go and walk into the line of fire? Can't I look things up from home just as well? I have the clearance anyway.

Lin Xinluo: What do you need me to do?

Lu Xianchang: Notify the family.

Lin Xinluo looked at the open elevator doors and stepped inside anyway.

Boo-hoo, in the end I still have to go out in the middle of the night.

Wee-woo, wee-woo—

Vehicles sped down the streets, their engines humming throughout the old town, while inside the cars, the atmosphere was even more oppressive.

Luo Ningsang clutched his phone. Whenever a notification came in, he checked it; whenever a message arrived, he checked it. When he did not get the news he wanted, he continued to radiate a foul mood.

Xu Shenzheng regretted getting into this car.

But he had lost the scramble to Lu Yanjin, and the other cars were all full. Only the boss's car had a seat left.

If he caught the person who had kidnapped Shen Yu, he would make sure that person learned what the Great Memory Restoration Technique was!!

At that moment, both their phones sounded at once.

Lu Xianchang: Shared a location.

Lu Xianchang: The location of Shen Yu's phone. It hasn't moved for half an hour.

Luo Ningsang forwarded it to everyone.

Soon, they reached the location. A small single-story house stood incongruously on a mountain near the old town. Its door was locked, and a large black water vat stood near the entrance.

Buzz, buzz—

Luo Ningsang's phone, set to vibrate and kept close to his body, received a message.

He waved for the others to continue approaching.

He took out his phone and checked the message.

It was another picture.

Shen Yu was tied to a chair, his head hanging low, his fate unknown. Something black was wrapped around his chest.

Shen Yu: Detective Luo~ A friendly reminder, there are ten minutes left on the explosives~

Shen Yu: If you want to save him, come in by yourself. The key to the door is in the water vat. Think carefully~

Luo Ningsang's grip on his phone gradually tightened, the pressure on his blood vessels turning his fingertips white. He forced the order out almost from his throat: "Stop."

The people feeling their way forward stopped, concealed their tracks, and looked at Luo Ningsang.

Luo Ningsang stared at the familiar wording as a fire blazed up in his chest.

"Qingjiu..."

He wanted nothing more than to bite him to pieces and swallow him whole.

Xu Shenzheng immediately grew alert. "Is Qingjiu inside?"

Lu Yanjin went straight for his gun and aimed it at the house.

"No, he's long gone." Luo Ningsang pushed the muzzle down. "How could he possibly stay somewhere this dangerous? And wait for us to sneak up and catch him?"

"What about Shen Yu?" Xu Shenzheng asked.

"He's inside... but there are explosives."

Luo Ningsang held them back. "I'll take a look."

Xu Shenzheng and Lu Yanjin did not dwell on it. After all, of everyone there, only Luo Ningsang knew something about explosives and could dismantle some simple wiring.

Luo Ningsang walked forward, telling the others to back away. He released his handgun's safety and kept his attention razor-sharp as he stepped one by one onto the wooden stairs in front of the door, which creaked underfoot.

It was a very dilapidated little house, and there was no telling how many years ago it had been built. Only the brand-new lock on the door showed that someone had been there.

Luo Ningsang carefully examined his surroundings. There were no thin wires of the kind that would set off an explosion at a touch. The ten-minute countdown made him somewhat anxious, but he did not lose his composure.

The water vat was an old-fashioned household vat with thick, heavy walls. In the dim light, he could not see what was inside at all. Luo Ningsang stepped back a few paces and picked up a stone, intending to toss it in and listen to see if there was water.

An extremely weak, hoarse voice came from behind the door.

"...Don't move."

"There are explosives in the water vat."