Why Did They Have to Shoot Him?

Why Did They Have to Shoot Him?

Lying on his dorm bed, Li Banfeng stared silently at the ceiling.

The dorm bed was very high, putting the ceiling close above him. The patches of mold on it looked like countless eyes watching him.

There really were eyes watching him, watching his every move.

Click-clack!

Another message came through on the phone.

Who exactly was sending me messages?

This person had picked up He Jiaqing's phone.

He knew I had met Third Uncle.

He knew I had met the police.

He even knew He Jiaqing was lying in a hospital bed.

Who exactly was this person?

A university professor?

A hospital doctor?

Old Chen, who claimed to be a cop?

The old gatekeeper downstairs?

The phone kept clicking incessantly. Li Banfeng picked it up and saw more than a dozen messages in a row from He Jiaqing's number.

"Ban Feng, through four years of college, you're the only brother I've had!"

"If there's only one cup of liquor left, you take a sip, I take a sip."

"If there's only one cigarette left, you smoke half, I smoke half!"

"The first time I went out to eat with my wife,

you came along with me.

The first time I went out to sleep with my wife,

we were halfway through it when you called, and I went with you to the internet cafe for the whole night."

"When you got mental illness, I went with you to see a doctor. When you ran out of money, I paid for you. When I ran out too, I went to haul stones at a construction site and held on until you got discharged."

"During last year's exam, I got failed for trying to pass you the answers. I nearly got put on academic probation. Through four years of college, you're the only brother I recognized! The only one!"

The dozen-plus messages proved one thing.

The other party really was He Jiaqing.

Because some of those things were known only to the two of them.

The final message read:

"Brother, save me. Only you can save me."

Li Banfeng drew a deep breath and called back. He wanted to confirm He Jiaqing's voice.

The call could not be connected. Li Banfeng sent a message: "How did you come back from the station? Why did you end up on my bed?"

"That wasn't me."

"If it wasn't you, then who was it? And where are you? Why can you see me?"

Li Banfeng had many questions for He Jiaqing, but those were all he could think of for now.

Click-clack!

He Jiaqing replied:

"I really want to answer you, but there's no time. The train is about to leave. If you don't come save me today, I don't know how long we'll have to wait for the next train. You may never see me again."

The train was about to leave.

Go save you today...

Li Banfeng rolled out of bed and quietly looked out the window.

In college, was he really your only friend?

From the day you were born until now, how many friends had you had?

It seemed there had only ever been one.

The area below Dorm 6 was deserted. Even the clotheslines hung empty.

Yet beneath the large willow tree downstairs, someone had been standing there all along.

He was a skinny young man about Li Banfeng's age.

His eyes were huge, shining brightly like light bulbs. Li Banfeng could see them clearly even from the third floor.

He seemed to be waiting for someone.

Other than Li Banfeng, the only person in this dorm building was the old gatekeeper.

Setting the gatekeeper aside for the moment, this man had to be here for Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng sent He Jiaqing a message: "Someone's watching me."

He Jiaqing replied: "It has to be someone from the Dark Star Bureau."

"What's the Dark Star Bureau?"

"I really can't explain it to you right now. The Dark Star Bureau can't be mentioned casually. They can sense it. Brother, you have to save me. If you don't save me now, it'll be too late."

Li Banfeng sat in his chair, lost in thought.

He sat there for over ten minutes without moving.

During that time, the old gatekeeper came upstairs and looked at Li Banfeng. "Why haven't you left yet?"

Li Banfeng ignored him. Li Banfeng had not even seen him.

His mind rapidly replayed every moment he had shared with He Jiaqing over the past four years.

Yes, I really am his only brother.

After a long silence, Li Banfeng typed a line into his phone:

"Brother, through four years of college, you're the only brother I recognized too. If there's one cup of liquor left, we'll each take a sip. If there's one cigarette left, we'll each smoke half.

"If you have no money left for treatment, I'll go haul stones at a construction site right away, without a word of hesitation.

"But I don't want to get involved in this anymore."

Li Banfeng put down his phone, his heart twisting with conflict.

The reason he no longer wanted to get involved was that this matter went beyond his understanding.

By Li Banfeng's understanding, the timing and place of He Jiaqing's appearance were both wrong, whether it was the He Jiaqing on the hospital bed or the He Jiaqing in the phone.

By Li Banfeng's understanding, He Jiaqing had never displayed any supernatural ability over the past four years. Otherwise, he would not have been caught cheating.

Li Banfeng felt his ability to accept things was strong enough, but something like this could drive a normal person insane.

Besides, I was already insane.

Click-clack!

After a long silence, the phone received a message from He Jiaqing.

"Okay." There was only one word.

Li Banfeng lay back down on his dorm bed, stared at the ceiling, and continued spacing out.

He had not slept properly in three days. One night's sleep, and it would all pass.

Jiaqing, I had done everything I could for you.

Click-clack!

Another message came from Jiaqing.

"Take care of yourself."

Take care of yourself.

That sounded so familiar.

Those were the last words Li Banfeng had said to He Jiaqing.

The last words he had said face-to-face.

Take care of yourself...

He had wanted him to be well, but he was not well now.

Not well was not well. It was as simple as that.

Li Banfeng sat up and sent a message: "How do I save you?"

"Ban Feng, good brother, I'm begging you. Help me get something and bring it to my home."

Though he could not see He Jiaqing's face, the content of the message made it clear that He Jiaqing was very agitated.

"What is it?" Li Banfeng looked toward He Jiaqing's locker. In Li Banfeng's memory, it had long since been emptied.

He Jiaqing replied: "It's not in the dorm. It's in the campus supermarket."

Li Banfeng went to the window and looked downstairs.

He first looked at the man still crouching beneath the tree, then at the campus supermarket not far away.

Li Banfeng: "When you say bring it to your home, you don't mean your hometown, do you?"

He Jiaqing: "My hometown. It isn't far. I'll buy you a ticket, and the bus leaves this afternoon! Hurry to East Station! I'm begging you!"

Li Banfeng took a deep breath and jumped down from his bed.

He washed his face thoroughly, letting the cold water temporarily suppress the exhaustion of the past few days.

He put on a short-sleeved T-shirt, loose sweatpants, and sneakers.

Since he was going on a long trip, he still needed to prepare his luggage.

First, he took his wallet, packed his identification, and brought the two thousand in cash Third Uncle had given him.

Then he took a backpack from the wardrobe. He Jiaqing had bought it at a street stall—thirty each, fifty for two. He Jiaqing had bought two and given one to him.

He packed a change of clothes and was ready to leave at once.

Before leaving, Li Banfeng glanced out the window again. The big-eyed man tailing him was still there.

Li Banfeng sent a message: "Since the person watching me isn't a cop, he should be able to accept some appropriate physical contact, right?"

Click-clack!

"Don't act rashly."

"Don't worry. I know the limits. It'll definitely be within the bounds of self-defense."

"It's not about limits. He's a Dark Energy User. You can't beat him. You need to find a way to shake him off."

"What's a Dark Energy User?"

"I still can't explain it to you."

"Once I get to your home, you have to tell me everything, from beginning to end."

Li Banfeng left.

When he first stepped out of the dorm building, the big-eyed man did not move.

After Li Banfeng had walked several dozen meters, the big-eyed man silently followed.

Li Banfeng casually walked into the campus supermarket, as casually as if he were going in to buy a pack of spicy strips.

The skinny big-eyed man was named Dong Xiaoning, codename Light Bulb.

He had only joined the Dark Star Bureau last month, and there were still many things he was not professional enough at.

For instance, he was terribly unprofessional at tailing someone, and he knew it himself.

At that moment, he was hesitating outside the supermarket, wondering whether he should go in.

The campus supermarket was small. If he entered, Li Banfeng would easily spot him.

But if he stayed outside, he feared losing him.

Click-clack! A message came from He Jiaqing.

"The item is in the supermarket lockers."

Li Banfeng went to the lockers. The campus supermarket only had facial-recognition lockers; you deposited and retrieved items with a face scan, with no other way around it.

"How do I open the locker? Use your photo?" Li Banfeng replied.

"No. Just retrieve it directly."

Retrieve it directly?

Li Banfeng pressed the retrieval button, and the locker screen began recording Li Banfeng's face.

What good would that do? It wasn't me who stored the item...

Click!

Locker number six opened.

What was going on?

It scanned my face, and I actually retrieved He Jiaqing's item?

What kind of principle was this?

Li Banfeng stood there dumbfounded for a long time, unable to understand why.

Inside the locker was a package wrapped tightly in layer after layer of tape.

The package was not large, but it was very heavy. Li Banfeng swiftly put it into his backpack. Just as he was about to leave the supermarket, he saw Light Bulb waiting at the entrance, apparently making a phone call.

"The person watching me is on the phone. Can you hear what he's saying?"

If the other side was calling for backup, Li Banfeng had to find a way to deal with it.

He Jiaqing replied: "I can hear a little, but it's vague. I can't do it alone. We brothers have to work together. Can you get closer to him?"

Li Banfeng pushed a shopping cart and wandered casually around the supermarket entrance.

Light Bulb's voice grew louder and louder, and Li Banfeng heard more and more clearly.

He Jiaqing seemed to have temporarily lent part of his supernatural ability to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng not only heard the big-eyed man's voice clearly, he could even hear the voice on the other end of the call with perfect clarity.

"Team Leader Xiao, Li Banfeng took something out of a supermarket locker. I still don't know where that thing came from."

On the other end of the call, Xiao Zhengong asked, "Has this been reported to Team Leader Chen?"

"I called Team Leader Chen, but I couldn't get through."

The other end of the phone went silent for a long while before Xiao Zhengong's order came through: "Shoot this man dead. Bring whatever he took back to the bureau."

At those words, the big-eyed man trembled all over.

Li Banfeng, standing beside the shelves, trembled with him.

To be precise, Li Banfeng trembled even harder.

Shoot him dead?

You had to be joking, right?

What had I done to deserve being shot dead?

P.S. There will be another chapter at noon.