After Zhang Ya had walked some distance, he looked back and saw the four police officers split into two groups and head in different directions. His expression twisted viciously, making him look nothing like the man who had just been bowing and scraping.
"Fuck, a bunch of lackeys acting like big shots! Once I get what I want, I'll kill you idiots whenever I see you."
Zhang Ya looked up toward the upper floors of the classroom building, thinking.
There's no way the police just happened to spring an inspection on us... Something's definitely going on...
His eyes slowly became bloodshot, red veins covering their surfaces. His fat face flushed scarlet, like a boiled pig's head.
Zhang Ya slowly raised his head and surveyed everything around him.
In his eyes, the walls now looked like translucent jelly, while everyone nearby had been reduced to shapeless balls of light. Some were quiet and steady, while others glowed faintly.
Zhang Ya knew these represented people who were sleeping and those who were thinking or restless.
He slowly extended a hand and pointed at one of the quiet balls of light.
At once, that ball of light grew agitated, pulsing violently twice.
He was very pleased. He could control his power better now. He could not help recalling once again when he had first gained it.
"Ever since I came into contact with that great one, ah... Thank you, great one... Thank you for everything you've given me... I won't disappoint you... I'll stand at the very summit with you..."
Zhang Ya's anger was soon diluted by this sick happiness. His steps grew light, and he felt as though every footfall landed on a beat of music. He pushed open the principal's office door, walked inside, then lightly closed it.
Meanwhile, at the gymnasium.
The two young officers merely made a token circuit of the sports grounds, then checked the time and quickly headed back toward the dormitory building the older officers were inspecting. They recalled the recording the dispatcher had pulled up the previous night.
"There's something wrong with this call."
Frowning, Li Yanguo paused the recording.
First of all, who dialed 110 by mistake?
"No. 12 Middle School... A closed campus, and the dorm caretaker doesn't have a phone? He has to use a student's?"
Li Yanguo turned to the younger officers and said:
"And I've certainly never heard of a principal holding a meeting for the dorm caretaker."
A young officer thought for a moment and said:
"And the caretaker spoke very quickly, without leaving the person on the other end any chance to interrupt. Normally, a dorm caretaker would never speak so forcefully to a homeroom teacher..."
Halfway through, he looked up at Li Yanguo. Li Yanguo looked at the young officer, nodded, and said:
"Yes, Wu Xiaofeng, go on."
Wu Xiaofeng relaxed a little and continued:
"Later, he also said, 'If I were nearby, I'd want to come apologize in person right away.' Would anyone really say something like that over such a minor issue? Could something urgent have happened that the school wanted to cover up, making him anxious to get the police there? Could he have said that as a hint?"
After listening, Li Yanguo fell silent for a while, slowly sifting through this strange call to 110. The cigarette in his hand, which he had only taken one puff from, brightened and dimmed as his fingers tapped lightly against it, smoke spreading as it rose.
At last, he remembered the lit cigarette, put it between his lips, and took a deep drag before saying:
"...No. 12 Middle School. It's been a year since the last safety talk, hasn't it?"
Li Yanguo blew a smoke ring, stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray, then turned, pulled on his coat, and waved a hand.
"I'll bring it up with the higher-ups tomorrow. Autumn's here. We need to make sure the safety talks are done properly."
"Hello, you two. Police. Here's my ID. We've already spoken to Principal Zhang. We're here to check the school for safety hazards."
Li Yanguo handed his ID to Huang Daye, who had come to meet them, while looking at the man behind him.
"Officer Li... Yes, yes, of course. No problem at all. If the principal has approved it, naturally there's no problem."
Huang Daye handed the ID back with an awkward smile, then stepped aside.
The moment Li Yanguo heard his voice, he knew Huang Daye was the caller from last night. He gave nothing away, however, and instead addressed the man who had yet to speak.
"And you are...?"
Li Yanguo's police instincts warned him that something was off about the man.
"Ah, hello, hello. The principal just told me some police officers were coming to inspect the school. I'm here to receive you. My surname is Yang, Yang Desheng. I'm the head of a year group here. Your visit was unexpected, but our school must still show proper hospitality, so how about I accompany you on your inspection?"
Li Yanguo frowned and said:
"Mr. Yang, we have procedures to follow. Our superiors require that no school staff accompany us. Please try to understand our position."
As he spoke, Li Yanguo gave Wu Xiaofeng, who stood behind him, a meaningful look. Wu Xiaofeng understood and slipped out without drawing attention.
Yang Desheng's expression soured. He took two steps forward, wanting to call Wu Xiaofeng back, but before he could speak, Li Yanguo shifted slightly to block the doorway and said with a smile:
"Oh dear, look at that, Mr. Yang. These youngsters of ours are so impatient. No sense of organization or discipline. I'll definitely make him write a self-criticism when we get back."
With Wu Xiaofeng already gone, Yang Desheng could do nothing but suppress his anger. Looking at Li Yanguo, he understood that he was dealing with an old hand. The more he tried to stop him, the more suspicious he would become. Although this surprise inspection was fishy, as long as they could bluff their way through it and then conduct another thorough check, it would actually save them some trouble later. He simply stopped showing any desire to accompany him and prepared to start fencing with Li Yanguo.
But before Yang Desheng could speak, Huang Daye suddenly spoke up beside them.
"Oh dear, sorry, Mr. Yang, Officer Li. My stomach's been bothering me these past couple of days. I need to use the toilet. Once you get old, your body just isn't much use anymore."
Huang Daye then nodded and bowed to both men as he edged toward the door. Once there, when Li Yanguo was not looking, he gave Yang Desheng a meaningful glance.
Yang Desheng understood what Huang Daye meant and was very pleased that the old fellow knew how to behave. He hurriedly said:
"Oh, Huang, honestly, you should have told me sooner if you weren't feeling well. Go on. When nature calls, you can't put off going to the toilet, can you?"
Yang Desheng then smiled at Li Yanguo. Li Yanguo gave no particular response, merely nodding and stepping out of the doorway. Huang Daye shot out.
Li Yanguo said nothing more. He merely checked his watch, smiled faintly, and casually closed the door. Then he hooked a nearby chair over with his foot and slowly sat down, speaking with a hint of teasing.
"Well, Mr. Yang... It really has been a long time since I was last here. I hear you have some good tea. How about letting me try it?"
Yang Desheng also relaxed, believing that with Huang Daye watching him, one young officer could not cause much trouble. He had just bent down to pick up the kettle on the table when he heard a piercing sound.
Creeeak-
The dormitory's main door was suddenly pushed open. Through the monitoring room's broad window, two officers saw Li Yanguo sitting there. Li Yanguo nodded, and the two officers split up to conduct their inspections.
Yang Desheng froze mid-motion, his expression turning unpleasant.
Li Yanguo, meanwhile, relaxed, tapping his fingers lightly against his knee as he began surveying the small monitoring room.
Wu Xiaofeng was inspecting the dormitory. In his experience, any serious incident at a school would involve the students. If someone had been injured, the hospital should have had something to report, but after receiving the call last night, their superiors had contacted the hospitals, and no students had been admitted. That left only a few possibilities for incidents that could be concealed for a short time.
Severe bullying, group poisoning or injuries, harsh corporal punishment, and death by suicide.
For the first few, they could find out simply by asking students after classes or making a circuit of the classroom building. But they feared the school would silence them beforehand, so they were searching the dormitories first, where evidence might be found, to prevent the school from stubbornly denying everything.
The school administrators' attitude was very questionable. Something was definitely going on. He had no idea how people with that sort of composure had managed to keep anything hidden, let alone make teachers who could come and go freely conceal it without reporting it. The dorm caretaker had not dared call the police directly. What exactly was going on...?
In any case, if there really had been a serious incident, the dorm room would surely have been temporarily emptied. Wu Xiaofeng planned to start there.
"Hey-wait a moment, young man!"
As Wu Xiaofeng was thinking, Huang Daye's voice suddenly came from behind him.
Wu Xiaofeng knew Huang Daye was the man who had called the police last night. Hearing him call out, he stopped.
"What is it, sir?"
Wu Xiaofeng turned to look at Huang Daye, who was jogging over.
Seeing Wu Xiaofeng turn around, Huang Daye hurriedly smiled and said:
"Well, young man, my stomach's bothering me, so I thought I'd use the toilet. Once I'm done, I'll walk around with you. Little people like me work under other people, so we have to think a bit more carefully. Please be understanding. I'll stay right beside you and won't get in the way of your work."
As he spoke, Huang Daye rubbed his pocket and looked at Wu Xiaofeng.
Wu Xiaofeng watched him and thought for a moment, then looked around, spotted the nearby cameras, and nodded.
"All right, sir. But let's be clear: you can't obstruct me when my work requires something. Otherwise, I'll follow procedure, and I won't be able to spare your feelings."
"Yes, yes, of course. I'm heading to the toilet anyway. Do you smoke? Want one?"
As Huang Daye spoke, he casually took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled out two to keep for himself, and handed all the rest to Wu Xiaofeng.
Wu Xiaofeng hesitated, then accepted the cigarette pack and headed to the toilets with him.
Wu Xiaofeng had sharp eyes. He spotted a little black mark inside the pack near the opening of its lid.
"...Let's go."
Once they reached the washroom, Huang Daye waved to indicate that there was no need to follow him, then went into the toilets. Wu Xiaofeng looked around, confirmed there were no cameras in the washroom, and opened the cigarette pack. Sure enough, there was writing on it, but it was tiny.
"There's a ghost. Get out!"
Wu Xiaofeng jolted but quickly regained his composure. He reached into the pack and took out a cigarette, his hand trembling slightly. He was both puzzled and unsettled. The sentence itself was merely telling him to leave; there was nothing frightening about it. But remembering something his mentor had told him when he first joined the force, along with some inexplicable cases in recent years and those few "police officers" who had been put on the roster at the beginning of the year, he grew nervous.
"Ghosts have started appearing in this world."