by Mi Lei
It was done. Without warning, a wave of unspeakable exhaustion hit Fang Mu. He pulled out a chair and sat down. In silence, he watched the crime scene investigation and medical team enter the apartment.
Evidence was methodically collected. In turn, each piece received a number and was then carefully sealed in an evidence container. The technical team immediately went about their work of examining the two computers found at the scene. There was, after all, still the risk of something being leaked to the internet. Under the care of the medical team, Pei Lan was slowly regaining consciousness.
All the while, Xiao Wang was shouting orders and keeping the crime scene under tight control. A look of deep content leased his face.
Suddenly, one of the technical staff yelled in alarm. Everyone in the apartment froze. Xiao Wang was the first to react. He quickly ordered the tech to explain the problem.
The man just turned the computer's monitor toward Xiao Wang and blurted, "Look!"
The monitor showed a page from a widely-read internet forum. A compressed file with the name "TV Star Pei Lan – Taken Against Her Will" was in the process of being uploaded. Wang could also see a timer at the bottom right corner of the screen. It stood at two minutes and 39 seconds, but it was mercilessly counting down to zero.
"What is this?" Xiao Wang almost shouted.
"Tang Xiaomei has software running on the system; probably some sort of auto-repeating timer. If it times-out, the system will default to –"
"Keep it simple!" Xiao Wang demanded.
The tech obliged. "In two minutes, the system will have automatically uploaded the file!"
"Stop it!" Xiao Wang urged. "Quick!"
"I can't," the technician helplessly hammered away at the keyboard. The only result was a dialogue box popping up on the screen. It demanded a password made up of six Roman letters and numbers. "We need the password."
"Can we crack it? Or just turn it off?" Xiao Wang asked, his eyes glued to the timer.
Two minutes, 20 seconds.
"Not enough time. And turning it off won't help. It's being uploaded from a remote server." The technician's face was as pale as death. "We're even too late to contact the website; the connection speed is unreal."
Xiao Wang cursed and turned to Tang Xiaomei. He grabbed her hair and growled, "Enough of this crap! Password!"
Dragged up by her hair, her face covered in dust and grime, Tang Xiaomei should have been an image of misery; instead she appeared elated. She even began to laugh. "You thought your signal jammer could stop me?" She cackled a triumphant laugh.
"I'm sure you know what's going to happen to you if that tape gets uploaded!" Xiao Wang shouted at her.
"Why should I care about that?" Tang Xiaomei's voice was shrill now. "I'm taking her down with me!"
A terrible scream suddenly erupted from the edge of the room. Pei Lan had suddenly realized what was about to happen. In desperation she charged, throwing herself at Tang Xiaomei. With surprising strength, she began to savagely tear and strike at the handcuffed women.
"What have I ever done to you?" Pei Lan screeched, misery evident. "Why do you hate me?" She was livid with rage.
Two police officers stepped in, but even together they could not control her wrath.
"Why do you want to destroy me?" she demanded of the bound woman. "I'm going to kill you! Fuck...!"
Everything spiraled out of control.
The officers stood frozen, too shocked to act. Pei Lan teetered at the edge of sanity. Tang Xiaomei beamed triumphantly. Then there were calls for calm; loud curses, and bone-chilling laughter. The cramped room drowned in a cacophony of human noise.
A voice exploded out of the chaos. "Everyone shut up!"
The apartment fell into silence. Even Pei Lan, utterly disheveled by captivity and consuming rage, interrupted her assault to blankly stare at Fang Mu's outburst.
Fang Mu was sitting in front of the computer. He spoke quietly now, but everyone could clearly hear his words. "Shut the signal jammer down."
The connection to the net was reestablished almost immediately. The timer was at one minute, 20 seconds.
No one spoke. No one moved. They all stared at Fang Mu in silence. And Fang Mu saw nothing but the relentlessly decreasing numbers.
Slowly, the digits began to blur, drifting into the misty haze of the past days: From the living room of Apartment 502 to the roof of Building Two, to the Rongfu Universe, through those winding corridors and to that restroom, back to Pei Lan's terrified face on the screen, to Tang Xiaomei, slowly approaching her…
A mental film rewound in Fang Mu's mind.
"Where it all began," he was mumbling to himself. "Back to where it all began. The answer is waiting there..."
The area outside the bustling set was swarming with young actors and actresses, desperately eager to audition. One young girl squeezed out of the crowd with a cheer. Screaming and jumping, she embraced another young hopeful. The embraced girl endured it and limply let herself be dragged through the motions of celebration. Her face, however, was twisted by dejection and brimming with jealousy…
In a roadside ramen house: Tang Xiaomei sipped away at her cola can while a drama unfolded on the restaurant's TV screen. All the other patrons were staring up at the screen, looking at glamorous Pei Lan. No one saw Tang Xiaomei; no one paid any attention to her as she crushed the can in her hand…
It was at some award ceremony. Illuminated by the photographers' flashing lights and enveloped by the screams of her fans, Pei Lan gracefully strode down the red carpet. She was wearing her luxurious, designer dress perfectly. Tang Xiaomei was with the crew, silently shuffling along behind her. One of the staffers stopped her, politely signaling her not to disturb Pei Lan's red carpet walk...
Fang Mu slowly turned his head to look straight at Tang Xiaomei's face. She was staring back at him, her eyes challenging him, defiant despite her capture. She looked ready to savor the anguish of his inevitable defeat. Fifty-seven seconds.
"Pei Lan." Fang Mu was looking at her now.
Pei Lan's tear-stained face shot up to stare back at him. "What?"
"Your first role..." Out of the corner of his eye, Fang Mu's gaze remained focused on Tang Xiaomei's face. "What was the name of your character?"
45 Seconds.
"Ou Hai-tang," Pei Lan answered, clearly at a loss. "Why?"
Tang Xiaomei's face had drained of color. The confidence seeped from her eyes. Desperation took its place. For a moment, she looked ready to charge him. In a vain attempt to hide her mounting panic, Tang Xiaomei turned her head away, but Fang Mu had already seen every revealing detail.
40 Seconds...
Fang Mu chuckled. "Tang Xiaomei, you were born in 1980 on the twenty-seventh of May, right?"
Tang Xiaomei could no longer contain herself. With a pained scream, she began to struggle against the handcuffs, Pei Lan, and the police. She would have done anything to silence Fang Mu, but she could not even get off the floor. With a final spasm, she surrendered. Her eyes flooded with tears and a hoarse whimper began in her throat. It sounded pleading.
32 Seconds...
"You always thought that Ou Hai-tang should have been yours, yes?" Fang Mu asked as his hands reached for the keyboard. He lightly typed an "O".
27...
"Ou Hai-tang, it was the role that launched Pei Lan's career," he said. "You wanted that name to be her undoing." His finger pressed an "H".
22...
Bursting tears now covered Tang Xiaomei's face. She shook her head violently.
Fang Mu's own face was a stony mask as he stared down at her. Inside, he felt the triumph of unshakable certainty. He typed a "T".
15...
"But this Ou Hai-tang is not the one Pei Lan played. It is the Ou Hai-tang of your dreams. And so..."
11...
Fang Mu squinted, but his eyes remained fixed on Tang Xiaomei, piercing her like daggers etching her soul "...The final three characters of your password are five-two-seven, am I
right?"
"You're not human! You're not human!" Tang Xiaomei's voice had descended into a frenzied howl. To her, the young policeman had become a force of pure demonic malice.
Embraced by warm serenity, Fang Mu closed his eyes. "Envy can lead to hate or it can make you rise," he spoke softly. "You chose the wrong path."
5...
He quickly entered "527" and hit return.
The timer stopped at "3 Seconds". Then, with a beep it rolled back to "5 Minutes"; "4 Minutes, 59 Seconds"; "4 Minutes, 58 Seconds…"
"Oh, it looks like we have to re-enter the password every five minutes." Fang Mu stood up and patted the stunned technician on the back. "The password is OHT527, but I would not know how to shut it off for good." He smiled. "I'm afraid that's up to you."
Tang Xiaomei lay on the floor in a limp heap, sobbing uncontrollably.
The others, Pei Lan among them, just stared at Fang Mu in unanimous shocked amazement, more than a few mouths gaping open. It was quite simply unbelievable.
Only now did Fang Mu notice them. Obvious embarrassment spread its flush across his cheeks and his confidence and calm vanished without a trace.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" He made a half-hearted gesture. "Let's get back to work, Okay?"
The man who had been arrested by Highway 107 was Sun Wei. He was 33-years-old and in a relationship with Tang Xiaomei. It had been she who had instigated the plot to kidnap Pei Lan, but he had been her willing accomplice.
There was ample evidence to support charges against them, even without testimony.
Aware that his help was no longer needed, Fang Mu went to collect his things. On his way down the stairs of the Bureau, he almost ran right into Liang Zehao. Fang Mu would have gladly passed him without a word, but Liang Zehao grabbed hold of him. For a moment, Fang Mu enjoyed the illusion that the man was about to thank him. He was already thinking of ways to politely extract himself when Liang Zehao mysteriously asked, "Did...that happen to Pei Lan?"
"What happened?" Fang Mu returned the question, somewhat confused.
"Hey, don't play stupid with me," Liang Zehao snapped. "Did they have their way with her?"
A wave of raw disgust for the man almost swept Fang Mu away. He quickly pushed past Liang Zehao and rushed down the stairs without looking back.
The conference room was abandoned. The members of the task force were likely all busy wrapping up the case. Fang Mu pulled out a chair and sat down. He suddenly realized that he was famished. A quick search of the room produced an unclaimed, half-empty bag of crackers from underneath a pile of folders. Fang Mu popped a few of the crackers in his mouth and began sorting his things, packing his briefcase.
He was just about finished cleaning up his items when there was a knock at the conference room's door. He called, "Come in," without looking up.
The door was pushed open and a patter of soft footsteps entered. Fang Mu was completely immersed in his packing and it took him a few seconds to realize that the newcomer was mysteriously silent. He raised his head to look.
It was Pei Lan. She was nervously shifting from foot to foot at the door, apprehensively eyeing Fang Mu and wringing her hands.
"It's you." He was clearly surprised. "Why didn't you go to the hospital?"
"I'm fine." Her fingers nervously played with her hair. "I just wanted to come by..." she said, hesitating, "to thank you."
"Oh, don't mention it." He gave her an easy smile. "I'm a police officer; it's my job." He leafed through another pile of documents. After skimming the pages, he stuffed them into his briefcase. When he looked back up, Pei Lan was still standing there.
"You..." Now he hesitated. "Is there something else?"
Pei Lan chewed her lip as her voice began to tremble. "Officer Fang, I know that I would be finished now if it had not been for you. But..." Her eyes began to tear up. "Can you keep my secret and never tell anyone what happened to me? Even if..." She could barely say it. "Even if it could cost you a promotion—"
"Ms. Pei, ensuring a victim's privacy is one of my professional duties," he interrupted her. "Please, do not worry about it."
Embarrassed, she was about to say something more, but in the end just left it at, "Thank you." She bowed and turned to leave.
As he looked at her slender, frail silhouette walk away, Fang Mu felt his heart wrench. A moment later, he called out behind her. "Ms. Pei, could you...?" He swallowed as his face began to flush when she turned. "Could I have your autograph?"
"Oh?" Pei Lan stared at him in amazement. "An autograph? Now?"
"Yes," Fang Mu replied, almost whispering. "I am hoping... No, I am certain that none of what happened will affect your future." Again he paused. "Forget it ever happened." He grinned sheepishly. "I'm a fan. In my mind, you're the best actress out there."
Tears rolled from Pei Lan's eyes and down her cheeks. Indeed, he was a charming, good-hearted man. "A fan?" she asked. "You didn't even know the name of my breakout role."
She took the notepad he offered and signed her autograph to its pages. As she returned his pen, Pei Lan caught a glimpse of her reflection in the young officer's eyes.
For the first time in what seemed forever, she was smiling.
CHAPTER
5
Farewells
With the case wrapped up Fang Mu was eager to move on, but both Xiao Wang and the entire leadership of the Suijing City Municipal Bureau urged him to stay. At the very least, they insisted, he should delay his departure for a few days of well-deserved R&R. In the end, Xiao Wang simply ignored his protests and bundled Fang Mu into his car.
"There is some stunning scenery just outside the city; it's got everything, even a large cave. In fact, the cave is rather famous. We like to think of it as a must-see for everyone who comes here," Xiao Wang merrily explained as they drove.
The Dragon Tail Cave indeed enjoyed a solid reputation as a local attraction. It had been cut out of the soft limestone some four to five million years ago and a river still meandered through the entire four miles of the cave. About two miles of this underground river were open to the public and approval was still pending for the remaining stretch. On average, the river was five feet deep, but at its deepest spots it dipped down more than 20 feet. The cave itself was well-ventilated, maintaining a steady, if somewhat chilly, temperature of 50 degrees throughout the entire year.
It was the off-season, but Dragon Tail Cave was still jam-packed with visitors. Moving with the crowd, Fang Mu and Xiao Wang took their places on a cave-boat. Soon they were heading upstream. Inside the cave they were greeted by a dense forest of picturesque stalactites and stalagmites. The tourists on the boat gasped in wonder as their cameras furiously clicked and flashed. Only Fang Mu failed to appreciate the strange beauty of the place around him. His mind was focused on getting back to the city and finally leaving for good.
All he cared about at the moment was Mi Nan.
He had expected the girl to rest for a few months after the operation, but he had failed to take her energy and drive into account. Like a sprout growing through the concrete, she had recovered with unstoppable determination. When Fang Mu asked her when she was planning to return to Harbin, she had answered without hesitation, "Immediately."
Suddenly Fang Mu was pulled from his thoughts. The boat was turning. He was more than happy to head back, but he had not expected them to turn around in the middle of the cave. For some reason, their journey through the underworld had been cut short.
"Isn't the underground river almost four miles long?" he asked, flipping through the brochure in his hands. "We can't already be at the end."
"Hey, didn't you listen to the tour guide? You really are in your own little world today," Xiao Wang replied with a smile. "Only two miles or so of the river are open to the public."
"Oh." Fang Mu did not sound disappointed. He turned toward the upper reaches of the subterranean river and looked to the pitch-black, unopened stretches of water. The stalactites and stalagmites contin
ued up the cave, but shrouded in darkness, they appeared more menacing than beautiful. Compared to the marvelous splendor and light of the cave's tourist section, this was clearly another world entirely.
As they left the Dragon Tail Cave, Xiao Wang was brimming with barely contained enthusiasm. Back under open sky, he immediately proposed that they go see the maple trees. Fang Mu had had more than enough and categorically refused.
"Just as well," Xiao Wang said as he considered their possibilities. With a wave of his hand, he declared, "In that case, I'll get right to arranging your farewell dinner."
No police dinner would have been complete without booze. Fang Mu was a genuine light-weight when it came to alcohol and he dreaded these occasions. Unfortunately for him, he had little choice in the matter. Confronted with a wall of friendly, encouraging faces, he could not have refused in good conscience or professional manners. The liquor, mixed with the boisterous praise of his colleagues, left Fang Mu with a mounting sense of nausea. As his head began to swim and his bladder rebelled, he made a quick retreat to the toilet.
It was a wonderful sense of relief. Out of the toilet stall, he decided to hang out at the tap for a while to splash his face with cold water. That was when he spotted Xiao Wang in the mirror.
"You all right?" Xiao Wang asked from behind.
"You all really can hold your liquor." Fang Mu gave his best imitation of a smile. "Me, not so much."
Xiao Wang laughed heartily as he joined him to wash his hands. "Everyone had a tense few days; it's time to let loose and enjoy yourself a bit." He absent-mindedly wiped his hands on his trousers, and then pulled an envelope from one of his pockets and handed it to Fang Mu.
"What's this?" Fang Mu asked, confusion intensifying the haze in his brain.
"A little something for your troubles." Xiao Wang smiled. "I couldn't let you go empty-handed after what you did."
"Oh...hey..." Fang Mu threw his hands up to block the envelope. "We have rules; I can't take money. Give it to the Public Security Bureau."