Chapter 241: On the Brink

2022-05-20

I’ve been walking through the sewer for ten minutes now. If Sister Mao did what I told her, they should already be closing in on this spot.

The lane I told her to drive into has no cameras in the middle, but there are cameras at both ends. It won’t take long for them to figure out my escape route from the surveillance footage. That means they’ll definitely come down here to check, and in half an hour, every sewer entrance will be guarded. If I want to avoid getting trapped down here, I’ve got to escape within that window.

Step by step, I kept moving forward, the route map of the sewers running through my mind.

It was pitch black and dead quiet all around, except for the occasional squeaking of rats. Down here, even the tiniest sounds seemed to echo louder.

According to my plan, after turning left up ahead and going another few dozen meters, I could lift the manhole cover and find a small lane. From there, I’d have plenty of choices to slip away. But getting out of Dongxing City? That’s off the table. The exits would’ve been shut tight the moment all this started.

The good thing is, Dongxing City’s big enough that hiding out shouldn’t be a problem.

Right now I need to get from out in the open into the shadows and drag out whoever’s set me up. But without the Special Investigation Team’s resources, it’s going to be a real uphill battle. While thinking this, I turned the corner—only to find a steel rod fence sealing off the path right in front of me.

I grabbed it and pulled, but the bars were reinforced into concrete. Without specialized cutting tools, there’s no way I could break through. I slapped my forehead— I’d considered every angle, yet missed this. When rainy season hits, sudden storms really put a city’s drainage system to the test.

It’s not rare to see news about people being swept into the sewers. This fence probably helps prevent stuff like that. But right now it’s blocking me, leaving me no way forward. Realizing this, I didn’t dare waste any more time and quickly doubled back.

This abrupt turn of events set my nerves on edge. But planning a new escape route isn’t something I can pull off in a few seconds. Either way, I’ve got to get out of here fast.

Even though I knew all that, I still underestimated their efficiency. I’d only gone a few minutes when I heard voices ringing out from ahead: “You guys go that way, the rest of you come with me.”

I knew that voice too well. It was Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu again—he really is my nemesis.

He’s been with the Special Investigation Team for half a year. Of course he knows how I operate, and after dealing with that personality-splitting killer, we all learned a lesson: when it comes to a city’s sewer system—especially in a metropolis—any idea I have, Xiao Liu will figure out even without checking surveillance. Go forward? That’s Xiao Liu. Go back? Dead end.

Looks like I’ve got no way out now.

I could hear the voices of several people in the distance. I was about to surrender, but just then, a hand landed on my back.

Having someone touch me unexpectedly in a place like this, I nearly jumped out of my skin. But then a hushed voice whispered, “Don’t be scared, it’s me.”

It was Zhao Mingkun.

Turning around, sure enough, Zhao Mingkun was right behind me.

My shock quickly gave way to mixed emotions—relief at seeing her again, but dread at the thought of us both likely getting caught. But clearly, Zhao Mingkun didn’t see it that way. She grabbed my arm and hurried me deeper into the tunnel.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as she pulled me along.

She answered quickly, not slowing down at all. “Your Sister Mao spread the word—looking for a woman named Zhao Mingkun. I asked around and, with a little trick or two, figured out what you were planning.”

“Not many people knew the plan.” I frowned. “But Sister Mao said she hadn’t seen you.”

Zhao Mingkun just smiled. “Nothing’s ever perfect. That lawyer—do you know? Even if Sister Mao won’t talk, the lawyer will spill everything. He might not know your whole plan, but one look at your instructions to Sister Mao and it’s pretty easy to guess. Otherwise, how do you think they found us this quick?”

“That lawyer?” I asked as we hurried along.

She nodded. “I’ve found some leads about your parents’ history and kept looking for a chance to tell you, but it never came. Now look at us. Seems like you’ll need to hide just like me from now on.”

She let out a gentle laugh, continuing, “Fate’s strange, isn’t it? After all these years, we’re just following the story as it was written from the start. What I can’t figure out is, if we never had a choice, why did you end up on this road too?”

“What exactly do you know?” I stopped dead in my tracks.

Every time Zhao Mingkun speaks, she always seems to be hinting at something I can’t quite grasp. I’ve always felt she knows more about me than she lets on. From our very first meeting, I sensed it.

And now, that feeling was stronger than ever.

Zhao Mingkun stopped as well, glancing back at me. “The more you know, the more it hurts. You understand that, right? I don’t want to see you suffer like that. Now come on—they’ll be on us any minute.”

I stood my ground. “Zhao Mingkun, if this is about me, I have the right to know. No matter how I react, that’s my business. I’d rather face the truth and suffer for it than not know at all.”

The words hung between us in silence.

I didn’t look back. I knew, in a few more minutes, Xiao Liu would have the whole team here.

We stared each other down, neither one willing to budge. In each other’s eyes, I could see a stubborn defiance neither of us could put into words. What I never understood was why Zhao Mingkun was so unwilling to tell me things about myself—it didn’t really have much to do with her.

A full minute passed with neither of us saying a word.

In the end, Zhao Mingkun was the first to break the silence. Keeping her voice low so only I could hear, she said, “Wu Meng, I know your plan. If you let it all fall apart now, wasn’t all your suffering meaningless? You really think you can get away with the same trick twice?”

Still unmoved, I replied softly, “Zhao Mingkun, you’ve been on the run for seven years and never been caught. You must have your own unfinished business. I doubt you’d want to get nabbed here either. So are you sure you won’t say anything?”

Another long pause.

We both knew Xiao Liu and the others could show up at any moment. We couldn’t afford to drag this out.

Zhao Mingkun finally glanced at me and said, “Wu Meng, I didn’t realize you were such a shameless person.”

I laughed. “Takes one to know one. So does that mean you agree?”

She didn’t answer, just turned on her heel and kept moving forward. I understood her silence was as good as a yes.

I hurried to catch up. “There’s a problem though: it’s a dead end up ahead. There’s no way out. Even if Xiao Liu sees it’s blocked, he’ll still check. It’s dark, but they’ve all got flashlights. Where can we possibly hide?”

Zhao Mingkun chuckled. “Did you see any sign of me when you came in?”

I shook my head.

She explained, “Exactly. If you didn’t spot me, then neither will they.”

We reached the steel bar fence. Zhao Mingkun glanced at me, then grabbed the gaps in the bars and climbed up. There were plenty of little indentations in the ceiling to grip, and before I knew it, she was pressed flat against the top like a gecko, inching her way across.

The ceiling was pretty high, and unless someone deliberately looked up, no one would ever guess we were hiding there. Zhao Mingkun moved with eerie silence, just like a lizard pressed to the wall, sliding forward slowly.

She whispered, “I got here before you, saw the fence, and realized your plan was busted. But since you didn’t spot me, it shows this method works. Now get up here. Use your finesse, or we’re both done for.”

I nodded, trying to mimic her movements. She made it look easy, but once I tried, I realized there was nothing easy about it. It took all my strength just to drag myself along the ceiling. My hands locked on every groove, my feet pushing with everything I had.

If Zhao Mingkun moved like an agile lizard, I was more like a clumsy panda.

Side by side, we crawled outward. The area by the steel bars was too exposed, so we had to creep toward the middle where the flashlights couldn’t reach.

A group of people passed right beneath us, their flashlights weaving all over the place.

Zhao Mingkun and I didn’t dare move, barely even breathed.

“Nobody here, Captain Liu. They must have gone the other way. Our team on that side should find something.”

I heard someone tapping the steel fence with their fingers.

“No one can break through this thing.”

“Let’s move. This way,” Xiao Liu ordered.

I finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then Xiao Liu stopped right beneath me, refusing to move.