Evil As Humans, page 49
Zhong Chengshuo’s movement froze in mid-air.
“Can you understand him?” His gaze returned to the boy’s face.
“Yes……” Feng Qi said weakly.
“He keeps screaming… screaming the same thing.”
“He’s saying, ‘Mommy, mommy, I’m so scared’.”
* * *
The author has something to say:
Lord Ghost King ran away after he finished teasing! (pointing.jpg）
Xiao Zhong: Damn it, what a powerful curse!
So the truth about Gao Mengyu’s cat case——
Inside the house: Lord Ghost King killing intent frightens the cat.
Outside the house: Minister Fu’s and Xiao Zhong’s eyes tremble.
* * *
Kinky Thoughts:
Our Zhong Chengshuo is reaching enlightenment.
—-
Folk story:
Once upon a time, there was a man named Zhang San who worked hard every day and managed to save three hundred taels of silver. He was very happy, but at the same time worried, always afraid that someone would steal his money. After thinking about it, Zhang San found a big box, put the three hundred taels in the box, then dug a hole in an open space behind the house and buried the box deeply in the ground.
After doing this, Zhang San felt relieved and was about to go back to rest, but before leaving, he took a look at the place where the box was buried and became worried again, fearing that someone would accidentally dig it out. So he slapped his head and came up with a “good solution”. He quickly took out a piece of paper and wrote on it: “There’s no three hundred taels of silver here.” After writing it, he pasted the note on the corner of the wall and then left with peace of mind.
Zhang San’s abnormal behavior was seen by his neighbor, Wang Er. Wang Er felt curious, so he sneaked behind Zhang San’s house while he was asleep and saw the note by moonlight. Wang Er instantly understood at once, so he dug up the box and stole the silver. Seeing the money, Wang Er was very excited, but he was also afraid of being discovered by Zhang San, so he hurriedly filled the hole again. After thinking about it, he also took a piece of paper and wrote on it: “Your neighbor Wang Er never stole it.”, and pasted it on the corner of the wall where the previous note was.
The next morning, after Zhang San got up, he went to the back of the house to look at his silver, and suddenly found that it was gone. After seeing the note pasted by Wang Er, he immediately understood: Wang Er had stolen his money!
Evil As Humans Ch43
Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
* * *
Chapter 43: The Answer
It had been a long time since Ge Tingting had slept so well.
When she was still in the village, the blanket at home exuded an old, damp smell, and the bed was always cold. No matter how it was washed and dried, her and her grandmother’s blanket was always cold and smelled like some kind of animal’s nest.
The dark internet cafés in the city had a mixed smell of instant noodles, foot odor, and smoke, and there was the sound of keyboard clacking all around. To make do with the enclosed area, with no bed or blanket, she could only keep warm by curling up.
When was the last time she had slept so well?
The faded memories that surfaced in her mind gradually became clear.
It seemed like ten years ago, under the cliff. Her parents’ bodies became cold and stiff, and she didn’t respond to any cries.
She was mute, her limbs were limp, and her head ached so badly it was as if it was split open.
[Honey, don’t be afraid.] She suddenly heard her mother say.
[It’s okay. Mom and dad are here.] She suddenly heard her father say.
They didn’t open their mouths, but they were talking. Even if the voice was a little faded and could only repeat a few words with difficulty, she could still hear them. In the drizzle-like murmurings, the young Ge Tingting curled up in her parents’ arms and quietly closed her eyes.
After that, she suddenly understood what “corpses” were.
She knew how to manipulate them, and even knew how to communicate with the newly dead “corpses”.
Soon after a person died, something like an echo would be left behind. The echoes would gradually dissipate, but they would always stay in the world for some time.
Was it an obsession? Was it an attachment? Or the last thoughts of the deceased during their lifetime? She didn’t know.
But now she understood why she chased after Feng Qi that night—there seemed to be two faint echoes on the child’s body.
Just like herself during that time.
Ge Tingting rolled over in bed and opened her eyes.
The phantom of a different world disappeared, replaced by the modern furnishings she was familiar with. There was a delicate music box at the head of the bed and bright red apples in a fruit basket.
She propped up her body and reached to pull out the infusion needle on the back of her hand.
[Don’t move around casually. Be careful. You might injure yourself. If you need anything, please write it here by hand.]
A tablet stretched out in front of her, with conspicuous characters on the screen. Ge Tingting turned her head and saw a female nurse smiling at her.
The nurse seemed to know her condition well and there was a strange black mark on her badge.
[Feng Qi?] Ge Tingting wrote with difficulty.
The crooked handwriting disappeared from the screen and became regular print.
[Feng Qi is fine. He has woken up. I was just about to talk to you about it.]
The nurse cleared the screen and quickly responded back.
[You were under a hallucinogenic effect that made you see a “different world”. Do you understand what I’m saying?]
Ge Tingting was stunned for a few seconds. She gradually shrank her body. [The monster we attacked?]
Before she was affected, she had seen Wu Tao’s death and had some conjectures in her heart.
[It’s a human, but he’s a criminal on the run from the cops. Someone will talk to you about it. Don’t be afraid. You two are in a special circumstance, so the police will judge impartially.]
Ge Tingting nodded slowly, still looking nervous.
The nurse smiled encouragingly at her.
[We have communicated with Feng Qi. He still believes that you have just returned from a different world. He’s still too young. Please don’t tell him the truth for the time being. We will have someone responsible for this matter.]
[I see. I won’t say anything.] Ge Tingting slowly wrote back.
[I’m older than him and know more than him. If there’s punishment, I hold the greater responsibility.]
The young nurse stepped forward and gave the girl a small hug.
[Don’t worry. I have experienced something similar to you.] She wrote. [Believe me, you will all have a home.]
Ge Tingting looked at the beautiful music box at the head of the bed. She closed her eyes and nodded gently.
After the infusion, accompanied by the nurse, she met Feng Qi.
The nurse had moved Feng Qi’s infusion needle to the back of his foot, vacating the boy’s hands so he could play with the dragon doll in his arms. The pus and blood on his face were wiped clean. Although his cheeks were still haggard, at least there was some color in them.
Seeing Ge Tingting, Feng Qi opened his eyes wide and shouted happily. Ge Tingting was sad to find she could no longer understand the boy’s words.
[I can’t understand.] She approached sadly and touched the boy’s head. [I don’t understand… but I really like the days when I could talk to you before. Thank you.]
The boy was taken aback. He tilted his head and asked the nurse for a tablet.
[It’s okay. Sui Jie told me. I can understand! This is my superpower!] Feng Qi wrote happily.
After writing this sentence, he hesitated for a few seconds, then seriously added another sentence.
[Now that we’re all home, will you still be my sister?]
Ge Tingting bit her lip. She followed the actions of the nurse just now and gently gave the boy a hug.
‘How wonderful,’ she thought.
[Of course.] She replied.
……
Shian Building, Emergency Management Department.
It was rare for Fu Xingchuan to change into a bright red shirt. At this moment, he was pouring instant coffee powder into a cup while yawning. A pair of dark circles around his eyes made him look as if he were a panda.
Li Nian: “You’re still alive.”
Professor Li stared at the red shirt his partner was wearing for a while. “…Or do you plan to die suddenly today while wearing the reddest clothes and becoming the fiercest ghost?’
“Don’t scold your big brother. I’ll definitely go to bed early today.” Fu Xingchuan shrank his neck. “After all, Sunken Society had caused a lot of trouble! Don’t you know that there were more than 100 ghosts that were thrown onto that battlefield all at once… The scene was so chaotic that I’m completely exhausted.”
Professor Li laughed and threw a stack of reports in front of Fu Xingchuan.
“It’s not like we’re idle in Haigu either. The kid named Feng Qi has woken up. Here’s the full investigation report.”
“Oh, oh.” Fu Xingchuan quickly sat down. He scanned through the report as he sipped on the freshly brewed coffee and let out an “Ow” as he was scalded by it.
Li Nian didn’t lift his head when he heard it, as if he were accustomed to it.
“Haa, this Feng Qi—”
“Right, Feng Qi’s ability is strange,” Professor Li said. “In previous cases, there are records of Sunken Society releasing ‘strong evil qi as the corruption source’ on ordinary people, but this time it’s different.”
“This kid’s case looks like an extreme enhancement of ‘observation’. It’s not without precedent, but…”
But something isn’t quite right.
Ordinary people who had been exposed to things they shouldn’t have were forced to get involved in the metaphysical world; such cases weren’t uncommon. Fu Xingchuan had handled them hundreds of times.
Even if they came into contact with a heavily corrupted object, these ordinary people could at most open a ghost eye and gain some “relatively reasonable” abilities.
Take Feng Qi, for example. As long as the conditions were met, any non-metaphysicians could cut people into diced meat.
With superhuman powers of observation to analyze the environment, track targets through fragmented intelligence, and even understand “crazy ravings”, it was all still a manifestation of the “extreme enhancement of observation power”. In the words of Professor Li, the human brain has infinite potential, and such people could be regarded as a super-doubled version of Sherlock Holmes.
Fu Xingchuan’s gaze stopped on the words “sin value”.
His intuition shouted frantically. This ability to “judge the value of sin” wasn’t strong, but it revealed a strange flavor.
The ability was unprecedented.
It wasn’t easy for victims to become evil beings, let alone to “count at a glance”. Over the years, in order to help solve cases, Shian had specialized in topics similar to “identifying murderers”, but so far, there had been no results.
Even with the Evil Spirit under their feet and the most advanced scientific theories in their hands, Shian still had no breakthrough—
Facts had proven that no matter how powerful an observation power was, it was still impossible to obtain information that “didn’t exist in the world”.
What was originally impossible was now easily accomplished by a child.
What was the source of Feng Qi’s information?
Minister Fu scratched his head. “If those people were seen for ‘having killed someone’ or ‘having murderous intent towards people’, it would still be considered an enhanced observation power… This ‘sin value’ is a bit outrageous.”
“Indeed. If you can be accurate about the number of people killed, the nature has changed,” Professor Li replied casually. “The kid said, ‘I don’t know why. I just do.’ Most likely due to self-protection, the brain directly presented him with the results.”
The two were silent for a while.
“Create a file and let Unit 7 continue to follow up.”
Fu Xingchuan lowered his voice. “Regarding Sunken Society ‘corrupting people with evil qi’, there’s been a new breakthrough.”
“Since we’re talking about Sunken Society, there’s one more thing that’s very strange.”
As if he were feeding a large animal, Professor Li threw another stack of reports.
Fu Xingchuan took it naturally, as if it were a conditioned reflex.
“…Fuck, what happened to Units 6 and 7?” Fu Xingchuan flipped through the pages. “Unit 7’s luck is like they’re cursed, so I won’t talk about them, but isn’t Unit 6 quite reliable? Why is the report so bad?”
“According to Li Xiaozhen and Li Xiaoli, there was some trouble, and Kong Wanqing was able to exploit it.”
“I know this, but I still don’t get that old bastard Kong. The issue is that they both fainted, but they were able to keep ‘Good Boy’. The degree of injury should be more serious—based on the photos of the scene, it looked as if the place was demolished.”
Fu Xingchuan shook his head and dropped his brows.
“That kid Feng Qi said there was a ‘Sunken Wiseman’ who had frequent contact with ‘Ibby’, giving them clues to the ‘black market merchant’. Now it seems that that bullshit wiseman is most likely Kong Wanqing.”
“But that night, instead of tracking the two children, he ran to squat at Master Liu’s side. Even if it’s Sunken Society, their brain circuits shouldn’t be this screwed up—did Sunken Society really only send one person?”
Professor Li turned the cap of the thermos in his hand and took a long breath as he looked at the blue sky outside the window.
“According to Ge Tingting, she was attacked near the woods in the community. Li Xiaozhen and Li Xiaoli quickly followed the scene. They didn’t find the attacker—blood residues, traces of weapons, nothing. But, having said that, Ge Tingting had abnormal cognition at that time, so her testimony might not be reliable.”
“That’s not right. Sunken Society wouldn’t be so kind.” Fu Xingchuan clicked his tongue. “If you ask me, there must be someone who’s responsible for disposing of the children and recycling the corruption source.”
“Indeed.” Professor Li took a leisurely sip of his tea.
Fu Xingchuan looked at him. “What about Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo?”
“They were all captured by nearby surveillance. Yin Ren returned to the community early, and Zhong Chengshuo didn’t come back until midnight. There was no problem with their GPS location, but suspicion on the two can’t be completely ruled out.”
“Clues?”
“There were traces of flying skills. According to Xiang Jiang’s identification, Yin Ren’s ghost can fly, and Yin Ren said that night he had been practicing it.”
“…” Fu Xingchuan was silent.
“We have no clear evidence of ‘interference by others’. It’s not impossible to say that there were internal changes in Sunken Society and that Unit 6 was that lucky.” Professor Li put down the teacup. “However, that’s just a hypothesis. If someone really intervened…”
“At least for now, it seems that the meddler isn’t hostile towards Shian.”
“Got it.” Fu Xingchuan pressed his temples. “I’ll pay more attention.”
……
A certain two people who didn’t know that they were being suspected.
This Monday was easy. Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo only needed to fill out the case report. Under Yin Ren’s strong urge, everyone went straight to the self-service barbecue restaurant after work.
The barbeque was hot as red, tender meat sizzled on the metal mesh. Grease dripped into the flames from time to time, making a sultry crackling sound. The square table was full of tempting meat, while the vegetarian dishes were placed in front of Zhong Chengshuo.
“Making amends to Liang Ge.” Yin Ren raised his glass of juice.
Across the table, Liang Shan grunted twice. He didn’t respond, but the smile and grease stains on his face betrayed him—this person had already lost his anger and was busy turning his indignation into appetite.
Even Lu Xiaohe came.
“I’ll eat a little less and go at 7,” she said apologetically. “I’ll pay equally for my share.”
Zhong Chengshuo: “Lu Jie, is there an urgent matter in the company?”
Lu Xiaohe paused her chopstick motion. “I’m going home to eat with my mother. Our family always has dinner together.”
…As far as her mother’s condition was concerned, this was one less meal with her mother, so she didn’t want to miss even a single one.
Yin Ren was startled. He quickly picked up a pair of chopsticks, grabbed the cold vegetables, and stuffed it into Zhong Chengshuo’s mouth.
“?!” Zhong Chengshuo was about to ask why when he was blocked.
Although Yin Ren hadn’t used these chopsticks, the weird curse had started to attack Zhong Chengshuo again. Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes, nose, and ears began to have serious heat issues.
“I heard that the pudding here is very good. I’ll ask the waiter later to see if you can bring some for Auntie.” Yin Ren quickly changed the subject. “The internet says that this store is nice, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Haha, thank you, Xiao Yin. I didn’t even think of that.” Lu Xiaohe scratched her head a little embarrassedly.
“Speaking of which, the reason I came is because I have something to tell you.”
“Nn.” Just in case, Yin Ren had picked up a piece of vegetable again and continued to block his partner’s mouth.
