Chapter 46: The Party
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
The blueprint had been secretly photographed from his ex-girlfriend’s safe. And while Cheng Facai didn’t believe that a half-demon, half-mechanical design really qualified as a patent—after all, if one sister could have it, why couldn’t the other?—he figured it was better to be cautious. The cost of building this thing wasn’t cheap, and if it turned out unusable, he couldn’t even dump it on Xianyu (China’s secondhand goods app).
The chicken-feet shop owner said, “So I figured I’d find someone to translate the side notes first, see if I could identify the designer and then maybe buy the rights.”
Shi Wenze asked, “What language is it?”
Cheng Facai replied smoothly, “Nuckelavee.”
Xu You squinted, confused. “Slow down. What duck?”
Lin Su didn’t understand either.
“It’s a monster language,” Cheng Facai explained. “Said to originate from a group of sea-centaur demons in Western Europe. I consulted a professor who specializes in obscure world languages—he’s basically a leading authority. Even for him, it took a whole week to piece together a rough partial translation. And he advised me to call the police. Immediately.”
Shi Wenze took the documents from Cheng Facai, and Xu You leaned over to take a look. One glance had his stomach churning. To be fair, the creature on the blueprint wasn’t particularly gory—the details were even quite refined—but there was something deeply, viscerally disturbing about it. It triggered that uncanny valley feeling to the max. Even if it were just decor in a haunted house, they’d have to put up a warning: Not for the faint of heart.
According to the partial translation, the document focused on organ transplants and modifications between different monsters. Several failed surgical cases were listed. There weren’t any illustrations, but the textual descriptions alone were enough to make one’s scalp tingle.
“I used to think she was just obsessed with beast bones,” Cheng Facai continued, “digging into my family’s tombs to sell stuff on the black market and make a profit. It’s shady, yeah, but not uncommon. Not that weird. But once this organ-mod business got involved, it turned from a basic money hustle into a full-blown horror show—ethical dilemmas, gore, violence—the works.” The chicken-feet boss shuddered. He hadn’t broken up with a girlfriend; it felt like he’d escaped from a dissection table. Surviving made him feel like the lucky one.
“Why not report this to the Chengdu Department of Monster Affairs?” Shi Wenze asked.
At that, Cheng Facai chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head. “During our relationship… I helped her buy a batch of smuggled monster spirit bones.”
Lin Su: “…”
Xu You clicked his tongue. “So you want us to pull some strings for you?”
“No, no! I just get nervous around cops.” Cheng Facai waved his hands frantically, trying to show he had no ulterior motives. He hadn’t planned to confess this, but if Dou Yixuan ever exposed him, explaining it later would be even harder. Better to get ahead of it now and plead guilty in hopes of leniency.
He declared solemnly, “I’m willing to atone through cooperation.”
“I’ll report this to my superior,” Shi Wenze replied. “We may need to trouble you a few more times.”
“No problem.” Cheng Facai raised a hand in pledge. “Until this case is resolved, I’ll stay put in the hotel. I promise.”
After he left, Lin Su turned to Shi Wenze. “You think he bribed any officials back when he got us that housing discount?”
“Even if he didn’t mean to, it definitely had that effect,” Shi Wenze said. “I’ll include it in my report to Director Zhou and see how he wants to handle it.”
It felt like every person and every event in society was a living reminder that nothing came free. But at least boyfriends who loved baby dinosaurs didn’t cost money, and Chiwen—bless his dumb, sweet soul—was the kind of friend you could count on. Lin Su felt content with their odd little trio. He opened an app to order late-night snacks so they could pull an all-nighter together.
Xu You clacked away on the keyboard. Vacations? All lies. The only real thing in life was work.
…
According to Cheng Facai’s confession, during their relationship, he’d only been to Dou Yixuan’s home once. He’d gone over expecting a steamy, romantic night. Instead, he stepped into what looked like a surveillance camera expo. Cameras in the living room were one thing—but the bedroom? That black-lensed thing aimed right at the bed made him think of a porn set, not a home. He had dreams of being a domineering CEO, not an adult webcam performer. In the end, they just drank some Lafite and called it a night.
“If the place was that locked down,” Xu You guessed, “maybe she stored the good stuff there?”
“Where did Cheng Facai find the blueprint again?” Lin Su asked.
“Her office,” Shi Wenze replied, flipping through the report. “There were a ton of cameras there too. Cheng Facai actually arranged a blackout just to find dirt on his ex.”
Xu You: Okay, now that’s cinematic.
Colleagues at the Qiong City Monster Affairs Department staked out Dou Yixuan’s apartment for several days. The building was one of the city’s most private and high-end residences: twelve floors, twelve units. Eight were owned by out-of-towners for vacation use. Only four households lived there full-time. With such a small community, everyone recognized each other, making surveillance relatively easy.
That afternoon, Chiwen lounged inside a fluffy cloud formation that looked, from a distance, like a broken-down Wuling minivan. Honestly? Kind of cute. But appearances aside, every monster in the city knew this half-dragon could fight like hell, so they gave him a wide berth. The sun shone warmly on his bluish-green scales as he relaxed, his belly pressing against a phone that suddenly started vibrating. Bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt.
“We got something?” he mumbled, stretching.
“A man just walked out of the target building,” Shi Wenze reported. “Purple suit. License plate Qiong A8HG65. We suspect he just came from Dou Yixuan’s apartment. Follow him.”
“On it!” Chiwen rubbed his hands. He loved tailing people.
Shuitang had prepared a fleet of rideshare cars for just this occasion. Xu You darted across the street and slipped into one, then—guided by their airborne colleagues—quickly caught up to Qiong A8HG65.
The little blue car drove through two main roads before turning into a secluded alleyway. The man in the purple suit hopped out and dashed down a long staircase. As he ran, he pulled a large plastic bag from his coat.
Xu You frowned inside the car, wondering whether to make an arrest—until the man pulled a green wig out of the bag.
Xu You blinked. What kind of bizarre green-haired crime syndicate is this?
It was midday in Qiong City, the temperature well into the 90s Fahrenheit. Wearing a full suit and topping it off with a green wig in this heat was bold. Any nervous civilian who spotted him might call the cops thinking he escaped from a psychiatric ward. But strangely, none of the residents or tourists nearby seemed surprised. Street vendors kept hawking goods, selfie-takers kept posing—no one reacted.
“What the hell?” Xu You muttered. “Is this guy invisible? You guys can see him, right?”
A voice came back from the air patrol: “Yep, clear as day.”
Shi Wenze asked, “Can you think of a way to follow them?”
“I can.” Xu You parked the car and adjusted his communicator again.
At that moment, Greenhead had already pushed open a door at the end of the alley and hurried inside. Chewing gum, Xu You followed him and noticed a sign by the door—it was a rock bar.
A rock bar was good. As long as it wasn’t a private residence, anyone could just walk right in boldly. Xu You was very familiar with this kind of work; if necessary, he could even spin some records. He knocked on the door, and when no one came to open it, he went in by himself.
The sound waves were so strong they nearly knocked him out on the spot. Multicolored lights flashed back and forth. The low rumble of rock music boomed like a series of thunderclaps rolling up from underground. Xu You was caught off guard, feeling a tightness in his chest. Not far ahead, there was a glass door. Inside, it looked like a wild party. At a glance, he saw hair of every color—black, white, red, yellow, purple, green, blue, and gray.
Xu You’s first thought was, No wonder he went with green hair. Was this some kind of hair and beauty convention? Shi Wenze was puzzled. “What hair and beauty convention?”
“Look closely. It’s not TONY, it’s a costume party,” Xu You said. “I saw him.”
Purple suit and green hair. The big guy was disguising himself as a clown. No wonder the crowd wasn’t surprised earlier. They’d probably already seen at least a hundred people in bizarre costumes before Greenhead showed up.
Shi Wenze said, “Are you the only one not in makeup?”
Xu You hesitated. “Uh… honestly, nobody told me there was a party here. Those criminals are pretty sly.”
A security guard was pushing the door open, walking toward them. Xu You turned his face to the side. Shi Wenze ordered, “If it doesn’t work, come back. Don’t spook them.”
“No need,” Xu You said. “I can just tear my clothes, punch my own face, and pretend to be a zombie with a bloody, bruised nose.”
Shi Wenze lowered his voice. “Get back here!”
Xu You chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.”
The guard stood politely behind him and reminded, “Hey handsome, today’s a costume party, makeup is required.”
Xu You turned around and jumped toward him with arms outstretched. The guard was startled. “Ah!”
Xu You explained, “I just stepped out to take a phone call.”
The guard hesitated, then said, “Okay, okay, come on in.”
Xu You thanked him and hopped through the glass door. The guard pulled down the half-shutter and hung a “Full House” sign outside. Shi Wenze asked in his earpiece, “How did you get in?”
Xu You blew the yellow paper hanging in front of his face. “I stuck the refund slip you gave me for the ofo bike on my head. Not perfect, but good enough.”
And honestly, Greenhead in the purple suit could only cosplay a clown’s look—but the ofo refund zombie had genuine resentment. The 199-yuan deposit on that little yellow bike? That was some serious grudge.
Xu You raised his arms and jumped through the crowd, bouncing over to the bar and ordering a glass of Old Beijing sour plum juice. Sitting just two seats away was the green-haired big guy. He wasn’t meeting anyone; he just swayed a glass of red wine, his lips stained with fresh blood.
“Hey, beautiful,” Xu You said to the girl next to him. “Your nails look nice.”
The girl smiled warmly at the handsome guy. “The hotel gave them to us for free.”
“From out of town?” Xu You asked.
“Rong City.”
“What made you come to this party?”
“The hotel front desk recommended it, said it was a good place. They also gave us free drink cards.”
Xu You nodded, clinked his glass with hers, then glanced over. The greenhead had already stood up and was walking toward a dark corner on the other side.
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