Chapter 5: 5 Chapter 04

◎Infiltrating the Underground Bar◎

Misunderstanding?

Xia Xun looked Xu Jinyao up and down in this outfit, then showed a sudden realization. From a pile of clothes on the sofa, she pulled out a dress.

She held it out to Xu Jinyao and asked, “What about this one? See if you like it?”

It was a long black dress, made of silk satin, very form-fitting.

Xu Jinyao was momentarily stunned, wondering why she would own such a dress. Before she could reach out to take it, Xia Xun pulled her hand back, answering her own question: “Forget it, I’ll find you something else.”

Xu Jinyao stepped forward hastily and snatched the dress directly. “Don’t waste time.”

She went into the room to change. When she came out, she saw Xia Xun had already donned the same patterned blouse and elastic-waist pants she’d been wearing earlier.

She fell silent, then asked, “…Have you actually never been to a bar before?”

Xia Xun’s gaze roamed over her figure. She answered woodenly, “I-I’ve been. I have.”

More than once, actually.

It was just that today, she was bringing police officers inside. Entering through the main entrance required looking reasonably normal, so she’d found the outfit from her last visit.

She remembered very clearly: the previous time she’d stumbled in, the Security Guards had let her go without a word, which meant her outfit was perfectly fine.

However, seeing the complex look in Xu Jinyao’s eyes, she still went back and swapped the flip-flops for sneakers before they left.

–

At one in the morning, Xia Xun brought the two police officers to the Parking Lot.

Du Chang was responsible for providing backup outside, while Xu Jinyao went with Xia Xun into the Bar to look for clues.

From the outside, the Parking Lot looked like just a regular parking lot, with no sign of any bar entrance whatsoever.

Xia Xun led the way, and the two soon arrived at the Elevator Hall in the center.

“This is the entrance you mentioned?” Xu Jinyao asked.

Xia Xun nodded.

Entering the Elevator, Xu Jinyao watched her press and hold a floor button. Just as she was about to question it, the elevator suddenly made a loud clunk and began descending.

“Isn’t the -1 level right here?” Xu Jinyao looked up at the surveillance camera on the ceiling.

Could there be another level belowground?

Xia Xun had thought the same at first, until that time she tailed Huo Zhi. After seeing him enter the elevator, the floor number hadn’t changed. Initially thinking something was wrong inside, she pressed the button to open it only to find it empty.

This happened several times in a row. She realized it wasn’t an illusion or anything supernatural; the elevator had been tampered with.

By analyzing fingerprints and sweat residue, she’d quickly guessed the correct way to operate the elevator. She discovered that beneath the -1 level where the Parking Lot was located, there was another level—the -2 level. This level wasn’t marked on the elevator’s floor buttons. Only by pressing and holding the button could one trigger the descent.

This -2 level was the Bar the three victims in this serial case had visited before their deaths.

Xia Xun had always intended to give this lead to The Police, but she didn’t want to reveal her own identity. That’s why she’d deliberately let the surveillance camera capture her, to attract police attention. Assisting the investigation as a Suspect was far better than operating under the title of Private Investigator.

But, she had calculated that Du Chang would come find her. She hadn’t calculated that Yaoyao would suddenly appear.

Xu Jinyao, Captain Xu—this woman who looked exactly like Yaoyao. Except for the name and face, she was nothing like her. Yet Xia Xun simply couldn’t control herself and had told the truth.

“Yao… Captain Xu,” Xia Xun whispered, “stick close to me later, and don’t wander off.”

As her words fell, a ripple of emotion crossed Xu Jinyao’s otherwise expressionless face.

“Shouldn’t I be saying that?” She imperceptibly shifted half a step back, widening the distance between them. Mindful that the camera might record audio, even after stepping back, they were still very close.

Xia Xun felt a wind brush past her ear, and then her face flushed hot. She lowered her head and mumbled, “Then I’ll, I’ll stick close to you.”

Xu Jinyao caught the crimson color in her peripheral vision, startled, and took another half-step back.

Ding—

The Elevator doors slowly slid open. In the darkness, a silent string of wall lamps glowed, stretching forward through the dark as if pointing the way.

The two exchanged a glance. Xu Jinyao walked out first, with Xia Xun following closely behind.

“Through this Corridor is the main entrance to the bar…”

Before she could finish, the elevator doors closed automatically behind them. The floor display still showed -1.

Xia Xun recalled the scene from her last visit and continued, “There are probably four security guards at the door. Each carries a Walkie-Talkie. It’s best not to arouse their suspicion. Right… do you have anything metallic on you?”

Xu Jinyao halted mid-step. “We have to go through a security check?”

Xia Xun nodded. “There’s scanning equipment set up at the entrance. Everyone goes through it. I suspect… it’s to prevent anyone from carrying weapons.”

The previous times she’d come, she’d avoided the main entrance precisely to dodge that machine.

Walking around in a place like this without a weapon? Impossible.

Xu Jinyao didn’t answer immediately. Xia Xun understood instantly. She changed direction and headed back towards the Elevator Hall. “Follow me.”

–

Navigating the Ventilation Ducts was second nature to Xia Xun.

In a couple of swift moves, she removed the outermost metal panel and began crawling inside. Halfway through, she suddenly remembered the person behind her wasn’t familiar with the route. Decisively, she backed out and let Xu Jinyao go first.

“People could come or go here any moment. I need to stay behind to restore this panel,” Xia Xun explained.

Xu Jinyao glanced at the wire in her hand, finally understanding it wasn’t a Ring. It was just a multi-purpose tool removed from her finger for emergencies.

Xu Jinyao nodded and quickly crawled in.

By the time Xia Xun crawled back in, the person had already reached far ahead.

After refastening the vent panel from the inside, Xia Xun increased her pace, crawling further inside. She had intended to lead, but every direction Xu Jinyao crawled was correct. Clearly, she didn’t need a guide.

This Xu Jinyao felt like a stranger again.

After crawling for some time, rhythmic music emanated from outside the narrow ducts.

Xia Xun whispered, “Below us should be the Dance Floor.”

Relying on her previous impressions, she continued, “Next to the Dance Floor is the Booth Area. We’re heading in the other direction now. From the Restroom, we can…”

Xu Jinyao cut her off. “Are these ducts all connected?”

Xia Xun: “They are on this level.”

“There’s more than one level here?”

“Mhm.”

For some reason, Xu Jinyao found things a bit strange.

It wasn’t the Bar that was strange, nor the victims who had visited. It was Xia Xun.

She felt Xia Xun seemed very familiar with this place, a familiarity that went beyond having just visited a few times, as she’d claimed. She knew very well that just a few visits couldn’t achieve that level of understanding.

Xia Xun wasn’t as candid as she appeared.

Just as she thought, even after twelve years, a hypocrite remained a hypocrite.

“Let’s go,” Xu Jinyao said calmly.

Due to the limited space and weight capacity of the ventilation ducts, and to prevent potential collapse, the two continued crawling, one after the other, deliberately keeping a distance between them.

After crawling for a long time, they finally reached the area above the restrooms.

The ventilation duct was situated within the partition above the restroom ceiling. Xia Xun softly called out to stop Xu Jinyao. “Wait.”

The partition boards were sealed tight. The only light source was the ventilation grate in the corner, not nearly enough to see clearly inside.

“I’ll go down first,” Xia Xun said.

Xu Jinyao moved aside to make room. Their breaths briefly intertwined before separating again.

Xia Xun removed the ring from her other hand and carefully sliced through one of the partition boards. Bright light streamed up, reflecting in her amber-colored pupils.

The restroom was empty. A perfect opportunity.

Xia Xun confidently opened that section of the board. Using both hands to brace herself, she lowered her legs first, landing on the top of a stall door. Just as she was about to continue lowering herself, the door outside creaked—someone had entered.

But it was too late to crawl back up. Standing on the toilet rim, holding the ceiling panel, Xia Xun stiffly turned her head.

Their eyes met. Both were stunned.

The person at the door wore a patterned blouse and loose patterned trousers, holding a mop in hand, feet in slippers. Her mouth was wide open, her eyes bulging.

“You… you must be the new cleaner?”

Cleaner?

Xia Xun’s mouth corners twitched. Belatedly, she realized why the security guard hadn’t been suspicious of her the previous time.

In that split second of surprise, she heard a soft cold laugh from above, faint, almost imperceptible.

The Cleaning Lady continued, “So few young people are willing to do this kind of work. You…”

Xia Xun swallowed hard.

What about me?

Holding the mop, the woman walked in, looking up. “You’re so dedicated, you even clean the ceiling?”

Without ceremony, she pulled open the stall door and squeezed inside. Facing Xia Xun, she said, “Just make a show of it. The Boss here is really nice. But then again, since you’re new, you probably don’t know. They don’t really inspect the work here. Just do enough to look like you’re doing something. My main job is changing the trash bags. For the other areas, just hook up a Water Pipe, spray a couple of times, and it’s clean enough.”

After speaking, seeing Xia Xun still frozen, she gave her a couple of pats on the rear and laughed: “Why are you still standing there? Come on down.”

Xia Xun looked up at the empty partition space, quickly covered it back, and jumped down from the toilet.

“Auntie, how did you know I’m the new one?” Xia Xun asked.

The Cleaning Lady: “We’re all wearing the cleaner’s uniform, aren’t we? Besides, I heard the Manager mention earlier that a new person was coming. Just didn’t expect someone so young.”

Xia Xun gave an awkward laugh. “I just look young. Actually, I’m already over forty.”

“Oh my, you look so young?” the Cleaning Lady said. “Married?”

“I’ve already birthed three kids.”

The Cleaning Lady’s eyes widened again, looking her over. “Really couldn’t tell!”

Xia Xun smiled. “It’s mainly about good maintenance.”

The Cleaning Lady seemed to understand something. “Must’ve cost a lot, right? No wonder you came to work here.”

“Exactly!” Xia Xun blinked. “But they seem very strict here. I’m on probation, and if I don’t do well, they won’t even keep me.”

“The Manager told you that?”

“Was the person who hired me the Manager?”

The Cleaning Lady glanced back at the door, lowered her voice, and said, “That one… the guy with red hair who’s always hanging around the booth area. About your age, though not as young-looking as you. That’s our Manager. But let me tell you, don’t go hanging around in front of him when you’ve got nothing to do. He’s a bit…”

Xia Xun leaned closer. “A bit?”

The Cleaning Lady’s voice grew even softer. “Just a bit… off.”

“Brain-dead?”

“Good heavens, no,” the Cleaning Lady laughed. “Anyway, just take my word for it.”

Just then, someone else pushed the door open and entered.

The Cleaning Lady rinsed and hung up her mop and closed the Utility Room door.

Passing Xia Xun, she gave her a knowing look and whispered a reminder: “The rule is, no cleaning when there are guests inside. Go out and see if there’s any trash to pick up. Just gather some and drag it out until your shift ends.”

Xia Xun had no choice but to follow her out of the restroom. Before they parted ways, she asked one last question: “If the work is this easy, wouldn’t hiring just you be enough? Why hire someone new?”

The Cleaning Lady winked and answered quietly, “You’ll know once you pass probation. The Manager doesn’t like underlings gossiping. I can’t tell you too much. I’ll head over there. The booth area is yours to handle.”

Xia Xun had come here so many times before but never seen the cleaners. This time, she ran into one right away. Thinking about what she’d just heard, she couldn’t help but feel something was strange.

The Cleaning Lady had no suspicion towards a new face like hers. This suggested the bar had hired new cleaners several times before. Where those new cleaners went was, for now, a mystery.

And that red-haired Manager likely had issues too. Perhaps connected to those vanished new cleaners.

Mimicking the Cleaning Lady’s manner, Xia Xun began walking through the Booth Area, occasionally cleaning up a mess on the floor or changing a trash bag.

Just as she was brainstorming how to get Xu Jinyao safely out of the ventilation duct, she looked up abruptly and saw a tall, slender figure flash past on the Dance Floor in the distance.

“Hey, if you’re gonna collect it, collect it and get out of the way. What’s with this cleaner? Always in the way.”

The speaker was a man on the sofa, holding a wine glass, legs crossed, the tip of his shoe tilted towards Xia Xun, who was bent over changing a trash bag.

Xia Xun snapped back to attention, sped up, finished changing the bag, and moved to leave.

The man who had pointed at her with his shoe tip suddenly called out, “Hold on. Raise your head, let me have a look.”

The others in the booth turned their gazes their way. One of the men grinned lecherously. “Seriously? You won’t even spare the cleaners?”

Xia Xun slowly closed her eyes. When she reopened them, her gaze had instantly gone cold. Her thumb slowly rubbed against one of her rings. As she rubbed, a sharp spike gradually rose from the ring.

“Wow—look, look! Who is that?”

The man also turned to look.

Not far away, a woman emerged from the crowd, her skirt hem swaying, her gait light and graceful. She walked up beside Xia Xun, her voice low and husky: “May I join you?”

Everyone was stunned. Such a beautiful woman, and so forward! They nodded hastily: “Of course!”

Xu Jinyao bypassed Xia Xun and sat down on the sofa. The spot she chose placed her directly between the man and Xia Xun.

Xia Xun frowned deeply, staring fixedly at her.

Xu Jinyao had let her short hair down. The way her fingers tucked the stray strands behind her ear was completely natural. Her coat was open, revealing the camisole underneath.

This was completely different from the Xu Jinyao Xia Xun had seen outside.

The way her face held a smile now, she seemed like a changed person. Different from Captain Xu who had thrown her. Similar, just a little, to Yaoyao.

A bizarre mix of familiarity and strangeness flooded Xia Xun’s heart, confusing her. She was utterly baffled.

Was this person actually helping her out right now?

Xu Jinyao casually picked up a glass of wine, turned to the man who had called out to Xia Xun, smiled faintly, and offered the glass to him.

The man smirked, reaching out to clink glasses with her. Seizing the chance to lean closer, he whispered, “Beauty, are you here to put out my fire?”

Xia Xun’s rubbing motion grew faster, the spike on the ring extending further.

In the very last instant before their glasses touched, the wine glass Xu Jinyao held abruptly flipped over. The liquid inside poured directly onto the man’s crotch.

Gasps rose from the crowd.

“You!” The man scrambled to his feet, his hand swinging out to slap.

Xu Jinyao looked up and precisely caught his wrist, her voice icy: “I’m here to put out your fire, indeed.”

As the words fell, her fingers suddenly exerted force. She yanked his arm backward, pulling him off balance and forcing him to his knees. Her other hand immediately clamped down on the back of his neck. Before he could even struggle, his face was slammed downwards, crashing into the glass table with a loud Bang!

After the resounding impact, the thick glass tabletop instantly fractured into countless spiderweb cracks.

Everyone present turned their heads to witness the spectacle. The other people in the same booth were about to jump up and intervene when the man, his head broken and bleeding, roared furiously, “All of you get lost!”

“Nobody touch her!!”