The Missing Daughter – CH 015

Chapter 15: Seeking Help 1

“Seeking Help”
“Someone wants to kill me; please help me!”
By Zhen Bai

**

Chuhe City experienced a torrential downpour today.

The rain stopped, thankfully ending the days of bad weather.

This building on Changmian Street had the cheapest rent in the area. The landlady’s surname was Liu, and her name was Liu Mianhua. She was a plump middle-aged woman who liked to dance in the square; she seemed quite enthusiastic.

She glanced at my ID card. “Yi Shui? The surname Yi is quite rare.”

I nodded and said, “Aunt Liu, I heard you have a room here. I wonder if it’s rented out yet?”

Aunt Liu handed my ID card back. “You are lucky. I happen to have a vacant room. The previous tenant was named Xiao Luo.”

“Xiao Luo?”

“Xiao Luo! The Luo of camel¹!”

Aunt Liu seemed a little angry. “This young woman has no family and works alone in the city. I understand she’s having a hard time, so I let her delay her two months’ rent. She said that once she gets a permanent job, she’ll definitely be able to pay the missing rent quickly!”

“But who knew that when the month came, not only did she not pay the rent, she disappeared!”

I was a little confused. “Disappeared? Did she go missing?”

Aunt Liu hummed in agreement, opening a drawer under the table and rummaging through it. “It isn’t exactly missing, I think. She probably just wanted to avoid paying the rent. Knowing I was waiting for her to come back, she didn’t even pack her things, just left them all at home and ran off. These days, good deeds are never rewarded.”

Aunt Liu pulled out a rental contract. “Perfect, I’ve had that room cleaned up. You can stay there. By the way, the price is all in this contract. My price is the lowest around. You can go ask around if you don’t believe me. No bargaining.”

I reached for it.

Aunt Liu pulled the contract aside. “There’s something I need to tell you. This building was built by my parents years ago and later divided among us children. My siblings sold the upper floors; the buyers don’t live there themselves, but they rent them out. So only the first and second floors are mine. I can’t control what happens upstairs. A while ago, someone died on the third floor.”

I was a little surprised. “Died?”

Aunt Liu smiled. “Don’t be afraid; it was an accident, a gas leak. But don’t worry, my building is safe. Of course, if you buy your own stove, whatever type, you need to be careful.”

She asked again. “So, if you’re sure you want to rent it, then—”

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

Aunt Liu called out towards the door, “Come in, the door’s open. Who’s being so polite, knocking when they come in?”

A young, pretty woman entered, looking about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing a dark skirt and a light-colored top, carrying a basket of fruit. “Aunt Liu, a guest?”

Aunt Liu waved her hand. “What guest? A tenant! Xiao Shen, it’s you. What can I do for you?”

The woman called Xiao Shen placed the fruit on the table. “I’m leaving now. Although I’m not renting your place, I’ve received a lot of help from you since I came to Chushui City. Thank you for your help these past few days.”

She seemed to genuinely just be delivering fruit. After she left, I asked curiously, “Aunt Liu, you’re so popular! Even the tenant upstairs brings you things.”

Aunt Liu replied, “Who? She? What tenant? Her mother is the one I told you about, the one who died upstairs! She came here to hold her mother’s funeral. Now the rent is due, the funeral is over, and she’s preparing to leave. This girl is a kind person. Nowadays, everyone only cares about their own business, especially young people. Everyone only cares about their own doorstep. It isn’t easy to find a kind-hearted person!”

I asked again, “How do you know she’s kind-hearted?”

Aunt Liu and I chatted. “On the third floor, next to her mother’s room, there’s also a pitiful mother and daughter named Zheng Feng. Zheng Feng’s daughter was sick and self-harming every few days. She was taken to the hospital a while ago, but couldn’t be saved. Zheng Feng couldn’t bear the blow and had a stroke, becoming hemiplegic². These past few days, Xiao Shen has been taking care of her.”

I was a little puzzled. “Why is she taking care of her?”

“That’s why I said this girl is kind. I guess seeing this mother must have reminded her of her own mother. Zheng Feng had no other relatives here. Luckily, Xiao Shen came. Because they were neighbors, Zheng Feng brought her chicken soup a few times; the soup smelled so good, I could smell it from downstairs!”

Aunt Liu sighed, “It’s all thanks to Zheng Feng’s good deeds. Xiao Shen knows her family situation and said she’s already contacted Zheng Feng’s cousin; she’ll take her there today. I helped pack her things; they are leaving today.”

Aunt Liu was indeed very kind. After I confirmed I wanted to rent the room, she handed me the contract. “First room on the second floor, one month’s deposit and three months’ rent in advance. Not much, right? Only I offer this kind of service. I know it isn’t easy for you, young women who come to the city to work, so I’m charging a low price.”

“In a little while, just go and make two copies of your ID card and hand them over.”

Aunt Liu said quite readily. “I live on this floor. Come find me anytime if you need anything. Here’s the key. But I have to warn you, this area isn’t very safe lately, especially at night. You’ll have to be extra careful if you’re alone.”

“Not safe…?”

“There are all sorts of rumors circulating here all the time; you never know what’s true. Take missing persons, for example. Everyone says Xiao Luo is missing, but I’ve seen this kind of thing a lot. She just wants to avoid paying rent. It isn’t like there haven’t been people who run away without a word to avoid paying rent before.”

Aunt Liu glanced at the time and stood up hurriedly. “Oh dear, it’s time! Xiao Yi, I have to go dancing later. We can talk more later when I have time.”

**

The past two weeks living on Changmian Street had been alright, and Aunt Liu had been very kind to me.

I left home after a fight with my family. I didn’t have much education, and I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. I had to find a job as a sales clerk in a nearby shopping mall.

It was a one-month internship; after that, I’d be paid a salary plus commission.

Because I worked the early shift during the day, I went to bed early at night. Unexpectedly, this night, I was woken up in the middle of the night by crying.

It was a child crying, right at the door.

I glanced at the time; it was past 3 AM, quite late, but the child was crying and banging on my door.

“Hey, whose child is this? They’ve been crying outside for so long; can you do something about it?”

I had no choice but to stand up and walk to the door to look out. The peephole was too high; I couldn’t see the child, but I could tell from the sound that they were sitting by the door.

Just as I was about to open the door, I suddenly remembered Aunt Liu’s usual advice, so I stopped what I was doing and said through the door, “Stop crying; you’re disturbing my sleep. Go home.”

“Waaah… Sister… Sister, I can’t find my way home, waaaah…”

The child’s crying grew louder as they continued to bang on my door.

It was so late, and it wasn’t safe for a child to be out alone. After hesitating for a moment, I opened the door. Sure enough, I saw a child of about six or seven years old, covered in dirt, sitting on my doorstep, rubbing his eyes repeatedly. “Sister, help me get home, sister, please help me…”

Such a small and pitiful child. I sighed, stepped out of the room, and helped him up.

I heard footsteps beside me. I turned around to look…

**

After that day, my job at the mall changed from day shift to night shift.

The time I went home also changed to 4 AM.

At that time, the buses had stopped running, and taxis were too expensive. Luckily, the mall wasn’t far, so I could catch a meal in the evening and walk home without getting too tired.

There weren’t many pedestrians or cars on the road. I always followed the main road until the end, then exited the main road and crossed a section of the urban area to reach my building.

The buildings in the urban area were scattered, with many alleys, but there were still main roads, just not as wide as the outer streets, and several streetlights were broken.

Walking on the road, it was very quiet all around.

“Miss, help me!”

A young woman, around twenty years old, dressed very lightly, darted out from the alleyway beside us. “Please, can you help me?”

Her face was filled with fear; she looked terrified and kept glancing back at the alley behind her.

I was a little surprised. “What’s wrong?”

She pulled me along the road, lowering her voice, “Someone wants to kill me. Please, help me, okay? Just pretend you know me, and we’ll go together!”

My heart skipped a beat.

Although Aunt Liu hadn’t said much last time, I’d heard bits and pieces since. Changmian Street belonged to Luocai District, one of the few remaining old-town areas with single-story houses in Chushui City. The population here was diverse, and the security situation was chaotic.

But if we really encountered a vicious murderer, even the two of us might not be a match for him!

Seeing my change in expression, the girl immediately said, “I only saw that person following me with a knife. I don’t know what he’s going to do. There’s no one on the street. If we are together, he might not dare to attack. If anything seems wrong, call the police immediately!”

What she said made sense. I looked back, and the only light on the road behind me was the dim glow of the streetlights. I was a little confused. “Why don’t I see anyone?”

Just as I finished speaking, the girl suddenly pulled me to a stop.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sis—sister, look ahead…”

I turned my head in the direction she indicated and saw a man in a black shirt emerging from some alleyway on the road ahead of us. He was leaning against a nearby lamppost, taking out a cigarette and starting to smoke.

I was a little scared, too. I took a few steps back and whispered, “Was it him following you?”

The girl shook her head, pulled me back, and lowered her voice as well. “I couldn’t see clearly in the alley just now. I’m not sure if it was him, but let’s not go this way. It’s so late, and he’s still on the road. Look, he’s still looking at us every now and then.”

I didn’t dare to go forward rashly, so I said, “Why don’t you call the police?”

She asked, “My phone’s dead. What about yours?”

I took out my phone and looked at it. “My phone’s dead too.”

The man under the lamplight threw his cigarette on the ground, stamped it out, and looked up at us, seemingly waiting for us to pass by.

The girl asked, “By the way, sister, where do you live?”

I replied, “Just up ahead, on Changmian Street. What about you?”

She said, “My home is on the street behind Changmian Street. My name is Zhao Pan; you can just call me Panpan. We are going in the same direction, which makes things easier… We’ll walk together; he won’t dare to make a move. And frankly, even if we call the police now, he hasn’t done anything, so we can’t really do anything to him.”

“But he’s lying in wait on the road. How do we get there?”

“I know a way to go around to Changmian Street from the back. We can slip into those alleys while he isn’t looking and shake him off quickly,” the girl said.

The girl pulled me back. “Sister, let’s walk slowly for now. When we get to that alley, I’ll say ‘run,’ and you run in with me. I’ll hold your hand. Don’t go the wrong way; there are so many alleys here, it’s easy to get lost.”

I nodded and did as she said. I glanced back, and sure enough, the man, seeing us walking back, suddenly started following us, though keeping a certain distance.

“Ready, run!”

As soon as the girl finished speaking, we turned and ran into the alley next to us.

Thank goodness, I made it home safely.

From then on, I was much more careful when walking at night, always watching to see if anyone was following me.

**

When Aunt Liu heard that I had quit my hard-earned permanent job, she felt sorry for me.

I reassured her, “It’s alright, it’s just a sales clerk job; these kinds of jobs are easy to find.”

Aunt Liu then asked, “How long before you come back this time?”

“I don’t know, probably soon. I’ve paid the rent; it would be a waste not to stay.”

Aunt Liu was very kind and helped me carry my luggage to the car.

Yesterday, I received a call from home saying my mother was sick. She was usually very healthy and hadn’t been sick in years, so it didn’t sound untrue.

Despite the argument, I was still worried and decided to go back to Yangshan City to see her.

The driver took me to the high-speed rail station. I didn’t have much luggage; just a small suitcase.

There were plenty of empty seats in the carriage. There weren’t many high-speed trains to Yangshan; only two a day.

Just as the train started moving, a child ran over and started playing with a toy car on the seat next to me.

A while later, an elderly man in his sixties came through the door, looking around and calling out, “Xiaoming, Xiaoming, where are you…?”

“Have you seen my grandson?”

“Hello, have you seen a little child? This tall…”

The people in the other seats were all looking down at their phones, and those wearing headphones didn’t hear the old man’s question and simply shook their heads.

I stood up. “Um, I have a child here.”

The old man rushed over. “Oh my, little one, what are you doing here?”

He breathed a sigh of relief, hugged the child, and then looked up, repeatedly thanking me. “Thank you, thank you, miss; I almost thought my child was lost.”

I sat down. “You are welcome.”

“Come on, let’s go back with Grandpa.”

But the child, who had been sitting in the seat, started crying as soon as he was pulled.

There were three seats in the row, so the old man had to sit down in the one next to him. “I’m so sorry; the child is so noisy.”

I nodded. “It’s alright; he’ll be fine after a little coaxing.”

After thinking for a moment, I took a piece of candy out of my bag, and the child quieted down immediately.

“Hey, little girl, why are you alone? At your age, you should be a college student, right? Are you on vacation now?” The old man’s hair was gray, and his eyesight seemed poor.

I replied, “I’m not a student. My mother is sick, and I’m going home to visit her.”

“How filial!”

The old man exclaimed.

“Which station are you getting off at?”

I answered, “Yangshan.”

“What a coincidence! By the way, my surname is Li. This is my grandson. He’s always lived with me. His parents both work in Yangshan. They said he’s old enough to go to school, so they asked me to take him there. This is my first time riding such a luxurious train. When I was looking for a seat, the signs were so small that I couldn’t see them clearly. Then I lost sight of him! I was so worried, searching carriage after carriage…”

The old man was quite talkative, occasionally asking me a few questions, but mostly he was talking, and I was listening. After a while, he took a small cloth bag from his bag, inside which was a bag of hard-boiled eggs, and handed it to me. “Miss, are you hungry? Have one.”

I politely declined. “No, thank you. I don’t like eggs.”

My mother taught me not to accept food from strangers when traveling.

But clearly, Grandpa Li hadn’t taught Li Ming properly, so the child ate the candy I gave him.

Luckily, I wasn’t a bad person, and there was nothing wrong with the candy.

Grandpa Li said, “Eggs are nutritious. We are poor, and we don’t have much good food. This egg was cooked by my wife before I left. You know, if it weren’t for you, the child would have been lost.”

Grandpa Li reminded me of my deceased grandmother. She always did this, always saving what she thought was the most nutritious food for me, afraid I wouldn’t grow tall enough or get enough nutrition.

But I still insisted on refusing. “No need; I really don’t like eggs. I appreciate your kindness, and actually, I didn’t do anything…”

Seeing my attitude, Grandpa Li reluctantly took back the cloth wrapping the egg, but then took one out, peeled it, and gave it to the child.

The child wolfed down the egg, and Grandpa Li smiled and patted his back. “Don’t choke; come have some water.”

The journey to Yangshan wasn’t long. When we got off the bus, Grandpa Li walked behind me, looking somewhat lost. Many people got off at Yangshan Station; the flow of people was huge. Grandpa Li quickly caught up with me, pulled me aside, and said, “I’m so sorry, young lady; my eyesight isn’t good. I can’t see the words clearly. Which way do I go out here?”

I replied, “It’s simple; just follow me.”

“Oh, okay, thank you so much!”

After leaving the high-speed rail station, I was on my way to hail a taxi home when Grandpa Li thanked me again. Then he took a slip of paper out of his bag, looked at it for a while, and came up to me again. “Young lady, I’m so sorry to trouble you, but this is my first time in the city, and I really don’t understand this place. Do you… do you know how to get around here?”

The weather in Chushui City cleared up, but the weather in Yangshan was still overcast; the sun was nowhere to be seen. Although it was afternoon, the surroundings were gloomy.

“Isn’t your family coming to pick you up?”

“My grandson’s parents work hard; they can’t get time off. They said the place isn’t far from here, so they just gave me an address. I don’t have a cell phone or anything…”

I took the paper Grandpa Li handed me; it did indeed have an address on it. “Please wait a moment.”

I took out my phone and entered the address into the map. The navigation showed that the address was only about a kilometer away, not far, but navigation in Yangshan wasn’t very accurate; the roads were winding and circuitous.

“This place… how do I get there, young lady? Is it far?”

“Not far, a kilometer or two, about a ten-minute walk. If you walk, then…”

I looked at the navigation and explained the route it provided.

“This…this…my memory is terrible; I can’t remember. Could you…please take us there again? The child hasn’t eaten anything today, just a few eggs…This place is nothing like I imagined. I am completely lost as soon as I got off the train. I don’t have any money, and there are so many roads; how am I supposed to get there…”

“You are a local from Yangshan; you must know this place very well. Could you help us?”

“Young lady, I know you’re kind-hearted. Look at this child, I cough cough…”

As he spoke, Grandpa Li started coughing, seemingly unwell.

I couldn’t bear it, so I said, “Alright then, I’ll take you there.”

Taking a taxi was really unnecessary, and it was only a ten-minute walk; the navigation showed mostly side roads.

The high-speed rail station was about seven or eight kilometers from downtown Yangshan, but there was a small town nearby with many single-story houses and alleyways, quite similar to the Changmian Street area.

The alley was narrow, surrounded by houses, with no shops. Another seven or eight hundred meters ahead was the block mentioned on the note; the exact house number would probably require some searching.

I checked the route again with my phone, but noticed a black stain on my finger.

Strange, how did I get that?

The black stain looked like ink. Suddenly, something occurred to me. “Grandpa Li, what was the address again? My navigation is malfunctioning; let me take another look. I’ll re-enter it.”

Grandpa Li pulled the note from his pocket. “It’s…this address.”

I glanced at it and, sure enough, the writing was smudged.

If this note was written a long time ago, how could I have smudged it?

Unless…it was just written when I got it.

I instinctively felt something was wrong. I glanced back at the grandfather and grandson following me, smiled, and handed the note back to him. “Grandpa Li, just keep walking along this road, turn right at the second intersection, and you’ll be on this street. Just look for the house numbers. I have something to do, so I’ll be going now.”

Grandpa Li said, “What? What did you say, young lady? My hearing isn’t very good.”

I took a few steps towards him, raised my voice, and repeated what I had just said.

Grandpa Li was somewhat surprised. “You are leaving? You’ve come all this way; you must be tired from the journey. Come in, sit down, have a drink of water. I need to have the children’s parents thank you.”

I walked past them back. “No need, really no need.”

But after only a few steps, two burly men approached. “Where are you going? All you do is run around all day. Don’t you do any housework?”

I frowned. “I don’t know you.”

“You are giving me face! Go home!”

One of them grabbed my arm, and the other blocked my way, dragging me behind them.

I struggled, but I was no match for the two men.

Some people glanced curiously, and others walked by.

I said, “Let me go! I don’t know you!”

My voice attracted the attention of passersby.

The man with the buzz cut yelled at the passersby, “What are you looking at? This is my wife! You disobeyed and ran away! I’ve known for a while that you and that guy next door were having an affair!”

His story sounded exactly like the truth, even including details. Grandpa Li, who had been there earlier, also came over with the child, saying, “Daughter-in-law, you can’t abandon the child. We are a bit poor, but this child is still yours!”

How could this child be my own?!

I only met them today!

Grandpa Li pinched the child’s arm. “Call her ‘Mom’! Talk to your mother!”

The child looked at me and obediently called out, “Mom.”

The passersby, seeing this, all turned and walked away, unwilling to get involved in this “family matter.”

The two men dragged me into a nearby alley. I knew something was wrong, and I understood that I had been watched ever since I got into the train.

I struggled fiercely, even biting the buzz-cut man’s arm.

He cursed and slapped me across the face.

I said, “I don’t know you; let me go!”

I tried to ask passersby for help, but they all kept their distance.

My phone was slapped to the ground by a man in a short-sleeved shirt with tattoos on his arm, preventing me from calling the police.

“What are you doing?”

A woman in her thirties shouted, walking over and shoving away the man with the buzz cut who was grabbing me. “She said she doesn’t know you. Are you human traffickers?!”

The tattooed man next to her said menacingly, “I’m warning you, mind your own business!”

The woman protected me. “I’m warning you, I’ve already called the police. You can still leave now!”

The two men exchanged glances and took a few steps back. “You really called the police?”

The woman nodded. “That’s right. You know her; go see what the police say! And even if she’s your wife, you can’t hit her!”

The two men looked at us with grim expressions but finally gave up and left through a nearby alley. The “grandfather and grandson” also left. I breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, I couldn’t believe it.

“How dare they do something like this in broad daylight? Aren’t they afraid of getting arrested?”

The woman gave a bitter smile. “Look around, who dares to intervene? Nobody wants to get involved. If those two men started hitting people, who could be sure they could beat them?”

I still didn’t understand. “Even if you don’t dare to stop them, couldn’t you at least call the police?”

The woman handed me a bottle of water and helped me pick up my phone from the ground. “That’s how my sister disappeared. I came here looking for her, but I haven’t heard from her. And look, they were pulling you just now, talking so convincingly that other people would think you know each other.”

I took the phone; the screen was cracked, but thankfully it wasn’t broken. “I don’t know them at all,” I said.

She patted my shoulder and said, “You were scared, weren’t you? Have some water. That’s how it is around here. These human traffickers are itinerant; if they do it too much in one place, they’ll move on. Once they are gone, the police can’t find them. I didn’t expect they’d dare do this here. Luckily, I’ve already called the police. Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”

I shook my head. “I can’t drink it.”

I rarely drank bottled water. I was picky about water; I only drank from the Chujiang River. There were many water plants along the Chujiang River, especially in Chushui City, which had the largest tap water plant in the area. So, the tap water tasted better than bottled water.

For a while, the Chujiang River was severely polluted, and the water was undrinkable. I thought maybe my mother’s illness was caused by the water she drank; otherwise, she had never been sick before. Fortunately, the environment was cleaned up, and the Chujiang River became clear again.

The woman sighed. “So what are your plans now?”

I said, “I’ll take a taxi back to Yangshan City in a bit…”

The woman said, “I’m afraid that won’t work. You’ve seen those people. I didn’t dare stop them earlier. If the police come and you leave, won’t I be accused of making a false report? Cooperate a bit, provide some information; maybe it can help catch them.”

I nodded.

We sat on a stone bench nearby to rest for a while. After five minutes, a policeman in uniform arrived. He looked to be around thirty years old. “Which of you called the police?”

The woman said, “It was me.”

She explained the whole story of how she called the police.

“Okay, here’s what we’ll do. You come with me to the station to make a statement. The information you provided is very important; there have indeed been many missing persons cases in this area recently.”

The man looked at me and said, “The police station isn’t far away. Come with me.”

I glanced at the woman.

The woman said, “Officer, can I come with you? She just went through something like this and is still a little scared. It’ll be better if I’m with her.”

“Of course, no problem. Let’s go.”

The woman pulled me along, while the man walked ahead. We walked back about two hundred meters and turned into another alley.

The woman comforted me, saying, “Don’t be afraid, girl. Just cross this area, and the police station is over there. I went there once when I came to report a crime; we’ll be there quickly. Don’t worry, you’re safe now. You’re out alone; there are so many bad people out there. You really have to be careful.”

I nodded.

Rain began to fall. The raindrops pattered on the trees and the ground in the alley. The temperature was low, and I shivered, worried the rain would get heavier.

I said, “It’s going to rain. Can we find somewhere to take shelter and buy an umbrella?”

The woman, walking ahead, said, “Don’t worry. Let’s walk faster; it’s just ahead.”

The alley narrowed, and there were no other pedestrians. The woman walked ahead, and the policeman followed behind. My unease grew stronger. I checked the time on my phone.

The woman in front of me turned around and asked, “Hey girl, what’s wrong?”

I said, “I’m just calling home to let them know I’m safe. Sister, thank goodness I ran into you; otherwise, I really wouldn’t know what to do today.”

The woman smiled. “We are all women; helping each other is only right.”

She continued walking, but I felt something was off. I only glanced at my phone; why was the woman in front of me so concerned?

Unless she had been observing me the whole time…

I remembered more things.

About the policeman behind me.

He was wearing a police uniform. Logically, I shouldn’t suspect him, but he arrived too quickly, even though the police station wasn’t far away…

Wait a minute. I opened a map and searched for “police station.”

The result sent chills down my spine.

The nearest police station was three kilometers away, definitely not nearby!

I secretly opened a web browser and searched for “police uniform.”

More and more raindrops fell on my phone screen. The network signal was poor, and I had to refresh the website several times before it finally loaded, but all I saw were various types of police uniforms; none of them contained the information I needed.

Finally, I saw a post about how to distinguish real from fake police uniforms.

Police officers usually responded to calls in pairs, never alone. But this wasn’t the city center, and I wasn’t sure. The post said you could tell by the badge number on the chest; it was usually six digits, without letters.

The rank insignia on the shoulders, regardless of grade, only had four-pointed flowers; they wouldn’t be five-petal flowers or stars.

I glanced back at the man behind me.

His uniform clearly displayed his badge number on the chest: JC4512, and the rank insignia on his shoulders also had a five-petal flower pattern!

This was a fake uniform; he wasn’t a real policeman at all!

“Little sister, we are almost there. Why did you stop?”

A woman’s voice came from behind me.

I looked at the man in the police uniform and saw two other men appearing in the rain not far behind, one with a buzz cut, the other with tattooed arms.

I took a few steps back. “You aren’t a police officer at all; you are in cahoots!”

The woman behind me said, “I know, but I have good news for you. The police have been cracking down hard in this area lately, so this is our last job. We are leaving Yangshan tomorrow. Aren’t you lucky? But you’re too vigilant. It’s a pity; we’ve never missed a single target.”

I turned to look at her. “You are all in cahoots?”

The woman didn’t answer, her gaze no longer filled with pity, but rather like she was looking at a stack of banknotes.

This alley was even more deserted than the previous road, and people were blocking both sides. I knew I couldn’t get through.

The rain was pouring down harder, and the expressions on their faces gradually changed from smugness to fear and shock.

“What is this?”

“A monster…a monster…!”

“What?!”

I should have realized it sooner; their eyes all held the same calculation and greed.

Grandpa Li and his so-called grandson, just like the child who knocked on my door at dawn, asking for help, were merely bait.

The woman before me was just like the girl who asked me for help on my way home after I got off work that day; she liked to lead me into deserted alleys.

I should have noticed their commonality sooner.

Mom was right; when you were out and about, you must be careful of strangers.

That was true; Mom was right.

Be careful of strange humans.

I wasn’t afraid of the rain; I was afraid of scaring them. The rain fell on me, soaking my skin and revealing my true form. Wings suddenly spread from my back, black and white feathers weaving into enormous wings.

The moment the wings opened, they tore through my thin clothes, making a slight tearing sound.

A scaly tail dragged on the ground, then whipped up, splashing water as it slammed into the head of the man in the fake police uniform.

Human heads were fragile, but skulls were hard.

However, his head was still flattened, like a deflated basketball.

Then, my powerful, python-like tail coiled around the two men behind me.

The tail was stronger than my hands, so they couldn’t move at all.

The woman screamed, calling me a monster, but this was a carefully chosen spot; no one could hear her scream.

After watching helplessly as I strangled the two men to death, the woman finally reacted and tried to escape.

But my claws had already pierced through her chest.

Yangshan.

A place where legends of sea monsters had existed since ancient times.

Originally, I was afraid of frightening them and also afraid of frightening passersby.

But if they were all going to die, then it didn’t matter.

Besides, there were no passersby here.

The person who hid outside my door late at night, using various excuses to trick me into opening it.

The girl who, acting with a man, lured me into the alley.

And these people in front of me…

Grandma said that these were the most nutritious people.

However, I had been eating a bit too much lately.

【Seeking Help Chapter/End】

Author’s Note
“The Yang River originates here and flows north into the Yi River. Many snakes dwell within it, their forms resembling human faces with jackal bodies, bird wings, and serpentine movements. Their cries are like shouts, and a great flood is foretold in their lands.” — Classic of Mountains and Seas, Zhongshan Classic
Thanks for the nutrient solution, the “Seeking Help” chapter is finally finished!
The next story is “The Lottery.”
The purpose of this story is to remind everyone to be vigilant about personal safety. Although encountering human traffickers is a low-probability event, you must always be alert and wary of their various tricks. If someone asks for help or directions, call the police immediately and let them handle the situation. Do not follow strangers into side streets or get into their vehicles to give them directions, including the scam involving sanitary napkins mentioned earlier.