Netherworld Investigator

We found a good restaurant nearby and Dali, having finished an entire bowl of beef noodles, looked on with regret.

Although he could no longer stomach any more food, he still insisted on braving the challenge. He picked up a salad bowl and said to Bingxin, "Come on then. I'll show you my unique skill of eating in a buffet. Have you ever seen a salad stacked up thirty centimeters high?"

"You’re bragging,” Bingxin waved him off dismissively. “I don't believe a small bowl could hold that much food."

When Dali said he would show it to her, Xiaotao sneered, "Stop showing off, you idiot! You’ll have to pay extra if you don't finish your food!"

"Song Yang-gege,” Bingxin shook my sleeve. “Would you like to get some food with me?"

“You should go,” I said. “I'm not really hungry."

But Bingxin’s heart was set on me accompanying her. Right then, I was saved from the trouble by a phone call Xiaotao received. After a brief conversation, she smiled wryly at me and said, "Someone wants to see us both. Can you guess who?"

"Is it my father who’s returned from the meeting?" asked Bingxin, her face gleaming with excitement.

"No,” Xiaotao shook her head. “It's the burn victim from last time. There’s been another row and he insists on talking to us or he’ll kill himself."

"Why is he being so difficult?" I sighed.

"At the time, we should’ve ended his pain with one shot."

The No. 3 Hospital wasn’t far from our current location. I told Bingxin and Dali to eat first, while Xiaotao and I visited the hospital. After all, it was a buffet and the food wouldn't get cold. Xiaotao and I would be back in no time.

When we arrived at the hospital, we immediately headed to the victim’s ward. Upon entering the room, we were greeted by a wreck of a place, with all sorts of items littered all over the floor such as broken cup fragments and an overturned infusion rack. I picked a pillow off the ground and asked, "You said you wanted to see us?"

His entire body was still wrapped in white bandages and his eyes were sharp with hatred. I could tell this boy was on the edge of a complete mental breakdown so I made sure to soften my tone and sound as comforting as I could.

Given Xiaotao’s character, it wasn’t surprising that she had neither time nor patience to deal with the task of consoling the victim. Instead, she walked to the window and casually looked out. Meanwhile, I was still comforting the boy, but as I was speaking, a thought suddenly hit me–the bandage on his hand was wrapped in the wrong direction! It was obvious he had done it himself.

Without a moment’s delay, I grabbed his hand, tore open the bandage, and noticed the intact skin below. 

"Who are you?" I asked in astonishment.

"I’m the one you’re looking for!" he grinned.

Before I could react, he pulled out a spray from under the quilt and aimed it at my face. The shock of the matter left my reflexes dull and I breathed it in. A wave of dizziness hit me like a bat to the head and I wobbled and fell slump.

A few seconds before the unconsciousness sank in, I saw Xiaotao rush toward me. But just like me, her steps grew heavy and she fell limp beside me.

I wasn’t sure how long I remained unconscious, but the next thing I knew, I was choking in a big gulp of cold water, causing a sharp pain to sear my lungs. My hands and feet seemed to be fixed to something. I struggled desperately, swaying my body with all the strength I could muster. The water around me sloshed as I suddenly flipped upwards to the surface of the water and greedily breathed in a chestful of air...

It was also pitch dark but a quick scan of my surroundings revealed that I seemed to be in the middle of a swimming pool, shackled to a huge surfboard. My shirt had been removed and I was soaked to the skin, freezing from the cold. Upon further observation, I noticed my hands and feet were bound in metal shackles.

Because of the effect of the ether, my brain was still woozy as if it had been stuffed with cotton. I recalled the previous events and suddenly, the gravity of the situation hit me like a truck. I had been kidnapped by Storm Punisher and put on trial!

At this moment, I realized that the surfboard was shaking vigorously, causing splashes all around. The first thought that came to mind was the existence of some sort of mechanism, but I quickly dismissed that idea. With the structure of a surfboard, the heavy side would certainly sink to the bottom, but I was still on top, which meant–

Xiaotao was on the other side of the surfboard, submerged in water!

"Xiaotao, stop moving,” I shouted. “I'm on the other side. Try swaying right while I go left. Let's work together, and move on the count of three. One, two, three!"

Although Xiaotao couldn’t speak, I could feel her cooperating with my movements. With a huge splash, the surfboard turned over, submersing me in water again while Xiaotao was above the surface. I heard her inhale violently.

After about ten seconds of deep breaths, Xiaotao said, "Song Yang, I'll turn over so you can breathe. One, two, three!"

Sincce I couldn’t speak, all I could do was coordinate with her movements, and the two of us turned upside down again. The current situation was this–Xiaotao and I were fixed on both sides of a surfboard. Only one person could breathe at a time so there was little possibility of us escaping on our own and our best bet was the police.

"Xiaotao, we’ll each breathe for 30 seconds." I gasped.

After slight contemplation, I added, "You may not be able to see our surroundings clearly. I’ll describe our current situation so you have an idea."

I explained as much as I knew within thirty seconds when we switched positions again. This time, Xiaotao’s voice came from the other side, "The suspect actually took the initiative to pull us into his trap. When he spoke in the hospital, I realized something was wrong because his voice sounded exactly the same as the doctor who called me..."

When it was my turn to face up, I said, "We’ve probably pushed him into a corner. But the silver lining is, this contraption doesn’t require us to sever our legs or our arms. This looks very much like a gymnasium and it’s probably around 10 in the evening. That’s to say, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning before someone comes to rescue us."

"Do you really think you can hold out till tomorrow?" A voice sounded from the other end of the pool. I couldn't lift my head to look, but I was certain that it was Wang Yizhou.

This time he wasn’t using a voice changer. "Thanks to you two, I’ve nothing now,” he said, voice cold and slimy. “I just want to say that I truly admire you for being able to push me to this point."

I felt the anger rise in my chest. "Well aren’t you an arrogant bastard! Do you really think you can escape?" I yelled.

Unfazed by my taunts, he continued with his speech. "I wonder, have you started to feel itchy? I’ve added some corrosives in the water. If you soak in it for too long, you will die."

Thirty seconds passed so I switched over and allowed Xiaotao to breathe. A deep breath later, Xiaotao couldn’t resist a burst of expletives.

"Although we haven’t spoken much, I’ve long heard of a young detective and a beautiful officer partnering up in Nanjiang City,” he added. “The two of you share a close relationship and confide in each other. This trial is just a test of that. One of you must drown for the other to stay up until dawn and wait for help."

“You can dream on!” shouted Xiaotao. “We either live together or both die!"

Wang Yizhou burst out in laughter. "Is that so? Before your survival instincts, how much is your relationship worth? When you start to find that your whole body itches like ants slowly eating away at your skin and your heartbeat starts to slow down, would you still have the strength to continue to provide oxygen to your companion? Is your partner as trustworthy as yourself? Perhaps you’ll never get the chance to breathe again! Anyhow, I wish you two a good time!"

After Wang Yizhou left, Xiaotao remained silent but didn’t forget to let me up to breathe at the 30 second mark.

Right about then, I could already feel my skin start to tingle, especially around my eyes and nostrils. The water was indeed filled with chemicals. 

"Xiaotao, just ignore him!” I urged. “He’s trying to sow discord between us. Don't waver and keep going. You mustn't give up!"

But as soon as those words left my lips, I closed my eyes and heaved a deep sigh. Would one of us have to die for the other to live?

If so, then I’d rather it was me!