DA chapter 30

 

Deputy Chen looked at everyone with irritation. He turned to speak to Yan Xu, but saw that Yan Xu was staring at Lin Jia. Following Yan Xu’s gaze, Deputy Chen looked toward Lin Jia and saw that he had turned his face aside, avoiding Yan Xu’s gaze.

Deputy Chen cleared his throat and said, “The Fishman questions haven’t been asked yet. Everyone, discuss what to ask.”

After saying that, he softly called to Yan Xu: “Come here for a moment.”

Then, Deputy Chen returned to his room. Only then did Yan Xu withdraw his probing gaze from Lin Jia and follow him inside.

Yan Xu stepped into the room, locked the door, and raised his eyes.

Click.

The sound of a cigarette being lit echoed in the room. Yan Xu turned around and saw a cigarette between Deputy Chen’s fingers. He tossed the pack of cigarettes onto the table and gestured for Yan Xu to take one.

Although there were several steps between the doorway and where Deputy Chen stood, the smoke had already drifted over. Yan Xu stayed where he was, waving his hand in refusal. “Don’t like it.”

Deputy Chen ignored him, his irritation plain to see. “That bunch is useless and dishonest. All damn trash.”

“That one called Lin Jia may be dishonest, but he’s definitely not trash.” Yan Xu scratched his cheek, thinking of Lin Jia’s excuse for coming to his room last night. “A lover somewhat similar to Deputy Chen…he likes men?”

That was a bit surprising, but it was none of his business, so the surprise quickly faded.

“Whether he has a lover, how that lover died, or whether he likes men or women—it doesn’t matter.” Deputy Chen took a drag, sending more smoke toward Yan Xu.

From his high position, Deputy Chen had seen all kinds of people. Though he had little contact with people from Fish Belly, he could tell Lin Jia was unusual—at least calm and steady enough.

A person like that knocking at night—Deputy Chen had assumed he came to exchange information about Fish Belly, but instead, he heard irrelevant things. He had suddenly been dragged into Fish Belly, leaving some affairs unsettled. His rivals would certainly take advantage of his absence. The longer he stayed in Fish Belly, the more chances he handed them.

So one cigarette burned out, and then another was lit. Before long, the whole room was filled with smoke.

Yan Xu’s head began to ache from the smoke. His hand, resting on the metal doorknob, pressed hard against the throbbing nerves in his forehead.

Deputy Chen noticed and stubbed out the cigarette. Frowning, he asked, “Didn’t you bring painkillers?”

Yan Xu waved his hand again.

Deputy Chen reproached him. “I told you to always carry painkillers, you—”

“Enough.” The headache stripped away Yan Xu’s usual casualness. Without expression, he reminded Deputy Chen, “There’s no one else here, and none of your political enemies either. I know what I’m doing. When no one’s around, you don’t need to fake concern.”

Chen Chi paused for a moment, then changed his wording. “Settle this Fish Belly quickly.”

Yan Xu said nothing, only pressing harder on the throbbing nerve and pulling open the door to leave.

The air outside wasn’t much better than the air inside. But, unexpectedly, within the bloodiness, he caught a faint fragrance. He recognized it—the perfume scent of Lin Jia.

Surprisingly, mixed with the smell of blood, the perfume wasn’t unpleasant; it had become something distinct.

Yan Xu inhaled twice, and miraculously, the pain in his head eased.

To verify that the pain was truly gone, he shook his head a few times. Once he was sure it no longer hurt, he lifted his head and looked toward the noisy crowd.

Those people hadn’t actually been discussing anything. They had all been drawn by the sound of him opening the door and had turned to look—including Lin Jia.

Yan Xu adjusted himself and walked over.

He first looked at the ground. The Fishman had already eaten the corpse, leaving only a pool of blood.

Staring at the bloodstain, Yan Xu asked, “Why so quiet? Don’t know what to ask? Waiting to be told what to do?”

“If no one knows what to ask, then…”

Xiao Yao interrupted him. “Ask about that couple.”

The little girl was most likely connected to the ghost of the Welfare Institute. Even if the couple had returned her because of death, that would be safer than asking directly about the little girl.

Yan Xu had originally thought the same, but after speaking, Xiao Yao instinctively glanced at Lin Jia.

Oh. So it wasn’t that his thinking matched the buzzcut’s—it matched Lin Jia’s.

Yan Xu looked indifferent. “Then ask.”

Everyone walked out of the Welfare Institute building and came before the Fishman once again.

Someone saw the scales covering the Fishman’s face and paled. “This fast…”

It was only the second day, yet the Fishman’s face was already covered in scales. What about tomorrow? Fins might grow out by then! However, no one dared to ask directly about the little girl and the ghost, so they could only pray that this couple would provide them with some clues.

Clearly unwilling to speak, Yan Xu shot Xiao Yao a look.

Since Xiao Yao had proposed the idea, he would naturally be the one to speak to the Fishman.

Xiao Yao glanced at Lin Jia again, then took out the photo Yan Xu had found.

For the first question about the Fishman, he asked: “Are the man and woman in this photo the adoptive parents?”

To avoid the Fishman materializing another couple from a different photo, Xiao Yao pointed directly at the man and woman in the photo.

Everyone waited for the Fishman’s answer.

The Fishman said, “Yes.”

As expected.

Xiao Yao exhaled in relief and moved on to the second question prepared by Lin Jia. “Are the couple in this photo still alive?”

This question was related to why the girl had been returned. Everyone held their breath.

The Fishman said, “Yes.”

That answer was somewhat unexpected. Usually, if adoptive parents died, the child would go back to the Welfare Institute. But since they were still alive, why had they sent her back?

Fortunately, Lin Jia had anticipated this and prepared questions.

Xiao Yao asked the third Fishman question: “Did this couple regret adopting her?”

After asking, everyone waited nervously.

This question was still crucial. If the Fishman answered yes, the theory linking the girl to the ghost would become even more solid. After all, who would willingly adopt a child connected to a ghost? And if they did, they would surely regret it.

However—

The Fishman said, “No.”

No one needed to steady their breathing—their breath froze entirely.

The couple who adopted the girl were neither disappointed nor regretful. So why had she returned to the Yile Welfare Institute?

Judging by the couple’s clothing in the photo, they weren’t poor. Of course, poor finances wouldn’t meet the adoption requirements.

Then why send the girl back?

Lin Jia frowned. Yan Xu narrowed his eyes, staring at the Fishman.

“T-this…” Xiao Yao came back to his sense and looked at Lin Jia. He was confused, but the three questions about the Fishman were already over for today. Asking more would cause trouble.

It was extremely irrational to discuss things in front of the Fishman, especially since all the chances to ask safety questions had already been used up. The veterans grimly moved away from the Fishman. Lin Jia turned and left, too.

Xiao Yao hurried after him and whispered, “Brother Jia, what do you think?”

Just as Lin Jia was about to answer, Yan Xu’s voice came from behind.

“Hey, buzzcut.”

Lin Jia had no intention of responding, but Xiao Yao, standing beside him, turned around.

Yan Xu asked, “What’s next?”

Xiao Yao: “What do you mean what’s next?”

Yan Xu said, “You people used those three Fishman questions cleanly. At least tell us what to do next, right?”

As soon as he said that, everyone stopped and looked at Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao had no idea what to do. The Fishman’s three answers had completely confused him. However, he didn’t want to embarrass Sharp Knife, so he said, “Captain Yan, that’s not right. Don’t they have brains? Why would they need someone else to tell them what to do next?”

“Ohhh—” Yan Xu dragged out the sound, “Right, no brains, huh? They need someone else to tell them what to do.”

Xiao Yao vaguely sensed that he was being mocked, but he had no proof. Besides, the one mocking him was Yan Xu, who had a loaded revolver—someone he did not want to offend.

Lin Jia knew Yan Xu wasn’t aiming at Xiao Yao but at himself.

At that moment, Lin Jia realized that Xiao Yao’s description of Yan Xu was accurate. Yan Xu really was a mad dog, biting someone and refusing to let go.

How boring.

Still, Lin Jia spoke: “Get the little girl’s name from that couple, then search the archive for her records.”

Yan Xu smiled. “What are you all standing there for? Go find that couple. Are you waiting for them to come find us?”

The crowd scattered like startled birds and beasts.

The three-star cloud layer manifested quickly, though not quickly enough for the couple to appear right away. It was almost noon, and the cafeteria was serving food. Some went there to eat, while others returned to their rooms to eat the food they had brought into Fish Belly and discussing matters that were inconvenient to say in front of outsiders.

Lin Jia did not go to the cafeteria. He returned to his room.

He had been outside the building for quite a while and still had not found the cat. He guessed that the cat had probably slipped back into the room while everyone waited for the Fishman questions.

Sure enough, as soon as Lin Jia entered, the cat crawled out from behind the curtain.

“Wuwuwuwu.” The cat looked extremely sorrowful. “Wuwuwuwu.”

Lin Jia closed the door and looked at the cat expressionlessly.

The cat shifted its gaze away guiltily, not daring to look Lin Jia in the eye.

Lin Jia’s voice was cold. “Explain.”

Had the cat failed to find an opportunity to merge, or was the whole thing a misunderstanding?

The cat swallowed.

After Lin Jia handed the cat to Deputy Chen, it had kept looking for an opportunity to touch foreheads with him. But with too many eyes outside, it dared not make any large movements until Deputy Chen finally took it back to his room.

Once inside, the cat cautiously jumped onto the tea table. Thanks to Lin Jia’s earlier words—“It mistook you for someone else”—the cat had a reason to approach.

Deputy Chen did not chase it away. Instead, he reached out and stroked it—sometimes petting an animal could ease negative human emotions.

Since the first attempt at getting close was successful, the cat jumped onto Deputy Chen’s lap and crouched there obediently.

That made petting more convenient. Deputy Chen leaned against the sofa, stroking the cat with one hand and smoking with the other.

“Mistook me for someone else.” Deputy Chen recalled Lin Jia’s explanation and gave an unreadable smile. “In the end, it’s only because the bond wasn’t deep enough that it could mistake the wrong person.”

The cat felt Deputy Chen’s hand grow somewhat forceful but endured it.

Fortunately, when the cigarette burned down enough that the ash needed to be flicked off, the cat finally saw an opportunity. It suddenly stretched its body, propped itself up on its hind legs, and pressed its forehead against Deputy Chen’s just as he lowered his head to flick off the ash.

The cat narrated, “At that moment, I seized the chance and touched Deputy Chen’s forehead…”

The cat was full of joy at that instant, waiting for the merge. One second passed. Ten seconds passed, but nothing happened.

That should not be possible. Thoughts are produced by the brain, so merging should definitely happen as long as foreheads touch—unless it does not touch long enough.

So the cat maintained the position, waiting for the moment when it would return to its own body.

Yet, after another long stretch of time, everything remained still. Nothing happened. The cat lifted its head and saw Deputy Chen staring down at it with a deep, complicated gaze.

The cat’s heart dropped with a thud, like a stone falling into a well, plunging straight from its throat to its belly. Only then did it finally realize—this should not be possible. Thoughts are produced by the brain, so merging should definitely happen as long as foreheads touch—unless… it had mistaken the wrong person.

Deputy Chen’s gaze was especially profound. The cat could not read what churned beneath his eyes; it only sensed disaster approaching. Its behavior had been far too strange.

If these were normal people in the real world, perhaps no one would care or overthink it. But this was the undersea world. What was strange about a talking cat here? The sky held floating fish clouds, and the clouds dragged people into Fish Belly. The Fishman inside Fish Belly could speak and eat people.

Would it be discovered?

The cat broke into a cold sweat.

The next second, it felt fingers tighten around the scruff of its neck. Desperate, the cat quickly stuck out its tongue to lick Deputy Chen’s face.

A cat’s tongue has barbs, so licking is nowhere near as pleasant as a dog’s. Taking advantage of Deputy Chen’s frown as he touched his face, the cat bolted.

“Heh.” Lin Jia sneered coldly. “Impressive.”

“Well, Lin Jia…” the cat said weakly. “It’s confirmed now—Deputy Chen is not me.”

Lin Jia remained expressionless. “So?”

The cat laughed awkwardly. “So…haha…well…uh…who knows where my real self is now or what I’m doing at this moment…hahaha…eh? Eh? Lin Jia, what are you doing?! Don’t come over!”

 

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