Chapter 4

“I left without a word because I was trying to get away from him. After I disappeared, he switched to another target and set his sights on you. He wanted you to take my place.”

I wanted to cry, but couldn’t. “Why pick me as your replacement?”

“Because your blood type is the same as mine.” Zhao Lei shrugged. “And if you’re thinking of leaving the city, don’t go to the bus station. Several donors went missing before that woman did, and most of the incidents happened near the bus station.”

“I understand.”

I nodded, dazed. Just before getting out, I remembered something and turned back to ask, “What about you?”

“I’m going to stay with relatives in another city. Once I’m settled, we’ll get in touch.”

Zhao Lei shook his head, started the car with practiced ease, and drove off.

I was left standing there like an idiot, with no idea what I should do.

Who was I supposed to believe?

After so many shocks, my mind was a complete mess. I couldn’t think straight.

Dr. Yang, the taxi driver, and Zhao Lei all had their own stories. I couldn’t tell which one was true. The only thing I knew for certain was that someone really was after me. If I stayed, something would happen sooner or later.

But where could I run in the middle of the night?

Completely overwhelmed, I didn’t even dare go home. I found a secluded corner near my residential compound and huddled there all night.

The next morning, the sound of my stomach growling woke me. I’d just realized how long it had been since I’d eaten.

Food came first.

I gave a bitter smile and dragged my exhausted legs to a street-side diner. I’d eat something before figuring out what to do next.

While I was lining up for steamed buns, I ran into the residential guard. He beckoned to me mysteriously.

“Meng Qun, come here. I need to tell you something.”

I looked at him, confused. “What is it? I’ve paid the management fee.”

“It’s not about the fee.” He shook his head, pulled me aside, and lowered his voice. “Have you gotten mixed up with someone? Why have people been coming around asking where you are?”

I froze. “Who?”

“I can’t say how long it’s been going on, but this morning a bespectacled middle-aged man came to the security office and asked who you’d been seeing lately. He even gave me a pack of cigarettes and told me not to mention it to you.”

A bespectacled man… Could it have been Dr. Yang?

Why was he secretly asking about me?

That made me suspicious. After leaving the guard, I didn’t go far. I got on my electric scooter and headed straight for the blood station.

I wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Better to die knowing the truth than keep living in confusion.

Before I left, I stopped at a general market. With the last of my cash, I bought a box cutter, a bag of dog food, and a packet of highly toxic rat poison.

Outside the blood station, I hid my scooter, opened the dog food, and mixed all the rat poison into it.

People were still going in and out of the station as usual. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

I waited until seven-thirty that evening, when everyone had left, including Dr. Yang, who drove away. Then I crept up to the gate and tossed the poisoned food into the yard.

As expected, the big dog came out of its kennel when it heard the noise.

I hid and watched the bag closely.

The dog noticed it too. It circled around cautiously, sniffing it for a long time, but wouldn’t eat.

My heart leaped into my throat. Dr. Yang must have trained it. If it refused the food, he’d notice something was wrong when he came back tomorrow.

Fortunately, the dog wasn’t that wary. After circling it a few times to make sure there was no danger, it finally ate it all.

I let out a breath, took out my phone, and began timing it.

About fifteen minutes later, the poison took effect. The dog howled miserably, staggered, and fell to the ground, convulsing.

A few minutes later, foam formed at its mouth, and it stopped moving.

I tried to steady my heartbeat. Awkwardly, I climbed over the fence and hurried into Dr. Yang’s office, using what I remembered about the place to find my way.

It was pitch-black inside. I switched on my phone’s flashlight, felt around from memory, and used a screwdriver to pry at the drawer beneath his desk.

It took a long time to get it open.

Inside was a neat stack of files.

The moment I saw them, my heart thudded and a chill ran up my spine.

There were six files in all. The first was mine. I opened the second. It held a photocopy of a woman’s ID.

I recognized her. She was the victim whose body had been found in the wilderness the previous month, the woman whose case had made the front page.

I didn’t recognize the other four files, but they all had one thing in common: an X had been marked on each person’s ID photo.

Only my file had no X. Dr. Yang had circled it in red and written two words beneath it:

“Pending decision.”

I stared at those words, my mind blank, my hands and feet numb, cold sweat running down my body.

It was all clear now.

I really was Dr. Yang’s next target. It seemed the taxi driver hadn’t lied to me!

“Bastard…”

I swore, cold all over. I was about to take the files and climb out the window when I heard a click behind me. The office lights came on.

I jumped and spun around. Dr. Yang stood in the doorway with an electric baton in his hand, his face dark.

“I didn’t expect you to suspect me so quickly. If I hadn’t connected the camera here to my phone, you might have gotten away.”

“You beast!”

Anger surged through me. I grabbed a chair to fight back.

But Dr. Yang was faster. Before I could lift it, he rushed forward and struck the back of my hand with the electric baton.

“Ah!”

The shock numbed my limbs. I could barely stand.

He pinned me down, grabbed my hair, and repeatedly slammed my head against the desk leg.

My forehead split open, and the metallic taste of blood filled my nose. I tried to struggle, but he pressed the baton to my neck and triggered it again.

My body convulsed. All my strength vanished.

Then he took out a cloth and clamped it over my mouth.

It smelled strange. It must have been drugged.

I tried to hold my breath and break free, but he was much stronger. Between his grip and the shocks, my arms and legs were numb. I couldn’t fight him.

My strength quickly ebbed. I had no choice but to breathe in the drugged air.

Unlike in the movies, I didn’t pass out right away. I struggled for a long time. My head only grew dizzy, and my limbs heavier.

Dr. Yang laughed like a demon, mocking me at his leisure.

“You think you can get away? The moment you signed your name, your fate was sealed.”

“You bastard!”

I tried to escape his hold, but the drug had started to take effect. My head grew heavier.

Dr. Yang rolled me onto my back and stared at me coldly.

“Stop wasting your strength. I’m very skilled. I won’t let you feel any pain.”

I panted like a dying fish. Summoning all my strength, I shouted, “So you really did it! The taxi driver wasn’t lying!”

“Him?” Dr. Yang curled his lip in contempt. “You think he’s a good person? He approached you for his own reasons too. You’re lucky you fell into my hands first.”

He released me, went to a cabinet, and took out a coil of nylon rope and a sack. He put on gloves with a sneer.

My heart sank.

Dr. Yang had clearly planned this for a long time. Even if I hadn’t walked into his trap tonight, he’d have come for me.

I tried to suppress my fear and crawl out of this hell.

But my body was too heavy. I managed to push myself halfway up before dizziness overwhelmed me, and I sank back to my knees.

Dr. Yang watched me struggle with pleasure, raising his chin smugly.

“I suggest you stop struggling. It’ll be easier if you lie still and accept what’s happening.”

I panted. I knew I might not escape, but I couldn’t give up. I tried to buy time.

“Wait… You said the taxi driver didn’t have good intentions either. What did you mean?”

Even if I died, I wanted to know the truth.

“He has a son with chronic kidney failure. He’s always been looking for a suitable kidney donor. Unfortunately, he’s dirt poor and can’t afford a transplant.”

Dr. Yang squeezed my chin.

“Can you guess why he approached you?”

Just as I thought…

My heart shuddered. I gritted my teeth and cursed, “Demons… You’re all demons! Aren’t you afraid of getting what you deserve?”

Dr. Yang let go and started playing with the rope.

“Curse all you like. This blood station has already attracted attention. Once I finish this last job— you—I’ll move somewhere else and retire.”

With that, he tossed the rope toward my legs to tie me up.

“You bastard…”

I was terrified. At the moment I was most desperate, I suddenly remembered a scene from a movie. I didn’t know if it would work, but I bit down hard on my tongue.

The sharp pain cleared my head a little. I immediately pulled the box cutter I’d hidden in my belt and used all my strength to stab him in the chest.

People have endless reserves of strength when their lives are at stake.

Dr. Yang never expected I still had that much fight in me. He clutched his chest and fell, staring at me in shock.

“How can you still—”

“Go to hell!”

I forced myself up, my head spinning, and kicked him hard in the stomach.

Dr. Yang clutched his abdomen and screamed. I stepped over him and ran outside.

He couldn’t get up from the floor, but still shouted after me with venom.

“You brat! Even if you escape, you won’t survive!”

“Bullshit!”

I didn’t look back. I only wanted to get away.

My head was spinning badly. The drug was powerful. Not far from the station, I collapsed onto the road.

Afraid Dr. Yang would chase after me, I gritted my teeth and staggered onward.

I don’t know how long I ran. At last I was away from that cursed blood station, but I was completely drained and could only lean by the roadside, gasping for air.

Just then, headlights swept over me, and a familiar voice called out.

“Meng Qun? Are you trying to get yourself killed? What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”

A chill ran down my spine. I looked up and saw the taxi driver approaching from behind me.

It was over…

My heart sank. Remembering what Dr. Yang had just said, I felt utterly hopeless.

He’d come to take me too.

But from the driver’s reaction, he clearly didn’t know I’d found him out. He hurried over and took my arm.

“I’ve been looking for you! That man surnamed Yang was about to make a move on you. Come with me, quickly. I’ll take you somewhere he can’t find you.”

Ha. How much longer could he keep acting?

When a person is pushed to the limits of anger and despair, they can become strangely calm.

I nodded at once. “All right. I fell just now and can’t walk. Help me, please.”

“Sure!”

He didn’t think twice. He helped me toward the taxi on the roadside.

I stared darkly at the back of his head, then suddenly asked, “Sir, your son has chronic kidney failure. Things must be hard for you, right?”

“Yeah… What? How did you—”

He nodded by reflex, then realized something was wrong halfway through and quickly turned to look at me.

I said nothing. I swung my hand and stabbed him in the neck.

The box cutter was extremely sharp. It opened a long gash across his neck.

The driver screamed, clutched his bleeding neck, and stared at me in disbelief.

“Meng Qun, what are you doing? I came to help you!”

“Bullshit!”

I didn’t believe another word he said. I threw away the cutter and ran across the road.

The drug was still strong. My head spun, and I could only keep biting my tongue to force myself to stay awake.

The driver was badly hurt but still tried to chase after me.

“Don’t run! Come with me. I admit my son really does need a kidney transplant, but I never planned to hurt you. I truly wanted to help!”

“Liar! You’re all lying to me!”

I screamed like a madman, but my body was so heavy that I fell again after only a few steps.

As the driver drew closer, my heart turned cold. I was completely desperate.

But at that moment, the taxi parked by the roadside suddenly started up. It shot across the road at high speed and slammed into the driver from the side, sending him flying into a flower bed.

What was happening?

I stared blankly at the driver as he was thrown aside. While I was still in shock, the driver's-side door opened and someone limped toward me.

The headlights were too bright, but I still recognized him—the one who had rammed the driver was Zhao Lei.

“Why are you still here?”

I gaped at him in disbelief.

Zhao Lei helped me up and nodded. “I was still worried about you, so I came back to check. I happened to save you.”

I was finally saved.

I thanked him gratefully, but Zhao Lei only shook his head coolly and helped me into the car.

“Don’t talk. Let’s go. I’ll take you somewhere else to rest.”

I was nearly exhausted. With difficulty, I lay down in the back seat.

Watching Zhao Lei start the car with practiced ease, I suddenly sensed something was wrong and asked suspiciously, “Isn’t this the taxi driver’s car? How do you have the keys?”

His expression stiffened for a moment. He turned to look at me, revealing a devilish smile.

“Because… I’m that taxi driver’s son.”

“That old bastard kept getting in the way of my plans, so I had to strike first and run him over.”

“What?”

My hair stood on end. I tried to crawl up and escape, but my head grew heavier and heavier, and I collapsed again.

A burst of manic laughter rang in my ears.

“That man surnamed Yang only cares about money, not people. He was even going to hand you over to another buyer. But in the end, you still fell into my hands…”

Just as I lost consciousness completely, I heard countless police sirens.

Luckily, the police arrived in time… I was saved…

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