Chapter 124: Start Your Performance

Chen Shi shook the stranger awake. “Wake up. What happened to Xu Xiaodong? Where is he?”

The man regained consciousness and struggled to speak. “He… they found out he was undercover… we were drugged…”

“Where is he!?”

“I don’t know.”

Lin Dongxue instructed Chen Shi to take the man to the hospital while the rest, including Peng Sijue, went out to search. The last location Xu Xiaodong sent was a KTV, so they used it as the center for their search.

The officers anxiously combed the streets and alleys as time ticked by. Chen Shi called, “I’m on my way.”

Lin Dongxue gave him their location and noticed a man across the street taking photos of her with his phone. After snapping a few pictures, the man walked away suspiciously.

Lin Dongxue felt uneasy and reported over the radio, “Is anyone else being photographed?”

“It seemed like someone was taking pictures of me.”

“Same here.”

“Me too.”

Almost everyone had similar reports. Lin Dongxue sensed they had walked into a trap. She felt scared for the first time as the leader of a task force. If something went wrong or a colleague was hurt, how would she face Lin Qiupu and everyone else?

A voice on the radio exclaimed, “We found him! He’s at the bus station!”

In a bus station waiting room, passengers were laughing and covering their mouths as they passed by a sleeping man. “Is he crazy?”, “What a weirdo!”, “His hairstyle is ridiculous.”

It was Xu Xiaodong, though his appearance was hard to describe.

Xu Xiaodong dreamed he was on a lonely island surrounded by the sea. The real-world noise around him morphed into the sound of crashing waves in his dream. Suddenly, someone was calling his name, sounding like Xiao Li.

The dream incorporated the outside stimulus, turning Xiao Li into a mermaid emerging from the sea, repeatedly calling him.

The voice grew louder until he woke up to find Xiao Li shaking him. Seeing Xu Xiaodong awake, she cried tears of joy. “How did you end up like this?”

Xu Xiaodong felt numb, unsure if it was from the drug’s side effects or his sleeping position.

“I’m fine, really,” he said.

“You call this fine? Look at yourself!”

Xiao Li pulled out her phone, using the front camera as a mirror. Xu Xiaodong stared, wide-eyed. His once stylish hair was now half-shaved, with the left side completely bald, showing stubbly scalp.

People passing by continued to laugh. Xu Xiaodong’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Outside, the hurried footsteps of Lin Dongxue and the team approached. Seeing Xu Xiaodong safe, but with his new look, left everyone unsure how to react.

“At least you’re okay,” Lin Dongxue sighed with relief, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. “Let’s head back.”

Xu Xiaodong said, “I can’t walk around looking like this. I need a barber.”

Xiao Li wiped her tears, “I’ll go with you!”

Lin Dongxue said, “You two go ahead. We’ll meet at the station later.”

As they left, Xu Xiaodong felt moved by Xiao Li’s concern. “I dreamt about you. You were a mermaid…”

On the way back, Lin Dongxue called Chen Shi, “We found him. He’s fine. The thugs just humiliated him, gave him a terrible haircut. It’s late. You should head home. Tao Yueyue must be hungry.”

“Alright, I’ll head out then. Don’t work too late… That guy is at the Medical University Affiliated Hospital. He lost a pinky but he’ll be okay.”

“Got it. We’ll cover his medical expenses.”

Xu Xiaodong returned with a buzz cut. He was both thirsty and hungry, so he wolfed down a bowl of instant noodles before recounting his ordeal.

He had planned to infiltrate the insurance fraudsters to get closer to the mastermind. Following the advice of his informant, A Meng, he prepared to attend a drug party that night.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t do drugs.”

A Meng came up with a plan to use crushed vitamin tablets as fake drugs. Xu Xiaodong thought it was foolproof but was caught. A Meng rushed in, saying, “Someone’s after you. Run!”

They escaped through a window. A Meng injured his leg, so Xu Xiaodong helped him to a safe house. Xu Xiaodong tried to contact the station, but his radio was lost during the escape, and his phone was dead.

A Meng suggested waiting until morning to head to the police station. They slept in the safe house. At dawn, Xu Xiaodong was drugged and passed out. When he woke, he was at the bus station.

Lin Dongxue asked, “The man who came to report, the one who lost a finger, was that A Meng?”

“What? He lost a finger? Is he okay?”

“He lost his pinky. He’s at the hospital now.”

Xu Xiaodong punched the table, “That guy’s loyal. If he hadn’t come, I’d be a laughingstock tomorrow!” He pointed to his head.

Peng Sijue coldly said, “You’re joking, but they could have slit your throat or injected you with drugs. This wasn’t just humiliation; it was a threat.”

“A direct challenge to us,” Lin Dongxue said angrily.

Xu Xiaodong finally felt scared, his face turning pale.

Peng Sijue left for a moment and returned with a pill and a straw. “Show us how it went down.”

“Is this necessary?”

“Show us how you were caught.”

Xu Xiaodong understood. Using a teacup, he crushed the pill into powder. “I wrapped it in paper and hid it. When they used a card to cut the powder into lines, A Meng brought in drinks, and I swapped it with the fake stuff. No one noticed.”

“Start your performance,” Lin Dongxue said.

Xu Xiaodong snorted the powder through the straw, then rubbed his nose, pretending to sneeze. He turned to Xiao Li, “Damn, this is good stuff!” She giggled.

“Looks fine. How did you get caught?” Lin Dongxue asked. “What happened next?”

“They got high and acted like idiots. There was no way I could get caught.”

“Could your informant have betrayed you?”

“No way!” Xu Xiaodong shouted. “He’s my old friend. If he betrayed me, why would he lose a finger?”

“Maybe it was a ruse,” Peng Sijue suggested.

From the hallway, a voice wailed, “Let me out! Let me out!”

Lin Dongxue froze, then slapped her forehead, “Oh no, we left Zhang locked in the interrogation room!”