Short, Light, Free Chapter 73

Chapter 73

The sky was already brightening by the time Xiaohong got up and walked into the kiosk .

Under the dim light, he picked up the bag of money Xiaohuang had prepared .

He moved it into the front seat of his car with much effort before walking over to the pumping station and pulling out two fuel guns .

He stretched them to the maximum and got as close to the room as possible .

He started spraying the fuel onto the ground and did not stop until the guns ran out .

He dropped the guns, a big pool of oil spreading across all corners of the gas station .

The thick fuel smell made him cough . He returned to his car and drove about ten meters away .

He turned on the cigarette lighter in the car .

A ding broke the peace .

He wound down the window and threw it toward the gas station .

A few seconds later, all he saw was rising flames .

He drove away .

Three years later in a bar .

"Isn't the weather getting colder?" a customer commented after taking a shot of vodka .

"Yeah, winters are getting increasingly unbearable," the barman sighed, the breath he exhaled showing up in a puff of mist .  

"Aren't you going to drink? It's such a cold day!" The customer pushed his empty shot gla.s.s toward the barman .

"Nah, I'm at work . I'll get in trouble with the boss for getting drunk and messing up the accounts," he declined . He took out an opened bottle of vodka from a small fridge under the counter, swirled it a little before refilling his customer's gla.s.s .

A man in a leather jacket entered the bar .

"A customer? How rare . A new one at that . . . " the barman smiled as he looked up, only to fall silent the next instant .

"What? Is that your boss? Why have you gone mute?" the customer asked before turning around .

The barman's silence was due to the black head mask the man in the leather jacket was wearing .

The man took out a shotgun from his back pocket and aimed it at the customer .

Before the customer could process what was going on, a loud bang echoed .

The barman noticed that the shotgun was specially made .

The front part consisted of a series of black membranes . When the trigger was pulled, a black net shot out .

The customer's face had been wrapped around by at least three black net layers .

And just as he was about to reach up and remove them, the newcomer pounced .

The man held the customer down onto the ground and held his gun above the customer's neck .

He used his legs to spread open the customer's hands, putting him in a deadlock .

"Know the tooth fairy?" he asked, using his right hand to cover the customer's face .

The customer remained motionless and silent .

The newcomer pointed his fore and middle fingers at the customer's eyes .

"Know the tooth fairy?" he tried again .

"Yes," the customer answered .

The barman smashed the vodka bottle he was holding onto and the alcohol splashed all over himself .

Using the sharp edges, he aimed the bottle at the man in the leather jacket, getting ready to attack .  

Before the barman could make a move against him, the man in the leather jacket gave him an intense look and he felt his body losing strength . He collapsed behind the counter .

The alcohol over his body disappeared and he was unable to move . It felt like blood wasn't circulating within his body .  He could only maintain bare consciousness and breaths .

"When did you meet him and where?" the newcomer asked .

"Will you let me go if I answer?" the customer asked with a shaky voice .

"I've let many people go, but even more people suffered because of my impatience," he stated dully .

"I can't remember the date but it was about 20 years ago when I was still a kid . The northern region, Kangning road . The tooth fairy gave me the power to make liquid disappear," the customer shouted .

"Have you used it to kill anybody?"

"No, never ever," the customer answered confidently .

The man in the leather jacket poked his fingers through the black net and blood started pouring out as the customer screeched .  

"It hurts, doesn't it? But at least you're still alive . Blame it on the tooth fairy if you have to . He gave not only you but all of us a lasting nightmare . " He loosened his hands and kept his shotgun .

He took out a brochure and a pen from his pocket .

On the map, he drew a circle on Kangning road and added a horizontal line on the next page .

He looked at his glove . The fresh blood that had just been on it moments ago was now gone .

The man in the leather jacket left the bar and returned to his sports car .

He removed his mask and threw it onto the pa.s.senger seat along with the brochure .

Xiaohong drove toward a distant place .

The brochure left on the seat contained a map of the whole northern region .

Red circles covered the map and there were a total of 25 strikes on the next page .

Below the strikes were time and dates .  

While the times were more or less different, the dates remained constant .

Xiaohong was very certain that it was that very day that he had met the tooth fairy as well .

He drove through the street where he came from, made a turn, and stopped his car .

He sighed before taking out his mobile and making a call .

"Any more leads?" he asked upon connecting .

"No more . I'll call you if there's any, so don't be impatient . You have to give me time," the voice on the other end replied .

"I gave you so much money . Why have you only found me these few people?" 

"The information you provided was clear – the ability to make liquid disappear – but this isn't something they would display for no reason, is it? I do, however, have some trails involving the person you're searching for specifically . "

"You found the tooth fairy?" Xiaohong's voice was evidently livelier at this point .

"How can I possibly find something out of a fairy tale?" the voice asked, frustrated .

"Who then?" Xiaohong sounded helpless .

"You mentioned something about the deputy mayor . If not for him, your friends might still be alive . Remember?"

"Deputy mayor? You found him?"

"He's not living the life everyone thinks he is . He's dirt broke and living as an elementary school teacher in a slum area .

"That sc.u.m, a teacher? Send me whatever information you have . "

"I can do that but stop chasing me for a month . I treat you as a friend so don't threaten me with your superpower," the voice said nervously .

"Haven't I given you enough money?" Xiaohong asked faintly .

"No, you gave too much . Much more than what I can offer you, but you must understand that this is really a challenging task . "

"I know . You're doing a great job - I just need more . Who knows how many more of these people there are," Xiaohong said .

"There might not be any left, you know . I haven't found any leads in four months . 25 sounds like a good number . Could that be it?"

"Continue searching . You said the same thing when you reached 20 numbers . I'll find you tomorrow . Prepare an overcoat for me . The weather's really turning colder day by day . " 

Xiaohong hung up .

A message came in shortly after .

It was the address of the slum area in Sanshui district with a remark at the bottom: He will be preparing lesson plans at home from seven p . m . onward .

Xiaohong put his phone down and started driving toward his destination .

The sky was already brightening by the time Xiaohong got up and walked into the kiosk . Under the dim light, he picked up the bag of money Xiaohuang had prepared . He moved it into the front seat of his car with much effort before walking over to the pumping station and pulling out two fuel guns . He stretched them to the maximum and got as close to the room as possible . He started spraying the fuel onto the ground and did not stop until the guns ran out . He dropped the guns, a big pool of oil spreading across all corners of the gas station . The thick fuel smell made him cough . He returned to his car and drove about ten meters away . He turned on the cigarette lighter in the car . A ding broke the peace . He wound down the window and threw it toward the gas station . A few seconds later, all he saw was rising flames . He drove away . . . . Three years later in a bar . Isn 39 t the weather getting colder a customer commented after taking a shot of vodka . Yeah, winters are getting increasingly unbearable, the barman sighed, the breath he exhaled showing up in a puff of mist . Aren 39 t you going to drink It 39 s such a cold day The customer pushed his empty shot gla.s.s toward the barman . Nah, I 39 m at work . I 39 ll get in trouble with the boss for getting drunk and messing up the accounts, he declined . He took out an opened bottle of vodka from a small fridge under the counter, swirled it a little before refilling his customer 39 s gla.s.s . A man in a leather jacket entered the bar . A customer How rare . A new one at that . . . the barman smiled as he looked up, only to fall silent the next instant . What Is that your boss Why have you gone mute the customer asked before turning around . The barman 39 s silence was due to the black head mask the man in the leather jacket was wearing . The man took out a shotgun from his back pocket and aimed it at the customer . Before the customer could process what was going on, a loud bang echoed . The barman noticed that the shotgun was specially made . The front part consisted of a series of black membranes . When the trigger was pulled, a black net shot out . The customer 39 s face had been wrapped around by at least three black net layers . And just as he was about to reach up and remove them, the newcomer pounced . The man held the customer down onto the ground and held his gun above the customer 39 s neck . He used his legs to spread open the customer 39 s hands, putting him in a deadlock . Know the tooth fairy he asked, using his right hand to cover the customer 39 s face . The customer remained motionless and silent . The newcomer pointed his fore and middle fingers at the customer 39 s eyes . Know the tooth fairy he tried again . Yes, the customer answered . The barman smashed the vodka bottle he was holding onto and the alcohol splashed all over himself . Using the sharp edges, he aimed the bottle at the man in the leather jacket, getting ready to attack . Before the barman could make a move against him, the man in the leather jacket gave him an intense look and he felt his body losing strength . He collapsed behind the counter . The alcohol over his body disappeared and he was unable to move . It felt like blood wasn 39 t circulating within his body . He could only maintain bare consciousness and breaths . When did you meet him and where the newcomer asked . Will you let me go if I answer the customer asked with a shaky voice . I 39 ve let many people go, but even more people suffered because of my impatience, he stated dully . I can 39 t remember the date but it was about 20 years ago when I was still a kid . The northern region, Kangning road . The tooth fairy gave me the power to make liquid disappear, the customer shouted . Have you used it to kill anybody No, never ever, the customer answered confidently . The man in the leather jacket poked his fingers through the black net and blood started pouring out as the customer screeched . It hurts, doesn 39 t it But at least you 39 re still alive . Blame it on the tooth fairy if you have to . He gave not only you but all of us a lasting nightmare . He loosened his hands and kept his shotgun . He took out a brochure and a pen from his pocket . On the map, he drew a circle on Kangning road and added a horizontal line on the next page . He looked at his glove . The fresh blood that had just been on it moments ago was now gone . The man in the leather jacket left the bar and returned to his sports car . He removed his mask and threw it onto the pa.s.senger seat along with the brochure . Xiaohong drove toward a distant place . The brochure left on the seat contained a map of the whole northern region . Red circles covered the map and there were a total of 25 strikes on the next page . Below the strikes were time and dates . While the times were more or less different, the dates remained constant . Xiaohong was very certain that it was that very day that he had met the tooth fairy as well . He drove through the street where he came from, made a turn, and stopped his car . He sighed before taking out his mobile and making a call . Any more leads he asked upon connecting . No more . I 39 ll call you if there 39 s any, so don 39 t be impatient . You have to give me time, the voice on the other end replied . I gave you so much money . Why have you only found me these few people The information you provided was clear the ability to make liquid disappear but this isn 39 t something they would display for no reason, is it I do, however, have some trails involving the person you 39 re searching for specifically . You found the tooth fairy Xiaohong 39 s voice was evidently livelier at this point . How can I possibly find something out of a fairy tale the voice asked, frustrated . Who then Xiaohong sounded helpless . You mentioned something about the deputy mayor . If not for him, your friends might still be alive . Remember Deputy mayor You found him He 39 s not living the life everyone thinks he is . He 39 s dirt broke and living as an elementary school teacher in a slum area . That sc.u.m, a teacher Send me whatever information you have . I can do that but stop chasing me for a month . I treat you as a friend so don 39 t threaten me with your superpower, the voice said nervously . Haven 39 t I given you enough money Xiaohong asked faintly . No, you gave too much . Much more than what I can offer you, but you must understand that this is really a challenging task . I know . You 39 re doing a great job I just need more . Who knows how many more of these people there are, Xiaohong said . There might not be any left, you know . I haven 39 t found any leads in four months . 25 sounds like a good number . Could that be it Continue searching . You said the same thing when you reached 20 numbers . I 39 ll find you tomorrow . Prepare an overcoat for me . The weather 39 s really turning colder day by day . Xiaohong hung up . A message came in shortly after . It was the address of the slum area in Sanshui district with a remark at the bottom He will be preparing lesson plans at home from seven p . m . onward . Xiaohong put his phone down and started driving toward his destination .