It wasn't until three hours later that Ouyang Pianzuo finally walked into Sun Fatty's office, carrying four thick stacks of folders in his arms. Upon seeing Director Hao sitting in front of Deputy Director Sun, he gave him a theatrical slap on the arm and said, "You little bastard, you finally came back? Been gone this long—where the hell have you been living it up?"
Before Director Hao could respond, Sun Fatty grunted with a scowl. "Ouyang, are you seriously playing innocent now? Not to be rude, but you two are so close you might as well wear the same pants. You're telling me you didn't know where Director Hao was?"
Sun Fatty was mostly joking, but unexpectedly, his words made Ouyang Pianzuo's expression turn a little stiff. Hao Wenming, however, remained calm. Looking at Sun Fatty, he said, "If you've got time to run your mouth, better spend it finding Lin Feng and his partner."
I helped Ouyang place the folders onto Sun Fatty's desk. Pointing at the four stacks, Ouyang said, "It's all here—every location tied to Lin Feng's Natal Talisman Paper between March 15, 1985, and May 22, 1993. See what you can find."
Sun Fatty chuckled and waved it off, then dumped all four folders onto his desk in one go. Nearly 200 sheets of paper poured out like a mountain of documents. Ouyang Pianzuo immediately jumped up and cursed, "You bastard, all my effort for nothing! Let me tell you, don't expect me to sort this mess for you. I'm done with this crap!"
While Ouyang ranted, Sun Fatty began digging through the pile. After only a few shuffles, his squinty eyes suddenly widened. "Got it… This is the one!" he exclaimed, pulling a sheet from the pile.
But as he did, something sticky on the back of that document dragged along two more pages beneath it. Seeing that he'd picked up three sheets at once, Sun Fatty froze, his grin suddenly stiff. He stared at the papers, clearly unsure what to do next.
As his former superior, Hao Wenming had already guessed Sun Fatty's intent the moment he started digging through the pile—and, knowing his tricks, even seemed a little excited. But now, seeing Sun Fatty's hesitation with the three documents, Hao too looked puzzled. "So… which one is it?" he asked.
Sun Fatty stared at all three in turn for a long while, then sighed in frustration. "It's one of these three places. I can't tell which. They're stuck together, and now they all feel the same. I swear, it's like someone stuck three aces into a deck—you know one doesn't belong, but hell if you know which."
Sun Fatty rarely spoke with such uncertainty, but now he genuinely looked stumped. I picked up the three sheets, shuffled their order behind my back, and then placed them facedown on the desk. "Da Sheng, try again. If you found it once, you can find it again."
He didn't even look. "Lazi, you don't get it. These three feel exactly the same. I'm telling you, it's like putting three identical aces into a deck—how am I supposed to know which one's the real one?"
"If all else fails, we go this way," said Hao Wenming, rising to examine the documents. "Not to brag, but narrowing it from 197 locations to 3 is no small feat. Da Sheng, let's start assigning teams."
I flipped the documents face up. They all bore the Bureau's old-style headers.
The first read:July 15, 1989 — Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, case: Missing cargo ship "Angel Emily" in South China Sea. Lead: Section Four Director — Lin Feng. Concluded: July 23, 1989. Case ID: Class B4-89723.
The second:December 23, 1987 — Case: Water ghost attacks on the Chinese side of the Yalu River. Lead: Section Four Director — Lin Feng. Concluded: December 25, 1987. Case ID: Class D4-871225.
The third:February 7, 1991 — Case: Beast attack on Mount Zhongnan. Leads: Section Two Director — Qiu Bulao, and Section Four Director — Lin Feng. Concluded: October 20, 1991. Case ID: Class A24-911020.
Each incident varied in size and severity. But just from the summaries, there was no clear indicator as to which one Lin Feng would choose.
After a moment's silence, Sun Fatty said, "Let's not send out our people just yet. This is exactly how Gao Laoda got played last time." As he spoke, his eyes flicked toward me. I pretended not to notice, still staring blankly at the three sheets.
He continued, "This time, let Yang II and Yang I take the lead, along with your Section Heads. Let them scout ahead. If they spot even a trace of Lin Feng or his partner, I'll bring in the main force."
Just as Sun Fatty finished speaking, Hao Wenming's eyes widened. "What about Wu Rendi? Not to be rude, Sun Da Sheng, but if you're not using Wu Rendi now, when are you going to use him?"
Sun Fatty gave a bitter smile. "Hao Tou'er, you just got back—there are things you don't know yet. These days, when I see Old Wu, I have to take a detour. I've seriously pissed him off lately. He might not care much about Lin Feng or the other guy, but if you give him even half a chance to mess with me, he's not going to hesitate."
Hao Wenming had no interest in Sun Fatty's personal drama with Wu Rendi—his mind was entirely focused on avenging Gao Liang. "So, what, just because you and Wu Rendi have beef, we can't count on him? What's more important here—your personal grudge or justice for Director Gao? You're really going to let him die for nothing?"
At that moment, it suddenly hit me—why hadn't Sun Fatty used this chance to reveal how Gao Liang really died? That way, he and Hao Wenming wouldn't end up clashing head-on. But then I recalled how he spoke of Gao earlier… Clearly, he had his reasons and wasn't ready to lay it all out yet.
"Who said we can't count on Old Wu?" Sun Fatty blinked a few times, his expression turning sly. With a half-smile, he said, "When I said 'the full force of the Bureau,' that includes everyone—including the new recruit who just joined Section Six."
Hearing that, a cold shiver ran down my spine. If he was planning to take Shao Yiyi along, then this was practically begging to get on Wu Rendi's kill list.
"Section Six has a new recruit?" Hao Wenming was stunned. Most of the Bureau's recent intel had come from Ouyang Pianzuo, who probably didn't think Shao Yiyi was significant enough to mention. Now, seeing Hao's surprise, Ouyang finally chimed in: "It's that girl, Shao Yiyi—the one from the Suzaku Girls' School case two years ago."
"Shao Yiyi…" Hao Wenming finally recalled the girl. "Why the hell would you bring her in? Two years ago, she didn't seem to have anything special about her. And you assigned her to Section Six? What are you really up to?"
Sun Fatty chuckled. "You'll understand soon enough. Anyway, let's cut the chatter. We've got three locations here—pick one. I'll decide later where to send the Yang brothers."
Ouyang Pianzuo had already set his eyes on the Mount Zhongnan report. "I'll go here," he said. "Back in '91, I actually surveyed the area myself. I still have the maps—remember all the caves clear as day."
"I'll go too," Hao Wenming added after a brief pause. "Ouyang's not a field ops guy—if something goes wrong, I can handle it."
Sun Fatty nodded slightly. "Take Hugo with you too. That foreign brother of ours has a knack for hiding things. Worst case scenario, he can be the bait."
Then he turned to me. "Lazi, how about you go with them?"
"I'll go here instead," I replied, picking up the file on the South China Sea incident and handing it to him.