Chapter 6: Why Shoot to Kill?

Lying on his dormitory bed, Li Banfeng silently gazed at the ceiling. The dorm bed was high, and the ceiling was very close to him. The mold stains on the ceiling looked like eyes, watching him. Indeed, there were eyes watching him, observing his every move.

*Click, click, click!* His phone chimed again. A new message arrived.

Who exactly was sending him messages? This person had found He Jiaqing's phone. They knew he had met his third uncle. They knew he had met the police. They even knew He Jiaqing was in a hospital bed.

Who exactly was this person? A university teacher? A doctor at the hospital? Old Chen, who claimed to be a police officer? The gatekeeper downstairs?

The phone kept chiming endlessly. Li Banfeng picked it up and glanced at it; He Jiaqing's number had sent more than a dozen messages consecutively.

"Banfeng, in all four years of university, you're the only brother I have!""If there's only one glass of wine left, you take a sip, and I'll take a sip.""If there's only one cigarette left, you smoke half, and I'll smoke half!""The first time I took my girlfriend out to eat, you were there with me. The first time I went to sleep with my girlfriend, halfway through, you called, and I ended up spending the night at an internet café with you.""When you had a mental illness, I went with you to see a doctor. When you ran out of money, I paid for you. When I ran out of money, I went to move rocks at a construction site, staying there until you were discharged.""Last year, during exams, I failed a course trying to pass you answers, almost getting put on probation. In all four years of university, you're the only brother I acknowledge! Just one!"

These dozens of messages proved one thing: it really was He Jiaqing. Because some of these things, only the two of them knew.

The last message read: "Brother, save me. Only you can save me."

Li Banfeng took a deep breath and dialed the number back, wanting to confirm He Jiaqing's voice. The call wouldn't connect. Li Banfeng sent a message: "How did you get back from the station? Why did you come to my bed?"

"That wasn't me."

"If it wasn't you, then who was it? Where are you now? And why can you see me?"

Li Banfeng had many questions for He Jiaqing, but these were all he could think of at the moment.

*Click, click, click!* He Jiaqing replied:

"I really want to answer you, but there's no time. The train is about to depart. If you don't come to save me today, I don't know when the next train will be, and you might never see me again."

The train was leaving soon. Save him today...

Li Banfeng rolled out of bed and quietly looked out the window. In university, was this his only friend? From birth until now, how many friends did he have? It seemed like just this one.

Dormitory Building Six was deserted downstairs; even the clotheslines were empty. But under the large willow tree downstairs, someone was standing there. It was a slender young man, about Li Banfeng's age. His eyes were large and gleamed like lightbulbs. Li Banfeng could see them clearly from the third floor. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

In this dorm building, besides Li Banfeng, only the gatekeeper was left. Assuming the gatekeeper was out of the question, this person must be here for Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng sent a message to He Jiaqing: "I'm being watched."

He Jiaqing replied: "It must be someone from the Dark Star Bureau."

"What's the Dark Star Bureau?"

"I really can't explain it to you now. The Dark Star Bureau cannot be mentioned casually; they can sense it. Brother, you have to save me. If you don't do it now, it'll be too late."

Li Banfeng sat on his chair and fell into deep thought. He sat for over ten minutes, motionless. During this time, the gatekeeper came upstairs once, looked at Li Banfeng, and asked, "Why haven't you left yet?"

Li Banfeng didn't respond to him; he hadn't even seen him. His mind quickly replayed all his past experiences with He Jiaqing over the past four years. Yes, he was his only brother.

After a long silence, Li Banfeng typed a line of text on his phone:

"Brother, in all four years of university, you're the only brother I acknowledge. If there's one glass of wine left, we'll each take a sip; if there's one cigarette left, we'll each smoke half. If you run out of money for medical treatment, I'll immediately go to a construction site and move rocks, without hesitation. But this matter, I don't want to be involved in it anymore."

Li Banfeng put down his phone, feeling deeply conflicted. The reason he no longer wanted to get involved was because this matter surpassed his understanding. According to Li Banfeng's understanding, He Jiaqing's appearances were wrong in both time and space, whether it was He Jiaqing in the hospital bed or He Jiaqing in the phone. By Li Banfeng's understanding, He Jiaqing hadn't shown any supernatural abilities in the past four years; otherwise, he wouldn't have been caught cheating. Li Banfeng felt his own ability to accept things was strong enough, but matters like this could drive a normal person insane. Not to mention he was already considered mentally unstable.

*Click, click, click!* His phone, silent for a long time, received a message from He Jiaqing. The message contained only one word: "Okay."

Li Banfeng lay back down on his dorm bed, gazing at the ceiling, continuing to stare blankly. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in three days. A nap would make it all go away. Jiaqing, he had done everything he could for him.

*Click, click, click!* Another message arrived from Jiaqing.

"Be well."

"Be well." That phrase sounded so familiar. It was the last thing Li Banfeng had said to He Jiaqing. The last thing he'd said to him face-to-face. "Be well..."

He wanted him to be well, but he wasn't well now. Not well meant not well; the logic was that simple.

Li Banfeng sat up and sent a message: "How can I save you?"

"Banfeng, good brother, I beg you, please get something for me and bring it to my home."

Although he couldn't see He Jiaqing's face, the content of the message suggested He Jiaqing was very agitated.

"What thing?" Li Banfeng looked at He Jiaqing's locker. In his memory, the locker had been emptied long ago.

He Jiaqing replied: "The item isn't in the dorm; it's in the campus supermarket."

Li Banfeng went to the window and looked downstairs. He first looked at the man still squatting under the tree, then at the campus supermarket not far away.

Li Banfeng: "You said to deliver the item to your home. You don't mean your hometown, do you?"

He Jiaqing: "Yes, my hometown. It's not too far. I'll buy your train ticket; the train departs this afternoon! Hurry to the East Station! Please, I'm begging you!"

Li Banfeng took a deep breath and jumped off his bed. He thoroughly washed his face, letting the cool water temporarily suppress the fatigue of the past few days. He put on a short-sleeved T-shirt, a pair of loose sweatpants, and sneakers. Since he was going on a long journey, he still needed to prepare his luggage. He first grabbed his wallet, packed his identification, and took the two thousand cash his "third uncle" had given him. He then took a backpack from the closet. He Jiaqing had bought it from a street vendor; they were thirty-one yuan each, or fifty for two. He Jiaqing had bought two and given him one. He packed a change of clothes and immediately set off.

Before leaving, Li Banfeng glanced out the window again. The large-eyed man, still watching him, was still there. Li Banfeng sent a message: "The person watching me, since they're not a police officer, should be able to handle some appropriate physical contact, right?"

*Click, click, click!*

"Don't be impulsive."

"Don't worry, I know my limits. It'll definitely be within the scope of self-defense."

"It's not about limits. He's a dark energy wielder; you can't beat him. You need to find a way to get rid of him."

"What's a dark energy wielder?"

"I can't explain it to you now."

"Once I get to your house, you must explain everything clearly, point by point."

Li Banfeng left the dorm. As he stepped out of the dorm, the large-eyed man didn't move. After walking a few dozen meters, the large-eyed man silently followed. Li Banfeng casually entered the campus supermarket, as if he were just going in to buy a packet of spicy snacks.

The slender, large-eyed man was named Dong Xiaoning, codenamed "Lightbulb." He had just joined the Dark Star Bureau last month, and many things he did were not yet professional. For instance, his shadowing was very unprofessional; he knew he wasn't good enough. He was currently hesitating at the supermarket entrance, wondering whether to go inside. The campus supermarket wasn't large; if he went inside, Li Banfeng could easily spot him. If he didn't go in, he worried he might lose track.

*Click, click, click!* He Jiaqing sent a message.

"The item is in the supermarket's locker."

Li Banfeng went to the lockers. The campus supermarket only had face-recognition lockers, which required a face scan to store or retrieve items; there was no other way. "How do I open the locker? With your photo?" Li Banfeng replied.

"No need. Just retrieve it directly."

Retrieve it directly?

Li Banfeng pressed the retrieve button. The locker screen began to record Li Banfeng's face. What good would that do? He hadn't stored anything there...

*Click!* Locker number six opened.

What was happening? His face scan actually retrieved He Jiaqing's item? What was the principle behind this? Li Banfeng stood astonished for a long time, unable to comprehend the reason.

Inside the locker was a package, tightly wrapped with tape. The package wasn't large, but it was heavy. Li Banfeng quickly put it into his backpack. Just as he was about to leave the supermarket, he suddenly saw Lightbulb waiting at the entrance, apparently on the phone.

"The person watching me is on the phone. Can you hear what he's saying?"

If the other party was calling for backup, Li Banfeng needed to figure out how to respond.

He Jiaqing replied: "I can hear a bit, but it's blurry. I can't do it alone; we brothers need to cooperate. Can you get a little closer to him?"

Li Banfeng casually pushed a shopping cart and lingered near the supermarket entrance. Lightbulb's voice grew louder, and Li Banfeng heard it more and more clearly. He Jiaqing seemed to have temporarily lent some of his supernatural ability to Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng not only heard the large-eyed man's voice clearly but also the voice from the other end of the phone call.

"Captain Xiao, Li Banfeng took something from the supermarket locker. I'm not sure what it is or where it came from."

On the other end of the line, Xiao Zhenggong asked, "Have you reported this to Captain Chen?"

"I called Captain Chen, but I couldn't get through."

The other end of the line was silent for a long time before Xiao Zhenggong's command came through: "Kill him. Bring what he took back to the bureau."

Upon hearing this, the large-eyed man trembled all over. Trembling along with him was Li Banfeng, who was standing by a shelf. To be precise, Li Banfeng trembled even more violently.

Kill him? Was this a joke? What had he done to deserve being killed?