31 It Canst Be Him (1/2)

Bang!

It was a dark corner and the gunshot wasn't that loud, so it didn't draw much attention on a busy black street at night. Some shops were playing music at deafening volumes—their employees were completely clueless.

Yue Qing was taking payment at his counter. He raised his head abruptly and looked in the direction of the gunshot. It might have eluded others but it stood out to him amid the clutter of other noises. He couldn't hear it clearly, but he instinctively knew it was a gunshot.

His shop was quite crowded, so Yue Qing didn't head outside. He sat at his counter, adjusted the surveillance camera installed at his entrance, and watched his monitor. The street corner was a short distance away and his camera had limited coverage.

A few secondary school students riding their skateboards passed by, joking among themselves.

Not them.

A few drunken men mumbling as they leaned on each other.

Not them either.

Huh?

Yue Qing spotted someone on his monitor.

Fang Zhao?

He was carrying something in his hands. Yue Qing zoomed in and realized it was only a takeout box from a neighboring barbecue restaurant.

Fang Zhao showed up in Yue Qing's shop soon.

”Overtime?” Yue Qing asked with a smile and probing eyes.

”It's a busy time at work, but it'll start getting even busier from now on. I might be gone for a few days straight starting tomorrow. I'm just going to crash at the office.” Fang Zhao opened his takeout box.

He handed Yue Qing a piece of barbecued meat. ”Have some?”

”Thanks. The barbecued meat at that joint is decent. They get their meat from Muzhou. It isn't hybrid meat.” Offered food, Yue Qing flashed a wide grin. He pulled a bottle of liquor from a shelf and offered Fang Zhao a glass.

”Bonus?” Yue Qing asked. He knew the barbecued meat wasn't cheap. People in the neighborhood typically dined on compressed synthetic food. Real barbecued meat was a luxury on a black street. A palm-sized piece cost 200 or 300 dollars. Yue Qing indulged himself only once or twice a month.

”Yep. That's why I splurged.” Fang Zhao handed Yue Qing another piece.

”That's right—your new song sounds great. I downloaded it. The music video looks good too. I recommended it to my old comrades. They enjoyed it too. I heard in the news today that you're about to release your second single?” Yue Qing asked.

”Hence the overtime.”

”I'm rooting for you. We'll be waiting for your new release, haha!”

Fang Zhao bought 10 pieces of barbecued meat. He and Yue Qing each had three pieces and he saved another three for Ai Wan. Ai Wan had said he was too busy to drop by and asked Fang Zhao to leave the pieces with Yue Qing. He would pick them up when things died down at his shop.

Fang Zhao brought the remaining piece in the takeout box upstairs.

Inside his shop, Yue Qing slapped his forehead. He was so busy eating and drinking he'd forgotten to ask Fang Zhao if he'd seen anything unusual at the street corner, but it probably had nothing to with that kid. Then who was it?

Yue Qing pulled up his surveillance monitor and started watching the people who passed by.

Around dusk something went down on the street behind his shop. It was a violent dispute but no one was killed. Yue Qing also learned that a gun was lost. But a lost firearm wasn't something people discussed publicly. After all, it wasn't a legal gun. Most of the guns in circulation on black streets were made in underground workshops. They were never registered and no one advertised when they went missing.

But he didn't nail down who had taken the gun. The gunshot from the street corner must have had something to do with the lost gun.

Who had taken the gun?

Yue Qing stared at his monitor for some time but didn't spot anyone suspicious. He eventually gave up. Who cared—as long as trouble didn't come his way.

As for Fang Zhao, he had already arrived on the second floor. As soon as he opened his door, Curly Hair approached, wagging his tail violently. The smell of barbecued meat excited it even more. It couldn't stop whining.

Fang Zhao scanned the room and didn't see any damage. He fondled the dog on its head. ”Good job.”

He placed the piece of barbecued meat on the dog's plate, closed his windows, and drew the curtains. He took off his coat, from which he plucked a gun.

The gun was a rather old model, but it was still quite advanced for Fang Zhao's time. There were many improvements.

Fang Zhao also removed a mangled bullet from his pocket.

So when Yue Qing was glued to his monitor searching for suspicious characters who might have picked up the lost gun, Fang Zhao was upstairs studying the gun he'd confiscated. He was a long way from home. He didn't know how to use the current generation of guns, so he had to study up.

The next day, Fang Zhao took Curly Hair downstairs to Yue Qing's shop. He would be crashing at his office for some time. He would need Yue Qing's help keeping an eye on his second-floor apartment.

Ai Wan was there too. He was telling Yue Qing about the four young men he'd treated at his pharmacy last night.