Chapter 95 - A Superhero?

Before the morning paper had been printed for that day, Xia Cui had been waiting all year for a big scoop that she could add in her resume. All year, the littlest of the littlest things were assigned to her. She wanted to be an investigative journalist, not someone who would write about the latest gossip about some celebrity who stole another's lover.

But it seemed like this was her time.

When she received the call around one in the morning, she almost did not want to answer it, thinking it was another politician's child getting in trouble with the police or was spotted with illegal drugs in their parties—but when she heard that there were corpses involved, she immediately sprang up the bed. She did not even feel the freezing water as she took a quick bath.

She hastily put on clothes, a phone pressed to her ear, calling the company to hold the release of papers for possibly the biggest news of the month and asked for assistance. She barely got her coat on when she hailed a taxi that would take her to the destination. 

When she got there around half an hour later, the police had already secured the area, perching a tent on the empty lot and police tape rounded the whole property.

Xia Cui cursed under her breath. She wished she had not taken a bath and went there immediately. Maybe she could've gotten something then. But the rest of the reporters and journalists were just as frustrated as her. They were all grumbling under their breaths.

Being a journalist, she had to have a good eye on people and the surroundings. Although she had to stick to the facts, she also had to decide on how she would like to paint the story. A middle-aged officer exited the police line and they all flocked to him.

"There is nothing for now," the officer said, pushing past them. The others bombarded him with questions but he only waved them away.

Xia Cui bit her lips. There were only a number of things that could've possibly happened when the police could not talk. One of the reasons was when the news would cause too much panic in the people. When the others had stopped following the officer, she made her move.

She walked towards the officer who only glared at her. She put on her best smile, the one she knew people would give in to later on. "Didn't I tell you already I have nothing to say?"

"See, officer," she smiled sweetly. "I am not going to share this with my other colleagues just yet. But the call I got was pretty descriptive. They said there were multiple bodies in this lot and a note was hanging from the neck of a man inside the grave."

The officer had stopped walking and looked around the place, making sure they were alone. "I am not confirming anything. But something like that happened in this place. We are still trying to locate clues."

"Is this related to the other case at the hotel?"

The officer furrowed his eyebrows. "Where did you get that? How could you make that connection?"

"Well…" she poked her cheeks. "Someone had leaked to our company that they found a note in the belongings of the murdered man in the hotel. This body had a note too, right?"

The officer shook his head. "Whatever happened to that man in the hotel has got nothing to do with this person. Besides, if there was a note at the first body, it was not the same as this one."

Xia Cui smiled. "Is this like a vigilante group doing justice to people?"

The officer scoffed. "What are you talking about?" he looked like he could almost laugh. "What, something like Spiderman? A superhero?" he shook his head. "Nothing of the sort."

"Ohh," she whistled under her breath. "We'll see then, officer. Thank you so much for the information." She made a gesture to zip her lips closed and the officer only grunted in return before leaving her on the cold pavement.

A car stopped with their company's logo at the side of the road. The door slid open and the cameraman almost tripped getting out. "What's the scoop?"

"Get inside the car. We have to do research. They are not talking for now." She looked back at the house. "We have to make it in time for the printing."

**

Ever since Wuming had gotten back in Chengshi, Qing Lok did not think he was necessary in the matters of the mafia. He took the smallest of the tasks as he knew Wuming would be the one helping Qing Chen from now on.

"I was looking for you yesterday," Qing Chen said. "Wuming said you're out with your friends."

Qing Lok could barely contain his joy in the limousine as he sat in front of his older brothers. Since he had not been included in yesterday's adventure, he thought he should sit this one out. That was why it had been so much of a surprise that Qing Chen had told him that he was coming today. "Yeah," he answered. "I didn't think you would need help."

Qing Chen only gave him a smile—a smile he never saw often—the one that was proud. "I'm very impressed with the video you sent to the police, the one from the hospital. Did you edit it all?"

"No," Qing Lok's hand flew to his hair, suddenly conscious. "Uhm, a few friends had been wanting to act on screen. I told them this was a little project and we reenacted the scene before the police discovered that The Koala had been taken away."

Qing Chen opened the fridge and took out three flasks. "We should drink to that. You cleaned up well." He was handed one and Qing Chen nudged a sleeping Wuming. "We're toasting to Lok this morning."

"Oh," the eldest said, rising from his slouch. "To Qing Lok."

"For a job well done," finished Qing Chen. They clinked their metal flasks and took a swig. The cold and the bitterness made Qing Lok shiver. 

"Lok, you're a genius," said Wuming.

"What," he laughed. "The cameras at the hospital were pretty outdated, it was easy to edit the timestamp."

"You're a good cleanup-er."

He grinned at his brothers. "I've had just about enough cleaning up after the both of you."

They all laughed, because it was true.

"I'll handle this one, though," winked Qing Chen.