Chapter 180: Interview

Chapter 180: Interview

Reception room, first floor of the teaching building. Nine o’clock in the morning.

Occupying the moderate room was a redwood sofa and a tea table, on which were three cups of hot tea and an assortment of nuts and snacks. A calendar hung on the wall, along with a few cheap-looking ink paintings and banners with empty praises.

In the corner was an old-school pendulum clock.

Tick, tock, tick...

Seconds crawled by.

Yellow Butterfly, Nine Frost, and Dark Li slowly lost their patience.

The moment the morning self-study ended, the three of them went to the teachers’ office as a journalist and her assistants. And once Yellow Butterfly explained the purpose of their visit, they were led to the reception room by a teacher and welcomed with great hospitality.

The teacher told them that the superintendent was busy, and that he would be right with them.

Yet no one had shown up for the past thirty minutes.

“Can they be playing a trick on us, Captain?” Dark Li felt the nunchucks he had hidden in his sleeves, his expression guarded. “Have the monsters identified us?”

Nine Frost had taken the possibility into consideration. That was why he left the door slightly ajar rather than closed properly. That way, he would be able to react immediately should anyone suspicious approach.

Yellow Butterfly didn’t say anything, but she seemed anxious as well.

“It’s unlikely,” Nine Frost assured them. “Even if that’s the case, the monsters will have been limited by the effect of total silence, rendering them a group of regular people. The three of us will be able to take them...”

Nine Frost quieted at once. Then someone pushed the door open.

Entering was a middle-aged man with moderate build and thinning hair. He was dressed in a set of somewhat formal suits and a pair of dress shoes.

“Apologies for the wait.” The man had a round, glinting forehead. His triangular eyes were paired with a garlic-shaped nose.

“Well met, Superintendent.” Yellow Butterfly quickly rose to her feet and greeted the man with a smile.

Nine Frost and Dark Li stood up to smile politely at the man as well. N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

The man was caught off guard by Yellow Butterfly’s beauty. Then he said in a well-mannered tone, “I’m not the superintendent. He was tending to an urgent matter and asked me to welcome you. I’m the Director of Academic Affairs. Here’s my card.”

He produced a name card.

Yellow Butterfly took it.

—Director of Academic Affairs of the Eleventh High School, Dai Xiaojun.

“Hello, Mr. Dai.” Yellow Butterfly put away the card and offered a hand. “I’m Xiang Hong[1] from the Li City Evening Post. These are my assistants. Forgive me for not giving you a card. I’ve forgotten them at home because I was in a rush this morning.”

They rushed to the stairs at once and went up. The figure ran straight to the fifth floor, not moving terribly fast.

The three of them gave chase to the fifth floor and then the rooftop.

Nine Frost opened the metal door to see a scared-looking highschool girl.

Her height was average, and her build on the short and thick side, dressed in long-sleeved shirt and pants. Her hair was tied into a big braid, her round face covered in acne. Her facial features were flat, her eyes small.

Objectively speaking, she was what people would call an ugly girl.

“Who are you?” Nine Frost demanded with both words and gaze.

“I’m, I’m sorry.” The girl staggered backward and apologized panickedly. “I, I didn’t hear anything...”

Nine Frost took a step forward. “Why were you hiding outside the door?”

“Stay away!” The girl was terrified, and she rushed to the railing and quickly climbed over to the other side. “If you take another step, I’ll, I’ll jump...”

Nine Frost immediately stopped. He couldn’t afford to make a wrong move.

Yellow Butterfly walked up to Nine Frost and gave him a look. “Allow me, Captain.”

Then with a smile, she said, “Don’t be scared, Xiang Xiaoqin.”

“How, how do you know my name?” Xiang Xiaoqin was surprised.

Yellow Butterfly pointed at her own chest. “It’s on your school badge.”

Xiang Xiaoqin looked down at her uniform before looking back up. “Don’t, don’t get any closer!”

“Okay, okay. I won’t.” Yellow Butterfly sounded gentle and patient. “I share a surname with you, Xiang Xiaoqin. I’m Xiang Hong. See, we were family hundreds of years ago.”

Xiang Xiaoqin didn’t say anything, but the caution on her face melted somewhat.

“Would you tell us why you were hiding behind the door, Xiang Xiaoqin?” Yellow Butterfly paused and made a bold guess. “Is there something you’d like our help with?”

“Are, are you journalists?” Xiang Xiaoqin’s voice cracked.

“Yes, we are journalists,” said Yellow Butterfly. “Have you run into trouble? You can tell us. We will seek justice for you.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” Yellow Butterfly looked genuine. “That’s why we’re here.”

“Please, please save him. They’re gonna kill him...”

Xiang Xiaoqin burst into tears and wailed.

1. Her codename is Xiang Die in the original. ?