Under the light, Su He could finally see that the man was drenched in sweat, with blood stains on his clothes. Taking into account his suitcase by his feet, a chilling thought instantly flashed across Su He's mind.
"What are you looking at?" the man glared at Su He warily as the other man in the room also walked over.
Su He was a little nervous and waved his hand with an awkward grin. "Oh nothing. With your getup and that suitcase, you look just like those TV drama scenes where someone kills and dumps a body. Were you just butchering chickens in the room, bro? What a waste of nice clothes. Next time just go to the local market downstairs to get chickens for 5 bucks a pop, easy and cheap. And our complex isn't too convenient for that kind of thing... Thanks for ordering with Meituan, bro. Don't forget to give me a good rating!"
Seeing the man in the room pulling out a knife, Su He quickly turned to leave.
"Stop right there!" The man held a knife to Su He's back, piercing his skin so that blood flowed out.
"Hey bro, are you shooting some short video skit? I figured you looked like an actor. What platform is it on? Let me follow you guys."
A sharp pain shot through his head and everything went dark as Su He collapsed.
...
After who knows how long, Su He opened his eyes again, feeling only pain in the back of his head. Thankfully the helmet took most of the blow, or he would've been a goner.
A man wearing a delivery uniform, helmet, and face mask kicked Su He. "Hey kid, Su He right?"
Su He instantly sobered up and looked down at himself. His clothes were gone except for a t-shirt and boxer shorts, and his hands were tied behind his back.
"Bro, I'm sorry, I won't eavesdrop again, I thought you were getting intimate with your wife! Really, I didn't hear anything about you two. I don't know anything." Su He had never seen anything like this and shook uncontrollably in fear.
The man sat calmly in a chair. "Help me analyze this. Now there are your footprints in this room, your fingerprints on the knife. If I put on your clothes and take off, and the police find your corpse when they arrive, won't they stop investigating then?"
"Ding! Supreme-Tier Choice System activated successfully!"
Hearing the voice in his head, Su He couldn't help but look around. Then three options appeared before his eyes.
[Option 1: Refuse to cooperate and oppose evil to the bitter end. Reward: Ash urn made of rosewood.]
[Option 2: Help the murderer escape. Reward: Handcuffs made by a master blacksmith from pure silver.]
[Option 3: Find a way to call the police. Reward: Brand new electric bike battery.]
Seeing Su He silent and looking around, the man put a knife to his neck and growled, "Believe me or not, I'll kill you right now."
Hearing the man threaten to kill him, Su He quickly pleaded for mercy. "Bro, I really don't know anything. I know the rules of the underworld. I won't say anything to anyone after I leave. Let's get out of here together, I'll cover for you. Or you run first as far as you can go. I'll take care of things here. With the door shut, the police won't even come asking questions for 10 days or half a month. Maybe they won't even find out anything happened for months."
"You still haven't answered my question," the man reminded him.
"What question? Oh right, bro, that definitely won't work. Think about it, if I died, wouldn't my wife go looking for me at night? When she can't find me, won't she call the police? The police will come to our company, check the order records, and trace it back to this apartment. At most they'll be breaking down your door by noon tomorrow. You said I killed that woman, then who killed me? That doesn't make sense, right?" Su He licked his lips nervously after finishing, anxiously watching for the man's reaction.
The man got up and went behind the sofa, dragging a corpse over. "He killed that woman. You got in a fight with him. You killed him, he killed you, double death!"
"That that that... bro, you you you... I I think there are still some holes here. Think about it, if I'm dead but still here, what does that mean? It means someone definitely took my clothes to escape. If there's someone else, that proves we can't have killed each other. And any coroner could easily see that at a glance too. Then they'll check the surveillance footage and see you without a mask coming in, right? Even if you wore one, they'd still see your eyes. With all that big data now, the cops will catch you as soon as you run!"
Su He grew nervous again after finishing, watching the man and hoping he would listen.
"If we do as you said, how do I know you won't call the cops?" The man thought for a moment and asked again.
Seeing an opening, Su He's eyes lit up as he continued. "Bro, look, my footprints are in the room, my fingerprints are on the knife, I can't wash away suspicion either! Right now, we're grasshoppers tied to the same string. Wrap those two in plastic wrap, who knows if anyone will even find them for months. By then, we'll be living it up abroad."
The man shook his head. "I'm not leaving the country."
"You're right, it'd be unfamiliar, language barrier too. Better not to leave the country!" Su He muttered to himself, then thought for a bit and said, "Then we just have to completely clean up the scene, dump the bodies, and get our hands on the surveillance footage. That way, no one will know anything even if the police investigate later. At most they'd rule it as missing persons, right bro? What do you think of this plan?"
The man was silent for two minutes before looking up. "How do you tamper with the surveillance recordings?"
"That's easy actually. The security booth is manned by an old grandpa, he doesn't understand computers. I'm a delivery guy, in and out of this complex all the time. I'll slip in when he's not there and delete all the footage from today and earlier."
The man nodded. "What did you do before this?"
Without any hesitation, Su He replied, "After graduating from vocational high school, I worked at Foxconn for two years, then studied hair and beauty for a year and ran a street food stall for another year. My dad got me in as an auxiliary cop for two years until I got laid off this year and started delivery gigs."
The man hesitated for a long time before finally relenting. "What should we do now?"
Su He's eyes lit up and he immediately asked, "What time is it?"
The man checked his phone. "4:35."
"Too late for anything now. Bro, properly disposing of bodies will take at least a few hours minimum, and we don't have the right tools either. Your suitcase can't fit two people. Let's come back tomorrow night!"
"How do I know you won't trick me?"
"Bro, didn't we just discuss all that? I'm implicated as an accomplice just from talking to you so long about destroying evidence and fleeing. If I call the cops, how could I wash away suspicion? Why won't you believe me after all this? Forget it, just kill me. Aim for the heart, make it quick!" Su He closed his eyes and stuck out his chest.
"Destroy it, hurry up!"
The man freed Su He's hands.
"Bro, don't worry, I know the rules of the underworld!"
Su He got up and stretched, then said, "Bro, let me find some clothes to wear first."
After searching the room, there were no men's clothes. Ye Lady's wardrobe was full of revealing outfits he couldn't wear either. Su He helplessly said, "Bro, just give me my clothes back. This delivery uniform is my only set, it costs 200 bucks to replace."
The man took off the outer delivery uniform and pants he had put on, but didn't remove the helmet and wore his own jacket inside out, still cautious.
"Let's go!"
The man held a knife to Su He's lower back.
Su He walked in front and cracked open the door to look out. He whispered, "Coast is clear, bro."
Right after stepping out, Su He suddenly said, "Crap, bro, I forgot my phone inside. Hang on, let me grab it real quick."
In the empty hallway, the man didn't think much of it.
Su He turned around and walked into the room, picked up her phone, and whispered softly, "Big brother, I'm here."
Just as she reached the door, Su He reacted swiftly, closing and locking the door in one smooth motion.
Leaning against the door, Su He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hello, police? I need to report a murder at Mingjia Apartments Building 1 Unit 603. Someone has killed people here... Yes, I'm safe now... Two people are dead... The killer? Well, I locked him outside the door... I don't know the victims, I'm just a food delivery person..."
What food delivery worker could refuse a brand new electric bike battery?
Just then, she remembered that voice in her head again.
"Option three completed successfully. Reward: a brand new electric bike battery."
"Since the host succeeded in breaking free of the killer's control, additional reward: a brand new power bank."
"Items have been automatically placed in the system space."