Chapter 14: Reporting to the Police Again

“What, you think they cook on site?” The boxed meal vendor looked at Mo Fei with disdain. “We place orders in advance and bring them over in insulated containers. If you get to eat a hot meal, you should thank Director Wang.”

“So, it’s not cooked here?” Mo Fei rubbed his chin. “Then the chicken in the meal wasn’t slaughtered here either, right?”

The vendor’s contempt grew even more obvious. “Freshly slaughtered? Why don’t you do it yourself? Who has time to cater to someone as picky as you?”

Mo Fei ignored him completely, turning his gaze beyond the roadside.

If the scent of blood wasn’t coming from the boxed meals, then where was it coming from?

Logic told him not to meddle in other people’s business—a wound from a single misstep was warning enough.

It would cost him, for sure.

But he simply couldn’t control his feet.

Mo Fei casually picked up the U-lock resting in the basket of a shared bike and set off.

The assistant director saw Mo Fei climb over the roadside barrier and head into the wasteland, calling out, “Mo, where are you going?”

Mo Fei didn’t even look back. “Bathroom!”

The assistant director paused. “Bathroom—with a lock?”

In the wasteland, two people already lay motionless on the ground. A wiry man, gripping a bloodstained axe, strode quickly in pursuit of his prey. When he caught sight of his quarry’s back, a crazed grin split his lips, and he raised the carpenter’s axe high.

The long-haired man heard him coming and despair flickered in his eyes, but he didn’t look back. He kept moving forward.

It was at that moment that Mo Fei appeared before the two.

He parted the wild grass, drawn by the strange noises, and discovered this bizarre scene.

A beautiful young woman fleeing for her life, and someone trying to hack her down with an axe?

And the axe was still dripping with blood...

Mo Fei’s mind spun into overdrive.

Reason told him he should turn and run, maybe call for help. But his hands, ever honest, had already started unlocking his phone to snap a photo, all in one smooth motion.

He’d never seen anything like this before—might as well take a picture as a memento.

The flash snapped both of them back to their senses. The “beautiful young woman” leapt behind Mo Fei and, in a hoarse voice, summed up the situation: “He’s a murderer. Run.”

Mo Fei weighed the U-lock in his hand and sneered, “What a coincidence.”

Both of them instantly filled in the rest in their minds—So am I.

The axe-wielder studied Mo Fei’s stance and air; he did look the part. You’d have to have killed a few people to carry yourself like that, he thought, suddenly wary.

Mo Fei grabbed the “beautiful young woman’s” hand, spun around, and sprinted away. As he ran, he yelled, “Director Wang, help! There’s a snake! Everyone, hurry!”

The “beautiful young woman” was too stunned to react, getting dragged along for a good dozen meters.

The axe-wielder was left with a look of utter bafflement.

What the hell was happening??

Director Wang and the others, startled by the shout, were not just confused but thoroughly irritated.

Was this never going to end?

Severed limbs at the film base, snakes at the roadside shoot?

All eyes fell on Director Wang. He waved his hand. “Go check it out.”

A few burly men unafraid of snakes grabbed whatever tools were handy and headed toward Mo Fei.

By the time the axe-wielder realized what was happening and tried to give chase, Mo Fei was nearly back with the crew.

He wanted to hack down the whole group, but stamina was an issue; he could only glare hatefully in Mo Fei’s direction before disappearing into the wasteland.

The men armed with crates and folding stools, ready to beat a snake to death, saw Mo Fei dragging a long-haired “girl” out of the wilds and were completely bewildered.

What’s going on? You yelled about a snake, and here you are leading out a girl. Is this girl Bai Suzhen or something?

Mo Fei, seeing the crowd, felt the safety in numbers and stopped, about to speak—when the “girl” beside him suddenly went limp and fainted.

He instinctively caught hold, and the feel of muscle under his hands immediately told him something was off.

He looked again. Adam’s apple.

A man.

A devilishly handsome man.

Mo Fei’s mind crashed again.

The staff with their makeshift weapons, seeing Mo Fei freeze, urged him, “Mr. Mo, what’s going on?”

Mo Fei opened his mouth, realizing he didn’t really know either. The only person who did had already fainted.

All he could do was recount what he’d seen: “Just now, someone tried to hack him with an axe. I ran into it.”

And you, you little troublemaker, just screamed about snakes for help, huh?

The staff’s expressions shifted.

It wasn’t the wrong thing to do—prioritizing an effective SOS—but still, they felt a bit annoyed.

If it weren’t for the circumstances, those crates and stools might have landed on Mo Fei’s head.

Mo Fei felt a chill down his spine, uneasy.

But just standing there wasn’t an option. He hefted the unconscious stranger in his arms and offered a suggestion: “Shouldn’t we call the police?”

“Again with the police?!” Director Wang was beginning to think this production was cursed.

First day of shooting, and they called the police. Now, at a new location, here they were, calling again.

Looking at the person passed out on the camp bed, he pinched his nose and gave in. “Fine, call.”

At least bumping into an attempted murderer was better than discovering a corpse.

Mo Fei nodded and efficiently dialed Officer Xiao Xu.

Officer Xiao Xu was already used to these calls, promised to come as soon as possible.

After hanging up, Mo Fei called for an ambulance—there was still an injured person, after all.

While they waited, Mo Fei got up and headed back toward the wasteland.

Director Wang called out, alarmed, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to check things out,” Mo Fei said, gesturing at the wasteland.

He’d saved someone, but the source of that metallic scent still hadn’t been found. His curiosity gnawed at him.

“That madman with the axe is still out there—do you have a death wish?” Director Wang felt his brain about to explode.

Everyone else was sticking together, too terrified to even go to the bathroom, for fear of running into Mo Fei’s axe-wielding maniac. And here was Mo Fei, bold as brass, heading out alone.

“Don’t you know that in films, people who wander off alone never end well?” Director Wang was so exasperated, he wanted to crack open Mo Fei’s skull to see if there was anything inside.

Mo Fei just grinned. “Oh, that’s why we should go together. If we stick together, nothing can happen to us. Otherwise, why do characters always split up in movies?”

Director Wang was rendered speechless, forcing a smile. “Fine, great. Anyone want to go with him, raise your hand.”

Silence.

A breeze swept through, deepening the desolation.

Mo Fei hugged his U-lock and obediently perched on a wooden crate.

A group going out was a search party. Alone—it was another matter entirely.

He knew the difference.

This stretch of road was remote, so the police and ambulance arrived one after the other.

The police were familiar faces—Officer Xiao Xu and Officer Tang—plus two new faces Mo Fei didn’t recognize.

Officer Tang glanced at the unconscious man, waved for Officer Xiao Xu to follow the ambulance, then stood before Mo Fei for questioning. “We meet again, Mr. Mo.”

Mo Fei gave a restrained smile. “Not by choice, I assure you.”