Chapter 44: The Rescue Mission, Prelude

Giving thanks perfunctorily not only failed to win over the feline lord, but even drew some odd looks from two bystanders.

Nevertheless, Granny Zhang was clearly someone who’d seen much of the world. Though she found the situation a bit strange, her curiosity far outweighed her surprise.

When Ji Xingyu was studying abroad, he’d encountered people far stranger than those who talked to cats—he’d even had classmates who swore to marry a roller coaster.

Odd as it was, he chose to be respectful.

Mo Fei unfolded the paper and found it covered in a chaotic tangle of lines, with several holes punched in the middle.

He scrutinized it from every angle but simply couldn’t make sense of the thing.

Staring at one of the punctures, Mo Fei spat out three words with crisp decisiveness: “I need a translation.”

“It’s a map, idiot.”

A Slit spoke with disdain: “The places with holes are possible hiding spots. It’s so simple and you still can’t get it? Useless.”

Mo Fei looked at the map in his hand and thought that even the city’s own planners would be baffled by this contraption.

“Who drew this map? Tell me, I promise not to poison them.”

A Slit couldn’t be bothered to respond. With a flick of its tail, it turned and sauntered off to its food bowl.

“A map?” Ji Xingyu crouched beside Mo Fei, tilting his head to look at the paper.

Seeing his interest, Mo Fei simply handed it over. “Here, take a look.”

Ji Xingyu accepted the paper, frowning in contemplation for a while. “The proportions are way off, but I can more or less make it out.”

He glanced up at Mo Fei. “Do you have paper and a pen?”

Sensing a translation was within reach, Mo Fei hurried to fetch a blank sheet and pen for Ji Xingyu.

With a few swift strokes, Ji Xingyu sketched a simple but clear map.

“This is the Eastern District, and this is the Western District,” Ji Xingyu explained as he drew. “The person who drew the original probably isn’t good at mapping, so the scale is all wrong. But since you said it’s a map, I can work with it.”

In no time, Ji Xingyu produced a neat, legible map.

Placed next to the one brought back by A Slit, the difference was stark: one looked like a child’s scribble from kindergarten, the other like a professionally printed city map.

Mo Fei pointed to the holes on the original map. “Where do these punctured spots correspond to?”

Ji Xingyu glanced at it and circled a few places on his new map.

Granny Zhang also came over to watch the excitement, now sporting her reading glasses on the bridge of her nose.

Mo Fei immediately pulled out his phone and began searching.

Ji Xingyu asked curiously, “What are you looking for? Is this a treasure hunt game?”

He’d seen people play such games abroad, though it seemed rare in this country.

“I’m looking for places where a lot of people could be hidden,” Mo Fei replied without looking up. “There’s been a spate of disappearances lately, hasn’t there?”

Ji Xingyu, having been a victim himself, grew solemn. “You’re searching for where the traffickers are hiding people?”

Mo Fei nodded. “Yes.”

“Hiding people, huh.” Granny Zhang pointed to the places on Ji Xingyu’s map. “This is the chemical plant dormitory, that’s the steel warehouse, here used to be wasteland but there’s a school now, this piece was bought up by a pig farmer a few years ago, and over there is the fishpond.”

Seeing the two young men listening intently, Granny Zhang gave them a kindly smile. “If traffickers were looking to hide people, the pig farm would be their best bet.”

“That place reeks, the pigs are always noisy, and it uses up tons of feed and water every day, plus they’ve got their own generator. Ordinary folks would never find their way over there.”

Mo Fei nodded. “Then that’s our first stop!”

He grabbed his U-lock and was about to bolt out when Ji Xingyu hurriedly stopped him. “Wait—you’re going alone?”

Mo Fei waved his phone. “I’ll call for backup.”

Ji Xingyu was worried for those trafficked people and didn’t trust himself not to go overboard, so he quickly followed. “Let me drive you!”

In a flash, the room was left with only Granny Zhang and A Slit.

Granny Zhang took off her glasses and beckoned. “Come on, Little Black, Grandma will make you something delicious.”

A Slit strode gracefully at the old lady’s side, the scene radiating tranquility.

Meanwhile, Mo Fei and Ji Xingyu were rushing downstairs.

As Mo Fei texted Officer Xiao Xu, he asked Ji Xingyu, “Where’s your vehicle?”

Ji Xingyu wheeled a motorcycle out from among the community’s electric scooters, looking a bit lost. “My helmet’s gone.”

Mo Fei finished his message, glanced up, and couldn’t help twitching his lips. “Did you leave your helmet just sitting on the bike?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it’s gone for good,” Mo Fei said, utterly unsurprised. “Here, anything left unlocked is basically up for grabs.”

Ji Xingyu was baffled. “What do you mean?”

“I guess someone figured no one needed it, so they took it,” Mo Fei replied in a mocking tone, then hurried him along. “If someone over seventy took it, you’re not getting it back now—let’s go, let’s go.”

Ji Xingyu somewhat understood, but couldn’t really accept this behavior.

“But without a helmet, if we run into the traffic police, they’ll stop us and make us post on social media,” Ji Xingyu said anxiously as he swung onto the bike. “That’ll waste even more time.”

“Leave it to me, you just drive,” Mo Fei urged, growing impatient. “Saving lives is like fighting a fire.”

Ji Xingyu had never done anything so thrilling before; now, excitement was bubbling up inside him.

As the engine roared to life, the motorcycle carrying them sped down the street.

The moment the bike picked up speed, Mo Fei realized that a helmet truly wasn’t optional.

Ji Xingyu had long hair, tied up for now, but as the wind whipped through it, the strands lashed across Mo Fei’s face like wire.

It was a form of torture.

Mo Fei endured the onslaught with a stoic expression.

But they hadn’t even left the city limits before, as expected, a traffic officer flagged them down.

Ji Xingyu’s heart skipped a beat as he slowly pulled over.

As soon as the officer approached, he heard Mo Fei, behind him, begin to sob.

“Officer, officer, my father is critically ill—” Mo Fei choked out a couple of sobs before continuing, “I have to see him one last time!”

It was Ji Xingyu’s first time seeing someone lie so brazenly, eyes wide open. He couldn’t help turning around, only to get a sharp jab in the waist.

He got the message and immediately put on a mournful expression—though lacking any acting experience, his “grief” was entirely deadpan.

The officer was dumbfounded, watching as Mo Fei, a grown man, wept as if his heart were breaking. The officer’s face softened, and he took the helmet off his own head, handing it to Ji Xingyu. “You still need to be safe on the road, even in a hurry.”

He then waved over a colleague and took the colleague’s helmet to hand to Mo Fei. “Go see your father first—bring the helmets back when you return.”

Mo Fei thanked them between sobs and nudged Ji Xingyu.

Under the watchful eyes of the officers, the two donned the helmets, started the motorcycle, and sped away toward their destination.

Watching the bike disappear, the officer’s colleague couldn’t help asking, “Aren’t you worried those two youngsters were just putting on a show? There are plenty of idiots pulling stunts like that for short videos these days.”

“What if it’s a real emergency?” the officer replied, tapping the body camera on his chest. “The license plate’s on record—if they’re lying, we can summon them.”

The colleague nodded and gave him a thumbs up.