I remember not having swapped those medicine boxes already? Why did the scale disease still spread in the end?
Could it be that Kelly sent someone else out? Or did they discover my switch long ago? And deliberately pretended not to have found out!
If it were the former, it would be better. Otherwise, I am truly worried that here, one day, I might be killed from behind by their people without even knowing it.
I dared not speak. After Kelly finished her presentation, she excitedly said to everyone, "Our plan has succeeded. Now we just watch these citizens fall into suffering. At that time, our people will strike when they are at their weakest, kill the Sin-Punishing Squad, and avenge our fallen members! Especially Lord Du Qitai!"
"Yes, Lord Blood Eye. Recently, we also received good news from Lord Crofts. They've also put the scale disease into the central hospital!"
"Ahahaha! It seems the era of chaos is about to begin! Let our Polaris start the harvest from Guangming City!"
"Harvest! Harvest! Long live Polaris!"
Those tattooed men seemed crazy, raising their submachine guns and cheering, as if they had joined a pyramid scheme.
I had no choice but to pick up my weapon and join in the cheers, for fear that Kelly might notice something.
When the meeting ended, I intended to leave, but Kelly called me from behind: "Tiandao, you stay!"
Being called out, I quickly turned around. I still wasn't quite used to this new name, but there was no other way. Since I had to go undercover, these things were unavoidable.
"What is it, Lord?"
"I want to ask you something."
I cautiously walked up to her, praying silently. Kelly, however, asked in a relaxed tone, "At that time, you were sure you threw the medicine box into the sea, right?"
"Yes, why? I did as you instructed, Lord!"
"That's good. I heard there weren't many infected there. I don't know if our medicine had a problem. I've been researching it again these past few days! Some more women will have to be sacrificed!"
"Can't it be done without sacrifice?" I never imagined that my actions would implicate others.
"Of course not. I am very strict with this kind of research. Did you forget? I am a scientist."
I didn't answer. My heart was filled with despair. That night, when I heard the screams of women being taken away, I felt like throwing myself against a wall. It was all my fault for harming you!
But I knew that the more tormenting it was, the more I had to persevere, remain low-key, and be rational. I knew I had to emulate the revolutionaries of the past, to hold on no matter what difficulties or oppression I faced.
Otherwise, all our efforts would be in vain.
It was another morning. Kelly seemed to have assigned me another task, asking me to find her. Today, she was dressed formally in a white lab coat, as if about to conduct some research. Seeing me, she said, "Tiandao, I heard you did some chemical research before. Can you help now?"
"Well, I'm not very professional, just playing around. It's not really worth mentioning."
"I'm asking you to help, so just help! Stop with the nonsense! Here, take this flask. Sodium chloride, you rascal!"
Well, I probably couldn't refuse even if I wanted to, so why ask me? However, my rank was lower than hers in the organization, and I couldn't defy her orders at this moment. Taking the flask, I began to busy myself at the workbench. This place was a laboratory in the factory, probably where Kelly was busy with her scale disease work.
While I was fiddling with my things, I casually observed the general environment of the laboratory. There were countless reagent tubes, many machines making strange noises connected together, and it was all sealed, an absolutely sterile space. Circular surgical lights shone overhead. Many iron beds lay occupied by dismembered female corpses.
At this moment, I had an idea: tamper with these chemicals so that when Kelly touched them, they would explode, and I could take her out directly. But it wasn't time yet. If I took out their leader, I would likely be discovered very quickly, and then the tattooed men in the entire factory would surround me, and I wouldn't be able to escape.
But I could subtly do something to curb Kelly. While she wasn't paying attention, I put some liquid into her drinking cup.
I watched her drink that cup of water with excitement in my heart. Now I had a way.
After the experiment ended, I subtly moved my fingers behind my back, using some secret techniques my grandfather had taught me. Kelly indeed reacted. Her eyes widened in surprise, and then she turned around like a wooden puppet.
I injected her in the neck, and she promptly fainted.
Although impersonating her would be troublesome, for the sake of… alas, I had to cross-dress.
I immediately hid Kelly in a freezer in the laboratory. Then, I used my disguise technique to alter my face to resemble Kelly's and changed into her clothes. Of course, I skipped the underwear.
Looking in the mirror, I felt like I had transformed into another Kelly Pierce. Now was the time.
Leaving the laboratory, I encountered many tattooed men on the way. They all mistook me for Kelly and bowed respectfully.
I couldn't go back to my previous room now. Fortunately, there were at least a thousand people in the factory, so even if they didn't see me enter or leave, they wouldn't notice anything for a while.
Besides, the freezer was inside another wall. I adjusted the temperature, and even if Kelly woke up, she couldn't get out. She would only be frozen inside. As for her life or death, it didn't matter. People like her, even if they died, it would be a cause for celebration.
If I could buy enough time to resolve things here and then notify people to arrest her, that would be ideal.
Returning to Kelly's room, I closed the door and began to search through her belongings. Within a few minutes, I found quite a few blueprints for researching the scale disease, as well as some letters. When I opened her computer, I indeed found that she had been in frequent contact with Crofts recently. This guy had killed my brother, and I would never let him go.
I pretended to be Kelly and sent Crofts a message. He quickly replied: "Sis, more and more scale disease patients have appeared these days. How is your situation?"
"I just investigated the research, and there are no problems. I'd like to find some time to meet, are you free?"
"Uh? Didn't you say recently that you were all busy..."
Seemingly realizing something was wrong, I quickly typed: "The plan is stable now, let's meet. I haven't seen you since you escaped from prison!"
"Alas, isn't this a critical period? Sister, wait a little longer. When those dead cops are all swamped, I'll come out, okay?"
It seemed I couldn't pressure Crofts further now, or he would become suspicious.
I had no choice but to type: "Alright then?"
"Then sister, I'll go rest now!"
I replied with "Goodnight."
Whenever I had free time, I deliberately imitated Kelly's voice. Fortunately, my disguise technique had this function; otherwise, even if the appearance was similar, I would be exposed when I spoke.
At this moment, I deeply realized the importance of the He family's autopsy skills in criminal investigation. If I hadn't possessed these abilities, I would have died countless times during my time in the organization.
Lying in this woman's bed, I didn't know when Crofts would appear. I could only wait.
The night passed in silence. The next day, I intentionally kept sending messages to Crofts whenever I had time. For several days, he didn't reply much. But on the fifth day, he finally responded: "Sister, I've been a bit busy lately, but I can finally spare some time to see you. Let's set a time and place!"
Since he had said that, I didn't ask, "Where do you think is a suitable place to meet?" Instead, I thought for a moment and sent a voice message: "How about the central hospital!?"
That place was not far from our provincial department. Crofts didn't seem to suspect anything and quickly said, "Then I'll disguise myself as a doctor. You be careful too, don't get discovered by the police!"
"No problem!"
I was incredibly excited at the time, thinking that I finally had a chance to arrest the real Pierce.
This was the guy who had been playing with us all these years. We had lost count of how many faces he had changed.
I quickly disguised myself as a nurse. Although it looked awkward, I had already sacrificed my gender identity for this. This nurse outfit, cough, I'll make do. It's time to channel the spirit of disguise from those three characters in "Detective Chinatown 2."
Arriving at the hospital, I went straight up by elevator. Perhaps due to the recent surge in scale disease patients, I found the hospital overcrowded. After reaching the upper floor, I had to squeeze for a long time to find a spacious spot.
I sat by a public seat in the emergency room. A moment later, someone suddenly patted my shoulder. I turned around abruptly, thinking it was Crofts. But when I looked, I saw a strange male doctor: "Colleague, I haven't seen you before!"
"Me? I'm new. Just resting here. Go back to work if you're fine!"
"So you're new. Hello, my name is Xie Dafu..."
Great, someone's trying to chat me up. This male doctor probably thought I was beautiful and mistook me for a woman. If he knew that a burly man was behind this disguise, he'd probably be disgusted enough to vomit. I deliberately gave a cold laugh: "I don't want to see you. If you stay here any longer, I'll call someone! Get lost!"