"Didn't you speak up then?" I asked, pausing before continuing, "And how long has she been gone?"
"Not long, maybe about 20 minutes, but I don't know what 20 minutes is. Of course I couldn't speak up then, isn't this a game of hide-and-seek? If I speak, doesn't that tell them where I am? I'm not that foolish, foolish, wahahaha!"
This woman's logic was a bit off, and her intelligence seemed to have regressed to that of a young child. Xia Hou, Gao Mingqiang, and I exchanged glances and immediately stood up, heading upstairs. If the crazy woman wasn't lying, Liu Yuning and the other person were likely still upstairs.
I instructed Gao Mingqiang to stay and call for someone to take the crazy woman away, while Xia Hou and I continued upstairs, guns in hand. The crematorium on the second floor wasn't exactly cold, but a musty smell emanated from cracks, mixed with smoke that severely reduced visibility. In such conditions, a flashlight wouldn't reveal much, as it wasn't a fog light.
We had to rely on our senses to move forward, believing this would at least prevent us from bumping into walls. But we were wrong. Many times we lost our direction, hit walls, and nearly ran face-first into them. After a few bumps, we gained some experience and dared not move too quickly, lest our faces suffer. Midway down the corridor, I noticed the surroundings becoming clearer. I inadvertently spotted some footprints of athletic shoes on the ground. Looking at these tracks, I knew they weren't Liu Yuning's, as she disliked wearing Anta sports shoes. Judging by the outline, they seemed to be a pair of size 38 shoes. The crazy woman was right; these likely belonged to a woman.
We pushed open the doors of several nearby morgues but found no one. The second floor didn't even have metal cots; it was empty. All we could see were rows of refrigerators piled against the wall in the distance. I tried to open a few, but they were all empty. I was about to turn away when Xia Hou suddenly noticed something, focusing on the area in front of a particular refrigerator.
I quickly went to his side. "What is it, Xia Hou?"
"Look, there seem to be some markings here."
"Markings?" Following Xia Hou's lead, I noticed some red symbols near the refrigerator's handles. They weren't like the North Star, and they seemed to have no discernible pattern, arranged in rows like singing figures.
"Could these be random doodles from former employees?" I guessed.
"I thought so at first, but Team Leader He, don't you notice that these humanoid figures seem to represent something? This one in the middle, doesn't it resemble the English letter 'k'?"
Prompted by Xia Hou, I indeed noticed that the posture of the humanoid symbol was very much like the letter 'k'. However, the other symbols seemed meaningless, so I shook my head and said, "One symbol resembling something doesn't prove anything. It could just be a coincidence."
Xia Hou remained undeterred. He seemed determined to find some clues for me, his expression full of conviction. He turned resolutely and continued to search in other morgues.
I followed him into a morgue opposite. This time, it was my turn to find some symbols on a refrigerator. Again, they were singing figures, seemingly assembled with toothpicks and crudely displayed on the refrigerator.
Before Xia Hou could even speak, I noticed that the figures closest to the left seemed to resemble the letter 'e'. Although Xia Hou said nothing, I could tell from his expression that he had also made the connection.
" 'k' and 'e' can combine to form different words, for example, 'keep', 'kale', 'kite', and also 'karate', among others. But in the current context, I think 'keep' is the most likely. What do you think?" I asked Xia Hou.
"Exactly. But my English isn't very good. What do those words you just mentioned mean?"
"Uh, I'll explain them to you later. If it's 'keep', it means to not need, or to not want!"
As I spoke, I left that morgue and checked a few more nearby, but found nothing else. Xia Hou immediately suggested we continue upstairs to the third floor of the crematorium. On the third floor, I found offices, a lounge, and staff workrooms everywhere. There were no morgues.
We focused our attention on a crematorium director's office. While inspecting a desk, I found more humanoid symbols outside a drawer. This time, I recognized the letters 'i' and 't'. Combining this with our previous findings, it should be "keep it!!"
I immediately thought of this phrase, meaning "stop looking," implying that what I was looking for was right here!
I immediately opened the drawer and found a yellowed letter. Upon opening it, I was astonished to discover that it was written to me.
"Detective He, I knew you would find your way here, for in this world, there is the Eye of Heaven! Haha! That's right. Liu Yuning is in my hands now, along with Zhao Xiaoxin. If you want to find them, leave the crematorium. They are not here. I will also tell you something: they are both sealed in a confined space filled with carbon monoxide. If you don't find them within an hour, they will die! Find them yourself! There are no hints this time, but you can cooperate with others!"
I crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it on the ground. "You scoundrel! If anything happens to Liu Yuning and Zhao Xiaoxin, I will not let you go! Never!"
Xia Hou had also seen the contents of the letter and angrily said, "This guy is quick, but are the people really not in the crematorium? Maybe he's just saying that intentionally?"
Xia Hou's words made me even more reluctant to abandon the investigation of the crematorium. However, many years later, I would realize this was a mistake.
We searched the crematorium thoroughly, wasting an unknown amount of time. It wasn't until we heard the sirens of police cars approaching that I realized Liu Yuning and the others weren't there!
As we went downstairs, I checked the time. Less than 30 minutes remained. Xia Hou and I were extremely anxious. Gao Mingqiang, confused, tried to ask something, but Xia Hou stopped him. At that moment, if anyone had bothered me, I might have lost control and started swearing.
I ignored Xia Hou, the others, and the police, and ran out of the crematorium aimlessly. Where could they be? Less than 30 minutes left, what should I do? Would they die and I still wouldn't find them? If this continued, their bodies would probably start to smell, and I would still know nothing!
I never expected to be so utterly defeated this time, being toyed with by a criminal. No wonder she called me incompetent. Of course, I wouldn't give up. In fact, I had already seen through something, and now I could only take a gamble. I notified He Xin, who quickly understood my intention and made a phone call.
Soon, she told me, "I know the location. It's in the warehouse behind the Tailong Gas Plant in Guangming City!"