Chapter 30: Simulated Case

“At last, we’re here!”
Chu Ning stood at the entrance of Honghai Community, stretching his weary limbs as he waited for Tanya to compose herself.
There’s always a pang of apprehension when returning to your hometown, all the more so when it’s the place where your life ended. Tanya struggled to keep her emotions in check; her feelings about this place were tangled and complex.
If it weren’t absolutely necessary, she would have preferred never to set foot here again. Even the happy memories lingering here had been swept away by the negativity of her final moments.
“Let’s reenact the events of that day,” Tanya said, wiping a raindrop from the corner of her eye with her forefinger, her voice choked with tears.
Chu Ning thought this was a valuable suggestion. Today’s weather matched exactly the day of the incident—it was raining. He turned his head slightly, gazing thoughtfully at the distant supermarket. “Alright, I’ll play the part of the perpetrator stalking you.”
“I’ll pick a concealed spot to hide in, and you just replay everything as it happened that day.”
With that, Chu Ning glanced around, searching for somewhere to take cover, and soon disappeared from Tanya’s sight.
Tanya puffed out her cheeks, exhaling as if to drive away all ill fortune. She covered her eyes with her hand so she wouldn’t know where Chu Ning had gone, or she’d be unable to resist looking in that direction.
After waiting long enough, Tanya began to move.
“Achoo!”
Chu Ning rubbed his nose, shrinking into himself as he watched Tanya, who was slow to act. He grumbled inwardly that even in a game of hide-and-seek, the counting would have finished by now—why was she still standing in the rain?
He’d only ever simulated this kind of thrilling tailing on a computer; in real life, it was his first time, and an odd excitement flickered inside him.
Chu Ning silently poked his head out, eyes fixed on Tanya as she started to move. To avoid being spotted, he kept ducking back behind the wall.
Far away, on a rooftop, a furtive figure crouched beneath a parasol, observing Chu Ning through binoculars.
“Target has not moved for now. Over.”
“All clear here too. Remember to keep hidden—stop standing under the parasol like an idiot, you’re too conspicuous!”
“Relax, I’m just being a decoy, drawing the attention away. Don’t worry about me!”

“Heh, I think you just don’t want to get wet, you jerk!”
The comms channel fell into a long silence.
Chu Ning sat idly on a stack of bricks, waiting for his female friend to finish shopping—a truly torturous experience. How long had Tanya been in that supermarket? She seemed to have vanished inside.
He felt as if he’d been waiting an eternity.
Still, Chu Ning had learned something: the killer must have had remarkable patience, lying in wait for the prey to fall into the trap. If it were him, the gravel-filled drainage ditch would be the sum of his patience.
“At last, she’s coming out!”
Chu Ning clamped his hand over his mouth, scanning the area to ensure no one was watching him before relaxing again. He reminded himself not to talk out loud—too risky.
He mentally hypnotized himself: I am an emotionless killer, with a passion for civil engineering—no, damn it!
He forced his wandering thoughts back into focus, eyes trained on Tanya emerging from the supermarket, scanning for his next hiding place.
As an experienced gamer, even after finishing the game, he’d played through it a few more times—this game of camaraderie and suspense.
So he was fairly confident in choosing his cover.
“Why isn’t she carrying anything? That’s not very convincing.”
Chu Ning, hoping for a delicious hotpot dinner, followed Tanya in frustration. All he wanted was a meal—why was it proving so hard?
He remembered clearly that Tanya loved eating hotpot on rainy days—surely she wouldn’t abandon that just for work!
The tailing went smoothly. The darkness concealed many of Chu Ning’s clumsy movements. He crept after Tanya, muffling his footsteps, careful not to let her spot him.
On the way home, Tanya glanced warily over her shoulder, frowning. Something felt off—where was Chu Ning hiding? She still hadn’t caught a glimpse of him.
By rights, she shouldn’t break character during this murder reenactment. But in her heart, she wanted to call out for Chu Ning, to have him appear before her. She no longer wanted to play this game.
A sudden, inexplicable anxiety gnawed at Tanya. She stood there for a moment, then gripped her shopping bag tightly and continued homeward.

In the end, she did not break the agreement they’d made beforehand.
Everything would soon be over; her home was close by. Once she arrived, they could enjoy a delicious hotpot together. She squinted happily, shrugging her shoulders.
The food in her hand had been won after much effort; hard-won things always feel more precious.
“No need to take it so seriously! So devoutly embracing the rain—you haven’t changed at all.”
Chu Ning stood in the open with Tanya, both drenched in the downpour, and couldn’t help but marvel at this peculiar habit of hers.
“Ah!”
He maintained his silence, following close behind without a sound. He realized his tailing skills were improving; he could now avoid Tanya’s frequent, suspicious glances.
Chu Ning watched as Tanya stopped before the entrance to a building, fiddling for a while. With a click, the security door opened and she slipped inside, vanishing from view.
“Hey, you can’t be serious!”
He hurried to the door, tried the handle, but found it had already locked itself. By the dim light, Chu Ning noticed a sticky substance smeared over the number pad.
“How considerate—leaving so many clues to help me open the door!” Chu Ning studied the locks for a while but found no hidden secrets.
Not wanting to lose sight of his target, he tried pressing the sticky numbers, hoping to unlock the electronic door and get inside.
But things got awkward: even knowing which numbers to use, a six-digit code would still take time to guess, unless luck was on his side.
Clearly, luck was not with Chu Ning. He gave up his futile attempts—the damn iron door would not open.
Worse still, the more combinations he entered, the more he muddled up the sequences he’d already tried.