Chapter Thirty-Four: The Fierce Old Lady

It seemed... to match up?

"Which apartment do they live in?" Director Zhang asked again.

With the questions getting so detailed, the landlord was starting to grow wary.

"What do you want? What are you up to?"

"We had a piece of equipment left in the stairwell, and they took it, but we don’t know which apartment they’re in."

"Oh, I see. They’re right across from your group’s place." The landlord replied, then added, "Do you want me to let them know?"

"No, no need," Director Zhang replied with relief. "We’re already downstairs. We’ll talk to them ourselves."

After hanging up, Director Zhang heaved himself to his feet, his hand on his stomach, a rush of adrenaline coursing through him.

"Top floor, the apartment on the left!"

...

Naturally, Lin Ze did not follow them into the building but instead slipped away to another spot.

Director Zhang’s message reached Lin Ze’s phone.

"Don’t do anything rash. We’ve already called the police—they’ll be here soon."

After a moment’s thought, Lin Ze noticed some elderly women in floral dresses on the first floor in the distance. Taking advantage of a quiet moment, he discreetly snatched one of the dresses and ducked into a nearby stairwell.

...

"Did you get the sleeping pills?"

Inside, a woman came forward.

"No, the pharmacist said you need a doctor’s prescription for those, so I could only get a bottle of melatonin."

The man pulled the bottle from his pocket, slipped off his shoes, and shuffled into the apartment in his slippers.

On the bed, they had fashioned a crib-sized space out of blankets and towels. The baby he’d held earlier was lying there, still fast asleep but with a sickly pallor.

Beside the crib, the bottle still contained half its milk, but its thickness and color suggested it was far too concentrated.

"Alright, just give him a little more medicine tonight, and we can make our move tomorrow."

"Yes, once we sell him off in Taixian, and keep him for another two or three years, no one will ever find him," the woman said, grinning as she took the melatonin.

"I hear this stuff doesn’t have any side effects. I haven’t slept well these last few nights—once the kid’s gone, I’ll take one myself and get a good night’s rest."

As she spoke, heavy footsteps and labored breathing echoed from the stairwell.

"Oh, my knees..." came the groaning voice of an elderly woman.

The old lady paused to catch her breath outside their door.

...

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The loud knocking startled the man inside.

"Open up, open up!"

The woman peered through the peephole and saw only an old woman in the hallway, dressed in a long, floral dress and wearing a wide sunhat.

"Who are you?" the woman asked, her voice low.

"Community Services!" the old woman snapped, "Open the door!"

The woman glanced back at the man, who nodded silently—though his hand slid into his pocket and emerged with a spring-loaded knife, which he snapped open and concealed under the blankets.

She cracked the door and greeted the visitor with a smile. "Can I help you?"

Lin Ze answered impatiently, "You should know exactly why I’m here."

The woman was momentarily stunned, but realization dawned quickly. "Oh, you want our IDs, right? Didn’t I say before? We just came from the countryside and forgot them..."

"How long has it been?" Lin Ze pressed. "You know you can’t rent without proper identification, don’t you?"

"Yes, yes..." The woman stood her ground at the door, blocking the entrance so Lin Ze couldn’t see inside.

"If you know the rules, why haven’t you brought out your IDs?"

"Well..."

Seeing her hesitation, Lin Ze’s expression grew suspicious. "Why are you still blocking the entrance? What are you hiding in there? No IDs—could it be there’s someone else inside?"

He stepped down a stair, hand on the rail, ready to flee if needed.

"You’re not running some scam operation, are you?"

"No! Absolutely not!" the woman denied frantically.

"Auntie, if you’re concerned, why don’t you come in and take a look?" the man suddenly spoke up from inside.

He pulled the woman behind him and opened the door wider.

Lin Ze craned his neck to peer inside. "No need. Just bring your IDs as soon as possible."

"It’s really fine!" the man said, stepping aside. "Come in, see for yourself."

"I... I’d rather not..."

Stammering, Lin Ze staggered down a few more steps.

This made the man anxious; he stepped quickly out the door.

At that moment, Lin Ze, still in disguise, hobbled down the stairs like an old woman—the steps hurried but not exactly swift.

...

Seeing Lin Ze fleeing, the man drew his spring-loaded knife.

"What are you doing?" the woman shrieked.

"Quiet! We need to get rid of her!" He shoved the woman aside. "If she thinks we’re running a scam and calls the police, we’re finished!"

His strides were much longer than Lin Ze’s; as Lin Ze was only one floor down, the man leapt after him, covering four or five steps at a time.

He closed in behind, and with a fierce resolve, drove the knife toward Lin Ze’s back.

But just at that moment, he caught sight of something odd below the hem of Lin Ze’s floral dress—calves, muscular and hairy.

What?

That moment’s distraction was all Lin Ze needed. He caught the man’s knife hand, yanked him down, and since the man was wearing slippers, he lost his balance and stumbled. Lin Ze pushed past him and, seizing the opportunity, kicked him squarely in the backside.

The man tumbled headlong down the stairs.

"Ah!"

Hearing his scream, the woman rushed out, only to see the "community old lady" standing halfway up the stairs, while her man lay sprawled below.

She froze in shock, and in that instant, the old woman’s wrinkled face twisted as she bounded up two or three steps at once, shoving the woman aside.

The woman turned deathly pale and shrieked hysterically.

But Lin Ze had no time for her. He darted up to the top floor, slipped into their apartment, slammed the door shut, and locked it from the inside.

He hurried into the bedroom and saw the empty packaging of sleeping pills and the overly concentrated milk.

A sigh of relief.

It seemed his guess was right.

Yet, the moment the man had charged with the knife, Lin Ze knew these two were up to no good.

...

Downstairs, a police car had pulled up without sirens—two officers stepped out.

As soon as they got out, they heard screams from the stairwell.

The two officers drew their batons and hurried up the stairs.

Halfway between the second and third floors, they saw the woman supporting the injured man. On seeing the officers, her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees.