After hearing Li Ang's words, Wang Fengnian's expression subtly changed. He stood up, entered his study, and closed the door behind him.
Through the thick door, Li Ang could hear him making a few phone calls.
Once the calls were over, Wang Fengnian came out and nodded at Li Ang. "I've had my colleagues start investigating. Now that hospitals and clinics are all networked, it won't take long to narrow down the search. Xiao Li, you did really well this time. If we catch the perpetrator, we ought to present you with a banner of honor."
"Uncle, you're too kind."
Li Ang quickly stood up and said modestly, "There's no need for a banner. My home's walls are already covered in certificates:
things like 'Quiet Sleeper Good Baby Award,'
'Hand in Hand, Yin City Elementary Students' Traffic Safety Knowledge First Prize,'
'Wash Hands Before Eating and After Using the Bathroom, Self-Care Pioneer Award,'
'I Love Invention—Yin City Primary and Secondary Students' Handicraft Competition Consolation Prize,'
and '2013-2014 Experimental Middle School of Yin City Outstanding Parent Award.' Besides these, my home has many banners, like 'Exquisite Medical Skill, Gynecological Saint Hand,'
'Kind-Hearted Genius, Saved My Dog's Life, Cured My Cat's Illness,'
and 'Medical Care and Moral Artistry Double Perfection, Safe Birth of Thirteen Children.' There's simply no more space to place them or hang them."
"....."
Wang Fengnian was stunned for a while before managing to suppress the strong urge to retort and awkwardly nodded his head.
This kid is definitely not normal.
Just then, the kitchen work also finished. Jiang Xinwan and Wang Congshan brought out dish after dish onto the dining table and called the two men to eat.
The atmosphere during the meal was quite pleasant. When Li Ang acted normally, he was not only knowledgeable and well-informed, capable of discussing astronomy, geography, anecdotes, and stories of the past and present. He was also humorous and entertaining, quite good at cheering people up—a real "treasure boy" whom the older ladies liked.
If he were to work part-time as a host, he'd become the top earner of the club in minutes, and earning a million a month wouldn't be a dream.
As they chatted, Li Ang's ears, enhanced by auditory modification, clearly picked up the CLICK-CLACK of high heels in the corridor, along with the sound of unlocking and the door opening, followed by an odd-sounding dog bark inside the room.
A moment later, the door opened again, and the woman exited the room in her high heels, took the elevator, and left the building.
Could she be coming back home to get something?
Li Ang took a sip of Coke and casually asked, "By the way Auntie, did someone new move into the apartment across the hall? It looks like the lock has been changed."
When this subject came up, Jiang Xinwan couldn't help but sigh. "After that incident happened, Fang Ni's daughter came back from abroad to deal with her parents' affairs. She stays overseas most of the time and didn't want to keep the apartment, so she sold it at a low price to a former high school classmate. It seems... the new owner is a Miss Tang, a young girl? I've heard from neighbors that she's a model and lives there with her best friend."
As if remembering something, she stood up from her chair, went to a shelf on the openwork partition, and took down two notes stuck together with colorful transparent tape.
The writing on the notes had a fresh and delicate beauty to them.
"Hello! I'm the new owner of Apartment 2084, who just moved in this Saturday. Our dog might still be adjusting to the new place as he's been barking non-stop lately, especially at night.
"Because my roommate and I often work night shifts and aren't home, this little guy barks even more fiercely than during the day, which has no doubt caused you quite a bit of trouble.
"We were afraid that coming over to apologize in person might impose on you even more, so we decided to express our apologies this way. We will help him adapt to the new environment as quickly as possible, and we apologize again for any inconvenience this period may have caused you."
The second note also had some content on it.
"Hello, my name is Mao Mao, and I am one year old.
"I used to be a stray dog. I lost my family when I was very young and also lost an eye in an accident. I feel extremely lucky to have met my current owner.
"I'm just getting used to the new place and hope you can understand. I will adapt to the new environment as soon as possible.
Mao Mao, the troublemaker, respectfully."
Leaning her hand against her head, Jiang Xinwan spoke with some emotion, "She's a very gentle girl, young and pretty, and also very polite, refined and well-mannered..."
"Yes."
Li Ang smiled and nodded, but he was somewhat concerned at heart.
The dog barking just now... wasn't quite right.
Li Ang silently made up his mind, intending to thoroughly scout out this new neighbor who lived across from Wang Congshan's home tonight.
RING RING—
Wang Fengnian's cell phone rang. He gave his wife an apologetic nod before getting up and going to the study to take the call.
"Hello?"
"You've found the information of the suspect who registered at the hospital?"
"He's in Dongfan Street Wan-Rong Community? Have people been sent to catch him? What do the colleagues at the scene say?"
"Dead?! How did he die?"
"Complete dehydration, organ failure, time of death at least seven days ago... This is impossible. The incident occurred two days ago, and didn't the suspect go to the hospital to have his wounds stitched that afternoon?"
"That kind of thing again...."
"Alright, you go inform those people. I'll be right over."
After a while, Wang Fengnian walked out with a sullen face and, without saying a word, took his uniform hanging on the coat rack.
Seeing her husband like this, Jiang Xinwan's eyebrows creased, and she spoke with worry, "Work again?"
"Hmm, the situation is quite special."
Wang Fengnian looked at Li Ang, hesitated, but still said nothing. He merely told his wife he might be back very late that night and then went straight out the door.
After he was gone, the atmosphere in the living room went silent again. It happened that the meal was almost finished, so Li Ang volunteered to go to the kitchen with Wang Congshan to clean up the dishes and chopsticks.
After they finished cleaning up, he said goodbye to Wang Congshan and her daughter and stepped into the corridor.
Li Ang pretended to bend over to tie his shoelaces, blocking the surveillance camera, allowing Miss Chai to leave his body and seep into the ground, making her way to the neighbor's apartment across the hall to check the situation inside.
WOOF WOOF WOOF. The strange barking noise rose again, sounding full of alertness and watchfulness.
After a few moments, Miss Chai, who had swum through the concrete floor, returned to Li Ang's body once again.
While pressing the elevator button, Li Ang murmured in his mind, Is there anything special in the house?
"..."
Miss Chai's face had a curious expression. She took a deep breath. "In the corner of the living room, there's a dog cage. Inside, lies a one-eyed middle-aged man wearing a dog skin."
DING DONG.
The elevator door opened, revealing a stunning young woman in a pale green dress, wearing sunglasses, wearing lipstick, and carrying a large plastic bag.
With a warm smile like a spring breeze on her face, she walked out of the elevator. She brushed past Li Ang, carrying a fresh and elegant scent of perfume, and headed straight to room 2084. After opening the door, she said to the man wearing the dog skin in the living room's corner, "Mao Mao, look, Mommy bought you a bag of your favorite dog food."
Li Ang's eyes turned cold in an instant, and at the same time, the System's notification sounded in his ears.
[Mission Trigger Condition Has Been Met]
[Mission Type: Standard Mission (Team Cooperation)]
[Mission Name: Grind Teeth and Suck Blood]
[First Stage Task Goal: Go to Dongfan Street Wan-Rong Community of Yin City, and Ascertain the Cause of Xia Junqiang's Death]
[Mission Time Limit: 2 Hours]
[Mission Reward 1: 100 Experience Points]
[Mission Reward 2: 100 Game Coins]
[Mission Failure Penalty: None]
[Accept/Decline]