Chapter 648 - Smile
Chapter 648: Smile
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhang Heng realized that he might have to go to the river again.
His previous investigation was interrupted by the college student, not to mention how Zhang Heng found nothing valuable at the scene as well. Perhaps then, a second visit might yield some gains.
At the same time, he had no intention to stop looking for the student. Until now, Zhang Heng had no idea if the college student was alive or dead. If he were still alive, he could not just sit there and do nothing.
Zhang Heng wanted to know the truth, or save him if he could.
Although the creatures had modified the surveillance clips, there were still surveillance cameras everywhere. In this modern society, the government had installed surveillance cameras almost everywhere in the city. After coming out from the garage, the street outside was filled with shop lots, and many of them had their own surveillance camera. There were also vehicles parked by the roadside overnight. Their dashcams might have captured something important.
Going through the footage one by one, however, would take a lot of effort. And Zhang Heng couldn't threaten the shop owners like he threatened the young guard. Hence, he could only look for the brand of the cameras in their shops, pretend to be the manufacturer, and contact them for a free quality inspection.
Upon thinking about that, Zhang Heng started to miss Fan Meinan. Although he had Lv.2 makeup skills, it turned out that Fan Meinan was still better at it. She was Loki's agent anyway. With a professional liar like her on his team, it would life a lot easier.
That said, Fan Meinan should be fighting in her own proxy-war quest right now, so Zhang Heng could only leave the thought behind.
Considering the current situation, it was necessary to learn from those things, and caution needed to be taken with every step.
Zhang Heng did not head home immediately after watching the surveillance clips; instead, heading to Qin Zhen's house first. Both friends since childhood, Zhang Heng's grandfather and Qin Zhen's parents were well acquainted with each other. To ensure that no one would suspect him, Zhang Heng decided to put on a full show, going to Qin Zhen's house to play video games for an hour.
The two were playing NBA 2K16 in Qin Zhen's room. One controlled the Warriors, while the other the Cavaliers. "I have something else to do on Sunday. I don't think I can come and find you," said Zhang Heng as he scored a three-pointer with Curry.
"Huh? What do you plan to do this time? Please don't tell me you need to buy soy sauce for your grandpa again. Not going to use the same excuse twice, arent you?" Qin Zhen asked after he used Owen to shoot a three-pointer.
"No, but I have an appointment with a classmate." This time, Zhang Heng tried to shoot with Thompson but failed.
"Boy or girl?" inquired Qin Zhen as he controlled another Thompson to catch the rebounding basketball from the backboard.
"Why does gender matter so much?"
"Otherwise, what should I pay attention to? Should I ask which supermarket you'll visit or what brand of soy sauce you consume?" Qin Zhen asked. "As a friend, of course, I have to pay attention to your personal life... and you'd better be dating a girl. Otherwise, it would be weird when yous start missing our appointments for another man."
"...I'm just going to borrow her workbook and copy her answers." Leveraging a distracted Qin Zhen, Zhang Heng stole the ball from him and pulled the Warrior's signature move—defensive counterattack.
"So your date is really a girl?" Qin Zhen seemed uninterested in playing the game. He continued to serve slowly from the backcourt.
"Yes, she is my tablemate."
"Yes. It's always better to go after someone close to you. Where are you two planning to meet? KTV, movie theater, or milk tea shop?"
"Wanda Shopping Mall."
"Oh, awesome! You are getting better at this. Attacking and defending simultaneously," Qin Zhen praised Zhang Heng and gave him a thumbs up.
"..."
Zhang Heng was speechless. He glanced at the time on the wall clock and realized he had stayed here for almost an hour. After finishing the last half of the game, he returned the controller to Qin Zhen. "You win. It's time for me to go home now."
"Hold on. Aren't we supposed to play seven rounds? The conditions are for one of us to win at least four rounds. We've just played two," Qin Zhen grumbled. "Isn't it Friday today? There will be no class tomorrow. Why are you rushing to go back?"
"I am not like you. I still have a lot of things to do." Zhang Heng got up and said.
"I can help you," Qin Zhen also put down the controller, opened a bag of sausages, and tossed two sausages to Zhang Heng. "I will help you to court your tablemate if you play longer with me."
Zhang Heng hesitated as he took the sausages. He was not thinking about wooing Bai Qing, but he considered asking Qin Zhen to help him with the main quest. Since he could not rely on Fan Meinan, he had to start looking for someone else to help him with the dungeon.
After all, collecting surveillance clips and watching all of them would require a lot of time. If there were another pair of eyes, the task would be more efficient, saving more time at the end of the day.
Zhang Heng thought for a while and suddenly asked, "On Christmas in the fifth grade of elementary school, you asked me to send a greeting card to a girl that you liked. What is her name again?"
"Sun Jia." A strange look appeared on Qin Zhen's face, "Why mention it?"
"It's nothing. It would help if you practiced your calligraphy when you have the time. If you reencounter a similar thing, you might slightly increase your rate of success," Zhang Heng said.
"..."
In the end, Zhang Heng gave up asking him for help. The fake college student he met in the afternoon didn't recall the one yuan he owed, and through that, Zhang Heng knew that those creatures could not inherit the memories of its host. However, Zhang Heng did not know when they infiltrated human society and how long had they stayed in it.
As for now, Zhang Heng had no way to figure out the answer. Even if Qin Zhen could name the girl he once liked, nobody could tell if this Qin Zhen was the real one. Hence, to be safe, it was better that he acted alone.
Soon, Zhang Heng exited Qin Zhen's house and was about to go home. When he walked to the second floor, however, he found the voice-activated light to be broken. After stomping his foot twice and receiving no response, he ignored it and walked down a few more steps. Suddenly, he saw a figure standing quietly in the dark downstairs.
Zhang Heng stopped and stared at the figure without saying anything.
The shadow was also looking at him, its intentions unknown. After a while, the dark shadow grinned, "What a coincidence."
"Yes." Zhang Heng said, "What are you doing here?"
Even though the person's face was hidden in the darkness, Zhang Heng could still recognize the shadow's height and size.
It was the fake college student.
He then raised the stainless steel basin in his hand and said, "I'm helping my mother deliver some jelly she made to Aunt Wang. How about you?"
"I'm here to visit a friend," Zhang Heng replied. "Looks like you've been standing here for a while."
"Hmm. The lights here are broken."
"It was fine when I came here just now."
"Maybe it's just bad luck."
"Your luck is indeed bad," said Zhang Heng.
When he heard those words, the college student suddenly put on a smile. The smile slowly spread from the corner of his mouth, like a ripple—the muscles of his face seemed to be pulled back by an unnatural force. It was obviously a laughing expression. However, the laugh made no sound—like a puppet with a grin—he acted in an extremely bizarre way.