It was still dark, and the fog was still pressing down on the street.
Lu Chen went out first, and Su Wan followed closely, walking along the wall.
The spot where they were yesterday was a hardware store with half a door closed.
There were no footprints on the ground, only a fresh scratch on the threshold – someone had sat down and knocked their knees together.
Further ahead, a thin layer of dust was floating on the wall.
Lu Chen crouched down and used the back of his finger to smear a line in the dust.
Under the dust was an engraved mark.
The lines were thick and deep, clearly carved out one by one with a knife tip.
It looked like a wolf’s head, with its ears sticking out and its mouth wide open.
“There was none yesterday.” Su Wan also crouched down, her voice low.
“It was left at night.”
About ten meters ahead, two dark red marks trailed on the asphalt road, intermittent and heading east.
Whether it was a person or something else, it couldn’t be determined.
Beside the marks, a piece of wasteland had a parked van, all four doors wide open, with the tires still standing – the fuel tank cover was sticking out, with no oil left.
“They didn’t run out of fuel.” Lu Chen said. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“They lacked time.” Su Wan chimed in.
Following the trail a few more streets, there was a temporary camp surrounded by crates and wire fences.
The wire had been cut from the inside, leaving a large opening, and it was easy to enter and exit.
The camp was empty.
Several blackened iron pots were overturned on the ground, the bottom still warm.
The bedding rolls were pulled away, and even the old cotton quilts had been torn away.
Plastic buckets, water jugs, clothes hanging on ropes – nothing was left.
It was moved too cleanly, too neatly like a clearance rather than an evacuation.
On the wall, it was still the same wolf head, larger and deeper engraved, as if deliberately left for someone to see.
Su Wan stood in the middle of the empty space, slowly looking around.
Here, there had been people living yesterday.
Perhaps a dozen.
“Nobody.” She said.
“Not a single one.”
Lu Chen didn’t reply. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
He noticed something shiny reflecting in the corner of the wall, beneath the overturned debris.
He walked over and pushed aside the broken wood planks.
It was a police badge, half-buried in the mud, stepped on and with its corners crushed.
He didn’t pick it up.
He just stepped aside.
Su Wan came over.
Her movements were steady as she bent down.
When she picked it up, her fingertips were very gentle.
She wiped the mud off with her sleeve and turned over the back –
Her hand trembled violently.
On the back of the badge was a name.
She knew it too well.
It was her teammate who had gone missing six months ago.