bookcurios Chapter 531 The Light of Street Lamps
Chapter 531 The Light of Street Lamps
His mind reeled from the events of last night and his colleague's words. Who were those people? What was their purpose? These questions, like a tangled mess, gave him a headache.
"Time waits for no one," Su Ming muttered to himself, his voice almost inaudible. His fingers tapped lightly on the table, the rhythm irregular, yet revealing a hint of anxiety. The man's skills last night were clearly trained, and the whistle seemed more like a signal. This sense of organization made him realize that this opponent was no ordinary person.
He suddenly stood up and began pacing back and forth in the warehouse. Although he tried to calm himself, the suppressed emotions in his chest were like a volcano ready to erupt at any time. He knew that he couldn't just sit here and wait for death; he had to take action.
"Too few clues." Su Ming frowned, recalling the details of last night. The man's clothing bore no obvious markings, and his movements were quick but left few traces. The only noteworthy thing was the hurried and slightly dragging footsteps of the man as he retreated.
"Footsteps..." Su Ming's mind flashed with inspiration. He had heard Zheng Yaoxian mention before that a person's footsteps could reveal a lot of information, such as their physical and mental state, and might even reveal signs of injury.
"If he was injured, there would be traces left." Su Ming's eyes sharpened. He decided to go back to the alley and yard where he had been last night and survey them carefully, perhaps finding some clues he had overlooked.
He quickly sorted out his equipment, put the dagger on his waist, and stuffed a small bottle of hemostatic medicine and a piece of cloth into his pocket. Although these things seemed insignificant, they could save lives in an emergency.
It was just dawn, and the streets were still sparsely populated. A damp chill hung in the air. Su Ming walked down the alley, his steps light and his eyes scanning his surroundings warily. He took each step firmly, trying not to make any unnecessary noise.
The alley from last night seemed even quieter now, with only a few stray cats rummaging through the garbage heap for food. Su Ming crouched down, his gaze fixed on the ground, carefully searching for any traces. His fingers traced the dust and touched a slightly sunken footprint.
"This was left last night," Su Ming was certain. The shape of the footprints was clearly visible, with the toes pointed slightly outward, indicating that the person who left them had retreated quickly and with uneven force.
He continued walking down the alley, his gaze fixed on the ground. Not far away, his eyes were drawn to a smear of dark red. Su Ming squatted down and examined it carefully, discovering it was a drop of dried blood.
"Injured, indeed." Su Ming's lips curled up slightly, revealing a hint of a sneer. His intuition was correct; the man must have been injured during his retreat, and this drop of blood was undoubtedly an important clue.
He continued to follow the blood trail and found that the intervals between the blood drops gradually widened, indicating that the person was moving more and more hurriedly when leaving. The blood trail finally disappeared at the end of the alley, which was the abandoned yard last night.
Su Ming pushed open the courtyard door. The air was still thick with the stench of decay. He scanned the courtyard and spotted a few crumpled pieces of paper on the ground. He picked one up and saw some faint writing on it, like some kind of notice or instruction.
"What's this?" Su Ming turned the scraps of paper over and over. Although the writing was illegible, he could make out a line of numbers and a few incomplete words. His brow furrowed tightly, his intuition telling him that these scraps of paper might be related to the stalker from last night.
Just then, a slight noise came from the other end of the courtyard. Su Ming whipped his head around, his gaze sharp as a knife. His hand had already reached for the dagger at his waist, and he crouched slightly, ready to strike at any moment.
"Who is it?" Su Ming asked in a low voice, his voice was low but carried a sense of deterrence.
No one answered, and the courtyard remained silent. But Su Ming knew the noise was no illusion. He held his breath and slowly approached the source of the sound, his footsteps so light they were almost inaudible.
As he approached, he found a mess of wooden planks and discarded furniture, seemingly no one hiding. But Su Ming did not let his guard down. He used his dagger to push aside the wooden planks and discovered a small secret compartment underneath.
There was a black leather bag in the secret compartment, which was obviously hidden there by someone. Su Ming took out the bag and opened it. Inside was some documents and a few photos.
The people in the photos made Su Ming's heart sink. He recognized the figure in one of the photos; it was the man who had followed him last night. There was also some handwritten text on the back of the photo, containing a seemingly random string of code.
"Did they leave these documents behind?" Countless questions instantly popped up in Su Ming's mind. He knew that the appearance of this briefcase was no accident, and its owner was likely observing him from a distance.
Su Ming quickly packed the contents of his briefcase and stuffed them into his backpack. He didn't linger any longer, but quickly left the yard. He knew these documents might reveal part of the truth, but they could also lead to greater danger.
After returning to the warehouse, Su Ming spread the documents from his briefcase on the table and carefully read each page. His gaze was sometimes solemn, sometimes with a flicker of doubt. Although some of the content in the documents seemed unfamiliar to him, some of the names and places mentioned reminded him of something familiar.
Su Ming walked down the street as the sky darkened. The dim light from the streetlights cast a patchy shadow on the ground. His backpack still contained the briefcase he'd found in the abandoned yard. The documents and photos weighed heavily on his heart, weighing down his steps. He was constantly alert, scanning the pedestrians, fearing he'd become a target again.
At the end of the street was a bustling market, where the clamor of voices and the shouts of vendors intertwined. Su Ming slowed his pace and walked among the crowd, trying to conceal his presence with the clamor. He glanced at the merchandise on the stalls, wondering if he needed to buy some supplies just in case.
Just as he was looking down at a pile of fresh bread, a scream suddenly came from the front, piercing the hustle and bustle of the night. The crowd immediately became agitated, a few pedestrians scattered in panic, and many more stood still and stared, their faces full of anxiety and curiosity.
Su Ming quickly raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a young woman slumped to the ground, her bag snatched from her hand by a man wearing a hat. The man moved swiftly, turning around and sprinting down the alley.