Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

Peng Yueji looked at the woman in front of him. She was bundled up tightly, half her face smudged with grime, with only her eyes visible.

"Yue Ji?" his colleague beside him glanced over.

Jiang Li’s brow furrowed. She looked away. ’Believe it or not, it’s not my problem.’

"Let’s go." Peng Yueji led his colleague in that direction anyway.

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow, propping her chin on her hand as she mulled it over. ’If Kun Sha gets caught, doesn’t that mean I chased him all this way for nothing?’

’But I can’t just stand by and watch those children be taken across the border.’

’Whatever. There’ll be other chances.’

Having made up her mind, Jiang Li got up, ready to go take a look. Just as she stood, she noticed several fierce-looking thugs walk in from outside.

"Dammit, those guys can’t even handle a couple of brats. We’ve still got the goods inside. If we can’t deliver, we’re all screwed."

"There are only two of them. I’ll hold them off, you go start the boat."

Then, the men shot a warning glance at everyone. "All of you, keep your damn heads down!"

A few people huddled together, trembling.

Jiang Li glanced at the ship outside. Two of the men went inside, while the remaining two stood guard in the hallway.

Jiang Li reached into her bag and gripped her dagger.

BANG! A gunshot rang out.

Jiang Li could no longer sit still. She shot up and chased after them.

"Hey, you! Woman! You got a death wish?!"

The two guards noticed Jiang Li get up, shouted, and immediately gave chase.

Jiang Li hid in the shadows. The moment the two men entered, she struck first, grabbing one and severing the tendons in his hand.

Before the man behind him could react, she grabbed him by the hair, slammed him to the ground, and landed a hard punch to the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

Jiang Li stopped her fist mid-air. ’That’s enough. Any more would be overkill.’

She took the guns from their bodies and headed inside.

As soon as she entered, she saw the two men in a standoff with the traffickers. One of them was injured.

Peng Yueji stared grimly at the two traffickers before him.

"Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill him!"

Each of the two traffickers was holding a child hostage.

Jiang Li leaned against the wall, observing the situation. The Red Scorpion in her bag poked its small head out, its pincers twitching.

Two small flying insects flew out from near her ear. Jiang Li glanced at them, then approvingly stroked its little head.

’Nice work!’

Jiang Li tightened her grip on her dagger, silently counting down the time it would take for the Gu Worms to take effect. ’Xiao Ji’s Gu are faster than average.’

The traffickers frowned in confusion but remained on high alert, watching Peng Yueji and his partner.

Figuring the time was right, Jiang Li stepped out from the shadows, advancing under the stunned gazes of the others.

Before Peng Yueji could even cry out in alarm, he saw the two traffickers collapse to the ground as if they’d been hit with a tranquilizer.

"Fuck, why can’t I move? Dammit!"

"I... I can’t move either."

Jiang Li stepped forward, freed the two children, and then, hearing the traffickers still cursing, landed several sharp slaps across their faces.

"Still got a mouth on you?"

Two slaps, and two teeth went flying.

Jiang Li stood up and glanced at the several small, skinny children in the corner. The youngest was three, the oldest around ten. They had suffered a lot of abuse along the way and didn’t look right.

She turned back. "What are you gawking at? Waiting for their buddies to come down and kill you?"

Peng Yueji snapped back to his senses, helped his partner up, and picked up the walkie-talkie that had been knocked away.

"Hello? Hello? Captain, intercept immediately! There are criminals on this ship."

"Shit! Things really went south!"

The guards upstairs, worried by the prolonged silence from below, ran down to check, only to find their comrades unconscious on the floor.

Peng Yueji drew his gun and aimed it at them.

Jiang Li scanned the area but saw no sign of Kun Sha. ’There must be another hiding spot here.’

"Little Hong, where is he?"

Jiang Li opened her bag and glanced at the Red Scorpion. After seeing it point in a certain direction, she zipped the bag shut.

’This is Xiao Ji’s Life Gu. I can’t just let it run wild. What if something happens to it?’

Jiang Li looked in the direction it indicated, but all she could see were a few large wooden planks and some plastic sheeting.

"Dammit, must not have checked my horoscope today. What rotten luck!"

Peng Yueji looked at the seven or eight children behind him. He couldn’t possibly get them all out by himself. All he could do was stall for time and wait for backup.

Jiang Li watched the approaching men and tightened her grip on her knife.

The sounds of shouting and fighting came from above. Peng Yueji breathed a sigh of relief. His people were here.

Hearing this, Jiang Li shifted the angle of her knife and took a step back.

"Hands up! Nobody move!"

A booming voice echoed from the hallway, and Peng Yueji fired a shot near the men’s feet.

A noise came from behind Jiang Li. She spun around and gave chase.

"Hey!" Peng Yueji turned just in time to see Jiang Li’s retreating back.

On the deck, Kun Sha stared at Jiang Li, his eyes filled with shock.

"Jiang Li, how are you here?!"

Kun Sha was bewildered and shocked. A hesitant fear began to creep into his heart. He realized he didn’t seem to know Jiang Li at all.

’Even if my faked death was exposed, there’s still Zhang Hongzhi. Jiang Li and her people have no background, no power. Suppressing the news should have been a piece of cake.’

’But somehow, Jiang Li had tracked him down without a sound.’

Jiang Li gripped her knife, her gaze fixed on him. The corner of her mouth lifted. "Take a guess."

"Jiang Li, what are you planning to do?"

As he hesitated, wondering whether to jump overboard, Jiang Li put her knife away, which confused him.

"Kun Sha, have you ever tried your own product?" As Jiang Li spoke, a small bee appeared on the back of her hand.

Kun Sha frowned, suddenly understanding what she meant. ’Isn’t she talking about the drugs we developed?’

’I have so many people working for me; there’s no way it would ever be my turn to test it personally.’

Jiang Li moved her hand, and the little bee flew toward him with a BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ.

"Dammit, this isn’t one of those damn Gu Worms, is it? Jiang Li, you son of a—HISS!"

Kun Sha flailed his arms wildly, but he still got stung. Within seconds, the area around the wound began to turn purple.

Jiang Li watched the bee fly back to her. ’This is the first Gu I’ve raised, modeled after Xiao Ji’s.’

’And I have Kun Sha to thank for having someone inject me with that drug. Otherwise, the effect might not have been this good.’

"Now you can experience for yourself what a living hell feels like."

Kun Sha’s heart hammered in his chest. He turned, intending to jump into the sea.

Jiang Li grabbed a hook from the deck and threw it at him.

"AHH!"

Kun Sha let out a blood-curdling scream as he was hooked and dragged back. Jiang Li stomped her foot on the hook.

Kun Sha twitched in agony, his eyes filled with malice as he ground out her name through clenched teeth, "Jiang! Li!"

Jiang Li bent down, a glint of excitement in her eyes, tying a rope as she spoke.

"Don’t be in such a hurry to scream. I went through all this trouble to follow you here. I have no intention of letting you die so easily."

Kun Sha’s mind went blank. He couldn’t quite process what she was saying.

’What does she mean?’

Hearing footsteps behind her, Jiang Li straightened up and looked down at Kun Sha. Then, before his disbelieving eyes, she threw him into the sea. A splash of crimson bloomed on the water’s surface.

Jiang Li stood on the deck, her eyes narrowed, feeling the resistance from the rope in her hands.

She then tightened her grip, gave the rope a hard tug, and shouted at the people who had just appeared behind her.

"Kun Sha tried to escape by jumping into the water! Give me a hand!"