SDT 2

Chapter 2: The Blackmailer

Yu Xiaowen walked into the shabby toilet in the middle of the dilapidated bungalow. The cubicle was very dirty, very dark, and filled with a strange mixture of smells. He stared at the toilet seat covered with footprints for a long time, then went out to buy a pack of tissues, wiped the toilet seat, and sat on it. 

Fortunately, he could just do it casually without having to take off his pants. 

But this level of self-soothing was far from enough for an Omega in heat. He was restless and frustrated, unable to finish no matter what. Screw the dirt; he leaned back against the tank lid, lifted his feet to brace against the stall wall, filthier than his shoe soles, scrawled with curses and doodled organs, and went at it harder.

“Fuck… fuck!”

He muttered under his breath, spewing obscenities.

But as he went on, that dirty word inexplicably picked up an “I” tacked on after it. And the tone shifted from vicious to something else entirely.

…Saying it like that actually worked way better.

His mind synced up right on cue, conjuring a figure.

Then he shuddered, head tilting back with unfocused eyes, holding his breath as he felt his fingers growing dirtier bit by bit. It wasn’t fully settled, but at least it had eased off some. The pheromones in his system were fading too; he figured one more shot would square him away.

There was a noise, someone entering the bathroom. Footsteps paused at his door. Through the gap at the bottom, Yu Xiaowen caught the shadow of someone bending down to peer inside.

…Pervert?

His feet were still up on the wall, so the guy probably hadn’t spotted him.

The person stopped in front of every stall door in the place.

Like he was checking if the bathroom was empty. That’s what Yu Xiaowen figured, and sure enough, soon another voice piped up, frantic from the entrance: “Anyone here?”

“No one. Just me,” the first guy said.

The newcomer huffed: “What the hell? How’d the cops end up there?”

“Got nothing to do with our thing,” the first man replied. “There was a commotion next door, so I went to check it out. The outdoor AC unit had been pried open, like someone stashed stuff there before and came back for it. The cops were after him. Chased him down.”

The newcomer let out a relieved breath: “Then why’d you call me here?”

The first guy lowered his voice: “I already snuck in during the chaos and took the camera in that room. But the cops’ll definitely come back for evidence. I think we gotta scrub every room clean before that, just in case.”

“…Fine,” the newcomer said. “No choice now.”

The two muttered a bit more under their breath, then left the bathroom together.

Yu Xiaowen wiped his hands, zipped up. Then he pushed open the stall door and washed up at the rudimentary sink.

Looks like these guys were bootlegging guest sex tapes. That could be key evidence for the case.

As he shook the water off his hands at the alley mouth, he mulled over their words. Then he jabbed another inhibitor into himself and headed back to the building.

His second appearance at the guesthouse front desk had the heavy-makeup woman eyeing him warily, she knew he was a cop now: “Your buddies just left.”

“Not looking for them.” His voice was still soft. He draped an arm on the counter: “Give me a master key card.”

She handed it over. He took it and walked down the corridor he’d passed before. This time, he stopped at the door of room three, the one he hadn’t knocked on earlier. He thought for a second, then swiped the card.

Beep. The door unlocked. He stepped inside. The layout was similar to room four, but this one clearly had a permanent resident vibe: instant noodle cups, beer cans, skewer sticks, rumpled bedding, and the stench of sour laundry.

He’d barely taken two steps in when a man emerged from the bathroom beside him, zipping up his pants. Spotting Yu Xiaowen, the guy froze, then instinctively shoved past to run. Yu Xiaowen swung a leg and booted him square in the chest, sending him tumbling back into the bathroom with a yelp. Yu Xiaowen grabbed a towel at random and crammed it into the man’s mouth, then cuffed his wrists to the pipe.

Then he stepped out of the bathroom, eyes landing on a laptop open on the desk. He went over, sat down, and started poking through the drives, checking files.

Sure enough, one drive was packed with folders coded by room-date. No hiding them, clearly, whoever did this wasn’t some computer whiz. Or maybe they just figured in a cheap dive like this, no need to get fancy.

He clicked open a few at random, skimmed them. Nothing but voyeur shots of beds and bathrooms; the steamier ones had multi-angle edits, but meh. He opened the file for today’s room four and there was the killer. So he planned to bag the laptop as evidence and haul it back to the station.

His gaze idly snagged on the date: February 14.

Well, well, isn’t that Mommy Dearest’s birthday.

He clicked into one of the files on a whim.

The video started: a young couple who looked like students, arms around each other with flowers in hand, entering the room. The guy pounced on her the second the door shut; she kicked him off, with an angry expression. He whipped out a little gift to placate her. Then he started snapping pics of the flowers, the gift, and his girlfriend from every angle. After a bit, he got handsy again while she scrolled the phone photos.

A few seconds in, she flew into a rage, shoved him away, jabbed at the phone in accusation, then thrust it at him sternly to reshoot. He kissed her cheek, took the phone, and her attitude melted.

Yu Xiaowen watched, chuckling. When they tumbled onto the bed, he closed the video.

He opened another file beside it, and this one gradually wiped the smile from his face, freezing it in shock.

…

A few days later, the Third Squad of the Major Crimes Divion, where Yu Xiaowen worked, received commendations. They basked in it for half a day, then the next job landed. Traces of a key member of an international illegal biochemical organization had surfaced in Manjing, so HQ ordered a stakeout at the target’s location.

So that’s life, huh? Day in, day out. Yu Xiaowen tugged at his damp collar, arm slung over the car window, took a swig of cool water, and crunched a biscuit.

Manjing was always scorching under the relentless sun, bugs droning endlessly.

Not long left to live, anyway.

He thought that as he picked up his phone, staring at the video he’d saved there.

His fingers clenched and released, clenched and released, thumb scraping at the phone’s edge.

…Not like I’ve got much time left anyway.

….

In a high-end restaurant. Cool air, sparkling lights, soothing music. Lu Kongyun sat across from an elegantly poised, aristocratic female Omega, eating in silence.

“Lu Kongyun.” The woman said.

“Mm.” Lu lifted his head, meeting her eyes.

“Were my mom and your cousin setting us up just to sit here staring at each other?” She added.

“I’m just thinking about the progress of my experiment and I’m a little distracted.” Lu Kongyun was honest, his tone sincere. “I have to go to the lab soon.”

She dropped her fork: “You’ll never succeed at blind dates like that.”

So it’s failed now?” Lu Kongyun asked.

The woman looked at him. She seemed to have seen that if she gave him a positive answer, he would immediately get up and run.

“Hmph. Not yet. It’s too early.” She gave a fake smile: “Take your time eating.”

The two resumed their wordless meal.

Lu Kongyun’s phone buzzed. He picked it up. A text from an unknown number, with a photo. His finger paused, then tapped to open.

The photo was dim, low-res, a video still, just a man’s shadowed upper body and chest, shirtless.

“…..”

Lu Kongyun’s heart skipped a beat.

He typed on the keyboard: Who are you? What do you want to do? 

The other party quickly replied: I have a video. 

Other party: Want to see the whole thing? 

Other party: Add WeChat? 

He thought for two seconds and typed: I’m not interested

Other party: …

Other party: You’re sometimes so brutally honest it’s kinda cute.

Sometimes?

Lu Kongyun felt from that word that this was someone who knew him.

And WeChat could better confirm this. 

So he sent his WeChat. 

The other party quickly sent a friend request. The profile picture was a donkey, and the name was “艹”¹. There was no clue at all.

Then the other side initiated a voice call invite: Do you want to call and talk?

Before he could react or answer, the other party’s voice call came. After ringing three or four times, Lu Kongyun stood up, apologized to the blind date who looked very unhappy for answering the phone, and walked to the corridor. When he  reached an empty corner, he pressed the answer button, put it to his ear, and listened quietly. 

There was no word from the other side, only breathing.

After a while of confrontation, the other party laughed and spoke first: “Doctor Lu, take a breath.”

Lu Kongyun felt that this did not seem to be the voice of anyone he could know. This person’s voice was surprisingly magnetic, but the tone of his voice was sticky and lazy, revealing an inexplicable sense of danger.

Lu Kongyun let out a soft breath and lowered his voice, “Who are you?” 

The other party rustled, his tone becoming even more slurred and deeper: “Don’t seduce me.”

“…”

The other party chuckled again: “Lu Kongyun. I missed you so much.” 

Before Lu Kongyun could think of what to say, the other party hung up with a sigh. 

After hanging up for no apparent reason, the other party sent a video. This video more fully captured the details that the previous screenshots didn’t capture. The location looked incredibly cheap and low-class. The protagonist was his father, but the other protagonist was not his beautiful and noble Omega mother, but a crude, bearded male Alpha. His father was very fierce, and the bearded man was very excited.

Lu Kongyun gripped the phone tightly, watched for only a few seconds, and then turned it off. 

The other party sent another message: You are indeed a top-level Alpha. Old but strong [strong emoji]

The other party: Don’t think it’s just an action movie. This is an excerpt; the most exciting part is in the second half of the video.

The other party: You really should see it. Want to see it?

Lu Kongyun typed: Why send it to me?

艹: Tomorrow night at 8:00, Wax Apple Lane. Come by yourself. Call me  when you get there.”

Lu Kongyun thought for a moment and replied: 9:00. I’ll be there after the meeting tomorrow

艹: .

艹: You’re quite interesting. Telling the blackmailer about a meeting

艹: The first thing I want is to be on call. Don’t negotiate.

艹: It’s changed to 3:00 tomorrow afternoon. Don’t even go to the afternoon shift. You have the final say  in your lab, don’t you?”

The next day, Lu Kongyun arranged his work and gave his orders. A little after 2:00 p.m., he left the lab and drove alone to his destination. 

After about forty minutes, he arrived at Wax Apple Lane. He parked at the agreed-upon sign and got out. The neighborhood and buildings here were very old. With the construction of the surrounding new district, many residents had moved away, leaving the area looking rundown and decrepit. He hadn’t had the opportunity to be there before.

He pulled out his phone and called the person he was supposed to contact. 

It rang a few times, but no one answered. But behind him, there was a sound of clearing the throat: “Ahem.” 

Lu Kongyun turned around, subconsciously taking a step back, staring at the other person. 

Was this the person who sent the video? 

This person was very young, and looked about the same as himself. His face was very pale, his cheeks a little thin, and his eyes and voice matched the tone of the voice on the phone very well. Although he didn’t know him, he had to admit that this person did have a sense of familiarity.

This made him hesitate again, and he couldn’t stop studying him. 

The other person smiled, his light brown eyes still fixed gently on Lu Kongyun’s face.

“Why are you staring at me? Like what you see?”

It was him. That sticky prononciation.

“Or do you remember me?”

“No. Who are you?” Lu Kongyun asked. 

The other person’s smile disappeared, and he made an ambiguous “hmm”, as if he had confirmed some conclusion in his heart. 

“You should be glad that I don’t remember you,” Lu Kongyun said again. “Since you know who my family is, you are very brave to threaten me.” 

The blackmailer lowered his eyes and looked him up and down. 

“Since I’ve done this, of course I’ll make preparations and leave a way out. I’ve set this video to automatically upload to dozens of websites around the world every eight hours.” 

The blackmailer held up his phone. “So I have to cancel it every eight hours.” 

Lu Kongyun was shocked. 

After a moment, his eyes darkened. For now, he could only deal with it. 

So he asked, “What do you want?” 

The blackmailer looked at him for a moment, chuckling softly.

“Doctor Lu, you can remain calm even after seeing a video of your own father. You always keep the bigger picture in mind. I really like you.” 

Lu Kongyun looked at him calmly, “Do you deserve to?” 

The man dropped his smile and grabbed him by the collar, causing him to stumble and nearly fall on top of him. He didn’t know if it was intentional. 

Omega, the smell is disgusting. And this smell does seem familiar… but he really can’t remember it. 

Lu Kongyun pushed him away: “Let’s talk business.” 

“So you’re in such a hurry? You want to talk here?” The man was pushed away and took a few steps back, his expression still relaxed. He raised his head, a little out of breath. 

Lu Kongyun looked at him like this. This man was not in good health. 

The man turned around: “Follow me.”

1. It means fuck or grass depending on the context ↩︎