Chapter 3: Numbers
By the time Ye Xiao and Su Mu had left Nanshan Prison, it was already past noon.
The midday sun enveloped them with a blazing heat. The temperature was seriously extreme, a distinct contrast to the gloomy, cold and wet surroundings of the prison.
Deng Wei Ning escorted the pair of young officers to the exit with an unsightly expression. The serial killer in that cell who required heavy observation had suddenly foamed at the mouth and fallen into a state of shock. Fortunately, per the prison physician’s examination, it was declared that the convict’s large amount of mental pressure and excessive stress had caused acute oxygen deficiency. The man would recover with some rest and was not in critical danger. If the convict had suddenly died in the prison, the responsibility would have been beyond what Deng Wei Ning could take. It might have even led to rumours and slanders spreading outside about prisoner abuse. Good thing that serial killer only temporarily lost consciousness. What did those two little cops even do?
As Deng Wei Ning watched Ye Xiao and Su Mu enter their police car, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter chuckle.
The car slowly started and drove down the rugged mountain road. After passing through the multiple defence checkpoints, it swiftly went on its way.
At a reasonable speed, the car returned back to the city centre at some point past two. Ye Xiao’s stomach growled in hunger; originally he had planned to drive directly back to the station, but after pleading and pestering nonstop, the duo ultimately ended up going to a Japanese ramen restaurant called “Kikui”.
As it was past lunchtime, there were not many customers in the ramen place. Ye Xiao strode in and found a two-person table in the corner. After glancing around, he pointed at the incomparably beautiful and tantalising photo of pork bone ramen on the signboard poster, ordering two extra sized portions in addition to two orders each of stewed eggs, takoyaki, honey-roasted eel, beef gyoza, shrimp tempura, tuna salad…
Su Mu sat across from Ye Xiao, silently listening to the other man’s order. As time passed, his expression fell further and further. When he finally couldn’t stand it any longer, he stopped Ye Xiao but the latter had practically gone through and listed 80% of the menu already.
“Are you a pig?” Su Mu shot a disbelieving glare.