Chapter 120: Golden Coast Clothing Store

Song Zhong was left speechless by my question.

I let out a deep sigh. "Coach, in our line of work, we don't judge time just by looking or listening; we have to feel it."

"I know. The fundamental purpose of this matter is to find a person. Tell me the truth: what was your first instinct when you heard about this?"

Song Zhong rolled his tongue around his mouth for a moment before saying, "Yu Hong is already dead."

Disappearance—every time there was news, it came in this manner. Coupled with Qin Nian being haunted by resentment, it was hard not to draw a connection to what had happened to Yu Hong.

"To put it bluntly, our funeral home serves the dead. If someone is dead, it concerns us."

"Besides, Coach, if the person isn't dead and we manage to find them, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?"

I didn't know if Song Zhong had fully grasped the logic, but he nodded anyway.

When we arrived at the police station and met with Wang Zihao, I hadn't even opened my mouth before he handed me a file folder. "Everything you wanted is inside. I hope it helps."

"Good man! You’re like a prophet!"

Wang Zihao smiled and led Song Zhong and me into his office.

Once the door was closed, he poured us each a glass of water. "I know about this Qin Nian. Captain Cui was handling his case before. The information I’m giving you is what he dug up, but none of it was substantial enough to be considered a lead, so it wasn't filed in the archives."

After sitting down, Wang Zihao continued, "The Golden Coast clothing store was a primary focus for Captain Cui."

I looked at Wang Zihao and opened the file folder, which was packed with photos and handwritten notes from Captain Cui before he passed away.

"On this matter, Captain Cui chose to trust Qin Nian. He told me that people can lie, but eyes cannot. According to his investigation, the young couple had a very strong relationship and it was impossible for her to have run away. More importantly, the surveillance at the Golden Coast clothing store was never working properly."

Wang Zihao looked at us and added, "What’s even more interesting is that there was originally a surveillance camera at the corner near the Golden Coast store. When Yu Hong went missing, the camera was working. It was repaired later, but it broke again within three days."

"It was repaired a few more times after that, but each time, it never lasted more than three days."

I pulled a few photos from the dozen or so and placed them on Wang Zihao’s desk. "Brother Hao, you might as well just say there’s something wrong with this clothing store."

"I can't say that. I'm a police officer; I have to rely on evidence. If there’s evidence, there’s a problem. Without it, there isn't."

Wang Zihao changed his tone. "You guys are different. This case was always a thorn in Captain Cui’s side."

I squinted and smiled, pushing the photos I had selected toward him. "Take a look. Do these look familiar?"

Wang Zihao looked down, and in that instant, his entire complexion changed. "Lin Feng!"

While flipping through the photos, I was shocked to find that the face of the elderly Lin Feng appeared several times.

According to the dates on the photos, they were taken exactly half a month apart.

The most recent set of photos was from the two weeks before Captain Cui died.

In Captain Cui’s notes, the biggest question was why this old woman would visit once every two weeks. Why would someone who looked like she already had one foot in the grave keep visiting a swimwear shop?

"Golden Coast... it might be related to the Golden Cicada Society."

Wang Zihao took a deep breath. "I will report this immediately and organize an investigation."

I nodded. "Alright, I'll go probe the place first to see what’s strange about it. Let’s stay in touch."

"Wait!"

Just as Song Zhong and I were about to leave, Wang Zihao called me back and gave me something that looked like a body-worn camera. "It’s inconvenient to film with your phone. Use this instead."

After fiddling with it in my hand, I nodded at Wang Zihao and left.

Back in the car, Song Zhong was silent. I asked him what was wrong.

He pondered for a long time before asking me what kind of entity the Golden Cicada Society actually was.

I only gave him two words: "Demons."

I warned him that if it was confirmed to be the Golden Cicada Society, he should turn around and run without any hesitation, because he would be no match for them.

Song Zhong drove me to the entrance of the Golden Coast clothing store. On the way, I carefully read through Captain Cui’s notes again.

According to the records, since the Golden Coast clothing store opened, more than a dozen people had gone missing in its vicinity.

Because the surveillance cameras were broken, these people had vanished into thin air. At the time, Captain Cui suspected it had something to do with the shop, and now it seemed there was no doubt.

"I’ll go in first. You follow in a few minutes. When you're trying on clothes, check to see if there are any cameras or anything like that in the fitting rooms."

Song Zhong wasn't stupid; he immediately knew what to do.

After getting out of the car, I unbuttoned my shirt, swaggered into the store, grabbed a few pairs of swim trunks, and walked into the fitting room.

A moment later, Song Zhong came in as well.

However, after checking the fitting rooms for a long time, we found nothing unusual.

The shop itself didn't look strange either, and the staff were all normal people.

"This is bizarre. How does a living, breathing person just vanish right under our noses?"

I shook my head, sitting in the car with my eyes fixed on the shop.

Song Zhong asked me how we should handle things when we got to Qin Nian’s house that night.

I didn't answer. My eyes were locked on a girl in her twenties who had just entered the shop.

The girl went in, and a moment later, a thin, shifty-looking man followed her inside.

After a few minutes, I clipped the camera Wang Zihao had given me onto my chest, turned on the device, got out of the car, and told Song Zhong to wait for me while I headed into the store again.

Once inside, I went straight to the fitting room and knocked. No one answered.

The girl was gone, and the man who had followed her in was gone, too.

"Where are they?"

I stood in front of the clerk and asked directly.

The clerk looked at me with a strange expression and asked me what people I was talking about.

I frowned. Two living people had just disappeared? And this shop had only one entrance and no back exit.

"Sir, if you continue like this, I’m calling the police!"

I raised an eyebrow and looked the clerk up and down.

"What are you looking at! Buy clothes if you want to, go to the police station if you’re looking for people—don’t come here acting crazy!"

I smiled. After turning around in place, I reached out, grabbed the girl by the throat, and slammed her against the wall. "Where is the girl who just came in? And what about the man who followed her in?"