Chapter 146: The Food Processing Plant

"Wake up, wake up."

Tang Xiaoyu opened her eyes, dazed. She was sleeping in her own bedroom. Li Changqing looked at her with a strange expression. He had been fast asleep until Tang Xiaoyu’s scream startled him awake. He had rushed over to check on her, only to find the girl had been having a nightmare... Do ghosts even have nightmares?

"Li Changqing, I had a nightmare." Tang Xiaoyu clutched his hand tightly, still shaken as she recalled the scene from her dream.

Li Changqing gently patted the back of her hand. "Don't worry, it was just a dream. It’s all fake."

Tang Xiaoyu thought back carefully, her voice trembling. "The dream was so real. I... I dreamt of the orphanage, the place where I grew up, but there was no one inside..."

"It was a castle, a very, very large castle, covered in weeds."

"I was walking inside..." As she spoke, Tang Xiaoyu gestured with her hands.

A medieval architectural style? Li Changqing pondered for a moment. That would mean there was a high probability the orphanage was located in the Lamela Empire. Did that mean after Tang Xiaoyu died, she drifted all the way to the Vermilion Bird Federation as a lonely ghost?

"Then I went to look for Mother Director, I..." Tang Xiaoyu didn't continue. She tightened her grip on Li Changqing’s hand. "I’m scared to sleep alone."

Li Changqing rolled his eyes at her and said, "Let's go. The floor in my room is still empty."

"Okay!" Tang Xiaoyu nodded happily.

Li Changqing carried her bedding to his room and made a makeshift bed on the floor for her. "Time to sleep."

Li Changqing was quite exhausted himself; once he lay down, he was soon fast asleep. Tang Xiaoyu, however, tossed and turned, unable to drift off. She whispered, "Li Changqing, do you think dreams are real?"

"They're fake."

"But it looked so real."

"Dreams are the opposite of reality. Go to sleep."

"Is that so?" Tang Xiaoyu sat up and looked out the window at the bright, clear moonlight. "The orphanage was too big. I’m afraid I don't have enough money to renovate it."

"How about I give you my money, and we go buy a house instead?"

"Didn't you say you need your own house to get married?"

"Are you listening?"

"Li Changqing?"

She turned to look, but Li Changqing was already sound asleep.

"Hmph!" Tang Xiaoyu puffed out her cheeks in frustration. "All you know is how to sleep!"

...

The next day, the sun was high in the sky. Li Changqing held a parasol, and after he and Tang Xiaoyu spent their money to buy cinnabar, they strolled through Yinlin Street. The street remained as bustling as ever. Tang Xiaoyu and Li Changqing huddled together under the same parasol.

"Hey, what’s that? Why are there so many people?" They had wandered onto a side street.

"A real estate opening. They’re there to buy houses," Li Changqing explained with a smile.

"Buying a house?" Tang Xiaoyu asked curiously. "How much does a house in Nanlin cost?"

"Probably over three hundred thousand Lang coins," Li Changqing replied. Nanlin wasn't exactly a small city. If converted to a city of similar status in his previous life, three hundred thousand would probably only get you about ten square meters.

"Over three hundred thousand?" Tang Xiaoyu’s eyes flickered, then she frowned, as if deep in thought.

Li Changqing didn't pay it much mind. As they were walking, his phone suddenly rang urgently. He took it out and saw it was a call from Hu Xiong.

"Hello? Old Hu, what’s up?"

Hu Xiong said in a low voice, "Something happened. Come to the scene, in the East District..."

The incident had occurred at a food processing plant in the East District. Li Changqing and Tang Xiaoyu took a taxi there, and after showing their credentials, they were guided by a security guard to the back of the facility.

At that moment, only Bai Chuan and Hu Xiong were there, along with a middle-aged man in his forties who looked rather pale.

Li Changqing approached with Tang Xiaoyu. "What happened?" He looked around as he spoke. There was only a warehouse used for processing food waste.

This food processing plant dealt in meat products, and the waste in the warehouse consisted of various kinds of rotting meat. Most of it had already decayed, emitting a foul stench, with flies buzzing everywhere. Bai Chuan’s expression was already quite grim.

"The person who reported it is this gentleman here." Hu Xiong opened his notebook and looked at the records. "Last night, this security guard was on the night shift. When he passed by this waste warehouse, he discovered the meat inside was squirming."

"Then, he found that the rotting meat had stuck together, formed into a monster, and walked out of the pile."

Li Changqing was stunned. A bizarre event like this?

The security guard looked terrified. "Officers, I’m not lying. That monster was two meters tall. It’s a good thing I ran fast enough."

"I have a rough understanding of the situation," Hu Xiong nodded, then added, "Keep this to yourself. Don’t go around talking about it, and definitely don't give interviews to the press."

"Yes, yes, of course." The security guard nodded repeatedly. After what he had experienced last night, he had already resigned from his job. If it hadn’t been for these federal police officers needing his statement, he wouldn’t have returned to this plant for anything.

After the guard left, Li Changqing asked, "Any leads?"

"It should be a Demon," Hu Xiong said after pondering the notes in his book. "It shouldn't be very strong, otherwise it wouldn't have had to scavenge a pile of rotten meat to form a body."

Bai Chuan’s expression was unpleasant. "I’ll leave this matter to you two." Just looking at the rotting meat and flies nearby made him feel nauseous, let alone participating in the investigation.

"You really should see a psychiatrist about your mysophobia," Hu Xiong joked. "I can't believe you used to be a practitioner of the Demonic Path."

"The Demonic Path and my mysophobia are not mutually exclusive," Bai Chuan said, glancing at the pile of meat and covering his nose. "I’m leaving." With that, he departed quickly, unwilling to stay a moment longer.

"If it really is a monster made of rotting meat, it should be easy to find. Anyone who sees something like that would call the police," Li Changqing noted. "Do you think this monster is here for that 'Evil Star' thing too?"

"Hard to say." Hu Xiong shook his head. "I’ve already reported this to the Chief, and it’s been forwarded to the General Investigation Bureau."

"The General Investigation Bureau only said they would pay close attention to the situation here."

Li Changqing frowned slightly.

Tang Xiaoyu interjected, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Paying close attention means they don't know the full situation yet, and they won't be sending anyone," Hu Xiong said helplessly.

Li Changqing explained it to Tang Xiaoyu in a different way: "It's the same principle as Old Hu saying he’s protecting me in secret. Understand?"

Put that way, Tang Xiaoyu understood immediately, her expression growing thoughtful.