I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 53

Then, Xing Tianqing sent the files to the computer in the meeting room and began explaining what happened that morning.

“At 5 a.m., a sanitation worker reported finding a dead body by the riverbank. After investigation and evidence collection, the victim was identified as Xu Long, a coach at the city’s boxing club.” Xing Tianqing pulled up photos taken at the riverbank and Xu Long’s profile.

Guan Xiaoxuan saw on the screen a figure lying face down by the river. The man’s death was gruesome — his eyes were rolled back, mouth wide open, as if he saw something terrifying before he died.

His clothes were stuffed and bulging with water plants and worms. No one knew how those got inside his clothes.

Though the photo was a bit blurry, Guan Xiaoxuan recognized one of the two burly men standing next to Chen Man in earlier scenes was the dead man.

Xing Tianqing then played surveillance footage from a bus stop. It clearly showed Chen Man and two men getting on bus number 444.

The video ended as the bus drove away.

“So far, the known clues: that night, three people—two men and one woman—boarded bus 444. The victim is one of the two men,” Xing Tianqing told everyone. “Our main goals now are twofold: one, to rescue the remaining two passengers; two, to find out how Xu Long died and deal with the strange bus 444.”

Xing Tianqing added, “Because this strange bus only appears after midnight, tonight we need to work in pairs at different bus stops. If anyone spots the eerie bus, report it immediately.”

Afterward, everyone split into groups. Xing Tianqing and Xiao An would handle overall coordination. Guan Xiaoxuan, as an unofficial member, could skip the mission if she wanted, but she thought about it and decided not to refuse — after all, if she’s here, it means she wants to be involved.

Besides, she’d met Chen Man twice before. Even if Chen Man’s reckless behavior wasn’t her problem, Guan Xiaoxuan still wanted to help.

Xing Tianqing looked at Guan Xiaoxuan and said, “You’ll team up with Qiu Nan.”

Qiu Nan waved at Guan Xiaoxuan when she heard this, and Guan Xiaoxuan nodded back.

Once the groups were set, Xing Tianqing had other tasks to attend to. They agreed to meet again at 9 p.m. in the same room to assign bus stops.

After everyone left, Qiu Nan came over and patted Guan Xiaoxuan’s shoulder. “Xiao Xuan, don’t worry. Captain Xing paired you with me because she thinks I’m reliable. I’ll keep you safe.”

Guan Xiaoxuan smiled faintly. She still remembered how Qiu Nan made her drink talisman water to remove a mark on her body.

To Guan Xiaoxuan, Qiu Nan was a kind of spiritual healer—a ‘shamans’ sort of person.

But ordinary shamans couldn’t get into the Strange Affairs Bureau, so Guan Xiaoxuan had some hope for her.

“Do we need to prepare anything?” Guan Xiaoxuan asked curiously. “How do we fight the strange things with empty hands?”

“Of course not.” Qiu Nan smiled. “I can make some talismans for you later. But first, you need to go see Xiao An and fill out an application form. She’ll go to the points redemption center to get what we need.”

Right then, Xiao An stood up and said, “Anyone who needs to use points for items, come get an application form from me. I’ll pick everything up from the redemption center in half an hour.”

Guan Xiaoxuan’s eyes widened. “They do it like this?”

“It’s for emergencies only, kind of like getting on the bus first and paying later,” Qiu Nan explained. “Sometimes, when it’s urgent, you can even go into ‘points debt’ at the redemption center. But once your points are negative, there are limits, so it’s best not to owe.”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded. It sounded quite reasonable.

She took an application form from Xiao An and thought hard about the items she used before with Lin Weiwei. After some hesitation, she applied for five bullets.

When she handed the form back, she carefully asked, “Does the bureau provide guns?”

“Yes,” Xiao An said as she took the form and glanced at the items. “The gun will be given before we head out tonight. But you know, the bullets you exchange points for work best with the original guns. If you only have bullets without the matching gun, the damage is only 50%.”

“I get it,” Guan Xiaoxuan smiled. “I don’t have enough points for the original gun yet. I’ll just use the bullets for now.”

Xiao An didn’t comment. She figured Guan Xiaoxuan was still a beginner and probably wouldn’t actually be sent into real danger. So she put away the form.

On her way home, Guan Xiaoxuan was added to a group chat. Xiao An sent pictures of the items they got and posted the bus stop assignments. Guan Xiaoxuan’s post was close to her neighborhood — just a ten-minute bike ride, a few blocks away.

She spent the afternoon researching and even tried to contact Chen Man, but the dorm mates said Chen Man hadn’t come back all night.

Since Chen Man recently got involved with a wealthy boss, no one really cared if she showed up or not.

Seeing this, Guan Xiaoxuan thought Chen Man’s life in the dorm was probably not great, judging by the bad reviews from her roommates.

At 8 p.m., Guan Xiaoxuan packed and got ready to leave.

She wore a cream-colored jacket — her favorite because it had many pockets inside and outside, with buttons to hide things.

For example, Cheng Yi’s face patch, or Haohao’s glass bead.

This was Guan Xiaoxuan’s first real mission with the Strange Affairs Bureau. She brought everything she had, just in case something happened.

She arrived early at the police station. The meeting room was already crowded; most had arrived before 9.

Xiao An saw her and waved, “Xiao Xuan, come over here.”

Guan Xiaoxuan hurried over and saw Xiao An pull five golden bullets and a gun from a box.

“Since you’re new, your own gun application isn’t approved yet. This is Captain Xing’s personal gun. She won’t need it tonight since she’s coordinating from the back, so she lent it to you,” Xiao An smiled. “It’s a very good gun. Take good care of it.”

“I will.” Guan Xiaoxuan looked at the gun. Her recent shooting lessons hadn’t been wasted — she quickly figured out how to use it.

After loading the bullets, she hid the gun behind her waist under the loose jacket, so no one could tell she was carrying a weapon.

“Oh, by the way,” she asked, “Is Captain Xing not coming with us tonight?”

“She’s staying at headquarters,” Xiao An teased, “Missing her already?”

“No way.” Guan Xiaoxuan knew the bureau folks liked to joke about her and Captain Xing. She didn’t really get why, but didn’t mind. She laughed lightly, “Just asking.”

Walking to the side, Guan Xiaoxuan found Qiu Nan cleaning a peachwood sword.

“Qiu Nan, what’s with the sword?” Guan Xiaoxuan was baffled. “Isn’t this the modern world? Using a sword for ghost hunting?”

Qiu Nan looked back and opened her bag, which was full of yellow and green talisman papers.

Guan Xiaoxuan asked, “Do these things even work?”

“Pretty effective,” Qiu Nan said. “They’re a hassle to use, but I make my own. Using a lot doesn’t hurt — otherwise, we’d have to spend points on everything. Like your five bullets cost 25 points, one shot costs 500 yuan.”

Guan Xiaoxuan laughed. “True, I feel it too. A tank of gas costs 800 yuan, but these five bullets are 2,500, and they just go ‘bang.’”

“Well, not exactly,” Qiu Nan defended the redemption center. “If things go wrong, that 500-yuan shot might save your life.”

Guan Xiaoxuan was joking too, though she cared more about her life than money. If a 500-yuan shot saved her, it’d be worth it.

But seeing Qiu Nan’s self-prepared gear made Guan Xiaoxuan realize she couldn’t always rely on the redemption center — she needed to find other tools too.

During their chat, Guan Xiaoxuan learned Qiu Nan was saving points to permanently exchange for a B-level exorcism sword. But Guan Xiaoxuan’s rank was too low to see what it looked like.

At 9 p.m., Xing Tianqing arrived exactly on time. She scanned everyone in the room, her eyes resting briefly on Guan Xiaoxuan before saying, “Let’s go.”

Guan Xiaoxuan rode with Qiu Nan to their assigned bus stop.

It was before 11 p.m., so Qiu Nan suggested grabbing a late-night meal at a nearby still-open noodle shop. They’d probably be up all night.

Guan Xiaoxuan agreed, and the two went in and ordered two bowls of beef noodles.

At this hour, the noodle shop had few customers — mostly just food delivery orders.

“Boss, how late do you stay open?” Qiu Nan asked as she took two cloves of garlic, chatting casually.

The boss was a middle-aged, chubby man with a big belly, but he worked skillfully. He smiled and said, “We never close. Open 24 hours.”

“Do you get customers at night?”

“Not really. Mostly delivery orders.”

He came out of the kitchen and handed the garlic to Qiu Nan. “My wife and daughter-in-law run the shop during the day. At night, it’s just me watching the store.”

“Is that so.” Qiu Nan broke off two cloves of garlic and asked curiously, “Since you watch the shop every night, have you ever seen any buses on the road late at night?”

The noodle shop owner thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, “Never. There aren’t any buses that late at night—haven’t they all finished running?”

“That makes sense.” Qiu Nan smiled, put the rest of the garlic on the counter, then walked over and sat down in front of Guan Xiaoxuan. He said, “Looks like we picked a good spot tonight.”