The Overlord of Puluo

Lying on the dormitory bed, Li Banfeng silently stared at the ceiling.

The bed was set high off the ground, leaving him uncomfortably close to the ceiling above. Up above, patches of mold spotted the surface like clusters of eyes, each one fixed on him in silent scrutiny.

And indeed, there were eyes watching his every move.

Ka-da-da!

His phone buzzed again with another message.

Who keeps messaging me?

Whoever it is... they picked up He Jiaqing’s phone. They knew I met with his Third Uncle. They knew I talked to the police. They even knew he was lying in a hospital bed.

Who could it be? My professor? One of those doctors? That man, Old Chen, who claimed to be a cop?

Or maybe... Dorm Gramps, the old man who lives downstairs?

***

The phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. Li Banfeng picked it up and glanced at the screen. Dozens of messages had come in, all from He Jiaqing’s number.

He Jiaqing: Banfeng, in all four years of college, you were my only brother!

He Jiaqing: When there was only one drink left, we shared it. You took a sip, then I did.

He Jiaqing: When there was only one cigarette left, we split it. You smoked half, I finished the rest.

He Jiaqing: The first time I took my girl out to dinner, you were right there with me. The first time I tried to sleep with her, we were halfway through when you called. Because of that one phone call, I ditched everything and spent the whole night with you at the internet cafe.

He Jiaqing: When you got sick, I went with you to see the doctor. When you ran out of money, I covered your expenses. And when I ran out too, I hauled stones at a construction site just to keep paying the bills until you were discharged.

He Jiaqing: During an exam last year, I tried to sneak you the answers. I ended up failing the class and almost got put on academic probation. All four years of university, you were the only one I ever called a brother. The only one!

***

A dozen or so messages confirmed one thing: the sender really was He Jiaqing. Some of the memories mentioned were things only the two of them could have known.

The last message read, Bro, save me. Only you can save me.

Li Banfeng took a deep breath and called. He wanted to confirm it was really He Jiaqing’s voice. But the call didn’t go through, so he sent a message instead.

Li Banfeng: How did you get back from the station? And why did you end up on my bed?

He Jiaqing: That. Is. Not. Me.

Li Banfeng: If it isn’t you, then who is it? And where are you now? Why were you able to see me?

Li Banfeng had a thousand more questions for He Jiaqing, but for now, that was all he could manage.

Ka-da-da!

He Jiaqing: I really want to answer you, but there’s no time. The train is about to depart. If you don’t come save me today, who knows when the next one will come. You may never see me again.

Li Banfeng rolled out of bed and quietly looked out the window, the words echoing in his mind.

The train is about to leave? Go save you today...

He’s the only friend I’ve made in all four years of university. Come to think of it, how many friends have I really had since I was born? Probably just this one.

Outside Dormitory Building 6, the air felt cold and still. The clotheslines hung bare, with nothing left to sway in the wind. Yet, beneath the large willow tree out front, someone had been standing there all along.

He was a slim young man, around the same age as Li Banfeng. His eyes were large and unusually bright, almost like glowing lightbulbs. Even from the third floor, Li Banfeng could see them clearly.

The young man looked like he was waiting for someone, but aside from Li Banfeng and Dorm Gramps, the entire dormitory was empty. If he wasn’t waiting for Dorm Gramps, then he was definitely here for Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng pulled out his phone and sent a message to He Jiaqing.

Li Banfeng: Someone’s watching me.

He Jiaqing: It must be someone from the Dark Star Bureau.

Li Banfeng: What’s the Dark Star Bureau?

He Jiaqing: I really can’t explain right now. The Dark Star Bureau isn’t something you can mention casually. They can sense it. Bro, you have to save me. If you don’t come soon, it’ll be too late.

Li Banfeng sat in his chair and fell into deep thought. He didn’t move for over ten minutes. During this time, Dorm Gramps came upstairs and glanced at him. ”Why are you still here?”

Li Banfeng didn’t respond, because he didn’t even see Dorm Gramps. His thoughts had sunk deep, circling through every memory from the past four years with He Jiaqing.

Yes. He really is the only one I can call brother.

After a long silence, Li Banfeng typed out a long message.

Li Banfeng: Bro, through all four years of university, you are the one that I can acknowledge as my brother. If there was one drink left, we’d each take a sip. One cigarette left, we’d split it. If you ever needed money for treatment, I’d haul bricks at a construction site without a second thought. But this time... I can’t do it. I don’t want to be involved in this.

Li Banfeng set his phone down. His chest felt tight.

He didn’t want to get involved because none of this made sense. This defied everything he knew about the world.

The timing and location of He Jiaqing’s appearance didn’t make any sense. Whether it was He Jiaqing lying in the hospital bed or the one texting him, none of it added up.

As far as he knew, He Jiaqing had never shown any signs of supernatural ability in the past four years. If he had, he wouldn’t have been caught cheating on exams.

Li Banfeng prided himself on being able to handle a lot, but something like this could make a normal person crazy.

And besides... I already am crazy, he muttered inwardly.

Ka-da-da!

After a long silence, another message from He Jiaqing finally came in. The message had only one word.

He Jiaqing: Okay.

Li Banfeng lay back down on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He hadn’t slept well in three days.

Maybe a short nap would make everything go away, he thought. Jiaqing, I have done all I could for you.

Ka-da-da!

He then got another message from Jiaqing.

He Jiaqing: Take care of yourself.

Take care of yourself... The words echoed in Banfeng’s mind. They sounded so familiar.

Suddenly, he realized that this was the last thing he had said to He Jiaqing. It was the final thing he had ever said to him in person.

Take care... I told him to take care, but he’s clearly not okay. Not doing well means not doing well. It’s really that simple.

Li Banfeng sat up and sent another message.

Li Banfeng: How can I save you?

He Jiaqing: Banfeng, my brother, I’m begging you. Please get something for me and bring it to my house.

Li Banfeng couldn’t see He Jiaqing’s face, but he could tell from the tone of the message that He Jiaqing was very agitated and emotional.

Li Banfeng: What is it?

He sent the message and looked toward He Jiaqing’s locker. As far as he remembered, it had been empty for a long time.

He Jiaqing: It’s not in the dorm. It’s at the campus convenience store.

Li Banfeng walked to the window and looked outside. He glanced first at the man still crouched beneath the willow tree, then at the campus store in the distance.

Li Banfeng: When you say bring it to your house... you don’t mean your hometown, right?

He Jiaqing: Yes, my hometown. It’s not far. I already bought you a ticket. The train leaves this afternoon. Please, go to East Station now. I’m begging you!

Li Banfeng took a deep breath and jumped off the bed. He headed to the sink and washed his face, letting the cold water wash away some of the exhaustion that had built up over the past few days.

After drying off, he changed into a short-sleeved T-shirt, loose sports pants, and a pair of sneakers.

Since he was going on a trip, he needed to pack properly. He grabbed his wallet, slipped his ID inside, and took the two thousand yuan that He Jiaqing’s ”Third Uncle” had given him.

Then he pulled a backpack out of the closet, the same one He Jiaqing had bought from a street stall. It cost thirty yuan for one or fifty for two. He Jiaqing had bought the pair and given one to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng packed a change of clothes and got ready to leave.

Just before stepping out, he glanced out the window again. The man with wide lightbulb eyes was still there.

Li Banfeng: Since the guy watching me isn’t a cop, I’m guessing a bit of physical contact won’t be an issue, right?

Ka-da-da!

He Jiaqing: Don’t be rash.

Li Banfeng: Relax. I know my limits. I’ll keep it within the bounds of self-defense.

He Jiaqing: That’s not the point. He’s a Dark Ability User. You can’t beat him. You need to find a way to lose him.

Li Banfeng: What’s a Dark Ability User?

He Jiaqing: I can’t explain that to you yet.

Li Banfeng: Once I get to your place, you better explain everything, down to the last detail.

With that, Li Banfeng left the dorm.

The man with wide lightbulb eyes didn’t move right away. He just stood there, watching from a distance.

It wasn’t until Li Banfeng had walked a few dozen meters that the man quietly started to follow him. Li Banfeng acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He walked into the campus convenience store like he usually did when grabbing a bag of spicy sticks.

The man trailing him was named Dong Xiaoning. His codename was Lightbulb. He had only joined the Dark Star Bureau last month and still lacked professionalism in many aspects of the job. For example, he was not very professional at tailing someone, and he was painfully aware of that.

At this moment, he stood outside the convenience store, feeling torn. He didn’t know whether to go in or not. The store was small. If he went in, Li Banfeng would spot him right away. But if he stayed outside, he might lose track of him.

Ka-da-da!

Li Banfeng received a message from He Jiaqing.

He Jiaqing: The item is in a locker at the convenience store.

Li Banfeng walked up to the lockers. The convenience store only had face-recognition lockers. There was no other way to open them.

Li Banfeng: How am I supposed to unlock it? Use a photo of you?

He Jiaqing: No need. Just take it.

Just... take it?

He pressed the retrieval button. The screen lit up and scanned his face.

What’s the point? I’m not the one who stored it... Li Banfeng thought.

Clack!

Locker number six popped open. Li Banfeng stood there stunned, unable to make sense of it. What is going on? It scanned my face and still gave me He Jiaqing’s stuff? What’s the logic behind this?

Inside was a package, tightly wrapped in layers of tape.

It wasn’t large, but it was surprisingly heavy. He shoved it into his backpack and was about to leave when he spotted Lightbulb at the entrance, standing there with a phone to his ear.

Li Banfeng: The guy tailing me is on the phone. Can you hear what he’s saying?

If he was calling for backup, Li Banfeng had to figure out a way to handle it.

He Jiaqing: I can hear a bit, but it’s too fuzzy. I can’t do it alone. We need to work together. Can you get a little closer?

Li Banfeng grabbed a shopping cart and loitered near the entrance, pushing it casually as if he were just passing the time.

Lightbulb’s voice grew louder. Gradually, Li Banfeng could hear him more clearly.

It seemed like He Jiaqing had lent him some of his supernatural ability. Li Banfeng could now hear Lightbulb clearly, and even the voice on the other end of the call came through without trouble.

”Deputy Xiao, Li Banfeng just took something from a locker in the convenience store. I’m not sure what it is yet.”

On the other end of the line, Xiao Zhenggong responded.

—Did you report this to Captain Chen?

”I tried calling him, but I couldn’t get through.”

There was a long silence. Then Xiao Zhenggong gave the order.

—Eliminate the target. Bring whatever he took back to the Bureau.

As soon as Lightbulb heard that, his entire body trembled. Li Banfeng, who was standing beside the shelf, was trembling too. In fact, he was shaking even harder.

Eliminate me? You’ve got to be kidding. What did I even do for you guys to want me dead?