Li Ang casually put down his phone. He didn't mention to Tang Ranno that Xia Junqiang was a suspect in another case, instead saying, "Looking at his life history, there seems to be nothing special about the mission target. Nothing out of the ordinary is discernible."
Tang Ranno nodded. "This mission is set up in two phases, indicating that the entire mission cycle will be lengthy. The objective of the first phase is to determine the cause of Xia Junqiang's death, meaning his death will be linked to another incident involving superhuman elements. The Special Affairs Bureau might also be investigating the mission target's death. We must complete the mission before they do and ensure we aren't caught by them."
Interacting with the Special Affairs Bureau was the last thing anyone wanted, especially for Lone Wolf Players who preferred to keep their true identities hidden.
"Ah, Mao Mao's back."
Tang Ranno looked toward the end of the path as if she were a Prophet. A golden retriever ran over with a flat cardboard box, the kind used for parcel delivery, in its mouth, wagging its tail wildly in excitement.
"WOOF, WOOF."
The golden retriever dropped the cardboard box in front of Tang Ranno, spun in a circle, then sat down and looked at her with an eager-to-please smile.
Li Ang distinctly saw Xia Junqiang's name written on the shipping label on the delivery box.
"The mission target's parcel?"
Li Ang glanced at the delivery box. "A Southeast Asian rubber lumbar pillow... Delivered three days ago."
He noted that the tape on the box had been cleanly sliced open with a utility knife. This was intriguing. Why would a programmer, who was earnestly unboxing a rubber lumbar pillow just three days ago, suddenly go on to harm someone else?
"Good boy, Mao Mao."
Tang Ranno offered casual praise. Seeing Li Ang's puzzled look, she explained, "Its hide isn't ordinary. Once worn, it can easily sniff out the scent of anyone deceased nearby and locate belongings they left behind based on that scent."
"That cool?"
Li Ang was taken aback and gave the golden retriever a thumbs-up. "Good job, quite impressive."
The golden retriever barked twice. Upon receiving a nod of approval from Tang Ranno, it immediately began pawing at the cardboard box, tearing it into pieces, and then ate them all.
Li Ang frowned. "What's this?"
"It can obtain some of the deceased's memory fragments by ingesting their belongings," Tang Ranno explained. "This ability is similar to a Spirit Communication Technique or Divination, but the process... is quite peculiar."
Soon, Li Ang understood what she meant by "peculiar."
After devouring the entire delivery box, including the clear tape, the golden retriever lowered its body, hung its head, and a series of gurgling sounds came from its throat.
Suddenly, the dog lurched forward and vomited a pool of foul, acidic-smelling green liquid from its mouth.
The green liquid splattered onto the ground but didn't seep into the earth through the gaps in the pebbled path. Instead, it slowly accumulated like slime, forming a smooth, flawless, green mirror that emitted an eerie scent.
The golden retriever instantly sagged, panting heavily as it lay on its side, its eyes squinting as if it could fall asleep at any moment.
Tang Ranno paid no attention to the golden retriever's pitiful state. She approached the mirror, lifted a hand to cover her nose against the odor, took off her sunglasses, and leaned over to inspect the green reflective surface.
Standing a little farther away, Li Ang took out a Sony digital camera, adjusted the focus, and began recording the images on the green reflective surface.
Green ripples began to undulate across the mirror, gradually revealing a reflection-like scene. The first image was of the deceased, Xia Junqiang. In the mirror, he was sitting at the computer desk in his bedroom, browsing the GitHub webpage on a desktop computer and furiously tapping the keyboard as if inputting something. (GitHub is a hosting platform for open-source and private software projects, commonly used by programmers as an open-source code repository.)
Suddenly, the scene shifted. The next second, Xia Junqiang appeared in the bathroom of his rented apartment. His eyes behind their thick lenses were blood-red, and his mouth moved as if whispering something.
Based on his lip movements, Li Ang deduced he was saying, "Die! All of you, die!"
The mirror rippled again, showing Xia Junqiang typing code on the computer. He then suddenly stood up, grabbed keys from the table, went to another residential complex, and snuck into a particular apartment via the fire escape.
What followed was a series of blurry, rapidly flashing memory snapshots: Xia Junqiang taking a dinner knife from the apartment's kitchen and attacking a portly, middle-aged man and a heavily made-up young woman who were there with him.
The final image showed a distraught Xia Junqiang walking back to his rented apartment, sitting down at his computer desk, and reaching out to touch the screen.
Instantly, the screen turned pitch black, and the computer case emitted a plume of blue smoke. Xia Junqiang, as if drained of all his blood, immediately turned into a shriveled husk. His head thrown back, his entire body slid down the chair and onto the floor.
The images ended. Tang Ranno immediately stepped back several paces to avoid the tiny green droplets that splashed as the reflective surface dissolved.
"That concludes the Spirit Communication Technique and Divination," she said, turning to Li Ang. "Did you find anything?"
"Hmm... How should I put this?" Li Ang pressed a few buttons on the digital camera in his hand, saving the recording of the green liquid. He then looked up at Tang Ranno. "The dog food you give Mao Mao is too soft, so the vomit was too clear. Next time you buy dog food, try eating it yourself for a while. If it's alright, then give it to the dog."
"..."
Tang Ranno's eye twitched; she was unsure how to react.
"Anyway, let's leave the Wan-Rong Community for now. I think I know the cause of his death," Li Ang chuckled. "By the way, did you bring a laptop?"
Tang Ranno, not knowing what Li Ang was planning, frowned. "Only a tablet."
"A tablet will do. Give it to me."
Li Ang nodded. Tang Ranno reluctantly took an almost brand-new tablet from her backpack inventory, unlocked it, and handed it over.
Clearly, the tablet Tang Ranno handed over wasn't for everyday use; it contained no private data and was probably only used for script tasks in conjunction with drones.
Li Ang took the tablet, swiped across it a few times, and turned to leave.
After a moment's hesitation, Tang Ranno leashed the golden retriever again and followed Li Ang out of the Wan-Rong Community.
They entered a quiet coffee shop, ordered two coffees, and chose a secluded corner.
Li Ang used a USB adapter to connect the digital camera to the tablet, took a sip of coffee, and swiped his fingers across the screen.
After a moment, he looked up at Tang Ranno. "Our mission target did indeed die from a supernatural incident. To be exact, he died from an unknown curse targeting programmers."