I had wanted to make trouble for him, and now he was indirectly helping me.
But since he had been avoiding cameras, he must be up to something bad.
I saw him first go back to his home and then come out. I noticed that his clothes were bulging, as if he had something hidden under them.
He continued to avoid the cameras and returned to the barbecue stall at last.
But instead of ordering, he casually sat in a chair by the side of the road, quietly watching the stall owner busy with his work.
The stall owner was barbecuing. He then packed the food into a take-out container and put it on a table.
The table was loaded with take-out containers, with customers' addresses and phone numbers affixed to the plastic bags.
Matthew watched the stall owner work for a while and didn't leave until the stall owner put another take-out container on the table.
Then, Matthew went to a residential building not far away. He stood there smoking and did not move.
I hid at the entrance to the alley and surveyed the surroundings of the building.
There were three buildings in total, each building less than 10 yards apart.
Every building had about eight floors, and the downstair doors were all equipped with new electronic locks.
Matthew stood by the side of the road and waited for a while until a delivery man arrived.
"Takeaways from Hanson's BBQ?" Matthew immediately asked.
The delivery man shook his head. Matthew replied with an "oh" and smoked quietly.
The delivery man called the customer, and soon the door opened. When he came downstairs after delivering the food, Matthew grabbed the electronic door as it tried to close automatically.
He continued to wait at the electronic door, which could not be closed. A few more minutes later, another delivery man finally arrived.
"Takeaways from Hanson's BBQ?" Matthew asked again.
"Yes," answered the delivery man.
"Are they for Ms. Raven on the fourth floor and Ms. Morgan on the eighth floor? Give them to me if they are."
"Yes."
The delivery man handed the takeaways to Matthew, and Matthew complained, "What took you so long?"
"A lot of people ordered food tonight. I was going as fast as I could."
Then the delivery man left. Matthew immediately took the takeaways upstairs.
When the electronic door tried to close slowly, I immediately ran to it, grabbed the handle, and ran inside before it closed.
Ms. Raven on the fourth floor and Ms. Morgan on the eighth floor.
I didn't take the elevator, worried I'd be caught on camera, so I went up the stairs.
No sooner had I walked up the stairs than I heard footsteps upstairs. It turned out Matthew took the stairs, too, to avoid being caught on camera.
I saw a takeaway at the corridor's entrance as I approached the fourth floor. I poked my head out warily and saw Matthew standing in the hallway, lifting up his bulging clothes and pulling out a solid steel bar.
Oh?
So that was what he hid under his clothes?
I observed the hallway and saw that there were only two households on that floor. From what I could see from the outside, each apartment was about 140 square yards.
Room 401 had only an entrance, but Room 402 was different in that it had an inner window in the wall, presumably because its layout had made the bathroom built near the wall. An inner window was built to protect the bathroom from moisture and mold as there were no windows.
Matthew knocked on the door of Room 401, and a woman's voice came from inside. "I'm coming."
Matthew clutched the bar, and my heart was in my mouth.
Would he strike right away?
The door opened, and Matthew held the bar high at once!
It was not a woman but a burly man in shorts who opened the door.
Matthew threw the bar at the hallway window with lightning speed. The bar flew out of the window, and the man didn't notice anything. He took the takeout and thanked Matthew.
Matthew turned quickly back, and I hurried downstairs.
He really feared men who were stronger than him.
Back on the third floor, I heard his footsteps.
He picked up another takeaway, but instead of going downstairs, he continued to go upstairs.
I followed him to the eighth floor, and this time his target was Room 802.
After he knocked on the door, a woman's voice came from inside. "I'm coming. Wait a minute."
A woman with wet hair opened the door.
Matthew held out the takeout but pressed his hand on the door and said to the woman, "Hello, please show me the verification code."
The woman was stunned. "What is it?"
The woman had the takeaway in one hand and her phone in the other. A man's voice rang out from her phone. "Baby, take a look at your takeaway app. There should be a verification code in there. Show the delivery guy the code, and he's done his job."
The woman understood instantly and said to the man whom she was FaceTiming with, "Let me check it out. Hold on."
I thought she switched screens on her phone. I looked at her phone carefully and found it was an iPhone. I had a sense of foreboding.
Matthew also noticed that her phone was an iPhone. He immediately grabbed the woman by the hair. The woman was so startled that her phone fell to the ground with a thud.
The man's voice was heard immediately. "Baby, what happened?"
The woman was pressed against the wall in terror. Her phone's camera was aimed at them, but it was useless.
When the iPhone switched software, the screen would freeze due to system problems. So the man and the woman could hear each other, but they couldn't see each other.
Matthew covered the woman's mouth and whispered fiercely, "Tell him you just dropped your phone by accident if you don't want to die!"
The woman nodded, then said in a trembling voice, "No... nothing. I just dropped my phone by accident."
The man replied with an "oh". Matthew repeated, "Please show me the verification code."
" 0512." I thought the woman just gave a random number.
Matthew dragged the woman inside, picked up her phone, and closed the door.
I went over there immediately. Just like Room 402, Room 802 had an inner window in the bathroom. It looked like the whole building was designed that way. The drainage pipes restricted the bathroom location.
I remembered the woman's hair was wet, so I guessed she had just washed it. If she used warm water, the bathroom would be stuffy.
I grabbed the windowsill and climbed up to check the window. The woman had only two options to release the steam.
One was to open the bathroom door and release the steam into the living room, and the other was to open the inner window.
Many people wouldn't open the inner window for privacy. If the inner window was locked, there was nothing I could do.
What I saw on the sill immediately relieved me.
Steam was rising from a crack in the inner window.
I could hear them talking through the crack. I heard the man say, "Baby, I'm going back tomorrow. Do you want me to bring you something tasty? You said you had a craving for macarons. How about I take some home so we can eat while we watch a movie?"
The woman said in a shaky voice, "Oh... Okay..."
"Why does your voice seem to tremble?"
"I just took a shower. I'm cold."
"Don't freeze yourself, little fool. Don't forget you're carrying our baby."
Those simple words, like a knife, stabbed into my heart.
The beautiful image of my wife suddenly appeared in my mind.
I could only open three-tenths of the window as it was equipped with a protective device. A lot of people did that for safety these days.
I didn't panic. Instead, I cautiously stepped on the shoe rack outside the door and supported myself with one hand so that the rack would not collapse. Then I carefully checked the inner window.
It was dusty and even moldy, so I guessed it hadn't been cleaned for years. The screw inside its protective device was a little loose. I tried to turn it, but it was slippery, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not unscrew it the slightest bit.
The man on the phone was still talking. "Baby, are you done getting your takeout? I haven't seen you in a while. Are you ignoring me for food? I'm gonna cry."
He had said a lot of shameful words, but I didn't think it was anything to be ashamed of.
I remembered when my wife was still alive, I loved to lie on her lap whenever I came home tired from work. Sometimes I meowed on purpose, but she never thought I was childish and would stroke my chin.
In fact, people were not really so childish. They were happy to show their childish selves in front of the people they liked.
I knew there was no point in turning the screw again, so I got down slowly and checked what I could use.
I had nothing in my pocket but my phone.
So I started looking on the shoe rack for something I could use.
On the shoe rack were simple and tasteful canvas shoes, leather shoes, and high heels. There was nothing I could use.
I glanced at Room 801. Their shoe rack was also outside the door, so I checked their shoes.
Soon I found a pair of shoes with sharp diamond-shaped rivets, which aroused my interest. I grabbed a rivet, pulled it out hard, and managed to pull it off.
Back to the inner window, I tried to insert the sharp side of the rivet into the screw, and it got stuck as expected.
The rivet gave me a better grip. I carefully turned the screw. It was already loose, but it had rusted with age. After I gave it a good twist, it was soon removed with ease.
I heaved a sigh of relief.
The inner window could finally be fully opened. I crept in carefully, lurked by the bathroom door, and peeped out.
The woman was pressed down on a living room couch by Matthew, but the man, who was video-chatting with her, had no idea what was going on. "Baby, what took you so long to get your takeout?" the man asked.
"Switch to the video screen and tell him you're going to eat and talk to him some other time. Don't play tricks, or I'll kill you! I'm never afraid of anything. At worst, I'll pay with my life!" Mathew said in a cold, low voice, squeezing the woman's neck.
You were not afraid of anything?
I suddenly remembered how quickly he had thrown the bar away when he saw the burly man.
The woman nodded fearfully, and Matthew let go of her.
The woman picked up her phone and said in a trembling voice, "I'm going to eat. Let's talk next time."
"Can we talk a little longer? I want to see you eat." The man added, "I like it best when you smell your food before you eat."
"No, maybe next time."
"Baby, I feel like you're paltering with me. Do you not like me anymore?"
The woman trembled and suddenly sobbed, "I like you... I like you more than ever. I wish you were by my side. I want to love you forever. I love you. You have to take good care of yourself."
...
I was filled with jealousy.
The woman had a chance to say goodbye to her love, but my wife couldn't even say she loved me.
The man was clearly confused. In the end, he said, "Vivian, why are you being so affectionate all of a sudden? I miss you so much. You're gonna make me cry again. When I get back from my business trip, I'll take my annual leave. Let's take a trip together before your belly gets big."
I was so jealous.
They could talk so much before they parted for good.
I wanted to have a long talk with my wife. I wanted to say goodbye to her once, too.
Matthew was obviously worried that the woman named Vivian would spill the beans, so he immediately grabbed a knife from the kitchen. Vivian quickly said, "I'm hanging up!"
She hung up and fell to her knees in horror, putting her palms together and pleading with Matthew for mercy. "Spare my life... You can have whatever you want. Please spare my life."
Matthew was so angry that he lifted his foot and kicked Vivian hard in the head!
Vivian fell to the ground, but Matthew was still angry. It was as if he was taking all his old humiliation out on Vivian. He said through gritted teeth, "I told you not to play tricks. F*ck you!"
"Spare my life, please. You can have whatever you want as long as you don't hurt me," Vivian cried, holding her head in one hand and her belly in the other.
Matthew sneered, "I can have whatever I want?"
"I'm pregnant. I just got married." Vivian was somewhat incoherent with fear. "I want to live, please."
Before Vivian could finish her words, Matthew suddenly walked away.
He edged closer to a corner of the living room. That was when I noticed there was a camera there.
I didn't notice it at first because the light over there wasn't on.
"You're playing tricks on me, aren't you?" Matthew asked coldly.
"No! I can tell you the password for the security footage, and all the files are stored in the computer in the study. You can take the case and burn it. I'll do whatever you say."
Matthew's anger subsided a little at Vivian's pleas for mercy.
He grabbed her, pulled her into the study, and told her to turn on the computer. The study door was made of glass, so I could see everything inside.
Matthew was vigilant. Instead of rushing to click on the video after Vivian typed in the password, he worried that the knife was close to both him and her. So he carefully observed the distance from the bedroom to the front door and that from the study to the front door and coldly said to her, "Put your phone on the floor."
Vivian did as she was told. Matthew pulled her to the bedroom door and said, "Stay here."
The bedroom was further from the front door than the study. Vivian didn't have her phone, so she couldn't lock herself in the bedroom and call the police.
But Matthew wouldn't let Vivian lock the door. He said to her, "Push the couch over to block the door."
Vivian didn't dare to resist and could only do what Matthew said. However, the couch was too heavy for her. Matthew walked beside her and occasionally helped her.
When the couch completely blocked the door, Matthew ordered Vivian condescendingly, "Get in."
Vivian climbed onto the couch and carefully climbed into the bedroom. That way, it was impossible for her to close the door.
Only then did Matthew feel relieved. He fiddled with the computer in the study and put the knife on the table so he could reach it at any time.
While he was busy, I looked for something I could use in the bathroom.
There were long towels hanging in the bathroom, and I tied one around my face. Under the cover of my hat and the towel, only my eyes were exposed.
Other than that, the only thing I could use was a mop and a basin.
I looked at the electric storage water heater. The current temperature read 153 degrees Fahrenheit. A few seconds later, it rose to 154 degrees Fahrenheit.
The highest temperature of that type of electric storage water heater on the market was 167 degrees Fahrenheit.
I put the basin close to the faucet, then set the water heater to its highest setting and turned the hot faucet on slowly.
With the basin close to the faucet, the water fell silently.
Matthew deleted the backup of the security footage and removed the hard drive. Then he walked up to Vivian and said fiercely, "Take out all your bank cards. I don't accept any form of online payment. Download all the apps for your bank cards. Type in the passwords right in front of me and transfer me a small sum of money first!"
Matthew was smart. He was afraid that Vivian would trick him with fake passwords, so he had her transfer him some money to confirm the passwords. That way, he could go to any ATM to withdraw money.
After filling the basin with water, I picked up another towel and wiped the faucet.
Trembling, Vivian fetched all her bank cards. "All my bank cards are here, but most of the money is in my husband's cards. My husband manages our family's money. The balances on all my bank cards add up to several hundred dollars," Vivian said in a shaky voice.
Matthew was annoyed. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
Vivian was almost in tears. She hurried to explain, "No. I used to throw money around, so I let him manage it."
"I don't think you're scared enough of me! I'll cut your fucking face, and you'll know if I'm joking!"
Matthew raised his knife at Vivian. Vivian was so scared that she burst into tears. "I didn't lie to you. I really want to live! I didn't lie!"
"Hey, is it fun to scare a woman?" I asked.
...
The sudden voice startled Matthew and Vivian.
Matthew turned to me in a hurry. I threw a basin of hot water on his face!
"Arg!"
Matthew covered his face with one hand and screamed hysterically!
I didn't pounce on him because he still had a knife in his hand.
I knew very well from my time at the academy that I should never fight a gangster closely when he had a knife in his hand.
I took two steps back to the bathroom door and said to Vivian, "Hide in the bedroom."
She ducked into the bedroom, and I picked up the mop and broke its head with one foot.
Holding a long stick, I watched Matthew warily.
He had wiped the water off his face, which was red from the burn, and he looked at me angrily.
I gripped the long wooden stick with both hands. I held one end of the stick, leaving a wrist's length behind, though I knew that the longer the weapon, the better.
Most weapons were held that way for better control and grip. Whether it was a long stick, a short stick, or a knife, they would all get a big boost from that small technique.
Even though Matthew feared the strong, he had no choice but to confront me. He roared at me and lunged at me with his knife in his hand.
I was a little nervous.
No matter how hard I swung the stick, I couldn't do enough damage to him. I could only succeed and not fail.
One failure and I would be dead!
I gave up swinging the stick at Matthew. The stick was long, so I poked him hard in the eye!
Matthew ducked aside in fear, but he didn't make it in time. The broken surface of the stick hit him so hard on the bridge of his nose that it was dented and began to bleed.
The nose had always been one of man's weak points. Matthew took several steps back in pain, covering his nose and unable to open his eyes.
I still didn't rush forward. Instead, I gripped the stick and started a series of thrusts.
As I said, I wouldn't take any risks when I fought. I would beat my opponent to the point where he had no strength left to fight back!
Any kindness to my opponent may send me to my death!
I quickly thrust at Matthew's ribs, face, neck, and armpits with the stick.
Those were all human weaknesses. I hit Matthew with no mercy.
He couldn't fight back at all. He was in so much pain that he screamed miserably.
"I was wrong! I surrender!"
Weak and in pain, Matthew dropped his knife. "Stop it... Stop it!"
I clutched the stick and asked icily, "Did I tell you... I'd let you off if you surrendered?"
At that moment, I felt safe enough to strike Matthew.
I hit him in the temple as hard as I could!
Matthew fell to the ground. He lay twitching on the floor, spittle coming out of his mouth from time to time, his pupils quivering as he looked ahead.
I grabbed him by the hair and pulled him to the couch.
Then, I threw him on the couch and made him lie down with his head out of the couch.
Vivian looked at me from her bedroom, trembling. I asked her, "Do you have gloves? Give me a pair."
"Ah? Yes!"
She rummaged through her bedroom. At last, she found a pair of leather motorcycle gloves and handed them to me in fear.
I put on my gloves and looked at Matthew coldly.
As I said, if he was good, he could live; if he was bad, he had to die!
He chose the wrong way.
There was a case of beer in a corner of the living room. I opened it and saw that half the bottles were empty and half were unopened.
I dragged the case to the couch and glanced at Vivian in the bedroom. "Are you still drinking when you're pregnant?"
Scared, Vivian said, "My husband drinks."
"Oh, he loves you a lot."
"Who... who are you?"
"Me? I'm just someone who's too jealous of you two to allow you to say goodbye to each other."
I picked up a bottle of beer. It was heavy.
Matthew looked at me powerlessly and fearfully, as though he had regained some consciousness.
"You've been in jail for two years, but you don't seem to know how to behave," I said coldly. "You waste social resources and do harm to the people. I don't think there's any point in you living. But I can give you one more chance. Wait for your fate."
As soon as I said that, I smashed the bottle right in Matthew's mouth!
I just wanted to destroy his fucking mouth!
"Bang!"
The bottle broke, and the beer spilled all over the floor. Several of Matthew's teeth broke immediately.
The glass shards fell into his mouth. His mouth bleed heavily, and he screamed in pain. I picked up another bottle.
"Bang!"
Empty bottles broke with crisp sounds. I didn't really have time to care about what bottle I was holding because I knew a bottle would break with a loud noise and I needed to get everything done as soon as possible.
I smashed empty bottles on Matthew's head.
And I hit him in the mouth with bottles full of beer.
There was no mercy inside me. I felt nothing but joy.
That was what Matthew deserved.
I hit him with all 12 bottles.
I gasped wearily, then rubbed my gloves over the stick and the basin to erase my fingerprints.
After all that, I said indifferently to Vivian, "I'm leaving."
Matthew was a big man. I couldn't take him away, so I left him there. He lay on the couch, breathing weakly and spitting blood from time to time.
I already gave him a chance. Whether he lived or not depended on whether he could survive.
I opened the door and went into the corridor.
When I went downstairs, I heard Vivian's neighbor opening the door.
It was normal for the neighbor to open the door so late. When people heard such a strange sound, they would not go out to check immediately out of caution. Instead, they would think nervously in their rooms for a while, then secretly open their doors to observe.
I made my way downstairs unimpeded and followed the path Matthew had taken to avoid the cameras.
Um...
I felt so happy.
Just as I was thinking, my phone suddenly rang.
I pulled it out and saw that it was William calling.
I answered the phone and heard him say, "I finished coaxing Ava. I'm right at your door. Come out for a midnight snack."
Stunned, I asked, "Do you mean the door of my building or the door of my apartment?"
"The door of your apartment of course! I rang the doorbell several times. Didn't you hear me?"