Yun Huanâs execution day.
I gave the old man a call in the afternoon.
The line connected shortly. His frail voice sounded, âHi.â
âYun Huateng, right? Weâve found the prison your grandson is being locked up at. The execution site is also confirmed, but I have something to ask you,â I said.
âPlease, go on,â the old man invited somewhat happily.
âItâs not really a problem. We can tell you the location but weâre afraid that you might be thinking about rescuing your grandson. If that happens, weâre going to be in trouble and we donât want that,â I explained.
The old man laughed and said, âI understand. How about you call me after the execution? I just want his body for burial, so please donât overthink my intentions. Weâve agreed that what he did was wrong and he should be rightfully punished.â
âYou sure about that? Alright, then. Wow. I was actually kinda hoping that you would want to rescue your grandson.â
He completely ignored my comment. âI know that the execution is going to take place sometime in the afternoon, so just remember to give me a call. Iâve already prepared the money.â
âAlright,â I agreed before hanging up.
Fatty came over and asked, âWhat now? Thereâs really no way that heâs going to save his grandson, right?â
I nodded. âHe wants a dead grandson for sure. We can move on with our plans, although I still feel that the old man might be a good person.â
âGot it. Do we call the cops now? Or do we wait for a little while?â Fatty hedged.
âSkinny came up with the idea so letâs ask him,â I suggested.
Skinny responded, âIâll inform the police later. Letâs finish this up first,â
âYou guys go ahead, Iâm already ready,â I said before lying down.
Since Fatty and Skinny were too fat and skinny for this, I took on the responsibility. After all, Yun Huanâs physique was similar to mine.
I closed my eyes and Skinny started applying makeup on my face.
âPretty decent, aye, Skinny?â Fatty commented laughingly.
Skinny missed the sarcasm and replied happily, âI graduated as an interior designer, after all. Doing makeup is much easier than CAD!â
âI heard that you often take part in cosplaying events?â Fatty smiled.
âWhatever, dude. Itâs all done,â Skinny got up and tidied his makeup products.
Fatty nudged me and said, âLetâs talk about what to take note of.â
I opened my eyes and looked at Fatty. âI remember.â
Fatty tossed a flick knife to me. âFor protection.â
âIs this really necessary?â
âJust to be safe. Alright, I wonât go over it all again since you remember the details. Is your phone fully charged? It will be problematic if your phone dies halfway,â Fatty checked.
I took my phone out. â63%. Thatâs enough.â
Fatty picked up a portable charger and threw it to me. âIâm going to zip the bag. You might feel a little cold. Have you worn enough undergarment?â
âWait, I did not wear any! Did you talk about this previously?â I asked anxiously.
Fatty shook his head and tossed some heat packs to me. âOkay, Iâm zipping this up for real now.â
âOkay,â I acquiesced then shut my eyes.
I felt Fatty carry the bag and walk downstairs.
I stuffed the knife into my pocket with much difficulty since the bag was rather small and I couldnât move much.
It was only when I grabbed the portable charger that I realized Fatty had missed out the cable.
Left with no other choice, I just turned my phone to silent mode and set the brightness to its dimmest level.
I felt them moving me into the back seat before driving off.
It was a bumpy ride and I regretted entering the bag so early on.
I shut my eyes and waited to be stuffed in the chest.
The car stopped shortly. Fatty grabbed me up again and said softly, âItâs 11 now, letâs match our clocks.â
âYou watch too much movies. Our clocks are all synchronized with the Internetâs now,â I replied.
Fatty slapped my butt cheek. âYou talk a lot.â
I was carried into a room but I couldnât sense much since I was literally kept in the dark.
I felt that I was being placed on a metal frame. Fatty whispered, âIâm going to push you in before leaving. Remember that your chest is F3. Do what you need to do. This isnât a game and thereâs no replay button.â
âGot it,â I replied.
âThe person carrying you out might not be as gentle, so you better not twitch a muscle.â
âYou donât say,â I commented dryly.
Fatty pushed the tray in and knocked on the metal lid. âPray hard. Call me if anything goes wrong.â
I felt nothing when I was still outside but when I was sent to the mortuary, the cold became apparent.
I started to regret not wearing more layers underneath.
Frustrated, I grabbed the heat packs tightly. I was thankful that Fatty had done his research and prepared these heat packs for me.
I activated all the heat packs and stuffed them into my clothes.
I finally felt my body temperature rising, although it was still very cold. My face and head, especially, since I had no way of keeping them warm.
11:20.
Every minute was torture.
Finally, it was 12. I couldnât take it anymore and I called the old man. My body froze again the moment I made the call.
There was no reception at all. How could we have forgotten the most important detail?
I held my phone as far out as possible and finally saw a slight signal.
I quickly made the call.
âAre you going to tell me now? Your money is all ready,â the old man cut to the chase upon answering. He mustâve been waiting for a long time.
âThe crematorium in Phoenix Mountain Mausoleum Park. F3 chest,â I responded, shuddering.
âThank you. Iâll get someone to send the money over now. Why do you sound like youâre shivering?â
âTook a cool bath and caught a cold,â I blurted out.
He laughed. âTake care of your body or youâre going to regret it when you get older.â
I hung up and switched the phone to airplane mode. I again waited some more for the old man to get me out quickly.
Half an hour passed and I finally heard some shuffling outside the door.
I could hear voices.
I shut my eyes and hid my heat packs together.
Someone pushed the tray out.
âThis is the one, right?â
âYeah, F3. Should we open it?â
âYou do it.â
âBut itâs unlucky.â
âAlright, Iâll do it.â
There were two of them, it seemed. I heard the zip.
They only opened it a little, to my relief.
âYou saw it? In just that split second?â
âDonât worry, it is the guy in the photograph.â
âAlright, you carry him and Iâll switch the bodies.â
I got carried out.
A few minutes later, I got ruthlessly flung into the boot of a car.
The car drove off and I started feeling warmth again.
The heat packs started to feel hot and I wanted to cry.
After enduring the heat for another half an hour, the car finally came to a halt.
The boot opened up and a hand reached in to lift me up.
âThatâs strange. Why does this corpse feel hot?â
âYou shouldâve gotten your car replaced a long time ago. Itâs normal for your boot to heat up. Donât worry about it, we gotta hurry.â
âLuckily, the money weâll be getting is enough for a new car.â
I was brought into a big building, it seemed.
We reached a room after going up the elevator.
I was worried that Fatty and Skinny wouldnât be able to find their way to this place.
âWe brought the stuff.â
âYou may leave. Youâll receive the money shortly.â
âWhere should we place this corpse?â
âOn that bed.â
I got carried onto a bed. I did not recognize these voices.
When the person who was carrying me left, I heard a familiar voice.
âCan we start the operation now?â
âYes, you all may leave,â the old manâs voice rang.
I pressed the record button on my phone.
âWe will put you under anesthesia and check the condition of your internal organs before extracting the left lung from that donor. After some processing, we will reinforce the anesthesia and carry on with the replacement.â
âAlright,â the old man said.
âDexmedetomidine, Ondansetron, dexamethasone. Start the saline drip...â
The medical terms gave me a headache.
I figured that the recording was enough evidence and wondered when would Fatty and Skinny show up with the cops.
The doctor spoke up, âGood. Everything is good. Letâs get the lung now. Inform me if you note any change in numbers, Nurse.â
The doctor walked over to my side and I held my breath.
I held onto my phone tightly with my left hand and the flick knife with my right.
As the zip was being pulled, I tightened my grip on the knife.
I shut my eyes tight.
âWhy are there so many heat packs?â the doctor asked when he got the bag opened halfway.
I opened my eyes.
âAh!â the doctor cried out in shock, retreating a few steps.
I sat upright and saw about seven nurses around.
I picked the portable charger and threw it at the doctor closest to me.
âWho are you and what is going on?â the doctor shouted.
I flashed my knife and said, âDonât move, all of you. Move back. Against the wall. Iâll stab anyone who moves.â
I placed my mobile on the bed and opened the knife fully.
All the doctors and nurses were standing against the wall, their hands raised.
I turned to the old man, who was speechlessly looking at me with wide eyes.
I got out of the bag and off the bed with a cold smile. One nurse took the opportunity in between to dash out of the room.
She was too fast and I couldnât stop her.
Frustrated, I ran over to the old manâs bed, but the moment my feet touched the ground, my knees went numb.
I almost lost my footing but I managed to reach the old manâs side.
Just when I reached him, his six bodyguards barged into the room.
The nurse who escaped had informed them.
I held the knife by the old manâs neck. âMove and Iâll kill him.â
It was an effective method. No one moved an inch.
The doctors and nurses started exiting the room.
The old man managed, âYou... why... is it you.â
I figured that he couldnât talk properly because of the anesthesia. âImpressive, eh? Murdering your own grandson for a lung.â
âI... did not...â he said effortfully.
âIâve checked. Not only did you kill your own son, youâre now harvesting your grandsonâs organ. If not for me, wonât you be living off his lung by now? You sure have your ways, huh? Sneaky man.â
âItâs my... son. Itâs all his fault,â he barely managed as tears rolled down his cheeks.
I felt his tears on my arm and I tensed.
He was genuinely crying.
âMy grandson... heâs very filial. Itâs all my sonâs fault, heâs a failure... My grandson... it was an accident. I found out that I have lung cancer two years ago and I understood that it was difficult to find a match. My son said he was willing to save me with his lung. He vowed to donate half a lung if I made him the director, but he lied and talked my grandson into giving me his instead. Itâs that bastardâs fault,â he explained, sounding somewhat angry, as tears continued streaming down.
My whole body was shaking. âYou took a lung from your grandson once already?â
âMy son... he was a jerk. He used his own sonâs lung in exchange for his position in the company. He arranged the whole surgery and I only found out about it after it was all done. Within half a year, he shifted 40% of my assets and stocks and cost the company 200,000,000. And my grandson had to stay in the hospital because of me...â he continued.
âYouâre saying that your son tricked your grandson into giving you his lung so that he could become the director and plunder your money?â I clarified. It really was complicated being a rich man.
âI had no choice but to hire the driver to kill him and then forge evidence that he was on drugs. I kept it from my grandson and blamed it on the driver. I did not expect him to do something so silly upon recovering...â he trailed off, trembling.
âSo since there was nothing you could do, you decided to harvest his other lung? How is that any different from your sonâs behavior?â I questioned.
âYou think I want this? My son, grandson... theyâre all gone but Iâm alive, am I not? Plus, that boy wrote in his will... he wanted me to have his other lung but the police... opposed it.â
âYou donât understand. All this happened because you plotted to kill your son.â
âYou want money? Iâll give it to you. Hand my grandson over and Iâll give you the money. I can give you everything. I just want his lung,â he said, almost hysterically.
By then, the cops had barged in and subdued the bodyguards to the ground.
I shook my head and sighed. âWe did not search for his execution location. Heâs probably cremated by now. As for you, the law will punish you. Itâs a fact that you, your son, and your grandson have all committed a crime.â
The old man stared sluggishly into space. Despair was evident in his eyes.
Fatty and Skinny dashed in, smiling and holding up a victory hand gesture.
I kept the knife and handed the phone to the cops.
This was how we cracked our first major case. It was an achievement that we would always be proud of.