While at work, I suddenly received an anonymous text. The sender asked if I would sell them my phone. If I refused, the consequences would be severe. I thought it was a scam and deleted the message without a second thought. But at lunch, a greedy coworker stole a drumstick from my DoorDash order, and he died on the spot. We thought it was food poisoning. But the doctor frowned and said: "Call the police." "Cyanide poisoning. This was a murder attempt." 1 "Can you describe exactly what happened at the time?" After the police arrived, they took the case very seriously. Homicide is no joke. I started to recount the events: "It was just like any other day. I grabbed my lunch delivery, but my boss suddenly asked me to run a file upstairs." "So I left the food on my desk." "My coworker got hungry and stole a drumstick from the box. And then..." The detective nodded. "Matches what we saw on the security footage." "Our current assessment is that the target was you. Your coworker was just collateral damage." "Think carefully. Have you offended anyone recently?" I shook my head. "I'm just a corporate drone. Who would I offend?" "At most, I argue with my boss about project proposals." Hearing this, my boss standing nearby jumped in, terrified: "Officer, that's normal work discussion! I wouldn't poison someone over that! It's not even my company!" The detective smiled and nodded. "Don't worry. You were in your office the whole time. You had no opportunity to poison the food, so you've been cleared." He turned back to me. "Think harder. Any conflicts of interest that might have happened unintentionally?" Suddenly, I remembered the anonymous text from that morning. I showed it to the detective. He frowned. "It's highly likely this is the person responsible. But why do they want your phone?" I shook my head. "I have no idea." The detective thought for a moment. "Come with me to the station. We need to check if there's anything on your phone." I spent the entire afternoon at the police station, but we found nothing. Photos, videos, chat history—everything was normal. What was the trigger that made someone want to kill me? With no leads, the police had to let me go home, advising me to be careful. As for food, they arranged for someone to deliver meals to me to prevent another poisoning attempt. That gave me some peace of mind. Back home, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, trying to figure out how to solve this. The police had traced the number—it was a virtual number, unregistered. The location couldn't be tracked either. All I knew was that until they got my phone, I was in danger. Of course, I couldn't just destroy the phone. That might provoke them further. I picked up the phone and looked through it again. Nothing stood out. Was it like in the movies? Was there a microchip of drugs hidden inside? I examined the phone. It was a foldable, ultra-thin model. Even if there were drugs inside... How much could there be? A few grams? Surely not enough to justify poisoning someone! Unless they were crazy. I felt there must be something else in the phone that made them so desperate. Exhausted by fear, I eventually drifted off to sleep. Until a knock on the door woke me up. A voice called from outside: "Hello, I'm with the police department. Delivering your dinner." I groggily moved to open the door, but something felt off. I looked through the peephole. The person was wearing a police uniform. But he announced himself as a police officer. Why was he alone? Don't officers always work in pairs? 2 "Just leave it at the door! I'm in the bathroom!" I shouted from the direction of the bathroom. The voice came again: "I have some questions I need to go over with you. Just open the door when you're done." My heart sank. This guy was planning to come in! Logically, if they needed to contact me, they wouldn't wait for meal delivery time. Detective Hu, who was handling my case, had my number. He could call anytime. Plus, when I left the station, everyone was busy. They wouldn't have time to personally deliver food. It would likely be a cafeteria worker or an auxiliary officer. I went back to the peephole and stared at the person outside. His cap was pulled low, obscuring most of his face. What really confirmed he wasn't a cop was his shoulder patch. It was crooked. Not just hanging crooked, but the uniform was too small, pulling the fabric weirdly. Police uniforms are fitted. This wouldn't happen. Putting it all together, I texted Detective Hu immediately: Detective Hu, help! There's someone at my door pretending to be a cop delivering food. He keeps insisting on coming in. Detective Hu replied instantly: Stay safe! We're on our way! I typed back: Should I try to stall him? Detective Hu replied quickly: Prioritize your safety! You don't need to fight bad guys. He didn't say anything else, presumably rushing over. Hearing no movement from inside, the person outside grew impatient. He started banging on the door. "Sir, hurry up. I have another assignment." "I need to verify some questions with you face-to-face right now." I stayed silent, waiting for Detective Hu. But things didn't go as planned. While I waited, I heard the lock being picked. The guy couldn't wait and was trying to break in. Luckily, my lock was high quality. He fiddled for a while but couldn't open it. He got more agitated. He started trying to force the door. Terrified, I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a cleaver. If he came in, I'd hack him. I waited in fear. But the lock rattling stopped. The noise outside ceased. It seemed he had left. I cautiously looked through the peephole. He was standing there, motionless! He was pretending to leave to trick me into opening the door. He stood at a clever angle, avoiding the peephole's view. But he overlooked one thing. The neighbor across the hall loved fashion and had a full-length mirror by her door. Through the peephole, I could see the reflection of a pair of men's leather shoes in her mirror! I texted Detective Hu again: Detective, be careful when you arrive. He's baiting me to open the door. He might have a weapon. Detective Hu repeated: Stay safe. Don't be a hero. Catching criminals is our job. I stopped texting. I watched through the peephole. Suddenly, the person outside turned and left, seemingly giving up on the ambush. Shortly after he left, I heard hurried footsteps. Detective Hu called: "We're at your door. Open up!" Then came the knock, and Detective Hu's face appeared in the peephole... 3 "Are you okay?" Detective Hu asked patiently, then inspected the doorway. The suspect was careful and left no traces like hair or fingerprints. Detective Hu was puzzled. Why would someone target a regular office worker like me? He asked about my personal life again. Basically, a normal corporate slave life, 996 schedule (9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week). Wake up, work, sleep. Almost no free time. The only potential conflict source was mobile gaming. Not that I'm toxic! But when your mid-laner feeds, your jungler is useless, and your support steals kills... Anyone would rage! "Those players, I swear..." I got agitated. Detective Hu sighed. "Alright, alright, Jason. I get it." "Working all day only to get trolled in a game is frustrating." "But I don't think a bad game warrants assassination." "Unless they're psychopaths killing for fun." I looked miserable. "What if they really are psychos?" "Am I doomed?" Detective Hu comforted me. "Don't worry, we're investigating." "It's only been six hours. We haven't even finished reviewing the surveillance footage." "Solving cases takes time." I nodded. About half an hour later, an older man knocked on the door. Detective Hu opened it and greeted him warmly. "Uncle Zhang, thanks for coming." Uncle Zhang waved his hand with a smile. "No problem. I was free anyway." "Besides, this counts as participating in the case, right?" "You know me, can't sit still." Detective Hu introduced us. Uncle Zhang, the designated food deliverer, was a retired detective. After retirement, he was bored and kept wanting to work. The department, seeing his enthusiasm, gave him a job in the cafeteria. Usually, Uncle Zhang wasn't thrilled about it, but hearing he was protecting a victim, he lit up. Not only did he volunteer to deliver food, but he also geared up with a stab-proof vest and a baton. Planning to be my bodyguard! I looked at Uncle Zhang. He was fit, definitely stronger than me. But he was old enough to be my dad. I felt bad troubling him. Uncle Zhang patted his chest. "Don't worry, kid. I was a champion in the police combat tournament back in the day!" "A couple of thugs are nothing!" Detective Hu sat Uncle Zhang down. Confirming I was okay, they left together. Uncle Zhang told me: "Kid, just leave the dishes when you're done." "I'll pick them up tomorrow." "I know you young people hate washing dishes." Looking at Uncle Zhang, I felt inexplicably moved. If my dad were still around, he'd probably take care of me like this. I opened the lunch box. Beef stew with potatoes. Police cafeteria food was good; the beef chunks were huge. Eating, I replayed the day's events. I opened my phone, scrolling endlessly. What on earth was in here that someone wanted me dead for? Still nothing. But I sensed something. Maybe I didn't know the secret in my phone either. That's why they just demanded the phone without saying what they wanted! But what could be on my phone that I didn't know about? Pacing the room, my eyes landed on the door, and I realized something even more terrifying! Why did the suspect leave? And the timing was perfect? Just a minute or two later, he would have run into Detective Hu... 4 "He was in the stairwell. He couldn't have known Detective Hu was coming up." "That means he wasn't alone." My eyelid twitched. I looked from my window to the building opposite. The building wasn't far. You could see into the living rooms. Looking down from my floor, the height was perfect to see the street below. Goosebumps erupted all over my body. If there was someone in the opposite building watching my every move when the knock came... It fits! The suspect avoiding the peephole, pulling his cap low... It was all to avoid my attention. A person outside the door couldn't be so omniscient. But if there was a spotter across the street, it explained everything. My breathing grew heavy. If there wasn't just one suspect, but two or more, I was in deep trouble. I kept thinking. My home wasn't safe. If they didn't want the phone back, but just wanted to destroy it, they had many ways. Like starting a fire! Or staging an "accident" in my home... Most importantly, I didn't know what was on the phone. I couldn't assess the danger or negotiate. I had thought about contacting them to give up the phone. But they didn't know if I had seen the secret. They dared to poison someone. If they suspected I knew their secret, I was dead! First thing I did was close all the curtains. couldn't let them see what I was doing. As for thermal imaging, I doubted they had it. Even for a large organization, that kind of equipment is strictly controlled. So, my temporary safety relied on the country's strict gun control laws. I didn't believe they could blow my door open with a grenade and spray me with machine gun fire! After closing the curtains, I checked the room for bugs. Maybe my place was bugged. As for next door, it shouldn't be bugged. An elderly couple lived there; they didn't rent out rooms. I had a good relationship with them, even ate with them before. Confirming the room was safe, I used my spare phone to call Detective Hu. Fearful my main phone was tapped. I looked at my phone, wanting to slap myself. I used it to contact Detective Hu earlier. Maybe there wasn't anyone across the street; maybe the phone was just compromised. The call connected, and I reported to Detective Hu: "Detective, I found something new." Detective Hu's voice was calm: "Go ahead, I'm taking notes." I told him my analysis and actions. After all, Detective Hu was the person I trusted most right now. He thought for a moment and said: "It's very possible." "The number used to text you has never appeared before." "It was registered specifically for you and went dormant immediately after." "We've backed up your phone data and are analyzing it." "I'll let you know as soon as we have results." He paused, then told me the plan: "Don't go to work for the next few days. I'll get you paid leave under the pretext of cooperating with an investigation." "Except when sleeping, send me a video message every two hours to confirm you're safe." "During sleep hours, I'll arrange for plainclothes officers to patrol outside your building." I thanked him profusely. But analyzing it, I couldn't smile anymore...
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