Little Clark was scared out of his wits, his voice trembling as he said, “Ergou, you... you damn well better not scare me like this. Even if we were unlucky enough to pick up hell money, it shouldn’t mean we’re going to die!”

I said, “Did you forget about our childhood friend from back home, Peter Stone? Wasn’t it because he mistook hell money for real money that he died?”

Little Clark and I are from the same place, so he knows about what happened to Peter Stone.

As soon as he heard about Peter Stone, Little Clark got even more nervous, but he still said, “Maybe Peter Stone’s death was just a coincidence. Ergou, can you not scare me like this? You’re going to scare me to death.”

I said, “I hope Peter Stone and Old Smith’s deaths were just coincidences too, but a month ago, five people picked up hell money, and four of them died. Anyone who treats hell money as real money dies mysteriously not long after. Do you really think that’s just a coincidence?”

On the other end of the phone, Little Clark was clearly even more nervous and asked me where I’d heard this. I told him I heard it from the police, and if he didn’t believe me, he could ask them himself.

This time, Little Clark was finally scared and asked me what he should do.

I sighed and just told him to come over quickly so I could take him to meet someone.

Yes, I planned to go see John Thompson, the one who also picked up hell money a month ago but survived.

After hanging up, I waited for Little Clark.

Just then, my phone rang. It was the restaurant owner calling, asking why it was taking me so long to find Old Smith. I told him Old Smith was dead, and also told him about the hell money, asking if I could get an advance on this month’s salary.

The boss was reluctant at first, but I told him that if I died, it wouldn’t be good to come asking him for my wages. Hearing that, he immediately agreed to give me a month’s pay in advance.

I went back to the restaurant to collect my salary, and also asked the boss for the afternoon off.

My salary was very low, only 2,400 yuan in total. The boss said it wasn’t easy for me, so he gave me an extra 200 yuan as a bonus. With 2,600 yuan in hand, I first bought a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes for over 400 yuan, then returned to my rented place.

I had just gotten back to my place when Little Clark arrived on his motorcycle. Maybe he was really scared by all this—his face was pale and he looked terrible, completely dazed.

As soon as he saw me, Little Clark said, “Ergou, I’ll take you with me, let’s go home!”

To be honest, I wanted to go home too, because being home would make me feel a bit safer. But deep down, I knew it wouldn’t help. If we really were doomed, going home wouldn’t save us either, would it? So I said to Little Clark, “Let me take you to meet someone first. Maybe this person can help us.”

Little Clark asked who we were going to see. I said we were going to see someone who also picked up hell money but survived—maybe he knows how to deal with this. I also told him about John Thompson.

Little Clark nodded without saying anything, just got on his motorcycle and motioned for me to get on.

I got on Little Clark’s motorcycle, and we headed straight out to John Thompson’s place...

Little Clark focused on driving, not saying a word, which made me a bit worried about him. Normally, he’s the most talkative person I know. Clearly, he was acting so strangely because this whole thing had really freaked him out.

Sitting on the back of Little Clark’s motorcycle, I tried to comfort him: “Little Clark, don’t worry too much. The person we’re going to see also picked up hell money, but he’s doing just fine. I’m sure he has his own way of dealing with it.”

Little Clark stayed silent. After a long while, he finally said, “Ergou, let’s stick together, okay?”

I sighed and said, “If John Thompson doesn’t have a solution, I’ll go back with you.”

Hearing that, Little Clark finally nodded in satisfaction and turned to give me a smile.

Just then, my phone suddenly rang. I took it out and was stunned to see that the caller ID showed Little Clark was calling me. But... but Little Clark was right here, both hands on the motorcycle.

I frowned and asked Little Clark, isn’t your phone on you?

Maybe it was the wind from riding the motorcycle, but Little Clark didn’t seem to hear me at all—he didn’t react.

I didn’t think much of it at the time and just answered the call, putting the phone to my ear to see if anyone would speak.

With the phone to my ear, sure enough, I heard a “hello” on the other end. It was a middle-aged man’s voice, and it sounded familiar, like I’d heard it somewhere before. But I was sure the man on the phone wasn’t Little Clark. First, Little Clark’s voice isn’t like that, and second, Little Clark was right here, riding the motorcycle, with me sitting behind him.

My first thought was that Little Clark’s phone had been lost and someone else had picked it up.

So I asked, “Who are you? Why do you have my friend’s phone?”

The other person said, “You’re Eric Brooks, right? I’m Captain Captain Smith from the police station!”