Wang Zikai still hadn't caught on. He blinked. "Which films, exactly?"
"The kind you use to cultivate your Qilin Arm." Gao Yang's expression was pained.
"Oh!" Wang Zikai slapped his thigh, face lighting up with excitement. "Why would I have those! When has Wang Zikai ever lacked for women! Doesn't exist."
Gao Yang had no patience for his performance. He rolled his eyes. "Hurry up. I have business to conduct."
Wang Zikai glanced back at Pang Jun, then pulled Gao Yang out of the underground garage and into the living room.
"Don't say this kind of thing in front of outsiders! I have my pride!" Wang Zikai looked somewhat embarrassed. "So, which actress? Name your preferred instructor."
"Doesn't matter. Anything."
"Right, wait here." Wang Zikai ran off.
Gao Yang sat on the sofa with eyes closed, resting his mind while sorting through his thoughts.
After careful consideration, he decided to call Officer Huang. This area was still under Huang's jurisdiction; he could fabricate something like "home invasion" or "break-in attempt" to get him over here.
At this point, Wang Zikai came running back with a laptop. He sat down on the sofa with elaborate seriousness, glanced at Gao Yang beside him, somewhat sheepish: "Let's begin."
"Begin what?" Gao Yang was baffled.
"Film appreciation!" Wang Zikai said.
Gao Yang pressed his palm to his forehead. "You've misunderstood. It's not for me to watch."
...
Three minutes later, Gao Yang and Wang Zikai returned to the underground garage.
Pang Jun was wailing. "Brother Yang! Brother Kai! That really wasn't me just now, I didn't want to hurt you... My hand wouldn't obey me! Please don't kill me! I swear I'm not a beast! I don't want to die..."
"Pang Jun, don't be afraid. We're not killing you," Gao Yang said.
"If we wanted you dead, you'd be dead already!" Wang Zikai snorted proudly.
"True..." Pang Jun calmed slightly.
"Pang Jun. Do you prefer men or women?" Gao Yang asked.
"What?" Pang Jun thought he'd misheard.
"Men or women. Which do you prefer." Gao Yang repeated.
"Women, of course... Wh-why?" Pang Jun was confused. Why this sudden question?
"Good." Gao Yang opened the laptop, clicked on a random file. He looked at Wang Zikai: "Go. Pull down his pants."
Wang Zikai froze. "Huh?"
"Do it!" Gao Yang couldn't be bothered to explain.
Wang Zikai stripped Pang Jun's jeans, revealing yellow Pikachu-print boxers, thick flabby thighs, and dense leg hair.
Gao Yang angled the screen toward Pang Jun. "Relax. Watch carefully."
"Oh, oh..." Pang Jun remained tense at first, but after several minutes, gradually... responded.
Throughout the process, Wang Zikai's expression shifted from blank neutrality to a slowly spreading, contemptuous smirk.
Pang Jun sensed Wang Zikai's disdain. His masculine pride wounded, he forgot his fear entirely and shouted indignantly: "I'm not at my best today! Normally it's not like this!"
"Oh, really—" Wang Zikai dragged out the final word with exquisite, infuriating mockery.
Click. At that moment, the garage door opened. Officer Huang, entering, froze completely.
Well, well.
Pang Jun: tied up with elaborate knots, pants around his ankles.
Gao Yang: holding a laptop playing decidedly adult cinema, volume up, the air filled with unmistakable sounds.
Wang Zikai: standing nearby, arms crossed, wearing the expression of a connoisseur observing a particularly amateur performance.
"Ahem. I'll come back later." Officer Huang tugged his cap brim and gently closed the door.
...
Ten minutes later, Gao Yang and Officer Huang stood in the underground garage. Wang Zikai had been sent away.
Officer Huang's expression was delicately complicated: "So that's the method for distinguishing beasts from humans. Qing Ling taught you this?"
"Yes." Gao Yang lowered his voice. "Don't let Wang Zikai know."
"Understood."
"Pang Jun, don't hold it against that idiot." Gao Yang glanced at the still-bound man.
"Don't worry! I'm human, he's beast—fundamentally different species. I won't lower myself to his level." Pang Jun remained somewhat indignant; clearly his pride had suffered genuine damage.
"Only have Coke and beer!" While they were speaking, Wang Zikai returned to the garage, arms laden with iced soft drinks and canned beer.
Officer Huang took a Coke, opened it, and held it to Pang Jun's lips.
Pang Jun, parched beyond endurance, stretched his neck and gulped down two large mouthfuls. Life immediately returned to him; even his eyes brightened.
Officer Huang pulled over a chair and sat, assuming the posture of an interrogator. "Alright. Tell us everything. Slowly. Everything you remember."
"Yes, yes!" Pang Jun licked his lips and began recalling: "You know my hotel had that huge fire. Auntie He burned to death, I got injured. Following our original plan, I closed the hotel to recover at home. Haven't dared go out these past few days—just waiting for you all to contact me. Then last night, while I was sleeping, I got woken by strange sounds..."
"What kind of sounds?" Officer Huang lit a cigarette.
"Sounded like a cat. Kept meowing. Drove me crazy. I got up and went to the balcony, and sure enough, saw a white cat. Looked kind of like a Ragdoll, but smaller. Ears very erect. Green eyes."
Officer Huang nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
"That white cat was clever too. Soon as it saw me, it stopped meowing. So I felt pity, you know? Figured it must be some family's lost pet. Thought I'd go up and pat its head..."
"Then—holy hell!" Pang Jun's voice jumped an octave. "Not only wouldn't it let me touch it, it suddenly bit my finger! The pain—I fainted right there on the spot."
"And then?" Officer Huang pressed.
"Then... everything was hazy, like a dream. The dream was incredibly crowded, like being packed into a subway car. The car was stuffed with people, all these wandering hands touching me, feeling up my entire body..."
"Who would want to touch you?" Wang Zikai interjected, disgusted.
"It was a dream!" Pang Jun protested, wounded. "When I woke up, I saw Brother Yang and Brother Kai... Then my right hand wouldn't obey me and started attacking Brother Yang. Everything after, you all know."
Having listened, Officer Huang's face darkened ominously.
He stepped forward and fed Pang Jun several more mouthfuls of Coke, emptying the bottle.
Officer Huang tossed the bottle aside, retreated two paces, and drew his service pistol with chilling neutrality: "Pang Jun. I'm sorry."
"No! Don't kill me!" Pang Jun howled in desperation. "I'm really human! I swear! I swear... Brother Yang, save me, save me..."
"Officer Huang," Gao Yang felt a twinge of reluctance, "perhaps we should observe him first—"
Bang.
Officer Huang fired.