Chapter 18: The Negative (Please add to your collection and vote for recommendations!)

Zhou Shen felt as if he had fallen into an endless abyss, trapped in a dark corridor with no path in sight. The news Akizama gave him was simply too shocking—he had no recollection of how he even walked out of the kendo training hall.

What lay before him was an unbelievable truth.

The White Russian father who had raised him for fifteen years was in fact a fervent “anti-Soviet, anti-Communist” extremist and had even joined an underground anti-Soviet organization. Regardless of whether he was working as a lackey for the Japanese or merely cooperating, what he was doing was bound to end in disaster. In all likelihood, Zhou would be implicated as well. Even if he managed to survive until Victory Day, being sent to the frozen wastes of Siberia to fell trees and mine was almost inevitable.

Though the original Zhou had suffered many beatings in the past, the grace of fifteen years of upbringing and cultivation was real, and even though someone else now inhabited this body, everything the original endured, he now bore. Without the original, he would not have had this second chance at life.

His father was dead—so many questions would never be answered face to face.

He couldn’t blame him. One person’s struggle was nothing in the tidal wave of history. To still dream of “retaking” their homeland and rebuilding the Russian Empire was no more than a futile fantasy.

Akizama’s decision not to detain Susanna was actually a ploy to use “her” as bait to catch bigger prey—a long-term strategy, and one they were used to. Was he overestimating Zhou’s importance?

“Officer Zhou.” After Susanna and Cui Miao closed the “missing persons” case, Cui Miao had planned to send someone to fetch Susanna’s uncle, Balov, to take her home. But Susanna insisted on not letting her uncle come, choosing instead to stay at the station and wait for Zhou Sen.

Cui Miao knew Susanna had been brought to the station by Zhou Sen. With the case closed and the credit his, the rest was none of his concern.

“Miss Susanna, why haven’t you gone home?”

“I don’t dare stay at home. I’m afraid someone might harm me…” Susanna explained quietly.

“Shall I find you a hotel to stay in for now?” Zhou Sen considered. He couldn’t take Susanna home with him—that would be a major misunderstanding. The warehouse was private property, and though there were few secrets, Susanna’s status was questionable; it simply wasn’t appropriate.

“Will I be there alone?” Susanna asked in a delicate voice.

“I’ll assign someone to stay in the room next to yours. That way, if anything happens, you can call for help,” Zhou Sen replied.

“Thank you, Officer Zhou.”

He found a small hotel near the warehouse called the Delight Inn, booked two rooms under Ye San’er’s name, and settled Susanna in one.

The other room, Zhou Sen intended for Uen. Uen lived far away, and after the recent heavy snow, the cold and the treacherous roads made travel difficult. Having Uen stay nearby allowed him both to protect Susanna and to have a convenient place to live—a perfect arrangement.

Once Susanna was settled, Zhou Sen returned to the warehouse on Haicheng Street.

Old Gu was receiving the belongings left behind by Sherkin, delivered by the Songjiang Daily. It was quite a lot—two chests carried down from the carriage. Old Gu made a simple record and wrote a receipt for them; the procedures had to be airtight, leaving no room for excuses.

Dozens of rolls of film negatives had been placed in a special box—these were the items Zhou Sen had specifically requested, and they needed to be checked and counted with even more care.

After the tedious handover, the deliverymen left with the signed receipt.

“Uen, go to the Delight Inn and swap Ye San’er back, then you’ll stay there tonight. Miss Susanna is in the room next door. Your job is to protect her. If she goes out, you don’t leave her side. Take care of your own dinner—report back for reimbursement,” Zhou Sen instructed Uen after calling him over.

“Boss, are we really acting as her babysitters now?” Old Gu asked.

“That’s the higher-ups’ orders. I have no choice—just follow them,” Zhou Sen replied, not wanting to explain much to Old Gu; the less he knew, the better.

“That Songjiang Daily is clearly up to something. I tried probing the guy who delivered the stuff—guess what I found out?” Old Gu said in a conspiratorial whisper.

“What?”

“They plan to retrieve Sherkin’s body from the Police Department and quietly bury him somewhere,” Old Gu said.

“The case isn’t even solved—why are they so eager to bury the body?”

“Who knows? Boss, we’ve been there twice already. Did you see anyone who cared how Sherkin died or whether the killer’s been caught?” Old Gu continued. “My years as a cop tell me, the Songjiang Daily knows something.”

“So what if they do? If they won’t talk, there’s nothing we can do,” Zhou Sen replied helplessly.

“That’ll make this case impossible to crack…”

“Old Gu, keep an eye on the Songjiang Daily for me. Let me know immediately if anything happens,” Zhou Sen said. “It’s about time—end of the day. Go home.”

“Boss, I’m heading off then.” Old Gu glanced at the darkening sky. He’d promised his wife he’d be home early tonight for dinner.

“Go ahead, I’ll wait for Ye San’er…”

Zhou Sen had considered simply walking away from it all. But escaping wasn’t something you could do on a whim—especially in this freezing weather, with the roads blocked by snow beyond Ice City.

First, he needed transportation; then, money for the journey; then, identification papers; and above all, a destination.

It wasn’t time to burn all bridges yet. Running now would truly cut off every path.

Self-pity would get him nowhere—he had to find a way to save himself. He’d thought of feigning madness, but it wasn’t feasible. No one could suddenly go mad at will, and besides, he wasn’t sure he could pull it off.

For now, he could only tackle each problem as it came.

“Zhou Sen, Zhou Sen…” As he was racking his brains for a solution, a familiar voice rang out suddenly from outside the warehouse.

Why did that voice sound so familiar?

Damn, why her?

“Zhou Sen, I know you’re in there. Open the door,” someone was banging hard at the warehouse door—impossible to pretend he hadn’t heard.

There was nothing for it. Unless he intended to barricade himself inside forever, he could only get up, walk over, and open the door to let Jin Suying in.

“Secretary Jin, what brings you here?” Zhou Sen’s tone was rather cold. She was certainly beautiful, but far too calculating and aggressive. The former Zhou had been infatuated, but to him, she was of no interest—and with women like her, it was best to keep one’s distance.

“Zhou Sen, there’s a ball tonight at the Modier Hotel. I managed to get two tickets—come with me?” Jin Suying smiled.

It was then he noticed she was dressed to the nines: her black hair in glamorous waves, a luxurious fox-fur shawl, and beneath it a cheongsam of fine fabric, tailored to accentuate her graceful figure, radiating youth and vitality.

“No,” Zhou Sen refused outright.

Jin Suying’s expression changed. In the past, no matter how much she scolded or humiliated him, a single word or a crook of her finger would have him wagging his tail like a lapdog, eager to please.

What had always worked now failed completely.

“Zhou Sen, I’m giving you face. How dare you refuse me like this?” Her face fell at once. With no one else present, there was no need to maintain her elegant, lady-like demeanor.

“Why shouldn’t I refuse? Who are you to me—my wife, my mother?” Zhou Sen retorted with a touch of sarcasm.

Jin Suying flushed with anger. “You—you’re nothing but a scoundrel!”

“Thank you for the compliment, Secretary Jin. If there’s nothing else, you’d better leave—I wouldn’t want any misunderstandings,” Zhou Sen said, issuing a clear dismissal.

“Zhou Sen, to tell you the truth, tonight’s ball at the Modier Hotel was arranged by Mr. Akizama. If you don’t go, the consequences will be severe,” Jin Suying said.

Zhou Sen paused, then sneered inwardly. Akizama had just informed him of Old Antony’s death—why would he want Zhou at a ball with Jin Suying at a time like this?

If Akizama wanted to recruit him, surely he’d consider his current state of mind. There was no reason to force him into an unpleasant situation right now.

How important could a ball be, that someone as insignificant as him had to attend, and with Jin Suying as his companion?

If it were truly essential, why hadn’t Akizama mentioned it at the police station, instead of sending Jin Suying to tell him?

This was clearly a case of using Akizama’s name to throw weight around—a fabrication.

“Secretary Jin, don’t try to pressure me with Mr. Akizama’s name. After hours, my time is my own—I do as I please. I have no interest in any ball. Find someone else; there are plenty at the station who’d be happy to escort you,” Zhou Sen replied coolly.

“Zhou Sen, you…” Jin Suying was so furious she was speechless. So many times, she had controlled him completely—he’d never dared cross her. This sudden reversal left her at a total loss.

Zhou Sen ignored her; as long as she didn’t interfere with his work, it was fine. He noticed that all the film negatives in his hands had special markings.

Put simply, each roll of film was dated—no doubt added later by Sherkin when he developed the photos.

There were negatives for every photo Sherkin had taken for the Songjiang Daily over the past two years. These rolls might be of little value now, but decades later, they would be a priceless collection.

“What are you doing?” Jin Suying, about to storm out in anger, was instead drawn in by the negatives Zhou Sen was examining.

“It’s none of your business. Do as you like,” Zhou Sen said dismissively.

Though Sherkin couldn’t have taken photos every day, there was a clear continuity. He had started out as a reporter, carrying his camera to interviews and chasing news leads—perfectly normal behavior.

By comparing these photos to the people Sherkin had interviewed and the reports he’d written for the Songjiang Daily over the past two years, Zhou Sen could match them up one by one.