Silent Reading by Priest - Book 1

Chapter 27: Julien XXVII

Those skyscrapers had frigid-colored façades and sharp geometric figures, towering over pedestrians like suffocating giants. Their lobbies were covered with shiny cement bricks polished to perfection, and they were guarded by lobby boys and security guards who would salute every passerby with polite yet aloof gazes.

Each building had a different elevator floor plan -- and followed their own protocols. Some elevators only stopped at odd-numbered floors, and some only at even. Some only allowed one-way traffic, yet others required a card-swipe for authorization. A first-time visitor could easily get confused by these rules and feel like an unwelcome outsider.

But Twin Tower was an exception. Despite several renovations, the building was as familiar to him as the back of his hand, because he had worked there as an intern for six months. The internship didn't end well for him though --
they would rather keep the Ivy League graduate even though he only knew the Common law system.

Things were different now. Those lawyers with pretty resumes were decorative at best, only capable of handling regular cases. When it came to highly-specialized areas, they had to seek his consultation. In this building, “little Zhao the intern” had already grown into “Master Zhao”.

Yet he still clearly remembered every hallway and every hidden janitor's closet in this building. Even when the lights were out, he could confidently dodge all the security cameras.

Unfortunately for him however, the odds were not in his favor this time.

He was hiding in the crowd, ready to enjoy the “sensational performance” from the “sky screen” when Fei Du suddenly interrupted the program.
Outraged, he was almost certain that this was some kind of despicable and tasteless event-marketing -- perhaps to help out his own pack, or perhaps purely for business reasons.

These people held unimaginable wealth and social resources, even if most of them were worthless scums who dozed off at day-to-day meetings and were muddled by the most elementary reports. With the help of countless
professionals living on their paychecks, as soon as they made some obvious decisions or struck an easy deal, they would be regarded as the “wise exemplars of the generation”.

A policeman and several security guards who volunteered to help came over: “Excuse us! Attention, please! The police are conducting a security screening on the rooftops. Please stay away from the tall buildings as there may be
safety hazards. Thank you very much for your understanding! Thank you! Thanks for your cooperation! It's for everyone's safety…”

The crowd stirred and slowly moved away. No one noticed that a cultivated, cleanly-shaved man had turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

The police had come to dismiss the people here. This meant that they had already started searching this area, or were at least about to. However, that stupid woman still hadn't jumped yet.

He didn't know if she got scared all of a sudden, or if the cheap performance of that pretty-faced boy had fooled her. Regardless, he had back-up plans -- the rooftop of Tower A only had one side that faced Central Square. He had made some “arrangements” on the security fence. So, even if she hesitated, the loose fence would “make up her mind” for her.

His plan was supposed to be perfect. But why didn't it work? What went wrong?

He had to go back to figure it out.

He did some simple calculations in his head, and shrewdly picked the side entrance of Tower B by the coffee shop. Without a hitch, he found the
emergency exit staircases that were reserved for delivery boys, and scrambled up to the eighth floor -- there was an air corridor connecting the two towers, one end of which led right to the eighth floor's emergency exit.

There were security cameras on both ends of the air corridor, but that was fine since one side of the corridor was decorated by a plant wall -- one could easily go behind the hanging vines to avoid the cameras. Even though he knew that all the cameras were dead due to the power outage, it was better to err on the safe side.

The power outage was indeed a gift from above, he thought.

Proud and pleased, he walked briskly through the plant wall. Unknowingly, the wind from his movements blew up some leaves.

The vines shielded him from the camera. Little did he know that as the leaves quivered, one of the static camerheads suddenly turned by a tiny angle --

Luo Wenzhou went down with the EMTs and sent Wang Xiujuan onto an ambulance. Then, turning around, he caught Tao Ran and some other officers escorting a clean-faced man into a police car. As if feeling Luo's glances, the man, whom he had met once, cast an infuriated glare at him.

Tao Ran gestured to Luo Wenzhou, waving an evidence bag in his hand. A pair of gloves were in the bag.

Luo Wenzhou nodded, lit a cigarette, and measured up the jail-bird-to-be from head to toe.

The man raged: “I only went back to get a document. How could you take in a man like this? Have you got any evidence at all? Hah? I guess the police nowadays just casually grab a scapegoat when they can't solve a case. Let go
of me you savages… you don't want to know the price of this shirt!”

“Ouch… an expensive one…” with the cigarette between his lips, Luo Wenzhou mocked, “I am so intimidated. Looks like we poor schmucks need
to borrow some money from Daddy Fei first.”