VESSEL - Extinction Countdown 989: Subtle Clues

All flimsy excuses hide heinous crimes.—Yi Qing

Shisan Bakery.

“Little one… little fairy, can you open the door for a quick look? I promise, if Ye Shisan’s not here, I’ll leave.”

“No way! I’m minding the shop today, and Uncle Shisan said no one’s allowed in!”

“I’m a police officer, not a bad guy. Bad guys aren't allowed in, but neither are police officers? Even a pretty officer like me?”

Yi Qing tactfully invoked her femininity, knowing from child psychology that girls were less wary of adult women—especially striking ones—than men.

Vanilla didn’t budge an inch. “You claim you’re a police, and I’m supposed to believe you? Think I’m three? What if you’re a fraud? …Hmph, you’re a one-eyed dragon! No way you’re prettier than me!”

“You little…” Yi Qing nearly snapped, but the girl’s delicate beauty disarmed her anger, forcing her to soften her tone: “How could I be a fraud? Look, here’s my badge, my ID, and…”

With a deft motion, she parted her jacket, revealing a holster cradling a Type 05 police revolver.

Vanilla scoffed, her eyes rolling: “Pfft, a toy gun, obviously! You’re a liar, and you’re not stepping foot inside!”

Vanilla’s fierce hostility stoked Yi Qing’s growing unease, her mind racing to grim cases where hostages, coerced into feigning calm, met tragic ends. If true, Ye Shisan lurked within, and this girl faced peril.

Yet, storming in under broad daylight without proof would cross a dangerous line.

As Yi Qing grappled with her dilemma, a boisterous voice broke through: “Hey, girl, here for bread? The boss is out—shop’s closed!”

It was a woman in her fifties, with yellow curled hair and a floral dress—Ms. Wang, mother of the Rollin’ Records shop owner.

“Any idea when Ye Shisan’s back?”

Yi Qing rose, her legs tingling from her prolonged crouch arguing with Vanilla.

Ms. Wang eyed her up and down, grinning: “Well, I’ll be! A beauty like you—no wonder Shisan spurns my matchmaking!”

Known for her honeyed words to people and wild tales to ghosts, Ms. Wang’s praise of the eyepatch-clad Yi Qing spoke to her undeniable allure, leaving even this formidable gossip at a loss for criticism.

Yi Qing’s irritation surged—why did everyone assume she was Shisan’s girlfriend? She whipped out her badge. “Auntie, I’m a police officer here to question Ye Shisan.”

Ms. Wang paused for a moment in surprise. “Oh my, officer, forgive this old gossip! Shisan’s truly out, likely back tomorrow. I’m fetching Vanilla to stay at my place tonight. What’s the matter? Ask me—I know him inside out, running this shop for half a year…”

Ms. Wang’s torrent of chatter outmatched Vanilla’s defiance, detailing everything from Shisan’s morning routine to his laundry schedule, prompting Vanilla to stomp in frustration behind the shop door.

At last, Ms. Wang ventured cautiously: “Officer, has Shisan gotten himself into trouble?”

Dazed by the woman’s fervor, Yi Qing shook her head hastily. “No, just a car accident I need his input on. Since he’s away, I’ll come back. Here’s my card—give it to him.”

Ms. Wang took it, watching as Yi Qing’s lithe frame strode to her motorcycle, the engine roaring to life.

Vanilla flung open the door, yelling, “Don’t pester Uncle Shisan—he’d never fall for you!”

Yi Qing shook her head inwardly, musing: Such a pretty girl, yet so fierce. Clearly, a matter of upbringing. A sudden thought struck, and she turned to Ms. Wang. “By the way, who’s this child to him?”

“That’s Vanilla, his cousin’s daughter.”

“Oh!”

With a twist of the throttle, Yi Qing’s motorcycle roared away.

Vanilla stuck out her tongue at Yi Qing’s figure. “Dare come back, and I’ll sic Big Flower on you!”

Big Flower, the pet shop’s guard dog across the street, obeyed Vanilla’s every whim.

Ms. Wang nagged, “Vanilla, mind your manners with the officer—she might yet be your auntie! Such a pity, though, a beauty like her with one eye gone. In ancient courts, she’d have been a princess, or at least a noble!”

Ms. Wang’s obsession with palace dramas painted Yi Qing’s statuesque form as a cinematic heroine.

“Pfft! No chance! Uncle Shisan would never fall for a stinky cop!”

Several streets away, a sudden sneeze jolted Yi Qing, her foot slamming the brakes as a revelation struck.

No, that’s not right!

Ye Shisan’s file was clear: his sole kin was a half-brother, lost to contact for two decades.

Even if they reconnected, that’d make Vanilla a niece, not a cousin’s daughter!

Could Ms. Wang be deceiving me?

No, calmly analyze this! The only possibility was that Ye Shisan had deceived to Ms. Wang.

Vanilla is not his cousin’s daughter!