Wolfsban

When Yamilet woke up, it was already close to noon. The scorching sun squeezed through the cracks in the curtains and eagerly tore apart the dimness.

She brushed her teeth with an electric toothbrush while reading real-time news on Twitter. The hottest local topic was still the news of City Committee Secretary Zhou's arrest. She wondered who would take on this hot potato afterwards?

As the toothbrush hummed, something flashed in Yamilet's mind for a moment.

Oh, I see.

Bryce showed up suddenly last night; he probably didn't come to have sex with her but because of "something else" in Hong Kong.

The job finished by herself hasn't made headlines yet.

Butch's gang involved too many departments: anti-drug, anti-black, internet...the police force is probably fighting for credit internally as well. Just wait and see which department's name would be placed at the front of the interview.

She dressed herself and went out. May in south Asia was already hot. The midday sun scorched her skin like freshly baked toast and the humidity soaked through it like the toast could easily be torn apart into two halves.

The shops along the street all pulled out their awnings to block out the sunlight, and hot air rose from the ground. Yamilet walked into a small snack bar where a thin proprietress greeted her: "Same as usual?"

"Yes." Yamilet headed straight to the cold drink cabinet and got a can of ice-cold Coke.

The proprietress shouted towards the kitchen: "One fresh shrimp sausage! Add some garlic chives!"

It was already past mealtime, and there were not too many customers in the shop. The air conditioning blew cold air onto the red ribbons on the ceiling fan blades. On the small TV on the wall, Secretary Zhou's news was still playing. People love to hear about this kind of thing:

Everybody hits a man who is down! As long as someone has a mouth these days, they're talking about this.

Rumors are more exciting than the news itself.

Some say that Zhou's family hid HKD 150 million in cash - stacks of banknotes wrapped in red, white, and blue bags that have become moldy over time;

Others say that Zhou had many mistresses, including mother and daughter pairs; he even swapped his mistresses with his party members.

Even more, some say that Zhou's latest favorite mistress was only twenty years old and owned three villas overlooking Victoria Harbour. When she was taken away by the police, she fainted twice in their car while crying.

At a table below the TV sat a middle-aged man who finished his meal and chatted with the owner. He said that Zhou had approved a demolition project for a village where Zhou wanted to build commercial real estate buildings. The man's relatives are villagers from there and have been hoping for progress but now it looks like all their efforts would go down the drain.

Yamilet listened to gossip while looking down, messaging Dorian saying that she needed to first visit Granny Lin before going over to his place later tonight.

Suddenly, her ankle itched. She looked down and saw a small yellow mutt lying next to her heel, wagging its furry tail back and forth against her ankle.

The shopkeeper placed a steaming hot shrimp sausage in front of the girl and shushed the pup away so as not to bother the customer. But the little yellow dog paid no attention, squinting its eyes and refusing to budge.

"It's funny," said the shopkeeper. "It only gets close to you when you come here, not any other customers."

Yamilet smiled. "It's okay. Let it sleep."

As she left the store, the dozing pup suddenly stood up and followed Yamilet out of the door, earning a scolding from the shopkeeper who called it a "lecherous dog".

After riding on a bus through half the city, Yamilet got off and walked into an alleyway.

Her high heels clicked against red brick pavements as she passed under swaying tree shadows. The air was quiet except for the sound of her footsteps and coffee aroma wafting in from nearby cafes.

After passing two community coffee shops and an adult novelty store, she arrived at Granny Lin's doorstep.

The rusty iron gate to the small courtyard was locked, and on the walls, flamboyant red plumeria flowers bloomed wildly.

There were scurrying footsteps, followed by barking. Two Pomeranian dogs owned by Granny Lin ran up to the gate, excitedly standing up and scratching at the metal pillars with their paws.

Yamilet placed a finger against her lips and whispered softly: "Yin, Yang. No barking."

The usually wild pups became obedient and just panted quietly.

With a tik-tak, the electronic lock was released.

From behind the visible intercom on top of the red brick wall came an extremely hoarse female voice: "Come in."

Yamilet looked up and waved at the concealed camera hidden among the plumerias.

The garden was filled with various plants. Clusters of purple wolfsbane swayed gently in the wind.

There were other plants that Yamilet couldn't name but were beautiful on the outside while hiding deadly toxins within.

Inside the room, it was dimly lit, and there always seemed to be a stagnant sour-bitter smell lingering in the air. As soon as Yamilet undid her sandal straps, Yin and Yang had already brought her slippers to her feet.

"Good boy, good girl," Yamilet praised them as she petted their heads.

In the living room, an old green leaf fan creaked in the corner, and Granny Lin sat in a wicker rocking chair. Her silver hair was pinned up behind her head, and she wore a printed chiffon blouse and linen pants. Half-closed eyelids covered her sharp gaze.

"Do you want some tea? Ou brought me some old Pu Erh tea cakes." Granny Lin snapped her fingers twice, and the two pups leaped onto her lap, vying for space.

Yamilet chuckled and shook her head. "I just ate; I'm still full."

"Are you afraid that I'll use you as a test subject?" Granny Lin snorted. "What do you need this time?"

Yamilet counted on her fingers. "Hmm...five drugs for acute poisoning, two boxes of voice-changing pills, and a few aphrodisiacs..."

"For males or females?"

"Both, have them ready first."

Yamilet continued to count: "The last coma-inducing drug wasn't potent enough. The person woke up earlier than I expected, so I need to spend more time subduing him."

In other words, she had to strangle him until he fainted.

There was a jewelry cabinet in the living room with many pieces on display: pearl earrings, perfume bottle necklaces, Byzantine rings, rose stem bracelets...

There were also many personal accessories like lipsticks that could change color, pens with 14k gold nibs, handkerchiefs embroidered with purple wolfsbane flowers.

"The new drug needs to be stronger. Can you arrange ten of them for me?"

Yamilet opened the jewelry cabinet and pulled out the perfume bottle necklace. "Granny, can you make me another fake death potion using this?"

The rocking chair stopped swaying.

The old lady stood up, and the two pups jumped down from her lap, circling around her feet.

Her hands, which had been exposed to chemicals for years, were like withered branches. She took the necklace and lifted her wrinkled eyelids. "How long do you want to fake your death for?"

"Well, is there any choice? I haven't tried this before."

Lin pointed to the sofa. "Sit down; I'll show you something."

All doors in the room were equipped with electronic locks. Lin's fingerprints had already worn away, so she used iris recognition or password unlocking.

Yamilet played with the two pups on the sofa while Lin retrieved a DVD and inserted it into the player on top of the TV cabinet. The machine started whirring.

Lin turned on the TV: "There are side effects to the fake death drug. The longer you fake your death, the greater the side effects."

A video soon appeared onscreen. She fast-forwarded through it using a remote control. Although it was not very clear, Yamilet could see a young woman lying asleep on a bed.

In the video, the hands of a wall clock spun rapidly in fast-forward mode as light and shadows danced around. Only the woman remained motionless on her bed as if she were the snow white.

Yamilet blinked in surprise and said, "Oh wow! Is that you when you were younger?"

Lin's voice was filled with pride: "Yes, I tested it myself back then; before that, I only used mice."

She paused as she pointed at the clock: "The first time I tried it lasted 24 hours. At that time, I was already awake but could not move my body for half a day except for my fingers."

"Is that a side effect?" asked Yamilet.

"Yes," replied Lin. "It wasn't a problem with mice, but when the dosage was increased on humans, the situation changed and humans were like breathing corpses."

Lin continued to play the video: "Two years later, I changed some of the ingredients. The time was extended to 48 hours without any symptoms of being a living corpse."

"Oh, that's pretty successful," said Yamilet.

Lin put her hands on her hips and laughed heartily. "But after that, I had urinary incontinence for half a year wearing adult diapers!"

Yamilet pursed her lips and frowned as if she had eaten a pound of bitter gourd: "Does it affect sexual desire too?"

Granny Lin glared at her: "Of course! When you can't even control your bladder, where do you find the mood for sex?"

She then continued talking: "There's also one for 72 hours."

However, there was only video footage of mice afterward. Yamilet asked, "What are its side effects then?"

Granny Lin shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't tested this one myself yet because the survival rate for mice is less than 20%."