Her icy gaze, like that of a spectral presence, skimmed forebodingly across her face before finally settling on the child.
The woman was stunned, glancing at the money in her hand and then back to the child the other woman was eyeing. Eventually, she grabbed the money tightly and, holding the child, hurriedly walked away.
Such is human nature!
The woman let out a cynical laugh, turned around, and continued walking forward.
After just a few minutes, she reached the end of the alley. There, she hailed a taxi and got in.
"Where would you like to go, Miss?"
The temperatureless voice that came from her lips was cold—cold like the frost that had just settled on the city.
The driver felt a disconcerting unease and glanced at her in the rearview mirror. The woman who had entered wore a black coat, its collar so large that when turned up, it almost buried her small face, making it impossible to discern her features.
What kind of woman was this?
Feeling a piercing chill, the driver’s heart skipped a beat and, not daring to ask further, he started the car and headed towards Honghaikou.
Honghaikou was a derelict dock, a once lively part of the city long ago abandoned. Ever since the government had ordered the relocation of the port to Nancheng, Honghaikou had fallen into disuse. Aside from some decrepit ships, it was usually deserted.
What could she possibly want here?
In about ten minutes, they arrived at Honghaikou. The driver pulled over and opened the door.
"Miss, what are you doing here? This place has been abandoned for a long time."
"Nothing—I just wanted to take a walk," she responded nonchalantly and then took out the money to pay him.
The driver, having nothing more to say, accepted the money and watched as she got out of the car and walked towards an abandoned cruise liner at the edge of the dock.
That cruise liner, it was said, had been left behind by a large shipping company from before. After the port had moved, the ship, being too old, was not transferred either.
Thus, it remained forlornly here, a vestige of an era long past.
The woman approached slowly, her delicate high heels clicking and her black coat cutting a unique figure in the drizzling autumn rain. Her steps reverberated against the scrap metal littered ground, creating a jarring, yet clear sound.
After walking for only a few minutes, she reached the forsaken cruise liner, and under the driver’s watchful gaze, she climbed aboard.
It was bizarre—a woman as beautiful as she, coming to such a forsaken place?
After one last look, the driver revved the engine and left.
Meanwhile, the woman on the derelict ship went straight to the rear cabin, not bothering to explore elsewhere.
There, she uncovered the tarp and saw a dingy, mottled interior cabin with a mother and child, bound and frightened.
No, to be precise, only the mother was bound, for the child was only a few months old, not yet able to speak or walk. At that moment, the child was cradled in her arms, so there was no need to bind it.