Hidden moth

Chapter 12: Lack of security since childhood

He Kao not only wanted to protect himself, but subconsciously he also wanted to protect Xiaopang. Someone was tracking down Yin Mo and might have suspected him. In a different situation, He Kao would have hoped they would find the real Yin Mo and stop targeting him.

But the hidden moth is exactly Huang Xiaopang, so He Kao can't think so.

On the way back, He Kao stopped the car and found a restaurant in a large shopping mall. He sat on a chair outside the door, took out his laptop, connected to the public wifi, found a proxy server, applied for a virtual mailbox, and sent an email to Huang Xiaopang.

"Title: Huang Si, someone has already doubted your identity!
Content: Are you the hidden moth, the one said to be able to travel through space, appearing and disappearing without a trace? A few days ago, you broke into a colleague's house and replaced a plate of apples with oranges, revealing your true identity.

Someone is looking for you, specifically an object they suspect has given you the ability to stealthily steal. It's not just one person looking for you; your new colleague Qian is certainly suspicious.

But it seems they've gone in the wrong direction and are targeting your colleague, He Kao. You should be careful now. I don't know what these people will do, but they don't seem like ordinary people."

The email was unsigned and sent to Huang Si's work email address. He Kao knew that Huang Si would definitely read the emails in this email address, and the email title would pop up on the screen of his phone. If Xiaopang was browsing his phone, he would immediately notice it.

He Kao's guess was correct. Huang Si replied with an email within a few minutes. The title and content were the same, just one sentence: "What does 隐蛾 mean?"

He Kao was stunned for a moment, then realized that the hidden moths since ancient times probably didn't know they were called hidden moths. Because hidden moth was just a nickname given to them by those who searched for them, but no one had ever told them to their faces.

He Kao then sent another email——

"Hidden Moth is a person who is said to be able to enter and exit any place without being discovered, but no one knows how he does it. Rumors have long said that Hidden Moth's ability comes from a certain object, and that if one obtains that object, they can become Hidden Moth."

Huang Xiaopang sent another email back: "Who are you? You make up stories so convincingly! If you want to commit fraud, go find someone else. I won't be fooled by you. I suggest you stop looking for hidden moths and go to a mental hospital to see a doctor."

He Kao smiled and stopped sending emails. He just logged out of his email account and tried his best to erase all traces of the operation. He put away his notebook and returned to Sesame Apartment.

He first went to the newly rented Building No. 2016, Room 0912, and placed the large backpack containing the computer, firecrackers and a small bamboo tube there, then went downstairs back to the original Building No. , Room .

He packed up the bedding, clothes and sundries, made a big bag with a bed sheet, lifted it up with his right hand and put it on his shoulder before going out, holding the newly bought square stool in his left hand.

He had very little stuff in the apartment; if it weren't for the stool, he could have moved it single-handedly. He still had two pairs of shoes, a few clothes, and some small odds and ends in the house, so he could have taken them all with another trip.

He Kao went back to his hometown today, and Qian was not in the apartment at the moment, so he just missed this scene. He Kao ran twice to move everything, and then started making bamboo bombs overnight. He also brought the tool box from home.

Just having the gunpowder and bamboo tubes for the firecrackers wasn't enough; he still lacked the ignition mechanism and fuse material. He'd go buy them tomorrow and try to have a batch ready by the weekend. This was a meticulous, manual job that couldn't afford the slightest bit of negligence.

……

Qian Guran didn't return to his apartment until 11pm, and before he even opened the door, his expression changed. His external perception, which could be called spiritual consciousness, had already noticed that not only was He Kao not in the room, but everything in the apartment had disappeared!
Qian Guran's first reaction was that a "colleague" had taken action first! Someone took advantage of He Kao's absence and broke into his apartment to search for the "moth-hiding device."

Since he didn't know what the item was, the colleague resorted to a desperate measure and took away everything he could, even a piece of soap!

When he thought of this, he felt a little relieved, because he had confirmed that the weapon that could hide the moth was the animal claw worn on He Kao's chest. It was a close-fitting item and was not in the apartment at all.

But on second thought, Qian Guran felt that this possibility was not high. He had never seen such a brainless colleague. It was just stealing something, so how could he help others move things?

Huh? Moving! Could it be that He Kao moved? Why did he move? Did he discover his identity and purpose? Qian couldn't help but have a series of questions. He almost called He Kao directly, but he held back.

After thinking about it, Qian Guran changed into a jacket and went downstairs. He found a barbecue restaurant with the highest rating on the nearby pedestrian street, occupied an outdoor table, and ordered a case of beer, some side dishes and a bunch of skewers.

Then he sent a message to Huang Si: "Where are you playing? How about some midnight snacks and eating skewers together? It's at the Da Si Xi restaurant downstairs, I've already reserved a table." He then sent a photo of the scene he had just taken.

He knew Huang Si must not have slept yet, because today was the weekend and he didn't have to work overtime. Huang Si didn't have a girlfriend, so he was probably playing games in the dormitory.

But after a long time there was no reply from Huang Si. He was about to send another message when he suddenly felt something in his heart. He looked up and saw Huang Si strolling towards him.

Qian Guran: "Xiaopang, over here, you're so fast?"

Huang Xiaopang: "Of course, I was hungry, so I came downstairs after seeing the message. Lao Qian, are you alone?"

Qian Guran: "I just knocked on He Kao's door, but no one answered for a long time. He's not at home and I don't know where he went. Should I call again?"

Huang Xiaopang: "I heard he went back to his hometown in Jiangbei today. I don't know if he's back yet. Why are you knocking on the door? Why not just send him a message?"

Qian Guran didn't go directly to He Kao because he wanted to appear as natural as possible and avoid arousing He Kao's suspicion. He wanted to know now - why were all the things in He Kao's room gone?
But in Xiaopang's eyes, the money certainly seemed abnormal. He could have just sent a message, but he had to go and knock on the door, and when no one answered, he still asked himself out.

What is prejudice? This is prejudice!

Before tonight, Huang Xiaopang would never have entertained such thoughts. Who would have suspected such things without reason? But tonight, he received two mysterious emails in succession, and someone reminded him that a group of people were tracking down the whereabouts of the "Hidden Moth".

This was the first time Huang Xiaopang had heard the term "hidden moth," and it seemed quite fitting. Actually, the name wasn't important; the key was the substance that matched the name.

The email also reminded him to pay attention to his new colleague Qian Guran, and emphasized that someone had been investigating in the wrong direction and mistook He Kao for the suspect.

With this prejudice in mind, Huang Xiaopang saw at a glance that Qian Guran's performance was full of flaws. Qian Guran was waiting for him to say this, and immediately took out his phone and sent a message to He Kao -

"Xiaopang and I are eating skewers at Da Si Xi downstairs, and wanted to invite you to come over for a drink. I just knocked on the door, but you weren't home." Along with the message, he sent a photo of him and Xiaopang sitting there eating skewers.

He Kao, who was making handmade bamboo bombs, received the news, washed his hands, changed his clothes, and went downstairs to the barbecue stall. He saw Xiaopang and Lao Qian sitting outside from a distance.

Qian Guran: "Where are you from? Weren't you at home just now?"

He Kao: "I went back to my hometown today, and just got back...The barbecue here is good, I've ordered takeout several times." Xiaopang: "Ordering takeout at home is not as comfortable as sitting here." In fact, Xiaopang knew that He Kao was back a long time ago, and he also drove his car back because he had received a call from his mother.

He Kao sent an anonymous email to Xiaopang and was secretly observing Xiaopang at this moment. He found that Xiaopang behaved normally in front of Qian Guran, and he couldn't help but admire him.

The three people at the table were secretly observing the other two while eating skewers and drinking. None of them had any flaws while chatting and laughing. They were all good at acting.

Qian Guran kept wondering if He Kao had returned to his room. Were those things stolen or had he moved them away himself? But he couldn't bring himself to ask. The barbecue lasted for over an hour, and Qian Guran was really frustrated!

He Kao was not deliberately trying to keep Lao Qian in the dark, he also didn't know that Lao Qian had already discovered that he had moved!

After finally finishing the skewers, he rushed to pay the bill. Before paying, he asked for an extra case of beer and took it home, deliberately appearing to be struggling.

He Kao was a good guy, and he cared about his colleagues, so he took it and helped him hold it. When they arrived at the door of Building No. 1, He Kao handed the beer to Qian Guran and said, "I won't go up, you go back first."

Qian Guran was stunned: "Why don't you go back to sleep? What time is it?"

He Kao explained, "I changed apartments and moved to Building 3."

So that's it! Qian Guran was surprised and asked, "You were living well, why did you suddenly move?"

He Kao laughed and said, "It's all because of you, Old Qian."

Qian's heart tightened, but he remained calm and asked, "What does it have to do with me?"

He Kao: "I visited your apartment the other day, and when I got home I felt my apartment was too small. It wasn't big enough for three of us to chat, so I moved to a bigger one."

Qian Guran: "Have you changed to a two-bedroom apartment?"

He Kao: "Not really. I moved into an apartment similar to Xiaopang's, a one-bedroom apartment. I just moved in today."

Xiaopang: "That's right, why don't you live in a more comfortable place? You don't have any burden, and you can afford the rent!"

After He Kao became a regular employee, after deducting miscellaneous items such as five insurances and one housing fund and income tax, he received about 17,000 yuan in cash each month. The Tengxin Qijiang Branch paid his salary for fifteen months each year.

So his theoretical annual salary is 300,000, but his actual income is just over 200,000, which is not low among his peers. It just depends on who you compare it with.

Although Qiyuan University is not as good as Chunhua University and Pingdingshan University, it is also a double first-class university in the East. He Kao is also a master's degree holder in a popular major. He has excellent academic performance and a beautiful file.

It would be truly abnormal if the best-performing domestic Internet company could not offer substantial salaries.

As for Huang Xiaopang, although his academic qualifications were not very good, he started working three years earlier and had worked in the most profitable core department of the group. He was then transferred to be in charge of the core business of the division, so his rank was two levels higher than He Kao.

He Kao, recently officially hired, is at P2 level, Huang Xiaopang is at P4 level, and Qian Guran is at P5 level. Qian Guran, a Chunhua PhD who has been working for nearly a decade, currently earns only average salary compared to his peers.

Tengxin Group has twelve employee levels, with the highest being P12, for founding partners. Business unit director Gao Xue'e is at P6, just one level higher than Qian Guran.

Fang Qizi, president of the Qiyuan branch, is at P9 level and is already a member of the group's president committee, but his ranking is low.

He Kao didn't need to compare himself with them; he was quite satisfied with his current life. He had always lacked a sense of security, but it wasn't until he graduated with a master's degree and started working that his mentality changed, as if he had suddenly been freed from some kind of bondage.

To put it in a common saying, I finally made it!
This sounded ridiculous; he was just a young man who had just started working, how could he possibly make it big? But He Kao had no ambition to conquer the world. He simply felt that he finally didn't have to rely on anyone anymore and could live a good life on his own.

All those years of studying hadn't been in vain; at least he could make a living now... But this incident at his aunt's house was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head. Even if he had avoided the water, he would have broken out in a cold sweat, and that intense feeling of unease would have returned.

He was truly innocent, completely unaware of this, unable to foresee or prevent it. But the police might not believe his innocence, and if he were arrested and locked up for a few days, many things would be ruined.

Would his former employer rehire him? After all, he was just a nobody, and less trouble was better than more. If he ever wanted to work for a large company like Tengxin or take the civil service exam again, he'd probably have a hard time passing the background check.

I used to think that I could make a good living with my own abilities, and even felt a little proud at one point. But in the blink of an eye, I felt that all this goodness was still so fragile.

Someone else might not have given it so much thought, but that was He Kao's nature. He even considered what he would do if that were the case. Even returning to his hometown to farm wouldn't be an option, as he was now a citizen, no longer a villager, and no longer had any land to farm.

Fortunately, he still has a skill, so he can become a carpenter... But now, even if he wants to be a carpenter, he may not be able to have a stable life. He is inexplicably targeted by others, such as Lao Qian in front of him.

His father's death was full of mystery, and He Kao subconsciously felt that it was not a good thing for someone suspected of being a hidden moth to be targeted.

He Kao also knew that there was definitely more than just Qian Duran who was secretly spying on him. There was at least a man and a woman in the recorded conversation, and the man's voice was not Lao Qian's.

Qian Guran, who was standing at the entrance of the corridor with a box of beer, felt a little messy. He watched Xiaopang and He Kao go to Building No. 3.

When Xiaopang heard that He Kao had also moved to Building 3, he insisted on going to his apartment to take a look. After entering the small living room, Xiaopang sniffed and said, "Why does it smell like gunpowder?"

He Kao: "Your nose is really sharp, you can even smell this?"

He Kao had just unpacked a firecracker in his bedroom and put the powder into a small homemade bamboo tube. But the smell was very faint, and he had been very careful in processing it, so most people wouldn't be able to smell it.

Xiaopang pushed the door open and took a look at the bathroom, then went into the bedroom as if he were at home. Then he exclaimed, "You're making bamboo bombs again. Do you want to go somewhere to fry fish?"

**
(End of this chapter)