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The Case in the Bell Tower
墨書 Inktalez
The Midnight Bell tolled, casting a shadow of death over the lonely island. The torrential rain poured down, accompanied by thunder and lightning, while the ancient clock tower stood resolutely against the storm, resembling a silent giant watching over the events unfolding on the island.
The rain fell in sheets, and the lightning sliced through the pitch-black sky like sharp knives, illuminating the solitary clock tower in a grotesque manner. A piercing scream echoed, as if summoned from hell, cutting through the deafening roar of thunder, only to be swallowed by the merciless wind and rain moments later.
I stood at the edge of the dock, allowing the storm to rage around me. The icy rain soaked my hair and clothes, chilling me to the bone. I gazed at the island shrouded in tempestuous weather, a wave of inexplicable unease washing over me. The small island appeared even more sinister under the relentless downpour, as if it concealed some dark secret. I had planned to return to the city today, but this sudden storm had trapped me here. The sea roiled violently, like a roaring beast; the ferry service had long ceased operations, leaving me stranded on this isolated island, cut off from the world.
“Mr. Lin, it seems this weather will last until tomorrow,” said Old Wang, the dock manager. He handed me an umbrella, his murky eyes reflecting a hint of concern. “Why don’t you stay in town for a night?”
I accepted the umbrella with a thank you and was about to turn away when suddenly, a series of urgent sirens pierced through the cacophony of wind and rain. Several police cars sped past us with blaring red and blue lights, disappearing down the winding mountain road toward the clock tower. The wailing sirens sounded particularly mournful amidst the storm, as if foretelling some ominous event about to unfold.
“Is something wrong?” I instinctively asked, my sense of unease intensifying.
Old Wang’s expression turned grave as he spoke in a low voice. “It seems… they found a body near the clock tower.”
A chill gripped my heart, sending shivers from my toes to my head. Just three days ago, I had returned to this island that had nurtured me to visit my parents whom I hadn’t seen in years. I never expected to encounter such a thing before leaving. Was there some hidden darkness lurking beneath this tranquil island?
I made my way along the muddy path toward the clock tower; the wind and rain lashed against my face, blurring my vision. The silhouette of the clock tower emerged intermittently through the curtain of rain, standing ghostly atop the hill. It was a Western-style building nearly a century old, belonging to Yongxing Group, the largest enterprise on the island. This clock tower had always been an iconic landmark of the island but now had become a symbol of death.
A cordon had been set up around the area where several police officers were busy at work; their figures appeared particularly fragile against the storm. I stood at the edge of the crowd, listening to various discussions among bystanders; speculations and rumors spread like wildfire among them.
"President Chen of Yongxing Group is dead..."
"It was discovered on the top floor of the clock tower..."
"I heard the company was about to launch a major project recently..."
I was stunned. President Chen? Chen Mingyuan? The head of Yongxing Group? Just three days ago, I had seen him at my father's restaurant, laughing and full of life. How could it have happened so quickly...? The familiar face of Chen Mingyuan flashed through my mind, filling me with shock and confusion.
"You must be Officer Lin's son, right?" A familiar voice interrupted my thoughts from behind.
I turned around to see Old Li from the criminal police team. He had been a long-time partner of my father until his retirement. Old Li's face was lined with fatigue, and there was a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
"Yes, Uncle Li. I was about to leave, but then I ran into this storm..." I replied, my tone tinged with bitterness.
Old Li hesitated for a moment before sighing, "Since you're here, why not help us out? You work as a forensic expert in the city; your experience is more extensive than ours."
I nodded and followed Old Li past the police cordon into the clock tower. The interior was dimly lit, and a damp, rusty smell filled the air, making it feel suffocating. The spiral staircase wound upward like an entrance to hell. My heart began to race as an inexplicable sense of dread washed over me.
We reached the top floor, where the body lay in the Mechanical Room of the clock tower. It was a middle-aged man in a suit, face down, with a noticeable blunt force injury to the back of his head. The blood around him had already congealed, appearing particularly shocking in the dim light.
"Preliminary assessment suggests he died within the last two hours," Forensic Zhang said, his voice echoing in the empty Mechanical Room. "The cause of death seems to be blunt force trauma resulting in cranial injury."
I crouched down to examine the wound closely. Suddenly, a detail caught my attention.
"The wound..." I frowned, "It doesn't look quite right." The shape and depth of the injury seemed different from an ordinary blunt force trauma; it felt as if some secret was hidden within.
Just then, a commotion erupted downstairs. Someone shouted loudly, "Where is President Chen? Where is President Chen?"
Old Li and I exchanged a glance and hurried down the stairs. We saw a young man in a suit arguing with the police, his emotions running high and his face pale. He was Xu Kai, the Vice General Manager of Yongxing Group and a trusted assistant to Chen Mingyuan.
"Mr. Xu, please calm down," Old Li said, his tone laced with reassurance.
Xu Kai's face was ashen, panic evident in his expression. "I just received news... this can't be true... President Chen was in a meeting this afternoon discussing the new project..."
A flash of lightning split the sky, illuminating the glass windows of the clock tower. I noticed Xu Kai's right hand trembling slightly, and there seemed to be a dark red stain on the cuff of his suit. Under the light of the lightning, that dark red mark appeared particularly glaring.
The rain poured down harder, wind howling and thunder rumbling, casting an eerie and terrifying atmosphere over the entire island. My instincts told me that this case was far from straightforward. Just as Yongxing Group was about to launch a major project, why had Chen Mingyuan died in this Centennial Clock Tower? What unspeakable secrets lay hidden within?
And this was just the beginning...
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