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墨書 Inktalez
Hearing Gu Chen's words, I couldn't help but feel a shock in my heart. I never expected that Guan Zengbin would die like this. Although I often teased her and made jokes at her expense, I simply could not accept this outcome. Memories of our time together flooded my mind, and tears began to fall.
The person who seemed the most timid and unlikely to do so turned out to be the one who orchestrated this series of suicides. If only I had chosen to follow Zhou Guo back then, Guan Zengbin would not have been in danger.
"Guan Zengbin, how did she die..." I took a few deep breaths and slowly asked.
"What? What are you talking about?" Gu Chen's voice came through. "Who told you Guan Zengbin is dead? She's just asleep; it looks like she's fine. But Zhou Guo has no pulse or heartbeat, though his body still has warmth. It seems he hasn't been dead long. I've already called for help; you should hurry over."
I quickly wiped away my tears. What was going on? Gu Chen was really out of breath.
"From your voice, it sounds like you've just been crying?" Gu Chen teased. "Oh, I get it; you must be..."
"Shut up!" I snapped. "Secure the scene and wait for the City Bureau to arrive."
There have been times when a false alarm was the most beautiful phrase in the world, far better than any colorful and smooth sailing. At this moment, I truly understood; the weight on my heart had lifted. I even felt a sense of relief, even though I knew Zhou Guo was already dead.
The joys and sorrows of people are not connected; I only felt their noise.
That's how people are—after all, Zhou Guo had no connection to me. If I weren't involved in investigating the case, he might have just become a topic of conversation during my tea breaks.
When I arrived at Zhou Guo's house, Guan Zengbin was sitting on the steps at the entrance, looking dazed. She was rubbing her head and gently shaking it. It seemed that Zhou Guo hadn't resorted to violence but had chosen to use a sedative to incapacitate Guan Zengbin.
I patted Guan Zengbin's shoulder and asked, "Are you okay?"
Guan Zengbin looked up at me but didn't answer my question. Instead, she said, "When I followed Zhou Guo here, I saw him unlock the door with a key, and there was a puzzle piece on his keychain. That puzzle piece is exactly like the one from Wang Yiman's jar. I thought he would never expect the police to find all the puzzle pieces..."
"And then what? How did you end up getting drugged?" I gently massaged her temple and asked.
Guan Zengbin sighed and replied, "He opened the door and went inside without closing it. So I thought I'd take a look and walked over to peek inside. Suddenly, I smelled something strange, and then everything went dizzy; my hands and feet wouldn't listen."
"You rest here, I'll go inside and take a look." With that, I walked into the house.
Guan Zengbin stood up and said, "Let's go together."
Logically speaking, Zhou Guo had no reason to commit suicide. Given his knowledge, he should have understood that he was under the protection of the Minor Protection Law, and those involved were also committing suicide. Even if Zhou Guo had incited others to commit suicide, he would not face severe punishment.
So why did Zhou Guo do this? Was there some hidden truth we were unaware of?
Guan Zengbin and I entered the house one after the other. Gu Chen was currently examining the situation inside and, upon seeing us, said, "I just searched the house and found this box."
With that, Gu Chen picked up a round tin box used for storing cookies from the floor. He opened the lid, revealing its contents. Inside were a watch, a calligraphy brush, an empty potato chip bag, an old yellowed photograph, and a jigsaw piece from his keychain. All of their belongings were here.
The watch belonged to Gao Rui, the brush to Li Zhinan, the chip bag to Maliang, and the jigsaw piece to Wang Yiman. From this alone, it was clear that the deaths of these four individuals were connected to Zhou Guo. Holding the round tin box, I observed my surroundings.
This was a very simple bungalow with a rough concrete floor full of pits and depressions, showing signs of age. Looking around, large patches of wall paint had peeled off, revealing green stains left by rainwater erosion—indicating that the roof leaked.
The furnishings inside also made it clear that Zhou Guo's family was quite poor.
Suddenly, I thought of the missing twenty million. Looking at Zhou Guo's impoverished home, I seemed to understand something. According to Zhang Xue, Zhou Guo's mother appeared to be seriously ill; thus, treating her would require sufficient financial support. This made sense of why Zhou Guo sought out those five individuals.
Zhou Guo intended to use that twenty million to save his mother's life; therefore, this plan likely began long ago. Based on Zhou Guo's address, it was enough to connect these locations together. It remained unclear why Zhou Guo chose these particular individuals—was it random or selective?
A bed was placed in one corner with a round door beside it, suggesting two separate rooms inside. Zhou Guo's body lay on the bed; he still wore his school uniform with his tattered backpack nearby. Next to the bed was a round table with two cups of water on it—both unfinished, with half a cup remaining in each.
Guan Zengbin climbed onto the bed to look at Zhou Guo. I watched her as she displayed an inexplicable expression—somewhat melancholic and conflicted. I thought Guan Zengbin must realize that if Zhou Guo had wanted to kill her at that moment, it would have been easy for him; yet he did not do so.
What could be the reason for this? Was it because Zhou Guo only knew how to commit suicide or incite others to do so?
Guan Zengbin leaned in to smell Zhou Guo's lips, gently prying them open with his fingers. We could see that Zhou Guo's lips were vibrant, a deep red-purple, likely a result of poisoning. Could it be that one of the two cups of water on the table contained the poison?
Gu Chen, noticing my gaze on the two cups, suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Could it be that Zhou Guo drank the wrong cup? Was he actually trying to poison Guan Zengbin?"
Guan Zengbin examined the puzzle piece on Zhou Guo's key. It took only a few minutes before he went to check by the door. If Zhou Guo had intended to prepare a drug and incapacitate Guan Zengbin in such a short time, it would clearly be impossible. Therefore, there was only one conclusion: Zhou Guo had done this intentionally.
Zhou Guo wanted Guan Zengbin to discover his actions!
"That's right; it must be poisoning," Guan Zengbin said slowly. "If I'm not mistaken, it should be a specific type of poison. This confirms that Zhou Guo lied earlier; he was the one who stole the poison and acted in advance without anyone knowing. Moreover, Zhou Guo has always been timid at school; hardly anyone would believe he could do something like this..."
Some people prefer to hide themselves, while others like to lay themselves bare for others to see. Clearly, Zhou Guo belonged to the former category. Perhaps behind Zhou Guo's silly smile lay a heart that others could not comprehend. Zhang Xue once mentioned that Zhou Guo's dream was to make his mother well again; perhaps twenty million could help him find a way.
So where was Zhou Guo's mother now?
I stepped into the inner room, which was larger than the outer room. There was a wardrobe, a bed, and on top of the bed was a table with an unfinished cross-stitch project. Beside it lay a neatly folded mattress. Judging by the varying degrees of indentation on the bed, someone had slept there for many years near the wall.
"Gu Chen," I called out, "did you see anyone when you came in?"
Gu Chen replied from outside, "No, just Zhou Guo and Guan Zengbin; I didn't see a third person."
In the midst of our conversation, we heard sirens blaring outside—Liu must have arrived with his team. Sure enough, we heard him before we saw him: "What's going on? We're here."
I walked out of the room and saw Liu with personnel from the City Bureau already on site.
"Is there any news?" Liu asked.
I frowned and addressed everyone, "There's something strange: where has Zhou Guo's mother gone? Zhou Guo has a paralyzed mother who cannot move without assistance; it's impossible for her to leave on her own. Plus, there’s an unfinished cross-stitch on the table that seems to have gathered dust—it looks like she left a long time ago. What could she have been doing?"
Everyone was puzzled, and at that moment, Liu suddenly said, "Look, this lottery ticket here seems to be a second prize from a week ago."
With that, Liu picked up the ticket and showed it to us. He continued, "That's right, I remember clearly. Did Zhou Guo win the lottery?"
I stepped forward a few paces and looked at the ticket. Suddenly, a scene flashed in my mind.
"How much are the first and second prizes this time?" I asked.
Liu seemed to have a good understanding of the lottery. He replied, "The first prize is eighty million for one winner, and the second prize is twenty million for two winners."
"Twenty million?" I echoed.
Liu lamented, "Yeah, twenty million for the second prize. Damn it, I've been buying lottery tickets for three years and haven't won a thing. Is it just that betting on my birthday doesn't work?"
Rolling my eyes at Liu, I immediately said to the others, "Liu, check on Zhou Guo's mother's whereabouts right away. Gu Chen, come with me."
"What’s going on?" Gu Chen asked.
I answered, "We need to find Li Xian."
Li Xian had previously won twenty million from his gambling friend who hit the jackpot. If there was any way to launder that money, buying lottery tickets would undoubtedly be one method. If this was indeed the case, Zhou Guo's mother might have already been sent for treatment. And if Zhou Guo died, we would have no way out.
Zhou Guo had to die because someone needed to take responsibility for this matter.
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