Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
No matter what kind of person one is, everyone has the right to love and the right to like someone. Even Chen Lin has this right. Chen Lin fell in love with this woman, a woman he had only met once. This was the first time Chen Lin saw her, and it would be the last.
Once was enough, wasn't it?
After that encounter, Chen Lin refused to go on stage, refusing to expose himself bare before others.
At first, the other members didn’t mind much. But after a week of not performing, everyone began to voice their complaints. Why did everyone else have to go on stage while Chen Lin got to rest? It seemed unfair.
In the Circus, there were no idle people; that was the rule.
The first to complain was the man without limbs, known as Bug Man. He wriggled his way in front of Chen Lin and shouted loudly, "Chen Lin, you have to perform! Why should we all perform while you get to rest in the back? That’s not fair."
Jar Man, who had lived his whole life in a jar and had become one with it, said, "That's right! I agree with Bug Man! Why should we support you? Do you know how hard it is to make money now? Toad Leader has supported you for over ten years; how much have you earned for the Circus? How long have you actually contributed before acting like a big shot?"
There was some truth in those words; they were all reasonable people. Even if they didn’t want to argue, they could never overpower Chen Lin, who was physically able. Chen Lin remained silent because he felt they were right. If it weren't for the people in the Circus supporting him, he would have died long ago.
Yet Chen Lin still refused to go on stage. During those months, he became a philosopher. For the first time, he learned to think independently and began to ponder why humans are alive. Were they born just to endure others' strange gazes?
Was his life destined to be like everyone else in the Circus—a lifetime spent as a monster living under others' fearful or disgusted expressions?
That seemed too meaningless; Chen Lin decided he would not live like that.
The young girl who came merely to watch a freak show might never know how profoundly her presence would impact another person. Often, the world is strange like that; life makes little sense.
Eighteen candles for eighteen years, even though Chen Lin hadn’t performed in months.
Aside from their complaints, the members of the troupe took no further action. They were kind-hearted people; it was just their appearances that could be somewhat frightening.
On Chen Lin's eighteenth birthday, they specially bought a birthday cake.
The cake was bought by Toad Leader, who felt shy and somewhat afraid of others' gazes while shopping. It was Bug Man, who lay on Toad Leader, that spoke up: "Hello, sister server, we need a big birthday cake."
Bug Man was the bravest among them.
Jar Man and Bug Man sang the birthday song while the dazed Old Dwarf bounced around. The Conjoined Twin placed a birthday hat on Chen Lin's head, and two Freaks sat at the table, tapping it rhythmically. Toad Leader said, "Our Chen Lin has finally grown up."
Eighteen years felt both too long and too short.
Suddenly, everyone felt a bit melancholic. In this vast Shed, it used to be filled with people watching performances. Today, they had specifically taken a break from performing, leaving the Shed empty, and their hearts felt somewhat empty as well.
"Make a wish," the Conjoined Twin said slowly, looking at Chen Lin.
Chen Lin made a wish that the members of the Circus would no longer have to rely on others' discrimination to stay Alive.
Then, with the cake-cutting knife, Chen Lin killed everyone.
After death, there would be no more discrimination or mockery; that was what Chen Lin thought.
He first stabbed Toad Leader in the cheek. The swollen lump burst open immediately, releasing a yellowish-black liquid that emitted a foul odor. Everyone was stunned by this sudden attack; the two Freaks sitting at the table didn't have time to escape before Chen Lin killed them one after another.
Next was the Conjoined Twin. Despite having four legs, she couldn't outrun Chen Lin. He first stabbed her neck but then thought it wasn't safe enough and stabbed her other neck as well. This Conjoined Twin had four eyes and naturally two heads.
The remaining targets were easier to deal with. The elderly dazed Dwarf had no idea what was happening. She stood by the table, jumping continuously in hopes of reaching the cake. Unfortunately, she was too short to get any. Chen Lin scooped some cream with his knife and held it out in front of Old Dwarf.
"Don't eat!" Jar Man shouted anxiously from his jar, unable to move.
Ignoring Jar Man's warning, Old Dwarf took a bite of the cream just before a knife pierced her throat.
"Why are you doing this? Why!" Jar Man cried out.
Chen Lin ignored him, searching the ground for Bug Man. Ah, there he was, wriggling on the floor, trying to escape. But how fast could he be compared to a snail? Chen Lin, standing at one hundred seventy-five centimeters, took two steps and was in front of Bug Man. Bug Man turned to look at Chen Lin, who gave him a sweet smile.
Only Jar Man was left.
Jar Man sobbed loudly, feeling utterly hopeless in the vast Shed.
"Have we done anything wrong to you?" Jar Man stopped crying. This Circus had existed for decades, but now everyone was dead. Suddenly, Jar Man found that he wasn't so afraid of death anymore.
He had thought many times about what it would feel like when he died. Would it hurt? But now, Jar Man didn't care; it turned out that the fear of death wasn't about fearing death itself but fearing that there was still hope yet to die. With all his friends gone, he felt despair and thus lost his fear of death.
Chen Lin said, "You have been good to me, but I don't want you to live your life like this."
So Chen Lin killed everyone in the Circus, but she did not commit Suicide.
Chen Lin's wish was for everyone to die, including herself.
But when it came time for her to kill herself, Chen Lin hesitated. She still held onto hope; she had not yet despaired. After considering for three hours and feeling hungry, she ate her birthday cake instead.
Chen Lin took all the savings from the Circus and left. As she departed, she set the Shed ablaze.
After the police intervened in the investigation, Forensic quickly determined that these people had been burned after death rather than being burned alive. The fatal wounds on each body were caused by a knife, indicating that they had all been killed by one person. The identities of the deceased were easy to ascertain because they were Freaks.
The skeletons of Freaks were different from those of normal humans. Through comparisons of the skeletons and witness testimonies, the identities of the dead were quickly established. For instance, some skeletons had four legs while others had no limbs at all. In comparison, it soon became clear that one person was missing—this person was Chen Lin.
The police quickly identified the murderer as Chen Lin; it was a straightforward case. There was no tampering with the crime scene or forged alibis.
Ten years ago, surveillance equipment was not as widespread, and Chen Lin vanished without a trace. After issuing a wanted notice online, all that could be done was to wait for Chen Lin to be captured.
A year later, by a stroke of luck, Chen Lin was apprehended.
It happened in another city during a traffic accident.
A car veered off course; the driver, fatigued, drove straight into a river.
Fortunately, the windows were open; otherwise, the immense pressure would have left them with no chance to escape. Yet it was still dangerous—none of the family of three could swim. Bystanders were stunned, but at that moment, a woman jumped into the river.
This woman first rescued their child, then saved the wife, and finally, with the help of another good Samaritan, pulled the husband to safety. The lives of the entire family were saved by this woman, and they knelt before her in gratitude. But she could not utter a word; she was utterly exhausted.
It’s important to understand that rescuing someone who cannot swim requires far more physical strength than most people imagine; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many drowning incidents each year due to attempts to save others. Police cars and ambulances arrived simultaneously, and the woman was taken away.
"This person looks somewhat familiar," one officer remarked while looking at Chen Lin.
"I think I recognize him too," another officer said as he studied Chen Lin.
Suddenly, one officer slapped his thigh: "Isn't this the fugitive from online?"
And just like that, Chen Lin was caught.
The family that had been rescued would never have guessed that their savior was also a killer. They could never have imagined that a year prior, this woman had murdered seven people at the Circus and fled in fear of punishment. They would never have suspected that this woman was actually a transgender individual.
So is Chen Lin a good person or a bad person?
If Chen Lin hadn’t gone to save others, would he have avoided capture?
No one knew.
Chen Lin was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, and barring any accidents, he would spend the rest of his life in prison. However, Chen Lin had never been one to play by the rules. Six years later, he escaped from prison. For the next three years, he remained hidden, but now, Chen Lin had reappeared on the police radar.
Moreover, he was hiding in a room, waiting for the opportunity to kidnap Liu Fei'er.
"But how did he manage to escape from prison?" Liu asked, puzzled.
Mary continued her explanation: "Actually, during those six years, Chen Lin was always planning his escape. He used an ear pick and dug for six years until he broke through to the toilet. From there, he crawled out through the sewage and disappeared."
"No one noticed?" I shook my head and asked. "The management must have been too lax. The prison I grew up in never had such incidents. What about his cellmate? Didn't they report him?"
Mary shrugged and replied, "That has to do with Chen Lin's unique physiological structure. Should he have been placed in a Male Prison or a Female Prison?"
I helplessly shook my head.
"So, to prevent any trouble, the Warden specially arranged for Chen Lin to have a single cell," Mary said. "It was precisely because of these conditions that he spent six years digging and finally managed to escape."
Six years of digging.
Chen Lin had contemplated suicide at eighteen, but by twenty-eight, it seemed he still held onto hope.
Comment 0 Comment Count