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墨書 Inktalez
In the previous story, the Murderer was a killer who stalked young women, but in this tale, the Murderer has transformed into a half-human, half-cat creature mingling among numerous cats. What kind of personality does this Murderer possess? In the last case, the Murderer was taciturn and not fond of conversation.
However, in this case, the Murderer seems to have an unusual penchant for behaving like an animal. Yet, similarly, the Murderer engaged in dialogue with the girl. From a psychological perspective, these are two entirely different mindsets: one is eerie and gloomy, while the other is wild and uninhibited.
After all, someone who can act like a cat to capture a girl's attention hardly resembles a silent stalker who follows others without making a sound.
Could it be that the Murderer is actually two different people?
Analyzing the entire story reveals two particularly puzzling aspects. First, why have so many stray cats appeared in such a short period? Second, what lies within the hole in the wall that both the cats and the Murderer seem drawn to?
The behavior of this Murderer is truly bizarre, making it impossible to logically deduce their motives.
I tugged at my hair with my hands and closed my eyes to think.
Suddenly, Captain Shao spoke up: “Based on the narrative techniques commonly used by the Murderer, something must have happened on the night before Girl's Parents went missing. From my years of experience in solving cases, I suspect that the Murderer's parents were killed last night.”
Captain Shao's expression was serious, and I followed his line of thought.
“Crying sounds, screams!” I suddenly realized something.
I slapped my forehead and said, “Captain Shao, you’re onto something. From the story, it appears that the residents of this building have grown accustomed to the sounds of cats fighting at night. From the girl’s auditory perspective, she perceives those sounds as cries or screams. Conversely, once everyone has become accustomed to it, they might believe that actual cries and screams are merely sounds made by cats.”
Liu frowned and asked, “So you’re saying that someone broke into this family’s room that night and killed the girl’s parents? And those cries and screams were actually from her parents?”
I nodded.
Liu shook his head and said, "But when a normal person first sees 'Murderer,' they should question it instead of just screaming, right? And a cat can't make a human sound."
I pressed my finger against my lips; Liu's point was indeed valid.
"What if it was to cover up the sound of moving the body?" Captain Shao lightly tapped the table. "The shadow the girl saw was actually the shadow of 'Murderer' climbing onto the balcony. 'Murderer' entered the parents' room through the balcony and quietly killed them."
"And when moving the body, there would definitely be some noise," Captain Shao continued. "In that case, using a cat's meow to create a distraction makes much more sense."
Guan Zengbin asked, "How did 'Murderer' kill them? If there were bloodstains, people would have noticed right away. And how did they move the body? Driving a car in Old Town District at that hour would surely attract attention. Did they ride a tricycle to transport the body?"
Suddenly, I thought of a secret hiding place for the bodies, one that adults would definitely avoid.
"That hole," I said.
"Huh?" Guan Zengbin turned to look at me.
I stated firmly, "'Murderer' and the cat could both fit through that hole; hiding two bodies there wouldn't be a problem."
"But even if we know all this, what can we do?" Gu Chen said. "As long as we don't know the location, we can't stop anything from happening!"
Gu Chen's words hit home, and everyone fell silent. They all understood he was right; even though we could narrow down the area to the west side of the city, that region was still vast, with many buildings in various urban-rural junctions.
"I'm afraid all we can do now," Captain Shao said to us, "is wait."
And so we waited until the afternoon of the second day.
We finally stood on the street depicted by the Murderer, gazing up at the old three-story building in a daze. It indeed had an open balcony, and overall, the building was not very tall. The walls were made of red bricks, with many bricks already fallen off in various places. It would be easy for me to step onto those gaps.
There was indeed a hole on the side, large enough for a relatively slender adult man to enter. If it were a corpse, it wouldn't be impossible to force it inside.
"Keep an eye on that hole!" Captain Shao instructed several officers. "Let's go check the situation upstairs."
As we entered the building, we realized that the first floor seemed to be unoccupied, and the hallway was cluttered with various items, some of which blocked the doors of the first-floor residents. I moved forward; dust covered the door, indicating it hadn't been opened in a long time. We continued up to the third floor.
In this old building, each floor had only one household, with a single door.
The door was slightly ajar and not locked.
Gu Chen, with some cunning, pushed the door to enter, but Captain Shao stopped him. "Don't be impulsive. I think the Murderer's plan has already succeeded."
Everyone's faces turned grim.
Captain Shao's expression was serious; he swallowed hard and spoke solemnly. "Although none of us want this to happen, the girl is still missing, right? We might have arrived too late."
With that, Captain Shao put on gloves and shoe covers before stepping into the room. We followed suit and entered as well.
It was empty; not a single person was inside.
A large grand piano stood in the living room, clearly an expensive one. However, for the family living here to own such a piano seemed mismatched. Indeed, apart from this piano, there was hardly any furniture worth mentioning; no wonder the balcony remained open—there was nothing valuable to steal.
Several certificates were pinned to the wall, perhaps meant to showcase their daughter's achievements or to cover up the cracked wall paint.
I crossed the living room and walked past the bedroom, heading straight for the balcony. Standing there, I looked at the path below. It was difficult for even a few bicycles to pass side by side, let alone a car. My gaze was involuntarily drawn to the dark hole; I had no idea what lay beyond the wall, which was obscured by a blue shed above.
According to the story written by the Murderer, this moment was precisely when the stray cats and the Murderer would enter. Suddenly, a thought struck me: what if the girl had just left? What if the Murderer was still inside that hole?
With that thought in mind, I immediately shouted, "Captain Shao, you all stay here. Gu Chen and I are going to check out that hole. Logically, those stray cats have already formed a habit of coming and going, but now we don't see any; they might have already gone inside."
With that, I grabbed Gu Chen and ran down.
At the entrance of the hole, several police officers were standing guard. I asked, "Have any cats come in or out?"
One officer shook his head and replied, "Not that we've seen, but we did hear some cat sounds."
I looked at the narrow opening again, confirming once more that the Murderer's height must be below average for men. A muscular guy like Gu Chen wouldn't be able to squeeze through unless he made the hole bigger. But it was clearly too late for that; although I wasn't entirely sure, there was a chance that the girl was inside.
As long as there was a glimmer of hope, I had to try.
"Give me a flashlight; I'm going in!" I took off my thick coat and crawled in wearing only my fitted undergarments.
There had been some light at the entrance before, but now my body blocked it, plunging the inside into darkness. I used my teeth to twist on the flashlight and shone it inside. To my surprise, it revealed a passageway only a few dozen centimeters high, with what seemed like a turn a few meters ahead.
I couldn't stand up straight or even crouch properly; crawling would consume too much energy. Instinctively, I placed both hands on the ground and moved forward like a quadruped. In that moment, I suddenly understood why the Murderer had walked in such a manner.
Because in this passageway, that way of moving was indeed the most efficient and fastest.
In the distance, I could hear cat sounds; they seemed to be coming from deeper within where there was a turn. So I continued step by step into the darkness, holding the flashlight in my mouth to illuminate my path.
As I approached the corner, before anyone had passed by, I suddenly heard a chilling scream from within, followed by a chorus of cat cries that sounded like the wailing of ghosts and wolves. It was just as the stories described; it seemed as if someone was screaming loudly, or perhaps a baby was crying out in distress.
The narrow passage amplified the cacophony, creating an echo that felt as though the sounds were right beside me, sending shivers down my spine. Even though I knew these sounds came from cats, I still felt a chill run through me, as if yokai were lamenting nearby.
Gathering my courage, I turned the corner and, in that instant, I witnessed the most terrifying sight.
Countless pairs of eyes glowing with a green light stared at me from the darkness. The yokai's howls fell silent all at once, leaving an eerie stillness. I knew those glowing green eyes belonged to cats, but I had never seen so many in such an environment.
With each breath I took, the beam of my flashlight moved erratically, flickering across the multitude of eyes. Among them sat a girl not far ahead, cross-legged and surrounded by cats. She was completely bare and her large eyes were wide open—black pupils, black eyes.
Suddenly, a black cat leaped onto her head. In that moment, her head rolled off like a ball and came tumbling toward me. The cats seemed to see it as a toy and began to chase after it. My heart raced in shock, and the flashlight slipped from my hands and fell to the ground, plunging everything into darkness.
I could see nothing; I only felt countless stray cats scurrying over me.
At that moment, a voice that was clearly not a cat's whispered in my ear.
"Heh heh."
It was the sound of someone laughing coldly.
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