Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
We laid out the photos of the victims, and in chronological order, the first deceased was Zhao Kaifang, twenty-seven years old, a manager at a company, single and living alone. Lulu, twenty-five years old, was a white-collar worker at a different company, also single and living alone.
The third victim, Zhou Mei, was thirty-five years old, a cashier in the city, and married. Zhang Libo was thirty-seven years old, a mechanic, and married as well. Zhang Wen was twelve years old, in fifth grade, currently on winter break.
As we looked at the photos of these five individuals, their background information written beside each one, we were puzzled about what commonality they might share. In terms of their jobs, there was no similarity among them. Although Zhao Kaifang and Lulu were both white-collar workers, they were engaged in completely different types of work with no common ground.
From a gender perspective, there were both men and women among the victims. It wasn't just single young women being targeted as I had previously imagined. The second case clearly involved a family of three; this was not about young single females at all. There was even a male figure in the second story.
In terms of age, there was also a mix of young and old. The two white-collar workers were in their twenties, while the couple of workers were in their thirties and nearing forty. Their daughter was twelve years old. The murderer did not seem to be selecting victims based on age.
This raised the question: what criteria did the murderer use to choose their victims? If it were a random killing spree, why did the murderer specifically target these few families? Was it merely a random selection, picking individuals destined to be killed?
I furrowed my brow and tugged at my hair. Are there really people like this in the world? Of course there are; such individuals are often the hardest to catch. In criminal investigations concerning the murderer’s actions, several key points are typically considered: the murder weapon used by the murderer, the method of killing employed by the murderer, the time of the crime committed by the murderer, and the motive behind it.
Every case investigation revolves around finding breakthroughs in these areas—whether through witnesses or evidence. As long as we can prove one aspect of it, we can identify a suspect and then reverse-engineer the case from that suspect to determine the true culprit.
However, in this case, it appeared that the murderer used various tools. Aside from a knife that left no fingerprints and whose origin we could not trace, there were no other tools involved. We couldn't identify any manufacturer from this unmarked knife to track down who had purchased it.
The method of killing is often reflective of an individual's character. A decisive murderer who strikes quickly is naturally resolute; one who uses a knife is unafraid of blood; while someone who enjoys slowly torturing others must have a dark heart. Yet this murderer’s two methods gave me a strong sense of dissonance—as if two different people were committing these acts. It felt like an individual's temperament; the methods left behind by the murderer must reflect their true inner self—something difficult to conceal.
If we consider the timing of these crimes, I deduced that the murderer must have prepared a complete list of intended victims and was simply waiting to kill them one by one. Based on only two incidents so far, it was hard to determine whether the murderer operated on a periodic schedule—killing one person after another or perhaps every two—or if it didn't matter at all.
The motive for these crimes is analyzed through information left at the scene to understand the murderer’s psychology—a field I am relatively adept at. Currently, there seem to be two possibilities: first, random killings purely to satisfy some inner perversion; second, premeditated murder where there exists some connection between the murderer and these five individuals that we have yet to uncover.
At this point, our understanding remains limited. Moreover, this murderer possesses extensive knowledge and exhibits strong anti-detection awareness—extremely cunning. From my brief encounters with him, it seemed he harbored twisted thoughts and preferred darkness over light.
It became clear that an individual would not develop mental illness without reason; it must relate to significant life changes or experiences—either clashing with others or battling within themselves—trapped in an incomprehensible worldview.
If such individuals exist, perhaps they have been confined in psychiatric hospitals? If someone with mental illness escaped and began killing people, it wouldn't be impossible; many perverse murderers have emerged from mental health issues that distorted their perception of reality.
These individuals are kept under strict supervision in psychiatric facilities. In Dongxing City, I am quite familiar with such places. Although I have never entered that area myself, I know well that entry requires special permissions—no one can enter without them because those held there can hardly be called human anymore; perhaps they should be referred to as demons trapped within human shells.
At this moment, Captain Shao spoke up: “There’s still one person from our story whose whereabouts remain unknown. On our way back, I had Mary investigate that adult store. The current owner is Wang Chunli; she’s not from Dongxing City. We tried several of her phone numbers but found they were all disconnected. The only thing we know is that Wang Chunli went out with a man and hasn’t returned since.”
Li Team Leader glanced at Captain Shao and said: “Right! We found that out too; I was just thinking about it when you beat me to it.”
Then Li Team Leader looked at Liu Yiyang and gestured for him to take action: “Liu! You were supposed to investigate this matter; go ahead.”
Captain Shao looked at Li Team Leader, stroking his teacup as he spoke, "Well, since you already knew this, why didn’t you send someone to investigate earlier? Instead, you waited until I came out to look into it. Some people just don’t know how they got here."
Li Team Leader snorted and said, "I think it’s about time for you to get some rest. You may not be old, but your hair is turning white. Are you worried?"
Gu Chen glanced at Li Team Leader and remarked, "This Li Team Leader is clearly trying to take credit for our work."
I said, "According to my reasoning, it takes time to get familiar with a group of stray cats, and leading them to eat human flesh requires some guidance. I’m afraid Boss Lady has already met her end in the cats’ bellies and has been taken all over the place."
Guan Zengbin added, "But even if the cats can eat meat, they can’t consume bones. What about those bones?"
Suddenly, I remembered the stacked cardboard boxes in the warehouse. I recalled that one box had been opened, but I hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time. Now that I thought about it, Boss Lady’s remains might be in that box. With this thought in mind, I immediately called Liu.
Liu seemed surprised that I was calling him and asked, "Wu Meng? What’s up?"
I didn’t hide anything and said, "Go to the warehouse of that Adult Store and find any unopened boxes. If I’m right, there might be some bones and chunks of meat inside."
"Got it," Liu replied. "Thanks for your help."
I had no further words.
Gu Chen shot me a glance and said, "Why tell him? He follows you when he needs something but runs away faster than anyone else when trouble arises."
I shook my head and replied, "That doesn’t matter. Ming will go with me for a trip."
"Where to?" Gu Chen asked.
"To Dongxing City Mental Hospital," I answered.
Liu indeed found the bones and began investigating who the man was that left with Wang Chunli.
The night passed without a word. I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, it felt like countless green eyes were watching me; I could almost hear the murderer’s sharp laughter and see the scene of a girl’s head rolling down before me.
It seemed like someone was smiling at me from the darkness, a smile that lingered for a long time.
But why didn’t he choose to kill me? There was such a great opportunity right there. His hand was already gripping a knife.
I couldn’t make sense of it all.
Early in the morning, Captain Shao led the team to the Dongxing City Mental Hospital. This place was one I both hated and loved; I hated it because it concealed the deepest secrets of my heart, including the two failed confrontations with Wu Zui. Yet, I loved this place for its kind-hearted Wang Er Gou and the various people with their wildly imaginative ideas.
Sometimes, perhaps they simply did not fit into this world, and they were not mad.
The one who greeted us was still the male Head Nurse from the hospital. Upon seeing Captain Shao return with me, he said, "Oh, what’s this? You didn’t do well during your trial period and got sent back to us? You really know how to stir things up; do you think we’re not busy enough?"
I smiled and replied, "I’m doing just fine; I’ve stopped taking my medication."
"You’re just asking for trouble! You know what illness you have, yet you’re messing around with these people. Sooner or later, you’ll be back here," the Head Nurse retorted.
"Where's Wang Er Gou?" I asked. "I haven't seen him; I've been thinking about him."
The Head Nurse responded, "His girlfriend came to see him. They’re all over each other right now; I can hardly bear to watch. You’re a good girl; why waste your youth on someone like him?"
I laughed, "Oh, then shouldn’t you keep an eye on them? It’s against the rules to let them be alone together."
"Get lost!" the Head Nurse shot back. "What do I have to do with their relationship? Why are you back here anyway? I don’t think you missed me."
I looked at the Head Nurse seriously and said, "I encountered a case where a murderer has a severe psychological disorder. I'm worried that a potentially violent patient might have escaped, so I wanted to check if you have any records and maybe take a look in Area A; there might be something there."
"Absolutely not!" the Head Nurse replied firmly. "Area A is where the highest security patients are held; there’s no way they could escape."
Comment 0 Comment Count