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墨書 Inktalez
As the three of us stepped into the room, we were completely unprepared for what lay before us. In that fleeting moment, as we entered, my mind had conjured countless scenarios. I had imagined many different scenes, but none of them included this.
The bedroom was empty; there wasn't a single person inside, nor was there a body to be found. We exchanged puzzled glances. There was a large wardrobe in the room, and when Gu Chen opened its doors, it revealed nothing—no gruesome sight, no bloody horror, not even a shadow of a person.
Gu Chen looked under the bed but found nothing there either. After searching in vain, he appeared bewildered and said, "What does the murderer want us to find here? There were bodies the last two times, but this time there's not even a corpse?"
I frowned and pondered for a moment before responding, "Based on my calculations, the murderer doesn't have much time to torture and kill. I roughly estimated that the time left for the murderer is limited. To avoid being caught while torturing Guo Li here would clearly not be a good choice. The murderer must have taken Guo Li somewhere else."
With that thought in mind, I walked to the door and called out to the School Leader, "Stop looking around; the murderer is no longer here. You should contact Guo Li's parents."
The School Leader glanced at me and slowly replied, "Alright, I'll get in touch with her homeroom teacher first and then notify her parents."
Mary interjected, "But the murderer told us over the phone that he wanted us to come here to check. Surely he must have left some clues behind?"
I nodded and said, "Exactly. In previous instances, the murderer left notes for us with tasks. It must be the same this time; he definitely left a note. Let's search for it."
Everyone nodded in agreement and began to investigate for the note.
Half an hour later, the School Leader approached me and said, "I've already contacted Guo Li's parents; they'll be here shortly. I haven't discussed the specifics with them yet, but they should arrive in about half an hour."
I nodded and replied, "Good job on that. For now, let's not go into too much detail."
While I was talking with the School Leader, Mary had already found the hidden note.
Mary exclaimed, "I found this note! What does it say?"
"What does it mean?" I asked. "What is written on the note?"
Mary shoved a note into my hand and said, "Just look for yourself; it's all written there."
I took the note from Mary's hand and glanced at the few words scrawled on it. To be precise, there were only three words: "Why?"
From the moment each of us was born, we have been asking this world, the people around us, and ourselves why everything is as it is. And now, at this moment, the Murderer is posing this most straightforward question to us: why? But what subjective reasoning lies behind the Murderer's inquiry?
"Why?" Gu Chen and the School Leader spoke simultaneously.
I shook my head and replied helplessly, "Based on the information we currently have, we still have no way of knowing what the Murderer truly wants."
I continued, "Let's search. The notes left by the Murderer have always followed a certain pattern; they are not meant to leave us with an unsolvable riddle. From this perspective, the clues left by the Murderer must be in this room; otherwise, we wouldn't know where to start."
"Search," I commanded.
At that moment, everyone began to look around.
I moved about the room, observing anything that might provide us with answers. Judging by the clues left by the Murderer in previous instances, this one might not be too difficult to decipher. It had to be related to Guo Li, and if it was about her, searching in her bedroom would be best.
I said to the other three, "Let's check Guo Li's room first; the clue might be there."
When we searched for the body earlier, we had inspected every room. We could clearly see that the two bedrooms had very different styles. One was stark and cold, while the other had a more feminine touch—definitely Guo Li's room.
That was precisely the room Gu Chen had just kicked open.
We returned to that room once more, this time carefully examining it. I stood at the doorway, scrutinizing every detail inside. Facing the window, I noticed it was tightly shut. It was summer now, and quite hot; this seemed rather odd.
Looking around the room clockwise, I saw that Gu Chen had already opened the wardrobe. Inside were just clothes. Next to it stood a bookshelf crammed with various items: charging cables, assorted tissues, and even empty bottles from finished drinks piled up among them.
The bookshelf was filled with everything except books.
As Gu Chen opened the shelf, a cascade of items tumbled out. He quickly shielded himself with his body and sighed, "I wonder how all this stuff got crammed in here."
Mary stepped in to help.
I said, "It must have been shoved in. Look around; it’s such a mess that the Murderer might have hidden something in here."
My attention was drawn to the desk beside the bookshelf. On its surface sat a dusty lamp with a touch switch. I examined the switch, noting it was also covered in dust. This detail suggested that Guo Li wasn’t someone who enjoyed studying and likely never used the lamp.
There were also some books on the desk, which appeared to be untouched as well.
Underneath the desk were three drawers. The leftmost one was locked, while the other two were not. I put on gloves and opened the two unlocked drawers, finding an assortment of items: face masks, sunscreen, scissors, but no books.
I rummaged through them but found nothing useful. It seemed that any secrets lay within the locked drawer. The lock looked simple; judging by its design, it wouldn’t be difficult to open.
I picked up the lock and examined it. It was an ordinary padlock. From what I learned in prison, this required no special skill. With a firm tug, I easily broke it open. It seemed even a ten-year-old girl had her own secrets.
Inside the drawer were only a few notebooks. I glanced back at Gu Chen and Mary, who were still searching for useful clues among the cluttered cabinet.
I handed one notebook each to Gu Chen and Mary, saying, "If I’m not mistaken, the answers we’re looking for from the Murderer are likely in these diaries. Let’s take a look."
Gu Chen glanced at the lock I had placed on the table and remarked, "Can this lock really hold any secrets? It doesn’t seem difficult to open at all."
I nodded, "Exactly. This lock is so easy to pull off that even I could do it without effort. If her parents wanted to check it while she was at school, this lock wouldn’t stop them at all. But I doubt they had much time; if it weren’t for school requiring parents to pick up their children, they probably wouldn’t bother."
"Let’s see what we can find," I said.
At that moment, we heard voices coming from outside. The School Leader said, "Officer Wu, Guo Li's parents have returned."
I handed my notebook to Mary and said, "You two check if there are any details in here; just filter out the useless stuff automatically."
The two nodded.
Then, I stepped out of the room. In front of the School Leader stood a man and a woman, both dressed quite elegantly. From this perspective, it seemed their jobs were relatively respectable, and they appeared to be quite composed—much more so than Liang Zhengyu's parents.
The School Leader glanced at me, and I nodded before slowly speaking, "Now I need to tell you something important. I hope you can listen carefully. First, your daughter has likely been kidnapped. Second, her situation is dire."
As soon as I finished speaking, both of their faces changed.
I continued, "I must emphasize that we still have a chance to find your daughter, but you need to understand that you must provide me with information quickly instead of uselessly crying and making a scene. That will only waste time, do you understand?"
The man replied, "Alright, ask us anything; we will cooperate."
I gestured for them to sit down and then asked, "Based on the evidence we have so far, the reason the murderer took your daughter is that she has previously abused other students. Pay attention to my wording—it's not just bullying; it's abuse, the kind that involves physical harm."
"Has this happened?" I looked intently into their eyes.
"Well..." The two fell into deep thought and hesitated to respond.
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