Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Hu Ningning's Grandmother looked at me and nodded, "It's good for you to go take a look. You've been gone for quite a while."
With that, Hu Ningning's Grandmother stepped outside.
Hu Ningning glanced at the heavy rain outside and said, "Many people don't understand why the villains in TV dramas talk so much. It's because if the person in front of them dies, no one in this world will ever understand them again. So they would rather risk being overturned than not express their true feelings, because if only one person knows a secret, that feeling is too lonely."
"The reason you told me," I turned to Hu Ningning, "is it because you think I'm going to die?"
Hu Ningning shook her head and replied, "Not really. It's just that even if I tell you the whole truth, no one would believe it. For thousands of years, it's been like this; no matter how old you are—whether you're nine, twenty, or forty—elders will always be elders. No matter how accomplished or impressive you are in their eyes, you'll always just be a junior."
"You understand far less than they do, especially children," Hu Ningning continued. "They will never believe it."
A moment later, the door opened, and along with Hu Ningning's Grandmother came a cold rain. Hu Ningning's Grandmother handed me an umbrella and said, "It's just west of the village; you should have been there before. Remember to take a flashlight; the path isn't easy to walk."
Taking the umbrella, I stepped out of the house. The rain was getting heavier, hitting the umbrella like bullets.
I didn't actually want to go see Hu Ningning's family; what I needed to do now was inform Gu Chen. That was the only thing I could do. Hu Ningning was right; capturing someone requires evidence, but right now I had no substantial proof. Everything was just my speculation, even though that speculation might be correct.
The heavy rain washed away all traces, and Zhang Zijun and Ha Li Min were both dead—there truly was no way to verify their deaths. But whether there was evidence or not, I had to tell Gu Chen this fact. According to Gu Zhi's father, Gu Hui wouldn't be buried until the murderer was truly found.
So what would Gu Chen do after I told him?
At that moment, my mind was in turmoil. Regarding Hu Ningning's situation, as she said, even if it were true, who would believe it?
With that thought in mind, I dialed Gu Chen's phone number.
"Gu Chen, where are you now?" I asked.
Gu Chen replied, "The rain is too heavy; I can only move slowly. It should take me about ten more minutes. Why are you calling me now? You must have something important to say. Well, since I'm just waiting around anyway..."
Hearing Gu Chen's words made me hesitate for a moment before I said, "Here's what happened..."
I simply told Gu Chen the truth of the matter and explained that this was the result of my conversation with Hu Ningning. I also informed Gu Chen that Hu Ningning had not yet turned fourteen, and from a legal standpoint, even if we had sufficient evidence, we could not hold Hu Ningning criminally responsible.
Even if we wanted to retaliate in kind, who would believe that a nine-year-old girl could be so cunning? It was impossible to ruin Hu Ningning like Teacher Gao did. It was precisely because of this that Hu Ningning dared to boldly reveal the truth to me.
After listening to my words, Gu Chen fell into a long silence. After a moment, he finally spoke, "Are you saying that both Gu Hui's death and the deaths of the other four children are all connected to Hu Ningning?"
Listening to the sharp sound of rain, I replied, "That's right. To be precise, we can almost confirm that Hu Ningning is indeed the murderer. However, the reason Hu Ningning told us all this is because she knows we have no way to act against her. Our country's criminal law states that children under fourteen cannot bear criminal responsibility, and the heavy rain has washed away all traces. Moreover, Zhang Zijun and his wife are dead with no witnesses."
After I finished speaking, there was a long silence on the other end; all I could hear was the rustling sound of rain from Gu Chen's phone.
"Gu Chen?" I asked.
Gu Chen finally responded, "So you mean we just let it go? I have no objections to Liang Zhengyu and those people dying; they got what they deserved. But why did she have to kill Gu Hui? What did Gu Hui do to provoke her?"
I sighed before answering, "The reason Hu Ningning killed Gu Hui is that Gu Hui mocked her. Gu Hui was indeed lured out by Hu Ningning, but no one saw it happen. Hu Ningning fell into that pit first, and then Gu Hui started laughing at her. In retaliation, Hu Ningning pushed Gu Hui into the pit. Secondly, after school started, Hu Ningning was taken away by Zhang Zijun and his wife."
As my voice trailed off, Gu Chen continued to ask, "Is it really just for this reason?"
"Exactly," I said slowly. "That's precisely it."
Just as I finished speaking, I suddenly heard a screeching sound of brakes on the phone. The noise cut through the heavy rain like a knife; instinctively, I moved my phone away but could still hear the continuous screeching of brakes.
The rain grew heavier, and the roads in the village became muddy. While talking with me, Gu Chen likely lost focus and his vehicle skidded. I continued listening to the sounds on my phone; after several consecutive screeches, there came a violent crash.
At that moment, when I called out for Gu Chen again, all I could hear on the line was static noise. No matter how much I shouted, there was no response from him. My heart raced with anxiety; at this moment, I had no idea what state Gu Chen was in.
However, from what Gu Chen had said earlier, he wasn't far from the village; if he walked, it would only take him about half an hour. Thinking of this, I decided not to linger any longer and headed straight for the village entrance. The rain poured down harder and harder while thunder roared deafeningly; my phone should still be in the car and not waterlogged.
I switched my phone to speaker mode and kept calling out Gu Chen's name while using my other hand to turn on my flashlight.
The road was shrouded in darkness, with no lights to be seen. Heavy rain poured down, and dark clouds obscured both the moon and the stars. The sound of raindrops hitting the leaves echoed around me, and an occasional cool breeze added to the eerie atmosphere, making it feel as though I had stepped into a horror movie, causing my heart to race.
After walking for over twenty minutes, my phone only picked up the occasional rumble of thunder and the patter of rain. It had been so long without any news from Gu Chen that I couldn't help but feel anxious. If something had happened to Gu Chen, then the car wouldn't be able to reach him, and it would take at least two hours on foot...
At that moment, all I could do was pray that Gu Chen was safe. Just as my anxiety peaked, I finally spotted a car in the distance. It was clear that the vehicle had veered off the village road and into the fields on either side, coming to rest at an angle on uneven ground. One of its headlights was broken, leaving only one light casting a dim glow.
However, inside the car was pitch black; I couldn't see anything about who or what was inside.
I quickly shoved my phone into my pocket, discarded my umbrella, and paid no mind to the pouring rain. I stumbled towards the car, nearly rolling as I reached its side. Pressing my face against the window, I strained to see inside, but it was too dark to make out anything.
Under normal circumstances, if the headlights were on, the dashboard should be illuminated as well. Even if I couldn't see clearly inside, there should have been some light. But now, it was completely dark within; I couldn't see a thing.
This was unusual, so I hurriedly shone my flashlight into the car.
At that moment, a flash of lightning lit up the scene.
I finally caught a glimpse of what was inside the vehicle, but it was completely different from what I had expected.
To my shock, Gu Chen was not in the driver's seat nor was anyone else present. Instead, slumped in the back seat was someone I never would have anticipated. This person wore a black-and-white mask with a grotesque smile stretching from ear to ear.
The only visible part of their face were two cold eyes staring directly at me.
Wu Zui—what was he doing here?
In that instant, a flurry of thoughts raced through my mind. Who had leaked our plans? Why was Wu Zui here? I looked around but saw no other vehicles nearby; this meant Wu Zui must have known beforehand that Gu Chen would come here. Had they already taken Gu Chen away?
Before I could process any further thoughts, a gust of wind rushed past me from behind. Instinctively, I tried to dodge but felt someone grab my arm. A face appeared before me—someone I recognized from my encounters during Liu Yinyan's case.
Then suddenly, I felt something sharp pierce into my neck.
There is no method in the world that can render someone unconscious with just a light tap or a gentle whiff. Inhaling a strong, irritating substance takes several minutes to induce unconsciousness, while an anesthetist who understands human anatomy can accurately use a syringe to put someone under in less than a minute.
And this person was clearly very professional.
Because just seconds later, I felt a sharp pain in my head.
Wu Zui opened the car door and stepped out, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.
I was pressed down onto the ground, and at that moment, all I could feel was an unbearable headache. The rain drenched me like a soaked chicken, yet it did nothing to clear my mind.
Someone held an umbrella for Wu Zui; it was Old Zhang.
Wu Zui slowly crouched down and touched my head.
"What do you want from me?"
It dawned on me that speaking was such a laborious task.
Crouching beside me, Wu Zui leaned in close to my ear and spoke softly, "We will meet again. The game is finally about to begin."
I no longer had the strength to open my eyes; I could only hear the sound of the rain gradually changing.
Comment 0 Comment Count