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墨書 Inktalez
Wu Zui stared at me, his tone resolute. "Yes, regardless of who it is—whether an adult or a child, a man or a woman, a white person or a black person—anyone who is human has, at some moment, felt an intense urge to kill someone. The brat who constantly disturbs your peace during lunch, the boss who withholds your pay while pretending to care for you, the woman who deceives you emotionally—everyone has had thoughts of murder."
He continued passionately, "But the vast majority of people do not kill because they fear death and because there are legal consequences. But what if those things were removed? Would that mean people could kill at will? Humans are animals; there has never been anyone more noble than another. No species is superior to another. We are animals by nature, and being animals means we have instincts—we judge strength and may end up killing our own kind."
"Why should we suppress our true nature?" Wu Zui said. "Humans are such creatures; the problem lies within society. The survival of the fittest is the reality of this world. That’s why I look down on people like you. Those fleeting warriors who kill for their dignity or for profit—they do so with gusto and satisfaction."
When the topic of killing arose, a distinct fervor lit up Wu Zui's face, as if only through murder could he find joy in this world.
Seeing our lack of reaction, he pressed on. "So I gently provoke them, drawing out the malice within their hearts and encouraging them to kill. That is the most enjoyable thing. This world is already in ruins; I want to create an entirely new one."
A madman—that was the only way I could describe Wu Zui.
"Sorry, I got a bit off track," he said, rubbing his leg. "Where was I? Ah yes, I was talking about how I built this space. Ever since you went to prison, I've been contemplating how to rescue you; it hasn't been an easy task."
Wu Zui sighed. "You went in seven years ago when I was just thirteen. Zhao Mingkun was around twenty at that time. After returning home, I never saw you again. You once told me that if anything happened, I should leave on my own; if I had the ability, I'd get you out; if not, I should live well on my own. I've kept that in mind."
"But as a thirteen-year-old child, it was hard enough just to ensure my own survival, let alone rescue you. After leaving Yuzhou City, I went north. Fortunately, you taught me many things that kept me from starving—how to steal from others, how to set up chess games on the street for money, even how to find those involved in crime."
"I worked under a trafficker for three years; countless children passed through my hands. Often, we sold these children for tens of thousands of dollars to beggars who would then cut out their tongues or gouge out their eyes; at the very least, they would break an arm or a leg. I had no idea that a beggar child could fetch hundreds of dollars—more than many people earn in a week."
"And my job was to find those children. Nowadays, people despise traffickers and keep a close watch on their own kids, but they never notice when another child approaches theirs—they think it's just a friend. And so it went until I turned fifteen."
Wu Zui scratched his head and continued, "At fifteen, I wondered why I was working under that old man instead of doing it myself. It seemed like a good idea, so I killed him and went solo. Within a year, my business spread across several cities, and I finally learned that after being captured in Yuzhou City, you were imprisoned in Dongxing City Prison. But at that time, I had neither the capability nor any plans."
"I knew at that moment that they would never kill you so easily," Wu Zui said with a smile. "This world works like this: if you kill one person, two will definitely die, but if you kill hundreds or thousands, they won't let you die so easily. If you kill ten thousand or a million, you will become the savior of this world."
"When the time was right, I brought people to Dongxing City. I was eighteen then," Wu Zui continued with a smile. "On my eighteenth birthday, I received a coming-of-age gift. I discovered my brother; Father, you once had a past with me. I have a twin brother, and for all these years, I have been searching for him, hoping he would join me and help me."
At this point, Wu Zui seemed quite disappointed. "But my brother is actually helping the police, which is incredibly disappointing. Some people lose their rationality when they are angry, but others become more rational."
"I listened to my dear brother; the reason the police made him an auxiliary officer is because he possesses a special ability—Criminal Profiling. He can immerse himself in the murder scene and analyze the age, gender, and even the psychological state of the murderer at the time of the crime." Wu Zui turned to look at me. "But you must understand that schizophrenia can be hereditary."
Wu Zui paused for a moment before continuing, "One of our parents has schizophrenia. Living among drug dealers for years has caused them significant mental issues, do you understand? So both of us have a high likelihood of being schizophrenics. Your gift is also your greatest weakness; it's just that no one has guided you."
"You killed a woman," I said as I listened to Wu Zui's words. "You killed a woman—a young woman in her twenties. I should have realized there was another version of me in this world. When I used Criminal Profiling to immerse myself in it, I was shocked to find that this person acted almost exactly like me."
I continued, "This person behaved just like me, so I believed I was the one who killed this woman. Because in this world, there are people who commit crimes and leave very few clues behind—those are the police. Having lived in prison and learned so many criminal techniques, I know how police investigations work and their methods. I thought only I could accomplish something like this without leaving any traces."
I shifted my position and began again: "So I arrested myself, but the police had clear evidence that I wasn't present at the scene. There was absolutely no way for me to be in two places at once. Therefore, they conducted a psychological evaluation and found that I suffered from mild Self-Blame Delusion. If this symptom worsens, it could lead to full-blown schizophrenia, making it impossible for me to think clearly and preventing me from ever being normal again."
Wu Zui nodded and said, "But back then, I was still too young. I thought that after this, you would never help the police again. Yet here we are again; my dear brother, you disappointed me once more. It was two years later when I heard news about you again. You had come out of the psychiatric hospital—and it was a police officer who got you out. To my surprise, this person who rescued you was none other than Captain Shao, the same man who had previously put my adoptive father in prison."
"But how did you know?" I asked.
"Do you remember your first case?" Wu Zui replied. "No, to be precise—it was your first case together with them?"
Hearing Wu Zui's words brought back memories of Captain Shao pulling me out of the psychiatric hospital. I recalled how hopeful I felt when I first came out; I believed that I could continue capturing criminals and that there wasn't a case where I couldn't find clues or solve it.
The first case was the murder of the son of a Railway Worker, and it was the one I felt most confident about. After coming out of the mental hospital, I found out who the Murderer was almost effortlessly. However, as the cases became increasingly complex, especially after encountering Wu Zui, I often felt like I had achieved nothing.
"Is it the Railway corpse case?" I asked.
Wu Zui snapped his fingers and replied, "That's right. You must have heard me talking earlier. I've been involved in child trafficking for many years. During your investigation of the case, you found my contact, a beggar. That beggar told me there was someone who looked exactly like me, and that's when I realized it was you."
"At that time, I hadn't thought about wearing a mask because I hadn't planned what I wanted to do," Wu Zui continued. "But in that moment of returning, an idea suddenly struck me. If we're going to play, we should make it interesting, right? From then on, you were under my surveillance. I knew your every move, brother."
"But later you lost track of me," I said as I looked at Wu Zui, suddenly understanding something. "When I became a Fugitive, you lost all information about me until this case concluded and you learned of my whereabouts again. That rainy night, you took me away. You originally intended to capture both me and Guan Zengbin in that underground maze; something must have gone wrong afterward."
Wu Zui chuckled and said, "Brother, your reasoning skills are actually quite impressive. Everything aligns with your thoughts. If it weren't for a sudden appearance of armed police back then, you would have escaped from this Underground River months ago. My actions would have also commenced months earlier. However, we still end up at the same destination; now you're still in my hands."
"But in reality," Wu Zui's voice grew somber, "even though you are the protagonist, today you are not the main character. The true protagonists are others. In fact, we are all quite tragic because a person becomes who they are not by their own choice. They become themselves due to environmental influences; everything in this world—the people you meet, the words you hear, the books you read—shapes who you are."
"Someone told me that if you want to have no weaknesses, you need to..."
I heard two sharp sounds: "crack."
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