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墨書 Inktalez
Everyone had lost count of how many times Jiang He had spoken such words, but upon hearing them, the crowd instinctively rushed towards another room. However, everything happened too quickly; as soon as they turned, a muffled "bang" echoed through the air, reminiscent to Old Shao of his youthful days when he had once blown up cow dung.
Old Shao recalled his younger self, who had wanted to observe the spectacle of cow dung exploding up close, only to end up covered in it. At that moment, he was reminded of the fear that came with such explosions. Just then, a red and yellow liquid began to rain down from above.
No one was spared; they were all splattered with the stinking remnants of rotting corpses, the smell was truly nauseating.
Guan Deng had never encountered such a scene before. He rarely faced severely decomposed bodies directly and was overwhelmed by the foul odor. He immediately dashed to the restroom, and soon after, the sound of retching could be heard from within. The others exchanged glances and realized they were all covered in bits of flesh, with their hair matted in the grotesque mixture.
At that moment, laughter erupted from the recording device; it turned out the recording hadn't stopped.
"I can almost imagine what you all look like right now," the Criminal Consultant's voice suddenly filled the room. "Many interesting things are still to come, my dear project team members. I can't wait to see you again and find out whether you catch me or if I lead you in circles."
"Oh, and it's getting chilly. Wear more clothes; otherwise, if you catch a cold, we won't be able to have fun," the Criminal Consultant's voice was playful. "So I wish you all a dreamless night. Goodnight."
With that, the recording device crackled with static.
It seemed there was no more content left, but at that moment, Jiang He dared not press any other buttons for fear of triggering something else unexpected. From the first time he received this bomb from the Criminal Consultant, he knew this person never played by the rules; there might still be a deadly bomb hidden somewhere.
When Jiang He first entered the room, he hadn't thought along those lines at all.
"I think this play button is also the trigger for the bomb inside Li Erdan's stomach," Jiang He said. "I just don't know how he managed to get Li Erdan to swallow it."
Old Shao replied slowly, "Wei Demian is a very skilled hypnotist; his apprentice is no slouch either. Especially when it comes to hypnotizing someone who already wants to die—it's an easy task for them. The Criminal Consultant has been at the crematorium for so long; he must know who the killer is and may have hinted at Li Erdan multiple times."
When everyone turned back to look at Li Erdan's body, they saw a large hole in his abdomen. Unlike the circular wound made by Zhang Haitao's knife, this hole was an inward-outward gaping wound with torn flesh visible through it; inside, Li Erdan's entrails were mangled into a mess.
The explosive power wasn't great; it merely blew a hole in Li Erdan's stomach. The killer's intention wasn't to kill everyone but rather to toy with them. Realizing this made Jiang He feel that the Criminal Consultant was incredibly dangerous.
If he truly wanted to kill them, he had plenty of opportunities; yet he chose a more theatrical approach instead. But Jiang He understood that one day he would meet the Criminal Consultant again and personally lock him away in a cell.
Old Shao spoke up: "If we go out like this, we'll probably be mistaken for terrorists. Since Li Erdan's place can still boil water for bathing, let's wash our faces and heads before we leave."
Everyone looked at each other and realized that was indeed necessary.
Guan Deng had finished retching in the restroom by now. One by one, they entered to wash their faces and heads but found no time to wash their clothes.
As Jiang He wiped his damp hair dry, he said to Guan Deng, "Help me check if there are any abandoned hospitals or factories near Wutong Road. The Criminal Consultant wants us to go there; there might be something off about his motives."
Old Shao flicked his head of neatly cropped white hair and said to Jiang He, "It's not that the purpose is questionable; it's definitely questionable. Whatever he plans to do, we need to check it out."
At that moment, Xu Yiman suddenly exclaimed, "Come quick and take a look!"
Xu Yiman was still in the bathroom washing her hair. Although she sported a short and sharp hairstyle, it was still longer than a man's buzz cut, requiring more time to wash. When the others entered the bathroom, they saw Xu Yiman pointing at the glass and saying, "Look for yourselves."
As they looked over, they noticed a few words faintly appearing on the fogged-up mirror: "Number Twenty-Five."
Jiang He examined it closely and realized that someone had written on the glass with grease or some other substance beforehand. Under normal circumstances, such writing would be invisible. However, when everyone turned on the hot water to wash their hair, the steam condensed on the cold glass, revealing the previously written words.
Old Shao gazed at the writing on the glass and remarked, "It seems the killer's plan is quite intricate. He knew we wouldn't leave with our heads covered in grease; we would inevitably come here to wash up, allowing us to see the message on the mirror."
"The killer really thought of everything," Old Shao stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Let's go," he said with a wave of his hand. "It's time for us to act."
While they were freshening up, detectives from the City Bureau arrived. What was initially just a simple task of moving a corpse had become much more complicated. The two detectives looked at the body parts stuck to the floor and then at the members of the special investigation team as they exited the room. They were eager to ask how those body parts ended up on the floor.
As the City Bureau dispatched additional personnel to clean up the remains, Yuan Jun had already driven everyone toward Number Twenty-Five Wutong Road.
Guan Deng had already familiarized himself with the surrounding buildings of Wutong Road but found no abandoned hospitals, factories, or crematoriums nearby. Wutong Road was more of a commercial side street lined with various shops—some selling clothes, others food, and establishments like restaurants, internet cafes, and nightclubs.
Following Wutong Road led them to a large Cultural Square surrounded by vendors selling all sorts of goods. This area could be considered part of Dragon City's Night City; even though it was late autumn, there were still plenty of pedestrians out and about— for some people, nightlife was just beginning.
However, for the members of the special investigation team, they felt out of place amidst all this liveliness. Each wore a serious expression as they observed every passerby along the road. Yuan Jun drove slowly down Wutong Road, deliberately keeping his speed low despite honking from drivers behind him.
Old Shao and Jiang He each kept watch on one side, looking at every person who walked by. Perhaps among them was a Criminal Consultant disguised in plain sight.
Guan Deng confirmed that Number Twenty-Five Wutong Road was a large Commercial Building with six floors, each serving different purposes. The first floor featured jewelry stores and car showrooms; floors two and three sold clothing and shoes; floor three housed a large supermarket; while floors four and five included internet cafes, karaoke venues, nightclubs, and various restaurants—essentially anything one could think of could be found here.
Cars behind them continued to honk impatiently as Yuan Jun approached the shopping center's edge. Many cars were parked along the roadside, indicating that drivers had been unable to find parking spaces.
"Just park there," Old Shao said without concern for any potential violations.
Xu Yiman gazed at the tall and bright Commercial Building and remarked, "I always wanted to come here for a proper shopping trip with my girlfriends. But ever since I became a forensic doctor, I've only encountered you old geezers—there's not even a colleague who can accompany me shopping."
Yuan Jun turned off the engine and parked before replying to Xu Yiman, "If you want to go out sometime, I, Jiang He, and Guan Deng can help you carry things anytime—of course, you'll have to treat us to a meal."
"Beautiful you." Xu Yiman was the first to get out of the car after it stopped, pushing the door open. "What does he want us to do here? Are we going to die here or something?"
A few others followed suit, stepping out of the vehicle.
Jiang He looked at the towering commercial plaza and said, "There are countless shops inside this building, and who knows how many employees each shop has. We have no idea where the Criminal Consultant will be waiting for us or what kind of case will unfold."
Old Shao shook his head and smiled at Xu Yiman. "Since we don't know his intentions, let's just treat it as a chance to explore. It's been years since I've wandered around a large plaza like this."
"Let's go." Xu Yiman grabbed Old Shao's arm.
But before they could take a step, a loud bang echoed from behind them, followed by the sound of shattering glass. Instantly, all the car alarms went off, and every bystander's attention was drawn to the deafening noise. Despite the cheerful music playing from various shops, an inexplicable silence fell over the crowd—a heavy, oppressive silence.
Finally, someone snapped back to reality and began shouting, urging others to flee in all directions.
Old Shao calmly instructed those nearby, "Quickly notify the City Bureau to seal off the scene and lock down all exits."
Jiang He remarked, "Now we finally understand why the Criminal Consultant called us here."
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