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墨書 Inktalez
He suddenly raised the dagger and lunged toward my chest. At that critical moment, a gunshot pierced the night sky, and the assailant let out a muffled groan as the dagger fell from his hand to the ground. I looked up to see Li Na standing by the car, holding a handgun with smoke still rising from the barrel.
"Are you okay?" Li Na asked anxiously as she quickly approached to check my injuries.
"I'm fine," I shook my head, struggling to crawl out of the car.
"Don't move, your hand is stuck," Li Na supported me; her hand was cold, but her gaze was firm.
"The girl in the photo... she..." I grabbed Li Na's arm, urgently asking.
Li Na's expression turned somewhat grim as she avoided my gaze and said softly, "We've found her location, but she..."
"What happened to her? Hurry up and tell me!" A sense of foreboding surged within me.
Li Na took a deep breath and slowly said, "She has been kidnapped by the assailant and is being held in a confined space, and..."
"And what?" I pressed on eagerly.
Li Na bit her lip, seemingly hesitating over something.
"Just say it!" I couldn't help but shout.
"The assailant left a letter; he said..." Li Na paused, as if organizing her thoughts, "He said he knows about your relationship with Director Wang, he knows you are investigating him, and he also said..."
"What else did he say?" My heart raced, a terrible thought creeping into my mind.
"He said he knows what your greatest weakness is, he knows what you fear losing the most, and he also said..." Li Na's voice grew quieter until it was almost inaudible.
"What did he say?!" I grabbed Li Na's shoulders and shook her forcefully, as if that would make her clarify her words.
Li Na took a deep breath, met my gaze, and spoke each word clearly: "He said if you want to save Director Wang's daughter, you must find him within 24 hours; otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?!" My voice had turned hoarse.
"Otherwise... he will kill her." Li Na closed her eyes, unable to continue.
My head buzzed as if something had exploded inside; everything before me went blank. The girl in the photo...
"Damn! Damn! Damn!"
I slumped helplessly in my seat, my hands tightly clutching my head, my nails digging deep into my scalp without feeling a hint of pain.
" Captain Chen..." Li Na looked at me with concern, wanting to say something but hesitating.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down; this was not the time for self-blame. I needed to find the girl quickly and rescue her.
"What else did the killer leave behind?" I raised my head and looked firmly at Li Na.
"He left a box," Li Na pointed outside the car window to a black metal box lying on the ground not far away.
I pushed open the car door and walked over to pick up the box. Opening it, I found a note and a key inside.
The note read:
"If you want to save her, come solve my riddle."
The key was oddly shaped, resembling an ancient key with intricate patterns carved into it.
I tightened my grip on the key, a glimmer of hope igniting within me.
I clutched the key tightly in my hand, my knuckles turning white from the pressure. The terrified gaze of the girl in the photo felt like a sharp blade stabbing at my heart.
" Captain Chen, what do we do now?" Li Na's voice pulled me back to reality.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. "Is there any clue in the photo?" I pointed to the picture of the girl that Li Na was holding; she was tied to a chair against an old brick wall, where a red powder had been used to write an 'X' symbol.
"The brick wall looks familiar; it resembles the style of Old Town warehouses," Li Na observed carefully, "And this red powder—I suspect it's some kind of special chemical dye that needs to be tested back at the lab."
"Old Town..." I struggled to recall any information related to Old Town. "There are so many abandoned warehouses in Old Town; how do we find it?"
Li Na thought for a moment and pointed at the ground behind the girl in the photo: "Look, there's a newspaper on the ground. Although we can only see part of it, I can recognize it—it's yesterday's Jiangcheng Evening News."
"You mean..." I immediately realized, "The killer likely lives near Old Town."
"Exactly! Let's head to Old Town right now and check each household to see who bought yesterday's Jiangcheng Evening News!" Li Na's tone was resolute, her eyes shining with hope.
We quickly drove toward Old Town, following Li Na's deduction as we went from house to house asking questions. Time ticked by, and as dusk approached, we still hadn't found any valuable clues. My anxiety grew, beads of sweat forming on my forehead.
" Captain Chen, look!" Li Na suddenly exclaimed while pointing at a corner of a newspaper she had found; her voice trembled slightly as if she had discovered something incredible.
Following her finger, I saw that in the corner of the newspaper, there was a small 'X' symbol written in red powder—exactly like the one in the photo!
"This is..." My heart raced, a sense of foreboding washing over me. "This is a mark left by the killer; he must have been here!" Li Na's voice carried a hint of fear as she instinctively took a step back, hiding behind me.
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