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墨書 Inktalez
I never expected Old Zhang to possess such high anti-surveillance capabilities. If I hadn't immediately arranged for someone to monitor him, he might have slipped away in no time. But thinking back, how could an ordinary old man have the ability to set traps for dogs, especially when his favorite pastime seems to be slaughtering them?
I should have been more cautious; unfortunately, it's all hindsight now.
"But if Old Zhang has something to hide, why did he call the police? Isn't that just asking for trouble?" Guan Zengbin raised a crucial question.
I pondered for a moment before responding, "If Old Zhang hadn't reported it, it might have raised even more suspicion. He must have thought about it all night before deciding to call the police, weighing the pros and cons. As someone who oversees the construction site, he couldn't possibly be unaware of such a significant event. What he needed to do was act like an ordinary person..."
"So what do we do now?" Guan Zengbin continued to inquire.
"We're going to the recycling station," I replied.
Qingcheng, the old and dilapidated recycling station.
Seeing the name of Old Zhang's recycling station made us smile; his naming skills were on par with his father's.
The recycling station was surrounded by two iron fences and appeared to cover a relatively large area. Located in the outskirts of Qingcheng, we stood there for half an hour without seeing a single person. At that moment, the main gate of the station was locked, with a heavy padlock hanging from the iron railing, covered in a layer of dust, indicating it hadn't been opened in quite some time.
The chain was as thick as a person's index finger; it seemed breaking in would take some time. I simply said, "The fence isn't that high; let's climb over."
Gu Chen took a few steps back, sprinted forward, and jumped up onto the fence with just a few steps. I then helped Guan Zengbin up and pulled Gu Chen over as well while Liu stayed outside as a lookout in case anything unexpected happened.
We circled around the recycling station, observing our surroundings. Most of the space inside was filled with stacks of wood piled high—over two meters tall—making it impossible to see any paths on either side. The arrangement of these wooden planks seemed quite chaotic; we could only navigate through the gaps between them, quickly becoming disoriented.
"Damn, this is like a maze," Gu Chen remarked as he knocked on a few wooden beams. "No wonder there's no business here; customers must get lost in this place and probably need to bring their own supplies just to find their way out after wandering for three to five hours. Why even run a recycling station? They might as well open an escape room!"
I snapped my fingers; Gu Chen's comment hit the nail on the head. Even a child could see that this arrangement was undoubtedly flawed. Yet Old Zhang insisted on doing it this way, which clearly indicated something was amiss inside. The clues we were looking for might just be hidden down one of these side paths.
"Let's split up," I said to the two of them. "There must be something suspicious here, so check carefully. If you get lost, just climb up onto the wood; that way, you'll be able to find your direction."
As the sun was about to set, we finally made a discovery.
In one corner of this wooden maze, Guan Zengbin found an entrance on the ground. It was covered with wooden planks, and when we lifted them, a hole appeared before us. Shining our flashlights inside revealed a slanted staircase leading down underground.
"Is it safe down there?" Guan Zengbin asked nervously, staring at the dark opening.
"What danger could there be?" Gu Chen replied, already stepping forward. "It's not like there are zombies waiting to pounce on you."
Guan Zengbin and I followed him inside. It was indeed very dark and stifling. After only a few steps, a foul odor wafted toward us, causing all three of us to stop immediately. This smell was something we had encountered over the past few miles.
It was the distinct stench of decay.
"Stay alert," I warned. "We don't know what has happened ahead."
We slowly moved forward, the beam of our flashlight serving as our eyes in the pitch-black environment. Just then, I suddenly felt a blinding light flash before me, and I was momentarily blinded, seeing stars: "Not good! We have enemies! We need to retreat..."
Gu Chen quickly backed away as well. "Flashbang! There's a flashbang!"
At that moment, Guan Zengbin's voice came through: "Cough cough, I don't think there are any enemies. Just now, I saw a switch on the wall and pressed it. As far as I know, it might just be a light switch; there's really no need for such alarm..."
Only then did Gu Chen and I look up to see that it was just the light from a bulb overhead.
This was awkward; I hadn't expected to lose face in front of Guan Zengbin. I quickly changed the subject: "We had just gotten used to the darkness after walking for a while, and then the light turned on—it’s too dazzling..."
"Yeah, it's an incandescent bulb; it's such a waste. Look how harsh that light is—it's not soft at all. Energy-saving bulbs are much better..." Gu Chen chimed in quickly.
"Now is not the time to discuss this, you two. Just look at the situation in front of you!" Guan Zengbin lightly gestured ahead, prompting us to turn our heads.
What we saw nearly made my eyes pop out. I had never encountered so many corpses before; they lay on the ground, some without even a white sheet covering them. Upon closer inspection, there were at least ten bodies scattered about. Judging by their state of decay, some seemed to have died recently, while others were already severely decomposed.
All the bodies were completely naked, laid bare on the ground—men and women, old and young alike.
"I'm going to take a look; wait for me," Guan Zengbin said as she walked among the corpses.
Gu Chen shook his head and remarked, "I really don't understand what she was afraid of just now."
Hearing Gu Chen's words, Guan Zengbin replied, "I'm not afraid of dead people; what's there to be afraid of? I'm just afraid of the dark. What girl isn't afraid of the dark?"
Gu Chen fell silent.
Guan Zengbin began examining each body while I carefully observed them as well.
From the condition of the corpses, it was clear that they had died in various ways. Some bore no visible wounds and appeared to have died from illness or sudden death. Others had stitching marks on their abdomens, suggesting knife wounds, while some had gaping holes in their chests, and a few heads were even crushed.
We only knew that Old Zhang had a habit of drinking human blood, but we never expected to find so many bodies hidden in his collection station. What exactly was Old Zhang planning? Were these corpses his "vessels" for drinking blood? But once a person dies, their blood no longer flows—what good would that do?
As Guan Zengbin continued to sift through the bodies, she frowned and said, "Looking at the causes of death for these people, they vary greatly. Some have obvious fatal injuries, while others' causes are still unknown. The time of death also differs; look at this one—it died two months ago; this one should be six months old."
Guan Zengbin was right; I noticed that too. Moreover, all these bodies were naked and lacked any belongings or jewelry. That seemed odd—if they had been buried rather than cremated, there should have been some personal items with them.
Among these corpses were older individuals; it was unlikely that none of them had ever been married.
Thinking along those lines, I closely examined several corpses' right ring fingers. On those that were relatively well-preserved, there were clear signs where rings had once been worn—slight indentations were visible. But now the rings were gone, indicating they had been removed by someone.
Suddenly, memories of stories I had heard in prison flooded my mind. If I guessed correctly, Old Zhang was likely behind this unspeakable affair.
"Where do you think these bodies came from?" I asked.
Guan Zengbin glanced at the corpses and said, "With so many bodies, it’s clear that Old Zhang couldn’t have killed them all by himself. I suspect he dug them up from someone’s grave. When I checked the bodies earlier, I noticed dirt under their fingernails, which suggests they were dragged out..."
"I thought the same," I nodded heavily.
"But what does Old Zhang need with so many bodies?" Gu Chen looked at the corpses and remarked, "It can't be for making human dumplings. Besides, Old Zhang left Qingcheng two months ago; why would these bodies still be here?"
A few possibilities raced through my mind. "Lin Shu was arrested just as Old Zhang left Qingcheng. If living people can be used to hide drugs, then dead ones can too. Could it be that Old Zhang fled because of this?"
"Guan Zengbin," I turned to him, "perform an autopsy and see if they were used to hide drugs."
"Even if they were used for that, why wouldn’t he bury them afterward?" Gu Chen shook his head. "What’s the point of keeping them? He can’t keep reusing a corpse; does he think the police are fools?"
As I looked at the dead, an answer began to form in my mind. The value of these corpses far exceeded what Gu Chen could imagine. Perhaps some living people wouldn’t even fetch such a price.
I glanced at Guan Zengbin and then at Gu Chen before a term slipped from my lips: "Ghost Marriage."
"If I'm right," I continued, "Old Zhang is keeping these bodies for Ghost Marriage purposes. I think we need to pay a visit."
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