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墨書 Inktalez
Happy people are always similar, while unhappy people each have their own misfortunes.
The three of them chose to end their lives in their unique ways, some leaving this world gracefully and quietly, while others boldly blossomed like a crimson rose for others with their lives.
"Do you think this suicide case is related to the previous two?" Gu Chen paced back and forth in the room.
I nodded and said, "It is related; that brush is missing."
I pointed to an exquisite brush holder, indicating that there should have been a brush there. This brush had once been Li Zhinan's weapon and his memory. However, ending one's life over a broken heart seems rather unworthy.
Gu Chen stopped moving and stood still, resting his chin on his hand. "But you, what is the murderer trying to achieve by doing this? Persuading others to commit suicide and then taking away their precious belongings?"
"The term 'murderer' isn't accurate," I scratched my head and replied. "Isn't it strange? We can easily guess their motives for suicide. Although it took some effort with Wang Yiman's case, upon reflection, it's not hard to discern. Just like we could infer why Li Zhinan committed suicide through his diary."
I tugged at my hair. "Typically, one would keep a diary in a drawer since it's a private matter. Yet when we entered, the notebook was placed in the most conspicuous spot, as if it were prepared specifically for us."
"Does that imply something?" Guan Zengbin chimed in.
I nodded heavily and slowly said, "Don't you think the suicides are covering for someone who once appeared? These individuals fear being implicated with this—let's call him the murderer for now. However, they weren't as meticulous as Gao Rui; after all, they aren't teachers."
Guan Zengbin sighed. "It's indeed strange that someone encourages them to commit suicide, yet these individuals end up covering for him. What kind of entanglement is this?"
"Could it be hypnosis?" Gu Chen scratched his head.
"Is that even possible?" I turned to look at Guan Zengbin.
Guan Zengbin shrugged and replied, "It's not impossible; it's just that such skilled individuals are rare. After all, there aren't many people in the country who can hypnotize others into committing suicide. Plus, it requires a long time of psychological suggestion. Do we know anyone who fits that description?"
I scratched my head; hypnosis seemed like a mysterious thing—at least I didn't understand it at all. But whether someone could achieve that was something I couldn't speculate on right now.
My phone rang; it was Liu calling. It seemed he had some news.
"What’s up, Brother Liu?" I answered. "What did you find?"
"I found the person who stole..." Liu Dao said. "You guys should come over."
Looking at the group of middle school boys and girls standing in front of me, my emotions were incredibly complex. It turned out that the ones who had stolen were not the teachers, but several students. After hearing what I said, Liu quickly deduced that since they couldn't find anything from the teachers, it might be better to focus on the students.
Sure enough, after some investigation, a few students came into Liu's view. After a brief inquiry, one of the students finally revealed the truth.
There were five middle school students involved in the theft of potassium oxide: three boys and two girls, all seemingly in their teens, who looked nothing like people capable of persuading others to commit suicide.
Liu questioned these kids about what had happened in a classroom while we gathered information about their personalities from the teachers outside.
These students were not all in the same class, but they had formed a group because they all came from single-parent families.
The core figure of this group was Li Taida. A closer look revealed various signs of rebellion in this student. His uniform was covered in graffiti, which was different from ordinary doodles; his designs were filled with Gothic elements—skulls and monsters—that made him stand out.
Another boy named Wang Erming was tall and thin, always wearing a sullen expression that made him seem difficult to approach. The last boy appeared somewhat timid; his name was Zhou Guo, and he was the first to speak up about the incident.
Among the two girls, one resembled Li Taida closely; her name was Lin Rou, and she also sported a Gothic style. The other girl, named Zhang Xue, looked more innocent and cute.
However, "better" was relative. Compared to other students, these individuals could be considered outliers at school. According to the teachers, these kids were quite rebellious and mischievous; they often argued with teachers, played pranks, got into fights, and engaged in early romantic relationships—essentially doing everything that bad kids typically do.
"I knew it; these kids can't be controlled. It's only a matter of time before something happens," several teachers whispered from a distance.
Gu Chen defended these children: "Come on! If that were true, I would have been in prison long ago. I think these kids are pretty impressive; they're all individuals with character. They're much better than those bookworms who only know how to study. What do you think, Wu?"
I sighed and replied, "Just because I struggle with English, math, culture studies, physics, biology, and politics doesn't mean you think I'm just like you? In fact, I'm just the bookworm you mentioned—just with different subjects."
"Damn!" Wu Meng shot me a middle finger.
"They all come from single-parent families," Guan Zengbin said as he looked at them through the glass. "Naturally, their families don't have time to educate them."
I shook my head in disagreement: "I'm an orphan too; didn't I manage to get through? A person's goodness or badness primarily comes from intrinsic factors; external influences can only affect them to a certain extent. I've seen upright and kind people rise above filthy environments; I've also seen cruel people emerge from lavish backgrounds."
"So among these kids, there could be both good and bad. Let's go in and take a look," I said.
As I pushed open the door and stepped inside, all eyes turned toward us.
From Liu's words, we learned the truth of the matter.
They were all third-year students. During a chemistry experiment, Li Taida suggested stealing something powerful. Zhao Erming, upon hearing this, realized that the substance they were considering was highly toxic; just a tiny amount could kill someone quickly, leaving no chance for rescue.
However, neither Li Taida nor Zhao Erming understood what the chemical formula for the substance was, so they sought out a third person. This person was Lin Rou. Although Lin Rou understood chemical formulas, such toxic substances were kept locked away.
Thus, they approached Zhang Xue. It wasn't that Zhang Xue had the key; rather, the person who did have it was Zhou Guo, who had a crush on Zhang Xue. Zhou Guo was timid and often bullied by others, yet he liked Zhang Xue and happened to be the chemistry class representative.
The chemistry class representative had a duty: to clean up the laboratory after the students left. According to regulations, a teacher should be present, but since most student experiments posed little danger, it was common for only the chemistry representative to stay behind while the teachers left early.
Because of this arrangement, Zhou Guo was able to obtain the key.
Even the most timid person can show courage if someone can draw it out of them.
Zhang Xue was precisely that person who could inspire Zhou Guo's bravery. Just a casual mention from her was enough for Zhou Guo to agree.
So one ordinary afternoon during his duty, Zhou Guo took the key and opened the door. He then stole a piece of the toxic substance and closed the door behind him.
No one knew anything.
In fact, they hadn’t even considered whether there were surveillance cameras; they were completely unaware that there were none in the Middle School section. They naively assumed someone must know about the school's layout because they thought this wasn’t a big deal.
Afterward, Zhou Guo handed the substance over to Zhang Xue, who then passed it on to Li Taida and his group.
That was how things unfolded; it was merely students being mischievous.
I looked at these fourteen or fifteen-year-olds and calmly asked, “Don’t be afraid. Just answer my questions honestly. What happened to that substance in the end?”
Zhou Guo burst into tears, saying, “I don’t know! I just took it out and gave it to them; I never used it!”
It seemed Liu had frightened these kids quite a bit beforehand. But thinking about it, children at this age would naturally feel nervous upon seeing police officers. However, Zhou Guo was being overly dramatic; I hadn’t even gotten to the crucial part yet when he started crying.
Guan Zengbin quickly stepped forward to comfort him while I turned my attention to the others.
Zhao Erming let out a cold snort and said, "At that time, we divided this thing into several pieces, and each of us took some. I heard it was highly toxic, so I found a dog to experiment on. I dissolved this substance in water and gave it to the Stray Dog to drink. Sure enough, not long after, the dog dropped dead."
As he spoke, there was not a hint of emotion on Zhao Erming's face, as if killing a dog was an everyday occurrence for him. I couldn't help but furrow my brows; perhaps Zhao Erming had violent tendencies. If given the chance, would he use this substance on a person?
"What about the dog?" I asked. "If some unscrupulous merchant finds it, do you know what the consequences would be?"
Zhao Erming laughed. "Consequences? What consequences could there be? It just means it kills people, right? Dead is dead."
Seeing Zhao Erming's nonchalant demeanor ignited a surge of anger within me.
"Liu, send someone to follow him and make sure he finds the dog's corpse," I said, looking at Liu Dao.
"I’m not going," Zhao Erming shouted.
"Say that again?" Gu Chen suddenly stood up, his face filled with rage, resembling a fierce leopard. His expression was so ferocious that it startled even me.
Zhao Erming's lips moved, but he didn't dare say anything further and left.
"And you?" I turned to Li Taida and asked.
Li Taida remained silent for a long time before finally speaking up with a grin. "To be honest with you, I've killed someone."
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