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墨書 Inktalez
I took a quick glance at the note, and while I wasn't familiar with the handwriting, it was definitely not unfamiliar to me. My heart raced, reminiscent of the thrill I felt when I used to cheat in school by sneaking a peek at someone else's notes. Liu was focused on the documents and didn't notice me.
Liu spoke up, "Wu Meng, my analysis is as follows. I believe the murderer is likely more than one person; there should be at least one male and one female involved. Analyzing the time of the murders, there are overlapping elements between the two cases. If it were a single murderer, I think they would focus on completing one murder before moving on to another."
Although I was intensely curious about what was written on that note, I understood that solving this case was the most important thing right now. However, I couldn't agree with Liu's perspective that the murderer involved multiple people. This was different from the imitative perverse murderer we encountered in Tou Gou Zi Village; based on this individual's methods, if they weren't a psychologically twisted murderer, it would be impossible for them to achieve such acts.
Murder is not an easy task, especially to the extent that we were dealing with.
Looking at global crime records, serial killers almost always operate alone. Occasionally, there are cases of couples or siblings working together, but those instances are rare. This is quite easy to explain; in this vast world, finding someone who shares your mindset is exceedingly difficult.
Especially for a perverse individual seeking another who is equally perverse—it becomes even more challenging.
While there were overlapping timelines between the two cases, they did not coincide at critical moments, such as during the actual time of murder. In other words, after committing a murder, the murderer could calmly move to a second location to ambush another victim. However, this also implies that there may be more victims who have died; it's just that the murderer hasn't "informed" us about them, and we remain unaware.
"What do you think we should do?" Liu Yi asked, looking puzzled at me.
I recalled how Gu Chen had previously spoken with me; Liu Yi must have been confused about something and shared these clues with us in hopes we could help him find something useful. In this position, I felt somewhat dispensable.
I said to Liu Dao, "We can basically conclude that the murderer is around 1.69 meters tall, prefers to wear black clothing, and has an introverted personality..."
At this point, I closed my mouth because I began to realize that I couldn't accurately summarize the murderer's personality with precise terms. The murderer was both introverted and extroverted; they were both fervent and detached. The murderer could be as calm as a cheetah waiting for its prey or as impulsive as a tiger.
It felt as if there were many facets to this murderer.
I continued to Liu Dao, "The murderer doesn't seem like someone who kills randomly; there must be connections among the victims. This aspect is our primary breakthrough point right now. Based on the traces left by the murderer, there must be deeper meanings behind them. I think we should approach this from several angles: the victims' professional identities, family backgrounds, places of residence, interpersonal relationships—if we can find commonalities among them, we will surely identify the next potential victim. Eighty percent of serial killers have their own criteria and methods for selecting their targets."
"Not just anyone can qualify," I said while looking at Liu Dao.
Liu nodded, and we fell into silence for a moment. Finally, he spoke slowly, "Wu Meng, there's something I want to discuss with you."
"What is it?" I asked.
Liu glanced outside the conference room, where everyone was busy with their own tasks. Inside the room, it was just the two of us. Sensing that no one was paying attention to us, Liu relaxed a bit and said, "Wu Meng, do you know why the Deputy Director is so focused on this case?"
"Because it's obviously a serial murder case," I replied casually.
But Liu shook his head and continued, "The impact of this case isn't that significant. You should be able to see that the murderer is quite restrained in their actions. In a big city like Dongxing City, deaths happen all the time. The Deputy Director's decision to have our two teams compete is simply favoritism towards Captain Shao..."
"That makes sense," I said. "After all, when the Deputy Director was still an assistant, Captain Shao worked under him and got used to it."
Liu added, "But Captain Shao is quite laid-back. If it weren't for the investigation into Zhao Mingkun's case, he would have resigned long ago. At that point, his subordinates would be left jobless or forced to find work elsewhere, which would naturally lead to exclusion. Do you understand?"
I shook my head and said, "I don't care about that. Whether there's a salary or good benefits makes no difference to me. What do you want from me?"
Liu looked at me, hesitating for a moment before finally speaking up. "Sometimes I envy people like you who seem untouched by worldly affairs and view power and wealth with indifference. But I'm just an ordinary person; I can't be as great as you."
I frowned.
Liu continued slowly, "Wu Meng, I know I can't compare to you when it comes to solving cases. No matter how hard I try to investigate or search for clues, it's never as effective as your analysis after seeing the crime scene just once. That's your gift—something I'll never be able to catch up with."
"So I'm asking you," Liu's voice trembled slightly with urgency. "If you manage to uncover the murderer in the end, could you let me be the one to reveal the truth? That way, we can stay in Dongxing City and have better prospects for our future. But if we fail, we'll have to leave Dongxing City with Team Leader Li and perhaps never rise again..."
"Just consider it helping a brother out," Liu pleaded. "What do you think?"
Looking at Liu's expression, I felt an indescribable sense of loss within me. It was as if this Liu was a stranger; I still remembered the cheerful Liu who bought lottery tickets, contrasting sharply with the serious man before me now.
After a moment, I spoke up, "If I'm the first to find the Murderer, I'll let you know."
Liu Ming visibly relaxed, and when he looked up, his eyes were filled with joy. "Wu Meng, thank you so much. I enjoy this line of work, but if I can also provide a better life for myself and create a more comfortable environment for my family, then there's nothing wrong with that."
Perhaps this was appropriate for me, but Liu seemed to be comforting himself.
However, as long as we could catch the Murderer, it didn't matter who did it.
At this moment, I was more concerned about the note in my hand.
I had only seen this person's handwriting once before; the writing on this note belonged to none other than Zhao Mingkun.
"Meet outside the psychiatric hospital at midnight."
Previously, I had only caught a glimpse of a few words. Now that I unfolded it, I realized it was a note left for me. I recalled the female doctor I had bumped into earlier that evening; perhaps she had slipped this note into my pocket at that moment.
No wonder I felt an inexplicable familiarity earlier—this person was none other than Zhao Mingkun, whom Captain Shao and Guan Zengbin were so eager to capture. Zhao Mingkun was incredibly bold to show herself in front of Captain Shao; if she wasn't careful, she could easily end up in prison for life.
At this moment, my heart was in turmoil. I didn't know how to face Zhao Mingkun with what identity. A mix of excitement and fear surged within me, creating an indescribable thrill.
After finding Gu Chen, I had some personal matters to attend to and drove towards the psychiatric hospital.
It was already midnight. The location of the hospital wasn't too remote. After finding a parking spot and leaving my car, I headed towards the hospital. Not long after walking, I noticed a woman standing under a streetlight. She was dressed in a nurse's uniform and leaning against a wire pole while smoking.
The sharpness of her short hair couldn't conceal her beauty as she exhaled delicate smoke rings and turned her head to look at me.
"Zhao Mingkun," I said softly from a distance.
Zhao Mingkun nodded and tossed the cigarette butt onto the ground.
We both spoke at the same time, asking, "What are you doing here?"
Then we both chuckled lightly.
I continued, "Was that woman you earlier? What were you doing in the mental hospital? Visiting that old man?"
Zhao Mingkun remained leaning against the pole, looking down at me with an air of superiority. "Wu Meng, you're quite clever."
I shrugged and replied, "After seeing that note, I realized the woman in the mental hospital felt familiar to me. I just couldn't place who she was. Now that I think about it, the feeling she gave off was exactly like what you used to make me feel. But I still don't know what you're doing there."
Zhao Mingkun didn't respond but straightened up and walked in front of me. She was only slightly shorter than I was, but wearing high heels made her taller than me at that moment.
She said calmly, "Wu Meng, since you know what I'm doing, and I know what you're doing, do you really think I can let you go?"
As she spoke, Zhao Mingkun pulled a handgun from her waist and pressed it against my head.
From the quality of the gun to its weight and various details, it was clearly a real firearm—one that had its safety off and was slowly being chambered.
Zhao Mingkun's expression was one of cold indifference.
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