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墨書 Inktalez
I looked into Wang Xin's eyes, and he looked back into mine. I could see the anger in Wang Xin's gaze, clearly displeased with my words. He stared at me for a while before slamming the box containing the chess pieces onto the Chessboard.
Yang Licheng jumped in surprise, glancing at me but remaining silent. It seemed that the future Yang Lichengs would be living here, and at this moment, it was better for him not to choose sides. He felt awkward and quickly reached for the incense burner, fiddling with it in his hands.
Wang Xin remained seated on the sand, not standing up. He questioned me, "Are you saying that those dog-killing Migrant Workers are right and that I am wrong? Are you suggesting that the ten-thousand-yuan dog should have been sold to us? You are police officers after all; how can you lack any sympathy? At this rate, our country won't last long."
It appeared that Wang Xin was not afraid of making bold accusations.
I smiled lightly and did not respond to Wang Xin's words. Instead, I said, "You seem to have considered a lot; have you thought about those Migrant Workers?"
"I should consider them?" Wang Xin laughed. "I see you all as cut from the same cloth. Now, do I have the right to ask both of you to leave? This is my home, and haven’t you asked all your questions? Now, leave immediately."
I chuckled and replied, "Alright, we've asked what we needed to. I wish you safety."
Wang Xin smiled back and said, "You don’t need to worry about that; if that's the case, then please go."
I shrugged and turned to leave.
At that moment, we suddenly heard the sound of chess pieces falling. Following the noise, we saw Yang Licheng half-kneeling on the ground, his hand resting on the Tea Table. Because of this, the Chessboard on the Tea Table had been overturned.
Wang Xin noticed Yang Licheng and hurried over to help him up. He asked, "What happened, Brother Yang? No need to be so agitated; they are just two young police officers. I've eaten more salt than you've had rice; you both need to learn something from me as someone who has been through it."
I frowned; it was clear that Yang Licheng was not angry or anything like that—he hadn't meant to overturn the Chessboard. Wang Xin helped Yang Licheng up and asked, "Brother Yang, what’s wrong?"
Yang Licheng slumped onto the sand and said, "I don’t know what's wrong; I just feel unwell."
Seeing Yang Licheng like this suddenly reminded me of Wang Yikai, who had just died that morning. Could it be that Yang Licheng was about to meet the same fate as Wang Yikai right before our eyes?
Thinking of this, I hurriedly said, "Call 1, immediately call 1."
At that moment, the bodyguard rushed over and quickly dialed the emergency number.
Meanwhile, Yang Licheng's eyes were already beginning to close. Suddenly, he started to vomit violently. The smell was unbearable, like dough that had fermented for ten thousand years. His body seemed like a puppet, completely limp and devoid of strength.
"I'm dizzy!" Yang Licheng trembled as he touched his temple and said, "I feel so dizzy."
In the midst of his words, Yang Licheng vomited again.
At that moment, several bodyguards heard the commotion inside and rushed in.
Wang Xin's face was filled with fear as he desperately tried to lift Yang Licheng, but Yang Licheng was utterly limp. After much effort, he managed to get Yang Licheng up, but at that moment, he himself suddenly collapsed to the ground. Saliva uncontrollably dripped from his mouth, and his steps were unsteady; he wanted to stand but seemed to lack any strength.
All of this happened in an instant, leaving both me and Zhao Mingkun in a daze. It was simply too bizarre, and the murderer was incredibly skilled. I couldn't understand how the murderer had managed to kill them.
The bodyguards quickly rushed over, and several muscular men soon helped both of them sit on the couch. One muscular man splashed tea on the two of them, but their consciousness remained hazy.
"Water!" Yang Licheng said. "I really want to drink water; give me water."
"I want it too; I want some as well," Wang Xin echoed.
Zhao Mingkun and I stood aside, completely bewildered about how the murderer had accomplished this. There was no way the murderer could have entered here; we were all watching the two of them. How had the murderer managed to poison them invisibly? From their vomiting and dizziness, it was clear they had been poisoned.
But what could possibly cause both of them to be poisoned?
Tea? Chessboard, or that incense burner?
As I thought of this, my eyes lit up, and I hurried over to the incense burner, which was still emitting white smoke. If the two of them had come into contact with something, it must have been this incense burner. The smoke from their burner was a pale blue, while his was pure white.
I covered my nose with my arm and leaned down to examine the fallen incense burner. It lay tilted on the ground, and ashes spilled out from its hollow openings. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it contained a white crystalline substance. This was nothing like the incense we usually encountered; I had no idea what this solid material could be.
Wang Xin was not someone of high status, yet he insisted on engaging in high-class activities. It was as if he didn’t understand incense at all but somehow managed to acquire this burner and ignite some unknown substance within it. I suspected that this was what had poisoned both individuals.
At that moment, I wanted to ask Wang Xin where he had found this incense burner, but seeing him lying on the sand and vomiting made me hesitate. His face was smeared with vomit while several bodyguards disdainfully wiped his face. From Wang Xin's expression, it was clear that he was already losing consciousness, as if he might faint at any moment.
Looking over at Yang Licheng, he was in a similar state. Witnessing this scene made me furrow my brow as I said, "Get them both downstairs; the substance in that incense burner might be toxic. After inhaling the smoke for a while, it could lead to poisoning. We can't leave them here; hurry downstairs."
Upon hearing there might be danger, the bodyguards wasted no time and quickly carried both men downstairs.
At that moment, I put on gloves, tore off a piece of tissue paper, held my breath, and collected some of the White Crystals that had fallen from the incense burner before following them down.
As I descended the stairs, I took one last look back; the white smoke continued to rise ethereally. I had no idea what it was and didn’t dare extinguish it with water. However, neither Zhao Mingkun nor the bodyguards seemed affected; it appeared only those who were particularly close had been poisoned.
Given the large space on the second floor, it was unlikely that the toxic gas would reach the first floor; at least we were safe here. Once the crystals burned away completely, there probably wouldn’t be any toxic substances left.
The two men had already been carried downstairs, but judging by their condition, they were barely breathing.
Both were lying with their eyes closed, their bodies convulsing violently as they continuously foamed at the mouth. Before long, they lost control of their bowels. This is a common symptom of poisoning; however, if they had ingested something toxic, we could quickly perform gastric lavage to expel the poison.
But they had inhaled gas—how could we extract toxic fumes from them?
Although there were many of us here, none were doctors, and we lacked the knowledge to provide assistance in this situation. Poisoning is different from typical emergency cases; we certainly couldn't perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on them. Besides, no one knew if their vomit contained toxins, and inhaling it might lead to poisoning ourselves.
"Have you called for emergency help?" I asked.
"Yes!" one of the bodyguards replied. "But since we are in a remote area, it will take at least ten minutes for the ambulance to arrive, assuming there's no traffic in Dongxing City. Why don't we take them to the nearest clinic? It’s better than waiting here for them to die."
I nodded and said, "You should be familiar with this place. Quickly take them to the clinic. Also, one of you go upstairs and grab some of that incense powder. Remember to hold your breath and avoid getting it on your hands. If we can get that, we should be able to identify what it is."
"Understood!" The bodyguards were efficient; upon hearing our instructions, they immediately set to work.
They loaded the victims into a car while Zhao Mingkun and I followed on a motorcycle.
Sitting on the motorcycle, I furrowed my brow, unable to fathom why the murderer succeeded every time he killed someone. The incense burner had been brought up by Wang Xin, but the contents inside must have been placed there by the murderer. How could he have known that Wang Xin would use that particular burner? How did he manage to understand the personalities of these thirteen individuals so well?
Who exactly was this murderer who knew these people so intimately?
The bizarre method of killing indicated that the murderer had never been present at the scene, yet his intended victims ended up dead. If it wasn't a ghost, was there any other way this could be accomplished? Seven out of the thirteen people were already dead, and the two in the car were still uncertain in their fate. The remaining three must have already begun leaving Dongxing City.
And then there was Liang Mei, whose whereabouts remained unknown.
Would these individuals ultimately escape death at the hands of the murderer? Could Zhao Mingkun and I manage to capture him with just our two-person effort? Everything remained a mystery. I knew the case was nearing its conclusion; if we didn't achieve any substantial breakthroughs soon, we might never catch the murderer and would forever miss out on uncovering the truth from seven years ago.
I closed my eyes; it felt as though the truth was right before me, just within reach. Yet between us and that truth lay a thin veil. As long as we failed to lift that veil, we would remain blind to the true face of reality.
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