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墨書 Inktalez
Under the untraceable WeChat Video, a message from Criminal Consultant appeared: “According to my statistics, fifty-four percent of people chose to kill this person. It truly is a closely contested vote. However, even if the votes are just one more, I will take action, because that is our rule. Once again, I remind you to delete this conversation; no one will know your choice, and no one will investigate you. Remember me; we will meet again.”
Immediately following was a photo of a mask dripping with blood.
Many people present simultaneously put down their phones. In the underground parking garage, these detectives were among those who received such a message.
The underground garage was silent, as if death itself had settled in. Old Shao surveyed the faces around him, observing their expressions—confusion, fear, unease, determination, indifference—each person displayed a different emotion. Yet Old Shao could see their faces but could not penetrate their hearts.
Among these individuals, there might be someone who replied to Criminal Consultant. Outside of them, throughout Dragon City, countless others may have responded to Criminal Consultant's message, and it was unknown how many chose the option to let Zhang Zong die. The terrifying part was that these people were hidden among everyone else.
They could be ordinary employees living quiet lives, successful businessmen, seventy-year-old grandmothers, or children who had just acquired their first mobile phones. These individuals were no different from any other ordinary person; yet secretly, they unleashed their inner evil upon someone they did not even know through a concealed method.
If evil would not face punishment in this world, how many people would unhesitatingly take away the life of a stranger?
Old Shao did not know and had no way of knowing.
“Captain Liu, arrange for some personnel to search this underground garage for any clues left by Criminal Consultant,” Old Shao said as he paced in the dark environment. “Every time Criminal Consultant acts, he leaves behind some clues guiding us to follow his trail; I believe this time will be no exception.”
Jiang He remained crouched on the ground, motionless as if frozen in a particular scene. Hearing Old Shao's words, he did not look up but simply replied, “That’s right. Since Criminal Consultant first contacted us, he has always been leading us forward—whether it was when he guided us to Desolate Village, nearly causing our demise there, or last time when he framed Wang Chao, leading to…”
At this point, Jiang He paused but continued: “Or last time when he caused the deaths of Wang Chao and his wife. Everything he does involves us yet leaves us powerless to act. He makes us watch him commit these acts without giving us the chance to stop them.”
One detective had already opened the body bag's zipper, and two of them gently placed the corpse inside. Despite their careful movements, when the limp body hit the ground, it splattered liquid everywhere; much of what was inside spilled out.
Some of this liquid splashed onto a detective's face; instinctively he raised his hand to shield himself as the body fell heavily to the ground with an arm striking down due to inertia. At that moment, there was a muffled thud as something shiny rolled across the floor under the flashlight's beam.
Jiang He extended his foot and stopped the object. He bent down to pick it up and discovered it was a ring.
When they found Zhang Zong, he was completely naked; if there was anything on him at all, it was this ring on his ring finger.
“What is it?” Old Shao asked.
“Zhang Zong's ring,” Jiang He replied as he handed the ring to Old Shao.
Taking the platinum ring into his hands, Old Shao examined it for a moment before saying: “Zhang Zong has been married for less than five years. Five years may not seem long in a complete life span; however, for a newlywed wife and their daughter who is not even five years old yet, they will spend their lives cherishing memories of a husband and father.”
"Damn it," Yuan Jun couldn't help but say at that moment. "Zhang Zong killed a dog out of anger for his daughter. It's just a father's rage, yet people want to repay a dog's life with a human life. It's madness, absolute madness."
Old Shao walked over to the body and crouched down beside it. He gently picked up the corpse's right hand and slipped a ring onto its ring finger. There was clearly an impression of a ring on the ring finger of the corpse's right hand. As Old Shao placed the ring on the body, he said to Yuan Jun, "We don't know how many people chose to kill Zhang Zong, but I believe it's definitely a minority. Just like last time, from the very beginning, this Criminal Consultant never intended for Zhang Zong to live."
Standing up, Old Shao rubbed his waist. "Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to proceed to the next step. To catch him, we need to know who his next target is. Every time he prepares to kill someone, he announces his target three hours in advance. We must find this person before that time so that the Criminal Consultant has no chance to act."
"What should we do next?" Yuan Jun asked.
"Take the body back and notify Zhang Zong's wife," Old Shao replied calmly.
The body was soon transported to the forensic lab. When Xu Yiman finished the autopsy, Zhang Zong's wife arrived. She stood there for a long time, staring at the cold dissection table where Zhang Zong had become almost unrecognizable mush.
"This is... this is Zhang Zong? This isn't my husband; it doesn't look like him at all," Zhang Zong's wife shook her head in disbelief, clearly unable to accept this tragic news.
Xu Yiman patted her shoulder and comforted her, "I don't know how to console you, but the DNA results are in; this body is indeed Zhang Zong's. That's much more reliable than just looking at his appearance. We found traces of a sedative in his system; he was drugged by the killer before being taken away. He..."
After a brief pause, Xu Yiman continued, "He died while unconscious; he didn't suffer."
Everyone nodded slightly, seemingly hoping that Zhang Zong had passed away without pain. But everyone present, except for Zhang Zong's wife, knew how desperate and painful it was when Zhang Zong was finally overwhelmed by those pet dogs. In front of a grieving woman, Xu Yiman simply couldn't bring herself to tell her the truth.
"Is it really him?" Zhang Zong's wife still couldn't believe it.
Old Shao sighed and said to her, "After that incident occurred, unaware dog lovers often came to your home at night, writing slogans and throwing paint at your door, severely disrupting your life. That's why you took your daughter back to your parents' house. During that time, did any strange people show up?"
Zhang Zong's wife shook her head. "I don't know. After my daughter was discharged from the hospital, we only stayed at home for a few days. Every night there were several groups of people coming by; I didn't recognize any of them or know who they were. They would curse at my door and demand my husband die. I had no choice; for my daughter's sake, I returned to my parents' house. Since then, my husband has been living alone."
"I was very troubled during that time; I couldn't work because whenever I left, my daughter would cry loudly. I could only stay with her while feeling angry at my husband for putting us in such a situation where we were attacked by others without reason. I hadn't contacted him for a long time until you found me."
"But how could it be that after just a few days, my husband... my husband ended up like this?" Zhang Zong's wife reached out her right hand as if wanting to touch Zhang Zong's face but paused mid-air for a moment before saying, "No, this isn't my husband; this isn't my husband."
"My condolences," Shao the Elder said gently. "But rest assured, we will find the murderer and avenge your husband; we will give you an explanation."
"No," Zhang Zong's Wife replied firmly, "It's not that I can't accept what he said..."
Jiang He approached, addressing the crowd as he walked. "This is indeed her husband. The reason she doesn't believe it isn't because she can't accept the news of her husband's death, but because of this..."
With that, Jiang He lifted Zhang Zong's Wife's hand. Under the bright lights of the laboratory, everyone's gaze turned to her hand.
"What?" Yuan Jun scratched his head, not understanding Jiang He's meaning.
"The ring," Jiang He pointed to the ring on Zhang Zong's Wife's hand, then walked over to Zhang Zong and removed the ring that Old Shao had just placed on him.
"That's right, this isn't his ring. He has never taken off his ring in all these years of marriage," Zhang Zong's Wife stated.
Under the lights, the two shiny rings were clearly distinguishable as not being a matching pair.
"If this isn't Zhang Zong's ring, then whose is it?" Yuan Jun asked a crucial question.
"This is the clue left for us by the Criminal Consultant," Old Shao asserted decisively.
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