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墨書 Inktalez
"My wife? She can't stand others pointing fingers at her; she should be at her parents' house now." Although Zhao Jie said this, seeing the serious expressions on the faces of those around him, he quickly took out his phone, pulled up his wife's number, and dialed.
"No one is answering?" Zhao Jie said anxiously, beads of sweat forming on his forehead in the cold winter air. "No one is picking up."
"Call her family," Jiang He reminded him as he noticed Zhao Jie talking to himself. "If your wife has gone back to her parents' house, they must know where she is. Call them immediately and find out."
Zhao Jie slapped his forehead. "Right! Why didn't I think of that? Her mother's number, her mother's number."
"Mom! It's Zhao Jie. Has Yueyue come back?" Zhao Jie hurriedly asked.
In the next moment, everyone saw Zhao Jie's face instantly tighten, his features seeming to squeeze together. "She hasn't come back? It's fine, Mom. There was no argument. Didn't she take a couple of days off? She said she would go back during these days. I just wanted to ask you; she might have gone out shopping with her friends around noon or in the afternoon."
"Okay, take care of yourself then. That's it." After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jie said, "She hasn't returned; she really hasn't come back."
"Your wife is in danger. Tell me immediately—what's that lover's name?" Jiang He looked at Zhao Jie, his gaze intense.
"I used to remember it; how did I suddenly forget? The police station has records; you can go ask them," Zhao Jie said, tugging at his hair in frustration.
Old Shao remained seated on the sofa without speaking, merely glancing at Yuan Jun to signal him to investigate.
Zhao Jie grabbed Jiang He's hand and asked, "You say my wife is in danger—what kind of danger?"
Jiang He paused for a moment before responding, "There's no time to waste. Let's talk while we head outside."
Seeing that Jiang He was serious, Zhao Jie nodded, grabbed his glasses, and followed the group outside.
"Have you heard about the recent uproar over the Dragon City Murder Case of the Masked Man?" Jiang He asked.
Zhao Jie nodded. "I know about it. Some of my colleagues have received messages regarding it, but I've never received anything myself. I heard that this person claims to be a true agent of justice, killing those who were voted as deserving death by the public. In fact, some of my colleagues even participated in that voting."
Jiang He turned back to look at him. "That's right; your wife is very likely in this person's hands."
"Not at all." Zhao Jie seemed to still not understand, saying, "What do you mean? Are you saying my wife is in his hands right now? She hasn't done anything wrong, so why would he control her?"
"Do you have a car?" Jiang He asked.
"No, where are we supposed to go?" Zhao Jie replied.
"That's something we need to investigate," Jiang He said.
"If we can't, then we need to squeeze in," Old Shao said. "Every minute and second counts; it's a matter of life and death."
Old Shao sat in the passenger seat while Yuan Jun drove. The other four squeezed into the back of the car. It was still quite cold inside the vehicle during winter, but Zhao Jie was sweating profusely. "No, if it's not that you've made a mistake, then the killer must have made a mistake. My wife hasn't done anything wrong; this doesn't fit his pattern of killing. He must be mistaken. How should I notify him?"
"It's not a mistake; it's intentional," Jiang He countered. "In fact, in those two previous cases, both victims were innocent."
"Innocent?" Zhao Jie shook his head. "I don't understand. If he knew they were innocent, why would he kill them? What is the purpose of that?"
Jiang He replied, "We also want to know what his motive is for doing this. But I know his methods. Since that man fell from the building and died, I suspect that this time he plans to make your wife fall as well."
"Fall?" Zhao Jie grabbed Jiang He's hand. "Then we need to hurry and find that killer. What if others receive a message and choose to kill instead of not kill? Wouldn't that put my wife in danger?"
Jiang He rebutted again, "That voting wouldn't be useful at all; the results would definitely show more options for killing. In reality, those are all fabricated data by him; from the very beginning, these people were meant to die." Jiang He stated firmly.
At that moment, Yuan Jun's phone rang. After Old Shao answered it, he said, "Hello, this is Shaoshilin. Have you found anything? The fall case from three months ago at Hero Community? Alright, I understand. Send all the information over as pictures. Yes, that's it."
Old Shao turned around and asked, "Your wife's name is Guo Xiyue, formerly known as Guo Xiaoli, right?"
Zhao Jie nodded. "She thought her original name was too plain and changed it herself."
"That’s it then," Old Shao said. "Three months ago, a man named Wei Xiaolong fell from the seventeenth floor and died on the spot. According to the surveillance footage at the scene, Wei Xiaolong indeed fell from your window. However, after police investigation revealed the truth of that night, the records matched what you told us."
"Afterwards, the residents of that seventeen-story building quickly sold their homes, and no one knows where they moved to. Everyone in the neighborhood only knows that someone fell from your window, but they are unaware of the truth behind the case."
"Yes, yes," Zhao Jie said. "That's right. I've made it very clear, and the police have investigated thoroughly, but no one believes me. I can't explain it to everyone individually. It's not as you imagine; the truth is like this..."
"Please, I beg you, save my wife," Zhao Jie said, tears welling up in his eyes.
"First, we need to know where the jumping point was," Jiang He said.
"Where was it?" Zhao Jie seemed like an ant on a hot pan.
Jiang He felt Zhao Jie’s grip on his arm tightening; the pain brought him a sense of clarity. Suddenly, he turned to Old Shao and asked, "Has the information come in?"
Old Shao replied, "It has arrived; I'm looking at it now."
"Wei Xiaolong has a family too, right?" Jiang He asked.
"Yes," Old Shao said while scrolling through his phone. "Wei Xiaolong has been married for about ten years. He rekindled an old flame with a girl from high school. According to the file, Wei Xiaolong's wife knows he’s not a good person and is aware of his infidelity; she doesn’t want to deal with it anymore. They are just getting by for the sake of their child."
"Where does Wei Xiaolong live? Is it in a tall building?" Jiang He immediately followed up.
"Liangmu Community," Old Shao replied. "It's a twenty-story building."
"This is it!" Jiang He declared decisively. "Let's head to Liangmu Community immediately; it should be there."
Yuan Jun nodded and said, "Liangmu Community is about half an hour away by car. Let's go."
"Sound the alarm," Old Shao said as he grasped the handle. "Drive faster."
"No problem," Yuan Jun replied.
The car immediately carved a path through the traffic and sped away. Just at that moment, Zhao Jie’s phone rang, the notification sound of WeChat breaking the tense silence.
Zhao Jie was too preoccupied to check his phone, but when Xu Yiman and Guan Deng's phones also chimed in, everyone realized that this sound was likely a death knell.
Zhao Jie’s hands trembled slightly; he didn’t even dare to pull out his phone. Cursing under his breath, he finally retrieved it, only to see a video from the Criminal Consultant.
In the video, the Criminal Consultant remained shrouded in darkness. He waved at the viewers and began speaking: “Hello again. This time, you might not be so familiar with the situation. A woman named Guo Xiyue was having an affair at home. When her husband returned from a business trip, fearing discovery, what did she do? She pushed her lover off the seventeenth floor. Without evidence, even though the police knew she was the murderer, they had no way to arrest her.”
The Criminal Consultant appeared quite helpless in the video: “They want justice through law, but without conclusive evidence, even knowing who the murderer is doesn’t help. But I’m different. The usual deal applies: Do I kill her? Reply with yes or no, and in half an hour, I will reveal the answer.”
The video cut to black, but his voice echoed on: “By the way, many of you have left me messages. I’ve seen them all. One day we will see the world we long for—a world of justice. Until next time!”
“No!” After watching the video, Zhao Jie went mad and smashed his phone on the ground. In the cramped space, he couldn’t move: “This isn’t how it is! The truth is not like this! He’s wrong! How can he claim to be right? Why can he spout such nonsense!”
Zhao Jie clutched Jiang He’s shirt: “No, he can’t do this! He can’t!”
“No, no,” Zhao Jie insisted. “Where’s my phone? My phone! Everyone reply with ‘no’! If enough people reply ‘no’, my wife won’t die! It has to be that way! Hurry, all of you reply ‘no’!”
Jiang He patted Zhao Jie on the shoulder and said: “I already told you, no matter how you reply, he will say that the option to kill exceeds the other option. If you want to save your wife, don’t say anything. Let’s go to Liangmu Community and see; maybe your wife can still be saved.”
“I must save my wife,” Zhao Jie cried with tears streaming down his face. “Please, she’s a good person!”
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