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墨書 Inktalez
It was none other than Guan Deng, who suffered from severe Social Anxiety Disorder, speaking. Guan Deng only uttered a single word, "I," and immediately inputted his information, clicking submit. Once all three pieces of information were filled in, he was able to purchase the black mask.
The price of the mask was incredibly cheap, merely a symbolic fee of one cent. The deduction notification quickly arrived on Guan Deng's phone, and the page confirmed that he had successfully made the purchase. When Guan Deng returned to the previous page, Yuan Jun noticed that the string of numbers in the lower right corner was still increasing rapidly.
Jiang He rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a moment before speaking, "They didn't ask for your phone number. How will they notify you when it's time to pick up your order?"
Guan Deng shook his head.
Yuan Jun then asked, "By the way, Guan Deng, how did you find this site? As Old Shao would say, to enter this site, you need to have been given the key and password by someone who owns it; otherwise, you can't access this illegal site."
Guan Deng was too timid to speak in front of others but typed quickly. He soon wrote in his notepad what he wanted to say: "When we came back, Jiang He and Old Shao mentioned that this Criminal Consultant always selects victims known to some citizens of Dragon City when searching for targets. So I wanted to gather information about these people. During my research, I accidentally stumbled upon the secret key and forcefully accessed this site."
"But I found that even without brute-forcing it, entering this site is quite easy—almost as if they want many people to get in."
Guan Deng continued typing.
"The number of people," Jiang He said. "I know what that string of numbers means; it represents the number of people who have entered this site. In other words, during our conversation, a total of fourteen thousand two hundred eighty people have accessed this site. However, we still can't confirm whether this site was established by the Criminal Consultant."
"Judgment," Old Shao interjected. "Judgment—those they want to judge are all innocent people."
"These people have been deceived by the Criminal Consultant," Yuan Jun remarked.
"Deceived?" Old Shao shook his head. "People cannot be deceived by others; they can only deceive themselves. Once a person enters a fervent collective, their individuality is replaced by the group's personality. The individuals within that group often exhibit emotional instability, lack of dissent, and low intelligence—this is what we refer to as a mob."
Old Shao even seemed somewhat pained: "Because many people lack logical thinking and reasoning abilities."
With a sigh, Old Shao finally patted Guan Deng on the shoulder and said, "Let's do it this way. Keep a close watch on this location. There have been three deceased so far, and if there is a fourth, I believe it will appear here first."
Guan Deng nodded.
"What about us?" Yuan Jun asked. "What should we do?"
"Set up surveillance," Old Shao replied. "Since we've purchased this black criminal mask, someone will definitely come to deliver it. And where there is a delivery, there must be a source address. We need to monitor the area around Guan Deng's house, find the delivery person, and track down the manufacturer of this mask."
"Yuan Jun, you go arrange that immediately. Make sure to find some plainclothes officers. The rest of us will head to Guan Deng's house first. We can't act rashly; we don't want to alert anyone."
By evening, the police had set up surveillance around Guan Deng's house, laying out a comprehensive trap.
Xiao Liu sat at a table, staring blankly at the furnishings in Guan Deng's home. To put it simply, there was nothing—no dishes, no refrigerator, no gas stove, nothing at all. This made Xiao Liu question whether he had moved into a prison.
Later that night, someone knocked on the door. Xiao Liu opened it to find a small child standing there.
"Are you Uncle Guan Deng?" the child asked in a sweet voice.
Xiao Liu nodded. "Who are you? How did you come here?"
The child handed Xiao Liu a tightly wrapped package and said, "I’m here to deliver a package for you. They said you would give me ten yuan."
Xiao Liu looked at the well-wrapped package, unsure of what was inside. He gently took the package and pulled out a twenty yuan note from his pocket, handing it to the child while saying, "It's so late; you should head home soon and not wander around."
The child nodded, his expression one of great joy.
Xiao Liu closed the door, and the child walked away with twenty yuan in hand. In the dark corner, a figure emerged silently, following the child closely.
Xiao Liu gently placed the package on the table as Jiang He and Old Shao, along with Xu Yiman, came down from upstairs. Jiang He spoke as he walked, "I observed from upstairs and didn't see anyone else, just this one child."
"Indeed, it's a common tactic used by the Criminal Consultant to send a child with a package," Old Shao remarked.
Jiang He, with his hyperthymesia, could never forget that last time it was also a child who delivered a package from the Criminal Consultant, which contained a bomb. If it weren't for Jiang He's quick reaction then, several members of the task force might have been sacrificed.
They would not forget that the Criminal Consultant was an expert in making explosives.
Thus, they did not act recklessly. Jiang He sniffed around the package like a dog for quite some time before finally speaking to Old Shao. "I don't smell any explosives, but we should still be cautious. This Criminal Consultant never plays by the rules; I suspect there's more to this than just masks."
"This box can indeed hold quite a bit. However, it feels light; it doesn't seem like it contains explosives," Xiao Liu added.
Jiang He carefully opened the package, and right on top was a black mask with a drop of blood on it.
Jiang He picked up the black mask and examined it closely. He realized it was just an ordinary mask. It had elastic bands on both sides that made it difficult to fall off when worn. However, as soon as he put it on his face, he said, "I smell explosives."
"Explosives?" Xiao Liu asked. "Is there explosives in this box?"
"No," Jiang He shook his head. "These masks must have been stored together; I can smell explosives. Clearly, this Criminal Consultant is still working on making them."
Jiang He did not remove his mask; he still wore it, and his voice came through the mask, sounding somewhat different from Jiang He's usual tone. Beneath the mask was a neatly folded piece of black fabric, which Jiang He carefully took out. The crowd finally realized that this was not just a piece of cloth; it was a black cloak, with two long black strips of fabric at the neck that could be tied across the chest.
Jiang He donned the cloak and put on the black hood that came with it. At that moment, his entire body was enveloped in the cloak.
"Looks just like a Criminal Consultant," Old Shao remarked. "You just need a pair of black shoes and black gloves, and you'd be exactly like a Criminal Consultant."
"I don't have shoes, but I do have gloves," Xiao Liu said as he pulled out a pair of leather gloves from his bag and handed them to Jiang He.
Jiang He nodded without speaking, simply putting on the gloves.
"Anyone who buys a mask will receive this set of items—a set that can turn them into a Criminal Consultant," Old Shao explained.
"But what does he plan to do?" Xiao Liu asked. "Is he thinking of taking on an apprentice? Or maybe holding a talent show?"
Old Shao replied, "Whatever he plans to do, it can't be anything good."
"Here, there's also a letter," Xiao Liu said.
Jiang He took the letter from the box and began to read aloud: "Greetings to all members of the Judgement. From the moment you purchased this mask, I knew we share the same dissatisfaction with this world; we have common ideals. Justice must always be defended by our own hands; only death can maintain justice."
After a pause, Jiang He continued reading: "Some people deserve to die, yet they evade legal punishment, living carefree lives. Others do not deserve death but are imprisoned and suffer greatly due to circumstances beyond their control. This world should not be like this; it should reflect its true nature."
"If the world is dark, then I shall be its only light."
Jiang He repeated, "If the world is dark, I am the only light."
"Does this Criminal see himself as a savior?" Xiao Liu remarked. "Is he dissatisfied with the current legal penalties?"
"If he were truly a savior, he shouldn't have killed those three people," Old Shao replied. "This Criminal Consultant knows those three are innocent, yet he still chose to act. He has never considered himself a savior."
Xiao Liu sighed, "So what does he really want to do?"
"I don't know," Old Shao said. "The motivations of this Criminal Consultant are incredibly elusive. If we truly knew what he was after, we would be the Criminal Consultant ourselves."
"Dynamite," Jiang He stated. "I have a feeling this matter is related to dynamite. There's something on the back of this letter."
Jiang He flipped the letter over and said, "A string of numbers and the word 'Judgment.'"
"Secret key," Guan Deng chimed in with two words.
Jiang He handed the letter to Guan Deng, who entered the string of numbers into the search bar on that page. Soon, a new page popped up, displaying only a white box with nothing else. Guan Deng typed "Judgment" into the box.
Instantly, the box disappeared, and the entire page was revealed before them.
They referred to this organization as the Judgment Council.
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