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墨書 Inktalez
While I was chatting with Juan Juan, a man who looked like a migrant worker approached and sat down beside us. He said, "Everything is ready; we just need the fish to take the bait." This man was none other than Yan Junde. I nodded calmly and asked, "Who is leading at Morgue?"
"Don't worry, Captain Gao is personally leading the team," Yan Junde replied, his eyes gazing into the distance.
Since it was Captain Gao leading the operation, I felt reassured, as if Yan Junde himself were in charge. If they spotted Wang Kang and Zhao Wei, they would surely be apprehended immediately. For now, all we could do was wait. Our success in this stakeout hinged on when Zhao Wei and Wang Kang had chosen their disposal site.
If they had selected the site two weeks ago, then they certainly wouldn't show up during the day today; they would likely dispose of the bodies in the early morning. In that case, our disguises would have been for nothing. However, if they had only recently decided on this location, they would likely approach cautiously, just as we were doing. Perhaps they were hiding in a corner we hadn't noticed.
Time passed slowly, and for several hours I remained tense. The hospital was bustling with people, but there was no sign of Zhao Wei or Wang Kang. We began to think that perhaps they wouldn't come during the day after all. We had been here too long; if we didn't change our position soon, it would be easy for someone to see through our disguises. I subtly signaled Yan Junde and helped Juan Juan toward the exit.
I buried my head in my coat and spoke into the radio: "No targets spotted at the outpatient building."
"No targets spotted at the inpatient building." "No targets spotted in the parking lot." "No targets spotted on First Street..." The team members quickly responded, and I shook my head in frustration. As a leader of the Major Crimes Unit, Zhao Wei had a high level of counter-surveillance awareness. He might have anticipated that the Special Investigation Team would find this place when he disposed of the fourth body, so he definitely wouldn't show up until nightfall.
"Any updates from the sixth location?" I continued to inquire.
Mary's deduction about the inverted Pentagram pattern indicated that besides this point, there was another point in the center of the Pentagram. Tonight, the Killer would come near the hospital, but we couldn't overlook that other point; another team from the Police Department had already headed to the sixth location, and we still didn't know what was happening there.
"The sixth location is in a forest; so far we've been searching but haven't found anything," the Squad Leader replied. "The Pentagram shape isn't very strict; we haven't identified any suspicious areas yet. I think it's unlikely that the Killer will come here tonight."
Juan Juan and I got into a car parked by the roadside where Mary was waiting inside. Seeing us enter, she asked, "Any leads?"
"It looks like the Killer won't show up until tonight," I said while lightly tapping my temple with my fingers. "What we need to do now is wait for good news from Captain Gao! Let's drive around and come back; Zhao Wei is not someone to underestimate..."
We waited until three in the morning. The four members of the Special Investigation Team hadn't slept a wink throughout the night. This was typically when most people felt their sleepiest. I turned around to see everyone's eyes were red; Mary was staring blankly at her backpack. To avoid being detected by the Killer, we had turned off the engine and lights, leaving us without air conditioning as if we had been thrown into an icy wilderness.
I couldn't help but tap my forehead with my fingers. By this time, it seemed highly likely that the Killer would appear soon. The car was eerily quiet, with only faint starlight filtering through. An hour passed, then two; my tapping grew faster as it became clear something was amiss. The green button on my radio indicated that communication with Captain Gao was intact. I hesitated to speak for fear of disrupting his capture plan, but everything remained silent on his end—something must have gone wrong.
The watch showed it was already six o'clock; it wouldn't be long before dawn broke. Had the Killer sensed something amiss and abandoned his plan to dispose of bodies according to the inverted Pentagram? Or perhaps he wasn't following that pattern at all? At this hour, it seemed impossible for him to appear.
"Captain Gao, what's happening over there?" I suddenly asked loudly, startling everyone in the car who turned to look at me.
Captain Gao's voice came through my earpiece: "What's wrong? The Killer hasn't shown up yet?" His tone was low as if he feared alerting the Killer. I replied, "There's no need for disguise anymore; there are only two possibilities: either the Killer isn't disposing of bodies at Morgue at all or he simply won't come!"
"Captain Gao" cursed and then said, "Damn it, has that kid gotten the message? Fall back."
I sighed; a whole night’s effort seemed wasted. As a few of us got out of the vehicle, Mary suddenly crouched down. "Yan Junde" quickly supported her. Seeing this, I slapped my forehead hard, and everyone stared at me in shock, thinking I had lost my mind. I said, "Damn it, we’ve all been played by the 'Killer.' 'Captain Gao,' let’s head to the 'Mortuary' immediately; the 'Fifth Body' we’re looking for is over there!"
"We’ve already checked the bodies in the 'Mortuary'; there were no unstitched corpses," "Captain Gao" asked, puzzled.
"I'll explain when we get there!" I gestured for everyone to follow me as we ran toward the 'Morgue,' speaking to "Captain Gao."
Upon arriving at the 'Morgue,' "Captain Gao" and his team were already waiting inside the 'Mortuary.' Everyone saw a stitched-up corpse leaning against the northern wall of the 'Mortuary,' its eyes wide open as if questioning why we had only just discovered it. "Captain Gao" said, "This afternoon, we thoroughly investigated this 'Mortuary.' We knew exactly where each body was located. When did this one appear?"
"Could it be that the 'Killer' can fly?" "Yan Junde" looked at the corpse and said, "There were people watching and lying in wait on both 'North-South Direction' and 'East-West' streets. We were right next to the hospital. 'Captain Gao' personally led a team to surround this 'Morgue.' How did the 'Killer' get in and out?"
Everyone's eyes turned to me. I said, "If Mary hadn’t tripped just now, I might still be foolishly waiting outside."
"Me?" Mary pointed at herself, confused by what I meant.
"What’s under your feet?" I asked.
"Cement floor?" "Captain Gao" replied.
I shook my finger and said, "It’s not just a cement floor; there are also manhole covers—specifically, sewer covers. It’s winter now with hardly any rain; there’s very little water flowing in the sewers. The 'Killer' could move through them without any danger. We’ve been near the hospital all day, divided into multiple teams, yet we haven’t seen a single hair of the 'Killer' because he hasn’t come from above ground to dispose of bodies; he has been moving right beneath our feet!"
"As the head of the 'Municipal Public Security Bureau Major Crimes Unit,' finding a sewer line map is easier than eating!" I continued. "By now, 'Zhao Wei' has likely realized our investigative direction and depth regarding this case. The sixth location is in the forest; it's likely that the 'Killer' won’t wait until nightfall. Even during the day, no one goes there."
Thinking of this, I immediately contacted the "Sixth Team," which was searching at the sixth location. I said, "Sixth Team, be alert; it's very likely that the 'Killer' will continue disposing of bodies right now. We need to get there immediately; thank you for your hard work. 'Zhao Wei' is armed; be extremely cautious if you encounter him."
"Understood," replied the leader of the "Sixth Team."
"'Captain Gao,' arrange for your team to head to the sixth location; we’ll go ahead," I instructed.
"Captain Gao" nodded and said, "Understood; we’ll get there as quickly as possible."
With "Yan Junde" driving again, I closed my eyes to think. This was our last chance; we couldn’t afford any mistakes this time. If those two tossed a body and fled into the vast forest, who knows when we would catch up with 'Killer,' or even find 'Zhao Wei' and 'Wang Kang.' At this point in the case, everything was quite clear; however, several doubts kept swirling in my mind that just wouldn’t connect. It seemed that capturing 'Wang Kang' and 'Zhao Wei' was essential; otherwise, relying solely on my imagination wouldn’t lead to any clarity.
Suddenly, my phone rang. I looked at the screen and saw an unfamiliar number. I answered the call and realized it was the person in charge of the factory. He said, "Captain Shao, our factory has been sealed off, but there are still my things inside. However, your people won’t allow anyone to enter..."
I didn’t have time to deal with these trivial matters. I replied, "I don’t have time right now. I advise you to comply with the arrangements. That’s all." With that, I was about to hang up.
"Wait, please, Captain Shao. I know you have a high position," the manager stammered. "Actually, there’s something else I need to tell you about the person above Wang Kang. I vaguely remember that Wang Kang met with that person..."
"Oh?" I said with a cold laugh. "If what you’re saying is useful, maybe I’ll consider it."
"That day he was on the phone with his superior when I passed by his office. I vaguely heard their argument. I don’t know what the other party said, but I heard Wang Kang mention something about not being able to gather people and something about Xiang Ri. He said, 'Don’t push me; otherwise, we’ll both be finished.'"
Xiang Ri? Who is that? Isn’t Wang Kang’s superior Zhao Wei? Why is there suddenly a Xiang Ri?
"That’s all I know!" the manager said. "Can you see if..."
"Once this case is over, we will naturally return your things," I replied. "You’d better hope we can catch your boss quickly!"
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