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墨書 Inktalez
I smashed the locks one by one. This building was an old-fashioned one, with many units lacking even security doors. At this moment, I kicked open a door, and if it wouldn’t budge, I broke the lock. I thought my guess was probably close to the truth; from the beginning, the killer wasn’t targeting me specifically. It was likely just a simple passion killing.
However, during the course of the case, another group arrived in Jing City and took over. Xing Jie was probably not a suicide but rather a homicide. The people who took over this case killed those responsible for these incidents, aiming to drag me down with them. In our line of work, enemies outnumber friends. It’s easy to understand that someone would want revenge on me.
As I pondered the identity of these newcomers in my mind, I continued to smash doors. By now, darkness had fallen, and only a few stars shone through the windows, making it hard to see. The building had been without power for a long time, and Mary and I had to find Yue'er in complete darkness.
We kicked our way up from the first floor to the sixth floor but found no sign of Yue'er. I had searched every room carefully, and I was sure Mary hadn’t been careless either, yet Yue'er was nowhere to be found. This outcome caught me off guard. Could it be that I had misjudged the direction again? Was Xing Jie not holding Yue'er captive?
But if that were not the case, where could Yue'er possibly be? Had Xing Jie moved her elsewhere? Standing in the half-demolished corridor, I gazed at the stars and moon in the sky, lost in thought.
At that moment, Mary, who was searching another building, suddenly shouted, “Brother Shao! Brother Shao! There’s a cellar here!”
Upon hearing this, I hurried over without delay. Mary was not inside the building but about a hundred meters southeast of this half-ruined structure. As I approached her, she pointed at the cellar and said, “Brother Shao, I've checked every room in there from the first floor to the sixth floor and found no signs of anyone hiding. This place seems very suspicious to me.”
I nodded and knelt down to take out my Wolf Tooth Flashlight from my pocket and examined it closely. The cellar was covered with boards and locked with chains. Upon closer inspection, I noticed signs of disturbed earth where the boards met the ground. The chains were not very dusty, and the lock showed no signs of rust.
According to the hotel boss, this place had been abandoned for a long time; however, various clues indicated that someone had recently been coming and going here. I realized that breaking the lock would be much more troublesome than simply smashing through the wooden boards. With this thought in mind, I picked up a large stone and struck it against the boards.
As I applied more force, a long crack indeed appeared in the wood. Seizing the opportunity, I continued to strike until finally, with just a few more hits, the board broke apart. What came into view was a set of stone steps leading downwards into darkness; I quickly shone my flashlight down to illuminate our path.
Mary and I exchanged glances before entering the cellar one after another. The stone steps led into a narrow corridor that could only accommodate one person at a time. After walking for a few steps, we encountered a turn; beyond it lay a large space that felt unexpectedly open. Inside were piles of various clutter; Mary and I quickly began searching around.
As light swept across the area, we almost simultaneously spotted a figure huddled on a bed. This person was chained by their feet with only about a meter of movement space available. Beside the bed stood a table piled high with snack wrappers; it looked like whatever was inside had already been consumed, while several empty bottles of mineral water lay scattered on the floor.
I rushed forward for a closer look; indeed, this figure was a high school girl. Her face was pale and her lips cracked. Xing Jie had died about a week ago; Yue'er must have been imprisoned here for quite some time. After Xing Jie’s death, no one had come to bring her food or water anymore—while one could survive without food for a week or so, one absolutely could not go without water for that long.
Thinking of this, I immediately said to Mary, "Call 120 right now. I will carry her to the Boss!"
As I spoke, we didn't dare to delay any longer and quickly split up to act. I gently laid Yue'er down; she seemed severely dehydrated, and in her current condition, it was impossible to rehydrate her orally. We could only use a cotton swab dipped in water to moisten her cracked lips. Fortunately, the ambulance arrived promptly.
In about ten minutes, the ambulance reached the scene, and we quickly lifted Yue'er onto it. I said to Mary, "Stay with Yue'er; she is the most important witness. I need to investigate the traces in the basement and see if there are any other discoveries."
At this moment, every second counted; Yue'er was in danger with each passing minute. Mary nodded without saying a word. I watched as the ambulance drove away with a loud siren, feeling slightly calmer inside. At least this meant that Yue'er had a better chance of survival.
At this moment, the Boss had no idea that Yue'er had ended up like this; he was staring blankly at the ambulance that had already disappeared from sight. Ignoring him, I continued toward the basement. Finding Yue'er had basically confirmed my suspicions. The Iron Chain binding her or those snack wrappers must have Xing Jie's fingerprints on them.
With so many fingerprints, they would surely prove my innocence. If Yue'er woke up, she could testify even more strongly. Taking a deep breath, I carefully observed my surroundings. There was still some yellow liquid in a water bottle nearby; I leaned closer and smelled it—it was urine, likely from Yue'er when she could no longer bear her thirst.
To be honest, when the human body is already dehydrated, urine at this point contains a large number of bacteria and waste products; drinking it would only increase the waste in the kidneys until renal failure occurred. The correct way to drink urine is to do so only when there are no other water sources available and before becoming dehydrated, using one's own urine to prolong survival for a day or two. Of course, if it could be distilled, that would be even better.
Aside from this, there was a blanket on the bed and even a portable desk lamp. Inside were several high school textbooks along with pens and paper. It was as if someone had imprisoned Yue'er here and forced her to study. However, analyzing this point suggests that Xing Jie did not want to kill Yue'er after all.
If Xing Jie was not dead, then Yue'er would likely be released. He had once said he wanted to support his family; he should not go back on his word. This means that the mystery still lies with Liu Fangqing. If Liu Fangqing was not missing but dead instead, many different conclusions could be drawn.
From Huihui, we learned that Xing Jie knew about Liu Fangqing's family situation; thus he also knew that Liu Fangqing was with Wu Shuhau for money. If Liu Fangqing wasn't killed by Xing Jie but rather by Wu Shuhau and others, then the situation might be different.
The hotel staff member—a woman named Xu Rong—along with rich second-generation Wu Shuhau and his father Wu Jianye. Connecting these clues reveals that the truth is already emerging. Perhaps one night, Wu Shuhau took Liu Fangqing to a hotel room, accompanied by Xu Rong; he might have even brought his father along.
The staff member may have witnessed everything; they saw two men and two women enter the hotel but when they came out, Liu Fangqing was being carried away by someone. This staff member might have realized something was wrong but chose not to speak up—perhaps someone silenced them with money.
Ultimately, this incident was discovered by Xing Jie, who then devised a plan for revenge against these four people. At the same time, his affections shifted to Liu Fangqing's sister; he pretended to let her continue working while impersonating Yueer's guardian to take her out of school and locked her in this basement.
During this month, Xing Jie was planning everything related to murder. When he returned at night, he stayed in this place, looking at Yue'er, which reminded him of Liu Fangqing. However, just as the plan was being finalized and after Xing Jie had killed Xu Rong, another group arrived at this location.
This group learned about Xing Jie's plan and intended to use it against me, achieving two goals with one action. To prevent Xing Jie from disrupting their plans, they killed him in his own house. At this point, the target of the plan had changed; they shifted their focus to framing me, while murder became merely an ancillary part of their scheme.
They acted according to their plan, collecting my Police Badge, SIM card, and fingerprints. These individuals were certainly not from Jing City; it was clear that such actions could not be carried out by just anyone but required a powerful financial backing! At this thought, a person suddenly popped into my mind!
It is often said that the most dangerous places are the safest ones. I had always used this principle to evade capture, but how could I have not considered that my adversaries might employ the same tactic? These Killers could easily come to Jing City and create a significant disturbance. Meanwhile, we remained oblivious to their presence!
At the gathering, no one was closer to me than her. I was too focused on observing the others at the party that I completely overlooked her. When she took me out to the outskirts, my fingers had gripped the seat tightly enough to leave clear fingerprints. And when I borrowed her car, only she knew I had escaped Jing City, thus using my fingerprints to create the fourth case.
This person had been lurking beside me all along, yet I failed to consider her at all. They cleverly designed the clues to initially point towards her; when we investigated, we could easily prove she wasn’t involved. We inadvertently cleared her of suspicion ourselves.
What a clever plan it was—practically flawless! I couldn't help but want to slap myself for not realizing it sooner. With that thought in mind, I immediately took out my phone to inform Mary of this discovery. But just as I stood up, I suddenly caught a strange scent.
I quickly realized something was wrong, but in an instant, my head began to spin and my eyelids felt heavy and began to close involuntarily. In the end, I had let my guard down.
On my first trip out to sea, I encountered a well-known Bengal Aid Worker. Young and impulsive, but too poor to really make a move until the First Mate told me that a bag of instant noodles could lead to a night with a group of women...
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