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Zhao Mingkun then made a phone call to this person. Normally, they only communicated through text messages, so this call indicated that Zhao Mingkun was acting under the assumption that this person would be exposed. It seemed that Zhao Mingkun chose to trust me, or perhaps he chose to trust himself. I believed it was the latter, as Zhao Mingkun was not someone who would place his bets on others; in this regard, we were indeed quite similar.
After arranging the specifics, Zhao Mingkun said to Poplar, "Drive to the warehouse where we found the body an hour from now. I will contact Mafia now and let them know we are about to catch the Killer." As he spoke, Zhao Mingkun patted my shoulder and added, "This time, I’m putting everything on you. If we get this wrong, all three of us are done for."
An hour later, the three of us got into the car and drove in silence to the warehouse. Looking around, we didn’t see anyone suspicious. When we opened the warehouse door, we saw a car parked inside. An Asian-looking man was pacing nervously beside it. This man was likely Zhao Mingkun's informant. Upon seeing us, he spoke in English, "Queen, after doing this, there’s no turning back for me. They can easily find out I was involved. Is this dead person really that important?"
The man appeared to be quite young, probably in his twenties, and it was unclear what he had been doing inside. Zhao Mingkun waved his hand dismissively and said, "I know. After this is over, you’ll come with me. If we succeed this time, our main goal here will have been achieved. There’s no point in you staying here any longer, understand?"
As he spoke, Zhao Mingkun pinched the guy's cheek.
He nodded with a smile but didn’t say anything.
Zhao Mingkun turned to me and asked, "We’ve brought what you wanted. You can tell us who the Killer is now, right?" He glanced at the car's trunk as he spoke. The young man quickly opened it, revealing a large burlap sack.
From its appearance, it was clear that it contained a person—specifically, a corpse. I lifted the sack slightly to take a look inside and was hit by a foul odor—the stench of decaying flesh. The body was severely bloated; it was indeed the corpse that had been submerged in water for quite some time.
I nodded and said, "That’s right; the Killer is here."
"The Killer?" Zhao Mingkun tilted his head in confusion but then seemed to understand something as he pointed at me and said, "Are you saying that corpse is the Killer? You better not be mistaken; that body looks like it has been dead for quite a while. If that's the Killer, then who killed those people?"
I rubbed my temples and replied, "Yes, this is the Killer. The Killer started killing before we even entered this game. The first body we saw was meant for us to find; in reality, that was already the last person killed by the Killer."
"The last person killed?" Zhao Mingkun asked in bewilderment.
"Exactly," I explained to him. "Participating in this game wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision; it had been planned all along; otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone to Jing City to frame me. During this time, the plan had already begun. It should have started when you notified Mafia's people to pick us up."
I continued, "At that time, those two people were already dead in the slums when we disembarked; another person died just as we arrived. We thought we were starting the game when in fact it was nearing its end. So Mafia threw out the first body they wanted us to see."
Zhao Mingkun appeared deep in thought as I went on: "By this point, the Killer had finished killing everyone he needed to kill. His mission was complete; then he committed suicide. Before doing so, he had someone carve a capital letter 'I' into his back. Afterward, he jumped into the sea and waited for his body to wash ashore."
"Then the two people behind Killer chose to commit suicide." I expressed my thoughts, "One reason is to confuse us and add difficulty to the game. The other is that they knew they were doomed, so before dying, they had letters carved on their backs and then took their own lives."
Zhao Mingkun stood with his hands on his hips, speaking slowly, "I understand everything you said, and it makes sense according to your reasoning. But as it stands, all of this is just your speculation; you have no substantial evidence. If you're wrong, we will suffer the consequences. I've already notified Mafia."
I shrugged and replied to Zhao Mingkun, "As Conan Doyle wisely said, eliminate all impossibilities, and whatever remains, no matter how improbable, is the truth. Although I lack substantial evidence, logic is enough. This isn't a criminal investigation where solid proof is needed to arrest someone; it's just a game, and we can afford to take this risk."
"And one more thing," I pointed at the corpse behind the car, "guanti means gloves in Italian, and Iguanti also means gloves in Italian. From this perspective, the letter 'I' becomes crucial. I suspect that 'I' has two layers of meaning."
"Two layers of meaning?" Zhao Mingkun asked.
"Exactly." I raised one finger and said, "If we look at 'I' in English, it means 'me.' The first layer indicates that he is Killer." Then I raised a second finger and continued, "The second layer means 'I am Mafia.'"
"Indeed, this person's identity fits both characteristics; it must be him." I told Zhao Mingkun. "Now we just need you to hand over this body to Mafia, and our mission will be complete."
Zhao Mingkun nodded and was about to make a call when suddenly Poplar spoke up: "I advise you not to act rashly. Put down your guns; otherwise, you both know what the consequences will be." Hearing Poplar's words, we turned around to see him pointing a gun at us.
Despite all calculations, we still overlooked Poplar. Before either Zhao Mingkun or I could respond, the young man said, "Oh no, this isn't good. Put down the gun; what can't we discuss? And this brother here knows nothing; can he leave first?"
But Poplar shot the young man in the leg without hesitation. The young man fell to the ground while clutching the car and gritting his teeth. Just as Zhao Mingkun was about to check on him, Poplar fired another shot into the air and said, "Who can't see that he’s just your lapdog? Hand over your gun; otherwise, next time he gets shot it won't be his leg but his head."
After a moment of silence, Zhao Mingkun complied with Poplar's demand and placed his gun on the ground before kicking it away. I raised my hands to show Poplar that I had no weapons either. Over these past few days, Poplar had come to understand my habits and didn’t say anything further. None of us expected that Poplar would point a gun at us at this moment. It seemed that he had been secretly contemplating this situation for days.
With a sigh, Zhao Mingkun addressed Poplar: "Poplar, what are you doing? Are you really planning to betray me? Or have you been waiting for this day for a long time?"
Poplar smiled as he tucked Zhao Mingkun's gun into his waistband and replied, "It's not that I want to betray you; it's that you don't trust me. I know that from the moment you started doubting me in the car last time, you lost your trust in me. I understand people well; I'm not mistaken about you. Even if I continue to follow you from now on, there won't be any progress."
Saying this, Poplar shrugged while looking at the gun's muzzle: "You are the kind of person who would rather kill a thousand innocents than let one guilty person go free. Besides this kid being useful to you, who else do you trust? Who else is worth your trust? From the very beginning, I knew that you chose me just so I could be cannon fodder at a critical moment."
"Three Fingers," Zhao Mingkun said seriously at this moment: "I did have my doubts about you initially, but didn't we clear up those misunderstandings? You know my concerns were about the situation and not personal against you. If you can back off now, I'll let bygones be bygones. We’ve captured Killer, and soon we'll establish ties with Mafia. At that point, the organization will profit greatly and we’ll all be rewarded handsomely. Are you really going to betray the organization at such a crucial juncture? Think carefully about the stakes involved."
"Ha ha!" Upon hearing Zhao Mingkun's words, Poplar burst into laughter. "Interests? I've thought this through long ago. Everything you said is based on one premise: that we, no, I should say you, can win this competition."
"But what if you lose?" Poplar asked. "What then?"
Zhao Mingkun replied seriously, "If we lose, we die. Let me make it clear: that 'die' includes you. If we lose, all three of us will die."
"No, no, no!" Poplar shook a finger, his tone laced with sarcasm and pity. "That 'die' does not include me. To be precise, you three will die. As for me, I'll walk away with a fortune and disappear. I'm already in my forties; how much longer can I stay in the organization? People act in their own interest; otherwise, they face dire consequences. Queen, you should understand this well, right?"
Zhao Mingkun sneered and said to Poplar, "Looks like you've been planning this for a while?"
"You just helped me make up my mind," Poplar replied as he loaded his gun. "Now, all that's left is to wait for the others to arrive. As for how they deal with you, that's not my concern anymore. Consider this my final act of loyalty to you. If it comes down to it, I hope you won't blame me."
"Do you know the fate of betraying the organization?" Zhao Mingkun said coldly.
"I do, but I also know that the organization won't find out about this," Poplar answered.
Late at night, The Village Doctor sought out the Beautiful Widow Nurse while drunk. Hearing strange sounds and moans from inside the room, he kicked open the door only to find his strong son...
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