Chapter 204: Xiao Liu’s Mistake

2022-05-20

Without saying much, Xiao Liu had everyone dump the contents of the sack onto the ground. In a blink, a pile of trash lay at our feet, giving off a stench so thick it was like a mix of rotting stinky tofu and socks that hadn’t seen a wash in thirty years.

When we looked closer, we saw a mess of items—plastic toys, worn clothes, all kinds of snack wrappers, blankets and bedding, broken bits of pottery, even things so ruined you couldn’t tell what they once were. All of it made a mini landfill right there on the floor.

Still, mixed in with the junk, I spotted a few things that looked familiar. I’d seen these same items back in the sewer. Xiao Liu, meticulous as ever, had brought them all back. That’s something I couldn’t have done—he was a lot more thorough, and, frankly, way more diligent than me.

I saw the giant plush bear that tripped me, and that same blue work coverall.

Xiao Liu glanced at me and asked, “Wu Meng, you said you saw the killer. So, how did the killer manage to push Old Wang into the cutter?”

This was actually what Zhao Mingkun had witnessed while disguised as a worker—but now I had to claim it as my own. I met Xiao Liu’s gaze and said, “You were all watching Yan Zhenyan. I glanced back and noticed Old Wang walking in from the other side. Before I could say a word, someone flipped him right into the cutter.”

Xiao Liu seemed pleased with my answer. He looked over his teammates and said, “Exactly, just as I suspected. Once I learned the killer escaped through the sewer, I started piecing together how the crime went down. That’s when I led a search through the sewers.”

“And then,” Xiao Liu grabbed the blue work coverall and continued, “I found this in the sewer. But we also discovered a blue work coverall in an alley. Both are about the same size—should fit someone around 1.7 meters tall.”

“But,” Xiao Liu held up a finger, “no one’s going to layer themselves in two work uniforms. That means there had to be more than one killer. If they were lying in wait at the factory early on, they couldn’t have known which way Old Wang would pass, so at least two people would be needed to pull off the murder this way.”

I realized Xiao Liu mistook Zhao Mingkun’s abandoned outfit as belonging to an accomplice. But I couldn’t come clean about Zhao Mingkun, nor could I give away the truth. It caught me off guard that Xiao Liu had found the coveralls Zhao Mingkun left behind to show me the way—and now it had thrown him off course.

Xiao Liu’s overthinking was leading him further from the truth.

I tried to explain, “People think they’re making choices freely, but most of the time, those choices are already made for them. Take the supermarket shelves. The stuff at eye level gets picked several times more than what’s up higher. That’s because what you’re likely to see is about 1.2 meters off the ground. So when you think it’s a random choice, the shop owner’s layout has already nudged your subconscious.”

Everyone around seemed intrigued by this bit of psychology, turning their attention to me.

I kept going, “It’s the same here. The shop floor is big, stretching east to west. For convenience, there are two doors, both facing south. People naturally go in from the south and hug that side of the production line instead of taking the long route past the north. So even though it seems there’s an equal chance of people going north or south, most choose south.”

“So the killer waited by the south side of the line,” I said, looking around at everyone. “The killer either really studied psychology or just understood people. I think we’re close to catching them. Only, there’s still one thing I can’t explain.”

Xiao Liu’s face grew serious when he heard me. He said, “Wu Meng, you misjudged this time. There really are multiple killers. And I’m this close to finding them—just missing a few details.”

Not long ago, Xiao Liu and I started having deep disagreements over the real killer. He was convinced there was more than one person—a whole team, even. He didn’t know how this team operated, but once that was settled, the case would snap into place. That was the ‘few details’ he kept talking about.

But I didn’t buy it. This kind of serial killing—it’d be hard for even the most tight-knit group to keep such perfect discipline. Everyone has their quirks, yet there was not a single trace left behind—no signs of anyone getting greedy or distracted. I just couldn’t believe a team could pull that off.

Even all those voices I heard in the sewer weren’t enough to convince me without evidence. The killer was nothing if not cunning.

I knew Xiao Liu wanted to solve the case himself, but I also knew he’d ask for my help if things got stuck. I’d promised to tell him if I found the killer too. I couldn’t say for certain I was right, but I knew what my gut was telling me.

Still, I couldn’t say a word about Zhao Mingkun. So all I could do was say, “I saw the killer. There was only one.”

Xiao Liu looked over at me, then gave a cold snort. “One person did the killing, the other just kept out of sight. Wu Meng, you’re not the only one who can crack this case, or the only one with talent. I’m sure I’ll find the killer first this time.”

Gu Chen glanced at Xiao Liu and said quietly, “In the end, one team’s leaving Dongxing City. You think it’ll be you?”

The tension suddenly thickened, and I couldn’t help wondering when things between me and Xiao Liu had gotten this strained. He cared too much about his own future. It seemed like anyone blocking his way up would get pushed out, no matter who they were.

Thinking like that, it was only a matter of time before Xiao Liu left Team Leader Shao. Someone as nonchalant as Shao couldn’t help him climb. But Team Leader Li was different—he and Xiao Liu were cut from the same cloth, hungry to keep moving up.

Everyone fell silent. Gu Chen gave Xiao Liu a look I couldn’t quite read. Xiao Liu might be the best kind of teammate or the most determined rival. I figured he underestimated what bonds really meant between people. Maybe he thought Old Bai wouldn’t let us return so soon.

I sighed. “Yeah, well. We’re just two teams in the end.”

Xiao Liu seemed to realize something, his face suddenly turning sad. “We found some other things in the sewer, too. These right here.”

With that, he squatted down, ignoring the smell, and began explaining each item to us.

“We found a bunch of interesting stuff in the sewer,” Xiao Liu said. “We spent almost two hours combing through every corner nearby. Turns out the killer had been camping out there for a long time. The clothes, blankets, even this plush toy—they’re all pretty new.”

Only then did we take a proper look at the pile. Because of the smell, we thought this stuff had been in the sewer forever, but now that Xiao Liu mentioned it I realized, aside from being a bit stinky, none of it was actually that worn out.

“And these things,” Xiao Liu pointed to a heap of unrecognizable stuff. “Know what they are?”

We shook our heads.

Xiao Liu pinched the pile with his fingers. “Ashes. That’s what this is.”

“Ashes?” I finally caught onto what Xiao Liu was getting at.

He explained, “Wu Meng ran into the killer and saw the killer didn’t mind darkness, but maybe that only goes for one person. If the killer is a group, only one can move freely in the dark. The rest would need fire for light.”

A few teammates nodded, clearly impressed with Xiao Liu’s theory.

I frowned, listening.

Xiao Liu kept going, “There’s another reason I’m sure there’s more than one killer.”

He picked up a few ceramic shards. “These bowls are pretty old. If they’d washed down here long ago, the sewage would’ve ground them to powder by now. But these pieces are still intact. I found them beside the fire pit, and they fit together into several bowls. That means the killer even ate meals in the sewer.”

“We’re looking at a group living underground,” Xiao Liu declared. “And these shards gave me a clue—a clue that proves several people are connected.”

His words snapped me to attention. The key to this case was in the connections between the victims—why the killer picked these people, how they were selected. If we figured that out, we could protect the rest before they became targets, and maybe catch the killer.

“What clue?” I asked.