Chapter 220: The Fourth Story

2022-05-20

A few hours after Guan Zengbin was taken, the killer posted the fourth story online.

“Wu Meng, I may not know everything that went down when you were in Xingdong Village, but in the story, the killer made a demand: he wants us to return those bowls or he’ll kill someone. And the hostage? He says it’s a female forensic examiner named Guan Zengbin… Guan Zengbin?”

Hearing Mary’s words, I couldn’t hold back my emotions any longer. My nose stung and then, unexpectedly, I burst out laughing.

Mary caught my laughter and asked in confusion, “Wu Meng, Guan Zengbin’s been kidnapped. Why aren’t you upset? What’s so funny?”

I explained, “Since the killer made a demand, he won’t kill Guan Zengbin until he gets the bowls. That means we don’t have to worry about her being killed before the exchange. In other words, our time isn’t as tight as it could be.”

Mary sighed, giving in. “Fine. I’ll send you the story in a bit. You can plan our next move. By the way, Xiao Liu moved most of our people. Did you get in touch with him?”

“I did. Xiao Liu is checking out some things I assigned him. Let’s leave it there for now. Oh, Mary, can you look into those bowls online? I have a feeling the killer planted that information. Also, see if the previous victims had bowls missing from their homes.”

“Got it.” Mary hung up the phone.

Not long after, Mary forwarded the fourth story to my phone. Gu Chen and I huddled together to read it. The story was written from a first-person perspective:

As night falls, everyone drifts into sleep, but some people wake up in the darkness. He emerges from the earth, like the dead coming back to life. Cloaked in a deathly aura, those chosen by him face the threat of the end.

This time, the target is a young forensic examiner. Back when I was young, I also wanted to be a forensic examiner. But honestly, I never cared much about bringing justice for the dead.

I know this young examiner has performed countless autopsies. She’s well-acquainted with the structure of the human body. It made me wonder: could someone dissect themselves? Imagine, holding a sharp scalpel, cutting into your own body—what a beautiful moment that would be.

I genuinely admire myself for coming up with such a twistedly brilliant idea. I tied her down to a bed, propped her up, and left her a scalpel. Over the next little while, you’ll get my instructions. If you don’t complete the tasks on time, this young examiner will start dissecting herself. Whether you can save her or not is up to you—her condition when you find her depends on your speed.

Honestly, I don’t want to do this. But my little sister keeps whining about those bowls. I know you smashed them in the sewer, all your fault. If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have dropped the bowls, and they wouldn’t be lost now.

So, your first task is to piece together those bowls and glue them back perfectly. My little sister mustn’t see a single flaw. You have two hours.

It’s one in the morning. At three, I’ll check your progress.

Well then, let me show you the adorable young examiner—see, isn’t she cute? Have a lovely night. Love you all.

That was the end of the story. Gu Chen and I stared at it, both frowning. At the end, a photo popped up. The photo showed a woman tied to a bed—the hospital kind you can raise or lower.

The woman was none other than Guan Zengbin, the one the killer had just kidnapped.

The picture was taken from Guan Zengbin’s side. You could see two scalpels tied to her hands. Her leg was raised to about hand level, so her arms and legs were parallel.

Absentmindedly, I tapped my chin, trying to ease my nerves. I was filled with anxious worry.

Through the photo, we could make out her side profile. Even though we couldn’t see her whole face, the sadness and fear etched there were clear. It was the look of someone who had just witnessed something truly horrifying. It was terror radiating from deep inside, an expression I’d never seen on Guan Zengbin before.

I knew Guan Zengbin must be right on the edge of a breakdown. If this drags on, she won’t be able to take the pressure.

If all the killer wanted was to trade the bowls, and not play out this murder scenario, we could stall and call the shots.

But now, the killer has set a deadline. Not too much time, but just enough for us to scrape by. It means we can’t stall, and the initiative is in the killer’s hands. Pulling off this setup takes brains—the killer’s clearly an expert in psychology.

Mary didn’t mention this on the call, meaning she’s the one handling the bowl repair. I don’t need to worry about that. We’ve got two hours for everything else.

Still, every minute ticks by, and here I am stuck in Xingdong Village, unable to do a thing. All I can do is wait for Xiao Liu and Mary’s investigation results.

Gu Chen glanced at me and asked, “So, what exactly are we supposed to do here?”

I looked back at Gu Chen, then out at the beams of flashlight dancing on the mountainside, and said, “Don’t you think there’s something off about this story?”

“Off?” Gu Chen scratched his head, thinking for a moment. “Yeah, something is off, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Go on,” I encouraged him.

Gu Chen nodded, then said, “This time, the killer wrote the story as himself. He put himself out there. From his tone throughout, he sounds like some middle-aged man—but based on our statements, the killer should only be in his twenties.”

I nodded in agreement.

Gu Chen went on, “If that’s the case, then the person who wrote the story is the older side of the killer’s personality. Plus, he seems to really know his way around the human body. So, what if we could coax out some of the other personalities? Maybe get the killer to let Guan Zengbin go?”

I nodded again. Gu Chen’s words gave me hope. We might actually pull this off. Like that crying little girl personality in the sewer—if we could lure her out, she wouldn’t hurt Guan Zengbin. If so, Guan Zengbin might make it out alive.

I patted Gu Chen’s shoulder. “That’s a helpful lead.”

Gu Chen shook his head. “It all depends on whether there really is only one killer with multiple personalities. I’m still not sure how many people are involved. Before, I thought the killer was a group, but after your insights, it does seem more likely it’s just one person.”

“But here’s the thing,” Gu Chen looked at me seriously, “When you were on the phone with Xiao Liu, I overheard most of it. I also know that Wu Xiufen and Wu Xiufang’s husbands and kids are all still alive. If the killer really is one of them, everything lines up—age, gender, the works. But I just can’t figure out what brings all these people together, so I can’t be sure yet.”

I shook my head at Gu Chen. “It’s one person. If there were more, they wouldn’t need to blackmail us like this. Coordination would be simpler, and the killer wouldn’t have to jump through so many hoops.”

“Plus, look at that letter. The killer put it together in a rush. That’s why it’s short and choppy, barely planned out. He went public with us, which means he hasn’t gone far; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had time to pull this off.”

Gu Chen nodded. “Exactly, from kidnapping Guan Zengbin to posting the story was just over two hours. There’s no way he could’ve made it to Dongxing City.”

I frowned. “Maybe… the killer is still in Xingdong Village.”