Chapter 231: A Mysterious Text Message

2022-05-20

I stared at the sharp fragment lying at my feet, an irresistible urge rising in me. I pictured that pale shard plunging into the killer’s neck, vivid red blood spraying everywhere, covering my eyes in a crimson haze. My heart thudded in my chest, and in that moment, my entire world narrowed down to just two things—the murder weapon and a corpse.

Right then, it felt like nothing in this world had any real meaning. Everything seemed to exist only so it could one day be destroyed. If only I’d been faster, if only I’d uncovered the killer sooner, those nine people wouldn’t have died. In a way, I felt like I’d killed them myself.

Yeah, I’d already gotten nine people killed, so what difference would one more make?

Almost without thinking, I bent down and picked up the shard at my feet. Step by step, I moved toward the killer. He still had his back to me, watching a few distant beams of light flicker, clearly waiting for Xiao Liu to show up with the others. Closer, and closer—I could see the faint blue veins along his neck.

I may not be a forensics expert, but after more than a year shadowing Guan Zengbin, I had a pretty good grasp of human anatomy. The shard in my hand was razor sharp; if I stabbed it right now, it’d pierce his skin, then the superficial fascia—layers there to shield us from bacteria and protect us against outside harm.

But those layers wouldn’t stop me if I struck hard enough.

Next would be the deep cervical fascia—a sheath of shallow, middle, and deep layers, holding things like the esophagus, windpipe, and blood vessels. One swift jab and that blade would slice straight through the killer’s trachea and esophagus, so he couldn’t even scream. All he’d feel is the air rushing from his throat.

In that split second, his neck would flare hot, dark purple blood from his veins pouring out first, then a spray of bright red arterial blood. Within half a minute, he’d bleed out far too much.

Finally, I’d hit muscle and bone. With my strength, maybe I’d manage to pierce just a little into the muscle—but that’d be enough. Hit hard and fast, he wouldn’t have time to utter a single word. He’d just drop to the ground, and after a minute, he’d black out.

I had no idea where I was, exactly, but judging from the time before I lost consciousness, we had to be at least half an hour away from the hospital—even at a dead sprint. And in five minutes, he’d be dead for sure. Whatever secrets he held would die with him.

As long as I finished the job before Xiao Liu got here, I knew he’d believe me over the killer.

Without hesitation, I plunged my hand down.

“Wu Meng!” A beam of light hit me square in the face. The glare was so bright I couldn’t open my eyes. Instinctively, I yanked my hand back. The shard sliced through the air but hit nothing—I loosened my grip and let it fall, clattering to the floor with a metallic ring.

The killer had no idea what just happened, but the sound snapped him around. He whipped his head back to look at me.

He barely got a word out before Xiao Liu and a few others burst in. They tackled him to the ground in one swift motion. The killer shouted, “I surrender! I won’t fight back!”

Xiao Liu shined his flashlight right in my eyes. Under the harsh beam, I couldn’t see a thing and instinctively shoved his hand away. He gave me a long look, then glanced at the others. I noticed his gaze lingered on me, like he had something to say.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, but I spoke up before he could. “How did you find this place?”

I couldn’t tell if Xiao Liu had seen what I’d just nearly done, but the truth was, I’d only pulled back after the flashlight blinded me. That meant at least one of them might’ve caught my movement—though who exactly, I couldn’t say.

I opened my eyes to check out the seven or eight people standing in this underground space. Xiao Liu was by my side. Three others had the killer pinned and were searching him for weapons, while the other four combed the wider area for evidence of anyone else.

I had no clue which one of them had used the flashlight on me. They were all absorbed in their own tasks, and from their faces, I couldn’t read a thing. It was as calm as the surface of a still pond. Yet beneath that calm, I had no way of knowing what undercurrents churned below.

Once Xiao Liu checked me over for injuries and found none, he slipped off his jacket and draped it around my shoulders. “Team Leader Li put a tracker in the bowl. We followed its signal here. But right as we got close, the signal vanished.”

He looked around the room and went on, “There are only two possibilities. First, the killer destroyed the tracker. Second, we’re somewhere with the signal blocked. If it’s the first, he’d have to shatter the bowl to get the tracker out. But since he told us to repair that bowl, there’s no way he’d smash it himself.”

With that, Xiao Liu turned to the rest. “Get the killer outside, then guard the entrance. I’m sure he has an accomplice somewhere. I’ll send more backup soon.”

The group nodded and led the killer out.

I glanced at Xiao Liu. Even now, he still believed there was more than one killer. But the truth was, there was only ever a single person. The other killers everyone saw were just fragments—other personalities sharing the same body. Different ages, different genders, different behaviors and appearances.

That, though, would become clear once the killer talked. I just didn’t have the energy to explain it to Xiao Liu right now.

As we walked out together, Xiao Liu spoke quietly, “That means the killer hid the bowl somewhere with a blocked signal. Judging from how long it took you to get here, we’ve got folks canvassing the area. The killer can’t have gone far.”

If I’d been in Xiao Liu’s shoes, I doubted I could’ve gotten here any faster myself.

I said, “Because last time, that thing in the sewer told you the killer was used to the dark and staying underground. So I figured they’d bring me somewhere underground too.”

Xiao Liu nodded. “Exactly. We finally caught him. I found a bunch of evidence from back then at Wu Xiufang and Wu Xiufen’s husband’s house, it’s all in the car, so you can check it out later. And your clothes and phone are in the car too. You’ve had a tough night.”

I asked, “Have you heard from Gu Chen? Did they find Guan Zengbin?”

Xiao Liu frowned, giving me a puzzled look. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Didn’t you text me that Guan Zengbin was safe?”

That stopped me cold. Xiao Liu looked dead serious—definitely not joking, not in a place like this. But I hadn’t told anyone that Guan Zengbin was okay, so where did he get that information from me?

Seeing my confusion, Xiao Liu quickly dug out his phone, opened his messages, and handed it over. There, under a contact named ‘Little Wu,’ was a message: Guan Zengbin is safe. Follow the tracker and come rescue me now.

I took his phone and stared at every word of that text. I had zero memory of ever sending Xiao Liu something like that, but the sender’s number was mine. Could someone have picked up the stuff I left behind in the courtyard after I left?

The more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed. From the time I biked away to when the killer stopped me by the bridge, maybe only ten minutes had passed. Even on foot, that distance wasn’t far. So did the killer set things up to make me let my guard down and strip off my clothes?

After all, whether the tracker was on me or on the bowl, it made little difference. And even knowing there was a tracker in the bowl, the killer didn’t panic or lose his cool. That meant he wasn’t too worried about it.

That thought hit me, so I asked, “Do you remember how my clothes and phone were left? Can you recall any details?”

Xiao Liu pinched his chin, thinking for a bit before answering. “Your clothes were folded neatly to one side of the courtyard. Pants on the bottom, then your long johns, shirt, and jacket—all stacked perfectly. The phone was in your jacket pocket.”

“That’s about it. What’s up?” Xiao Liu said, looking at me.

I stood there stunned for a long moment before murmuring, “You know me. I never fold my clothes that neatly. Do you really think, in that situation, I’d have the time or mood to stack my clothes and put away my phone before meeting the killer?”

I watched Xiao Liu’s eyes widen. He smacked himself on the forehead. “I never even thought of that! If you hadn’t told me Guan Zengbin was safe, I’d never have stormed in to catch the killer while he still had a hostage!”

“But if it wasn’t you, then who the hell sent me the text?” Xiao Liu stared at me, waiting for an answer.

My head was spinning, everything muddled like a pot of boiling soup. I kept thinking about what I’d seen while I was knocked out—all those images of Wu Zui. But I still couldn’t tell if those were just hallucinations or if Wu Zui had actually appeared by my side.

Down here, though, there’s no cell signal. If I want to contact anyone, I’ll have to get topside first.

“Let’s get out of here.” I told Xiao Liu, “There might be someone else pulling strings behind this case. I doubt it’s really over.”