Chapter 401: The Eighth Man

Chapter 401: The Eighth Man (5 Posts)

Six victims and the suspected seventh perpetrator have all died.

The clues have indeed been cut off!

Suspect Che Yu’s body was discovered in the basement of a Residential Community.

Judging by the traces in the basement…

Che Yu had been hiding here for the past few days.

Is the basement even livable?

In every city, there are plenty of basements and garages for rent.

Many with impoverished backgrounds or unstable incomes live in such places.

When Xiao Yu encountered Che Yu’s body, he couldn’t hide his surprise.

Beside the body lay a small liquefied gas canister connected to a flexible hose.

The hose ended at a garbage bag.

The bag was draped over the victim’s head.

Taped around the victim’s neck, the bag was securely sealed.

The gas canister was left open, and at the ‘387’ crime scene there were no signs of a struggle.

It appears to be… suicide!

How could it be suicide? Xiao Yu squinted as he crouched before the body.

Utilizing Falcon’s Eye, he meticulously reviewed every detail, his ears attuned to the police report.

“Two hours ago, the police got a report about a gas smell in the basement corridor,” they explained.

“When they arrived, they tracked the gas to this basement and, upon entering… found the body.”

“After a thorough search of the scene, no irregularities were found, leading them to conclude it was a suicide!”

Xiao Yu scanned the body and found nothing out of place.

His eyes then shifted to examine the traces in the basement.

The basement measured roughly 2 meters wide and 4 meters long.

There was a wooden bed with bedding, and the victim’s smartphone rested by its side.

Except for the victim’s own footprints, there were no other marks on the floor, nor any signs of concealed tracks.

Fingerprints taken in the room revealed nothing suspicious.

Eventually, Xiao Yu’s gaze landed on the smartphone.

It was a smartphone valued at roughly 2000 yuan.

Oddly, the phone had no SIM card.

Instead, it used wardriving software to connect to someone else’s WiFi for network access.

It was clear that while hiding here, Che Yu had made certain preparations.

This was further evidenced by the assortment of food neatly arranged in the room.

Had it not been for the gas seeping outside and triggering a report, even the police and National Security would have struggled to locate him if he had stayed hidden for ten days or more.

Wearing gloves, Xiao Yu picked up the smartphone from the bed.

It was loaded with numerous offline games.

The reading app contained hundreds of downloaded novels, along with more than forty films.

Such exhaustive preparations clearly demonstrated a strong will to survive and a plan for long-term hiding.

So why commit suicide?

Doesn’t that contradict everything?

The traces at the scene confirmed that no one else had entered.

Still, Che Yu had indeed ended his own life.

What could have driven him to such despair that he felt he had no choice? Xiao Yu fell deep into thought.

After all, 99% of people fear death.

Not everyone can face death without trepidation.

Nor does everyone have the courage to take their own life.

The human survival instinct drives people to do whatever it takes to stay alive.

Unless… they are overwhelmed by grief and despair, where life becomes unbearable and death seems inevitable.

Then, what compelled Che Yu to end his life?

Holding onto the phone, Xiao Yu continued to investigate.

All instant messaging apps—QQ, WeChat, and the like—had been deleted and uninstalled.

Even accounts on short video platforms had been completely logged out.

With no SIM card, no messaging apps, and even wireless connectivity achieved through hijacked WiFi, every detail pointed to measures designed to avoid tracking—an impressively strong counter-surveillance tactic.

“This is completely off,” he muttered.

Setting the phone down, Xiao Yu murmured, “With all these precautions for long-term hiding, there’s no reason for suicide. Without any means of external communication, he wasn’t under threat. And yet, he still committed suicide… Are you kidding me?”

Suppose… if I were Che Yu,

why would I choose suicide?

Before he knew it, Xiao Yu’s mind spiraled into a terrifying state.

Keeping silent so as not to disturb his younger associate, Wang Dong, he suddenly sensed something amiss.

Wang Dong’s eyes locked onto his, his pupils rapidly contracting.

This was a look Wang Dong had seen only twice before.

Wang Dong waved dismissively at the others.

Once everyone had cleared the basement, Wang Dong quickly shut the main door.

Eyeing Xiao Yu, who remained hunched and muttering to himself, he asked cautiously…

“Why commit suicide?”

“Unless… I must die?”

“Under what circumstances would drive me to choose death?”

“Desperation… but what form of despair is this?”

“Family? Friends? Or someone…?”

“Did he discover my secret? If that secret were exposed, I’d be finished?”

“No, none of that. No matter the threat, I would never willingly take my own life!”

“Unless… that person is unimaginably ruthless.”

“If I were to fall into his hands and suffer pain worse than death, would I really choose suicide?”

“Yes, only when the threat exceeds even the torment of death would I decide to end it all.”

“So I clearly know his methods. I know he plans to come after me, torturing me before he kills me.”

“Then why would I choose suicide instead of enduring that unbearable pain?”

“Then why did he want me dead?”

“Could it be because of the Disc Spirit murder case?”

“Did he know the Disc Spirit case might be exposed? Needing an explanation, a scapegoat?”

“So I am the scapegoat?”

“I am the seventh man in the Disc Spirit case, and he… is the eighth?”

“So, my suicide might have been triggered… because he arrived?”

In an instant, Xiao Yu’s eyes turned cold and devoid of emotion before suddenly regaining their sharpness. He glared at Wang Dong and shouted, “Check all surveillance footage outside the Residential Community’s basement, including the Tianyan Surveillance!”

“Phew!”

Seeing his younger associate return to normal, Wang Dong let out a heavy breath and exited the basement.

After Wang Dong left, Xiao Yu once again sank deep into thought.

What could drive a person to such unbearable despair that they’d choose suicide?

Then, a sudden flash of insight illuminated his mind.

Xiao Yu recalled the gruesome incident from five years ago.

He remembered the horrific fate of two of the victims.

They had been hanged from the roof and then disemboweled.

After being disemboweled, death wouldn’t come instantly, right?

They were forced to watch in despair as their innards spilled out.

Suspended in midair, their organs were laid out before them.

In excruciating agony, they slowly withered away to death…