Chapter 33: Chapter 32: Midnight Radio! Murder Case
"Do you... always feel lost in the dead of night? Do you often find yourself staring into the dark sky, feeling adrift? Do you..."
A gentle male voice rang out.
Xu Huo froze. He glanced at the car radio and reached out, about to switch to a storytelling or music channel, but...
’This voice... why does it sound so familiar?’
He faltered, his hand hovering over the radio dial. His brow twitched.
The voice continued.
"Driving home after a long day’s work, the traffic flows endlessly by my side, a constant, clamorous din. And yet, my heart is strangely quiet. The fatigue and frustrations of the day have built up with nowhere to go. Loneliness creeps in with the darkness, instantly overwhelming me, leaving me with no escape..."
The gentle voice went on.
Xu Huo’s expression grew more and more peculiar.
The voice continued to speak, the sounds like threads weaving together a familiar face in his mind.
The blurry image slowly came into focus.
The next second...
The voice suddenly grew more forceful.
"Welcome to *Your Moon, My Heart*! The good guy is me, and I am—Wang Chao!"
A slightly boisterous voice boomed from the car radio.
Xu Huo, who was driving, froze for a second before falling silent. A moment later, he chuckled in spite of himself.
He pulled his hand back.
The radio broadcast continued.
"I’m Wang Chao, and I trust many of my old friends already know my name."
"First, as usual, let’s take a look at some of your messages."
Wang Chao sounded cheerful, as if he were just casually chatting with the drivers listening in. His voice was very laid-back.
He’d successfully landed the hosting gig. After a two-week trial period, he had officially gone solo a few days ago.
His ratings were decent. His open and carefree personality was a hit with a lot of the taxi drivers.
Xu Huo listened in silence, an unconscious smile gracing his lips.
...
In the Jiangdong District Criminal Investigation Division, a few officers on duty pulled out their radios. Listening out of sheer boredom, they exchanged glances and broke into smiles.
In his office,
Li Jianye rubbed his weary eyes. He had just finished processing the arrangements for the recently arrested suspects.
He turned on the radio, and Wang Chao’s voice filled the room.
"Heh, this kid."
Li Jianye chuckled.
And it wasn’t just him.
A driver squatting by the side of a main road, eating from a takeout container.
The patrons at a barbecue stall.
A man on his way home after working late...
Late-night radio was popular at this hour, drawing high ratings. Some of the more skilled hosts even had large fan followings.
Wang Chao continued his broadcast...
"Next up is our call-in segment."
Wang Chao’s voice announced.
As soon as he finished speaking, people all over Jiangsan City—whether bored or just curious—pulled out their phones and dialed the station’s number.
Li Jianye was one of them. With nothing better to do, he dialed in, thinking it would be funny to give Wang Chao a little scare if he got through.
There weren’t a huge number of callers, but taking them one by one was time-consuming.
Time ticked by as a few callers came and went.
Then came the final caller.
"Alright, congratulations to our caller whose number ends in 5422! You’re on the air."
Wang Chao announced.
A moment later, the line connected.
"Hello? You’re on the air. Is there anything you’d like to share?"
Wang Chao asked in his gentle voice.
Everyone listened in silence.
But... nothing.
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed...
Twenty seconds went by, and there was still no sound.
"Hello, are you still there? If you don’t have anything to share, you’re welcome to ask a question instead."
Wang Chao tried again.
There was another moment of silence from the other end. After what felt like an eternity, a voice finally emerged.
"Help me..."
The voice was barely a whisper, incredibly faint.
"I’m sorry, what did you say?" Wang Chao faltered, his brow instantly furrowing.
"Help me... help me..."
The voice was a little louder this time, a frail, desperate whisper that seemed on the verge of breaking.
Was this...
a call for help?
In an instant, Li Jianye’s eyes snapped open, and he stared intently at the radio.
"SCREECH!"
With a screech of tires, Xu Huo slammed on his brakes. He turned his head and stared silently at the car radio.
In the broadcast booth, every staff member’s head shot up. All eyes were on Wang Chao.
"Where are you?" Wang Chao demanded, frowning. Without a moment’s hesitation, he gestured for the producer to call the police.
"Help me... help me..."
The faint voice came through the radio again. The caller was just repeating those two words over and over.
It was a woman’s voice.
"Do you know where you are right now?"
Wang Chao suppressed his own anxiety, lowering his voice. "Is there a landmark nearby?"
"What happened to you? Is someone chasing you?"
But no matter what Wang Chao asked...
...the person on the other end of the line...
"...Help me... help me..."
The faint voice continued, saying nothing else.
Only those two words.
No, it was only two different words, repeated over and over...
’What does that mean?’
’Is she being threatened, unable to say anything else?’
Everyone was frowning, including Wang Chao.
After a long moment...
"I’m at Anshan Reservoir in Sishui County! Help me, help me, someone is trying to kill me..."
Finally, her tone changed. The choked, sobbing voice rang in everyone’s ears.
"Help me... help me..."
Sishui County!?
Li Jianye frowned. They were in Jiangdong District, which was a long way from there. By the time they got there, the person could already be dead and rotting!
"Contact the nearest precinct to Anshan Reservoir! And make it fast!"
Li Jianye immediately turned to Zhao Shui, who was also working late.
After making the call, Zhao Shui suddenly froze. He turned to Li Jianye. "Chief, Mr. Xu mentioned a while back that he was going to Sishui County on the 27th to buy a car. If you do the math, he should still be on the outskirts of the county right now..."
Li Jianye froze. After a moment’s thought, he said urgently, "Get him on the line!"
...
But Li Jianye didn’t need to call. Xu Huo had already turned the car around and was heading for the reservoir.
’To be honest, if she were already dead with a murderer lurking nearby, I wouldn’t go.’
’But she’s still alive... ’
’Save her if I can, run if I can’t. My own safety comes first!’
"VROOOM!"
The engine roared to life. The brand-new car sped down the dusty road, its headlights like a lone firefly cutting through the darkness.
"I’m at Anshan Reservoir in Sishui County... Help me, help me..."
The voice continued to crackle from the car radio, the sobbing growing louder. The woman was on the verge of a total breakdown.
"Where at the reservoir are you, exactly?" Wang Chao, having calmed himself, pressed for details. He knew the police had to be listening.
"Help me... help me..."
Wang Chao frowned, but he patiently continued to press her for more information.
...
Time ticked by, minute by agonizing minute. Everyone listening had their heart in their throat, their attention glued to the radio.
"SCREECH!"
Xu Huo brought the car to a stop.
He pushed open the car door and got out, standing by the edge of Anshan Reservoir without moving.
"Help me... help me..."
From the car, the radio’s volume now turned down, he could still hear Wang Chao trying to talk to the woman.
Xu Huo had found the woman.
He stood his ground, watching in silence.
"RING RING~"
His phone blared. It was Li Jianye. Xu Huo had ignored it earlier while he was driving.
Now, he pulled the phone from his pocket.
The phone’s yellow light cut through the darkness, illuminating his face as he silently brought it to his ear.
"Xiao Xu, Anshan..."
"I found her."
He spoke, his voice completely flat. On the other end, Li Jianye fell silent.
Where was the woman?
Right here. Right nearby.
Xu Huo tilted his head back, looking directly above him.
A pair of feet dangled in the air just above him. Looking up further, he saw a face, ashen and bloated. Bulging, bloodshot eyes stared down at him from that deathly-pale visage. The lifeless, fish-like eyes were fixed right on him.
She swayed in the wind like a willow branch, her toes hanging down, almost brushing the top of his head.
It was... the corpse of a hanged woman.
Suddenly,
A voice sounded in his mind.
[Congratulations, Host. You have triggered a mission: Plot Composition...]
[(Incomplete)]
[Rewards are divided into four tiers: 25% Immersion, 50% Immersion, 75% Immersion, and 100% Immersion.]
[Composition Time: Twelve days.]
[Failure Penalty: Forfeiture of this mission’s rewards.]
Xu Huo ignored it.
The faint, sobbing voice continued to drift from the radio, a barely-there wisp of sound.
"Help me... help me... help me..."
"I’m at Anshan Reservoir in Sishui County..."
Xu Huo looked up, silently gazing at the corpse.
The wind howled on this dark night, out in the desolate wilderness. The woman’s sobbing voice seemed to ride the gusts, spreading across the entire reservoir.
The dead woman’s ashen, rigid, vacant gaze seemed to lock with his. Her mouth was agape, her eyes unfocused, staring down at Xu Huo.
"Help... me..."
[This mission’s name is...]
[’Night of the Soul’s Return’]