Chapter 65: Chapter 64: Case Closed! There Must Be Blood
「October 6th, 8:00 AM.」
Xu Huo jerked awake. He sat up in the detention room, perching on the edge of the bed and rubbing his temples.
The final image of Song Si and the other five, knives held high, flashed through his mind.
After a long moment, he heaved a deep sigh.
"Tch. This fucking world."
He shook his head, burying the memory deep inside.
The world was always like this—running in circles in a dead-end alley. No matter which way you turned, the path ahead was still a dead end. If you wanted to get through, you had to smash down a wall.
After they arrested the culprits last night, the case was considered closed, for the most part.
The provincial department breathed a sigh of relief, and Zhang Jian could finally relax.
The massacre of five families had been too brutal, with the victim count in the double digits. It had caused an absolute uproar...
Thankfully, the case was now solved.
TAP-TAP-TAP.
Xu Huo got out of bed. After quickly washing up, he sat at his laptop and started tapping at the keyboard.
...
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for orchestrating the ’Hell on Earth’ plot. Calculating reward.]
[Reward calculation in progress...]
[Plot Immersion: 82%. Reward granted: ’Inciting Artist’.]
[Inciting Artist: You are a demon from Hell. Your words will resonate in the hearts of the masses. You are the devil who can most easily earn the trust of others. If you so desired... you could create a new religion in this world, complete with countless fanatical believers!]
[Note: Perhaps you could try demonstrating this Skill in a beer hall.]
[Note: Excellent. You already possess an extraordinary mind and unparalleled rhetorical skill. Now that you have gained an artistic command of language, it’s time to grow a sexy little mustache!]
As the pale blue screen materialized before him, a series of question marks popped into Xu Huo’s mind.
"Hm?"
’A little mustache?’
’A sharp mind, unparalleled rhetorical skill, and a Disguise Technique that’s practically a second skin...’
’Doesn’t this combination of Skills... feel a little dangerous?’
Xu Huo froze for a moment, then relaxed.
’Oh well. What’s one more?’
’I’ve already got so many antisocial Skills. What’s the harm in adding one more?’
’Totally reasonable.’
Having come to terms with it, Xu Huo rubbed his temples and headed out.
He hadn’t left last night, having slept in the detention room until now.
The case had wrapped up, but he still had to participate in the necessary procedures, and he’d only managed to get to sleep after being busy for half the night.
The moment he stepped out, he saw several police officers rushing past, looking frantic.
Qian Hua was among them, muttering curses as he ran.
"What’s going on?" Xu Huo frowned and asked instinctively.
Qian Hua was about to brush past, but the voice sounded familiar. He turned, saw it was Xu Huo, and paused before speaking.
"Someone’s dead," Qian Hua said wearily.
"Another victim!?" Xu Huo’s eye twitched. ’We can’t have anyone else die in this case!’
"No, one of the killers died."
Qian Hua sighed, feeling utterly exhausted.
"It was one of the six. We brought him back to the station last night and were about to send him to the hospital for treatment this morning. But before we could make a move, he died—the one with lung cancer."
Xu Huo paused, a skeptical eyebrow raised.
"What did you do to him?" he asked, his voice laced with suspicion.
"I swear to God, we didn’t do a thing!"
Qian Hua was frustrated as hell, too. For this to happen at such a critical moment... Anyone in his shoes would be sick to their stomach.
"Take me to him." Xu Huo was still skeptical.
Resigned, Qian Hua had no choice but to lead the way, striding quickly toward the area in question.
When they reached the interview room where the killer had been held, they found it was already surrounded by police.
"Break it up! All of you got nothing better to do, is that it!?" Qian Hua’s expression darkened as he barked the order.
The officers in front of him immediately parted.
As the crowd thinned, Xu Huo and the others got a clear view.
A man lay on the cot. It was Liu Mou.
There were no external injuries, no signs of psychological torment, and no desk lamps in the vicinity.
After confirming his assessment, Xu Huo sighed.
He really had died from his illness. The body cam had battery, the electric baton did not.
Of course, no matter how low the Linlan City police could stoop, with the case solved and the killer offering zero resistance...
...they had no reason to get physical.
"Before he died, he showed no warning signs. He actively suppressed his coughs and refused to take the medicine the police provided. It’s almost like he was deliberately trying to die."
A Police Officer who had finished gathering information reported helplessly from their side.
"Transfer the remaining five to the hospital."
At some point, Wang Hu had appeared beside them. He stared at the corpse, his eyes heavy with exhaustion.
’Dead just after being caught... Even Xu Huo was suspicious. The higher-ups are bound to think the same...’
"Chief, the other five are already at the hospital receiving treatment."
Qian Hua replied quickly, his tone weary.
Xu Huo watched from the side for a long moment, then shook his head.
There was a police officer guarding the door all night, but the man had simply held it all in, silently letting himself die.
’Perhaps... he truly wanted to die.’
’It was just like at the time of their arrest. They had everything prepared but didn’t even try to run. After the murders, the six of them were completely lost, with no idea what to do next. The only thing left was to wait for death in a state of boundless terror.’
’Even with the other five in the hospital, he figured some of them would still find a way to end their own lives.’
’To watch death creep closer, bit by bit...’
’It’s enough to drive a man insane.’
’It’s like the elderly, who grow more extreme with age, putting more and more faith in health supplements.’
’Honestly, they know the supplements are fake, but they choose to deceive themselves. At the end of the day, it’s all because they’re afraid of death. It’s just a way to ease the psychological pressure.’
’Immense psychological pressure leads to mental breakdowns. At that point, death becomes an easy escape. Then again, it takes immense pressure to build up the resolve to die in the first place.’
’But then again, wasn’t the pressure on those six already immense enough?’
He mused to himself with a sigh.
Just as Xu Huo turned, preparing to leave...
"Advisor Xu, wait a moment."
A voice stopped Xu Huo in his tracks.
He turned back, looking at Wang Hu with confusion.
Wang Hu’s face was as stoic as ever. He looked at Xu Huo, paused for a beat, and then spoke.
"Interested in watching a show?"
’A show?’
Xu Huo paused. He glanced at the other man’s shoulders, which were bare of any epaulets, and then raised an eyebrow.
’He was beginning to understand what Wang Hu meant.’
’This case was over? Not by a long shot.’
’In a city, a densely populated one at that, how could there be a shortage of people like Zhou Dapeng?’
’Especially now, in 2003!’
’A case like this... traced all the way back to its source, and the cause turned out to be...’
’A few hundred thousand!’
’A few hundred thousand, and it nearly wiped out the future of Linlan City!’
’For a fucking measly few hundred thousand. A few hundred thousand almost brought a full-blown catastrophe, and it was the fucking money that was supposed to go to the victims in the first place!’
’Well, isn’t this just great.’
’The killers are no longer seeing red.’
’Now, it’s the government’s turn to see red!’
"The municipal bureau... found a few things..."
Looking at Xu Huo, Wang Hu’s voice was grim, radiating a bone-deep chill. An irrepressible killing intent seemed to leak from him.
"We have to give them an answer. And that so-called answer is..."
"...blood must be shed!"
"Blood?"
’Looks like... someone’s about to have a very, very bad day.’
’And the person about to lose their head... they’re no small fry.’
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
"Heh. Well, that’s something I’ve got to see."
’I wonder who it’ll be... who gets to try a "free peanut"?’