QT- I’m Almost Died
Chapter 220. Second Victim Appeared
The video Xiao Li sent was very short, only one minute and thirty-six seconds long, and the date showed it was from six days ago at 7:48 PM, which was the busiest time in the apartment building. A group of people dragged their tired bodies after getting off work toward the elevator, and Jiang Keke walked among them, carrying a black plastic bag in her hand.
There were many people at the elevator entrance, roughly thirteen or fourteen, and they rushed in as soon as the doors opened. Jiang Keke was very petite and inconspicuous among them. After entering the elevator, she was completely blocked by two burly men, with only a sliver of her dark head visible.
If it weren’t for Xiao Li constantly marking her location with a red arrow, almost no one would have noticed her presence simply by watching the video. The elevator continued its ascent, and before it even reached the lowest floor, the black hair marked by the red arrow vanished right before everyone’s eyes.
“Was I seeing things just now?” Meng Zhong raised his phone, “At the eighteen-second mark, didn’t Jiang Keke disappear?”
Hu Wenwen and the others nodded, their faces pale, “Director Meng, you’re not seeing things, the person really is gone!”
Meng Zhong gritted his teeth and continued watching the video.
One by one, the floors everyone pressed reached their destinations, and as people left, more space cleared, the cramped confines of the elevator seemed to expand ever so slightly. The two burly men who had been blocking Jiang Keke’s way left, revealing the area behind them——just a cold metal wall, nothing else. Jiang Keke hadn’t stepped out at all, yet she had truly vanished, and those who had been in the elevator with her had never noticed this terrifying phenomenon.
They went home, eating and drinking as usual, but one person in the world quietly and inexplicably disappeared, forever and ever.
After watching the video, Hu Wenwen couldn’t help but hug herself tightly. How terrible would it be if she encountered such a thing? Just imagine, there’s someone lurking next to you who can capture you anytime, anywhere, or silently trap and kill you. They can also hide behind surveillance cameras to watch your desperate struggles, and even occasionally give you a glimmer of hope before ruthlessly pushing you back into the abyss of despair.
If there truly is a more horrific form of torture than slow slicing, then this is undoubtedly it. It’s not just physical harm, but also psychological devastation!
The more Hu Wenwen thought about it, the more horrified she became. She murmured, “Is this murderer even human? I feel like he has no humanity at all!”
Song Rui said something that horrified her even more, “Only humans could do something so inhumane.”
Yes, only humans can subvert humanity. Humans are the only species on Earth that would kill their own kind for amusement. Thinking of this, everyone fell silent.
“This video proves that Jiang Keke was trapped in the folded space of the elevator six days ago, but it’s not very valuable otherwise.” Song Rui said, pointing to another photo, “What I’m more concerned about are these fingernails on the ground. Think about it, Jiang Keke’s body and all her belongings were released from the space by the murderer, but the bloodstained fingernails were left behind. Why? It can’t be that he forgot, right? If he didn’t forget, but did it intentionally, what use would he have for leaving the fingernails?”
Meng Zhong slowly uttered three words, “Trophy of hunt.”
Hu Wenwen and the others’ eyes lit up, but then a chill ran down their spines.
Song Rui nodded and said, “I also guessed these were his trophy. He might even be planning to enter that space to collect the fingernails and take them back as a keepsake.”
Fan Jialuo frowned and said, “But I destroyed the space, so he should be able to sense it and won’t come back. It seems I ruined your chance to catch the murderer?”
Song Rui quickly reassured him, “This has nothing to do with you. If you hadn’t found that space, we wouldn’t have seen what was inside, we wouldn’t have guessed the murderer’s psychology, and we wouldn’t be here waiting for him. So how could we have caught him? These two things are not causally related at all, so don’t overthink it. It’s because you found the space that we were able to see the whole picture of this case and find this clue.”
He reached out and patted Fan Jialuo on the shoulder, and Fan Jialuo’s solemn expression gradually relaxed.
Meng Zhong:……
There’s definitely something fishy going on between these two!
Song Rui edited his guesses into text and sent it to the investigation group. Zhuang Zhen and others who were conducting investigations outside replied with ‘Received’.
The investigation into Jiang Keke’s interpersonal relationships quickly yielded results. She had never been in a romantic relationship. Due to working from home all day, she didn’t have any particularly close friends, and she hadn’t made any enemies at work. She was a very withdrawn person with a pitifully simple social circle, making it hard to imagine that anyone would hate her so much that they would try to kill her with thirst.
The trail went cold with her, indirectly confirming Song Rui and Fan Jialuo’s suspicions. She appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time and was chosen by the killer.
Song Rui carefully reviewed the investigation results sent by Zhuang Zhen and then offered a new clue, “Have you noticed that Jiang Keke is an ideal target for a trap? She has a small social circle and an introverted personality. Even if she disappears for many days, no one will notice. So I suspect that the killer didn’t choose her randomly, but rather that he knew her to some extent. He must have observed her for a while.”
“I’ll have Xiao Li check the surveillance footage from an earlier period right away to see if any suspicious individuals have been following Jiang Keke.” Meng Zhong said while editing the message.
“Well, that’s all the clues we can provide for now. Follow them and let us know if anything comes up.” Song Rui looked at Fan Jialuo, as if asking if he wanted more information. Fan Jialuo shook his head and said softly, “Let’s go home.”
Look at them——constantly saying ‘we/us’ and maybe cohabitating, they’ve latched onto each other for good! Meng Zhong’s eyes flickered, his mind in turmoil, but then he heard Song Rui say naturally, “Going home at this hour isn’t really appropriate. We’ll have to rush out to pick up the child from school soon after we get back. Let’s find somewhere outside to sit and kill some time.”
Fan Jialuo nodded and said, “That’s fine, let’s go to People’s Park to feed the ducks then.”
Song Rui chuckled softly, his voice filled with an indescribable intimacy, “Okay, I’ll buy you an extra bag of corn kernels today.”
Fan Jialuo’s lips curled up uncontrollably, and he looked very happy. The two walked away chatting about trivial things, their lives brimming with warmth and contentment.
Watching their retreating figures, Hu Wenwen sighed, “I thought Teacher Fan and Dr. Song were the kind of people who were particularly aloof. I didn’t expect them to go to People’s Park to feed the ducks. I want to go sometime too.”
Meng Zhong slapped his forehead, shaking off those gay thoughts, and said irritably, “What are you sighing for? Let’s get the case straight first.”
He had just left the Rose Gold Apartment when Sun Zhengqi called, sounding very regretful, “Director Meng, the lead on the emergency intercom has gone cold. I checked with the maintenance center, and they haven’t received any alarm calls about elevator malfunctions in the past few months. The telecommunications bureau has also provided us with call records, so it’s definitely true.”
Meng Zhong said with a headache, “In other words, the emergency call Jiang Keke made in that space cannot be received by our space’s maintenance station, only the murderer can connect.”
Sun Zhengqi guessed, “It should be.”
After a long silence, Meng Zhong wearily spoke, “Then let’s go back to the station for a meeting and go through the case again. You can notify the others.”
Sun Zhengqi agreed listlessly.
After a long day of work, all the clues they found had gone cold. The murderer was hiding in a corner no one could find, like a ghost that appeared and disappeared without a trace. The method of the crime was so mysterious and unpredictable that some officers even began to doubt Dr. Song and Teacher Fan’s judgment——was the murderer really human? Could a human do something like this?
Meanwhile, Fan Jialuo and Song Rui, sitting in the car, were also discussing this issue.
Song Rui, “The murderer should be human, right?”
“He’s human. I didn’t sense any yin qi in his space.”
“This ability is very strange. Could it be related to the jade pendants you collected?”
“I sensed his intense bloodlust, and this bloodlust should be the main reason that led him to have special abilities.”
“So he’s most likely involved with that jade pendant?”
“Yes.”
“Why did that jade pendant break into so many pieces?”
“Because of the good deeds of the Holy Maiden of Zezhou.” Fan Jialuo looked out the window, his tone solemn, “Sometimes, you think you are doing good, but you don’t realize that what you are doing will cause unimaginable disasters to the whole world.”
Seeing that he evaded his question, Song Rui did not press further. Instead, he sighed and said, “I understand what you mean. You mean that some good deeds are not necessarily meritorious, but may even be sinful. For example, if you save a heinous person, and he survives and kills millions of people, those millions of lives will be attributed to you.”
“That’s roughly the idea, but her sins go far beyond that.” Fan Jialuo shook his head and closed his eyes wearily.
Since he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, Song Rui didn’t press him further. The elevator murder case remained a cold case. Half a month had passed, and the police investigation hadn’t made any breakthroughs. Jiang Keke hadn’t been followed by any suspicious individuals before her death, and that lead had gone cold. Fortunately, the higher-ups knew that this kind of case wasn’t something an ordinary person could solve, so they didn’t put pressure on the special task force. Instead, they focused their efforts on suppressing public opinion.
However, a week later, just as Meng Zhong was about to give up the investigation, a call to the police made him realize that the situation was heading in the worst possible direction. A female corpse inexplicably appeared in the elevator of an apartment building, in exactly the same situation as Jiang Keke’s case. Both corpses had their eyes wide open, staring intently at the emergency intercom, clearly filled with deep resentment.
Meng Zhong rushed to the scene, where Forensic doctor Zhou, and others were squatting beside the body conducting a preliminary examination.
Xiao Li, holding a tablet, said, “Director Meng, this is footage from the surveillance video. Please take a look while I go find the video from the day she disappeared.”
Zhuang Zhen said familiarly, “I’ll go check the residents in the building.”
After extracting the liver thermometer from the deceased’s body and performing some calculations, Forensic doctor Zhou said, “She has been dead for approximately twelve hours or more.”
“Jiang Keke was released more than a day after she died, but this victim appeared in the outside world only twelve hours after she died. The murderer seems to have become more impatient,” Meng Zhong analyzed.
A deep voice came from behind him, “It’s not that he’s become more impatient, it’s that he’s become more skilled. With each murder, the killer learns from the experience, so the wasted time is getting shorter and shorter. Her fingernails are gone too.” Song Rui, dressed in a sharp suit, walked to the elevator entrance and pointed to the victim’s bloodied and mangled hands.
Meng Zhong subconsciously asked, “Why isn’t Teacher Fan with you? Aren’t you two inseparable?”
Song Rui raised an eyebrow and looked at him meaningfully.
Meng Zhong gave himself a quick smack on the mouth. Oops, I shouldn’t have said that!
Song Rui waited until he finished smacking himself before chuckling, “Teacher Fan is parking the car in the back and will be here soon.”
Meng Zhong instantly felt as though he had slapped himself for nothing. Damn it, Song Rui really knows how to play tricks! However, he is starting to seem more human this way.
As if on cue, Fan Jialuo walked over unhurriedly, his voice tinged with worry, “That man really did develop into a serial killer?”
Meng Zhong shook his head and said, “This is only the second victim, and it’s still unclear. What if the deceased and Jiang Keke knew each other and were enemies of the murderer at the same time? We haven’t investigated their backgrounds from their school days yet, so perhaps the motive for the murder is hidden in their past. In short, there are all sorts of possibilities in these two cases, and we’ll have to wait for the investigation results before we can say anything.”
Zhuang Zhen arrived quickly with the background check results and shook his head, saying, “The deceased’s name is Lü Le. She was an online writer with a closed-off personality, a narrow social circle, no enemies, and had never been in a relationship. It was common for her to stay indoors for two or three months at a time, at most buying some daily necessities at the small supermarket downstairs. She was from out of town, and her life had no connection with Jiang Keke.”
Song Rui looked at Meng Zhong and shook his head, saying, “Your guess has been overturned. Lü Le and Jiang Keke had no connection whatsoever, so it’s impossible for them to have offended the murderer at the same time. Did you notice that her and Jiang Keke’s lifestyles are the same? This is definitely not a coincidence, but the result of the murderer’s careful selection. Without a doubt, he is moving towards becoming a serial killer. Once there is a first and a second victim, there will be a third and a fourth.”
Meng Zhong wiped his face, realizing the seriousness of the problem.
“Do you think the killer took her fingernails?” Song Rui gestured with his chin toward the female corpse in the elevator.
Forensic doctor Zhou said, “There were no fingernail fragments around the body. I guess the murderer left them in the folded space. As for whether he took the trophy, none of us can know the answer unless Teacher Fan opens the space. But once it’s opened, it’s meaningless. The murderer will give up after sensing something.”
Meng Zhong’s eyes lit up, “How about I send police officers to stake out this area and wait for them to come to us?”
Song Rui shook his head and said, “Last time he arrived a step too late and lost the trophy, so he must be resentful. This time he released the body so quickly, I bet he took the trophy. But you can wait and see if you want, since you don’t have any other options right now. However, I suggest you check the surveillance footage from the time the victim died until the body was discovered. The camera might have captured the murderer coming to retrieve the fingernails.”
Meng Zhong’s spirits lifted, but he was quickly dampened by Fan Jialuo’s enthusiasm, “Since he dared to come, he must have disguised himself well. I can use a magnetic field to conceal my presence and move around freely, and he can similarly use another dimension to envelop himself and wander around. I think the chances of finding his trail in the surveillance video are slim, but you don’t have any other options right now, so give it a try.”
Meng Zhong nearly suffocated, unable to catch his breath. Damn it, have these two infected each other? Why are they talking so similarly? Is it fun to make his emotions fluctuate so wildly?
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