Chapter 65 The Last Case (Three)

  For many days after that, no one had ever seen Xia Zhu again.

  But things have become even more serious, and not only in the police station, but also rumors are spreading in society.

  "I heard that the psychologist from the police bureau and the prisoner have gotten together."

  "If it's like this, won't the serial murder case be forever unsolved?"

  "Psychology students are indeed abnormal."

  "This isn't the time to consider this, is it? Is this incident condoned by the police? Who are the ones who died?"

  "They were all... innocent people."

  When Sheng Yuan knocked on the door, Xia Zhu was sleeping soundly with her head hung low. Sheng Yuan hesitated for a moment and subconsciously stopped his movements, but Xia Zhu still woke up. She raised her eyes to see Sheng Yuan and forced a smile: "Senior."

  "Xu Yuan said you're going to become an immortal, so I brought some food for you." Sheng Yuan said, placing a thermos on the table.

  Xia Zhu rubbed her temples, and the blood vessels at the bottom of her eyes were clearly visible: "I haven't sorted out my thoughts yet." Seeing the easily digestible congee in the sand pot, Xia Zhu was taken aback and smiled: "Thank you, senior."

  "Don't have too much pressure." Sheng Yuan sighed: "My intention is... don't have too much pressure because of public opinion."

  The newspapers spread out on the table, each one looking serious and solemn, but in reality, every single one of them is a deadly weapon.

  Xia Zhu shook her head: "I came to buy a newspaper, I'm worried that I might have missed some information."

  "Let's eat first." Sheng Yuan stopped Xia Zhu for a moment, his outstretched hand motion unwavering.

  "Is the captain all right?" Xia Zhu asked.

  Sheng Yuan nodded: "He will return to the team this afternoon."

  "Oh, that's great." Xia Zhu was silent for a long time, her small shoulders slightly trembling: "I'm very sorry about the captain's matter."

  "It's not your problem, what are you making a fuss about?" Sheng Yuan furrowed his brow, looking at her who had only eaten a few mouthfuls, and handed the spoon over: "Eat more porridge, you're almost getting the same treatment as the team leader, he doesn't need me to urge him to eat."

  A hint of smile flashed across Xia Zhu's eyes: "Thank you, senior."

  After slowly finishing a meal, Xia Zhu looked up at the whiteboard with scribbled notes: "It's only been three days since the last crime, if we follow the killer's habits, it should be tomorrow."

  Sheng Yuan stopped his action of putting things away and followed him to look over: "The murderer's crime time is very regular?"

  He asked, and Xia Zhu nodded: "Every four days together, there have been three times so far, the method is very consistent and extremely cruel."

  Shengyuan's gaze shifted back to the chaotic whiteboard: "I remember that Far Seventh liked to use point-line-surface analysis."

  "That's right," Xia Zhuo also showed a nostalgic expression: "At that time, he liked to connect pictures with pictures. Here, I actually... it's quite similar too."

  Shengyuan looked at the complex lines on the picture and sighed: "What does it look like?"

  "......" Xia Zhu was silent for a moment, then stretched out her hand and thoroughly wiped the whiteboard clean: "I'll reorganize my thoughts."

  Shengyuan sat down beside her: "I'll accompany you."

  Here is the translation:

  Xia Zhu was stunned, laying out the pictures one by one: "First, there's the first picture. The corpse is face up, an 18-year-old girl. Time of death was around midnight. Cause of death was asphyxiation. There's a wound on her abdomen, but the forensic doctor confirmed it was made after she died. The fatal injury is on her neck, a strangulation mark. Next to her body is a note with four words: 'Endless Dark Night'."

  The second deceased was a 36-year-old woman, whose body was also face up. The time of death was around 4:00 in the morning, and the cause of death was also asphyxiation. There were knife wounds on her abdomen, which were inflicted after she died?

  "Yes," Xia Zhu nodded: "That's why I'm sure the murderer is Xianji."

  "So, this is also a strangulation mark on the neck, and next to it is a q. The note is also four words: Last Dawn." Sheng Yuan muttered, "The second victim is twice as old as the first one, is this a coincidence?"

  "No," Xia Zhu furrowed her brow: "Because the third victim was 54 years old, and once again fit the killer's modus operandi."

  "If so, the time of death for the third victim should be... " Sheng Yuan looked over: "8 o'clock?"

  "No, the last time of death was 6 o'clock in the morning."

  A long silence.

  Shengyuan suddenly spoke up: "Have you ever thought that Xiban's focus might be on this very point?" After a slight pause, Shengyuan continued: "You must be the person in charge of this case, so your thinking will inevitably be constrained by habit."

  Xia Zhu raised her head, slightly puzzled.

  "If this case were placed in front of us, things might become simpler. The murderer may not necessarily have a pattern to their crimes, and many times it's just a coincidence or a trap. We would pay more attention to the results of forensic identification or the identification of the deceased, rather than the psychological patterns of the murderer."

  The atmosphere in the room suddenly solidified, and after a long time, someone outside the door knocked gently.

  Zou Mianyuan walked in, looked at Sheng Yuan and shook his head, then turned to Xia Zhu: "Xia Zhu, the top said that this case is likely related to Lin Yuankai, and as his girlfriend, you should avoid suspicion. Our serious crime unit has transferred the case files."

  "Didn't you just move back a few days ago?" Sheng Yuan said in astonishment.

  Zou Muyuan sighed: "The meaning of the top is probably also receiving too much attention from the media."

  Xia Zhu never spoke up.

  Zou Mianyuan could only stretch out his hand and pat her shoulder: "Alright, you gather the case materials, we'll move tomorrow."

  "It's fine for today." Xia Zhu closed her eyes, feeling a deep sense of helplessness and powerlessness.

  Zou Muyuan was taken aback: "No need to rush."

  "With a bit of time in the afternoon, you can do many things," After Zou Mu went out, Sheng Yuan looked at Xia Zhu and comfortingly smiled: "Your mood, Captain understands better than anyone."

  We're all worried about Lin Yuan's mood.

  "I want to go see the victim's family this afternoon." Xia Zhu pushed the materials away a bit and smiled at Sheng Yuan: "Senior is right, if I'm always constrained by my thinking, then I won't have much progress either."

  Shengyuan nodded and pulled open the tightly closed curtains, letting sunlight into the cramped corner: "Do you need me to come with you?"

  Xia Zhuo shook his head: "If possible, I hope senior can take a look at these materials, my perspective is too limited."

  This time, Sheng Yuan didn't persist, he just hugged his arms and looked at the smiling girl for a while, before slightly smiling: "Compared to Lin Yuanxi, you have something that he doesn't."

  Xī Bǎo is an idiot, that's why he kept you here.

  When Xia Zhu went out, the people in the homicide team had different expressions.

  To be honest, Xia Zhu had expected such a situation long ago, but when it really happened, she still felt a pang in her heart.

  Former comrades who once walked side by side hadn't even had a chance to bid farewell before becoming enemies locked in combat.

  If no one had leaked the news, Lin Yuanbei being taken away by Xi Zhi would not have made it onto all major mainstream media so quickly.

  Xia Zhu's expression was calm and unruffled as he walked out of the homicide department.

  Before the truth is revealed, it seems that the only people who can be relied on are Sheng Yuan and Zou Muyuan.

  She gently touched the button in the pot, and the button was still quiet. Maybe Lin Yuanxi's side had been out of power long ago, but Xia Zhu didn't dare to give up even a little bit of hope.

  It's been fourteen days already, a whole two weeks without any news at all.

  Xia Zhu remembered the last time Lin Yuan was robbed by Xi Bao, everything that happened was terrifying, enough to make Lin Yuan, who had always been firm and unshakeable, completely collapse and refuse to see anyone for thousands of miles.

  She hardly dared to imagine what kind of situation this would be again.

  But just like having a telepathic connection, the next second, the button made a rustling sound.

  Next, there was a long silence. Then came a string of rapid knocks, with a clear rhythm, which was the high-pitched part of "Spring River Flower Moon Night" that Lin Yuan had liked the most in the past.

  It came to an abrupt end.

  This time, the rustling sound was completely gone.

  Xia Zhu was silent for a long time, and then slowly tapped out a string of Morse code on the button that had no sound.

  No matter where you are, no matter if you can hear this sentence...

  I miss you.

  The telegram just received is very simple.

  The 6 o'clock tower, the city's only tower, is a long-abandoned and no longer used TV tower.

  If Xia Zhu looked back, according to the murderer's consistent modus operandi, tomorrow was indeed the time for another crime. However, 6 o'clock was a crime time that had been used before. Moreover, Lin Yuan and Xi Zhen were together now... Whether the signal transmitter was from Xi Zhen's coercion or her own will, Xia Zhu had no way of knowing. She calmed down and informed Sheng Yuan of the news, then continued to visit the families of the parties involved.

  The parents of the first girl had already passed away, and it was her grandparents who had been taking care of her all along. The two elderly people were overcome with grief, and on the day of the cremation, they fainted several times. When Xia Zhu knocked on their door, she couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

  When they saw Xia Zhu, the two old men did not show much resistance and stepped aside to invite her in.

  "Sorry to disturb you, I just wanted to ask why Lin Xiaoxiao didn't return home until 12 o'clock that day?" Xia Zhu asked straightforwardly, and seeing the expressions of the two elderly people, she felt a bit apologetic: "I'm very sorry to bring up this matter at this time..."

  "It's nothing," the old man shook his head and motioned for his wife to go inside, then choked back a sob: "Every day she went to pick up Xiao Xiao from school, but that one evening she didn't, and now the child is almost in college, you think...".

  He wiped away his tears and said firmly: "She must have been taken away by force, because Xiaoxiao has always been very obedient, she would never follow a stranger on her own."

  "Thank you... " Xia Zhu was silent for a moment before asking: "Can I go take a look at Xiao Xiao's room?"

  "Of course, this way." The old man led Xia Zhu towards the inside, Xia Zhu noticed that this was the best room in the house, south-facing with a spacious and beautiful floor-to-ceiling window.

  The girl's room is no different from an ordinary home, the only thing that catches the eye is a six-pointed star on the wallpaper.

  "What's so funny?" Xia Zhu frowned.

  "Xiao Xiao loves watching cartoons all the time, and my wife and I always take care of her. I don't know what this child is obsessed with." The old man sighed as he spoke.

  Xia Zhuo gazed intently for a long time and took another photo before bidding farewell to this household.

  What she didn't expect was that in the homes of the next two victims, identical six-pointed stars were also found. Especially in the last 54-year-old male victim's home, the six-pointed star had an absolutely eerie color, looking like a bizarre cult that shocked people at first sight.

  Xia Zhuang had just finished taking the photo when he received a call from Sheng Yuan. On the other end of the line, his voice sounded very urgent: "Just now, Meng Yuan said that he has tracked down the location where Far Ge's signal was sent, it's on top of that tower, we've already passed by, where are you?"

  "I'll be right there."

  The heart is almost bursting with excitement, the speed of running brings out the whistling wind in my ears.

  Lin Yuanxi, please wait for me safely.