Episode 4: The Bright Side

  "Great success! I finally finished writing it!" Li Ming hugged the five thick books in his hands, feeling an unprecedented warmth in his life. The essence of his three years' hard work, the white hair that had turned gray over the past three years, and the crystallization of his life's energy were all contained within these five books. What was Li Ming's, was finally completed in the few months leading up to the college entrance exam.

  Episode 4: The Bright Side

  After darkness, there is light. Then what comes after light? How long can light last?

  That day, Li Ming offended a certain teacher; in the following days, he did not go to school again, but instead stayed at home with all his heart and soul to complete his final part. His idea was that after completing and confirming that it could be published, he would use the last five months of high school to devote himself wholeheartedly to studying, doing his best to get good grades on the college entrance exam. He wanted to use his book and his college entrance exam scores as two keys to unlock the door to university. Everything seemed so smooth in his imagination.

  Li Ming had never thought that anything unexpected would happen.

  Here is the translation:

  "New York, USA. Last night, a female corpse was found with her abdomen cut open and intestines removed. The extremely cruel killer left no evidence at the scene, except for a card with a Cupid picture that seemed to be intentionally left behind. The New York police are currently investigating with all their might."

  The TV was broadcasting today's news. Li Ming lit a cigarette and watched quietly.

  "It really happened...the Ripper of New York...but I guess they'll catch the killer in no more than two days, after all, it's just an ordinary murder case." Li Ming flipped through his own writing, where he described the cases committed by Jack the Ripper. Those descriptions were more thrilling and terrifying than this small case on TV.

  "People like Jack the Ripper won't appear in modern times."

  Just as he was thinking this, a new message suddenly appeared on TV.

  "Ah...latest news!" The host looked at the script handed to him by his staff, with a slightly changed expression. "Last night, the New York police found two more female corpses, one with all her ribs removed and the other with her heart taken out. A Cupid card was left next to each body, similar to the first case. The police believe that these three cases are likely to be connected and committed by the same killer. They are currently searching for the suspect with all their might. Our station will continue to follow up on this event."

  "Ah?..." Li Ming's cigarette fell from his mouth as he stared at the TV screen, a chill running up his spine.

  "Guts, ribs, heart...it really is a serial murder case!" He was holding his book with trembling hands, unsure whether he was scared or excited. "Jack the Ripper...has he really come back to life? No, this guy must also be a misogynist, imitating the way Jack the Ripper killed people...but what do those cards mean? Is it some kind of performance art?"

  A smile with a hint of chill spread across Li Ming's face as he thought that if his book about Jack the Ripper were to be published at this time, its sales might skyrocket due to social impact. Even translating it into English and publishing it in other countries wasn't impossible.

  Thinking this, he was actually very excited.

  Li Ming smiled, while others saw darkness, he saw light...

  New York · Manhattan ——

  "Jack, that serial murder case, you didn't do it, did you?"

  Here is the translation:

  [ Forum ] On the forum, a friend from China asked him this question. "Why? Is it just because my name is JACK?" Russ replied jokingly. "That's also one reason. Didn't you say on your post that you hate women? Misogyny... JACK... really makes people think of you!" "I was just kidding, I'm not crazy enough to go kill someone." Russ sat in front of the computer, happily typing away on the keyboard. Maybe it's because America is too peaceful lately, but in his city, something like this happening is probably just a flavor enhancer for a boring life. After all, New Yorkers are now enthusiastically discussing this topic. At this time, Russ's phone suddenly rang, with that familiar yet strange ringtone. He looked at the phone, which he had thrown into the ashtray and smashed on the ground, but still managed to use despite having a big crack in it. Suddenly, he didn't know whether to answer the call or not. To be exact, Russ didn't have the courage to answer the call. His ex-girlfriend, who had broken up with him and then suddenly said she wanted to get back together, rarely called him after that day when she forced him to agree to get back together. In Russ's opinion, that so-called "getting back together" was just a formal declaration of their breakup. He didn't understand why women nowadays like to play games between "breaking up" and "getting back together"; he even more couldn't understand what his ex-girlfriend's intention was in calling him now, probably to toy with him again using female language. Sometimes, men are like balls in a woman's hand, being tossed from one hand to the other. Women enjoy this game, but men detest it. Russ hadn't made up his mind whether to answer the call or not, and the phone kept ringing, the ringtone repeating over and over again. "The owner of the phone may not be available, please leave a message after the beep." The phone's automatic voicemail system started. "Russ, I know you're there, I need to talk to you about something, meet me at our old place, you have to come." It was his ex-girlfriend's voice, and even though they had broken up, even though he had been thoroughly fooled, even though he had started to dislike her, even hate her, this voice still sounded so familiar to Russ. Maybe what Russ hated wasn't women, but the slave mentality of being a man. The phrase "old place" made Russ even more at a loss. "Old place" was where he and his ex-girlfriend had confirmed their relationship, filled with sweet memories, and after breaking up, he would occasionally go sit on that long chair alone, reminiscing about the feeling back then. That long chair had an irresistible magic to it, so much so that Russ didn't even use his brain to decide whether to go or not, but just changed into clothes, grabbed his phone, and went out. This bodily instinct probably exceeded Russ's understanding of a man's slave mentality.

  On the road, Rus was thinking about what would happen soon. Would his girlfriend be like that day and formally make up with him in his arms? Or would she at least come to a clean break-up or apologize for the previous "breakup" and "makeup"? Rus fell into endless reverie, which also made him thoroughly conquered by the slave nature of men. He came to the long bench, where his ex-girlfriend was sitting waiting for him. The long-lost face appeared in front of him. Although his ex-girlfriend was not considered very beautiful in a broad aesthetic sense, only slightly above average, but in Rus's eyes, his ex-girlfriend was forever beautiful.

  Luce smiled, out of politeness or genuinely. Then his ex-girlfriend also responded with the same smile. Luce began to think that his previous idea on the road might come true after all.

  While others see darkness, Ruth sees light.

  Of course, before his ex-girlfriend spoke up, he would never have known that her sudden meeting with him this time would be for a reason that was so beyond his expectation.

  1 hour ago · NYPD Headquarters —

  "Damn it, three people have already died and we still don't have any leads!" The police chief slammed his fist on the desk. "What's the use of these cards? And where's Cupid? This is the perpetrator mocking us, don't you know? He may have escaped long ago!"

  "Chief...we can't do anything about it, but the scene really didn't leave any clues, no fingerprints, hair, or murder weapon. It wasn't a revenge killing, nor was it a robbery gone wrong. We don't have any leads, evidence, or motive to grasp onto. This case is impossible to crack..."

  The police officer holding the three Cupid cards in an evidence bag looked helpless.

  "No way...we can't let the FBI intervene, this will only make our police force look even more incompetent! Now there's only one thing we can do, see if that guy will strike again tonight. We'll deploy as many police officers as needed to keep watch on every street in New York, and use female police officers as bait to lure him out. No matter what, we must bring this guy to justice!"

  "Yes!" The officer turned around and left the chief's office.

  The white-haired police chief looked at the files on his desk about the three cases with a sigh of frustration. He really didn't know what to do now.

  Over a hundred years ago, London had the infamous Jack the Ripper case; if New York now had a similar serial murder case and the police couldn't catch the killer, America would become a laughing stock for the whole world.

  "Finally...should I ask for help from the FBI?" The chief gritted his teeth, unsure of what to decide.

  "Forget it, today is already late. I'll think about it again tomorrow." The chief picked up his bag and left the office, leaving the police station. Today, he had stayed two hours longer than usual after work.

  On the way home, the captain's mind was constantly sorting out the clues of the three cases, but the threads were getting fewer and more chaotic. The whole case seemed to be manipulated by some kind of ghost or demon, and the police couldn't get into the core of the case at all. Suddenly, the captain saw a photo of him and his family hanging on the car window. His eyes changed, as if he had thought of something.

  The police chief arrived home. He locked the car and opened the front door. His home was a very ordinary American-style family - three people, he, his wife, and daughter lived together. Today when he came back, he didn't smell the usual dinner aroma that hit him as soon as he walked in the door. It was clear that his wife wasn't home today. However, today when he walked in, he heard some sounds he didn't want to hear - coming from his daughter's room, the sound of lovemaking. The police chief was a straightforward person, perhaps an old-fashioned American. He didn't object to his daughter having a boyfriend, but he couldn't accept that his underage daughter was too open about sex. This was also the consensus of any father with a daughter. The police chief quickly walked to his daughter's room, twisted the doorknob, and found the door locked. "Get out!" The police chief angrily pounded on the door. The lovemaking sounds in the room immediately stopped, it was clear that his daughter knew he was back. Then there were some panicked noises, seemingly looking for clothes to put on; then there was the sound of a window opening, probably the little brat who was messing with his daughter escaping through the window. It took about five minutes before his daughter came to open the door. Seeing his disheveled daughter standing in front of him, with condoms still on the bed that hadn't been disposed of in time, her father felt very sad and regretful. He always put his mind on work and didn't discipline his daughter well, not even asking for a key to her room. Obviously, his daughter's excessive freedom was caused by this father's dereliction of duty. "Dad..." His daughter looked at her father with a worried face, unsure what to say.

  "Get out!" her father yelled, then turned and walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch. "Dad... I'm sorry..." his daughter said, not daring to sit down, only standing and talking to him. "This isn't going to be settled so easily, I'll definitely find you and that scoundrel to settle accounts later!" her father said sternly, "Who is that guy? Your boyfriend?" "No... we just met a few days ago, we really like each other..." his daughter's voice was very weak. "Where's your boyfriend?" her father asked, suppressing his anger. "We've already broken up..." "Bring him here! I want to see him!" "Wh-why? We've already broken up, okay?!" his daughter was extremely puzzled by her father's request. "I'll settle accounts with you later, but there's something more important today, just bring your boyfriend here for me!" "But... we've already broken up, he might not answer if I call him..." "Then don't call him, go find him yourself! Just get your boyfriend who knows so much about criminal psychology to come here, no matter what method you use!"

  Her father's orders, her own guilty conscience, prompted her to make that call and leave that message. In the end, she met up with her ex-boyfriend at "the old place"... What happens next only the police chief knows.

  Li Ming and Rus saw the light at the same time, but neither of them knew what was behind the light...