Chapter 168 - 166: The Lure
Based on what happened before, he guessed the crime scene wouldn’t be too far from Jiang Li.
However, he walked to the window.
It wasn’t raining where he was. He took out his phone and called Huo Qing, dialing several times before the call finally connected.
"Lu Xingye, what the hell do you want in the middle of the night?!" Huo Qing’s roar echoed from the other end of the line.
"Brother Huo, it’s a matter of life and death. Is it raining over there today?"
The moment Lu Xingye finished speaking, he heard the sound of curtains being drawn, followed by the click of a lighter.
"No, what’s wrong?"
Lu Xingye briefly explained the situation. "Brother Huo, please keep an eye out. I’ll keep looking on my end."
Lu Xingye hung up. He asked in his old class group chat if it was raining anywhere, then cleaned up a bit and went to sleep.
The next day, Jiang Li got a call from Ji Qinghe as soon as she woke up.
"Jiang Li, we checked the weather in the vicinity last night. The places where it rained are City A and Huayang City, and the two are close to each other.
As for abandoned river channels, we’ve found a few locations. Zhao Shuo and Tiancheng are getting ready to take some people to check them out."
"Okay," Jiang Li replied, her throat dry.
After waking up, Lu Xingye was already in the living room, busy at his computer. Others were occupied with their own tasks: some drawing talismans, some feeding insects, and some cooking.
Jiang Li walked out and sat down nearby, and Yu Huannian brought her a glass of warm milk.
Lu Xingye snagged some breakfast before rushing back to the bureau. Before he left, he reminded her again to stay indoors for the next few days.
Jiang Li stayed at home all day. When it was time for bed, she hesitated for a few seconds before lying down.
Jiang Li closed her eyes and shifted into a comfortable position, but she felt scared and anxious, tossing and turning without being able to fall asleep.
Jiang Li glanced at the time—ten o’clock at night. Just as she was about to get up, a strong wave of sleepiness suddenly hit her.
The phone in her hand fell onto the bed, and she drowsily drifted off to sleep.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Jiang Li opened her eyes. The connection was stronger than ever before; she was back in the body of last night’s killer.
What was different was that this time, she felt a subtle emotion: excitement, anticipation.
’What is he anticipating?’
Jiang Li struggled to control her own emotions to avoid being discovered again. When she focused her vision, she was met with an even more horrific scene.
She quickly shut her eyes, not daring to look again.
The rhythmic thudding of something being chopped continued. A few minutes later, the hands she controlled began to move noticeably faster.
A wave of anger washed over her. The axe was thrown aside with a CLANG, and the killer stormed off in another direction.
She opened her eyes to a different location from the night before. This time, she could hear the sound of crashing waves.
She walked up to a building and pulled open the door in front of her.
"MMPH! MMPH! MMPH!"
The moment the lights in the room flashed on, Jiang Li saw three people inside. They were tightly bound, with black cloths tied over their eyes.
She stepped forward and ripped the tape from their mouths.
"Please, let me go..."
"AH!"
The man had just begun to speak when she smashed him with the object in her hand. A horrific scream rang out, and the two people next to him were so scared they wet themselves.
"Scream! Go on, scream! Louder! The more miserable you sound, the better!"
Jiang Li shuddered and kept her eyes squeezed shut.
After the man’s pained cries subsided, she once again swung the tool and smashed it down.
"ARGH!!"
Listening to the screams, Jiang Li realized something was wrong. Last night, the killer had struck without any hesitation or pause.
’But now... it’s as if she’s trying to lure me out.’
Once Jiang Li understood, she didn’t dare to make any rash moves and could only watch helplessly.
Her silence made the killer even more frantic. Finally, she grabbed one of the remaining captives and dragged them further inside. A door with a keypad lock swung open, revealing a variety of implements:
Pliers, a chainsaw, a screwdriver, thin steel wire...
The next day, Jiang Li woke with a start, staring blankly at her familiar room. The horrible screams were still ringing in her ears.
She picked up her phone to ask Ji Qinghe for an update.
She sat on the bed in a daze, trying to sort through her thoughts. ’The seaside... that keypad lock... it has to be someone wealthy and influential.’
Ji Qinghe looked at the message from Jiang Li. She couldn’t believe four more people had died in just one night.
Ji Qinghe was about to report it when Lu Xingye, who had just arrived, stopped her.
"Sister Qinghe, she’s probably doing this to lure Jiang Li out."
"But if we don’t do anything, given how crazy this person is... This is too horrifying..."
Ji Qinghe’s face was pale as she looked at Lu Xingye. First, Jiang Li had mentioned a pile of bodies, and now four more lives were lost in one night.
If they delayed any longer, more innocent people would die.
But Jiang Li...
"It’s fine, Officer Ji. Just follow normal procedure," Jiang Li said, appearing in the doorway.
Ji Qinghe hesitated for two seconds but still reported the matter, telling police departments in every district to be on the lookout.
It was impossible for four people to disappear overnight without anyone noticing.
"Officer Ji, I also found some clues."
Jiang Li handed her sketch of the keypad lock to Ji Qinghe and the others.
Ji Qinghe and Lu Xingye glanced at it.
"I think I’ve seen this lock before. There’s a company in City A that specializes in these kinds of custom locks."
Lu Xingye looked at the design. He had seen it in the news before; after the company went public, it became very popular among the upper class.
"City A? Is City A by the sea?" Jiang Li looked at Lu Xingye. She had never been there.
"Yes."
"Miss Huang invited us to Ping’an’s family recognition banquet. The address is in City A.
Maybe this person will show up then, too," Jiang Li said, looking up at the two of them.
"No way. That’s too dangerous," Lu Xingye shot to his feet. "Isn’t that like walking into the lion’s den?"
Jiang Li looked at him. "It’s on the way. We’ll be careful."
She didn’t want to just wait around; otherwise, she’d always feel responsible for their deaths.
"Jiang Li’s right. Instead of hiding, we might as well go confront them."
Zhou Tiancheng walked out from the other side holding a file and handed her a business card. "The captain of the Criminal Investigation Division, Zheng Qichuan, is a classmate of mine. You can contact him when you get there."
"Okay, thank you, Officer Zhou."
Jiang Li took the business card from him.
Lu Xingye was looking at the designs on the keypad lock company’s official website.
"Brother Zhou, Sister Qinghe, I’ll go scout ahead."
Lu Xingye packed his things.
Zhou Tiancheng and Ji Qinghe exchanged a look, then turned to handle the official procedures for him.
Lu Xingye returned home and found Lu Xingchen. "Sis, do you want to go somewhere to clear your head?"
Lu Xingchen, who was watching TV, froze. She had resigned after her last undercover assignment, and now, hearing Lu Xingye’s words, she sensed something was wrong.
When their parents were being targeted before, she had hidden away with her younger brother in the same way.
"Xiao Ye, did something happen?"
Lu Xingye sat down beside her and shook his head. Looking up at her, he said, "Sis, I just have a bad feeling."
Lu Xingchen looked at her younger brother with a complicated expression, proud of him, yet not wanting this life for him.
"Okay." Lu Xingchen nodded. She had understood one principle since she was a child: never hold your family back.