In response to my question, the police officer gave a slight nod and cautiously stated, "At least that's what the current evidence suggests."
No wonder the police officer handling the case related to Ma Zao was here.
If we were to fully accept the officer's testimony, then Ma Zao would be both the serial killer responsible for the recent murders over the past two to three months and the one who killed the former tenant eight months ago.
According to Ma Zao's own testimony, she had accidentally crossed over from the apocalypse era to the present day just yesterday, which would serve as her "alibi."
There are indeed ways to make these seemingly contradictory statements both valid, but for now, I won't delve into it further, and it would require complete trust in Ma Zao's account.
I must admit, I do have a bit of a desire to stir chaos, longing for an apocalypse capable of dismantling all existing order.
It's not that I want the "end of human civilization" as the "result." What I truly desire is for everything around me to collide with the catastrophic events that might bring about that result, and for me to be part of that process. In this upheaval, I might be terrified out of my wits, laughing at my own naïve thoughts, or I might come to realize other versions of myself.
However, from a rational perspective, I still remain skeptical of Ma Zao's description of the future; in other words, the possibility that she is the serial killer still exists in my mind.
Not to mention, the police even have a photograph of Ma Zao.
It's a proper portrait photo, not one that was randomly snapped on the street. If there were no specific need, most people wouldn't take such a photo on purpose. This piece of evidence further undermines the credibility of Ma Zao's testimony that she "only crossed over to this era yesterday."
Ma Zao didn't give me the impression of being someone who would recklessly kill everywhere, but if everything could be judged based on vague impressions, then what would be the point of reasoning or evidence?
"We can leave now, right?" Chang'an couldn't stay calm after learning that the killer was still active in the city.
"You two shouldn't leave yet. Come, let's take your statements."
The police officer adopted a formal, official tone and led us to a pavilion in the neighborhood.
"Don't we need to go to the station for the statement?" Chang'an asked.
"No need," the officer replied briefly.
Seeing that Chang'an was still a bit confused, I added, "We're not suspects. There's no need to go to the interrogation room. We can take your statements here outside as well."
When Chang'an used to cause trouble everywhere, he had run-ins with the police a few times, but his knowledge in this area hadn't improved at all. He was even worse than me, a law-abiding citizen.
Although, the title of "law-abiding citizen" had become somewhat humorous by now.
The police officer casually asked, "You seem to know a lot. Have you ever given a statement before?"
"I just read a lot of novels," I replied.
The officer sat down in the pavilion, took out paper, a pen, and a recording device, then looked at me and said, "In that case, let's start with you."
I sat across from him, sitting upright, but inwardly, I felt a bit nervous.
Not just guilty, but I also had a real gun hidden in my backpack. Now, it felt like the gun was burning, as if the heat was seeping through the fabric of the bag and onto my back.
The statement was just a simple Q&A. After all, they couldn’t ask me any complicated questions. I wasn’t the tenant of the fifteenth-floor room, and the main questioning was still focused on Chang'an.
During the process, I seized the opportunity to ask, “That ‘magic circle’ in the room, it was left by the killer eight months ago, right? Didn’t the police who collected evidence at the scene notice it?”
If the magic circle was hidden under the carpet, it would make sense that a regular tenant might not notice it right away. But if the police officers responsible for investigating the crime scene didn’t notice it, that would be hard to explain.
From the officer's attitude, it seemed that they only realized the existence of the magic circle today, eight months later.
There was likely some important clue hidden here that I had yet to uncover.
"This is something you’ll have to ask the person in charge at the time," the officer first dodged the question, then added, "And no more distractions, now it's my turn to ask you."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
As expected, I couldn’t get an answer so easily. After all, I was just an ordinary citizen, and he had no reason to share case-related information with me.
I could only verbally agree, then change the topic, trying to subtly inquire about Ma Zao.
The last time, the officer directly referred to Ma Zao as a "serial killer." From a procedural standpoint, even with overwhelming evidence of a suspect's crimes, they could only be called a "suspect" until they were officially tried and convicted. Referring to someone as a "criminal" without a trial would be incorrect.
Of course, that was the strict procedural definition. In casual conversation, no one would mind calling a clearly guilty suspect a "criminal."
What I wanted to know was whether the authorities had already gathered irrefutable evidence that Ma Zao had committed murder.
However, the officer remained tight-lipped about the case, and I couldn’t extract any useful information.
Soon, the officer finished questioning me, then glanced at Chang'an and said to me, "I need to speak with him alone now. You can leave."
"Ah?" Chang'an was confused.
I vaguely guessed what the officer was planning to say to Chang'an next.
"I understand." I stood up and told Chang'an, "I'll wait for you outside the neighborhood."
---
Although I verbally agreed to leave, there was no way I would be that honest.
As I was leaving, I secretly placed a "firefly" near the pavilion to covertly observe the entire process of the officer taking Chang'an’s statement.
As expected, during the conversation, Chang'an insisted that he had indeed encountered strange events in the fifteenth-floor room, but he could never provide proof of what he had experienced. Most of the officer’s questions were just common-sense inquiries.
However, is it really true that the authorities know nothing about those "beyond common sense" existences? In this world, there are people like me with special abilities, and strange things like the underground basement of the fifteenth floor. Even if many of these unusual secrets are unknown to the public, the authorities should still be aware of them.
Moreover, the fact that the public is unaware of the existence of strange entities itself provides evidence of a "invisible hand" preventing information related to these entities from reaching the public. To carry out this level of information control, there must be a large organization operating behind the scenes.
The question is, why would the authorities need to control the information? Are they worried that the existence of strange entities might cause societal panic? This reason seems too far-fetched.
Or is it possible that there are strange entities that can spread harm through human cognition, which is why the authorities have to resort to such measures?
Of course, there is another possibility, although I find it unlikely. Surely, things like my own abilities or the strange basement on the fifteenth floor cannot be so rare that no one knows about them.
"Uh, officer, why do you want to speak to me alone?" Chang'an finally couldn't help but ask. "Is there something you don't want my friend to know?"
The police officer didn’t seem to notice the "firefly" I had secretly set up. Under my watch, he responded, “Sort of, but mainly to warn you.”
“Warn me?” Chang'an didn’t understand.
“The serial killer has taken the lives of five victims in the last two to three months. All of them share a common characteristic—they were either rich or influential. They were either wealthy entrepreneurs or high-ranking officials. You may not be a businessman or a government official, but you also come from an extraordinary background, so…”
I had already read about this in the news, but Chang'an was completely unaware. He looked horrified. “You think I might be the next victim?”
“I’m just saying it’s a possibility. We’ll have someone secretly protect you from now on,” the officer said reassuringly, with a firm tone.
Chang'an panicked, but then suddenly came up with a sharp retort, noticing a blind spot: “Wait a minute, that doesn’t make sense. Was my former tenant one of those rich or influential people you’re talking about?”
The room on the fifteenth floor was located in an ordinary residential complex, and based on my past investigation, the former tenant didn’t have a wealthy or powerful background.
“No, he was just an ordinary employee at a company, and he’s the only exception in this series of incidents. We’re still investigating the potential connection between him and the other victims,” the officer shook his head, then advised, “Even so, you can’t let your guard down. Didn’t your parents or elders tell you about the recent turmoil?”
At this, Chang'an’s face darkened. “Well…”
Others might not know, but I knew that Chang'an didn’t have a harmonious relationship with his family.
The officer didn’t know the details, but seeing Chang'an’s reaction, he skipped the topic and continued, “In any case, you need to stay alert and avoid solitary places. Be cautious of suspicious individuals. Especially if you spot the trace of large wild animals, don’t stay in place.”
"Large wild animals?" Chang'an asked cautiously.
"The bodies of the previous five victims, as well as the former tenant of that room, all showed signs of severe tearing and biting, and there were animal hairs found at the scene," the police officer revealed a detail that had not been mentioned before in front of Chang'an. "Although there are no reports of escaped wild beasts from the zoo in Xianshui City, and no sightings or surveillance footage of such beasts in the city, it’s always better to stay vigilant."
Tearing and biting marks... So the cause of death for those victims wasn’t gunshot wounds after all?
But according to the officer’s earlier statement, the serial killer was supposed to be a rebellious girl who accidentally found a handgun, and it was the power of the gun that allowed her to cause chaos.
I recalled the first time I met Ma Zao. She was wearing a hospital gown that was severely torn in several places, and at the time, I thought the damage had been caused by a violent attacker wielding a sharp weapon. But if I now said it was the result of an attack by a wild animal, it seemed to make more sense.
So, Ma Zao was a victim in this incident; she encountered the serial killer and was severely injured by the latter in some way? But considering the outcome, Ma Zao, despite being drenched in blood, was completely unharmed—how could that be?
Why, then, was Ma Zao being accused of being the murderer?
"That’s all for now. Remember to communicate with your landlord and cancel the lease for that room. Also, hand over the keys to me. We’ll need to protect the scene."
"Oh, okay." Chang'an took out the keys and handed them over.
"My colleague will contact you later. I have other important matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave for now."
After saying that, the police officer packed up his paper, pen, and recording device, then stood up and left.
I felt a bit puzzled. Since they were planning to protect Chang'an, shouldn’t they have taken him to the station or some other secure place first and then have his colleagues come over? What if the killer attacked during the gap? That would be quite awkward.
The more I thought about it, the more suspicious the police officer seemed.
I couldn’t help but wonder—was he really a police officer?
I controlled the "firefly" and followed this seemingly experienced-looking man.