Volume One (Prequel): The Seventh Reader - Chapter 7: The Third and Fourth Victims
The information brought back by Professor Gao was indeed problematic.
After receiving the notification from Ding Shucheng, Professor Gao checked the materials brought back from the copy room and found that the final report of a research project conducted a year ago was missing. After the technical department re-examined the scene, they discovered that the water stains on the wall were likely formed on the night of the incident. Judging from the shape and position of the water stains, it seemed that the water was spilled from the table, splashing onto the floor and then onto the wall. Upon examination, the water stains contained components of theophylline. Although the table had been wiped by someone, similar theophylline water marks were found in the cracks of the table. According to the deceased's roommate, Liu Weili never drank tea because she was afraid it would stain her teeth, so it was definitely not Liu Weili who brought the tea into the copy room that day, but another person. An important clue provided by Zhu Chengqiang, a third-year student at the Law School, confirmed that another person had indeed entered the 24th-floor copy room that night. Zhu Chengqiang said that he had intended to find the deceased in the copy room that night, and when he arrived at the corridor on the 24th floor, he saw the deceased talking with another person in the copy room. Zhu Chengqiang did not see that person and assumed it was the deceased's boyfriend, so he left. Regarding the accent of the person, Zhu Chengqiang said he did not pay attention.
So, what really happened in the copy room that night?
Xing Zisen's inference was: a person carrying tea water entered the copy room on the night of the incident, spilled water on the documents, and then took the wet documents to the 24th floor rooftop to dry. He (or she) deliberately hung the documents on the edge of the rooftop and then lured the deceased to the edge, pushing the deceased down.
The basis for this inference was the two bricks placed on the cement edge of the 24th-floor rooftop. The placement of the bricks in that position seemed to be for drying something, fearing it would be blown away by the wind, and things that were afraid of being blown away were often relatively light, and the first thing that came to Xing Zisen's mind was paper. Therefore, Xing Zisen conceived the idea: could it be because the documents in the copy room were wet, and Liu Weili climbed up to the rooftop to dry the documents, and then fell from there. So, he went back to the copy room to check, and indeed found water stains. Combined with the high likelihood that the scene had been cleaned by someone, Xing Zisen could almost confirm that Liu Weili was murdered. The perpetrator was extremely cautious and careful, and after committing the crime, in order to leave no trace, they would definitely take away the wet documents. Therefore, Xing Zisen asked Professor Gao to go back and check, and the results also confirmed Xing Zisen's conjecture.
The various suspicious points of this case led the Municipal Public Security Bureau to treat Liu Weili's death as a homicide case for investigation. The perpetrator was likely someone known to the deceased, and most likely a student (Xing Zisen noticed that every student entering and leaving the teaching building carried a tea cup), so the team decided to focus the investigation on the students, which required a lot of time and effort and the cooperation of the school. Ding Shucheng decided to make a trip to the Teachers' University, first to report the progress of the case to the school, and second to discuss cooperation with the security department for the investigation. When he was about to get on the car, Xing Zisen said he wanted to go to the district government near the Teachers' University and asked if they could give him a ride. Ding Shucheng still had many questions and wanted to hear Old Xing's opinion, so he readily agreed. However, after Xing Zisen got in the car, he didn't say much, and was lost in thought looking out the window all the way. When the car passed the school gate, Xing Zisen suddenly asked, "How did that previous case turn out? The one called Zhou..." Ding Shucheng opened the car door as he said, "Zhou Jun. Still no clue. Why?" Ding Shucheng then retracted back into the car, "Do you think these two cases are related?" Xing Zisen responded with an ambiguous "Hmm," and Ding Shucheng said, "I've thought about it, but the deceased was a male and a female, one was an undergraduate, the other a graduate student, and the social connections of the two were almost non-existent. I analyzed it, and at least for now, I can't see any connection between these two cases." After a moment of contemplation, Xing Zisen said, "Investigate this one first, and don't let up on Zhou Jun's case either." Ding Shucheng agreed, "You're not getting off? Come with me." Xing Zisen waved his hand and said, "I'm not going, I have things to do. Put more effort into this case, and when my case is almost done, I'll come over to help you." Ding Shucheng nodded and got out of the car and entered the campus.
As the car restarted, Xing Zisen lit a cigarette and sat in the back seat, lost in thought. In fact, his thoughts were similar to Ding Shucheng's, both feeling that these two cases at the Teachers' University did not seem to have any connection on the surface. However, Xing Zisen always unconsciously compared these two cases, even though the two homicide cases had no similarities, Xing Zisen still faintly felt that there must be some connection between them. However, this feeling was quite vague and lacked evidence, so Xing Zisen decided not to make any comments easily and to wait and see.
Xing Zisen didn't know that he wasn't the only one who had this feeling.
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The matter of Fang Mu and Zhu Lao Si summoning the spirit of Liu Weili quickly spread throughout the Law School. Some people admired their courage and determination, while others were moved by Zhu Lao Si's persistence. However, most people still held a mocking attitude towards these two students from the 20th century. After being ridiculed by everyone for a few days, Fang Mu also began to feel that his behavior was ridiculous. He hadn't spoken to Zhu Lao Si for several days. (This fellow had indeed won the image of a devoted man and earned many admiring glances from female students.)
After shrinking for a few days, Fang Mu found that despite his reluctance to recall that day's events, the scene had been playing in his mind all along, as if it were a scene with hidden secrets from a detective movie. Among these embarrassing memories, one scene had been constantly playing in Fang Mu's mind, a scene of the two blurry figures standing at the entrance of the copy room.
Fang Mu remembered that when he distinguished that it was a man and a woman in the darkness, the first thought that flashed in his mind was: Zhou Jun is here too.
Why did I think that?
Fang Mu found it difficult to explain why he had such a thought at that time. He preferred to believe that it was just his wild imagination under extreme fear. However, he soon discovered that no matter how he berated himself for his childishness and absurdity, this thought lingered like an unshakeable ghost in his mind, constantly reminding Fang Mu, forcing him to unconsciously replay that scene over and over again.
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Could Zhou Jun and Liu Weili have died at the hands of the same person?
When this terrifying thought finally appeared clearly in Fang Mu's mind, he was confused and panicked.
Confused about what kind of grudge could make the perpetrator harm these two almost unrelated people, as if a chain forged of blood had bound the two together and dragged them into an irredeemable abyss.
Panic arose from the question: if it was indeed the same person responsible, would these two deaths be the end?
The anticipation of happiness always seemed distant, while ominous signs always seemed to follow closely behind.
C City in December was already very cold, and by night, the temperature had dropped to over twenty degrees below zero. Thick clouds covered the sky, and no stars could be seen. According to the meteorological department's forecast, the city was about to experience the largest snowfall since the beginning of winter. Everyone walking on the campus was dressed in thick coats, complaining about the increasingly cold weather and discussing which study room was the warmest.
But no matter how warm it was, where could it compare to the embrace of a lover?
The sports field, known as the Love Corner, still lingered with couples. Some walked hand in hand in circles on the playground, while others huddled in a sheltered corner, whispering tender words to each other. Bolder ones would find even darker corners to enact more passionate scenes with their youthful bodies.
At 10 o'clock in the evening, students who had been studying in their respective study rooms began to return to their dormitories, creating the last noise of the day on the campus. Many people walked through the sports field laughing and talking loudly, occasionally whistling good-naturedly at the couples. Disrupted by the noise, the men and women reluctantly stood up, disappearing into the various dormitory buildings. The sports field fell silent.
No one noticed the half-naked bodies still reluctant to part under the steps in the northeast corner of the sports field.
After a long while, the boy let go of the girl's clothes that had been lifted to under his armpits and his hand left the still hot Rx room. He didn't forget to give the girl's nipples a light pinch.
The girl coquettishly exclaimed, "You're going to die!"
After a series of soft, rustling sounds as they straightened their clothes, the two of them snuggled together again. The boy's hand, still mischievously, slipped under the girl's collar, making the girl giggle, and soon, the boy's hot lips turned her giggles into moans.
"Cold?" After some time, the boy asked softly.
"Not cold," the girl replied gently, looking at her lover's sparkling eyes in the darkness.
"School's probably closed. Since we can't go back, let's go to the screening room."
The girl thought for a moment, "Okay, but you're not allowed to do anything bad."
The girl's words were more of a reminder than a warning. The boy became excited, and as he was about to stand up, his legs, having been seated for too long and coupled with the cold weather, felt numb, causing him to stumble.
The girl scolded with a laugh, "Pervert, be careful, you..." but then her eyes filled with fear.
She saw a dark figure suddenly rise behind her boyfriend.
The figure lifted a wooden stick-like object and struck the boy on the head. The boy groaned and then collapsed on the ground. The girl's eyes widened in shock, leaving her speechless. Subsequently, she turned and ran without a second thought.
The dark figure agilely leaped over the steps, grabbing the girl's hair. The girl was pulled to the ground, struggling to get up but was muffled with a piece of gauze covering her mouth and nose. A strong medicinal smell surged through her nostrils. The girl struggled to move a few times before finally slumping down.
The figure propped the limp girl against him and looked at the boy, who had been excited just moments before, now lying motionless on the ground. The figure carried the girl on his back and disappeared into the night.
After some time, the figure returned alone, and to his surprise, the ground was empty. He anxiously looked around but saw no trace of the boy. On the ground, there were only a few faint footprints pointing towards the south exit of the sports field.
Hurriedly, he looked around and found no one. His heart was pounding, and he turned and ran into the sports field, over the railings, and hastily climbed to the top of the twenty-something stairs, looking down through the increasingly dense snowflakes.
He saw it. The boy was holding his head with one hand and supporting himself against the outer wall of the sports field, staggering forward.
He ran along the steps. There was a small door a dozen or so meters away from the steps, and he could intercept the boy and stop him from leaving through that door.
Just before he reached, he suddenly slipped, crashing into the railing at the top of the steps. His ribs were in excruciating pain, and at the same time, he heard several crisp breaking sounds and a short, sharp scream from below.
He didn't pay attention to his injuries, biting down on his teeth and rushed down the steps, opened the small door, and rushed out.
The boy was kneeling in a strange posture, with his head against the ground and both hands hanging weakly on the ground. A transparent icicle was inserted behind the boy's neck, and a few pieces of broken ice were scattered around him.
The boy twitched a few times before falling still.
This scene was probably not what he had expected. After standing there for half a day, he walked over to check the boy's breath, then stood up, laughed a few times, and disappeared into the night.
The snow was falling heavier and heavier.
Gold Super from the School of Sports Science had a habit that was as regular as clockwork: morning runs. At 5 o'clock in the morning, as soon as the door of the dormitory opened, Gold Super would put on his running shoes and sportswear and slowly jog towards the sports field.
It had snowed all night, and it was still falling, with large snowflakes occasionally slapping his face. Gold Super cursed softly while running. It was not yet half past five, and the campus was quiet. Gold Super fumbled his way into the sports field in the dark, did a simple warm-up, and started running along the deserted track.
After the first lap, Gold Super's eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness inside the sports field. As he ran, Gold Super vaguely saw someone standing near the flagpole.
Out this early to listen to English broadcasts? Can you even see on such a dark day?
Gold Super's pace slowed down.
Could it be to listen to the English broadcast? It's snowing so heavily now.
Gold Super stared at the person near the flagpole, getting closer as he ran.
When he was about several meters from the flagpole, Gold Super finally saw clearly.
It was a person covered in snow from head to toe.