chapter 2
The moment I saw the drawings, I was seized by a chilling sense of discomfort.
They were two blood paintings, with jagged edges on the paper, which seemed to be toilet paper.
The composition of the two drawings was very similar, and they seemed to express the same content.
Only the first one was blurrier than the second, giving the impression that the first attempt was unsatisfactory, so a second was made.
The number written on the drawing was 15.3.11. My first association was a date, but I couldn’t be sure what it referred to.
Below the number, the drawing depicted two stick figures and a square. Such a combination could evoke many associations.
But the most striking thing was the number inside the square.
“110”
Even a three-year-old knows what these three numbers represent.
These two drawings looked like children’s doodles.
But would a child really emphasize 110 in a drawing?
I thought about it for a long time, but couldn’t connect the clues, so I asked my friend for help.
Dian Deng: “Where did these two drawings come from?”
Friend: “I have to start from the beginning. You know my family runs a scrap recycling station, right? Today my dad brought back a truckload of LED Bulbs, and I found these two drawings inside the LED Bulbs.”
Dian Deng: “Your family recycles bulbs too? Are those worth anything?”
Friend: “The bulbs themselves aren’t worth much, but the LED chips inside are valuable. You can extract gold from them. A lot of people are recycling them now.”
Dian Deng: “I see. Do you have photos of the bulbs?”
Friend: “Yes.”
He sent over photos of the bulbs.
Friend: “The small yellow squares are the LED chips. These drawings were found in the area behind the circuit board.”
Dian Deng: “Were both drawings found in the same bulb?”
Friend: “No, they were taken from two different bulbs, but the two bulbs are the same model.”
I continued to examine the bulbs and soon noticed something else strange.
The two red wires were not attached to the solder points; they had been torn off. So I pointed to the two red wires in the drawing and asked my friend.
Dian Deng: “Did you tear off these red wires?”
Friend: “No, they were already broken when I opened the bulb.”
Dian Deng: “Was it the same with the other one?”
Friend: “Yes.”
After hearing my friend’s explanation, I frowned and asked if there were any other clues.
My friend shook his head, indicating that this was all there was.
So I turned my attention back to the three photos. There were indeed several suspicious points that caught my attention.
Why did the person use blood to draw on toilet paper?
Why draw the same composition twice?
Why were the drawings found inside the bulbs?
Why were the wires in the bulbs torn off?
Who was the person who drew them?
Why did they do this?
I took out my notebook and wrote down these six questions, then tried to reason through them.
…