chapter 3
I spent an hour working through the derivation, and then another half hour verifying it.
After making sure there were no obvious flaws in my answer, I woke up my friend, who had fallen asleep at the desk waiting for me.
friend: “Hmm? You got something?”
Dian Deng: “I got something.”
friend: “So? Is there something wrong with these two paintings?”
Dian Deng: “There is indeed a problem. To get straight to the point, the person who made these paintings was imprisoned. These two paintings are his cry for help.”
Hearing the conclusion, my friend took a happy swig of beer.
friend: “I knew it! I had that feeling the moment I saw these two paintings! But I’m too dumb! I just couldn’t put my finger on it!”
Dian Deng: “…”
friend: “How did you figure it out? Tell me.”
Dian Deng: “Let’s start with the paintings.”
friend: “Alright.”
Dian Deng: “Look at the lower half of these two blood paintings.”
Dian Deng: “Their composition is the same, only the second one is clearer than the first. This shows that the artist wasn’t just doodling randomly, but deliberately made them this way. He wanted to convey some kind of message through these two paintings.”
“But just looking at the content of the paintings, the possibilities are too broad. If you connect it with the number 110, though, the range of possibilities narrows a lot.”
“When you mention 110, the first thing that comes to mind is a call for help or a crime. Looking at the picture, doesn’t this box look like a room? And the figure outside the room is the bad guy.”
friend: “Then what about the one inside the room?”
Dian Deng: “That’s the artist.”
friend: “You mean, some bad guy trapped the artist in the room?”
Dian Deng: “That’s not quite accurate. There’s a word that sums up this behavior-imprisonment.”
friend: “Imprisonment!?”
Dian Deng: “Yes, imprisonment. If we keep following this line of thought, everything falls into place.”
“Why did the artist use blood on toilet paper instead of a pen and drawing paper? Because the artist was imprisoned and didn’t have a pen or paper.”
“But he would definitely have toilet paper, because relieving oneself is a basic human need. At the very least, even prisoners are allowed that.”
friend: “If he could draw, why didn’t he just write?”
Dian Deng: “Maybe he’s illiterate.”
friend: “Illiterate?”
Dian Deng: “Maybe he’s a child, or just can’t read or write.”
friend: “What about that number? What does 15.3.11 mean?”
Dian Deng: “It’s probably a date-March 11, 2015. I just don’t know what that date signifies yet.”
friend: “Then… why did the perpetrator imprison him?”
Dian Deng: “I don’t know. Maybe for ransom, maybe for revenge, or maybe for some unknown reason. The human heart is complicated, and so are motives for crime. These three photos can’t reveal the darkness of the human heart.”
friend: “One last question-what does all this have to do with the light bulb?”
Dian Deng: “Let’s get back to the light bulb.”
I pulled up the photo of the light bulb and pointed at the broken red wire.
Dian Deng: “Look, the wire on the light bulb is broken.”
friend: “I know it’s broken. What does that mean?”
Dian Deng: “I looked it up online. The wire on a light bulb is soldered on. It takes at least 50 newtons of force to pull it off. But there are no signs of damage or pressure on the bulb’s cover, which means the wire wasn’t broken by external force. Someone unscrewed the cover and tore the wire off by hand.”
friend: “Who? And why?”
Dian Deng: “Probably the artist. As for why… let’s simulate what happened. You play the victim.”
friend: “Okay.”
Dian Deng: “First, you are brought into a room. In the room, there is a toilet, food, and drinking water, enough to meet your most basic survival needs. The criminal is out most of the time, so you can move freely in this room. What would you do?”
friend: “Of course, I’d try to find a way to escape.”
Dian Deng: “Exactly. So you prepare to write a rescue note, but you don’t know how to write, and there’s no paper or pen at the scene. You can only use blood to draw on toilet paper.”
friend: “Mm.”
Dian Deng: “Now, your rescue note is ready. Here’s the problem: how do you get the rescue note out?”
friend: “Is there a window?”
Dian Deng: “Most likely not. The only entrance and exit in the room is the door controlled by the criminal.”
friend: “So, if I want to send the drawing out, it has to pass through the criminal’s hands?”
Dian Deng: “Yes.”
friend: “Why would the criminal help me send the drawing out?”
Dian Deng: “It’s possible. There’s a strategy in the Thirty-Six Stratagems called Deceiving the Heaven to Cross the Sea. Baidu’s entry explains it like this: using people’s habitual illusions and unquestioned psychology for disguise, hiding the real intention in something deliberately exposed, in order to achieve an unexpected and surprising victory.”
“Since you can’t send the drawing out directly, hide it in something the criminal will voluntarily send out.”
“The LED Bulb is such an item.”
“The owner of the drawing, while the criminal is away, stuffs the drawing into the LED Bulb, then breaks the wire, puts the bulb back in place, and pretends to know nothing.”
“When the criminal returns and finds the bulb doesn’t light up, he won’t suspect the victim. He’ll just think the bulb broke on its own.”
“After all, bulbs are consumables. It’s normal for one to break. The criminal will just buy a new one to replace it, and throw away the old bulb.”
“Then, the bulb containing the blood drawing is picked up by someone on the roadside. By coincidence, your dad brings it home, and you open it up, finally seeing these two rescue notes. That’s the whole story.”
Hearing this, friend’s eyes widened in sudden realization.
friend: “I knew it! I knew it! I could never figure out the connection before, but so that’s how it is! Someone is waiting for us to save them! There’s no time to lose, let’s go report to the police right away.”
Dian Deng: “…”
friend: “What’s wrong? You look like you want to say something.”
Dian Deng: “There’s something I want to confirm.”
friend: “Go ahead.”
Dian Deng: “Where did your dad get this batch of bulbs?”
friend: “I didn’t ask.”
Dian Deng: “Ask now.”
friend: “Why?”
Dian Deng: “The place where the criminal threw away the bulb must be near his home. If we confirm this, we can narrow down the search area.”
friend: “Oh, oh, oh!”
friend quickly picked up his phone to call his dad.
After a brief inquiry, friend hung up and told me:
friend: “My dad said he got them from the home of an old man who passed away. The old man was a hoarder and liked to stockpile things at home. After he died, his son wanted to sell the house, so he contacted my dad to clear out the junk. These bulbs were found among the pile of trash.”
Dian Deng: “Both bulbs were picked up by the old man? This old man…”
friend: “…”
Dian Deng: “Sigh, do you know the old man’s address?”
friend: “I do.”
Dian Deng: “Then I’ll go with you to report to the police.”
friend: “Alright, let’s go. Boss, check please!”