chapter 2
A man was dressed in a black hoodie and black pants, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, with a mask covering his mouth, concealing himself completely.
He bought a pack of cigarettes from the supermarket, glanced at the news playing on the supermarket owner’s TV, frowned slightly, and then walked out.
Suddenly, he felt someone was following him.
So, the man pretended to be nonchalant and turned into an alley.
Behind him, two figures quietly followed.
The alley was rather dim. The man hid himself, and under the faint streetlight, the two people seemed to be searching for prey, walking and scanning the area, until they gradually moved farther away.
Once they were far enough, the man darted out of the alley, only taking a few steps.
A long leg suddenly appeared before his eyes, aiming straight for his stomach.
The man’s pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly retreated, trying to dodge.
But he was still a beat too slow. The leg struck him hard in the stomach, and the man grunted, “Damn!”
His whole body staggered and fell to the ground.
Immediately, a group of people in police uniforms, armed with guns, surged out from the alley and surrounded him.
Clutching his stomach, the man struggled to sit up, looking at them innocently, “Uncle Police, why are you hitting people for no reason?”
The leading man glanced at him coldly.
“You little rascal, you run pretty fast, almost got away!”
After speaking, the female police officer felt the voice sounded familiar.
She slowly squatted down and removed the baseball cap, sunglasses, and mask.
A youthful face appeared, with delicate features and traces of tears still at the corners of his eyes.
Perhaps Lu Fan’s kick had been a bit too hard, causing his eyes to tear up from the pain.
She and Lu Fan knew this face all too well!
“Why is it you?”
They looked at each other, both in disbelief, because just half an hour ago, they had been interrogating him.
They had received a message from a Police Officer about the suspect’s location, which cleared his suspicion and led to his release.
But how could he show up here?
The team leader and the female officer were none other than Lu Fan, Captain of the Tianyang City Criminal Police Team, and Han Xue, Deputy Captain.
Lu Fan and Han Xue were both puzzled. This was the outskirts, at least an hour’s drive from their police station. They had special privileges for the arrest, running red lights and wearing their uniforms, and even then, it had taken them half an hour to arrive early.
How did he manage it?
“Chen Shu! What kind of tricks are you up to again!”
Lu Fan pointed angrily at the man he had just kicked to the ground.
“Huh? You know me? Uncle Police?”
Chen Shu, rubbing his stomach, asked in confusion.
Then, they found a curved Fruit Knife on Chen Shu.
No matter how he argued, Lu Fan and Han Xue insisted that this person was definitely Chen Shu!
“Take him away!”
Lu Fan waved his hand, and several Police Officers immediately rushed forward, restraining Chen Shu and taking him away.
…
Tianyang City Public Security Bureau.
Police Officer Xiao Gao had just finished his shift and was preparing to leave the Public Security Bureau, when he saw Lu Fan and Han Xue leading a group of colleagues escorting a suspect dressed all in black inside.
“Wow! You caught the suspect so quickly!”
“No wonder you two are known as the city’s Male-Female Detective Duo!”
Xiao Gao hurried over to ask Lu Fan and Han Xue about the situation.
“Enough with the chatter!”
“Notify everyone to return to their posts. No one leaves until we solve this today!”
Lu Fan gave his orders with a stern face and was the first to enter the Interrogation Room.
Xiao Gao was momentarily stunned when he saw the face of the suspect being escorted in.
“Chen Shu?”
“Hm? Uncle Police, are you calling me?”
Chen Shu glanced at him.
Xiao Gao was instantly confused. Wasn’t this guy just released earlier?
Why is he being arrested again? Could it be… he’s the real culprit!
“Get lost! Who knows you? Hurry up and explain yourself properly! Otherwise, you’ll be in for it!”
Xiao Gao barked angrily, grumbling inwardly as he turned to put his police uniform back on.
…
Many Police Officers were standing inside the Interrogation Room.
They all stared at Chen Shu like tigers eyeing their prey, while Chen Shu looked completely innocent and, feeling wronged, impatiently told them, “I really am not the murderer!”
But right now, they had no way to identify him as the murderer, because according to the police investigation and the electronic surveillance of time and place, it seemed that there really were two “Chen Shu” in this world!
Lu Fan looked at the “Chen Shu” in front of him and recalled what he had said during the previous interrogation.
“By the way, Officer Lu, do you believe that there could be more than one of yourself in the same space-time?”
At the time, when Chen Shu said this, Lu Fan thought he must have been kicked in the head by a donkey, or maybe he was just scared silly.
But now… it really seemed like there were two Chen Shu in this world.
Lu Fan looked at Chen Shu sitting across from him, pondered for a moment, and picked up the file on the table to read.
Fifteen days ago.
May 5, 2022.
The police received a report from the Landlord of an apartment at No. 25 Nanling Street.
When the Police Officers arrived at the scene, they found a person unconscious at a large round table. Subsequent investigation revealed that this person was named “Chen Shu.”
According to the Landlord’s statement, at 8 p.m. on May 4, she received a call from a stranger who said he wanted to rent an apartment-and for five years!
The Landlord was overjoyed at the thought-it was a big deal!
But she was still half-skeptical. Who rents an apartment for five years all at once?
Then the mysterious person on the phone asked for her mobile number and immediately transferred the money via mobile payment.
The Landlord checked her phone and, sure enough, had received five years’ worth of rent. She was over the moon.
The mysterious caller then said he wanted to move in that night, and as for the contract, they could sign it the next day when he woke up.
The Landlord thought, since the money had already arrived, there was nothing to worry about, so she agreed to meet the mysterious person. But the man wore a hat and mask the whole time, and even sunglasses, making it impossible to see his face.
The Landlord gave him the keys, and the mysterious man told her to go home and sleep, saying he was tired and wanted to rest, and that they could sign the rental contract the next day when he woke up.
The Landlord didn’t think much of it and went home to sleep.
The next day at noon, the Landlord went to Room 505 to have the mysterious man sign the contract. When she opened the door, she saw ten headless corpses sitting around the round table in the living room.
Terrified, she immediately called the police.
On the large round table were ten plates of cooked meat, as well as some skull-like bones mixed in.
The meat was cut into strips, resembling shredded potatoes.
Some were cooked with green peppers, some with chopped chili, some with millet peppers… all kinds of spicy seasonings.
After police investigation, it was found that the meat was indeed suspicious. Forensic sampling revealed that the meat strips, which looked like shredded potatoes, were actually from the human bodies-specifically, from the head area of the ten headless corpses.
They then began to check the surveillance cameras. After midnight on May 5, ten people entered Room 505 of the apartment one after another.
The victims were all male. Preliminary judgment was that the murderer had drugged them in water, knocked them out, killed and dismembered them.