Chapter 135: Adventure, Emerges!

The irony is that the killer was vomiting while eating; clearly, even the perpetrator eventually found the act repulsive. Generally speaking, if one were truly savoring the process, they would not leave behind viscous traces of vomit at the scene. The motive for such a crime remains baffling.

Fatty Lu remarked that multiple fingerprints and footprints had been recovered from the scene. In that sense, it was a crime scene favorable to police investigation, as all the necessary forensic evidence had been secured. However, there was one major disadvantage: the location was far too remote.

Within a radius of several kilometers around the scene, there were no households. The body had been discovered purely by chance by a few farmers crossing over from the other side of the mountain to reach the city. Yu City is a mountain city, surrounded by peaks on all sides. That particular spot was rarely frequented, and the fact that the body was found so quickly was sheer coincidence.

Committing a crime in such a place meant there were certainly no eyewitnesses. If the killer had no prior criminal record, the fingerprints, DNA, and footprints gathered by the police would become useless, serving no practical purpose. What worried Fatty Lu even more was that if the killer decided to go into hiding, it would be extremely difficult for the police to track them down.

At the very least, judging by the killer's current behavior, they seemed prepared to hide. In such a secluded area, the perpetrator certainly had the time to clean up the crime scene, yet they had failed to do so. Usually, unless the killer was confident that the police could not catch them despite having evidence, they would have scrubbed the scene.

Such a person likely had no criminal record and was planning to vanish and never surface again.

After staring at me for a while without detecting any unusual reaction, Fatty Lu stood up and said that if we needed any further help, he would contact us. As he walked toward the door, he suddenly turned back. "Kid, why did you suddenly move to a new place? Are you afraid that someone is coming after you?"

I shrugged and immediately shook my head. "Deputy Captain Lu, as I said, I just wasn't comfortable there, so I changed hotels."

Fatty Lu did not intend to continue the conversation. He told me to be careful in Yu City, as there was a group of contract killers operating there that the police had been trying to take down for a long time. I was slightly taken aback; organized killer groups were uncommon domestically, though they were hardly rarities abroad or in the form of mercenary groups.

Without further elaboration, Fatty Lu opened the door. The moment it swung open, I was struck speechless; standing outside were seven or eight police officers. I suddenly realized that the cowardly Fatty Lu, harboring suspicions about me, would never have come to see me alone for fear of danger. These officers were his backup, waiting outside, ready to storm the room at a moment's notice.

After Fatty Lu left, Wang Yazhuo emerged from the bathroom. Her complexion was pale; seeing me acting as if nothing had happened, she asked why I didn't feel disgusted. To be honest, I was deeply repulsed, but having attended police academy, my psychological resilience was far stronger than hers.

After resting at the hotel for a while, we went out again. I found a newsstand, picked up a paper, and sure enough, the case from yesterday had already been reported. There were many people around the stand, whispering and pointing at the paper, saying the killer was not even human—not only had they violated the corpse, but they had also consumed its flesh.

I took the opportunity to strike up a conversation. They told me that it had been a long time since such a heinous crime had occurred in Yu City. I casually asked about the killer organization, and they clearly knew something. They told me that two years ago, people started being murdered on the streets, and despite investigations, the police had failed to catch the perpetrators.

Later, investigations allegedly uncovered a criminal syndicate that made money through murder. Their transaction methods were highly covert, and their planning and execution were extremely secretive and systematic; they even posted notices on the streets accepting "contracts." Both the police and the citizens referred to this group as the "Killer Organization."

There were many rumors among the public about this group. Some said they were vicious and would kill anyone for money. Two years ago, they had been quite rampant, and it was only after the South District’s ace detective, Shen Cheng, took charge of the major case and captured two or three of its members that the group became slightly less brazen.

Speaking of which, this organization not only terrified the citizens but also gave the police a massive headache, as they had never been able to locate their base of operations.

After leaving the newsstand, I curled my lips into a smile. "Yu City is indeed a very peculiar place."

The relationship between Yu City and the capital has always been complex, for both historical and political reasons.

Wang Yazhuo asked if the person trying to harm us could be from this organization. I shook my head; if it were an organized criminal syndicate that even the police found difficult to handle, they wouldn't resort to low-success methods like using disguised waiters and incense. Still, I remained cautious. The small notebook Xiaomei gave me hadn't mentioned this group.

I only hoped not to become entangled with them, or the danger might be impossible to escape.

Wang Yazhuo asked about my next move. After pondering for an entire day, I made a bold decision: to take the initiative and contact Fatty Lu.

Luo Feng's people in the port district had investigated for another day but found nothing; counting on them to track down Duan Kun was clearly a lost cause. After much hesitation, I took Wang Yazhuo and the kid to the South District Precinct. Before I could find a way to see Fatty Lu, I overheard some people complaining about him.

Compared to the South District’s ace, Shen Cheng, Fatty Lu’s reputation was dismal. A few junior officers were grumbling that Fatty Lu was only interested in closing cases, and that after holding a ceremony to claim credit, new cases would arise, leaving him to dump the unfinished business on his subordinates.

Wang Yazhuo heard this and scoffed in disdain. "I thought his judgments were his own; turns out it's like this."

I didn't respond, thinking to myself that if Fatty Lu was truly incompetent, he would be even easier to manipulate. Although Xiaomei had warned me not to provoke him, if I could have a police officer like Chen Fan—someone I could exploit—to assist me, my operations would be much easier.

When we saw Fatty Lu, he was sitting in his office, looking miserable. Seeing us, he beckoned us to sit and asked if we had come to provide more leads.

I hesitated for a moment, then decided to take the risk. I nodded at Fatty Lu and admitted that I had lied to him earlier. He blinked, immediately asking what I had lied about.

I replied with a single word: "The gun."

Fatty Lu stood up abruptly. "The gun... so it really was yours?"

I shook my head. "I didn't say the gun was mine."

Fatty Lu immediately pressed me for the truth. I smiled and told him that I might know whose gun it was, though I wasn't certain. I explained that we hadn't been there to hide from the rain that night, but had been lured into the house. We had heard strange noises and gone up to investigate, and fearing involvement afterward, we had lied.

Fatty Lu turned serious. "Why were you lured in? Who was that person?"

"I found him suspicious, so I followed him," I answered.

Fatty Lu was quick to respond: "You're not a cop; why were you following anyone?"

I shrugged. "I'm not a cop, but I did attend police academy."

Fatty Lu paused, looking me up and down, and told me to explain in detail.

"I went to police academy, but I was expelled for stealing. Is it so strange that I followed a suspicious person to see what was going on?" I asked.

Fatty Lu narrowed his eyes. "I knew it. I knew you weren't simple."

Wang Yazhuo suddenly chuckled. "Just guessing, were you?"

Just as we were talking with Fatty Lu, someone burst into his office.

"Deputy Captain Lu, the forensics center says someone claiming to be Hu Yufang's foster father wants to see her body."

I stiffened. Duan Kun?