Chapter 147 Do You Like Me

Fatty Lu finally finished handling all the necessary arrangements. After leaving the police station, we parted ways. I took Wang Yazhuo and the little ghost back to the hotel. Along the way, I kept a cautious eye on our surroundings, a lingering sense of unease gripping my heart. I was terrified that Wang Yazhuo might genuinely become the killer's next target.

Wang Yazhuo remained completely oblivious to this. Upon returning to the hotel, she went straight to take a shower. Before going to sleep, I instructed both her and the little ghost that from now on, except when we were inside the police station, they must stay by my side at all times and never wander off alone.

Hearing this, Wang Yazhuo asked if something had happened. I merely nodded, telling her not to ask too many questions and that being careful was always for the best. After all, there were plenty of people out there who wished us harm. Eventually, she let the matter drop and asked no further.

The next morning, we hurried to the police station bright and early, as was our routine. Fatty Lu had arrived before us. When we entered his office, he was wearing his glasses and intently reviewing some documents. He was so absorbed that he didn't even notice us enter. It wasn't until Wang Yazhuo let out a playful shout that Fatty Lu jerked his head up.

Seeing that it was us, he let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly put the documents away. When I asked him what he was looking at, Fatty Lu just chuckled, shook his head, and skillfully changed the subject. Since he refused to say, I didn't press him. Instead, Fatty Lu informed us that the forensic center had worked through the night to perform autopsies on the five corpses, and the cause of death had essentially been determined.

"It's a slow-acting poison, though the exact chemical composition requires further analysis," Fatty Lu told me.

True to form, our previous deduction was correct. It was no coincidence that the killer had managed to find five corpses with remarkably similar physical traits in such a short span of time. The killer had already set their sights on these five young women long ago, and their deaths were the result of premeditated murder.

The extent of the killer's cruelty far exceeded what we had initially imagined. According to my hypothesis, the deaths of these five young women were merely a way for the killer to practice and adapt; their lives were treated as nothing more than experimental subjects. Fatty Lu mentioned that he had already issued orders across the entire city, ensuring that grassroots police officers in every remote township and district had been notified.

Though this would inevitably cause widespread panic, it was still far better than leaving everyone completely unguarded.

The investigation had hit a brick wall. Aside from waiting for the results from the officers Fatty Lu had dispatched, the police had no idea where to even begin looking for new leads. I spent the entire day at the police station. At first, Fatty Lu had looked rather worried, but before long, he simply shifted his focus to studying other cases entirely.

Fatty Lu told me he had several other cases on his desk that required attention, and this particular one just happened to be the most severe. Throughout the day, numerous people bustled in and out of his office, but all of them were concerning different matters. Whenever Fatty Lu reviewed the case files for another incident, he would summon someone inside and give out instructions.

Seeing Fatty Lu acting so profoundly busy, Wang Yazhuo secretly mocked him, saying he couldn't even handle a single murder investigation yet wanted to meddle in multiple cases at once.

Another day was about to slip away. We had already been in Chongqing for a full week. Only half a month remained until the deadline for Luo Feng and Wang Jianming's operation in the harbor district. With zero progress on the case and still no trace of Xuan Yi or Duan Kun, I was preparing to take Wang Yazhuo and the little ghost back when the officers Fatty Lu had sent out finally rushed back in.

The police officers reported that they had traveled to numerous locations and tracked down many of the mutual acquaintances shared by Qiu Lei and Qiu Xiao. Due to time constraints, they had merely compiled a list of names and had yet to actually screen these individuals. Fatty Lu took the list, took one look at it, and burst into a furious rant, because there were at least several dozen names on it.

"I told you to find the people most likely to be the killer, and you bring me a list this long? Do you think this is a game?!" Fatty Lu pounded on the desk and yelled.

The officers looked rather aggrieved, explaining that compiling so many names in a single day was already quite an achievement. To thoroughly vet each one and rule out suspects would take not just a day, but perhaps even a full week. Just as Fatty Lu was about to resume his scolding, I intervened to stop him.

Fuming with anger, Fatty Lu ordered the officers to head right back out and investigate the names on the list as quickly as possible.

Fatty Lu and I examined the list. The majority of the individuals identified by the police were fellow villagers from Qiu Lei and Qiu Xiao's hometown. Given that they all lived in the same village, it was hardly surprising that everyone knew each other. Aside from them, the police had also recorded various relatives of Qiu Xiao and Qiu Lei, as well as acquaintances who frequently interacted with them.

I noticed that the officers had actually been quite thorough, as they had even jotted down the names of several of Qiu Xiao's roommates—proof that they had essentially written down everyone they could possibly track down. After studying the list for a while, Fatty Lu found himself unable to glean any profound insights due to the lack of contextual information, and he ultimately had to send us back once again.

For several consecutive days, we shuttled back and forth between the hotel and the police station. Even Wang Yazhuo began to grow impatient, asking me whether I was actually capable of solving this case or not. I shook my head. To be honest, at this point, both the police and I had exhausted every available method. If the killer truly decided to go into hiding and never show their face again, we might genuinely be left entirely helpless.

When Wang Yazhuo and I walked back to the hotel, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening, and there were far fewer pedestrians on the streets than usual. After walking a few steps, Wang Yazhuo suddenly halted and turned to face me. "Fang Han, we should leave Chongqing as soon as possible."

I blinked in surprise and asked her what was wrong.

Wang Yazhuo said she couldn't quite explain it, but she felt a deep sense of unease, as if something terrible was bound to happen. After a moment of thought, she told me that whether her intuition was right or wrong, Wang Jianming undoubtedly knew we were in Chongqing by now. She suggested that leaving the city early would make it much harder for Wang Jianming to track us down.

What Wang Yazhuo said actually made a lot of sense. Wang Jianming was definitely someone we needed to be wary of, especially once Luo Feng finished doing his bidding. The bad blood between Wang Jianming and me ran deep, and there was a high probability he would make a move against me—or even attempt to take my life. I patted Wang Yazhuo on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll wrap this case up as quickly as possible, uncover what I need to find out, and then we'll leave Chongqing immediately."

Since Duan Kun had already shown up once, I suddenly realized that finding him might not be as difficult as I had previously thought.

The connection between Duan Kun and Hu Yufang was undoubtedly profound; otherwise, Duan Kun would not have suddenly appeared at the forensic center just because of Hu Yufang's corpse. It was likely that Duan Kun didn't know who the killer was either, but if he did find out, he might very well hunt the killer down himself. A plan was already forming in my mind: I would identify the killer first and then leak the killer's whereabouts, which might just serve as the perfect bait to lure Duan Kun out of hiding.

"Fang Han, didn't you use Z's mother when you lured Charlie out before?" Wang Yazhuo walked side by side with me, then suddenly stopped in her tracks again. "How about we use someone as bait this time to lure the killer out?"

My expression instantly grew complicated. If Wang Yazhuo had any idea that her own appearance fit the killer's target profile to a tee, she probably wouldn't be suggesting such a thing. Seeing that I didn't answer, Wang Yazhuo waved a hand in front of my face. Seeming immensely pleased with her own cleverness, she kept pestering me to tell her what I thought of the idea.

I took a deep breath, wondering how to respond, when the little ghost suddenly whipped her head around. Almost simultaneously, I spun around as well. At the corner of the street, a dark shadow flashed past. The figure was exceedingly tall yet painfully thin. I froze—this silhouette matched my theoretical profile of the killer's physical appearance almost perfectly.

I instinctively moved to give chase, but after running forward just a few paces, I came to a halt.

Wang Yazhuo hurried up behind me and asked who that was.

"I mentioned before that the killer lives in poverty and has long suffered from malnutrition, which is why their body is skin and bones. That figure matches that exact deduction," I replied, my gaze fixed on the spot where the dark shadow had vanished.

Wang Yazhuo pointed in that direction. "Then hurry up and chase them! What are you waiting for?"

"Forget it. Just a petty killer; I'll catch him eventually. If I fall for a diversion tactic, the losses will outweigh the gains," I answered.

Wang Yazhuo lowered her head and murmured softly, "You're just worried about me, aren't you, Fang Han? Do you... do you like me?"