Right in Front of the Police

Fatty Lu sighed, saying that a slight mistake might result in the bullet hitting not Zhang Wen, but the high school student victim. This wasn't even Fatty Lu's primary reason for opposing a direct gunshot; he had also factored in Wang Yazhuo's safety. Zhang Wen had entered the residential compound via a garbage truck and was holding the victim hostage, clearly demonstrating that he was already aware of the police operation.

Zhang Wen had likely communicated with the victim by phone beforehand, arranging the entire plan so that the high school student would voluntarily allow herself to be taken hostage the moment the garbage truck entered the compound. This left the police completely powerless. Yet, knowing full well that police officers were lying in wait here, Zhang Wen still took the risk of coming to the compound, undoubtedly possessing some leverage that guaranteed his escape.

And that leverage was none other than Wang Yazhuo.

Wang Yazhuo must have been hidden in a deeply secluded and perilous location; if she weren't found in time, her life would be in grave danger. Right now, besides the high school student currently in his grasp, Zhang Wen's most significant hostage remained Wang Yazhuo. Should Zhang Wen die, the police might not be able to locate Wang Yazhuo for some time—Fatty Lu was terrified something might happen to her.

Fatty Lu's thoughts were identical to mine.

While we hesitated, Zhang Wen had clearly anticipated that the police upstairs might make a move. He ducked into a corridor, and I lost sight of him. Just as I was about to head downstairs, Fatty Lu told us to stay put, informing us that Zhang Wen was already coming up with the victim.

After a brief wait, two figures indeed appeared at the seventh-floor stairwell. Zhang Wen looked emaciated; the clothes he wore could not hide his skeletal frame. Having hidden inside the garbage truck, he was thoroughly filthy and reeking, yet the victim did not mind in the least.

The knife remained pressed against the victim's neck, but her hands kept wandering over Zhang Wen's body. Wearing a cold sneer, Zhang Wen walked toward us, ordering us to back away or else he would kill the hostage. Initially, the officers refused to retreat readily, but Zhang Wen actually followed through.

The blade in Zhang Wen's hand broke the victim's skin, and blood oozed out. The victim let out a muffled groan, yet continued to stroke Zhang Wen's body as if nothing had happened. How could someone who willingly engaged in necrophiliac necrophilia games with Zhang Wen and became a "slave" possibly care about such a minor injury?

Seeing that Zhang Wen dared to draw blood, everyone had no choice but to step back.

Zhang Wen and the victim entered the victim's apartment, and the door was closed. However, Zhang Wen deliberately pulled back the curtains so we could witness the scene inside. More and more police officers surged upward, swarming outside the corridor window, their guns raised and eyes fixed intently on Zhang Wen and the victim within.

Extremely cautious after entering the room, Zhang Wen knew the door and the window by the hallway were the only points from which the police could harm him. Therefore, he pulled the victim in front of him to use as a human shield against bullets. Yet the victim cared not at all. Smiling at us, Zhang Wen pressed the knife against her neck while beginning to make love to her from behind.

Looking closely, they were standing right beside the dining table, upon which tableware had already been laid out in advance. Perhaps, once their coupling was finished, Zhang Wen would begin to feast upon the victim as his meal. Zhang Wen was actually preparing to display every single stage of necrophilia right before our eyes.

Only then did I understand: for Zhang Wen, this was the ultimate provocation against the police and conventional society.

Zhang Wen had already pulled down the victim's dress from behind. Everyone's emotions ran high; many looked as though they could barely contain themselves, fingers resting on triggers. With the slightest squeeze, bullets would blast forth from the muzzle. Yet no one dared to act rashly.

Because no one could guarantee whether a bullet could miraculously bypass the victim in front of Zhang Wen, nor could anyone ensure that Zhang Wen wouldn't suddenly slash the victim's throat at the final moment, accelerating her death. As long as there remained even a sliver of a chance for the victim to survive, the police could not give up.

Zhang Wen had also removed his own trousers. Several officers spoke into their walkie-talkies, reporting to Fatty Lu: "Deputy Team Leader Lu, what should we do? This brute actually wants to perform that act with the victim right in front of us."

Everyone knew that coupling with the victim was merely the first step of necrophilia, and what followed was what truly terrified people. At that moment, nobody knew where Fatty Lu was. At his wit's end, Fatty Lu simply told everyone to adapt to the circumstances and said nothing more. While expressing outrage at Zhang Wen's actions, the officers also complained about Fatty Lu, calling him utterly useless despite being the deputy detachment leader.

Seeing that both Zhang Wen and the victim were stripped below the waist and on the verge of coupling, I shouted to Zhang Wen, "Zhang Wen, were your parents murdered by you?"

Fortunately, my voice pierced through the glass window and reached Zhang Wen's ears. He halted his movements, raised his head, and looked coldly at us through the glass. I felt a slight sense of relief. Regardless of whether Zhang Wen ultimately completed the act of necrophilia, if he successfully engaged in carnal pleasure with the victim right before the police, word would get out, and the police would be utterly disgraced.

Zhang Wen did not answer me. I took a deep breath and continued, "Your parents discovered your perverted obsession with corpses and were literally angered to death by it, weren't they?"

Hearing me say this, Zhang Wen suddenly flew into a rage. He seemed unable to tolerate my labeling his obsession with corpses as perverted.

Zhang Wen told us that he had always been extremely filial to his parents and had never intended to harm them. However, when the two of them discovered his unique penchant for corpses, they had launched into vicious verbal abuse. Accustomed to taking things lying down, Zhang Wen finally lost his temper that day and talked back a few times.

To his shock, his elderly and frail parents were literally frightened and angered to death.

With a ferocious expression, Zhang Wen roared at us, "Am I to be blamed for their deaths?!"

Although Zhang Wen's emotions were agitated, the knife in his hand never loosened its grip. The police had been watching for an opportunity to strike, but none presented itself.

What Zhang Wen wanted to do was of no concern to me; my only goal was to extract Wang Yazhuo's whereabouts from his lips.

As Zhang Wen finished speaking, the victim in front of him suddenly wriggled her lower body. Smiling alluringly, she urged Zhang Wen to hurry, saying she could no longer wait and was desperate to surrender her body and soul entirely to Zhang Wen.

Hearing this, Zhang Wen used his free hand—the one not holding the knife—to caress the victim's face, his hand wandering downward. Uttering words that filled every single one of us with fury, Zhang Wen said, "Soon, you will entirely be mine. These policemen can only watch helplessly as we engage in the necrophilia they despise so much. You and I shall show this world that necrophilia is the purest love in existence."

Some officers began to curse loudly. Pressing his hand against the victim's hips, Zhang Wen prepared to thrust forward once more. Once again, I shouted out in time: "Do you like Hu Yufang?"

Upon hearing the name Hu Yufang, Zhang Wen halted his movements once more.

After Zhang Wen's identity had been confirmed, I realized it was entirely possible and unsurprising that he had become good friends with Qiu Xiao and Qiu Lei. However, Zhang Wen and Qiu Xiao had only met after entering college; their friendship clearly hadn't reached the point where Qiu Xiao would refuse to turn Zhang Wen in to avenge Hu Yufang.

Upon careful reflection, I suddenly felt that my previous train of thought had been mistaken.

Qiu Xiao's refusal to name Hu Yufang's killer might not have been because the murderer meant so much to Qiu Xiao himself, but rather because the killer meant a great deal to Hu Yufang. Deeply in love with Hu Yufang, Qiu Xiao had kept his mouth shut precisely because Hu Yufang was unwilling to betray the murderer.

Connecting this with the sudden, inexplicable arguments between Qiu Xiao and Hu Yufang prior to the incident, I suspected that Hu Yufang's affections might have gradually drifted toward Zhang Wen.

"That bitch! She treated necrophilia with impurity—how could I possibly like her?!" Zhang Wen suddenly cursed viciously.

The more vehemently Zhang Wen denied it, the more convinced I became that my deduction was correct.

Provoked into a fury, Zhang Wen threw all caution to the wind and began to carry out the unfinished act...