When Ruan's family came to cause trouble, the police station locked the sound engineer in an interrogation room to protect his safety. Now that Ruan's family had left, two police officers brought him out, ready to take him to the detention center.
As he passed by Song Rui, the sound engineer suddenly looked up and stared directly at him, with a slightly unhealthy madness in his eyes, "What happened to Ruan Ye?" The two police officers pushed him forward, but he remained rooted to the spot, waiting for an answer.
After silently watching him for a long while, Song Rui finally said, "Ruan Ye has gone insane."
"Surely gone mad." The corners of the sound engineer's mouth slowly turned up, and then he laughed as he was led away by the officers. Even from a distance, the exhilaration and hatred in his laughter still sent shivers down the spine.
Song Rui walked to the window and looked at his departing figure, his gaze flickering. He shouldn't have answered that question, it was against his professional ethics, but for some reason, when he looked into the sound engineer's eyes and saw his paranoia and anticipation, he suddenly remembered Vajra's words—what is justice? Justice is retribution for good and evil deeds. He used to scoff at these words, but now, he seemed to understand them somewhat.
Zhuang Zhen was sorting through a large pile of documents with a furrowed brow. The part about the sound engineer had no doubts, but how to write the part about Vajra was still unclear to him. All the evidence currently available indicated that Vajra and the sound engineer had no connection, making Vajra's death announcements and that death sketch, one mystery after another, looming in Zhuang Zhen's mind.
The members of the special task force were equally perplexed.
Liu Tao, rubbing his nearly bald head, said, "Captain, since Vajra's information didn't come from Xiao Jin, could it be that Gao Yi Ze let something slip?"
Xiao Li clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Yes, Vice Captain is right! It must be that Gao Yi Ze carelessly let something slip. Vajra once lived in an apartment with him, they ate, lived, and traveled together, there were plenty of opportunities to inquire about those past events."
"Yes, yes, yes, there's only this reasonable explanation now." Everyone echoed in agreement.
Zhuang Zhen shook his head and denied, "Do you really think Gao Yi Ze would let something slip? Look at his information file and analyze his personality. He was in a relationship with Ruan Ye for three years, yet never said a word to her at school, to the extent that no one knew about their relationship. A teenager of this age could be so cautious, think about how calculating and resourceful he is. He never let anyone see him in public with the hooligans like Zhao Kai and Mao Xiaoming, because he knew it was shameful, and he had to maintain his image as an honor student. After his debut and fame, in theory, there should have been more eyes on him, but look at this transcript, is Xiao Jin's hacking skill powerful or not? But he secretly investigated Gao Yi Ze for three years, trying to find his dirt to bring him down, but he never succeeded. And Gao Yi Ze also skillfully hid those unsightly photos and videos in a memory card, rather than leave them in the open network environment, so that Xiao Jin searched for three years and still couldn't find anything. Do you think Gao Yi Ze is a terrifying person? He was utterly corrupt within, but his public image was watertight, except for Ruan Ye and her three friends, who else knew his true face? He has already ingrained 'caution' into his blood, do you think there's a possibility he let something slip?"
The police officer responsible for investigating Gao Yi Ze's social background strongly agreed with these words. That's right, Gao Yi Ze had truly taken the words "watch what you say and do" to the extreme. In the entire high school department with hundreds of students, not a single person knew about his relationship with Ruan Ye, so the investigation had been slow to make progress. If this person weren't dead, it was truly difficult to estimate his future achievements.
Song Rui thought for a moment and added, "Even if Gao Yi Ze let something slip, even if Vajra overheard, it would only be a scandal, so how did he know that Xiao Jin wanted to kill someone? Xiao Jin originally only wanted to abduct Gao Yi Ze, pushing him down the stairs was a result of being provoked, a moment of impulsiveness, and the other cases were also spontaneous. Even Xiao Jin himself didn't know he would kill someone. So how did Vajra know?"
This question was so thought-provoking that the members of the special task force were all dumbfounded.
After a very long time, Xiao Li, with a sore head, called out, "Captain, don't worry about this question, just write a few lines in the report to make it seem like something was done. This is truly an eternal mystery!"
The others murmured in amazement, and the group dispersed, leaving only Zhuang Zhen with a wry smile on his face, surrounded by a pile of documents.
Song Rui patted him on the shoulder to express comfort, but his own frown showed that he still couldn't relax.
At that moment, a commotion came from the adjacent mediation room, and the chief of the Second Criminal Investigation Team ran out, shouting to Zhuang Zhen, "Old Zhuang, come and get your team members out of here, don't create chaos in my place!"
"What's going on?" Zhuang Zhen walked over.
The mediator's office was in a mess, with two groups clearly divided into victims and perpetrators pulling and scrapping at each other, and Yang Shengfei was right in the middle. He used his knee to firmly push against the back of a tall man, and also twisted the man's hand, causing him to cry out in agony with tears streaming down his face. Another middle-aged man fiercely kicked the man's crotch, but was stopped by a middle-aged woman who held his leg and angrily scolded, "You dare touch my son and I'll bite through your tendons! Help, the police are killing people! I want to lodge a complaint, I want to find a reporter to expose you! You bunch of bastards, just know how to bully us poor common people without money and power!"
Zhuang Zhen approached and only then did he realize that the person pressed on the ground by Yang Shengfei was not a man, but a young boy, with a still tender face, but a body even more robust than many adults. The boy seemed to be in great pain, with tears and snot covering the ground, still calling out for his parents.
Zhuang Zhen didn't have time to inquire about the reason, and immediately ran up to pull Yang Shengfei away. The people from the second criminal police team also separated the two groups that were fighting and conducted mediation. The captain of the second team dragged Zhuang Zhen and Yang Shengfei out of the mediation room and warned, "Don't come in again! This case was already a headless case, it can't be made any bigger!"
The door slammed shut, but Yang Shengfei still went up to fiercely kick the door, his emotions very agitated. Zhuang Zhen, with surprising strength, almost couldn't hold him back. The people from the first team quickly rushed over to help, struggling to finally keep Yang Shengfei restrained in a chair.
"Are you crazy? Cause any more trouble and I'll suspend you!" Zhuang Zhen punched Yang Shengfei in the stomach.
Yang Shengfei immediately vomited, dry heaving for a long time before raising his tear-streaked and sweaty face, and said sadly, "Captain, go ahead and suspend me, I don't want to work anymore. A ten-year-old girl's life has been ruined, why should we accept a settlement? Do you know? Just now that scum asked me when he can go back to school. Can you allow this kind of scum to go back to school? Would you dare let your child be in the same class as him? Aren't we police officers supposed to fight crime? Why do we have to mediate for this kind of scum, and even force the victim's family to sign a settlement agreement? What is the meaning of our existence?"
From his few words, Zhuang Zhen understood the whole story, but couldn't come up with a response. Indeed, they as police officers existed to fight criminals, but some criminals were unfortunately protected by the law, and that was something no one could change. The law was still incomplete, and thus there were areas that couldn't be regulated, making justice easy to write about but difficult to execute.
Zhuang Zhen fell silent, and everyone from the first team fell silent as well. The criminal was right there, and you clearly knew, but you couldn't bring them to justice, which was the most frustrating thing.
Yang Shengfei wiped the bitterness from the corner of his mouth and slowly recounted, "My sister died the same way, murdered."
Once the words were spoken, there was dead silence in the office.
Yang Shengfei closed his eyes, sorrowfully saying, "On a rainy night, she was taken to the outskirts by someone... and killed. The heavy rain washed away all the evidence, the police investigated for three months, but there was no conclusion, it was just dropped. It was raining on the day of her burial, to suppress her resentment, the grave was dug very deep and filled with water. My mom bought a big bunch of lilies and placed it on her coffin, my dad bought me a bunch of yellow roses, to throw down during the burial. Those were my sister's favorite flowers. The grown-ups were discussing how tragic her death was, even though I was only five, I already understood everything. Someone was filling soil on her coffin, crushing the lilies and yellow roses, and my heart was filled with anger and urgency, calling for my sister while lunging forward, almost falling into the grave. From that day on, I vowed that when I grew up, I would catch the murderer and avenge my sister..."
Everyone from the first team listened in a daze, feeling chills run down their spines. The things Yang Shengfei was saying now were practically identical to what Fan Galuo said during the mind reading that day. But was that really mind reading? Could such a clear and vivid picture be obtained through micro-expressions, movements, appearance, and clothing?
Yang Shengfei scanned the people and directly answered their inner doubts: "It's not mind reading, Fan Galuo really can see. These things can't be investigated, only I know. My hometown is in the desolate and remote northland. After my sister was killed, my family became the focus of criticism in the town. My grandparents felt ashamed and took us away, moving around the country, without a stable place to live. When I was ten, they passed away, and when I was fifteen, my dad couldn't hold on and passed away. My mom became very silent, but would scream hysterically whenever my sister was mentioned, and from that day on, my sister's name became taboo, and I buried those memories deep in my heart. I didn't speak, my mom didn't speak, how could Fan Galuo find out? The population in the northland has plummeted, my little town is now an empty ghost town, and who could he ask about what happened twenty years ago?"
Yang Shengfei took off his police uniform, took off his gun, and said hoarsely, "I believe he really saw it. Captain, my current state is very bad, I want to apply for leave. I'm sorry for causing trouble for you." He hastily walked away, leaving a group of people looking at each other in bewilderment.
Xiao Li couldn't conceal his shock and muttered, "Fan Galuo's description of the scene was completely identical to Xiao Fei's memory! Can't mind reading abilities reach this extent?" He looked eagerly at Song Rui, and Song Rui shook his head, a tangle of doubts forming in his mind, becoming an unsolvable mess.
Xiao Li gasped for breath and exclaimed urgently, "If that's the case, does Fan Galuo really possess spiritual abilities? Is Xiao Fei's leave application an attempt to seek him out to inquire about that incident from the past? Is he trying to privately investigate his sister's case?"
After this statement, all the members of the criminal police department held their breath.
Liao Fang, who was about to leave work with her bag, quickly glanced over with a somewhat nervous expression.
Zhuang Zhen glanced at her and nodded, saying, "Help clarify for him. I've said it before, as police officers, we will not let any bad person go, nor will we wrongly accuse a good person."
Xiao Li grinned and said decisively, "Alright, I will write the press release now."
"Have the people from the propaganda department help you check it, and after you finish writing it, don’t forget to send it to the bureau chief to have a look at it," Zhuang Zhen instructed with concern.
Xiao Li answered repeatedly, while Liao Fang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The exhausted group of people left the police station.
---
That evening, the sub-bureau's official WeChat account published the case closing press release, and also helped Vangara clarify, stating that all evidence showed he had nothing to do with the case. However, netizens did not accept this explanation at all because they had long since believed that Vangara was the murderer. People only believe what they want to believe, rather than the so-called "truth" and "conclusive evidence."
The online community was in an uproar; some suspected that the police station had been bought by Vangara, some suspected that Vangara had found a scapegoat, and others went straight to the complaint button, wanting to report the branch leaders for corruption and abuse of power.
There were very few people with remaining reason, and they had no say at all. Once they attempted to speak up for Vangara, trolls aggressively pushed back, demanding, "Then tell him to come forward and explain how his death predictions and death sketches make any sense! He knew Gao Yize would die, how can he be unrelated to the case? The police think we, the public, are fools!"
Of course, many people were digging into Xiao Jin's identity, trying to find evidence that the police had found a scapegoat for; however, the police's press release was too vague, providing no insight.
Just as public opinion was overwhelmingly accusing the police station of corruption and favoritism, Vangara woke up. His pitch-black eyes flowed with shimmering light, with stars shining within, and then dissipated into a mist. He stepped out of the bathtub, stood naked in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the distant mountains. The orange light sprinkled from above, giving his white jade-like skin a layer of gold, but after a few days of rest, his body had become more plump and flexible, and he had even grown a few centimeters taller.
Many faint lights shone in his pupils, and even more lights went out. The world in his eyes was entirely different from what others saw: mountains were not mountains, water was not water, and perhaps people were not people either.
Just then, the mobile phone connected to the charger started ringing. He picked it up, glanced at it, and couldn't help but curl his lips into a mocking smile. Then he opened Weibo and changed his signature to "Spirit Medium Vangara," and began to enjoy the blatant malicious comments.
Soon, someone noticed his move, and then it was spread out. A spirit medium? What does that mean? Is he indirectly trying to clear himself from the murder of Gao Yize? Some people guessed so.
"Spirit medium? Besides Gao Yize, have any of the other death predictions come true? He's just pandering to the crowd! Gao Yize must have been killed by him, and now he's coming out to make a fuss, all just to make a comeback! This person is crazy, he has no basic legal awareness and moral bottom line, he's simply insane!"
"The police station is shielding him! I've reported it to the disciplinary commission! They must thoroughly investigate these people!"
"Where is justice? Where is the law? Where is the righteousness? Is there any hope in this world?"
"The evidence is so abundant, I don't even know how Vangara has managed to extricate himself. Spiritualism? That reason is downright ridiculous! This is rubbing our intelligence on the ground!"
"Even if he's been abandoned by his family, with a surname like Vang, the Vang family won't ignore him. It's not easy for the privileged class to fish out a person, they can't even be bothered to give the public a reasonable explanation, they're so arrogant!"
"I knew the result would be like this! Justice and righteousness are only in the hands of the privileged class, not the people! Wake up! You are just a group of cattle waiting to be slaughtered!"
"I'm so angry I can't eat! Why is scum like Vangara still alive? He should die!"
"I also want to strangle him!"
The trend of public opinion on the internet was increasingly radical, and the public was no longer clamoring for Vangara to leave the entertainment industry, but rather, they wished for him to disappear from the world forever.
The speed and scope of the malicious transmission were extremely terrifying; the malicious intents of millions of people almost immediately converged into a torrential flood, sweeping through the entire internet, and disturbing the judgment of the vast majority of the public. Even though the culprit had been brought to justice, Vangara still could not clear his name because it wasn't the law that was judging him, it was the public; such judgments were often radical, and even far from the truth.
Xiao Li, who had been monitoring the direction of online public opinion, was so anxious that he broke out in a cold sweat.
To minimize the negative impact, the police station did not announce that this case was actually a series of murders, so the public had always thought that there was only one victim, Gao Yize, and Vangara had the strongest motive for murder and the most suspicious behavior, so it was only natural that he became the prime suspect.
The press release was written by Xiao Li. His original intention was to help Vangara, but it ended up harming him, and even burning the police station. Now the branch had been reported, and the contact department's phones had been ringing non-stop, all filled with indignant citizens who cursed without giving the police a chance to explain.
Xiao Li quickly called the bureau chief, deputy bureau chief, and captain to ask for their advice.
The bureau chief was so angry that he cursed, "Damn it! I just got a call from the disciplinary commission, saying they want to send a special task force down to investigate us! The evidence in this case is conclusive, what the hell is there to investigate! If it gets any worse, I'll just publicize the whole case, regardless of the consequences! We've worked so hard on this case, why do we have to carry this black pot!"
Xiao Li earnestly advised, "Chief, please calm down. The nature of this case is too vile, if we were to publicize it on our own, the higher-ups would definitely not agree, and our whole bureau would get the brunt! I still want this month's bonus!"
The bureau chief was also speaking out of anger, just venting, and he didn't dare to publicize the true situation. He asked Xiao Li to delete the overly harsh comments, control public opinion, and refrain from any unnecessary actions.
Xiao Li agreed, and was about to delete the comments, but suddenly he froze, his fingertips hovering over the mouse, unable to click it. There was a Weibo post with a big red "Explosive" label that quickly soared to the top of the hot search rankings, with a title that was very eye-catching— "Digging into the truth of the murder of Gao Yize, with pictures, recordings, and videos, it's solid evidence!"
The rapidly rising number of clicks indicated that this Weibo post was not just a publicity stunt or a fabrication, and the situation seemed to be out of control.
The brokerage company created a straight-forward, cheerful and all-around good young man persona for him. His public image is always cheerful, positive, and straightforward, and his life is simple and rustic. He can still wear the same clothes he wore in high school, and he never goes to bars, smokes, or drinks. His life is as regular as that of a senior cadre. His behavior has gained favor from many young people and even parents.
But the person in this video seems like a skin that has been emptied and filled with countless evil objects. Even though his face is still beautiful, it gives a very uncomfortable feeling. The camera is shaking, getting closer and closer to him. Footsteps are heard, he looks up at the cameraperson, a slight smile on his lips, but his smile doesn't seem friendly.
If this video had appeared before his death, it might have gained him many fans, as this version of him completely subverted the positive image and instead exuded an indescribable sense of evil.
"You smoke too?" he says, with a cigarette in his mouth, smoke billowing from his lips, blurring his features.
The cameraperson asks an unrelated question, "Do you know Xiao Rui?"
"Who?" The smoke dissipates, revealing Gao Yize's casual face.
"Xiao Rui," the cameraperson repeats.
Gao Yize casually flicks the cigarette ash and says, "I don't know." But after the words, his gaze gradually becomes sharp, and coldly says, "If I'm not mistaken, your name seems to be Xiao Jin? What's your relationship with Xiao Rui?"
"You claimed you didn't know Xiao Rui, so why do you care about my relationship with her?" The cameraperson's voice is filled with intense hatred.
Gao Yize's nonchalant expression completely disappears, he throws the half-smoked cigarette on the ground, steps on it, and presses on, "What is your relationship with her?"
"I'm her brother! She committed suicide, it's all because of you! You kept her under house arrest, tortured her, threatened her with videos and photos, forced her to serve you like a slave. You even sold her, used dirty money to indulge yourselves! Especially you, you used a knife to carve insulting words on her back, those words have become permanent scars. When she got sick, she didn't dare to go to the hospital because she was afraid the doctor would examine her tortured body. For these years, she endured hell! She was only 15 at that time! How could you do this! You beasts!" The cameraperson's voice becomes increasingly high-pitched, every word dripping with blood.
Gao Yize's cold and stern expression turns nonchalant again, hands in his pockets, sneering, "Get to the point, how much do you want?"
"I don't want money, I want to ruin your reputation! Scum like you don't deserve to be an idol..."
Gao Yize impatiently interrupts the cameraperson, "You don't want money, then what do you want? Justice? Does such a thing exist in this world? Let me teach you a lesson, take a hundred thousand yuan hush money, take it and leave, to avoid beating the air out of a bamboo basket. You want to ruin my reputation, how? Expose me to the media? Do you have evidence? Oh, right, I remember!"
Gao Yize slaps his forehead, then suddenly appears to have a realization, "I seem to have a lot of photos and videos of Xiao Rui, would you like to see them? Do you want to disgrace me? Then let's see who disgraces who. Xiao Rui's reputation at the secondary school doesn't seem very good, right? Her classmates all know she's a disgusting person, got sick, dirty and smelly. If I put her photos and videos online, find a few classmates to expose her, what would be the result? People would only think she's a rotten, bitch, good riddance! But me? I'm a star, an idol, one of the top ten youths chosen this year! No one would doubt me because of her! She's not even worthy of polishing my shoes! When I sue you for extortion, you won't be able to run away! I'll play you at your own game!"
Gao Yize slowly approaches the cameraperson, palm patting the other's cheek, insulting and cursing freely. His enlarged face, full of a wicked smile, his pupils show no emotion other than satisfaction and disdain. He cruelly took away a living life, yet he feels no remorse, even derives pleasure from it.
Seeing this, the netizens sitting in front of their computers are filled with a chill from the depths of their hearts, and at this moment, Gao Yize's originally handsome face appears so hideous, repulsive to the point of inducing nausea.
The video is not over yet, Gao Yize's gaze moves down to meet the camera. He is only slightly taken aback, then grits his teeth and smiles, "You've got a pinhole camera? Well played, playing tricks on me! Do you believe I can make sure you never leave this building?" He takes out his phone, ready to make a call.
The cameraperson suddenly pushes hard with an arm, and Gao Yize, standing at the railing, falls back and disappears. The screen goes completely black, nothing is visible, only the heavy breathing of the cameraperson echoing in the ears of every viewer.
Shocked, angry, saddened, in disbelief... before they can even adjust their extremely complex emotions, the second video automatically begins to play: a young man reeking of alcohol, his face flushed, is held at knifepoint, crying, "Brother, please don't kill me! I didn't mean any harm to Xiao Rui, it was all Gao Fei and Ruan Ye's idea. They said Xiao Rui was too ungrateful and needed to be taught a lesson. I even tried to reason with them, but they didn't listen to me. It was Ruan Ye who made the first move, she kicked and hit Xiao Rui, and forced us to join in..."
The video ends in a pool of blood.
In the third video, a young man with a rugged face is similarly held at knifepoint, pleading, "Brother, don't kill me! I know I was wrong! We were young and ignorant at that time, please spare me, how much money do you want, I'll give it to you. We were just bored at the time, it was Ruan Ye who recommended Xiao Rui to us. She said Xiao Rui was a girl from the countryside, no parents, only an older brother working outside town, so it wouldn't matter even if we ruined her. It was all Ruan Ye's instigation, if you want revenge, go find her..."
A piercing cry interrupts the video. Before the audience can catch their breath, the fourth video starts to play: a small-framed young man lies crouched between a sink and a toilet, a large needle inserted into his wrist, the needle filled with cloudy liquid.
As he spits foam, he pleads, "Brother, please call for an ambulance, I can't take it anymore! Brother, I'm just a lackey, you shouldn't come after me. It was Ruan Ye who told us to bully Xiao Rui, she and Gao Fei are both perverts, they were the most brutal, I hardly did anything, I was just helping to watch Xiao Rui, making sure she didn't escape. Did you see the words carved on Xiao Rui's back? It was Gao Fei who used a small knife to carve them, then sprinkled salt, saying it would leave scars forever. The burns from cigarette butts on Xiao Rui's body were done by Ruan Ye, she also destroyed Xiao Rui's reputation everywhere. She envied Xiao Rui for being prettier, having better grades than her, and wanted to ruin Xiao Rui completely. If you want revenge, go after her, spare me, please..."
The begging tone gradually fades, eventually disappearing, leaving only a pale and foaming face in the frame.
The fifth video is filmed in dim light, a young woman is bound to a single bed, her eyes covered with adhesive tape, her mouth free, a haunting female voice echoing around her, as if reading from a diary. After hearing the content of the diary, the woman screams in terror, "Xiao Rui, is that you? You're not dead? Let me go! I can ruin you once, I can ruin you twice! I have your videos and photos, I can put them all online and make you never hold your head up again! You, you..."
A piece of adhesive tape crosses the lens, sticking to her fetid mouth, then there is a long silence and darkness.
After the video ends, images start to play automatically, one page at a time, and simple words describe unimaginable suffering.
"Today, they ganged up again, four of them..." "Hit me with a stick, made me kneel on broken glass..." "Gao Fei used a knife to carve words on my back, I couldn't see, but I could feel what they were, salt was sprinkled, it hurt, shivering..." "Why am I so filthy?" "They sold me like a pig or a dog..." "When will these days end?" "Why do I have to live?" "Who will save me?"
The long picture abruptly stops and a short video replaces it. The last page of the diary is stuck with dried blood, the cameraperson's hands appear in the frame, trying to turn the page, but no matter how much they try, they can't. They keep trying, fingertips trembling, once, twice, three times... countless times, until these two pages are finally turned over, the farewell filled with love and despair shattering everyone's sanity.
Tears fall in large drops onto the blood-stained pages, but they are unable to piece them together again.
Lastly, several photos gradually come into focus on the screen, a young girl lying on an autopsy table, her face and vital areas pixilated, but her exposed skin is covered in scars, circular burns, knife wounds, and criss-crossing lash marks. The most harrowing is a photo of her back, with insulting words randomly carved with a sharp knife almost completely covering her skin. The raised pale scars are a lifetime of indelible shame, and an unbearable burden she is unable to bear.
After the photos disappear, large red words slowly appear - "Those who swim in sin will inevitably sink in sorrow."
People who had clicked on this Weibo were completely speechless, their blank minds unable to express any opinion, only able to stare at these words seemingly flowing with blood.