Chapter 1, Poppy 01

Luo Siwei tried hard to open his eyes.

There was nothingness all around, with large patches of thick fog.

It was cold, she was lightly dressed, and tied to an old chair, her hands and feet tightly bound, her mouth taped shut.

Beside her stood a man in black, a long knife tightly clenched in his hand. It was a deadly weapon, gleaming with cold light, and was very close to her, as if ready to strike at any moment.

She wanted to call for help, but her mouth was covered with several rounds of tape. Sweat streamed down Luo Siwei's forehead, and she felt as if bugs were crawling on her body. She couldn't figure out the situation around her. Beyond the faint light was endless darkness, like a bottomless abyss.

Luo Siwei's heartbeat was like a drum, and her breathing became rapid. Her chest heaved as she tried to calm herself and analyze the situation.

The man was wearing a mask and a hat. He was tall, about thirty years old, and had a strong build.

As the executioner, he was trembling with excitement.

The man's breathing was heavy through the mask. He wore black fingerless gloves with long fingers. From the angle where Luo Siwei was sitting, she could see the bulging blue veins on the man's sturdy forearms and the dark blue blood vessels like vines bulging in his flesh. She could even see the hairs on the man's arms and smell the faint smell of blood in the room.

The man's movements were skillful and fearless; this was definitely not his first offense; he likely had a criminal record. His hands were lightly callused, and the knots in his bonds were complex, making it difficult to break free.

Luo Siwei judged that this was a born pervert who loved killing.

The man is an out-and-out serial killer, and she is his prey.

As if to reward her for her correct reasoning, the thick fog in front of her eyes dissipated a little, allowing her to see not far away.

This place is like a dark corner deep in the jungle.

It turned out that there were people around, and there were many people standing in the darkness.

Those people were all men, of different heights, weights and sizes. The only thing in common was that they wore some ugly animal masks, including lions, tigers and wolves.

The crowd was very quiet, standing silently and solemnly, like statues or wild animals spying on their prey.

All Luo Siwei could see were their eyes. Those eyes, peeked out from the holes in their masks, revealed a primitive animality: bloodlust, lust, greed, indifference...

This scene is not in line with common sense.

Luo Siwei realized something again.

This is a dream, a nightmare to be more precise.

She tried hard to wake up, but her body seemed to be held down by something, and her soul seemed to be locked in an airtight steel cage.

The man finally took action. He raised the knife in his hand, and the sharp blade pierced between Luo Siwei's ribs, slicing through her chest. Blood flowed down her body. Luo Siwei whimpered, feeling like a sacrifice on the altar.

Although it was a dream, everything before her eyes was too real, even the pain was there. She could feel her heart beating with it.

Luo Siwei's nails dug into the seat beneath her, and her limbs struggled, desperately trying to break free. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get rid of the restraints.

Death is approaching and there is no escape.

The masked men around moved like zombies and slowly gathered around them.

Only when she got closer did Luo Siwei realize that these people seemed to have no physical form, but rather black shadows. The men took off their masks, and she recognized them. Among them were famous serial killers she had read about in textbooks, executed bloodthirsty individuals, and some she had personally captured and imprisoned...

Those people were like wriggling maggots, disgusting. Some of them stretched out their hands to grab her body, while others tried to climb up from her ankles, licking her blood.

Luo Siwei's clothes were torn, and goose bumps broke out all over her body. A feeling of nausea kept churning in her body. She felt like she was stuck in a deep quagmire, sinking continuously, and all her senses were moving away from her.

Cold eyes, cold blade, silent scream.

This scene seemed to have been repeated thousands of times in her dreams.

Luo Siwei felt like a piece of fish on a chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered. Her hands were covered in blood, and the wound on her chest hurt with every breath.

She couldn't escape...

Even if this was just a dream, she would die in this nightmare.

Suddenly, Luo Siwei seemed to hear a distant voice, an urgent voice, calling her name.

"Luo Siwei..."

She felt that the voice was familiar, but she couldn't tell who was calling her.

The voice was like a sharp sword that could break through chaos, awakening her consciousness and helping her to wake up from the nightmare and return to the world.

She must break free from these constraints, starting from the weakest link, and then not miss any opportunity.

Luo Siwei found that the tape on his face was wet with cold sweat and he might be able to break free.

Thinking of this, Luo Siwei began to shake his head and move his jaw.

Such an action naturally attracted the murderer's attention. He reached out and grabbed her neck, leaning over to look at her.

Luo Siwei raised her head as the man moved.

Looking at his dark pupils, Luo Si pursed his lips slightly, his eyes becoming more determined.

The tape has come loose...

Now is the time!

Waiting for the man to get closer, Luo Siwei tilted his neck back, then rushed forward, and suddenly hit the man's forehead with a headbutt, catching him off guard.

Then Luo Siwei struggled to break free from the tape that sealed her mouth. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and bit the man's hand hard. She imagined herself as a wild beast, biting hard.

The man cursed in pain and swung with the knife in his other hand.

Luo Si opened her mouth slightly, dodged sideways, and deliberately let the man's blade hit the rope on her shoulder.

My shoulder ached, and the rope was cut open.

She struggled hard and broke free from the shackles on her right hand. The next second, Luo Siwei used her right hand to grab the man's knife. Blood splattered everywhere, and her right hand was severely injured, but it bought her a chance to survive.

Her left hand finally broke free, and she dragged the man's head against the armrest of the chair in front of her. The skull hit the wood with a loud crack, cracking bones.

Everything happened in an instant.

After several collisions, Luo Siwei finally knocked down the man in front of her. She gasped and used the knife dropped by the man to cut the ropes that bound her feet.

Ignoring the wounds on her body, Luo Siwei raised her leg and kicked the man who was trying to get up again, then stomped on the villain in front of her with the tip of her shoe...

It was as if a hurricane was blowing around her, driving away all the evil spirits.

The light finally penetrated the darkness and shone in...

Luo Siwei suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.

The nightmare is over.

Sitting on the double bed in the dark, Luo Siwei was breathing heavily, covered in cold sweat, and his heart was beating rapidly.

There were other sounds in the slightly empty room.

Then she realized it was her cell phone ringing.

Luo Siwei quickly grabbed the phone and saw a familiar number on the screen. It was a call from the police station.

She tried to calm her voice and asked hoarsely, "Hello?"

The operator's voice came from the other end: "Captain Luo, there's a case. A female corpse was found outside the abandoned school building in Donglan University Town."

Luo Siwei's nightmare was completely over, and she said calmly: "Send me the message, I'll be there soon."

After hanging up the phone, Luo Siwei looked at the time. Today was Saturday and it was 5:30 in the morning, more than half an hour earlier than she usually woke up.

Luo Siwei got up from the bed and quickly opened the curtains. The sunlight came in from the window, illuminating the entire room.

While she was packing up, she started working. Her colleagues from the Third Branch were also called by the police officer. Luo Siwei's fingers tapped nimbly on the mobile phone, transferring the address and information, completing the arrangement and dispatch of the police officers.

Then she washed and dressed as quickly as possible.

Luo Siwei lives alone in a small house. There are several vases of flowers of different sizes on the table in the dining room, including pink roses and carnations of various colors. In one of the vases, there are a few peonies soaked. They were still iron eggs last night, but now they are secretly blooming, like white clouds.

Luo Siwei skillfully tied up her shoulder-length hair and looked in the mirror while brushing her teeth.

The woman in the mirror was very thin and tall, with a long neck and slightly upturned eyes. Even though she worked in the wind and sun, her skin was still a shade whiter than others.

When she has no expression, she gives people a cold feeling.

But those are just appearances. People who know her well know that she is just cold on the outside. Luo Siwei handles cases very rationally, but in life she is very easygoing and not difficult to approach.

After washing up, Luo Siwei took out a white shirt and found a pair of jeans. As she buttoned her shirt, she ran her fingers over a scar on her chest. The scar had long since healed, but the bulge still felt strange, as if she wasn't touching her own body.

Luo Siwei recalled the nightmare she had before.

That dream was her nightmare, which kept repeating itself over and over again.

Sometimes it's in a small hotel, sometimes in a cabin, sometimes in a car, and sometimes on a yacht.

The murderers she faced were different and their clothes were different, but most of her dreams were similar.

She is the victim and the man in the dream wants to kill her.

Luo Siwei felt that rather than saying those were illusory dreams, it would be better to say that they were shadows reflected by her life.

She had an accident when she was twenty years old, six years ago, during the winter break of her sophomore year in college.

Unfortunately, she was kidnapped by a murderer.

Fortunately, she was rescued by the police.

Instead of becoming a new victim, she became the only survivor of the case.

From then on, Luo Siwei began to be haunted by these nightmares.

Two years after that incident, Luo Siwei graduated from the Public Security University, became a criminal policeman, and was assigned to the Third Branch of Donglan City.

Everyone is born with his or her own areas of expertise. Some are good at art, some are good at music, some have superior IQs, and some have excellent physical strength.

And Luo Siwei is a natural explorer.

She has sharp senses, is meticulous, decisive, brave, intelligent and hardworking, and she thrives in this male-dominated field.

She quickly became a leader among young police officers. She was promoted to deputy captain two years ago and became captain last year, managing a criminal investigation team.

Luo Siwei fastened the last button on her chest and prepared to leave.

The early morning sun shines down, brightly illuminating the entire city.

Luo Siwei walked downstairs and met her first-floor neighbor watering the flowers. The aunt greeted her: "Good morning, why are you out so early on the weekend?"

Ever since Luo Siwei helped her aunt carry something once, her aunt has been very polite to her.

Luo Si smiled slightly and replied, "To work overtime."

"Oh, I'm not saying anything, but you young people nowadays are really too extravagant. I often see you coming home after 10 o'clock, and you're going out again before 6 o'clock."

Luo Si smiled. Her nickname in the Third Division was the Roll King.

Luo Siwei usually works alone, and when she has nothing to do, she likes to work overtime. Of course, it's not the kind of overtime that wastes time in vain, but she works to solve the case as soon as possible. As long as the case is solved, she will be happy.

The aunt greeted her warmly again: "I have freshly steamed buns at home. Take two for breakfast."

"Auntie, I'm in a hurry."

"It won't take you long. One minute, no no, half a minute will be enough." After saying that, the aunt went back to the house.

Luo Siwei didn't want to disappoint her neighbor's kindness. She hadn't had breakfast yet, and investigating the case didn't cost her half a minute, so the aunt quickly took out the buns and handed them to her.

"You young people must also take care of your health." Auntie's words were filled with hatred for capitalists. She paused and asked Luo Siwei, "By the way, little girl, what do you do?"

Luo Siwei took the bun and said, "I'm a police officer."

The aunt's attitude immediately changed: "That's great, female police officers are amazing. They serve the people. Be careful when you work overtime."

Ordinary people need to get out of the internal competition, but the police can bring safety to ordinary people if they are involved.

Luo Siwei thought that he could still do it. There were still some industries in this world that required him to do his best to win.

The author has something to say:

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This article is a fictional suspense story, written from the perspective of the protagonist and the heroine, and some of the settings may be different from reality. I wish you a happy reading.