37. The female corpse in red

He couldn't say how many times this had happened, but he knew in his heart that no matter how strong a person is, there will always be a vulnerable spot.

That flame was the most vulnerable spot in Fang Chengjin's heart.

That day, the sunset glowed, the roads were familiar, the surroundings were familiar, and the smells were familiar, but there was an unusual scent in them.

The scorching smell of the sun, the cement smell of the floor, the burnt smell of charcoal... the fresh fruity aroma of the fruit stand in front of the door—everything was immersed in that great fire.

No one knows how the fire started. All they know is that it started with smoke coming from an old house in a low-lying area. They thought it was just someone cooking and burning something. Then a series of houses caught fire, and the fire grew bigger and bigger... The noise, footsteps, sirens... all the sounds were mixed together.

When Fang Chengjin returned home with his schoolbag on his back, this was the scene he saw.

The fire started at his house, where it was at its most intense point.

"Xiao Fang, thank goodness you went to school. By the way, where are your parents? We haven't seen them at all. Your house caught fire! It really ruined our lives, do you even know that..."

People kept pushing and shoving him, but he was completely stunned.

The smells he detected were so mixed that they even confused his sense of smell.

It took him a long time to react. He rushed into the engulfed building, searching frantically, calling out, "Dad... Mom..."

With a loud bang, the beam hanging from the roof fell down, making a crackling and popping sound that was indistinguishable from the sound of burning flames or the sound of a broken bridge.

......

When Fang Chengjin woke up, it was already getting light. The curtains by the bed were not drawn, so the bright sunlight shone in, illuminating his pale face.

My throat feels inexplicably itchy and dry.

Fang Chengjin propped himself up, opened the door, went to the tea room next door, poured himself a cup of tea, took ice cubes from the refrigerator, put them in the tea, and drank several large gulps of it, enjoying the icy aroma.

The cool liquid sobered him up considerably, and the astringency and freshness of the tea washed away the bitterness in his heart.

Fang Chengjin, holding a teacup, walked down the corridor. When he passed the door of the study, he paused, stepped aside, and went inside.

He walked past the bookshelves to the French windows, pulled up a chair, and sat down.

Setting down the cup, Fang Chengjin rested his hands on his temples, closed his eyes, and pondered for a long while.

Fang Cheng lowered his head and looked at the locked cabinet. Suddenly, his pupils contracted slightly.

This lock has been tampered with.

**

At one o'clock in the morning on Hong Kong Island, many high-rise buildings in the bustling Central area still have their lights on, illuminating the surrounding seaside.

The rapid spread of live streaming meant that most of the city's employees were still browsing the internet and watching the live streams. Some bloggers were teaching the most advanced technologies, while others were simply indulging in a sense of curiosity.

The live stream room with the ID "Night Shadow" suddenly became the most popular and number one.

The live stream room was decorated with a simple purple backdrop, and the dim yellow lighting created a hazy and mysterious atmosphere. A man wearing a black hoodie was sitting in front of the screen, broadcasting live, wearing a mask, and speaking in a beautiful and exaggerated tone.

“I am guilty, and they are guilty too. Heaven will punish us. Remember, something big will happen tomorrow at noon.”

The man in black kept repeating that sentence over and over again.

A large number of spectators, numbering in the tens of thousands, poured in below.

The comments below varied:

......

Meanwhile, in a park on the outskirts of Hong Kong Island, it was pitch black at one o'clock in the morning.

The man watched for a while, until he reached the foot of the mountain. After getting into a van, he threw his phone into the bushes outside.

With a crack, the phone screen shattered.

......

The next morning, the sun shone brightly on the earth, and the chill in the trees vanished, leaving only a refreshing coolness.

At six o'clock in the morning, people started climbing the mountain for morning exercise one after another, and most of them were elderly.

The old man looked around; the warm sunlight shone on him. He was wearing a white vest, black shorts, and a pair of Warrior sneakers. After pausing for a moment, he chose to walk down the side path.

The sun is shining brightly; let's try a new road.

What he didn't notice was a glowing cell phone hidden in the nearby bushes.

........

The old man was panting heavily because he had overexerted himself. After climbing to a flat area, he leaned against a large rock to rest for a while.

He took deep breaths repeatedly, and all the smells in the air rushed over him.

A foul, damp, and bloody smell filled the air, causing the old man to frown and mutter a complaint.

"Where's that stinky rat smell coming from? It stinks horribly! What's going on here? Hasn't anyone cleaned it up...?"

The old man changed his breathing position, but the fishy, ​​foul smell persisted, even growing stronger, as if it were coming from behind the stone.

The rock the old man was leaning against was incredibly large, as tall as him, so much so that it took two people to reach out and hug it.

Because it is sheltered by the surrounding tall tree trunks, this stone is always cool and damp.

The old man subconsciously peeked behind the boulder. He cautiously peered out, bracing himself for the sight of several dead rats. He wondered if someone had put rat poison to kill the rats, and simply thought he was just unlucky to have chosen this path that morning.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a bare ankle behind the rock; the mottled skin was deathly pale. The old man's brows furrowed even more deeply.

Above, a person lay on the ground. The person's shoes were nowhere to be seen. The person was peacefully and calmly lying face up with eyes closed, arms resting on their sides. They were wearing a bright red halter dress that accentuated their beautiful figure.

The woman was exceptionally fair-skinned, almost as white as a piece of chalk, not a normal white.

The old man's brows were furrowed, like a twisted knot. He called out, "Hey, why are you sleeping here?"

There was no response.

The old man was quite old and his work was related to the government. Seeing a beautiful woman lying there, he didn't have much lustful desire, but he felt strange. He swallowed and carefully approached her.

As he approached the woman, he suddenly noticed a frightening bloodstain on the side of her right wrist, as if it had been cut with a knife. Strangely, however, there was not a single drop of blood on the ground.

That bloodstain immediately brought to mind suicide by wrist-cutting.

The old man collapsed to the ground in terror, his hand trembling as he pointed at the woman... Dead... Dead?

......

When the report was received, Lin Long was flirting with Xia, a police officer.

"My dear Xiaxia, just tell the boss, how exactly did your Captain Zhou know the size of the sieve?"

Ever since that night when Zhou Yun defeated all the men in the squad by shaking the dice, Lin Long vowed to learn this trick so he could show off to his rich second-generation friends.

So Lin Long first tried to find out what was going on by asking Pan Xiaoxia about their relationship, but little did he know that the girl was really stubborn.

Pan Xiaoxia, expressionless, sorted through the files and rolled her eyes at him. "Captain Lin, you should just focus on your work. This sieve isn't so easy to learn."

Lin Long was about to say something when Pan Xiaoxia interrupted, "I need to see the body. Captain Lin, do you want to come with me?"

Lin Long blinked: "A corpse?"

Pan Xiaoxia took out her phone and opened the message that had been sent a couple of seconds earlier.

The sender was Zhou Yun.

Lin Long suddenly became anxious, "Xia, you're from the Hong Kong Island Police Station. You just go when Captain Zhou tells you to? Who's your boss anyway? But a murder case? I don't know anything about it..."

Just as he was about to say something, someone burst into the office.

"Team Leader Lin, something's wrong! Someone's reported a murder in Hongshan Park!"

Lin Long frowned immediately.