Chapter 1

It was a little after two in the morning.

Luo Jingyao groped her way to the kitchen in the dark, endured the pain in her throat that woke her up from her sleep, and reached out to open the refrigerator door.

The moment the refrigerator door was opened, her eyes, which had already adapted to the darkness, were blinded by the light from inside the refrigerator and she subconsciously squinted.

At the same time, an indescribable smell began to spread in the nose.

Could it be that the food has been left out for too long and has rotted?

Luo Jingyao was still reflecting on herself the previous second, but when she opened her eyelids the next second, she was shocked to find that she seemed to be in the refrigerator of an unfamiliar refrigerator.

She held her breath and looked around. It was pitch black. After trying hard to distinguish, she found that the refrigerator compartment was filled with a lot of various foods wrapped in supermarket plastic bags, and the rotten smell she had just smelled came from the half-open black bag in the corner.

here we go again.

She pursed her lips speechlessly. Luo Jingyao did not show any surprise or panic at this sudden situation. She was obviously familiar with it.

Since she officially retired and returned to her hometown, similar scenes have occurred several times, and each time it happened when she made an action similar to opening a door.

The duration of this illusion-like scene varies, from tens of seconds to several minutes. In most cases, the surroundings are extremely silent and the visible range is very limited, so at first Luo Jingyao just thought that there was something wrong with her brain due to the torture of many years of professional career.

She even went to the hospital for a comprehensive health check-up, but the doctor only handed her a bunch of reports and tactfully suggested that she see a psychologist.

Until one day not long ago, she opened the door and inexplicably came to a forest, where she saw a hand hidden under dead leaves.

The overly pale hands looked even more desolate against the wet soil, and the originally smooth skin was covered with shocking scars.

Coincidentally, on the same day, Luo Jingyao saw a news report on a short video about a woman in Tangcheng City who went missing while running at night and was killed in a dense forest in the suburbs.

Tangcheng City is only separated from Jinshi where she is now by a river.

Trying hard to suppress her fear, Luo Jingyao carefully compared the photos of the crime scene in the news with the various details in her memory, and suddenly an extremely absurd guess emerged in her mind.

Speaking of which, the case of the woman who was murdered while running at night seems to have not been solved yet, and her mentality has gradually changed from being confused and at a loss when she first found out that she could peek at the crime scene to being calm and accustomed to it now.

But this is not a solution at all.

Hiss... Luo Jingyao took a breath of the turbid cool air from the refrigerator, and felt the coldness penetrate into her bones. She also took back her thoughts that were gradually drifting away.

It is obvious that every time she opens the door and goes to another place, it is only her soul and not her body, but she still has this experience of being surrounded by real scenes. I am really grateful.

Listening to the roar of the refrigerator working next to her ears, Luo Jingyao's soul trembled.

Not sure how long she would stay here this time, she squatted in a pile of wilted vegetable leaves out of boredom, enduring the cold that was constantly eroding her head while worrying that her cold symptoms would get worse.

Just when Luo Jingyao was daydreaming again, the refrigerator door that had been closed in front of her suddenly opened.

In an instant, the rotten smell in the refrigerator rushed out with the cool air.

"...Hmm..." Unexpectedly, the visitor did not show any aversion to the smell in the refrigerator. Instead, he took a deep breath as if he was enjoying it, and a pleasant sound came out of his throat.

Sounds like a man.

Luo Jingyao, who was in the soul state, subconsciously froze. Even though she knew that the other party should not be able to find her, she still curled up into a ball as much as possible.

After all, this was the first time she met a living person after opening the door!

Soon, as the cool air in the refrigerator gradually dissipated, Luo Jingyao saw the person standing in front of the refrigerator. Unfortunately, due to the light from outside and the limitation of the refrigerator door frame, she could only vaguely see the dark woolen sweater the person was wearing.

The style is ordinary and has no special features.

Then the man reached in.

A black plastic bag was held in a big hand that looked a little rough, and it just went straight through her soul hiding in the refrigerator. The touch that felt like a substance made her scalp tighten.

Fortunately, the other party did not notice anything unusual and threw the plastic bag into the refrigerator casually. Before leaving, he also took a can of beer and then slammed the refrigerator door shut.

Bang!

Suddenly, the cold storage room where she was staying fell into the familiar darkness again. The only thing that changed was that in addition to the smell of decay, there was also a strong smell of blood in the air.

After making sure that the other party had indeed moved away from the refrigerator, Luo Jingyao couldn't help but take a deep breath. The coldness that seemed to go directly into her lungs made her able to think normally.

Her eyes slowly fell on the place where the man's hand had just touched. Although she couldn't see clearly due to the light, the glaring red remaining on the transparent plastic partition was surprisingly vivid.

The smell of fresh blood is now beginning to overshadow the rotten smell.

Luo Jingyao turned her gaze with difficulty and glanced at the black plastic bag that had just been thrown in.

Probably because it had been handled roughly, the black plastic bag was wide open, and judging by its shape, it actually contained...

A finger?! A human finger?!

Luo Jingyao's eyes suddenly widened, but at this moment, she felt dizzy and when she woke up again, she was back in front of her refrigerator.

She mechanically took out a bottle of iced mineral water from the refrigerator, unscrewed the lid, tilted her head back and drank it. The sweet ice water soothed the pain in her throat but could not calm the turbulent waves in her heart.

Could it be that what I peeked into a few seconds ago was a crime scene in progress?!

This realization immediately made Luo Jingyao feel restless. She sat in the living room without any sleepiness. As time passed, her hands and feet gradually became cold.

Finally, the sky outside began to lighten slightly.

When the first ray of morning sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the sofa in the living room, Luo Jingyao finally woke up from her dream, blinked her dry eyes, then got up and went into the bathroom to clean herself up.

She perfunctorily took a piece of whole wheat toast and walked out the door without a moment's delay.

About ten minutes later, she came out of the subway station and went straight to the flower shop a hundred meters away.

The moment she opened the door and entered the shop and smelled the rich floral fragrance, Luo Jingyao's heart, which had been restless since midnight, finally calmed down a little, and she began to clean up the mess on the workbench.

The passionate days of fighting every day before retirement lasted too long, making her particularly nostalgic for the peaceful life she has now.

But it seems that things don't always go as planned.

Soon, the wind chime hanging above the store door rang, and the clerk she had hired a few days ago arrived.

The other party was a girl in her early twenties, young and energetic. Not only were her hands nimble, but her round face with a smile also made her particularly approachable.

The two people greeted each other, and Luo Jingyao gave the other party a few words of advice. Then she glanced at the time, grabbed the backpack beside her and hurried out the door.

Her destination was not far away. After leaving the flower shop, crossing the road and walking west for about two minutes, she stopped outside the gate of a unit. A white steel sign with the words "Jinshi Public Security Bureau" hanging on the doorpost reflected a dazzling light.

Sighing silently, Luo Jingyao felt that she had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.

Those suspected crime scenes flashed before her eyes, whether there was something wrong or not. Even a person with strong nerves would have psychological problems if this continued for a long time, right?

But there is no way to tell others about this mysterious situation. As soon as she opens her mouth, everyone will think she is crazy.

After a few visits, Luo Jingyao set her sights on the Jinshi Public Security Bureau, which was not far from her flower shop. Just recently, she heard from a local senior that the Public Security Bureau was recruiting short-term physical trainers, so she thought of giving it a try.

Perhaps because her resume was so impressive, the Jinshi Public Security Bureau quickly finalized the employment contract and other related matters. Today was her third day on the job.

The intensity of this work is not that great. Apart from the fact that some trainees are ridiculously weak, there is nothing to complain about.

As she thought this, she had already walked into the compound of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, walked around the office building in front and came to the annex building on the west side.

As soon as the door of the training room was pushed open, the originally noisy voices inside suddenly died down. Luo Jingyao's eyes swept over the faces of everyone present and quickly determined that the first wave of trainees in the morning were from the Special Case Investigation Team.

This so-called investigation team seems to be a rather special existence in the bureau. It is said that the team members are all industry elites who have been carefully collected from all over the country.

Well, it’s quite special, and the physical strength is particularly weak.

She hadn't even trained for a while these past two days, but the five of them looked like they were breathing in more than out. They could still stay on the front line day and night with such bodies. It can be said that they are indeed gifted.

"Good morning, officers." Retracting her gaze, Luo Jingyao smiled and greeted them in a soft voice.

Jinshi is located in the north. Although her hometown is here, she grew up in the water town of Jiangnan. So she speaks in a soft voice, and with her fair appearance, she looks particularly gentle.

However, when the people in the room saw her smiling face, they felt an inexplicable chill down their spines and immediately responded, "Good morning, Coach Luo."

Luo Jingyao didn't waste any more time and went straight to talking about today's training arrangements.

So when Lin Jiafan pushed the door open with the coolness of early autumn, what he saw was the gloomy faces of the people.

The people in the room turned their heads when they heard the noise. The next moment, the tall yet overly slender young man with blond hair rushed over and cried out with all his heart, "Boss! You're finally back! Do you know how we've been getting by in the past five days when you were away?!"

Lin Jiafan retreated half a step to the side without leaving a trace, accurately avoiding the figure that pounced on him, and then raised his eyes to observe the pale faces of everyone else.

Finally, he looked past the crowd and at the person in the middle of the training ground. Luo Jingyao was not restrained either. She clasped her fists towards the other person in a generous manner, and her eyes curved into crescent shapes when she smiled.

"..." Lin Jiafan frowned slightly and was about to say something, but was interrupted by a noise coming from the yard outside.

It was still the same yellow-haired young man who immediately rushed to the window upon hearing the noise, stretching his neck out. "What the hell? This is bad, boss! The gate to our bureau has been blocked!"

At this moment, Luo Jingyao also went over. Indeed, there was a lot of people crowded outside the gate. The group was shouting something excitedly, but the distance was too far and it was difficult to hear clearly.

However, the banners held high by the crowd could be seen clearly.

Give me back my life!

The four large blood-red characters looked particularly frightening against the backdrop of the white cloth.

"Oh no! They are starting to attack the security guard!" the young man shouted in panic.

"Let's go and take a look!" Lin Jiafan said in a deep voice, and took the lead to walk out of the training room.

In just a few seconds, Luo Jingyao was the only one left in the huge place.

She thought about it, then bent down to pick up her bag and followed the special case investigation team at a pace that was neither fast nor slow.

Luo Jingyao had just walked out of the main door of the annex building when a shrill scream came from the other side of the door: "The Jinshi Public Security Bureau is taking human life lightly! Return my son's life to me!"