Chapter 11 Shadows of Luoshan 1

In response to my question, the police officer nodded slightly, but gave a conservative answer: "At least that's what the current leads suggest."

No wonder this police officer, who specializes in marijuana-related cases, is here.

If the police testimony is taken entirely at face value, then Ma is both a serial killer who has emerged in the last two or three months and the murderer who killed his former tenant eight months ago.

According to Asaho's own testimony, she accidentally traveled from the apocalypse to the present time yesterday, which is also her "alibi".

It is possible to make these two seemingly contradictory statements true at the same time, but we will not go into details here, and that would require complete trust in Asahi.

I must admit that I do have a desire to stir up trouble and look forward to an apocalypse that will be enough to destroy the existing order.

It's not that what I want is the "outcome" of "human civilization being destroyed." What I truly desire is the "process" in which everything around me collides with the super catastrophe that could bring about that outcome, and I become a part of it. In this earth-shattering process, I might be terrified, laugh at my current naive thoughts, or I might discover a different version of myself.

However, from a rational perspective, I still have reservations about the future that Asaho described; in other words, the possibility that she is a serial killer still exists in my mind.

Putting aside everything else, the police even have photos of Ma Zao.

That was a proper headshot, not a candid photo taken on the street. Unless there's a specific need, most people wouldn't intentionally take such a photo. This evidence further reduces the credibility of Asahi's testimony that she "only traveled to this era yesterday."

Asahi didn't give me the impression of being someone who would kill indiscriminately, but if everything can be judged based on ambiguous impressions, what need is there for reasoning or evidence?

"Can we go now?" Chang'an couldn't stay any longer after learning that the murderer was still committing crimes in the city.

"Don't leave yet, come and give your statements."

The police officers adopted a professional demeanor and led us to the pavilion in the residential area.

"Don't we need to go to the station to give a statement?" Chang'an asked.

"No need," the police officer replied simply.

Seeing that Chang'an was still a little confused, I added, "We are not criminal suspects, so there is no need to go to the interrogation room. We can make a statement outside."

Chang'an had seen the police a few times when he was causing trouble everywhere, but his knowledge in this area has not improved at all, not even as much as mine, a law-abiding citizen.

Although my title of "always law-abiding" has become quite humorous now.

The police officer asked casually, "You seem to know a lot. Have you given a statement before?"

"I just read a lot of novels," I replied.

The policeman sat down in the pavilion, took out paper, pen, and recording equipment, and then looked at me and said, "In that case, let's start with you."

I sat upright across from him, but I was actually a little nervous.

Not only was I feeling guilty, but I also had a real gun hidden in my backpack. Right now, I can feel the gun burning hot, like it's scorching my back through the backpack fabric.

The statement was just a series of simple questions and answers; ultimately, the other party couldn't ask me any complicated questions. I wasn't the tenant of the fifteenth-floor room; the main questions were still directed to Chang'an.

During the journey, I seized every opportunity to ask questions: "Was the 'magic circle' in that house left by the murderer eight months ago? Didn't the police who were collecting evidence at the scene find it?"

It's understandable if an ordinary tenant wouldn't be able to find the magic circle hidden under the carpet, but it's really unacceptable if even the police, who specialize in investigating murder scenes, couldn't find it.

Judging from the attitude of the policeman in front of them, it was clear that they only realized the existence of that magic circle eight months later.

There's probably some important clue hidden inside that I haven't yet grasped.

"You'd have to ask the person in charge of that at the time," the policeman said, giving a vague answer. "And don't interrupt, I'm asking you now."

As expected, the answer wasn't so easy to get. After all, I'm just an ordinary citizen, and he had no reason to tell me any clues related to the case.

I could only verbally agree first, and then I changed direction and tried to find out about Ma Zao indirectly.

Last time, the police directly referred to Asaho as a "serial killer." However, procedurally speaking, without any trial, no matter how much or how clear the evidence against the perpetrator is, they can only be called a "suspect," not a "criminal."

Of course, that's just a strict procedural statement. In a normal conversation, no one would complain if a suspect with conclusive evidence were directly called a criminal.

What I want to know is whether the authorities have obtained irrefutable evidence that Asahi committed murder.

However, the police in front of me remained tight-lipped about the case, and I couldn't get any useful clues out of them.

The police quickly finished questioning me, then turned to look at Chang'an before saying, "I have something to ask him privately now. You can go now."

"Huh?" Chang'an asked, puzzled.

I had a vague idea of ​​what the police were going to say to Chang'an next.

"I understand." I stood up first, then said to Chang'an, "Then I'll wait for you outside the community."

-

Although I said I was going to leave, how could I possibly be so honest?

As I was leaving, I secretly placed a firefly next to the pavilion to spy on the entire process of the police taking a statement from Chang'an.

As expected, the conversation unfolded as Chang'an insisted that he had indeed encountered strange events in his fifteenth-floor room, but he couldn't produce any evidence to prove his experience. Meanwhile, the police asked mostly common-sense questions.

But are the official authorities truly unaware of those "existences beyond common sense"? This world has superpowered individuals like me, and it also has strange things like the basement on the fifteenth floor. Even if many extraordinary secrets are unknown to the public, the official authorities should be aware of them.

Furthermore, the fact that the public is unaware of the existence of these strange objects is itself sufficient evidence that some "invisible hand" is preventing information related to them from reaching the public. To achieve this level of information control, a sufficiently large organization must be operating behind the scenes.

The question is, why would official authorities censor information? Is it because they fear the existence of strange entities will cause social panic? Such a reason seems far-fetched.

Or is it that there exists a strange entity capable of spreading harm through human cognition, forcing the authorities to resort to this desperate measure?

Of course, there is another possibility, although I think it is unlikely. It can't be that things like me and the basement on the fifteenth floor are so rare that no one knows about them.

"Um, officer, why do you want to speak with me alone?" Chang'an finally couldn't help but ask. "Is there something you don't want my friends to know?"

The policeman didn't seem to notice the "fireflies" I had secretly set up. Under my gaze, he replied, "I guess so, but it was mainly to warn you."

"Warning?" Chang'an was puzzled.

"That serial killer has taken the lives of five victims in the last two or three months. The victims all shared the common characteristic of being extremely wealthy and powerful—either incredibly rich business owners or high-ranking officials. While you are neither a business owner nor an official, you also come from an exceptionally wealthy family, so..."

I had already seen this news in the news, but Chang'an knew nothing about it. He looked horrified: "Do you think I'll be the next victim?"

"We're just saying we can't rule out that possibility. We'll send someone to protect you secretly afterward," the police officer reassured him in a firm tone.

Chang'an panicked, but then suddenly had a flash of quick thinking and noticed a blind spot: "Wait, this isn't right, is it? Was my former tenant also someone you described as rich and powerful?"

The fifteenth-floor apartment is located in an ordinary residential area, and according to my past investigations, the previous tenants did not have any wealthy or influential backgrounds.

“No, he’s just an ordinary employee at a company, and the only exception in this series of incidents. We’re still investigating any potential connections between him and the other victims.” The police officer shook his head first, then cautioned, “Even so, you can’t let your guard down. Didn’t your parents or elders tell you about the recent events?”

Upon hearing this, Chang'an's face darkened: "This..."

Others may not know, but I do know that Chang'an was not so happy at home.

Although the police officer was unaware of the details, he skipped the topic and continued, "In short, you need to be aware of your surroundings, stay away from deserted places, and be wary of suspicious individuals. Especially if you discover traces of a large wild animal, you must not linger in the same spot."

"A large wild beast?" Chang'an asked cautiously.

"The bodies of the previous five victims, as well as the former tenants of that house, all had extensive tearing and biting marks, and there was also animal hair found at the scene." In front of Chang'an, the police officer revealed clues that had not been mentioned before. "Although there are no lost wild animals in the Xianshui City Zoo, and there are no eyewitness accounts or surveillance videos of wild animals in the city, it is always good to be more careful."

Tearing and biting marks... Were those victims really not killed by gunshot?

However, according to his previous statement, the serial killer was probably a rebellious girl who accidentally found a handgun and used its power to cause trouble.

I recalled the scene when I first met Asaho; her hospital gown had several severe tears, so much so that I initially thought it was caused by a thug wielding a sharp weapon. But saying it was an attack by a wild animal seems more accurate.

In other words, Asaho was the victim of the incident. She encountered a serial killer and was severely injured by him in some way? But judging from the result, Asaho was covered in blood but was completely unharmed. How could this be?

Why was Asaho accused of murder instead?

"That's all for now. Remember to talk to the landlord and cancel the lease. Also, give me the keys to the house first, as we need to preserve the scene later."

"Oh, okay." Chang'an took out the key and handed it to the other person.

"My colleague will call you later. I have other important work to do, so please excuse me."

After saying this, the police officer put away his pen, paper, and recording equipment, and got up to leave.

I have some doubts. If the intention was to protect Chang'an, shouldn't they have taken him to the police station or another safe place first, and then had his colleagues come over? Wouldn't it be very awkward if the murderer attacked during the gap in time?

The more I think about it, the more puzzling this policeman seems.

I even couldn't help but wonder—was he really a policeman?

I piloted the "firefly" and followed this man with a mature appearance.

(End of this chapter)