Chapter 120: A Shocking Case in the City on the Eve of a Storm...
At the same time, in the southern suburbs of Shen City.
The ruins of Hulubao Park.
"Everyone, put down your weapons, you are surrounded." The negotiator, megaphone in hand, urged the hostage-taker to surrender: "This isn't the end yet, there's still a chance. Don't harm the hostages, surrender now and you might receive leniency..."
Inside the armed police vehicle, Liu Yiyang, Song Xinchen, Hu Mingjun, and others, wearing bulletproof vests, were inspecting their weapons and equipment.
"Split into two groups and surround the area from the side as we just discussed." Liu Yiyang opened the car door, and one after another, members of the Major Crimes Unit jumped out and sprang into action.
"Xiao Bai, stay in the car, observe the situation outside and take notes." Liu Yiyang stopped Zhou Qingbai, who was wearing a bulletproof vest.
"Captain Liu, how can I see the situation clearly from inside the car?" Xiao Bai squatted by the car door and said, "We were told that the interns could observe the operation from a distance, so why do I have to hide in the car?"
Liu Yiyang didn't want to explain too much, so he quickly said, "Follow orders." Then he slipped out of the car, leaving Xiaobai alone inside the bulletproof vehicle.
Xiao Bai's movements were restricted, but he saw a senior colleague confronting a robber and drawing attention from the window. Liu Yiyang led a group of people to sneak into the haunted house next door.
The hostage-taker is hiding on the second floor of the Ferris wheel platform in the park. To his left is a haunted house, to his right is a forest train, and behind him is a Ferris wheel that has stopped moving.
Unable to see Liu Yiyang's actions inside the building, Xiaobai picked up binoculars to carefully observe the robbers and hostages in the control room on the second floor.
The robbers looked very young and were holding a voluptuous woman who resembled Yang Guifei reincarnated as a concubine.
He kept yelling, "It doesn't matter whether I surrender or not, I'm going to die anyway, I'm going to die! Why are you chasing me like this? I'm being forced into this!" The older sister in his arms had already fainted, and her body was convulsing intermittently; it was unclear whether she suffered from epilepsy. If so, it would be very dangerous.
Negotiators tried desperately to persuade him to release the hostages or allow medical personnel to treat them. However, the hostage-taker continued to shout, "Help? Who's going to help me? I'm dead, I'm finished... You're the ones who killed me... I'm going to die..."
Xiao Bai put down the binoculars and tried to analyze the robber's psychological state using the psychological notes given to her by Chen Zhenzhu. After carefully recalling, she raised the binoculars again to observe the robber's facial expression. She saw that his eyes were wide open and he was panting through his nostrils and mouth, which were signs of fear and stress.
"We won't kill you as long as you release the hostage, so why are you saying you're doomed?" Xiaobai couldn't understand why the kidnapper was so terrified and insisted that he was doomed.
Unless... unless he has other accomplices who intend to "abandon him".
Xiao Bai speculated, was it one or more? Were they going to kill him to silence him right under the noses of the police?
Seemingly confirming Xiaobai's suspicions, gunshots rang out from both sides of the haunted house. Xiaobai gripped the phone tightly as messages kept coming in: "Two accomplices spotted!", "The enemy has guns!", "All dead!"
If they have guns, could it be a criminal gang?
With her heart pounding back in her chest, she had no one to consult, so she could only mutter to herself, "If it were Sister Pearl, she would definitely catch the robber upstairs, interrogate him thoroughly, and pry open his mouth to capture all his remaining accomplices—"
Bang!
The sniper shot and killed the young robber on the spot from the roller coaster control room, 20 meters away.
"Ah!" Xiaobai exclaimed in surprise, then tightly pursed her lips as she saw the seniors and medical staff swarming around to rescue the hostage.
Liu Yiyang cursed at the sniper over the walkie-talkie, and the sniper team leader retorted: "The hostage has already shown signs of biting her tongue. If we don't rescue her now, are we going to wait until she dies before shooting her?"
The sound of something being smashed came from Liu Yiyang's walkie-talkie; he didn't reply to the other person's words.
Xiao Bai saw that the well-organized seniors were searching the scene, while the rest of the group began to retreat. The ambulance also sped away with the kidnapped woman and her family.
This should have been a perfect rescue.
Xiao Bai silently took out his museum notebook, picked up his pen to write something, but couldn't find the words.
Having followed Sister Pearl for over a month, she had used up two notebooks, writing endlessly each time. She then stuffed the notebooks back into her bag, her chubby face showing a hint of distress.
Liu Yiyang returned with a grim expression; friction was inevitable in joint operations. He had already planned his interrogation of the kidnapper, focusing on questions such as "how he chose the hostages," "his motives after the kidnapping," and "how many accomplices he had."
But he died.
Liu Yiyang got into the car silently, loosening his bulletproof vest. Song Xinchen and the others followed one after another.
"Hosts rescued successfully, mission accomplished." Song Xinchen didn't think too much; as long as he completed the orders from his superiors, he was content. He was like a mule that would only move when pushed.
The driver had already gotten into the car, stepped on the gas, turned the steering wheel, and made a U-turn.
Just then, the walkie-talkie crackled to life again: "Team Leader Liu, something's wrong! We've found something! Come quick!"
Liu Yiyang's walkie-talkie was broken. He picked up Song Xinchen's walkie-talkie and said, "What's going on? Explain yourself."
"During the search of the haunted house, we found... a lot of eyeballs, human eyeballs."
Liu Yiyang frowned and said to the driver in front, "Stop the car."
Song Xinchen muttered to himself, "What are eyeballs compared to human heads and skulls in a haunted house?"
The voice on the walkie-talkie said again, "It might, it might really be an eyeball."
Liu Yiyang retorted, "Can't you tell the difference between a real eyeball and a fake one?"
Xiao Bai thought for a moment and said, "Let's go take a look."
Song Xinchen glanced at her and said with a smile, "I guess the simulation is more realistic. Don't assign us any tasks, you're just an intern."
"What's wrong with being an intern?" Xiaobai glared at him and said, "Does being an intern give you the right to look down on me?"
"I wouldn't dare," Song Xinchen said, stopping his banter and getting out of the car with Liu Yiyang.
Xiao Bai was about to get off the car when Liu Yiyang glanced back, frowned, and said, "Put on your bulletproof vest."
"All dressed." Xiaobai rolled her eyes as she followed behind. This nagging is so annoying. With a boss like this, when will I ever be able to stand on my own?
The abandoned haunted house had a damp, stuffy smell. The electricity had long been cut off. Liu Yiyang, who was tall, walked in front, holding a flashlight and bending over, while Xiaobai walked at the back.
She looked at the plastic ghosts in the passageways on both sides and smelled something like a rat hole.
This abandoned haunted house is not large. It is designed in the old style of the eighteen levels of hell in Fengdu. Many of the plaster monsters have been damaged, with their heads falling off and the paint fading, leaving behind an even more old and decayed feel.
"Over here." The person in front waved their flashlight.
Little White followed along, and the further it went, the more eerie and cold it felt.
"Damn, is this a refrigerator? Why is it so cold?" Song Xinchen joked, "It's eerily cold."
Unfortunately, no one responded to his joke, and he was used to it.
As Liu Yiyang approached, he was met with a scene of "mountains of corpses and seas of blood." To fit the atmosphere, the designer had placed mountains of bones, heads, and severed limbs in the corners. The walls, consistent with the other horrific landscapes he had passed, depicted scenes of hellish purgatory.
"The...the eyeballs are all here." Even the experienced operative couldn't help but stammer. Following the direction of his flashlight, the scene behind the mountain of heads appeared before everyone's eyes.
Liu Yiyang and Song Xinchen hadn't noticed anything amiss as they took a few steps closer. Suddenly, Liu Yiyang gasped, and then Song Xinchen covered his mouth and took a few steps back, cursing, "Holy shit!"
Xiao Bai seized the opportunity to go forward and look, and found that the painted wall was emitting a fluorescent glow, as if someone had inlaid cat's eye stones there.
She immediately realized something was wrong. The reflection on the wall was not from cat's eye stones, but from pairs of specially treated eyeballs soaking in spherical containers!
They covered the entire wall, densely packed, watching the uninvited guests. The sealed gazes were clearly fixed and could not be moved, yet it gave one the feeling of being monitored from all sides.
"Oh my god..." Xiao Bai immediately understood why the senior on the walkie-talkie couldn't explain it clearly. Anyone who was caught off guard by such a scene would doubt their own eyes.
They were placed in recesses carved into the wall, the transparent containers polished to a shine, more like crystal balls than ordinary glass.
Liu Yiyang put on gloves, reached in and took out a spherical container that fit perfectly in his palm. He shook the sphere slightly, which, from Xiaobai's perspective, looked like he was playing with and admiring the glass beads inside.
Liu Yiyang pondered for a moment, then said with a pale face, "Normal preservation of an excised eyeball would cause it to lose elasticity and color, becoming cloudy and collapsed. But this eyeball hasn't completely lost its brightness, and the liquid inside can't move, so it may have been rapidly sealed with epoxy resin. Its shape and color would be frozen, appearing very bright, but like an insect in amber—the brightness of a solidified work of art. Specific information still needs to be determined by a forensic expert."
"What level of freak did this..." The operators who rushed over after hearing the news were almost driven to the brink of collapse by the stares of the onlookers, and they all turned their bodies to the side as much as possible to avoid facing them directly.
Song Xinchen crouched at the farthest point, feeling himself being stared at by dozens of people. He suddenly turned on his flashlight and looked behind him, where the ordinary "purgatory" scene made him breathe a sigh of relief.
Xiao Bai tried hard to understand Liu Yiyang's words, and found a suspicious point to ask: "Captain Liu, according to you... these eyeballs couldn't have been gouged out of living people's eyes, could they?"
These words are as chilling as the countless eyeballs on the wall.
Song Xinchen was about to collapse, holding his head and saying, "Can we go outside and wait for the forensic doctor to arrive before discussing this?"
Xiao Bai's question was also the question of the dozen or so people present. Some experienced veterans could actually guess the truth, but they still hoped to hear a denial from Captain Liu, who was in charge.
“Yes.” Liu Yiyang examined the crystal sphere that fit perfectly in his palm, his voice filled with immense anger and sorrow: “Eyes dug out of a corpse wouldn’t have this luster.”
The scene fell silent, and even the timid Song Xinchen's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
A moment later, someone cursed, "Damn it, is this still a pervert? This is a fucking monster!"
Even the most oblivious person could see at this moment that the murderer preserved dozens of eyeballs not for revenge, but simply to satisfy a perverse psychology, using the organs upon which his kind depend for survival as artifacts for preservation.
***
Shen Zhenzhu wrote down Xiaobai's words in her notebook: "Are the pupils dilated? The cornea is still clear... The iris isn't gray or cloudy, it's still bright? Hmm... sigh..."
After Gu Yanzheng returned from his heart-to-heart talk with Director Liu, he glanced at Chen Zhenzhu again.
Thinking he wanted to know the details, Shen Zhenzhu covered the microphone and said, "A major case has occurred in Shen City. Artworks made from twenty pairs of human eyes have been discovered."
"What?!"
"Who did this? Are they crazy?"
"Have you caught them?"
Shen Zhenzhu's words shocked everyone, so she simply turned on the speakerphone so everyone could hear what Xiaobai had to say.
"...That's exactly it. There were reporters at the hostage situation; the 'eyes wall' incident will probably be in the newspapers tomorrow. How could someone be so twisted?" she said sullenly on the phone. "Captain Liu said it was probably for—"
Shen Zhenzhu and Gu Yanzheng said in unison, "Collect it."
Xiao Bai shuddered on the other end of the phone: "That's right, they gouged out the eyes of their own kind while they were still alive and kept them. But the forensic doctor examined those eyeballs and determined that a large portion of them were not Asian eyeballs; they were probably smuggled in from other countries."
“This is truly a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.” Chen Zhenzhu shook her head and said, “Alas, what a tragedy. How could anyone collect such a thing?”
Zhao Qiqi cursed, "A pervert among perverts."
Xiao Bai spoke a few more words with Shen Zhenzhu before Song Xinchen called her downstairs to retrieve forensic data. She mumbled a few words about missing Sister Zhenzhu into the phone before reluctantly hanging up.
After getting off work, Shen Zhenzhu said goodbye to Gu Yanzheng and left.
Gu Yanzheng called out to her, then waved his hand and said, "You go back first, it's nothing."
Shen Zhenzhu was still pondering the case in Shen City when she nodded and walked away silently, carrying her cloth bag.
Gu Yanzheng knew that she was thinking about the case again. Shen Zhenzhu, who was in a period of rapid growth, was constantly using her brain, absorbing and analyzing information from all sides, making it hard to disturb her.
He had intended to discuss the transfer with her, but the two options were worlds apart. Although he replied to Director Liu that he needed to consider it further, he was unusually hesitant as the deadline for the organization's arrangement approached.
Shen Zhenzhu didn't understand her brother Zheng's predicament and left work on time amidst the crowded rush hour.
The Tiesi Commercial Street is packed with people, especially as the weather gradually cools down, making more pedestrians willing to stroll around and savor the lively atmosphere of the city.
"This is so lively!" Shen Zhenzhu parked her car and a patrol officer came by. She was already familiar with the officer and asked, "Who's having a big sale again? The line is so long, it's as long as my milk tea shop."
The patrol officer laughed and said, "It's Sister Yuan and her group's late summer photo event."
A little curious, Shen Zhenzhu put the case aside and first knocked on the large glass door of her sixth sister's kitchen to let her mother know that she had returned. Then, like a street urchin, she strolled over to the entrance of Yuanjiang Snow Shop.
"Special offer! Hair updo and cheongsam photoshoot all in one go, a full set of 5 photos for only 69! I'm getting a new hairstyle now, if you like it, you can line up here, if you don't, wait 15 minutes for a new hairstyle."
Yuan Juan used a vibrant peony flower as a hairpin, and with her wrist as nimble as a snake, she styled Yuan Jiangxue's hair into a classically elegant updo. Wearing a cheongsam, Yuan Jiangxue truly possessed the national beauty and heavenly fragrance of a peony, as long as she didn't speak.
Upon closer inspection, Chen Zhenzhu realized that the peony flower in her hair was actually an old, stockpiled children's plastic flower from Uncle Lu's stationery store. With Yuan Juan's superb skills, even plastic flowers became high-end items, not to mention the already charming and graceful Yuan Jiangxue as the model.
"Could the high-bun hairstyle of the Song Dynasty be styled? How long would it take?" a well-dressed girl asked.
Yuan Jiangxue didn't understand: "What?"
While Yuan Juan was doing another girl's hair, she said, "Yes, it's possible. A simple one will take ten minutes, but for complicated ones, you can schedule another time. There are too many people queuing here, so please understand."
"Simple is fine, the main thing is that it looks good in photos." The girl was very satisfied and pulled her friend to the end of the line.
Yuan Juan's outstanding craftsmanship, Yuan Jiangxue's beautiful cheongsams, and Uncle Lu's superb photography skills combined to create an unstoppable force, even overshadowing the bustling Liu Jie Restaurant.
Chen Zhenzhu squatted at the entrance of Yuanjiang Snow Shop for a long time and realized that Yuan Juan's makeup for each person was actually different. Upon closer inspection, she found that she had made small adjustments based on the face shape in a very short time.
But these small adjustments made everyone smile with satisfaction when they looked in the mirror, and they wanted Uncle Lu to take even more photos. Hehe, adding photos costs extra!
"Hey, we're out of film again. Pearl, could you get five rolls for your uncle?"
"Hey!" Shen Zhenzhu answered crisply. She went to the stationery store that Uncle Lu was going to turn into a photo studio sooner or later, rummaged through the counter, took out a roll of film, and ran out to stuff it into Uncle Lu's camera bag.
“Sister, come here.” Brother Leng had been squatting to the side, watching with envy. He was holding a “coffin-raising for wealth” sign that was popular a while ago but is now outdated. He whispered to Chen Zhenzhu, “Why don’t you ask them to include me in the list?”
"Huh?" Shen Zhenzhu looked at the miniature coffin and really didn't know how to integrate it.
Seeing that Shen Zhenzhu's attitude didn't seem like someone he could talk to, Brother Leng picked at the cracks in the bricks by his feet, feeling utterly disheartened.
“You made fans for me before, why don’t you make some fans and see if they want them?” Shen Zhenzhu was quick-witted. Thinking of those ancient-style portrait photos, with people holding round fans and handkerchiefs, she added, “I can also make some small flower baskets.”
Brother Leng patted Shen Zhenzhu's head and said excitedly, "I knew you were a good person. Just wait, I'll send you a copy when it's done."
Seeing that he was about to make a move, Shen Zhenzhu quickly said, "The best fan is a round fan, just like the one in ancient paintings."
"Understood." Brother Leng is very capable, and Chen Zhenzhu is looking forward to receiving the beautiful little fan tomorrow.
After squatting outside for more than half an hour, helping Yuan Jiangxue rent and sell cheongsams, running errands to buy black hair clips, and helping them rummage through their own counters to find change to exchange... Chen Zhenzhu was so busy that she missed her mealtime.
"Our flagship store in SanSan is opening tomorrow. You know, Brother Zhou said it wouldn't be very big, but how come it's so big for us?" Shen Liuhe finished dealing with a large number of customers' orders and was eating her staff meal with Shen Zhenzhu on small stools in the corner of the kitchen. "Did you see the address last time? I was thinking of taking you to see it, but you've been too busy."
I've been to the SanSan Department Store food competition, but all I could think about was the delicious aroma of other people's steaks. I didn't even think to take a look at my own newly renovated restaurant...
"Don't worry, Lili is here." Seeing that Shen Zhenzhu was pursing her lips, Shen Liuhe didn't know that she was actually feeling guilty, and continued, "Your sister went to check on you even though she was alright."
With the two of them as a comparison, and Wu Fuwang, who was so busy he was nowhere to be seen, as a reference point, Shen Zhenzhu, the young manager, was practically throwing her hands to the Pacific Ocean.
"I wonder if the rich people over there would be willing to drink our milk tea." Shen Liuhe can handle the profits and losses of her own business, but she always feels indebted to Zhou Qiushi because she borrowed his expensive venue.
"Mom, don't worry, Godfather really didn't lie to you. He's a successful businessman and wouldn't do a losing business." Shen Zhenzhu said truthfully, "We've known each other for several years. If he says it's a win-win situation, then it's a win-win situation. It's definitely not a one-sided help. You can confidently and boldly develop new drinks."
"You don't need to tell me, we'll be offering a limited quantity of our new milk tea tomorrow when we open, and employees will get a discount." Shen Liuhe put a piece of braised beef on Chen Zhenzhu's plate, then changed the subject: "A couple of days ago, Aunt Zhang Xiaopang came over and asked if you had a boyfriend."
Chen Zhenzhu almost ate the beef up her nose. She coughed twice, took a sip of seaweed and pork rib soup, and complained, "Mom, can you at least give me some background information?"
Shen Liuhe smiled and said, "You're so grown up now, it was bound to happen sooner or later. She has a nephew who's a military officer, a regimental commander in Shaanxi Province, with excellent qualifications in all aspects. He'll be transferring back to civilian life early next year—"
"Not interested." Chen Zhenzhu lowered her head, her ears turning red. "I don't want to look for one yet."
“That’s true. With my daughter’s qualifications, she could find anyone. No matter how good that officer’s qualifications are, I think he’s too old for that.” Shen Liuhe said, “He’s five years older than you. People say there’s a generation gap even if you’re only three years apart.”
Chen Zhenzhu said "Oh," thinking to herself that her brother Zheng was two cleavages older than her. She didn't think the cleavage was that deep; it was probably because her brother Zheng was smart and had no communication problems, and wasn't a stubborn old man.
"Mr. Shen, excuse me." Standing at the door was Feng Dahuan, whom I had met that day, accompanied by a man in a suit and tie.
Shen Zhenzhu had just finished eating when she whispered, "How do you know this person?"
Shen Liuhe said, "His wife came to the store with your godmother. He picked them up, but we only met once or twice."
Feng Dahuan had someone bring over two large pieces of meat and stood at the kitchen door, saying to them, "I heard that Sixth Sister's restaurant is planning to expand its business. We happen to be in the meat transportation business, and we only have fresh beef and mutton. We thought we'd come and promote our products to Sixth Sister."
“You’ve misunderstood. My mother hasn’t thought about expanding the restaurant business yet,” Shen Zhenzhu said.
Feng Dahuan said politely, "Then I misunderstood. I thought that such a good business would expand sooner or later, so why not let our company take the lead and become a partner specializing in beef and mutton products?"
Shen Liuhe glanced at the beef and mutton in the hands of the people around her and sighed, "It's top-quality fresh meat, but..."
Feng Dahuan asked, "What are your concerns?" He gestured to a super discounted price and said, "We can supply a small quantity first. You can't buy such good fresh goods in the whole city at this price."
Qian Changda, who was standing next to him, glanced at him. Feng Dahuan paused for a moment, then introduced him, "This is Qian Changda, the vice president of my company, who is mainly in charge of retail store business."
Qian Changda was tall and thin, with a gleam in his eyes, clearly eager to take over Sixth Sister's restaurant as soon as possible: "We can lower the price by another 50 cents per pound, supply fresh meat daily, absolutely no watering down, no hormones or drugs, and we have a dedicated breeding facility—"
“It’s not that your meat is bad, it’s just that I’ve been working with this stall for many years, and they always save the best meat for me.” Shen Liuhe wiped her hands under her apron and hesitated before saying, “Let me think about it some more, I’m really sorry.”
Feng Dahuan and Qian Changda didn't mind. Before leaving, Feng Dahuan even explained to Qian Changda, "People from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Team often come over for meals. It's understandable that they're being cautious. Maybe you can get to know them later."
After saying this, Feng Dahuan smiled broadly and insisted on leaving two large pieces of beef and mutton for a tasting.
They left the meat behind, got into their car, and left without giving Shen Liuhe a chance to return it.
Shen Zhenzhu pouted from behind, thinking that Feng Dahuan's words might be referring to her brother Zheng again.
This person is too scheming.
"Alright, alright, stop hanging the oil bottle here. Eat quickly, and after you finish, go outside and help your Aunt Yuan." Shen Liuhe pulled Chen Zhenzhu back to the kitchen to continue eating.
After eating a few bites, Chen Zhenzhu lost her appetite, put down her chopsticks, washed her dirty bowl, and ran out.
"Sigh, still acting like a child." Shen Liuhe stood up and rubbed her back. Seeing Xiao Li and the others busy in the kitchen, she said with relief, "The shop is getting busier and busier. Luckily, you guys are here to help."
Xiao Li is now the second-in-command in the kitchen, helping Sixth Sister with a lot of the work. Hearing this, he smiled shyly and said, "We are all sentimental people. Sixth Sister is good to us, so we will definitely help her wholeheartedly."
Shen Liuhe said, "You'll be a master in two more years." What young person wouldn't want to own their own shop and be their own boss?
Xiao Li widened his eyes and said, "I'm not leaving. I'm not going anywhere. If you don't want me to work here, I'll set up a stall at the door and sell steamed buns."
Shen Liuhe was so angry she laughed: "Fine, you win. Anyway, remember, you're always welcome to come back here."
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Author's Note: My eyes are tired after typing all this, and I've set my drafts to post tomorrow. Sorry for the long wait [please].
See you tomorrow, there's a red envelope coming! [Let me see]
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