05 Hong Kong Island Amusement Park
The drop tower is quite a distance from the roller coaster, and even walking along the narrow path takes more than ten minutes. When they arrived at the drop tower, Zhou Yun and her group bumped into Lin Long's group. There were many people at the scene, and there happened to be an exit not far from the drop tower, which was the time to evacuate tourists.
Lin Long and his team are also searching for someone; it seems he didn't catch the culprit earlier.
From afar, Lin Long also noticed Fang Chengjin and the others who were heading this way.
"I brought my men over as soon as I received your call. We lost track of them when we were chasing them down there earlier." Lin Long frowned, his handsome face now extremely serious.
"There are so many people here, how could the murderer have made a move?" Zhou Yun looked around, trying to find a suspicious figure.
Lin Long looked at the drop tower in the distance and said, "The drop tower hasn't started yet, but the previous rides are still in progress. What if we arrived early and interrupted the murderer's crime? Could he escape then? What if he's mixed in with the other tourists? There are so many tourists, we can't just leave them here..."
Lin Long looked at Fang Chengjin: "Fang, has the portrait of that pervert been released yet?"
“The gardener.” Fang Chengjin stood in front of the drop tower, staring at it, and spoke softly. “The workers who carry flower pots in the scenic area are usually short, sick, need to take medicine, or have had problems with their recent medical check-up. They have bad family relationships and are rather withdrawn.”
The scenic area manager listened intently, becoming more and more excited. He clapped his hands, "I've got it! I know who it is! Zhao Lei! He best fits all the criteria you mentioned!"
The scenic area manager continued, "Zhao Lei is a gardener at the scenic area. He usually carries heavy things like flowerpots and lives in the staff dormitory. I heard that he accidentally lost his child years ago, and later his wife left him. He's really unlucky. During a recent medical checkup, his report showed that he has stomach cancer. It's probably a disease caused by his habit of being frugal. We didn't mean to pry into his privacy; he applied for medical compensation himself. The scenic area has a labor union, and if an employee has a serious illness, they will provide a sum of money..."
Lin Long urged the manager, "It's most likely him. Where is he now? Call him and see!"
The manager quickly called his subordinates to check, but he rarely contacted his junior employees and had no idea how they would know their phone numbers.
Zhou Yun walked up to Fang Chengjin, still finding it unbelievable even after witnessing it firsthand. She had been a squad leader in the criminal investigation team; solving cases and catching criminals required actual evidence and logical reasoning, not just producing a sketch. There was no way she could immediately draw a sketch based solely on the three victims.
Zhou Yun couldn't help but ask, "How did you figure that out?"
Fang Cheng closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "Didn't you smell it...?"
"What do you smell?" Zhou Yun asked, puzzled.
"The corpse was covered in the scent of flowers, and there was a faint trace of ointment. The smell of soil and dampness was too pungent."
Fang Chengjin frowned slightly, opened his eyes, and looked around.
There are too many people here; he'd have a very hard time finding the killer's true location. The killer will definitely complete this murder game. Serial killers are driven by obsession; they have their own principles, principles that are as valuable as life itself.
Each murder was fraught with danger; the killer was extremely thrill-seeker. Even if the final location was discovered, even if someone else arrived first, the killer would still provoke him and strike again. But where was he hiding? He must be watching everything from the shadows.
Fang Cheng carefully surveyed the crowded tourists, each face showing confusion and unease. Some knew something based on guesswork, while others had no idea what had happened.
**
Zhou Yun stared at Fang Chengjin, who was deep in thought, speechless. She didn't know what to say for a moment.
Fang Chengjin can actually smell so many scents; is his nose some kind of dog's nose...?
"Surprised, aren't you?" Lin Long stood up, shook his head and smiled. Then he glanced at Fang Chengjin, afraid that he would overhear, and carefully lowered his head to whisper softly in Zhou Yun's ear, "But this is actually not a good thing for him either."
Zhou Yun's pupils contracted slightly, and her wide almond-shaped eyes seemed to convey the question, "What do you mean by that?"
Lin Long whispered back, "How could anyone be so amazing, to be able to smell such subtle odors? He actually has a nasal condition, but luckily it's not serious enough to be fatal..."
Lin Long wanted to say more, but Fang Chengjin suddenly turned his head and looked over, which startled Lin Long, who was about to reveal someone else's privacy, so he dared not say any more.
Lin Long coughed and asked Fang Chengjin, "What's wrong?"
"They're here." Fang Chengjin's gaze passed through Lin Long and looked at a certain spot behind him.
Lin Long felt a chill run down his spine and quickly turned around.
Not far from them, a dark-skinned middle-aged man, holding a knife to the neck of a six or seven-year-old girl, slowly walked out from the crowd.
**
With a buzz cut, stubble, and skin tanned dark from being in the sun all day, Zhao Lei wore a red vest and cargo pants, exuding a menacing aura.
He stared fiercely at the police officers who had reached the last location.
"Get out of the way! Anyone who dares to come near me, I'll kill her!" Zhao Lei threatened the tourists blocking his way.
The tourists were all frightened and ran away, leaving only an open space where Zhao Lei was the only one. He held the little girl hostage and walked step by step toward the drop tower.
Fang Cheng's eyes flickered slightly.
It's obvious that Zhao Lei still wants to complete the murder ritual at the last location.
No one present dared to make a move.
"Waaah, Daddy, Daddy... Waaah!" The little girl's clear cries echoed through the sky.
Just then, a figure rushed forward.
"No, please don't hurt Yin Yin!" The person who came was the little girl's father. He wore glasses, had a refined appearance, and looked like a highly educated person.
"Father, Father!" The little girl called out even louder when she saw her father.
Zhao Lei was a little annoyed. He looked down and scolded the little girl, "Shut up!" He pushed the blade forward a little more, cutting the little girl's skin.
Lin Long shouted, "Zhao Lei! You're surrounded! Don't make a futile struggle! Release the hostage now, and you'll be lessened in your punishment!"
Zhao Lei spat, "None of you come any closer! If you want to die together, just say so!"
Zhou Yun observed and noticed a square box tied to the hem of Zhao Lei's trousers. She warned, "Oh no, it looks like he has a bomb timer tied to his leg!"
Lin Long cursed under his breath, reaching for the hard weapon at his waist, preparing to shoot: "Damn it, this kind of freak deserves to go to the eighteenth level of hell!"
In the face of the crisis, Fang Cheng took a few steps forward, walking towards Zhao Lei, and asked, "Who gave you permission to do a live stream?"
"You, you don't come any closer! Do you hear me!" Zhao Lei was startled, not expecting anyone to be so fearless.
Fang Cheng stepped forward to try and distract Zhao Lei so he could save the little girl, but he noticed that Zhao Lei was acting strangely this time.
Zhao Lei took hostages, intending to get onto the drop tower, but they are now surrounded. Even if he gets on the drop tower, can he easily escape? Without a tripod, without a live broadcast, and now with a bomb strapped to his foot, this doesn't seem like the final choice of a psychopathic killer.
If it really was just him acting alone, given Zhao Lei's past and psychology, he would kill because he was disillusioned with life, but why would he kill? People who make mistakes due to their own choices are more likely to commit suicide because they can't understand why, especially those suffering from terminal illnesses. He simply wouldn't kill anyone, so all his current actions are illogical.
If we're going to explain this, there's another reason: there's someone behind him, someone pressuring him, teaching him how to vent his resentment and transfer his anger towards the outside world.
The people behind him brainwashed him: it wasn't him who was wrong, but others who were wrong.
**
"No, don't go over there! My Yinyin, she can't be hurt, she's my only child!" The girl's father was the first to block Fang Chengjin's way, his face streaked with tears.
He dared not send anyone forward to provoke the criminals, for fear of hurting his daughter.
Upon seeing this, Fang Cheng felt a pang of reluctance and decided not to continue.
"Daddy!" The little girl felt pain in her neck and cried out again. She suddenly moved and pushed Zhao Lei, "You're a bad person! I want to go back to Daddy, Daddy..."
The little girl kept saying the word "father," and she kept crying, which made Zhao Lei feel upset.
He looked up abruptly. The sunlight was intense, and he felt dizzy for a moment. Everything and everything in front of him became blurry.
His stomach was constantly cramping, a dull, persistent, needle-like pain that he couldn't suppress, and this had been going on for three whole months.
He was exhausted and always felt very tired.
He took the medicine, but it still didn't work.
Father, Father......
Is that Jia Yi? That's what Jia Yi calls him too. His only daughter; if it weren't for his mistake, she wouldn't have gone missing back then.
He went to play a game of cards right outside his house, and when he came back, Jia Yi was gone. He called the police, but they never responded. Their explanation was that his daughter had been kidnapped by human traffickers, and that human traffickers were rampant at that time.
His wife resented him for this, hating him for being useless, and they argued every day. In the end, his wife ran off with another man. He was heartbroken and his eating habits became irregular. Unexpectedly, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. It seems even God didn't want to let him go... Did He really want to kill him? It's true what they say, when you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can be fatal.
As Zhao Lei thought about it, he suddenly felt like crying. His hand holding the knife loosened, and the little girl pushed him away and tried to run away. Zhao Lei immediately raised the knife and lunged forward again.
"Yinyin!"
"Father!"
The father held the girl tightly, not daring to let go.
On the other side, Fang Chengjin rushed forward to confront Zhao Lei, but unexpectedly, Zhao Lei tackled him to the ground. Zhao Lei raised his knife and stabbed at Fang Chengjin's eyeballs, but Fang Chengjin held his wrists tightly with both hands, making him unable to move.
"Damn it, Fangzi is a weakling!" Lin Long was the first to react and immediately pulled out his pistol.
Zhou Yun was startled and rushed forward.
"Be cautious with your equations!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Yun reached out her hand.
The gunshot rang out, and the entire scenic area fell silent because of it.
Zhou Yun's hand grasped at empty air; her clear pupils reflected the scene before her.
Zhao Lei was shot in the wrist; the knife slipped from his hand, and he collapsed to the side, bleeding.
Lin Long stood behind Zhou Yun, his hand holding the gun lingering there for a long time, his eyes resolute and his posture upright.
Under the scorching sun, everyone was drenched in sweat.
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