Chapter 110 Chapter 23 The last time Li Zheng saw Li Mingyu was...
The last time Li Zheng saw Li Mingyu was the day after his birthday last year.
He was extremely busy that year and was working overtime even on his birthday. He finished work at around two in the morning and his eyes were so tired that he simply fell asleep in the office.
He really didn't know that Li Mingyu actually came to his rental house without saying a word, so when he went back to get something the next day, he saw his brother squatting at the door.
"Why didn't you call me before you came?" He pulled his brother up and felt the warmth of his cheek. "It's so cold outside. How long have you been here?"
Li Mingyu said nothing, silently following his elder brother into the small rental house. As soon as Li Zheng entered, he fetched a small solar heater from the corner, plugged it in, and placed it squarely in front of Li Mingyu.
"It's not Chinese New Year, it's not a holiday... Why are you here? School is closed?"
Facing his elder brother's accusation, Li Mingyu hung his head and replied in a low voice, "It's your birthday."
“………”
He had completely forgotten Li Zheng's birthday. Besides, that wasn't his real birthday at all; it was the first day he was adopted into the Li family.
"you……"
He had planned to take the things and go back that day, but he still stayed with Li Mingyu in the rental house for a while, boiled some boiling brown sugar ginger water, and watched him wrapped in a quilt, holding an enamel cup, sniffing from time to time.
"You have a cold, don't you?"
He just smiled.
"Take a look at the gift. Do you like it?"
That's a thick scarf.
"It's getting colder in Cheongdam, and you still only have the same few clothes..."
That night, he slept in the same place where Wei Sheng had slept before, making a bed on the floor.
The two brothers chatted a lot, and the atmosphere was always relaxed and happy. Only in the middle of the conversation, Li Zheng suddenly mentioned Ming Yao, saying that she had called during the day and asked him to visit her tomorrow. It just so happened that he was there too, so the two of them could go together.
“………………”
In the dark little room, Li Zheng didn't get any response. He thought Li Mingyu was asleep.
He didn't.
It turns out his emotions have always been so obvious.
Later, during the Chinese New Year, he did not come back. I called him and he said he was working part-time outside.
Li Zheng was about to begin an interrogation. After all, things were always turbulent before and after the New Year, and his workload had increased dramatically. He was anxiously looking through the documents and hung up without asking any more questions.
On New Year's Eve, Li Zheng drove to pick up Mingyao and went back to his hometown. During dinner, Li Mingyu called Li Zheng again. He asked what he had eaten, whether he was busy during the New Year, and how many days he could take off. Before he could say much, Li Zheng asked, "Have you said a few words to Mom and Mingyao?"
The phone hung up.
Then, last time, I heard from Mingyao that Mingyu was a little weird, always saying some weird things. Maybe it was about the game?
That's why Mingyao didn't tell him exactly what she said. She felt that these words were too far-fetched and too unbelievable, and even repeating them was ridiculous.
Li Zheng's thoughts were surging. More and more people gathered outside the door. He could almost hear the crowd's restlessness and noise, and the faint sound of sirens was getting closer and closer.
He didn't know who the police officers were this time, but he thought it was probably those few people, all old acquaintances.
"Why did you do those things?"
"How?"
"Why kill people?"
Li Mingyu on the opposite side seemed to think he had misheard. He repeated in a shocked tone: "What do you mean by murder? They are not human beings! Didn't I tell you? This is just a game world. How can this be considered murder?"
Li Zheng ignored his sophistry and continued to reason, asking clear questions: "I'm asking you, why did you do this? Why did you kill them? Do those people have any deep hatred or vengeance against you?"
“………”
Li Mingyu moved his feet.
He might have wanted to take two steps forward to get closer to Li Zheng, or his feet might have been too sore and he wanted to move. But he only moved slightly, without even lifting his legs, when Wei Sheng, who was standing beside him, stood in front of Li Zheng as if facing a formidable enemy.
Li Zheng pushed Wei Sheng aside and stared straight at the younger brother he had watched grow up with his dark eyes.
"Why?"
He still wanted to know the reason before he was completely taken away by his colleagues into the interrogation room.
The reason that had troubled him for so long.
From the first case to the subsequent discoveries that the deceased were related to him, the huge doubts accumulated in his heart layer by layer.
He really wanted to know why.
"No reason..." Li Mingyu said softly, "I just want to test how far I can go..."
“………”
He even shrugged nonchalantly.
"Anyway, we're all just fake data in the game, making it seem like I've committed a huge crime..."
He began to reminisce.
"When those things first appeared before my eyes, I was scared for a long time. I thought I was going mental. I couldn't even get through to you on the phone..."
“………”
"Later, in order to test whether it was true or not, to test whether I could do it, I just did it..."
"Honestly, killing them was much, much easier than I thought. Not only was it very fun, but seeing you so frustrated... of course I was happy."
Li Mingyu's voice became lower and lower.
He could already hear the noisy footsteps approaching from outside. The one walking in front was someone Li Zheng knew well: Deputy Captain Pan, who had a bad relationship with him in the bureau.
"...You know he's always hated you, right? I'll help you kill him." Li Mingyu said to Li Zheng with a hint of credit, "No one else will know it was you who did it..."
“That’s enough!!”
Li Zheng interrupted him unbearably.
"All right……"
Li Mingyu seemed to have guessed his reaction already.
"You're always like this, honest, kind, and selfless. You make all those selfish people look like villains. I've always hated this about you..."
“But I won’t do that now…”
"I know, it's just a game."
"It's possible that what you did before wasn't your true intention. It was just a game setting. Because the game sets you up as an honest, upright, kind, and selfless police officer..."
"You seem quite pathetic, but I can save you. Let's escape from this game..."
"...escape?" Li Zheng couldn't help but ask, "...how to do it?"
"Yes, escape!" As if they had finally come up with a topic that excited him, he suddenly laughed and looked straight at Li Zheng, "I'll help you escape!"
"Even though you always favor Mingyao, even though you always look down on me, even though you always forget my birthday, even though you never call me, even though you always ignore me, even though I'm being bullied at school, you just stare at Mingyao all day..."
"Although I've always hated your righteous appearance, and although I...but...but it doesn't matter. I forgive you, I forgive you. I won't hold it against you anymore..."
Li Zheng's face, which had never shown any obvious emotional changes, suddenly tensed up. His breathing became more pronounced than before, as if he was furious, his chest rising and falling.
"Why am I looking at you like that?"
Li Mingyu sneered and suddenly changed the subject to Wei Sheng who was standing beside him.
"I think, brother, you shouldn't focus so much on me right now. You should look at the person next to you."
"After all these years, Wei Lele is still the same, still loves to follow you. Oh! That's not right! Before, he only dared to follow you from a distance, secretly, but now he dares to be right next to you openly..."
Li Mingyu paused, as if he had accidentally revealed a secret.
"Oh, I forgot, you don't know..."
“…………”
Perhaps it was the first time he heard his real name spoken by another NPC, especially an NPC that Wei Sheng had never mentioned before, so he felt a little uncomfortable.
He knows his name...
He knows he...
At this time, Wei Sheng suddenly discovered a suspicious point.
That is, he could clearly see the information above the head of the NPC opposite him. His name was on it, and under the three words "Li Mingyu" was his identity relationship.
——Officer Li’s younger brother
Some of the notes should be made by the system, and have been marked as "first generation awakening NPC." and so on.
The color of the small dot is red, which means that he has actively attacked other NPCs.
These are all very obvious messages.
But why is it that the name and information of the "awakened NPC" before, the NPC who took him for a walk in Mingzhu Square, and the NPC who looked at Officer Li with strange eyes in the alley, are as if covered by mosaics and cannot be seen at all?
strangeness.
Wei Sheng had always thought that the awakened NPC might have turned from an NPC into a player, so the information was blocked, or perhaps there was some bug that he was not aware of.
It's normal for games to have some bugs.
But why can he see the information and name of the awakened NPC in front of him, and all the information without any obstruction, but the other one can't see it?
Wait, what's the name of that NPC?
He seems to have never known his name.
When Pan Song received the call from the dispatch center, he had already finished work and was enjoying dinner at home with his wife and children. His wife had bought a new necklace and always showed it off to him, and his son had won a certificate at school. The family was all happy and harmonious when the dispatch center called him out.
"What time is it now?"
He was a little reluctant to go.
But the dispatch center said they were overwhelmed with cases lately: the previous foreign-related case, the previous several, and now another case. They were simply short-staffed, so he had to go.
Before the call was hung up, the operator may not have noticed that the sound of him complaining to his colleagues was transmitted along the phone line to Mr. Pan's ears.
If Captain Li was here, he wouldn't have been so evasive, but isn't Captain Li on vacation now? If Li Zheng wasn't on vacation...
Pan Song is here.
The police car with flashing lights arrived at Mingzhu Square in the night. It was only a short distance down the road to the entrance of the Internet cafe, but the way down was blocked by the crowd of onlookers.
There were too many people in front of him, and honking the horn was of no use, so Pan Song had no choice but to get out of the car and walk forward a few steps.
"What the hell are you all doing here? Disperse! Disperse quickly, disperse quickly, hurry up?! What are you all doing here just to watch the fun? Go home!!!"
He yelled irritably.
The operator didn't explain himself clearly, and the person who called the police was even more hesitant, saying it was haunted and then someone died. Damn, he was talking nonsense.
Pan Song was a little fat, with a medium-sized belly. He walked into the Internet cafe impatiently. After a few steps, he saw an acquaintance.
Li Zheng.
Captain Li.
It was no surprise that he was here. After all, he was a well-known workaholic in the bureau. No matter what case there was, he would always be the first to arrive at the scene.
Pan Song could never understand.
Including the previous meeting, he witnessed the entire process of his "leave". If he had said a few words to go with the flow at that time, it would have been over. He could have done other work, but he didn't want to.
Too stubborn.
"Why are you here?"
Because of their relationship in the police station, even though it was just a simple inquiry, the two accompanying police officers following Pan Song interpreted it as a question full of hostility, and looked at Li Zheng with sympathy in their eyes.
"Who is this?"
Pan Song looked at Li Zheng and Wei Sheng, then at Li Mingyu across from him. The thing he lingered on the longest was the mess in the lobby.
"Who did this? You guys were fighting here, you must be crazy, and you messed up the place like this. You must pay...you must pay...pay..."
He finally noticed the body in the corner.
"Seal off the scene immediately!"
"Take away everyone present."
After saying this, Pan Song paused again, looked at Li Zheng, and said in an almost questioning tone,
"Captain Li, what do you think?"
According to regulations, the highest-ranking officer at a crime scene automatically becomes the on-site manager. The awkward part was, firstly, Li Zheng was on vacation, and secondly, according to the recusal rules, he shouldn't have been in charge. Yet, he happened to be slightly more senior than Pan Song.
According to Pan Song's words, if Li Zheng followed through with the conversation, then he would not be included in the list of people taken away, only Wei Sheng and Li Mingyu would be included.
This is actually a hidden step.
Just follow it down.
No one likes to get into trouble, especially criminal cases. Of course, those who are a little smarter would like to stay as far away from it as possible.
Li Zheng: "Take me with you."
Pan Song: “…”
Li Zheng: "I'm currently on vacation, so you can treat me as an ordinary citizen."
Pan Song: “…………”
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