Chapter 301: Inhumanity (109 (1st + 2nd) [VIP]
Bai Jinshu was skeptical about his "failure to react".
"Why don't you explain it tomorrow? Let's talk about it after tonight." Under his suspicious gaze, Herbisk remained calm.
His reaction was too calm, making Bai Jinshu seem to be overreacting.
Bai Jinshu twitched his lips: "...Then you can go and tell me tomorrow."
"I'll go, I'll go." Herbisk nodded.
"Why do I feel that your attitude is perfunctory..." Bai Jinshu complained casually, stood up from the bed, and threw aside the phone that had played the surveillance video.
"After all, if this rumor really gets out, it won't have any substantial impact on me?" Herbisk spread his hands behind him.
"Thank you for knowing that these will have a substantial impact on me." Bai Jin said softly.
In the corridor, a cry of "Ouch" was heard from the yellow-haired boy, followed by a series of tinkling sounds.
"What are you doing?" Hong Conghua's voice sounded as the door opened, "Practicing half-naked parkour in the corridor?"
"Why did you come out!" The yellow-haired man was more surprised than her.
"Why can't I come out..." Hong Conghua complained, "I just plan to retreat and draw, not die. You're making so much noise outside that people downstairs can hear it. Fortunately, there are no cameras here tonight, otherwise your painting would have been on the headlines that night."
The yellow-haired man snorted with an ambiguous tone: "Then I won't be the one making the headlines tonight!"
"That's true..." Unexpectedly, Hong Conghua didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he pulled Huangmao aside and asked, "Did you see the headlines? The one about the plane crash."
"What's the headline?" Huang Mao paused, "Hey, where's my phone?"
"Oh my god, I lost my phone?"
Hong Conghua said silently: "...If you say that, I will suspect that you are pretending."
"No, I really lost my phone," the yellow-haired man stood there puzzled, "Why do you doubt me?"
"Have you forgotten?" Hong Conghua stared at him dimly.
"Ah? Ah?... Oh oh oh!" Huangmao reacted all of a sudden, "We agreed before that in order to avoid being replaced, we should send a message in the group to confirm when we meet! I forgot about that..."
"Oh...oh no wonder!" He paused, and suddenly realized, "No wonder Ersi reached for the kitchen knife after seeing me just now. It turns out that he thought I was replaced, not to kill me to silence me!"
Now it was Hong Conghua's turn to be confused: "Ah? What do you mean by murder to silence someone?"
Bai Jinshu:?
He made an indescribable sound, and Herbisk behind him sneered, probably mocking the yellow-haired guy.
The two of them scanned the room and successfully saw a black mobile phone on the table at the bathroom door.
It turned out that Huangmao ran away without even having time to pick up his cell phone.
"I'll go out and give it to him." Bai Jinshu let out a long sigh, stood up and prepared to pick up Huangmao's cell phone.
At this moment, the phone dinged, and the latest headline pushed by the news APP lit up the screen:
[The missing flight NF9342 has been confirmed to be safe, and no passengers on board were injured or killed]
Bai Jinshu frowned slightly and clicked on the headline.
Huangmao's phone has a fingerprint lock, and the moment he clicks it, he is prompted to enter a password.
Bai Jinshu paused, then turned and walked towards the bed.
"What's wrong?" Herbisk saw that he was acting strangely.
"Let me find my phone," Bai Jinshu held Huangmao's phone in one hand and picked up his own phone from the bed with the other hand, "Hong Conghua just said the headline was about a plane crash, let me take a look."
While unlocking his phone, he skillfully opened Weibo and went straight to the trending searches.
At the door, Huangmao, who realized that he had left his cell phone in the room, closed his eyes in despair.
"I think I left my cell phone in Ersi's room. Can you help me get it..." Looking at Hong Conghua's puzzled eyes, he turned around and spoke weakly.
"Why don't you just get it yourself? Why are you calling me?" Hong Conghua held the coffee cup and changed his posture to lean against the door.
"Isn't this...I just forgot to send a message and Ersi pointed a kitchen knife at me..." The yellow-haired man blinked guiltily, "You can be my witness."
"Ersi can really kill you," Hong Conghua raised his head in disbelief, but still stood up straight and walked to the door and knocked a few times in silence, "Ersi? Herbisk? Did Huangmao's phone fall into your room? Let me go with him to get it."
"The door is not locked, just come in." Herbisk's voice came from behind the door.
Hong Conghua pushed open the door and saw Huangmao's cell phone placed at the door, while Ersi was looking down at the phone with an unreadable expression.
"Here, your phone," she picked up the phone on the table and threw it to the thief, "Don't forget to bring it next time."
"Oh, wait a minute," Hong Conghua said cautiously, "don't use your fingerprint, use your password to unlock it."
Watching the yellow-haired man skillfully unlock the screensaver, Hong Conghua turned around and prepared to leave with peace of mind.
"Conghua, what about the headline you mentioned before?" At this moment, Bai Jinshu looked up at Hong Conghua and asked.
"Ah... ah, that's the headline. How come I was misled by the yellow-haired guy?" Hong Conghua slapped his forehead. "Did you guys read the headline? The one about a plane losing contact and the crew suspected to be incapacitated?"
"I've seen it," Bai Jinshu nodded, "Now the headlines say everything is fine."
"Oh, yes..." Hong Conghua touched the tip of his nose awkwardly, "This seems to be the work of the villain who came here with them."
"Plane? How did you villains do it? Hijack a plane? Did they register with their ID cards? Can the things they brought pass the case?" The yellow-haired man unbuttoned his phone and looked at it for a long time, then curiously leaned over and asked.
"I don't know," Hong Conghua scratched his head. "I usually draw from the perspective of the protagonist. When the character hears the news about the plane crash, he goes to rescue the passengers. How do I know how the villain does it?"
"How does your protagonist save the passengers?" Bai Jinshu raised his eyebrows.
"Uh... not really the protagonist..." Hong Conghua explained with an embarrassed expression, "I just... flew directly into the sky and lifted the plane to the ground..."
Her voice got lower and lower as she spoke, and at the end she could only blink awkwardly: "So now there is a high probability that a character has entered the government's field of vision... They may be very busy tonight, so there will be fewer people on our side."
When these strange existences came into the government's sight, it was not safe to speak out about this information in the group. She had gone out originally to tell everyone this information, but was interrupted by the yellow-haired guy and was led astray.
"I'll go get the other two people. You put on your clothes first..." Bai Jinshu silently glanced at the yellow-haired man who was only wrapped in a bath towel, and said unhappily, "Fortunately, there are no cameras tonight."
With Huangmao's carefree look, he actually dares to participate in this kind of live broadcast variety show.
"If there is a fight, then the problem now should be that our conversation has been leaked," Herbisk stood up from the bedside, moved several stools in the room to the bed, formed a circle, and looked at Hong Conghua and said, "They told you that there will be fewer people on our side tonight. Did they tell you that they hacked the police station's data to draw a conclusion?"
Before Huangmao could even walk out of the room, he said, "I saw on the channel that the victims of the previous two murders were killed by the murderer who turned into their appearance, so we are in danger today?"
"What those people in the channel mean is that the police will not consider supernatural factors, nor can they close the case with supernatural factors. These two cases will most likely be classified as suicide or mutual fighting to death, eliminating the possibility of a murderer." Herbiskus corrected.
Since the topic was getting serious, Hong Conghua also became serious.
"What you mean is that the police couldn't find anything in the end and could only rule out the existence of a murderer. Once this announcement is sent out, it will only make other tourists lower their vigilance." She turned around on the spot and subconsciously looked through the window at the beach below.
As the only high-rise building on this holiday island where villa hotels are the selling point, the hotel has an excellent view. The director specially reserved rooms facing the sea for the six guests so that everyone can enjoy the sea view.
Looking down from here, you can see directly to the beach.
There are not many tourists on the beach at this point. The sea has begun to rise and tourists are leaving one by one. Security guards and lifeguards on the beach are scanning the coastline with flashlights to check if there are any lost or incapacitated tourists, to prevent casualties during high tide.
Herbisk nodded affirmatively. "Yes, no matter how hard the police investigate, they won't be able to find the murderer. Once the latest announcement is issued, all tourists on the island will let down their guard."
"And," he said thoughtfully, "and do you think that these two murders, including what we saw this afternoon, they have been..."
"They are evolving," Bai Jinshu pushed open the door, followed by Nian Yu and Xiao Ying. "These things are evolving, or in other words, they are improving their methods."
When they committed the crime for the first time, they simply pretended to be the couple and did not even avoid the cameras when entering the villa.
The two people at the crime scene looked like they were murdered. The scene was not concealed at all, and the tourists who came back from drinking in the middle of the night smelled the blood.
The technique can be said to be very crude.
The second time, they did not appear in the surveillance. No one else appeared in the two videos hacked from the channel. The scene after the victim's death was made to look like a fight, and the smell of blood was also well concealed. It was not until Tian Gaohaikuo, who was broadcasting the live broadcast, returned to the room that he found that his wife and children were dead.
"I don't think they are actively learning..." Bai Jinshu stroked the phone in his hand, "Is it possible that after the first murder was discovered, they mixed in with the police, and learned from their conversations about their mistakes in the first crime, which led to the second crime?"
He looked up at everyone.
Herbisco nodded. "I suspect that too."
If this is as their analysis suggests, then as the "third batch" of victims targeted by these things, their methods of committing crimes will only be more sophisticated when it comes their turn.
What's more, there are even more chilling details in these two murders.
There is no footage of them coming out in these two surveillance videos from beginning to end.
"Could they teleport?" Xiaoying shrugged. "The second time, did they teleport directly into the victim's room?"
"Conghua, what kind of villain did you draw..." Huang Mao complained silently, "Do you have to be so scary?"
"It doesn't necessarily mean it can teleport," Hong Conghua thought for a moment, "Who said there are only two of these things? If all the people who appeared in the amusement park dressed as us this afternoon appeared at the same time, there must be at least four of them. Maybe the murderer in the second case also appeared in the surveillance, but he entered before the victim entered the last time, and then disguised himself as a policeman when the police came and left with the police."
"It's a pity that the victims of the previous two murders are dead..." Bai Jinshu murmured in a low voice, "Otherwise we can ask them if they found someone like them appearing in front of their relatives or friends, or in surveillance footage, before the murderer showed up."
"There is still one victim who is still alive." Nianyu's AI suddenly spoke.
"That sky is high and the clouds are light!" Hong Conghua also reacted, "His wife and children are dead but he is not. If someone who looks exactly like them appeared before his wife and children got into trouble, he might know!"
"But where is this person now?" The yellow-haired man scratched his head.
"Such a serious murder has occurred, and his wife and children are dead. He is probably not on the island anymore..." Hong Conghua frowned and tapped his phone a few times. "It will be difficult to find him and make him talk. His safety is also worrying now."
After confirming that the deceased was killed by mutual hacking, the police are likely to not provide him with protection. Tian Gao Yundan was not in the villa when the second murder occurred. Who can guarantee that he has not been imitated?
Hong Conghua opened his phone and typed: "Let me ask them if they can find it. Do you have any connections?"
"I'll ask the agent," Bai Jinshu raised his head, "his family may have some connections in the police station."
"Is there anyone in his family who is a police officer?" Huang Mao asked worriedly, "That's not a good idea. Would that be considered leaking the victim's family information?"
Bai Jin said: "Someone in his family is in jail."
Huang Mao: "That's okay."
"I'll ask someone to look for him," Nianyu's AI said, "Our office had a cooperative project with Haibei last year, and we added the police's contact information. I'll ask my colleagues to ask the family about their situation."
"So tonight..." Xiaoying held her chin, "What should we do? Should we report safety in the group every hour?"
There are death threats, there are strange things that may use their faces to cause trouble at any time, and the only clue that something might happen is out of the police's sight and the sky is clear.
Who can be assured of this?
"I'm afraid I won't be able to get up tonight," Huangmao yawned. "I didn't get much rest last night. If I don't get enough rest tonight, I'll probably be dead sleepy tonight..."
Nian Yu also sighed and said through AI: "If we report once every hour, no one will be able to sleep. And if something happens, what if the other party uses the deceased's phone to report safety to us?"
Everyone looked at each other.
"Then can everyone connect to the microphone?" Xiaoying thought for a moment and said, "If there is any movement on the other end of the microphone, does it mean something has gone wrong?"
"What's the difference between this and the bug?" Herbiskus crossed his arms.
"Don't argue, let's all sleep in the same room," Hong Conghua waved his hand, "Anyway, I'm working on my manuscript tonight, I'll keep an eye on it for you, is that okay?"
"It can be considered another form of rooming together..." Huangmao stood up and muttered, "If none of us dies after thirteen days, this experience will become the most fantastic one in my life."
While recording a variety show, I suddenly learned that the characters in the comics had come true. I also discovered that there was a person in the world who imitated me or was even exactly the same as me. Then I learned that this person might kill them. This is so fantastic that it doesn't seem like something that happened in reality.
"It feels like this world is fake," he complained, shaking his hair that was not yet dry. "Ersi, can I borrow your hair dryer? My hair is not dry yet."
"Whatever." Bai Jinshu pointed in the direction of the bathroom.
"I'll go get my computer..." Hong Conghua took a big gulp of coffee and went to pick up his computer with a numb face.
It was already late and everyone was extremely sleepy. There was no time to think about anything. Xiaoying and Nianyu rolled onto the bed and fell asleep instantly.
Huangmao felt that he didn't sleep well, so he chose to spend the night on the sofa. Bai Jinshu yawned and couldn't help falling asleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but he vaguely heard footsteps in the room, as if someone was walking around.
Bai Jinshu paused for a moment, suddenly woke up from his sleepiness, and opened his eyes slightly.
The room was pitch black, with only the computer in the study area emitting a faint light. On the sofa next to the computer, Huangmao was sleeping in a touching posture, with half of his body hanging out of the sofa, and his head was facing down, looking dizzy.
But Hong Conghua, who was supposed to be in front of the computer, was nowhere to be seen.
Bai Jinshu glanced around the room and found that the curtains seemed to be opened a little, and a person was vaguely standing in front of the window.
It seems to be Hong Conghua.
What is she doing standing at the window?
Bai Jinshu turned his head to look at the mobile phone on the bedside table, and gently turned on the screen.
Four o'clock in the morning.
Perhaps it was the light from the screen that caught the attention of Hong Conghua, who was standing at the window. She turned her head to take a look and said in a low voice, "Ersi? Why are you awake?"
"What are you looking at?" Bai Jinshu looked out the window.
"There's an accident on the beach downstairs," Hong Conghua lowered his voice. "It seems like something happened on the beach."
Bai Jinshu frowned and turned over in bed. When he was about to get up, he found that his wrist was grabbed by another hand.
"What's wrong?" Herbix's voice rang out.
"Something seems to be happening on the beach downstairs," Hong Conghua whispered. "While I was painting, I felt something was wrong outside the window. There were lights flashing by, so I went to the window to take a look, and found that the beach was full of people."
"It's past four in the morning, and the beach is full of people?" Since Herbisk was awake, Bai Jinshu didn't have to try hard to control his movements. He got out of bed quickly and walked to the window. Countless scripts had already gone through his mind. "Could it be that everyone on the island has been imitated and is now on the beach?"
"Hiss... It's not that scary!" Hong Conghua subconsciously raised his voice, then lowered it after realizing that the other three people were asleep, "It's just that there are lifeguards and security guards on the beach with flashlights."
Without her saying anything, Bai Jinshu could already see what was happening below.
It was past four in the morning, which should have been time to go to bed, but now various security guards were walking back and forth on the beach, all holding a flashlight in their hands. The white beam of light was particularly obvious in the dark night. These people were walking back and forth, as if they were looking for something.
"What are they looking for?" Bai Jinshu narrowed his eyes.
"I don't know," Hong Conghua scratched his head in confusion, "There was no alarm information in the police channel, and we don't know what happened."
"Those people were looking into the sea," Herbiskus said after a long pause, "They were looking for something in the sea."
"In the sea..." Bai Jinshu was reminded and took out his phone to search, "This point is exactly the time of high tide."
"That shouldn't be the case..." Hong Conghua looked down in surprise. "Shouldn't we look for things when the tide is low? Looking for things when the tide is high, not to mention whether it would be dangerous, is he hoping that the waves will bring the things to the shore?"
"You're right. We shouldn't be looking for things during high tide, especially with so many people." Bai Jinshu thought for a few seconds. "Generally speaking, it's a big deal to mobilize so many people. If the things lost aren't particularly valuable, then there is only one possibility."
"People," Herbiskus said, "We are looking for people."
"Who goes to the beach at this time..." Before Hong Conghua finished his complaint, he heard his phone vibrate twice.
Everyone's cell phone vibrated twice.
Xiaoying and Nianyu, who were already sleeping lightly on the bed in the distance, were also suddenly awakened by the vibration.
"Someone called the police," Hong Conghua quickly opened the channel.
Inside the phone, the voice of the caller on the other end of the line came: "That person said that the two tourists who disappeared during the day are on the reef. The tide will rise in an hour. Let's find them as soon as possible."
"You mean, someone just called and informed you that the two tourists who went missing during the day are now on the rocks in the sea?" This was the voice of the police.
"Yes, yes, yes. All our security guards have been dispatched in the middle of the night, but the person has not been found yet."
"Can you provide me with a cell phone number to call you?" The operator paused.
"This... the number you're calling from is not a mobile phone, it's a public phone on the island."
The five people in the room woke up and listened attentively to the sound in the channel.
After the police confirmed the information with the caller, they said they would send someone on the scene shortly, and then hung up the phone.
"The people downstairs are looking for the two people who disappeared during the day and were taken away by Huang Mao?" Hong Conghua looked confused. "Don't they have phones? Who called the resort?"
In the communication channel, someone checked the surveillance video near the pay phone earlier than the police.
The public telephones on the resort island are old facilities left over from more than a decade ago when the island was not developed. They are only available in residential areas and near old houses on the island. Moreover, these public telephones are not coin-operated, but require the purchase of phone cards with a certain amount of money in them to make calls.
In this age when mobile phones are extremely popular, there are no more convenience stores that sell such phone cards. So where did the people who made the calls get these cards?
There was no surveillance around the telephone booth, only the networked surveillance camera of a nearby street shop captured a blurry shadow.
A man in a white T-shirt walked into the phone booth, dialed the number, and then walked back into the darkness.
Xiaoying lowered her voice and said, "I'm afraid it's... the guy pretending to be Huangmao."
Are you trying to put the blame on Huangmao?
But if these things pretended to be them in order to kill them or to throw dirty water on them, then why did they call the security guard in the middle of the night to rescue the two girls?
The author has something to say:
The first 20 + the random 20, I have written 300 chapters without realizing it~
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