The murder block mentioned by Cai Ji is between Hongsen Business District and Baige Square to the west. Because it is far from the subway and the residential buildings are quite old, this area seems very quiet. However, compared with the lifeless Crescent Road Station area, this area is still somewhat popular. Along the way, Zhou Yu would encounter residents going for walks or walking their dogs from time to time. They looked relaxed and relaxed, not like they lived near the murder scene.
According to Cai Ji's description, they found the house number near the alley. On the left is a tobacco and liquor store, and on the right is a bookstore. There is a thin wall ten centimeters thick between the two stores, without any extra space. Looking around, there seems to be no surveillance on the streets. In fact, he has rarely seen surveillance cameras in the city. The most common ones on telephone poles and street lamps are bird's nests, and he doesn't know why they want to live in such conspicuous places.
"...It does feel like a dream." He murmured.
Cai Ji's description is obviously not completely true, and there are many problems just after hearing it for the first time. For example, when the eyes of a beheaded person move, this neurological reaction can only remain for ten seconds before death. It would take more than this time to cut five or six people into the shape Cai Ji said.
What if that man's head was the last to be chopped off? Then he should at least make some noise before dying.
Furthermore, it makes no sense that a man with a long blade could lead five or six people into a remote alley by himself, and no one screamed or ran out of the alley when he was killed.
So, there are two possible explanations. The first is that ghosts are causing trouble as Zhang Mumu said, and the second is Cai Ji's mental abnormality - Zhou Yu does not think that he lied intentionally, this is a judgment based on his behavior. Even if the other party has extraordinary acting skills, there is no need to tell such bizarre and exaggerated lies.
It is not difficult to understand that Zhang Mumu would attribute such a strange story to ghosts and gods, but Zhou Yu still believed that the problem lay with Cai Ji. Memories are processed by emotions, and it is not uncommon for witnesses to a crime to remember the prisoner's light green clothes as dark blue.
However, Cai Ji could clearly describe the appearance of the shops on both sides of the alley, which cannot be explained. Even if it is a inducing confession, it will never be possible for the memory to fabricate a completely fictitious crime location.
Zhou Yu thought about this series of events. When he came to his senses, he found Zhang Mumu chatting with the owner of the cigarette shop.
This unfathomable woman seems to possess all kinds of special skills. In the time it took her half a cup of tea, she was already chatting and laughing with the owner of the cigarette shop, and even got a small bench to sit next to the counter and eat melon seeds. Only Zhou Yu stood alone on the road, wondering whether he should disturb the interest of the old man and the young man.
While he was watching, Zhang Mumu had finished chatting and ran back with half a bag of melon seeds. As usual, she handed the melon seeds to Zhou Yu, but after being rejected, she slowly started eating them herself.
"What did you talk about with your boss?" Zhou Yu asked.
"A murder case!" Zhang Mumu said while sipping, "The boss said that in a residential area nearby, a girl committed suicide by jumping off a building in June this year. She was very young when she died, which is really a pity."
She shook her head as she spoke, looking like an old man playing chess in the park. Zhou Yu suppressed this bad association and continued to ask: "Does this have anything to do with our affairs?"
"Yes, because that person is a ghost. He is most likely an earthbound spirit with a lot of resentment. He is too bad to girls, so the possibility of being taught a lesson by a female ghost is the greatest. Maybe he is the one who jumped off the building. Girls are punishing him.”
Old God Zhang Mumu nodded. Regarding this simple view of karma, Zhou Yu chose to turn his head and continue searching along the street. Zhang Mumu consciously pointed to the left and said, "The girl who committed suicide used to live in that building."
"I'm not looking for the address of someone who committed suicide."
"Eh? What are you looking for, classmate Zhou?"
"Alley."
If Cai Ji's experience that night was not a pure hallucination, then he must have gotten some details wrong, such as confusing the address. As for the missing body, one night was enough time for the murderer to complete the initial cover-up work. Ordinary people are not sensitive to this kind of incident. If there is no intact body, they will probably not call the police if they just see some blood stains on the road.
However, after walking around the block twice, Zhou Yu discovered that there were no alleyways here at all.
Originally, this place was backed by a residential area, and the front and rear entrances and exits were fixed, so it was impossible to create a dedicated trail for casual access. As for the blind alleys that appeared due to planning errors, they have no reason to exist in the closely adjacent shopping streets.
From a design perspective, this neighborhood does not need laneways at all.
Zhou Yu had nothing to do. This thing is either haunted or the delusions of a mentally ill person. Cai Ji obviously has mental problems, it's just a matter of severity.
"……Let's go back."
The sun was setting in the west, and Zhou Yu had to give up. He has been in control of his body since yesterday afternoon, which means that Zhou Yu has lost the memory of a day and a night. If it continues, it will be too easy to arouse suspicion.
After walking for the same day, Zhang Mumu didn't look tired. After hearing what he said, he asked with a bit of regret: "Will Mr. Zhou still come to my house?"
"No, I won't bother you today. It's better for Mr. Zhang not to tell anyone about today's events."
"Well..." Zhang Mumu twirled his hair with his fingertips embarrassedly, "Actually, I've already told Ah Wei."
Zhou Yu shook his head speechlessly. In fact, he didn't care much about it. Just like Cai Ji said, no one would believe it. Without a body or a reporter, it means this incident never happened.
After parting ways with Zhang Mumu, he headed to the subway station alone. Cai Ji's story still lingers in his mind.
There were about five or six people killed, based on their different body parts and clothing. Among them was an adult man in a suit and a young woman in a short skirt and running shoes. Although the other victims were not clearly identified, at least these two did not look like homeless people with no social connections. Since he has been missing for so long, his family and friends must have contacted the police. Why is there no report?
In addition, it is also incomprehensible for what reason they followed the murderer into the place of death. Go to death without reason and disappear without anyone caring about you. These disappeared people do not seem to have been killed, but more like their existence itself has been swallowed up by the city.
Zhou Yu suddenly came out of his trance.
Unknowingly, he had left the subway station. The road under your feet becomes more and more deviated, with shops arranged as neatly as teeth on both sides. It's still dark, but most shops have closed their rolling doors.
His mind seemed numb, and he just moved forward mechanically.
The stars and the moon were getting brighter, the street lights were brighter, and he was wandering on the empty streets like a lone wolf, gradually approaching his destination.
Turning the corner, floating footsteps approached quietly. The cigarette shop on the left and the bookstore on the right closed early as if to avoid disaster.
Between the two stores, a dark alleyway opens directly to Zhou Yudong.
He stepped into it without hesitation, feeling as familiar as a wanderer returning home. There were footprints left in the mud at the entrance of the alley, which were exactly the same length, width, and depth as the new marks he had covered.
The alleys are filled with bright colors. Deep and light, all kinds of red, exuding the smell of putrid human body. On the blood-stained wall, there were still carvings from the blade.
He stared at the carvings, then slowly stretched out his arm, imagining himself swinging the long knife horizontally and easily beheading the man leaning against the wall. The blade cut through the skin and skull, and scratched into the wall behind.
The imaginary marks coincide with the real carvings on the wall.
In this way, the weight and height are completely consistent.
So that's what happened, he thought to himself.
