Chapter Twenty-One: Someone Else!

Fortunately, Li Hong seemed well-prepared. He darted forward, seized the dagger with a deft grappling move, and flung it hard; the blade embedded itself in the door panel. The young nurse, acting on instinct, began to collapse to the floor. Without hesitation, Li Hong delivered a swift chop to the back of her head. Her eyes rolled back, and she immediately lost consciousness.

Tang Jingjing, ever attentive, hurried over and grabbed Li Hong’s hand, wanting to bandage it. After all, he had just disarmed a young man barehanded. No matter how tough one’s skin, it should have at least been cut. Yet when Tang Jingjing turned over Li Hong’s palm, she found it completely unscathed. He beamed at us with his characteristic simplicity.

Tang Jingjing tapped her own head. “Are your hands made of iron? How are you completely unharmed?”

Li Hong scratched his head, slightly embarrassed. “My hands are covered in calluses. Sorry for frightening everyone.”

Li Xingchen, on the other hand, couldn’t stay calm any longer. “Master—no, from now on, you’re my master! Teach me, too! Damn, that was incredible. If I showed that trick at a nightclub, I’d have girls swooning over me.”

Li Hong replied, “It’s easy. Do push-ups on a blade for a year, and you’ll get there.”

Li Xingchen blanched. “Forget it,” he said hurriedly.

I stepped forward and took the item cradled in the young nurse’s arms. It was a uterus, slick with mucus, and had clearly been cut open and forcibly stretched—evidence that it had recently carried a pregnancy.

We had come in a rush and hadn’t brought any evidence bags, so we had to call forensics to collect it. Xia Feng was already prepared to examine the uterus; I tossed it to her, and she immediately immersed herself in her work with single-minded focus.

The rest of us went to report to Director Wang.

Director Wang was excited to hear we had solved the case so quickly, declaring that each of us would be cited for a second-class merit award. Tang Jingjing was overjoyed, saying that if her mother heard about this, she’d finally stop treating her like a child.

Yet Director Wang still raised a question: how could the young nurse have possibly killed so many people? Had we checked her attendance records? She’d never missed a shift—otherwise, she couldn’t have been named an outstanding nurse.

Old Lin nodded, deep in thought. “Of course, we’ll look into these details. For now, let’s not report the case any further. We can wait until the evidence is conclusive.”

Director Wang agreed. “Alright! I’ll join you in questioning the young nurse.”

The nurse regained consciousness soon after, and was given a mild sedative to prevent another suicide attempt.

The interrogation was conducted by Old Lin and Tang Jingjing, while the rest of us watched from the surveillance room.

“Name?” Tang Jingjing asked, taking notes.

“Lin Yu,” the nurse replied.

“Age?”

“Twenty-five.”

“How many people have you killed?” Tang Jingjing looked at her.

“Four,” Lin Yu answered.

“Who were they?”

“Two female students from the School of Finance, Song Yuanhai, and Lin Yunshan,” Lin Yu replied, surprisingly forthright.

“Why did you kill them?” Tang Jingjing pressed.

“The two students saw something they shouldn’t have seen. As for Song Yuanhai… he deserved to die.”

“Then why did you kill your own father?” Tang Jingjing zeroed in on a key point.

“Stop asking,” Lin Yu said, her expression agitated. The sedative clearly hadn’t been strong enough.

The doctor at her side suggested, “Should I give her another dose?”

Director Wang shook his head. “No, leave her as she is. It’s more revealing this way; we might spot a flaw.”

“I killed them. I kill whoever I want. Stop asking me questions. I’m confessing—everything! I killed them!” Lin Yu screamed hysterically.

Old Lin removed his glasses, gave a helpless, bitter smile, and walked out of the room. Director Wang and I hurried after him.

Old Lin sighed, “From my experience, she didn’t commit the murders. She’s taking the fall for someone else.”

“Old Lin, explain your reasoning for everyone’s benefit,” Director Wang said, handing Old Lin a cigarette.

Li Xingchen pulled out a cigarette too, but Director Wang glared at him. “No smoking in the station.”

“But you…” Li Xingchen protested, eyeing the smoke rings rising from Director Wang’s own cigarette in mute resignation.

“I’m different. You’re too young to be smoking. Your health can’t take it,” Director Wang admonished.

Li Xingchen muttered under his breath, “Even stricter than my old man.”

Old Lin tucked the cigarette behind his ear and explained, “When she admitted to killing, her expression was blank. That’s not normal. Killing always provokes a reaction: the satisfaction of vengeance, the thrill of fulfilling a desire, or the guilt of an accident. Lin Yu’s expression, though, was clearly contrived—she was forcing it, trying to hide something.”

“Second, she won’t discuss killing her father. Clearly, she has strong feelings against her father’s death, which means she had little to do with it.”

“Third, if she truly wanted to confess, she wouldn’t have waited until after her father was dead. She only turned herself in after Lin Yunshan died, because the case was closing in. She wants to shield the real culprit, which is why she confessed.”

We all felt an immense sense of disappointment. Old Lin’s analysis struck home; just when we thought the truth was finally in the open, it turned out to be nothing but illusion.

Everyone was crestfallen.

Li Xingchen suggested, “Since she confessed, let’s just interrogate her harshly. We’ll get it out of her.”

Old Lin shook his head. “You don’t understand the criminal mind. If she’s willing to give up her life for someone else, why would she care about a little torture? Besides, the police are forbidden from using illegal methods. It’s against procedure.”

“So what do we do?” Li Xingchen asked.

“We keep investigating,” Old Lin replied. “We’ll start with Lin Yu. I refuse to believe we won’t find a key clue.”

“Director Wang, something’s up.” Just then, Li, the head of forensics, ran over in a panic.

“What is it?” Director Wang asked at once.

“Someone just called Lin Yu’s phone. As per protocol, we tracked the unfamiliar number and had a female officer answer, claiming Lin Yu was injured and in the hospital.”

“But the caller fell silent after just one sentence, ignoring all further questions. Finally, they said only one thing: ‘There will be more deaths tonight.’”

“Then why are we wasting time? Call back immediately!” Director Wang barked.

“We already did,” Li replied. “But the other party’s phone was switched off. Cybercrime is working with the mobile company to locate their position. We should have results soon.”

“Damn it,” Li Xingchen cursed. “The real killer is still out there.”

“Don’t panic,” Director Wang said steadily. “Analyze this for me—who’s likely to be the next victim?”

No one spoke; the question stumped us all.

Suddenly, I remembered something Lin Yu had said earlier: the two female students died because they saw something they shouldn’t have. I quickly asked Old Lin how credible that statement was.

Old Lin paused, then said, “There’s a seventy to eighty percent chance she was telling the truth.”

I spoke up quickly, “Then let’s start there—find out what exactly they saw. If we can figure that out, we’ll know who the next victim is!”

Without waiting for procedure, we all rushed into the interrogation room together. The sudden crowd created immense psychological pressure on Lin Yu.

By now, Tang Jingjing was so frustrated she was nearly in tears—Lin Yu refused to cooperate, repeating only, “I killed them. Sentence me as you see fit.”

As we burst in, Lin Yu’s expression shifted rapidly, her face a mask of terror. How could such a timid person have committed such brutal murders?

Director Wang, cunning as ever, broke the silence. “A woman just called your phone…”

Lin Yu’s face instantly tensed. I signaled Tang Jingjing, who immediately began taking notes again and restarted the video recorder.