35 – Another Murder Case

Chapter 35: Another Murder Case

Xie Qingcheng and He Yu were the last to leave the small auditorium.

As the two stepped outside, they saw crowds of students moving toward the dormitories, following professors and police officers. Campus announcements were echoing from all directions.

Fellow students, please remain calm. Any student who is alone should immediately contact a teacher, roommate, or classmate. Please return to your dormitories in an orderly fashion…

Of course, the announcements were unable to suppress the students’ commotion.

Everyone who had come outside was staring either at their phones or at the Huzhou Broadcasting Control Tower, the school’s landmark.

It was a high-rise building constructed by the university to mimic a real broadcasting station for the broadcasting students; the main body of the tower was covered in lighting panels that could be used as an electronic billboard.

And right now, that control tower system had been hacked. The tower, glowing a vivid red, looked like a blood-stained knife plunged into the earth. Black letters, clearly visible even from thousands of meters away, decorated the surface of the billboard.

[W,

Z,

L,

The Duck Duck Goose death game begins.]

Not only the control tower, but the wide-area communication network of Huzhou University had also been swallowed by some software and gone dead. Phones could still be used, but the pop-up windows appearing on the screens simply would not close.

Thousands of pop-up windows dyed the night of Huzhou University like a brilliant Milky Way. The problem was that the stars forming that Milky Way were grotesque and chilling videos.

Xie Qingcheng lowered his head again to check his phone. The text in the video was identical to the sentence coloring the control tower.

[W, Z, L, The Duck Duck Goose death game begins.]

Below the text, grotesque RPG characters were sitting in a circle. Among them, a girl character was standing outside the circle, holding a bright red handkerchief and smiling brightly, as if playing a game of Duck Duck Goose.

The girl character standing behind the letter W threw the handkerchief behind a boy character. As the boy character began to run frantically, the girl character chased after him with a smirk.

Right then.

The girl character standing behind the letter W caught up to the boy character. Then, pulling the corners of her mouth into a wide grin, she grabbed the RPG boy character’s head and twisted it violently.

A few seconds later, a sing-song yet blunt melody echoed from every phone in the school.

Throw it… throw it… throw the handkerchief, gently throw it behind the little one, no one must tell the little one…

Countless phone speakers turned the soft nursery rhyme into an eerie chorus that poured across the campus.

Terrified by this sight, students sought each other out and huddled together. Some students refused to return to the dormitories, feeling that staying outdoors together was safer. Timid students burst into tears. Phone ringtones echoed from all directions, overlapping with the song filling the campus. Every single one was [stolen content]a call from family. Fitting for the 21st-century [Read on Read BL Novels]internet age, this incident at Huzhou drew explosive attention across all sorts of social platforms.

“Hello, Mom! I’m not hurt… but it’s really scary…”

“Uwaaa, Dad! I’m with a friend! Yes! I won’t go anywhere, I’ll stay here, sob…”

Amidst the chaos, Xie Qingcheng also called Xie Xue. Only after hearing that she was making wontons at home with Aunt Li did he breathe a sigh of relief and briefly explain the situation to his younger sister. He added that it was dangerous outside, so she should not leave the house and should check in every hour, then hung up without further word.

After finishing the call, he noticed He Yu quietly watching him. When their eyes met, He Yu quickly looked away.

“…”

Only then did Xie Qingcheng realize that there was no one worrying about He Yu.

Unlike the other students whose phones were ringing off the hook with calls from family and friends, He Yu’s phone remained silent throughout. His face was as still as stagnant water.

Just as Xie Qingcheng was about to say something, the song cut off abruptly, and a large photo appeared on everyone’s phone. At that moment, the two heard a nearby police officer mutter, “Fuck.”

From that officer’s pager, the voice of the team leader could be heard screaming in rage.

Fuck, that’s the photo we took at the scene earlier! How did this leak!

Everyone’s gaze shifted in one direction.

It was a photo that had not been mosaiced at all.

A grotesque, bizarre, and shocking image unfolded before everyone’s eyes. It was the corpse of a man on a ruined bed, strangled with his tongue sticking out, his naked body wearing nothing but red high heels on his feet.

Meanwhile, the students thought the bed in the photo looked very familiar. This place was clearly the university hotel operated by Huzhou University.

Every year during the start of the semester, parents who brought their children to school would stay at this hotel. The facilities were quite good, and those with Huzhou University student cards could get a discount. If parents lined up during the start of the semester, student couples became the primary customers who frequented the place afterward.

Then, exclamations of “Crazy” erupted from the crowd. Most of those swearing were male students. The female students, who were relatively less bold, burst into tears, covered their faces, or turned away upon seeing the photo of the corpse. By nature, men tend to have a higher tolerance for cruel visual stimuli. The male students trembled inwardly, convinced that this bed was the very one they and their girlfriends had rolled around on. Fuck, a cozy nest suddenly became a murder scene? Who the hell is going to pay to sleep here now? I’ll get erectile dysfunction just looking at a similar bed.

On the other hand, the precious Young Master He had no experience staying in such a commoner’s hotel. Of course, he also had no girlfriend to take to a hotel. Thus, for a while, he simply frowned, unable to understand why the surrounding male students were letting out exclamations mixed with curses.

Instead, he read other information from this murder scene photo. Forgetting that he had been in a battle of wills until a moment ago, he hurriedly looked back at Xie Qingcheng.

He felt the same bewilderment in Xie Qingcheng’s eyes.

Chengkang Psychiatric Hospital.

This murder method was strangely similar to the Chengkang Psychiatric Hospital incident.

First was the attire. Despite the deceased being a man, he died wearing feminine clothes and accessories. Liang Jicheng had been cross-dressed from head to toe, and this corpse wore red high heels.

Second was the music. Both He Yu and Xie Qingcheng could not forget the song Jiang Lanpei had hummed while dismembering the body in the office. At the time when they thought Xie Xue had been murdered, the gloomy singing of a madwoman had drifted from across the wall.

Throw it… throw it… [Read on Read BL Novels]throw the handkerchief, gently throw it behind the little one, no one [unauthorized copy]unauthorized copymust tell the little one…

Third were the three letters ‘WZL’. It was the secret message the two had seen in the cave of the dreamy island.

As time passed, other students also recalled Jiang Lanpei’s murder method. Fearful whispers spread through the crowd.

“Jiang Lanpei…”

“Right, the Duck Duck Goose song. She sang it while killing people. I saw it in the newspaper…”

“These red high heels, don’t they look like the shoes Jiang Lanpei was wearing in the news photos?”

“Crazy. I saw somewhere that shoes signify evil energy and have a hidden meaning of sending you to the afterlife…”

One student, perhaps losing their mind from shock, screamed like a lunatic.

“It’s really Jiang Lanpei! The ghost of Jiang Lanpei has come for revenge!”

With this shout, the surroundings surged as if a bomb had gone off.

Previously, He Yu had told Xie Qingcheng about such rumors. Perhaps inspired by Jiang Lanpei’s horrific death, a strange rumor had been spreading among students that ‘if you write the name of a man who bullied you and the method of his death, and then write Jiang Lanpei’s name underneath, Jiang Lanpei’s ghost will take revenge for you.’

Since a photo that fit the urban legend perfectly had appeared largely on their phones, it was only natural for the students to be emotionally devastated.

As the chaos intensified, the police [visit our site]and professors who had evacuated the students shouted stolen contentthrough megaphones, stolen contentputting every ounce of strength into their voices.

“Silence! Fellow students! Do not crowd here; follow the professors back to the dormitories! We will take responsibility for your safety!”

The students, like chickens being driven into a coop, rushed forward, yet their eyes remained fixed on the photo of the murder scene.

Students who had grown up overprotected found it difficult to rationally process such a cruel scene. Having actually witnessed a blood-soaked murder scene photo, they conversely couldn’t tear their eyes away. The more they looked, the scarier it became, and the scarier it became, the more they kept looking, leaving their minds in total confusion.

While the police were struggling due to the students’ lack of cooperation, the video screen on the phones happened to change.

The photo of the corpse disappeared, and the ‘WZL Duck Duck Goose Death Game’ screen reappeared.

However, the scene had changed slightly from before.

Behind the letter W, the name of the corpse, ‘Wang Jiankang,’ was written in RPG pixels. The boy character who had been playing the handkerchief game had already turned black. All the RPG characters participating in the game had stopped in their tracks. The screen was paused at the moment the boy character’s head was twisted.

And below the letter W representing Wang Jiankang was the letter Z. The RPG characters standing behind it began to move rapidly. The girl character holding the red handkerchief smirked and began to circle the ‘boys,’ preparing to throw the handkerchief.

Round 2 of the death match had begun.

Xie Qingcheng and He Yu locked eyes. WZL will soon be murdered. The phrase from the dreamy island guestbook came to mind.

At the time, the two had thought WZL were the initials of one person. To think that each letter referred to the names of three different people.

W, Wang Jiankang, was already dead.

Then, who was Z?

Right then, He Yu’s phone suddenly rang.

He Yu paused, checked the caller, froze for a moment, and then answered the phone with an awkward feeling.

“…Father.”

He Jiwei, who was leaving the airport, had called after seeing the news of the Huzhou University murder case sent by his secretary.

What on earth is happening there? How is the security managed for such an incident to occur?

He Yu remained silent.

Where are you now?

“In front of the school’s small auditorium.”

I’ll tell Director Li to send someone over.

“It’s okay.”

He Yu looked around. The crowded people were almost reminiscent of a sardine can. Moreover, Xie Qingcheng was still [stolen content]standing beside him. If he were [stolen content]to leave alone unauthorized copyin a police car in this situation, Xie Qingcheng might not say anything, but he would surely look at him with a gaze eight degrees colder from now on.

“It’s okay. Police cars can’t even get in right now. I’ll go back to the dormitory later.”

If something happens then—

Hearing the chaotic noise coming from He Yu’s end, He Jiwei stopped walking and sighed.

Do you have any acquaintances nearby?

He Yu glanced at Xie Qingcheng.

Well. Can I even put this man in the category of an acquaintance?

As they had acknowledged last time, the two were nothing more than a doctor and patient whose relationship had cleanly ended.

Hello? He Yu, are you listening?

Just as He Yu was about to speak, a boy’s voice rang out from the other end of the phone.

Dad! Slow down. I think I left something on the plane. I need to tell the flight attendant.

“…”

At the voice coming from the receiver, He Yu’s gaze became considerably more composed.

“It’s okay, Father. There’s someone I know here.”

As he answered, He Yu glanced sideways at Xie Qingcheng.

“I’m with Mr. Xie.”

You mean Mr. Xie Qingcheng?

“Yes…”

Why are you with a teacher? Were you receiving treatment?

In truth, He Yu couldn’t explain it precisely.

Since that night at the hotel, Xie Qingcheng had constantly picked fights with him. He had never felt that his psychology was being treated with sincerity in the first place.

And yet, he felt strangely better. At any rate, he had been able to distance himself somewhat from his feelings toward Xie Xue.

Until now, he hadn’t been aware of it. He Yu, who didn’t trust Xie Qingcheng much, had simply thought Xie Qingcheng was bullying him out of spite. But only now did he realize that this ‘bullying’ was Xie Qingcheng’s own method of treatment.

Psychological Ebola has a massive impact not only on physiological aspects but also on psychological ones. Xie Qingcheng belonged to a school of thought that opposed pure drug therapy. Instead, he emphasized correctly guiding and constructing the patient’s mental world. In some ways, it could be said that he leaned toward idealism.

This was why Xie Qingcheng was a doctor who, while perhaps lacking visit our sitein short-term counseling, Read on Read BL Novelswas effective for long-term treatment. Read on Read BL NovelsHe did not emphasize things like this while treating patients:

‘You have a psychological problem. Let’s do some counseling. Tell me whatever you want to say.’

He intervened in the patient’s psychology in a way closest to daily life, and at the same time, in a very natural way. He always tried to give the patient the feeling that ‘I am a normal person.’

In fact, the decisive factor in psychological treatment is not the doctor’s expertise.

What kind of comfort the patient received and how their mental state changed—this point was more important than anything else.

During that time, He Yu had been busy racking his brain to escape trouble while bickering with Xie Qingcheng. And now, he found himself far removed from the shock of heartbreak.

Dazed by this newly discovered fact, he lifted his eyes and looked at Xie Qingcheng.

“…”

Why are you silent again? Is something wrong?

“It’s nothing.”

He Yu cleared his throat and took his eyes off Xie Qingcheng.

“That’s right. I’ve been receiving treatment from the teacher lately.”

Mr. Xie Qingcheng, really… He refused to stay even when asked, refused to renew unauthorized copyhis contract, stolen contentand [visit our site]yet he’s volunteering.

Because I bit the teacher’s lip during a seizure at the hotel last time, Mr. Xie said he couldn’t stand to see me like this and decided to manage me as well. Since he couldn’t possibly say that, He Yu spoke with an awkward feeling.

“Well… he just comes to check on me occasionally. It’s not like we meet at a set time every time.”

At those words, He Jiwei paused for a moment.

Right. Then don’t go to the dormitory; stay with Mr. Xie. How can it be safe for young kids to huddle together? Go to the staff dormitory with Mr. Xie.

“…Father, wouldn’t that be a bit of a nuisance?”

What’s a nuisance? He’s someone who has looked after you since you were young, so he’ll gladly help to this extent.

“The teacher isn’t my primary physician anymore.”

You’re all human; there’s such a thing as a bond beyond an employment relationship. That’s why he comes to examine you occasionally. And it’s not like Mr. Xie has a grudge against our family, so why are you drawing such a cold line? If you’re too shy to say it, I’ll call him directly.

At this moment, the younger sibling’s voice was heard again from the phone.

Dad, why are you walking so fast? Who is it? He Yu?

“…I understand.”

As soon as He Yu heard that voice, he wanted to shut his ears.

“I’ll hang up for now.”

After hanging up, He Yu shifted his gaze to Xie Qingcheng and cleared his throat.

“Um, you know—”

“Your father told you to go to my dormitory.”

“…You heard everything.”

Xie Qingcheng replied with a simple “Yeah,” and followed the crowd forward with He Yu. Because the school was locked down, it was difficult to return to the Huzhou Medical School, but instead, Xie Xue’s dormitory was here. He had just found out the door lock password while contacting Xie Xue.

The two managed to return to the dormitory following the crowded mass of people. Xie Qingcheng opened the door first.

“Come in.”

The living room fluorescent lights flickered on brightly. The warm atmosphere of the dormitory diluted the fear and pressure felt outside. Although the terror was still ongoing, being in such an environment allowed them to catch their breath. It felt like watching a movie where the police and the criminal face off, standing at a distance as if watching a fire.

Moreover, this was none other than Xie Xue’s room. What greeted the two were junk food scattered on the table and teddy bears.

As a bonus, there were two cup noodles with raccoons drawn on them.

“…”

“…”

Xie Qingcheng and He Yu swallowed the silence side by side.

It was an environment where, even if they wanted to be scared, they couldn’t be.

Xie Qingcheng closed the door, loosened his shirt buttons, and with a solemn expression, began to clean up the trash Xie Xue had left behind.

He Yu looked at the living room where there was hardly any space to step. He had visited Xie Xue’s dormitory a few times before, but it had been cleaned in advance back then.

He had never imagined it would be this bad when not cleaned. Isn’t this practically a waste disposal site?

It was more shocking than the photos of the scene where Wang Jiankang was murdered. He couldn’t reconcile the image of this filthy room with Xie Xue’s fresh appearance.

With his hands behind his back, he leaned against the doorway for a long while before asking cautiously.

“……Is it always like this?”

“It’s always been this way.”

Xie Qingcheng, who was well-versed in the role of a father, picked up a teddy bear rolling on the floor, dusted it off, and placed it back on the cabinet.

Watching this, He Yu was completely speechless.

“…….”

“Go boil some water and make two cups of tea.”

“……Yes.”

While brewing the tea, He Yu noticed that there were two sets of teacups that Xie Xue had placed in the sink. Looking at the tea bags, it was a black tea that Xie Xue didn’t seem to like very much.

Suddenly, something faint flickered through his mind. Just as he was about to sink into thought, Xie Qingcheng, who was in the living room, interrupted his reverie.

“Bring the jasmine tea from the third shelf of the tea cabinet.”

Answering “Yes,” He Yu spent his time searching through the piles of snacks and drinks for the jasmine tea ‘President Xie’ requested, casting the black tea bags and the two sets of teaware to the back of his mind.

The room became clean in an instant. Although Xie Qingcheng might seem like a cold, inhuman elite, that was merely a fragment of his image.

A man who lost his parents at a young age and personally raised a younger sister eight years his junior. Xie Qingcheng was not someone to be underestimated.

When He Yu came out with the tea on a tray, Xie Qingcheng was bending over one last time to clear away a book lying on the carpet.

The sight of him bending over was quite impressive. With straight, long legs and a relatively slim waist, the firm contours of his body stood out beneath the taut fabric of his shirt as he leaned down.

As He Yu appeared, he stood up and slotted the remaining books into the bookshelf. While glancing visit our siteat He Yu, he gave a slight nod of his Read on Read BL Novelschin toward his stolen contentsecretary. It meant: Place my tea on that cleaned tea table.

Shortly after, ‘Secretary He’ spoke.

“I chose this brand of tea. This is the one, right?”

“Yeah.”

Receiving the teacup, ‘CEO Xie’ washed his hands, sat on the sofa, and loosened his shirt collar.

The noisy clamor of voices and the sound of sirens could be heard from beyond the wall. With just a slight tilt of the head, the tower—which looked like a red sword of judgment—was clearly visible through the living room window.

On the phone screen, a girl character standing behind the letter Z was throwing a handkerchief and spinning around.

Xie Qingcheng spoke first.

“Is it a hacker?”

“Definitely. The hacking range covers the mobile devices in the campus area and the control tower.”

Whether it was because he was annoyed that the video was playing simultaneously on both his and Xie Qingcheng’s phones, or because of the habit of hackers obsessed with victory, He Yu opened a phone app and began entering code commands.

“……Looking closely, they hacked using the latest equipment developed in the US. I’ve encountered it once before,” He Yu muttered after a short while.

“The electromagnetic range [visit our site]stolen contentis [Read on Read BL Novels]set wide, but there’s a bug. This means it can actually be shut down quite easily.”

Focusing on the decryption code appearing on the screen, he broke through the opponent’s defense systems one by one.

A few minutes later.

He Yu’s phone finally went silent.

He Yu nonchalantly tossed the phone—now free from the electromagnetic waves set by the opposing hacker—to one side.

“It was that simple?”

“My skills aren’t the worst, you know.”

He Yu, who ranked in the top five of the Dark Web hacker rankings, played humble.

“No matter how good they are, it was their mistake to challenge me.”

“Then can you block the electromagnetic waves in all areas?”

At Xie Qingcheng’s question, He Yu laughed.

“No. I can’t do it without professional equipment. Besides, that’s the police’s job. If I interfere unnecessarily, I’ll just end up as a subject of investigation. I’ll leave your phone as it is so you can check the video.”

Thinking it was a reasonable point, Xie Qingcheng nodded.

He Yu took a seat opposite Xie Qingcheng.

“By the way, do you know who this Wang Jiankang person is?”

Xie Qingcheng was a professor at Huzhou Medical University. On the other hand, Wang Jiankang was most likely some employee of Huzhou University. He Yu had only asked in passing, but unexpectedly, Xie Qingcheng took a sip of jasmine tea, closed his eyes, leaned back into the sofa, and let out two words.

“I do.”