Wenn die Liebe naht, ist es wie Schnee

Kapitel 23

Xia Chen also sensed it, and Ye Cheng shouted, "Oh no, we're running out of oxygen!"

010 Sewer

Everyone felt dizzy, short of breath, and had chest tightness; their consciousness began to blur.

Hu Rongrong was the first to collapse. Before losing consciousness, she took one last look at Luo Xie. He was still frantically swinging his machete. Almost two hours had passed since he first struck, and his strength hadn't diminished at all. Each strike produced a burst of intense sparks. Regardless of what had happened, he continued his frenzied hacking at the wall.

Next to collapse was Luo Shimin. Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy. Knowing she might never open them again, she decided to do something she'd never done before: she slightly opened her mouth and leaned towards Xia Chen. Xia Chen was a little nervous; no girl had ever kissed him before. He didn't know what to do. Luo Shimin's lips drew closer and closer, and just as they were about to touch, she fainted.

The third to collapse was Li Xiao. She was a police academy graduate and much stronger physically than the other two girls. Before losing consciousness, her last words to Ye Cheng were, "Big brother, could you please stop calling me 'my dear Xiao Xiao'? It's too cheesy!"

Ye Cheng and Xia Chen have not fallen yet.

He was about to die. Xia Chen still had many unresolved matters to attend to. The Xia Group still existed, and his mission at Yishi Academy was not yet complete. Was he really going to die like this? Thinking about this question, Xia Chen fainted.

Ye Cheng staggered to his feet, leaning against the wall as he struggled to Luo Xie's side. Looking at Luo Xie, who was still frantically swinging his sword, he said, "Are you a monster? You've been hacking away for so long and you don't seem tired at all. Don't you need oxygen?"

Luo Xie ignored him.

Ye Cheng saw that Luo Xie's hand was cracked from the impact. Every time he swung the machete, blood would spray out. Ye Cheng guessed that Luo Xie's hand must be in a lot of pain, but he was still gripping the knife and swinging it wildly. "I don't know what happened between you and Hu Rongrong, but I want to tell you that I have nothing to do with Hu Rongrong. He was deliberately trying to anger you. She was looking at you the whole time. You two are a perfect match..." Ye Cheng hadn't finished speaking when he fainted.

Only Luo Xie was left.

He had already carved a hole the size of a bowl. He didn't know how thick the wall was. His hands ached, he was exhausted, he felt short of breath, and he longed to rest. But he couldn't stop. His loved ones and closest people lay behind him; he was their last hope. If he gave up, they would all die. Die in this dark, unknown room. He wouldn't let that happen.

He raised the knife again and slashed down hard.

One after another, and another…

With a snap, the wall was cleaved open, and a stench of damp air rushed out. Luo Xie took a deep breath. Although it smelled terrible, Luo Xie was moved by the air; everyone was saved.

Luo Xie cried! He himself didn't know why he was crying.

After checking that everyone was alright, he rested for a while, found a bottle of water and a few pieces of chocolate in Luo Shimin's bag, ate a few bites, switched to his other hand, and once again gripped the machete, its blade dulled and stained with his blood, and swung it around. He was going to cut a big hole and get everyone away.

Bang bang bang...

Ye Cheng was the first to wake up. Seeing Luo Xie still wielding his machete, the air in the secret room reeked of a nauseating stench. He suddenly realized that Luo Xie had indeed hacked through the wall and saved everyone. He needed to reassess the man before him. Rumors circulated that Luo Xie was terrifying. He had never taken those rumors to heart, but now it seemed Luo Xie was even more terrifying than they said. Being his enemy would be incredibly frightening; he hoped they would never be on opposing sides.

"You're awake?" Luo Xie asked.

Ye Chengen chuckled and said sincerely, "I'm not flattering you, you really are amazing. You're the most amazing person I've ever met."

Luo Xie didn't stand on ceremony, "Thank you!"

Ye Cheng didn't know what to say and fell silent, creating an awkward atmosphere.

Two minutes later, Luo Xie spoke first, asking, "Who do you think designed this trap?"

Ye Cheng scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "It's a bit ridiculous, we were almost killed, but I still don't know who did it. From what I know so far, I can only say that it's related to the Xia Group."

I'm confident I'll find out who did it soon.

Luo Xie exuded an invisible killing intent. "I don't care who they are. Anyone who dares to lay a hand on my closest people should be prepared to face my wrath. I will make them regret what they have done." Luo Xie's words clearly conveyed one meaning: he was going to take action against the Xia Group after he left.

"You should think about this again..." Ye Cheng originally wanted to stop Luo Xie from acting recklessly, but then thought better of it. Luo Xie had nowhere to vent his anger, and he wouldn't listen to anyone right now. He could only pray that Luo Xie would be gentle and not make things worse.

"What's that smell?" Xia Chen was awakened by the stench.

"I'm not dead?"

Ye Cheng said with a smile, "Congratulations, Xia Chen, you're still living in this wicked world. Luo Xie saved us; he cut through the wall."

"Really? I'd like to see that. It's incredible." Xia Chen was excited about escaping a desperate situation. Ye Cheng pulled him up and walked to Luo Xie's side.

Xia Chen peeked out through the small hole and said, "It looks like a sewer outside. No wonder it smells so bad."

Luo Xie suddenly said coldly to the two of them, "Xia Chen, you have to be nicer to my sister from now on. And you, Officer Ye, are not allowed to call Rongrong a crazy woman anymore, or I will get angry. The consequences of my anger will be severe. I will make a big hole in your bodies, just like this wall in front of you."

Ye Cheng and Xia Chen shuddered.

The three women woke up quickly, covering their noses as they awoke. Their first words were all the same: "What is this smell? It stinks!" The stench from the sewers was a complex mixture of rotten and artificial odors, a combination of many unpleasant smells that would be unforgettable for anyone who smelled it once. It was not something an ordinary person could tolerate.

Ye Cheng opened his arms and bowed, saying, "Congratulations to the three ladies, you have returned to the human world."

With everyone working together, it took more than three hours to widen the hole that Luo Xie had opened to a size large enough for one person to crawl through. The six of them crawled out of the hole one after another and successfully escaped from the secret room.

Walking in the knee-deep sewage made Ye Cheng very uncomfortable. He had to struggle to control his mind from thinking about the composition of this dark, sticky liquid. The three girls were even more uncomfortable. A lot of waste floated on the black liquid, and every now and then a huge rat would jump out, causing Hu Rongrong and Luo Shimin to scream. Li Xiao, as a policewoman, was braver than the average girl, and Ye Cheng was quite satisfied with her performance. Unfortunately, a rat jumped onto her and crawled up her clothes to her head, and from then on, Li Xiao joined the screamers.

Hu Rongrong complained, "If I had known it would be like this, I would have stayed in the dark room. At least I wouldn't have to walk through the sewage and worry about being attacked by big rats." The reason for Hu Rongrong's complaint was simple: they were lost, couldn't find the exit, and had been walking through sewage and waste for nearly two hours.

Ye Cheng gave Luo Xie a wink, and Luo Xie said gently, "Rongrong, are you tired? If you don't want to walk, I'll carry you on my back."

Hu Rongrong did not speak.

Luo Shimin turned to look at Luo Xie, as if she didn't recognize her brother. She teased, "Brother, I'm tired too, carry me on your back."

Luo Xie replied expressionlessly, "If you're tired, have that kid surnamed Xia carry you."

Luo Shimin remembered that she wanted to kiss Xia Chen before she fell into a coma. It was her first kiss. She didn't know if she had kissed him or not, and she was too embarrassed to ask Xia Chen. Her face was as red as a ripe apple.

Xia Chen suddenly stopped in his tracks. "I think I've found the exit. There seems to be an iron staircase over there."

Luo Xie shone his flashlight over and, sure enough, there was a step. He pushed it hard, and it moved slightly. "You two come here and open the manhole cover, then we can leave."

Ye Cheng and Xia Chen raised their hands, about to forcefully pull up the manhole cover, when Li Xiao stopped them, saying, "Listen, someone is talking up there."

Everyone pricked up their ears, and sure enough, two people were talking.

"You can't kill anymore. You need to learn to control yourself."

"Old man, what right do you have to tell me what to do? You're an outcast just like me. Have you lived too long and forgotten who you are?"

"I'm just reminding you not to kill people indiscriminately, it will attract attention."

“I didn’t want to kill anyone. Killing that old Taoist priest was just an accident. He cut himself. It’s not my fault. After tasting human blood, I lost interest in other blood. The taste of human blood is too wonderful.”

Everyone immediately understood that what the person above had said was the murderer they were looking for.

The voice of the person speaking to him sounded familiar, like that mysterious man who called himself Mr. X. Ye Cheng whispered, "Last time I felt that people who act mysterious weren't good people, and now it's proven that he's in cahoots with the murderer."

Li Xiao covered his mouth, "Don't speak, listen carefully, this is very important."

The mysterious Mr. X continued, "Weren't you locked up? How did you get out?"

"I don't know either, someone let me out."

The man guessed, "Someone from the Xia Group?"

"I don't know. I didn't see the person who let me out. I don't even know how the person who let me out made a hole in the glass bottle. You know, even if a tank ran over it, it would only make a few cracks at most. It doesn't look like it was made by a laser either, the edges of the hole are very uneven."

The man was silent for a moment before saying, "I will investigate what you said. Have you thought about your next move? You killed someone again, and none of them will let you go. If you escape now, you might still have a chance to survive."

"I can't just leave like this. I've poured most of my life's research into this. You have to help me. I have the blood of the Duan family flowing in my veins."

"But you're not a member of the Duan family!" Mr. X seemed to be enraged, and the sounds of fighting could be faintly heard from above.

"You can't kill me, I'm yours..."

"You bastard, shut up!"

Ye Cheng laughed, "Quickly open it and take a look. They're fighting like dogs. They'd better fight until they're both badly injured, and I'll wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

The manhole cover hasn't been opened yet, and there's no sound coming from it.

"Hurry up, hurry up," Ye Cheng kept urging, and the three girls came over to help.

With a whoosh, the manhole cover opened.

Ye Cheng was the first to climb out. It was a classroom, and it was already dark outside. The classroom was dark inside, and no one could be seen. Ye Cheng followed, but there was no one in the hallway.

Xia Chenluo and the others climbed out of the sewer one after another. Luo Shimin crawled out and looked around, saying, "How did we end up here? This is an old building's studio." The dimly lit studio looked somewhat eerie and terrifying. Hu Rongrong said with some fear, "Someone died in this studio. It's basically abandoned and unused. It's said to be haunted at night. Some people have seen it with their own eyes."

Luo Xie said, "What you see with your own eyes isn't necessarily true. If there really is a ghost, and it dares to hurt you, I'll still chop it into eight pieces." His words were so domineering that Luo Shimin couldn't help but want to applaud her brother. No one felt that Luo Xie was exaggerating; everyone believed he could do it.

Li Xiao smelled a familiar scent, took two deep breaths, and said, "Why do I smell blood?"

011 Murder Case

Hu Rongrong was even more frightened. Ever since her good friend Qi Xiaoke was murdered, she had developed an inexplicable fear of blood. Even a little bit of blood would terrify her, which was why she had deliberately stayed away from Luo Xie all this time.

She had seen a doctor, but there was no good treatment for this kind of mental illness. "You...could you...have misheard..." Her voice trembled slightly.

Luo Shimin also said, "Could it be my brother's blood?"

“No.” Li Xiao followed the smell of blood. Xia Chen followed, “I smelled it too.”

"Just turn on the light and you'll see." Ye Cheng turned on the light as he came in from the corridor.

The incandescent light flickered twice and then came on. The bright light was a bit dazzling to the people who had just climbed out of the sewer, so they covered their eyes with their hands. After their eyes adjusted, they put their hands down.

"Ah...!" Hu Rongrong screamed hysterically. A woman's corpse lay in the corner, a pool of bright red blood beneath her. Luo Xie covered Hu Rongrong's eyes and led her outside. Luo Shimin longed to see Xia Chen's handsome, charming face as he pondered, but the sight of the corpse made her want to vomit, and she ultimately withdrew. Only Ye Cheng, Xia Chen, and Li Xiao remained in the room. Ye Cheng quickly pulled out his phone and dialed the police.

Li Xiao carefully approached the corpse, which was a girl with long, beautiful black hair. She was lying face down on the ground, her hair obscuring her face.

Li Xiao brushed aside the female corpse's long hair, revealing her delicate facial features and unique charm. She must have been a stunning beauty in life, admired by many men. Now, however, her face was unusually pale, her eyes wide open as if she wanted to take one last look at the world, her lips slightly parted, as if she had something to say but hadn't yet. Li Xiao touched the corpse's wrists and back, saying, "The body is still warm; the time of death is no more than two hours."

Ye Cheng asked, "What was the cause of death?"

Li Xiao lifted the woman's neck and found two horrifying bloody holes in the artery. Ye Cheng clutched his head and said in anguish, "Don't tell me the killer is a vampire, the chief will kill me."

Li Xiao stood up and said, "I didn't say anything. You're the one who called me a vampire."

"Tell me what the cause of death was."

Li Xiao whetted Ye Cheng's appetite before saying, "The wound on the corpse's neck looks horrific, and it is indeed fatal. When a person's carotid artery is injured, most of the blood in the body will spurt out within minutes. You can see bloodstains on the surrounding walls, but these bloodstains are splattered, not spurted. The most important point is that the wound on the corpse's neck was formed after death."

Ye Chengqi said, "You can see that too."

Xia Chen said from the side, "This is just common sense. When a person is injured, the area around the wound will swell up quickly. But if you are dead, your bodily functions stop, and if you stab a corpse with a knife, the wound will not swell up. So someone deliberately created the scene to make the police think that a vampire committed the crime, or that a perverted killer modeled a vampire committed the crime."

Ye Cheng scratched his head. "Who would do that?"

“The body has already given us the answer,” Li Xiao said. “Apart from the wound on the neck, I didn’t find any fatal injuries on the body. The deceased was probably around twenty years old, so we can rule out sudden accidental death. The preliminary assessment of the cause of death is massive blood loss. The human body contains about 4,000 cc of blood, and blood loss of more than 40% will endanger life, but the bloodstains left at the scene are not enough to be fatal. More importantly, the symptoms exhibited by the body are basically the same as those of the body we saw in Chenguan Village yesterday, so we can determine the same cause of death.”

"It's that bastard again."

Ye Cheng slammed his fist against the wall in anger. "But why is this guy faking the scene?"

Xia Chen walked up to the easel and said, "The person who talked to Mr. X's mysterious guy before we came up from the sewers is very likely the murderer. From the conversation, it seems that the murderer is very afraid of someone, so he faked the scene."