Zwilling

Kapitel 20

Was that "open the door" text message really sent by Xiaofang?

She rang the doorbell, so why did she need to send a text message?

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 45: "I know who the murderer is"

When I opened the door, I took the shopping bag from her hand; she wasn't holding a phone.

Who sent the text message?

Could it be "her"?

When I opened the door, I was greeted not only by Xiaofang, but also by another person...

In his subconscious, there was a vague sense of foreboding, but his body and limbs were still firmly controlled by the alcohol, and he didn't even have the strength to get up.

Someone entered the bedroom, didn't turn on the lights, and went straight to bed.

"Xiaofang...is it...you?"

Mr. Wang asked incoherently, so much so that he couldn't even hear himself.

The woman in bed was certain of Mr. Wang, but for some reason, her body failed to arouse him. Instead, it reminded him of something else: the massive block of ice, supposedly from Antarctica, that was advertised for H Beverage Company. Now, that ice was pressing down on him, tightly compressing every bone and joint, from his skull to his ribs, his pubic bone, and down to his fibula. The ice was absorbing all the heat from his body and slowly melting. Mr. Wang felt his body gradually merging with the ice, and he could even hear the cracking of his bones…

"Huh, why is the bed wet?" This was the first question Pu Hongming asked when he inspected the scene.

Xiao Song shook his head: "It was wet when we arrived. There were some scattered ice cubes at the foot of the bed."

"Where's the ice? Let me see it," Pu Hongming urged, spreading his hands.

Xiao Song shrugged helplessly: "It melted a long time ago and turned into a puddle of water. It was just some ordinary ice. You can take the melted water to the technical department for testing, but I can guarantee it's just ordinary drinking water."

How big is the ice block?

"The size of the mahjong tiles."

Given the "wetness" on the bed, it seemed as if someone had scattered some ice on it, and by the time the autopsy report came out, "some" ice had become "one" block of ice.

It's impossible for a block of ice the size of a mahjong tile to crush every bone in the body.

According to forensic experts, if the murder weapon was indeed a block of ice, it would weigh at least five or six tons.

Ice is slightly denser than water, and a six-ton block of ice would be at least three meters high, two meters wide, and over one meter long. Such a massive block of ice cannot be made in a household refrigerator's ice tray; only a professional ice factory could produce it.

Even if it was made in a factory, how could such a large block of ice be transported into the deceased's home and placed on the bed?

Such a large block of ice can't even fit in the apartment building's elevator. Moreover, the security guards at the entrance of the community said they didn't see a single giant block of ice being brought into the community.

"Teacher Pu, do you remember Zhao Sanwen's death?"

Xiao Song's words reminded Pu Hongming that Zhao Sanwen, who died in a car accident, and Wang Dongming, who died in bed, had some similarities. The bones in both of their bodies were inevitably shattered.

The investigation of these two bizarre deaths was combined, and a new discovery was made immediately: Zhao Sanwen's girlfriend was named Qiao Jianuo, and her mother was Du Yaofeng. Du Yaofeng worked at N Advertising Company, whose boss happened to be Wang Dongming.

Two seemingly parallel lines intersect at a point, and that "point" is Du Yaofeng.

In the criminal investigation team's office, facing Pu Hongming's sharp gaze, Du Yaofeng lowered her head and remained silent for a long time.

"Ms. Du, could you please tell me where you were on the night Zhao Sanwen and Wang Dongming were murdered? Who can testify on your behalf?"

Xiao Song was in charge of taking the statement, and his intuition told him that this woman had something difficult to say.

After a moment of silence, Du Yaofeng did not answer the question directly, but stammered:

"I know who the murderer is."

Pu Hongming called Officer Wang at the detention center and asked to borrow an interrogation room.

The interrogation room was over ten square meters in size, divided in two by an iron fence that gripped the floor and rose high into the ceiling, making it extremely sturdy. There was a door in the middle of the fence; once locked, anything trapped inside could never escape.

Of course, the iron bars are not made of solid iron; they have gaps. But these gaps are only wide enough for a person's finger to fit through. Anything thicker than a finger will not be able to get through. Even the tiger cages in the zoo are no better.

"Old Pu, are you here to interrogate a prisoner?"

Officer Wang was puzzled because Pu Hongming could not produce any documents for interrogating the prisoner.

"I'm not interrogating a prisoner, I just need to borrow your room to conduct an experiment," Pu Hongming replied with a smile.

Conducting experiments in an interrogation room? You must be kidding!

Seeing Pu Hongming's mysterious expression, Officer Wang didn't press him for details and handed him the key.

The following morning, the painting "Zoe on the Windowsill" was carefully carried in, its protective cover removed, and placed on the chair where the prisoner was to be interrogated. Pu Hongming and Xiao Song withdrew from the inner room and locked the iron-barred door. A tripod was set up in the outer room, and a JVC camcorder was placed there.

Pu Hongming's plan was that if the "situation" Du Yaofeng described did indeed occur by noon, the process of the painting's transformation would be filmed, and since the two of them would be outside the interrogation room without witnessing it, they would be safe.

However, when Xiao Song turned on the camera and glanced through the viewfinder, his expression immediately became blank and helpless.

On the 2.5-inch LCD screen, the painting was just a white canvas; there was no clinic, no windowsill, no examination chair, no Zoe wearing a mask, nothing at all.

"I heard...ghosts...ghosts don't photograph well."

Xiao Song looked at Pu Hongming, waiting for him to make a decision.

For Pu Hongming, there were two choices: return the painting to Du Yaofeng, put the two bizarre "bone-breaking cases" in the archives, and go to investigate other cases. No one would blame them, life would go on as usual, they would still get their salaries, and everything would be peaceful; or risk going to the scene in person to find out the truth.

Whether Pu Hongming chose the latter option out of curiosity or driven by his professional instincts as a police officer is hard to say.

The interrogation room door was tightly shut, and a small glass window on the door was covered with newspapers, not so much to avoid being disturbed, but to prevent others from getting involved.

In the interrogation room, there were chairs and tables for the interrogators to sit on, but Pu Hongming did not sit down. He lit a cigarette and stood alone in front of the iron bars.

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 46: Five minutes to midnight

Pu Hongming left the interrogation room and went into the corridor. There stood a man in the corridor, smoking silently. It was Xiao Song.

Pu Hongming walked up to Xiao Song and nodded slightly. Xiao Song could tell from his solemn expression that Du Yaofeng's words had been completely proven true.

Near the detention center, there was a small restaurant called "Duolai Lai". At noon, it was quite busy. Pu Hongming and Xiao Song waited for a long time before finally getting a table. Each of them had a bowl of chicken blood soup, a bowl of egg fried rice, and a seasonal vegetable dish. They just silently drank their beer without touching their chopsticks, showing little appetite.

"Teacher Pu, how...how do you plan to take it off?" Xiao Song asked cautiously.

Pu Hongming smiled and shook his head.

"It's not a question of whether or not to take it off. Actually, I'm not that ashamed about this. I have a wife and children at home who rely on me to earn a living. Logically and emotionally, I should avoid this situation and take it off. But..."

He paused slightly, then continued, "If I took my clothes off, she wouldn't have bothered with me, but I want to see her. I'm an atheist; I don't believe in ghosts. All that fell out of the painting was a piece of clothing, a pair of shoes, and a mask. I'd like to see how she actually came out of the painting."

Finally, Pu Hongming added, "I've been a policeman for over twenty years, and nothing has ever frightened me. Even now, I'm not afraid."

"If you're not afraid, I'm not afraid either!"

Young and impetuous, Xiao Song opened his coat, revealing a leather holster under his arm, inside which was a Type 64 pistol with five bullets in the magazine—basic equipment for a criminal police officer.

After a satisfying meal, the two left the small restaurant. After walking a few steps, Xiao Song suddenly stopped, remembering something.

According to Du Yaofeng, the afternoon after Wang Dongming viewed the painting, an incident of exposure occurred in the office building. Someone suddenly stripped naked in the moving elevator. There were both men and women in the elevator at the time. If the person who exposed himself was Wang Dongming, then he shouldn't have died. From Du Yaofeng's daughter to herself, and even her daughter's friend Ahu, everyone followed the instructions in the text message without fail, so they were all unharmed. So why did Wang Dongming die? Ghosts are more trustworthy than humans, aren't they?

Pu Hongming laughed: "Didn't I tell you? I don't believe in ghosts or spirits. You'd better ask the guy wearing the mask about your questions. Besides, what makes you think the person who stripped naked in the elevator was Wang Dongming? I don't think it was him; it's just a coincidence."

The room was silent. The only lamp hung in the outer half of the room, casting light on the iron bars. The shadow of the bars, with gaps, covered the inner half of the room like a huge fishing net, casting a mottled pattern on the painting. Zoe's face was divided into two areas of light and shadow. One eye was hidden in the shadows, while the other eye was looking at the two policemen outside the iron bars.

Pu Hongming was wearing a bulletproof vest and a riot police helmet, making him fully armed. He checked the magazine, which was full of bullets, loaded it, and tucked his pistol into the holster at his waist.

Xiao Song glanced at his watch; there were still five minutes until midnight.

"Xiao Song, I'm out of cigarettes." Pu Hongming pulled out an empty Seven Stars cigarette pack and waved it in front of him. "There's a vending machine downstairs, go buy me a pack."

Xiao Song glanced at Pu Hongming. The fact that Pu was asking him to leave at this time, just to buy a pack of cigarettes, spoke volumes. Xiao Song could guess eight or nine parts of what might happen in this room if he left.

Pu Hongming took out ten yuan and stuffed it into Xiao Song's hand, "Go quickly."

No, I won't leave! I will never go! No matter what happens, we'll face it together!

Xiao Song thought to himself, but his body did the opposite. He took the money, turned around, slowly walked away, and opened the door to the interrogation room...

"Xiao Song!" Pu Hongming called out to him, and Xiao Song turned around to look at Pu Hongming.

"If anything happens to me, you must destroy this painting."

Pu Hongming spoke the word "destroy" with particular weight.

Xiao Song nodded and left the interrogation room. The door slammed shut behind him with a bang.

Pu Hongming took out another pack of Seven Stars cigarettes, pulled out one, and calmly lit it with a lighter.

In the afternoon, he bought all the Seven Stars cigarettes from the vending machine downstairs, a total of ten packs.

Xiao Song knew that he only smoked this Japanese brand of cigarettes, and since the vending machine didn't have it, he would have to go to a Haode convenience store on the street to buy it, which would take at least ten minutes round trip.

On a Seiko watch, the hour and minute hands merge at the 12 o'clock position, signifying the irreversible arrival of midnight.

A chilling aura filled the room, and the room temperature dropped as if it had reached freezing point.

Why is it so cold?

Pu Hongming shivered; he wanted to wear a down jacket. The morning weather forecast said the average temperature was 25 degrees Celsius. Was a cold front coming?

Not only was the temperature dropping, but the air was also filled with the smell of disinfectant. Pu Hongming had smelled this when he took his daughter to the dentist…

There was no time for contemplation; the scene changed once more. Zoe, wearing a mask, began to change her posture; her slightly crossed legs separated, her hands gently resting on the windowsill, and she stood up.

Pu Hongming threw his half-smoked cigarette on the ground, drew his Type 64 pistol, chambered a bullet, and clicked it.

Zoe walked forward as if there was a door in front of her, leading to another world.

She lifted her leg slightly and stepped out of the picture frame, as if crossing a threshold. Her white, flat NineWest shoes silently touched the ground. When her body completely left the painting, everything in the painting vanished instantly, turning into a gray and white canvas.

Zoe and Pu Hongming were now separated only by an iron fence. Pu Hongming pointed his gun at her, holding it in his right hand and gripping his right wrist tightly with his left to prevent tremors from affecting the shooting.

Shanghai's excellent public security is undeniably the best on the mainland. Before Hong Kong's return to China, newspapers frequently reported on "police-gangster shootouts in the streets," but in Shanghai, from 1949 to the present, there has never been one. Therefore, although police officers are armed, they rarely have the opportunity to use them.

In Pu Hongming's more than 20 years as a criminal investigator, he has drawn his gun countless times, but actually firing and killing his target is extremely rare. However, this does not mean that his marksmanship is poor. At such close range, Pu Hongming is 100% confident that every shot will hit the target. However, whether the bullet will work is another matter, but he will definitely shoot, because he has no other choice, even if he is facing something from another world.

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 47: A dentist's teeth can be trusted.

Pu Hongming remembers clearly a chase scene in the mental hospital when Terminator 2 was released in 1991. Arnold Schwarzenegger's adversary, the liquid metal robot, stood in front of an iron fence. At that time, it passed through the fence easily like a puff of smoke, leaving all the audiences dumbfounded. Of course, that was a special effect. Now, Pu Hongming is waiting for that moment to happen.

Once the Zoe made an incredible run through the iron fence, he immediately pulled the trigger.

However, Zoe did not move when facing the iron fence. Although her eyes behind her mask were fixed on Pu Hongming, her gaze was casual, as if she did not intend to kill him, but just wanted to chat with him.

"Go back! Go back into the painting! Or I'll shoot!"