Le code de Dieu

Chapitre 2

"Oh? That's amazing. Did the police ask you to read their fortunes?" Leng Ruofeng never minced words in front of strangers, saying whatever came to mind.

“Ahem! Actually, I can be quite accurate at reading faces; see this little mustache of mine? It’s called ‘Snow Mountain Flying Fox’ (a type of mustache), quite spirited,” the mustache replied.

"Alright, alright, you two stop joking around. We have serious business to attend to," the chubby policeman said with a smile, interrupting their bickering.

Leng Ruofeng then remembered his purpose and his identity. It was strange, though; the conversation between the three didn't seem like a meeting of strangers, but rather like the banter of old friends reuniting. Leng Ruofeng himself found it odd, especially since he rarely had a peaceful conversation with strangers. How could he so easily joke with a policeman and a computer engineer? How could a policeman be so friendly and humorous towards a stranger who was, or was, a criminal suspect? Was it simply due to his personality? Leng Ruofeng was somewhat puzzled.

[3] First exploration of the fort

"What did you mean by 'beginning' just now?" The straightforward Leng Ruofeng was eager to get to the point.

"Haha, alright, then hand me that domino first," Liu Wen said.

"Dominoes? How come..." Leng Ruofeng was filled with doubt.

“You don’t need to be surprised. You already know that this murder case involving you is the criminal’s third case. Our police investigation has yielded preliminary information about the dominoes, but we’ve never had a survivor like you before, nor have we seen the actual dominoes. That day at the station, you said the dominoes were yours, so we decided to use you for further investigation, which is why we released you then,” Liu Wen said.

"So that's how it is... Alright, then why did you tell me the truth before you'd found anything?" Leng Ruofeng asked.

Liu Wen sighed, "It's precisely because there's no way to find out anything that I'm telling you the truth."

"What do you mean? I don't quite understand."

“When we were tracking you, the officers encountered many inexplicable obstacles, and the investigation simply couldn’t continue,” Liu Wen said seriously.

"You mean...?"

"That day, two police officers were following you around your house. In the middle of the night, they saw a woman dressed in white enter the building where you lived. However, the hidden camera installed in the building only captured a white shadow. When our officers chased after her, the woman vanished without a trace. Not only that, but the sand they had specifically laid down next to the building to collect footprints left no trace at all." He lit a cigarette and continued, "The two officers inexplicably fainted at that time, and when they woke up, they were sleeping in an alley several streets away. The strange circumstances didn't stop there, but we don't need to go into details now; that's not the focus of our investigation. After careful investigation, we discovered that this series of cases was unlike any other. Although we don't believe in superstition in principle, we have indeed encountered something that cannot be explained from a scientific perspective."

"Have you installed hidden cameras in my house?" Leng Ruofeng interrupted Liu Wen, somewhat angrily.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we were just doing our necessary work for your safety. Please understand. And of course, we won't install surveillance equipment in your home," Liu Wen explained.

"But I've almost died twice already!" Leng Ruofeng shouted. The sound startled the administrator, who turned to look at them. Leng Ruofeng lowered his voice, "I'm sorry, but your actions didn't guarantee my safety. If it weren't for luck, I would have died long ago. If you had told me sooner, perhaps I could have been more careful. But never mind, I'm alright now, so there's no point in saying anything."

“We did not do a perfect job, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Let’s work on what to do next,” Liu Wen said.

The three men looked at each other and nodded. Leng Ruofeng thought of the strange things the police had encountered, but was interrupted by Liu Wen's words.

"The higher-ups have already registered this case as a special case and organized a special investigation team, demanding that it be solved quickly and handled discreetly."

“I understand. We can’t exactly tell the public that the Public Security Bureau organized a group of people to catch ghosts,” Leng Ruofeng said.

“You’re very smart. Okay, let’s get down to business. From what we understand, the male victims in these cases are all more or less related to online chatting, and they are all connected to that domino in some way.” He glanced at Leng Ruofeng as he said this.

Leng Ruofeng took out dominoes from his pocket and handed them to Liu Wen. Liu Wen looked at them, then passed them to Lu Xiaoming, who had been standing to the side for a while.

“Engineer Lu is my friend and a specially invited expert of our Public Security Bureau. Don’t let his young age of 28 fool you; he is not only knowledgeable about computers and the internet, but also has considerable expertise in antiques and history. He has helped our Public Security Bureau solve many cases and has made significant contributions,” Liu Wen said.

"Alright, stop flattering me." Lu Xiaoming finally had a chance to speak. "I've looked into the whole case in detail and I think there's something wrong with this domino. I'm going to take it and study it."

"Xiaoming and I were planning to come here today to look up some relevant information, but you just happened to call. So let's look it up together, you're also an important figure in this case." Liu Wen regained his sense of humor.

The three then exchanged opinions, and Leng Ruofeng explained all his experiences to them in detail.

The historical archives were indeed vast, containing materials not only from the Qing Dynasty but also dating back to the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Although the archives were being cleaned, some books were still covered in dust, which made Leng Ruofeng cough when blown on them. The three of them carefully flipped through the books one by one. After reading several, Leng Ruofeng grew a little tired and picked up a thick, yellowed book from the bottom shelf titled "Records of Ancient and Modern Famous Families." Besides the title, the cover prominently displayed the words: "Historical Records of Famous Families and Estates in Liaodong Region." After flipping through a few pages, he became excited. The book began by introducing historical families and figures from the distant past in the area, as well as detailed descriptions of the various families that established their estates, including the "Da Liu Weng Estate" of the Yuan Dynasty, and the "Lu Shi Mountain Estate" and "Zi Yi Mountain Estate" of the Ming Dynasty. Perhaps due to its age, the old-fashioned thread binding soon became noticeably torn. Leng Ruofeng eagerly yet carefully flipped through the pages, but found no mention of "Xu Family Manor" or anything similar. Just as he was sighing, he suddenly realized the page numbers were wrong; pages 225 to 277 and 806 to 876 were missing. Leng Ruofeng showed the book to Liu Wen and Lu Xiaoming.

“It’s been a long time, so it’s not surprising that the information is incomplete. Let’s look for other ones,” Lu Xiaoming said.

"There's no other way, let's look for other options," Liu Wen added.

There was no other way, so Leng Ruofeng put the book back. As he pulled his hand back, he accidentally let a small nail protruding from the shelf cut his fingertip, and a drop of blood immediately flowed out, dripping onto the wooden shelf and quickly seeping in, leaving only a small stain.

"I have a Band-Aid here, we can't waste blood, okay?" Lu Xiaoming pulled a Band-Aid out of his pocket and handed it to Leng Ruofeng with a grin.

"Thank you." The drop of blood reminded Leng Ruofeng of the female ghost with blood dripping from her eye, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, so he quickly wrapped his finger up.

The sun, weary from a long day, lay low on the horizon. By six o'clock in the afternoon, the group had found almost nothing. The station called, ordering Liu Wen to return immediately. He had originally planned to go to Paotai Mountain with Leng Ruofeng, but it seemed he'd have to wait until tomorrow. Lu Xiaoming insisted that he and Leng Ruofeng go up the mountain first, hoping to find some clues to aid their research on the dominoes. Liu Wen initially disagreed, but Lu Xiaoming argued that if it were a ghost, even the police wouldn't be of any use, and besides, he had some knowledge of the paranormal and knew better than Liu Wen how to deal with ghosts. Leng Ruofeng and Liu Wen thought this made sense, and Leng Ruofeng herself wanted to see for herself, having died several times already.

Lu Xiaoming treated Leng Ruofeng to KFC. The sky was now completely dark, and city lights shone everywhere. Leng Ruofeng followed Lu Xiaoming as they ran around buying some yellow paper and calligraphy brushes, as well as a few other things he'd never seen before. Lu Xiaoming said they were for dealing with ghosts, and although they couldn't buy everything at this time, they'd make do. Leng Ruofeng thought that perhaps he really knew something about these things; it was worth the effort to ensure his safety.

It was already past nine o'clock when everything was ready. The sky was filled with a full moon, not directly overhead, but still beautiful—a cold, elegant beauty, much like Ouyang Bingbing, whose nickname is "Round Moon." I wondered why I was thinking of her.

We soon arrived at the foot of Fortress Hill. At night, the paths on Fortress Hill were illuminated by streetlights. The view from the foot of the hill was uniquely romantic and poetic. Following the path next to the Development Zone Trade Union, we reached the entrance to the hill. Although it was night, couples were still frequently seen coming and going, intimately entwined, quite charming. In any case, it was a fitting way to make the most of this masterpiece of nature. In fact, couples on Fortress Hill have always been like this. Despite the frequent reports of young girls being raped and murdered on the mountain in recent years, their youthful passion has not diminished.

They had arrived at the secluded forest floor. The mountain wasn't very steep, but the slope was still no less than fifty or sixty degrees. Suddenly, they heard a rustling sound from the dark forest, like grass scraping against something. "Ouch!" Lu Xiaoming exclaimed, half-falling to the ground.

"What happened?" Leng Ruofeng asked immediately in surprise.

"My foot hurts so much."

Leng Ruofeng immediately shone his flashlight and saw Lu Xiaoming with his trousers rolled up, a small scrape on his calf. Lu Xiaoming pointed to a large, round rock nearby. So the sound earlier was from it rolling down from the woods. Looking at Lu Xiaoming's injury, Leng Ruofeng said, "How about we come back tomorrow?"

"No, I have important things to do starting tomorrow, so I'm afraid I won't have time to come recently. The moon is high tonight, it's a good opportunity, I must take a look. Support me, I haven't broken any bones, it's alright," Lu Xiaoming insisted.

The distant streetlights illuminated the dim path as Leng Ruofeng helped Lu Xiaoming along with difficulty. After about 200 meters, Lu Xiaoming's wound began to ache and bleed, likely from overexertion. Leng Ruofeng refused to let him go any further, but didn't want to deprive him of the opportunity to investigate.

"So what do you want to see?" Leng Ruofeng asked.

"I've looked at the information here. There are several important locations on Fortress Hill. I want to see what the terrain looks like now. Usually, when there are unusual phenomena, the surrounding scenery will change, including subtle changes in the vegetation, but ordinary people don't notice them."

"Then tell me, can I figure it out by myself?" Leng Ruofeng asked.

“Anyone can see it with just a point of view,” Lu Xiaoming replied.

"Then tell me, I'll go myself and tell you when I get back."

Lu Xiaoming sighed, "Well, I can do it, but you'll be all alone..." Lu Xiaoming said worriedly.

“It’s alright. I’ve died several times already. If I still can’t figure out the problem, what’s the point of living a life worse than death?” Leng Ruofeng insisted.

"Okay, alright! I have a camera pen here, take it with you. And this talisman, it will protect you if there are any ghosts or monsters." After saying that, he drew a sketch on a piece of paper and told Leng Ruofeng to take pictures of a few places. He also instructed Leng Ruofeng to come back immediately after taking the pictures, and that he would wait here.

An eerie silence enveloped him; not even a bird could be heard. A sudden gust of wind swept by, and Leng Ruofeng shivered, genuinely regretting his actions. But what was done was done; a man of his word couldn't turn back. Following the sketches provided by Lu Xiaoming, Leng Ruofeng nervously photographed the TV tower, the watchtower, and the artillery emplacement. Next was the large circular platform. He remembered it fairly well, despite not having visited it often. He didn't know its actual name, only its shape. Finally, he was there; almost there, Leng Ruofeng thought. Here, on the other side of the mountain, the moonlight was bright, the scenery breathtaking. He could see the bustling Wucai City, the most vibrant part of the development zone, still brightly lit and lively—the place Leng Ruofeng had always longed for.

Leng Ruofeng picked up the camera pen, aimed it at the disc, and pressed the shutter.

At that moment, he was stunned.

In the instant the flash went off, the scene before him completely transformed. The large disc surrounded by the lush forest and fragrant grasses under the night sky vanished without a trace, replaced by a massive, solitary tomb. Leng Ruofeng rubbed his eyes hard, but he wasn't mistaken; it was still a tomb. The cemetery, spanning several meters in diameter, had a tombstone over three meters high, and beside the stone-built grave stood a large, square blue stone tablet on a square platform. The surrounding area was no longer a forest, but rather waist-high withered grass. The moon remained perfectly round, emitting a cold, eerie light; the city lights were nowhere to be seen in the distance, everything shrouded in darkness. Leng Ruofeng stared blankly at everything before him, his body frozen in place. Accompanied by a rising, eerie wind, a chilling, mournful woman's voice, a sound that was both crying and laughing, gradually entered his ears. The voice grew louder as it approached, vast and empty, its direction indistinct.

Leng Ruofeng gradually became numb, trembling as he looked around, finally fixing his gaze on the ancient tomb. The dim light made it impossible to make out the inscription on the tombstone. In that somber moment, a sudden scream echoed through the desolate night sky once more. It was the same female voice, but this time it was different—not only was it terrifyingly hoarse, but the voice was right beside him! Looking again, he saw a woman standing upright before the empty tomb—no, to be precise, a female ghost. Leng Ruofeng recognized her; it was the female ghost he had seen at the hotel that day. Although he hadn't seen her clearly then, Leng Ruofeng clearly felt it was her; he remembered those deathly eyes. Today, she wore an identical domino around her neck, and not only were there two bloody welts running from the corners of her eyes, but blood also seemed to be dripping from her mouth and even her long black dress.

"Ah, ah, Leng Ruofeng... save me... save me..." A deep, weak male voice drew Leng Ruofeng's attention. Only then did Leng Ruofeng realize with astonishment that behind the female ghost, there was actually a man lying on the ground, the man seemingly using his last strength to reach out his bloody hand towards Leng Ruofeng.

"Liu Wen!" Leng Ruofeng recognized him. The man who was almost tortured to the point of death was none other than the fat policeman Liu Wen. What happened? She actually arrested Liu Wen? Leng Ruofeng's mind raced, trying to figure out how this could be.

"Leng Ruofeng, save me... save me..." Liu Wen's weak and pitiful cries once again touched Leng Ruofeng.

The female ghost slowly raised her right hand, her five sharp fingers slowly reaching towards Liu Wen's head, her face still expressionless, as if the arm was not hers at all, as if all the pain and death were meaningless to her.

No, no matter what, Liu Wen must be saved. Leng Ruofeng watched anxiously as the five claws, symbols of death, drew ever closer to Liu Wen's head, his hands trembling with cold sweat. Suddenly, he remembered the talisman Lu Xiaoming had given him at the foot of the mountain. He pulled it out abruptly, held it in his right palm, and, summoning all his courage, ran and howled towards the female ghost.

Ahead lay the female ghost. Leng Ruofeng could see her terrifying, grotesque face, dripping thick blood, more and more clearly. Just five meters away, a strange laugh, "Hmph, hmph... haha... ha..." interrupted Leng Ruofeng's running, halting the ghost's outstretched claws towards Liu Wen. A dark shadow gradually appeared beneath Leng Ruofeng's feet, growing clearer and closer. It was clearly a disheveled figure, coming from behind Leng Ruofeng. Startled, Leng Ruofeng immediately turned around. Only a few meters away, a monster dressed in blue, with long, messy hair resembling a demon, brandished its arms, baring its fangs and claws, lashing out at Leng Ruofeng.

What is that? One female ghost wasn't enough, why is there another one? Leng Ruofeng nervously and quickly looked between the female ghost and the monster, his body involuntarily retreating to one side. This brought the female ghost and the monster face to face, and in the light created by Leng Ruofeng's retreat, he could finally see the monster clearly. It wasn't a monster at all, just a woman. And let's call her a woman for now. The woman slightly raised her head, and Leng Ruofeng could see her more clearly, and was even more surprised. This woman looked remarkably similar to the female ghost beside her. The difference was that the woman was disheveled, her clothes were tattered, her face was bloodless, and she didn't have that suffocating, deathly gaze. Instead, her eyes held a blank stare. The female ghost seemed stunned as well, frozen in place by the sudden turn of events. Suddenly, the female ghost and the disheveled woman trembled almost simultaneously, and Leng Ruofeng felt himself lose consciousness, then knew nothing more.

[4] Mysterious death

"According to the latest news, another man died last night at the Swan Lake Hotel in Gangdong District. The deceased was approximately 25 years old and 182 mm tall..."

Leng Ruofeng opened her blurry eyes, then immediately closed them again unconsciously. She tried to open them slowly once more. The room was clean and bright, with a white ceiling, a round chandelier, and sunlight streaming in through the window. "Ouch!" Leng Ruofeng cried out in pain as she tried to get up.

"You're awake."

Leng Ruofeng then noticed that Liu Wen was sitting by his bedside, watching him. He also noticed that the IV drip bottle on the bedside table was slowly transferring a clear liquid onto the back of his hand.

"Don't move yet, you're in the hospital right now, they're giving you an IV drip," Liu Wen said with a smile.

"You...you didn't..." Leng Ruofeng was quite surprised as he looked at Liu Wen, who was completely unharmed.

“Oh, Lu Xiaoming called me last night and said you hadn’t come down after you went up the mountain, so I immediately contacted the police to look for you. They found you at a large roundabout. You were unconscious, so we brought you to the hospital,” Liu Wen said.

"How come you're alright? What about Lu Xiaoming? How is he?" Leng Ruofeng asked anxiously.

"Me? What could I possibly need? Lu Xiaoming injured his leg a little, but it's nothing serious. He put on some medicine and said he had something important to take care of, so he left. You yourself aren't fully recovered yet, but you're quite concerned about others." He then habitually lit a cigarette. Oh, right, he took the camera pen with him, saying he'd study it when he got back.

"It's good that you're alright. And you?" Leng Ruofeng asked.

"What's wrong with me? Is something strange?"

Leng Ruofeng recounted his experience from the previous night to Liu Wen in detail, leaving Liu Wen's eyes wide with astonishment. He lowered his head in deep thought. "I was working at the bureau the whole night. I wasn't taken away by any female ghost at all. Even if what you saw last night wasn't a hallucination, it wasn't me at all," Liu Wen said.

Leng Ruofeng and Liu Wen both fell into deep thought.

"By the way, I vaguely heard something about murder just now, like the sound of a television. What was that?" Leng Ruofeng asked.

"Oh, that was the radio, the news, so I turned it on, but I just happened to wake you up."

"What was the content of the broadcast about...?" Leng Ruofeng pressed.

“It’s about the fourth victim,” Liu Wen replied quickly.

"A fourth victim? You mean..." Leng Ruofeng's expression turned serious.

Liu Wen sighed, "Four people have already died, and not only do we have no clues, but our leads are getting more and more confused." He continued, "The criminals are very brazen. After killing someone, they never destroy any traces left at the scene, nor do they conceal the identities of the victims. On the contrary, it seems as if they want the world to know. Originally, the Public Security Bureau planned to suppress the news, but because the criminals are so blatant, we simply cannot cover it up to the public."

Leng Ruofeng lowered his head and remained silent. He thought to himself that if it really was done by a ghost, then of course there was no need to cover up the crime or the evidence.

Back home, Leng Ruofeng remained depressed. Bored, he decided to go online. He decided to check QQ, hoping to find something. To facilitate his search for clues, he used a QQ account he rarely used, named "Depressed Boy." As soon as he logged in, he habitually received several system messages. Advertisements, advertisements, more advertisements. These days, businessmen never forget to make money, really. Just as he finished speaking, another system advertisement popped up. He was about to close it when its content caught his attention.

Seeking alternative pleasures in life and experiencing the thrill of extreme terror, join us on the day of the devil's birth—the "Devil's Day Summer Camp"! We look forward to your participation and registration. All boys and girls born on June 6th, the devil's birthday, can enjoy a free three-day trip to the wilderness. Don't miss this rare opportunity!

(QQ: 348763685 E-MAIL: [e-mail])]

This is an advertisement created using Flash, which includes not only the text but also a terrifying animation.

Leng Ruofeng thought to himself, "June 6th, the day the devil was born, is also my birthday. But what connection does this online advertisement have with the current case?" Thinking this, he called Liu Wen and explained the situation to him.

Although Liu Wen was quite young, he rarely went online, let alone used QQ. He was completely clueless about system ads and Flash content. But there was no need to worry; while he didn't understand, others did. The bureau had specialized computer personnel. Liu Wen planned to have them investigate, but he received a call from Lu Xiaoming. It turned out Lu Xiaoming had also seen the advertisement online and, using his superior skills, had cracked the email password and accessed the user information. He was currently investigating further. Liu Wen was secretly pleased to have such a good friend. Having him investigate was better than having the bureau's personnel. First, the bureau's computer staff couldn't compare to computer experts; second, the higher-ups required a low-key approach, involving as few people as possible, both the investigators and the investigated; and third, if it was truly related to the case, having Lu Xiaoming investigate would avoid alerting the suspects. Thinking this, he secretly thanked his old friend of many years.

According to Lu Xiaoming, he could secretly find out the relevant information within three days by using his skills and connections, and then contact Liu and Leng to discuss it.

Leng Ruofeng spent almost the entire day in a depressed mood, unable to shake off the doubts in his mind. This was understandable; anyone in his shoes would feel the same way. In the evening, with nothing to do, Leng Ruofeng decided to go out for a walk to clear his mind and also buy some daily necessities.

The newly opened "Duoyoumiao" supermarket was indeed impressive, with a dazzling array of goods. I decided to buy a lot of food to turn my gloom into a good appetite; after all, even if something unexpected happened, I could at least be a well-fed ghost. The weather was fine when I entered, but when I left, it was shrouded in thick fog. I couldn't see a person more than ten meters away, only the unique neon lights of the streetlights flickering faintly, like will-o'-the-wisps wandering in this sinful world.

Lonely people love lonely weather, and in this vast fog, Leng Ruofeng felt surprisingly refreshed. His load wasn't heavy, so he decided to walk. The fog and night provided companionship; there were no bustling figures, no decadent faces under the neon lights. Hmm, a woman's silhouette was faintly visible ahead. It wouldn't normally be unusual, but this indistinct figure in the fog seemed strangely familiar. Subconsciously, Leng Ruofeng quickened his pace, but the person had vanished; just as he was about to give up, the figure reappeared ahead, and so it went, over and over again. No matter what he did, he couldn't catch up, yet he could never lose sight of it. For some reason, Leng Ruofeng was unconsciously chasing after this ghostly figure.

After crossing the intersection, I gradually walked onto a wide but sparsely populated road. The roadside was gloomy and dark, and the figure could no longer be found.

"You men are all the same, all you do is talk the talk." A woman's coquettish voice reached Leng Ruofeng's ears.

"Really? Then where do you women excel in your skills?" a man said lewdly.

Hey, the world is going to the dogs, what kind of society is this? Amidst the thick fog, Leng Ruofeng could only hear two people talking.

"Get out of here! Come out on a date with me, aren't you afraid your wife will catch you?" the woman said.