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Chapitre 18

Wang Liguo was right. I can't even articulate how much I hate the murderer who killed Lanzi; I truly wish I could kill him with my own hands! During those days, thinking of their love made my heart ache unbearably.

At that time, Wang Liguo asked Hao Dawei:

Do you know where Lanzi's phone and watch went?

Hao Dawei shook his head, then realized what Wang Liguo meant by his question, and said decisively:

"I definitely didn't take it! If I had, it's related to solving the case, how could I not hand it over? How could I take advantage of Lanzi's misfortune!"

I reviewed the on-site investigation report from that time:

On-site investigation record

Exploration time: 11:00 AM, Sunday, June 29, 2003

Exploration Unit: Municipal Bureau

Surveyors: Li Jun, Chai Yuliang, Yang Xiaomei, Zhang Shengtian, Yang Lianjia, Wu Daming, Cao Lijun, Zhan Guoren, Ma Libing, Qian Changjiang, He Yineng

The incident was located in apartment 601, Building 127, Yonghong Street, Gujing District. The apartment is on the sixth floor (top floor), unit one from the east side of Building 127. The motion-activated light bulb in the sixth-floor corridor was loosened. There were scratches on the east side of the windowsill outside the fifth-floor semi-detached window in the corridor. On the same side of the building, on the fifth-floor east-facing balcony window, there were four shoe prints with toes pointing east, the soles of which had a wavy pattern; all four prints were incomplete. The iron security door of apartment 601 opened to the west and was in the open position; the lock was intact. Inside the security door was a green, wooden interior door, also in the open position. The entrance led to the foyer. The latch on the inside of the north balcony door was closed, and the north balcony window was closed. The bedroom door on the south side of the foyer faces south and is slightly ajar. The room has hardwood floors, and a blue curtain hangs in the south-facing window. Against the north wall stands a square wooden table with a goldfish bowl containing four goldfish. Against the west and south walls on the south side of the room, a double bed is placed. On the east side of the bed lies a female corpse, lying supine with her head to the south and feet to the north…

Legend has it that the darkness gives birth to the brilliance of day.

It is said that the evening paper sold very quickly that day, entirely because of a small piece of news.

The murderer broke into a house through the balcony and killed a single woman.

{Reported by Yang Ming, this newspaper} Around 3:00 AM this morning, the city's 110 emergency hotline received a report from a man who wished to remain anonymous, claiming that someone had been murdered in a residential building in the Gujing District. Police arrived at the scene immediately and found the female homeowner had been murdered for some time; her condition was horrific and appalling. It is believed the perpetrator entered the 6th-floor balcony from the 5th-floor landing. Police stated they will do their utmost to solve the case as quickly as possible and reminded residents to lock their doors and windows at night and be vigilant for safety.

The news item, though only a hundred words long, quickly sold out that evening's paper, as panicked people used it to verify a legend.

Locals have been spreading rumors about a group of men wearing black hoods and white gloves who break into homes at night to rob and sexually assault people. They claim to carry sleeping pills that can knock someone unconscious instantly if applied to their face. Seeing the news in the newspapers now seems to confirm that these rumors are true.

Jia Damen, who runs a shop on the building materials street, read the news dozens of times. He was so excited that he immediately bought half a pound of pig's head meat and half a pound of top-quality loose baijiu. He sat in his shop, drinking, eating, and thinking. Alcohol can enhance the mood and also get him excited. As he drank, his brilliant idea came to him.

The next day, Jia Damen asked his employee to hire five teenagers for him, telling them to come to the store early in the morning with their schoolbags in a couple of days because he had something to do, saying that they could easily make money.

The boys were overjoyed, thinking they were coming with backpacks full of money. Two days later, when they arrived at the shop early in the morning, Jia Damen was still curled up in bed like a dog. Jia Damen filled their backpacks with adhesive flyers, telling them to go to the residential buildings in the Gujing District, put one flyer on each door, and he'd give them a penny for each one. Ten flyers would be ten cents, a hundred flyers a dollar, a thousand flyers ten dollars, and ten thousand flyers a hundred dollars!

The boys immediately ran out to put up the posters.

Even when they were too tired to climb the stairs at night, the boys were still going door to door putting up the posters.

Half an hour before the end of her workday, He Fangmei had already received five phone calls (two on her mobile phone) and three text messages, all telling her to go home early and be careful! Some were from her mother and sister, others from classmates and friends. With only twenty minutes left before she could leave, her boss, in a completely different tone, urged them, saying, "These are extraordinary times, extraordinary measures. You female colleagues can go home early! The male colleagues don't need to."

He Fangmei opened the electronic intercom security door and walked into the stairwell. Never before had she paid such close attention to the stairwell lights, even though it was broad daylight and the corridor lights were completely unnecessary. She still checked each light switch to see if the cord was broken. She walked through this stairwell at least twice a day and had never noticed how many small advertisements plastered the walls and steps. The walls were covered in these grotesque plasters, a dizzying and irritating sight. She wondered why the city's People's Congress hadn't legislated on this. Perhaps the buildings where the People's Congress representatives lived didn't have these kinds of shoddy advertisements? The industry and commerce bureau and urban management officials only knew how to raid street vendors; why didn't they care about these unsightly graffiti in the building? Perhaps there wasn't any money to be made from these graffiti?

As she was thinking this, she reached the sixth floor and saw a small advertisement pasted on her security door. She was puzzled; how had he gotten in through the security door downstairs? She was certain it had been posted during the day, because she had gone down to the third floor that morning, worried she hadn't locked the door properly, but then returned to check again. Of course, she couldn't have left it unlocked; she'd just been traumatized by the infamous serial killer. At that time, she hadn't even seen the advertisement yet!

She was very angry and tried to tear it off for a long time but couldn't.

Back home, she found a piece of wood and peeled the small advertisement off. She glanced at it unintentionally and was stunned. She didn't dare to throw it away; it was like an unexpected treasure. She took it inside and examined it closely.

For your personal and property safety, please install burglarproof steel windows immediately!

[Evening News reporter Yang Ming reports] Recently, there have been frequent cases of criminals entering homes through balconies to commit murder and robbery. In response to popular demand, our company is now offering newly manufactured, top-quality anti-theft steel windows made from imported American steel. Quantities are limited, so act fast! 24-hour on-site service, quality guaranteed, and discounts available for bulk orders! New Century Modern Doors and Windows Company.

She immediately contacted the number listed in the advertisement.

"Can you install security steel windows tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? Impossible!"

"And the day after tomorrow?"

"It's impossible the day after tomorrow!"

"When might that be?"

"Pay the deposit now, and we'll see you in five days!"

"Five more days? What's the point of waiting any longer?"

"Don't worry, we have inside information. This case might not be solved for months, and even if it is, people will still be able to get in through the window. Since you're home alone, you'd better hurry up and pay the money to get in line, or it will be too late!"

"Who said I'm home alone?"

"Anyway, once it's installed, it's safe, and bad guys can't get in. We're working overtime every day and still can't keep up with the demand!"

"It's so late, how can I pay you?"

"That's alright, you can come and pay tomorrow morning. You can register now, tell me which district and which building you live in."

"My address is Unit 4, Building 99, Gujingli, Gujing District. My phone number is..."

After hanging up the phone, I thought, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket. I'll try another one that doesn't advertise tomorrow. Maybe then I won't have to wait in line."

My cell phone rang; it was my parents calling. I thought I'd call back on the landline, but before I could even pick up the receiver, the landline rang again.

"Are you home yet?"

"Oh, Sister Li, is something the matter?"

"I just got home, and my mom told me that the woman who was murdered a few days ago wasn't even thirty. Her death was horribly gruesome; there was blood everywhere. The perverted killer entered the house through the balcony. He forced her to take off all her clothes, put on high heels and pantyhose, saying he'd kill her if she didn't. He forced her to set out food, drinks, instant noodles, toilet paper, playing cards, and even a Qiong Yao novel, forcing her to drink and play cards with him. Then he forced her to have sex with him at knifepoint. When she refused, he smeared medicine on her face, and while she was unconscious, he stabbed and stabbed her with a fruit knife and scissors, slowly killing her! After that, this damned beast even stabbed her alive with the fruit knife—I can't even describe it anymore, do you want to listen? Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I, I, I think so..."

She could no longer hear what Sister Li was saying; her eyes were fixed on her own balcony, as if she could see the danger behind it.

"Oh dear! I was going to tell you to be careful, but—never mind, I have something to tell you at work tomorrow, that's good! Or, why don't you come to our house now!"