Chapter 244: The Serial Killer Appears

Everyone in the room turned their gaze to Lin Dongxue. She thought back to the mall security uniforms and asked, “Was he wearing a hat? Did he have epaulettes on his shoulders?”

“No hat, but his clothes looked a lot like a police uniform,” Jiang Ming replied.

“Then he was probably a security guard,” she deduced.

“I thought security guards were a type of police,” Jiang Ming muttered.

Lin Dongxue immediately called the task force, instructing them to head to the mall and detain all the security guards. She said she would join them shortly. She also called Lin Qiupu to explain the situation.

Lin Qiupu was silent for a moment before saying, “If he targets young boys, he might be a wanted fugitive operating across provinces.”

A loud cry suddenly came from inside the house. It was the stepmother, weeping and saying, “Huaihuai, I always knew you were a good child. I’m sorry I wasn’t better to you.”

The grandmother was also wiping her tears.

Standing at the doorway, the class teacher rubbed her eyes and said, “Jiang Huai was a brave and responsible student. I will tell her heroic story to the school, no, to the newspapers!”

Lin Dongxue didn’t say anything and left the room.

As she walked downstairs, she heard a loud crash from upstairs, followed by Jiang Ming’s shouting, “Enough! Stop pretending! You were never kind to her while she was alive!”

Jiang Ming ran out without his coat, and Lin Dongxue called out to him, “Where are you going?”

Jiang Ming stopped and said, “I don’t know.”

“There may still be danger outside. Don’t run around. We need your help to solve this case.”

Jiang Ming nodded. “You know what happened to my sister, right?”

“I do.”

“Don’t believe what they say. They were never kind to my sister. My mother always gave me the best things and gave her the worst, the spoiled, the rotten. Whenever our grandparents weren’t home, she’d curse her and tell her to die. I often heard my sister crying in her room. It made me so sad, but I couldn’t do anything for her. Sometimes I felt it was my fault because she suffered because of me.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“My father is trash!” Jiang Ming cried. “I hate them! Seeing them pretending now makes me sick!”

Lin Dongxue felt a wave of sadness. She hugged him and said, “We can’t choose our parents, but you’ll grow up soon. Cherish the life your sister sacrificed for.”

Jiang Ming nodded through his tears. “Will you catch the bad guy?”

“I’ll let you know first when we do.”

Lin Dongxue arrived at the mall. The police had gathered all the security guards and checked their alibis. One guard said he had left early due to illness, leaving his uniform in the locker room, only to find it stolen the next day. He had since bought a new one.

Lin Dongxue’s phone buzzed with a message from Lin Qiupu, containing a wanted notice. The suspect was an individual named Lao Hei, a serial killer targeting young boys, who had committed crimes in other provinces and was recently seen in Long’an City.

The subsequent investigation pointed strongly toward Lao Hei. To prevent further crimes, Lin Qiupu allocated more resources to the task force to capture Lao Hei. The team worked tirelessly, day and night.

Three days later, near an elementary school, a pair of greedy eyes hidden in the bushes watched the boys leaving school. The stalker held an old-fashioned camera, occasionally snapping photos.

“Hey, what are you doing?” a voice called out.

The man turned sharply to see a smiling boy with pale skin and delicate features, which piqued Lao Hei’s interest. He smiled back, “Picking up my son and taking pictures of butterflies.”

He took a photo of the boy.

“Can you lend me some money to go online?” the boy asked.

“How will you pay me back?”

“However you want.”

Catching the suggestive tone, Lao Hei reached for the boy’s hand, saying, “Come play with me.”

“Oh, you’re into that? How about 500 yuan for the night?”

“You’re not a prostitute, are you?”

“Fuck off!”

“Keep talking dirty, I like it,” Lao Hei said lecherously.

“You perv! Where do we go?”

“There’s a restroom nearby. No one will see us.”

“Let’s go, you pervert.”

Lao Hei was thrilled, groping the boy along the way. “I had a boyfriend your age once. No, he was even younger.”

“What happened to him?”

“I killed him.”

“Really?”

“Haha, do you believe me?”

In the restroom, Lao Hei’s excitement was palpable. He pounced, but the boy grabbed his hair, yanking him back and slamming his head against the toilet tank repeatedly. The boy’s strength was unexpected, leaving Lao Hei dazed and bloodied, collapsing onto the toilet.

Through his blood-red vision, Lao Hei saw the boy heating a triangular iron piece with a lighter, smirking, “There’s only room for one serial killer here. Understand?”

The hot iron burned into his neck, muffling his screams as blood oozed from his mouth. A sharp object pierced his back, puncturing a lung, leaving him gasping as blood filled his mouth.

“You came here to die. I won’t let anyone steal my spotlight,” the boy said, burning the film from the camera.

Lao Hei’s body was found near the school restroom and taken to the police station. Lin Qiupu and Lin Dongxue rushed to the scene. Before the autopsy, Peng Siyue pointed to the triangular brand on the neck and said, “It’s the mark of disgrace, it’s him!”

“Why would he kill another criminal? Did Lao Hei offend him?” Lin Dongxue asked, shocked.

“Do you know about Zhou Xiao’s case?” Lin Qiupu said. “He has no fixed targets. He kills the powerful, prostitutes, and ordinary citizens alike.”

“Psychologists profiled him as an immature, unstable killer who treats murder as a game,” Peng Siyue added.

“He’s been quiet for three years. Who knows what his targets are now?” Lin Qiupu said, troubled. The most notorious serial killer was back, but without Song Lang.

Even if Song Lang were here, what could he do? Zhou Xiao had already ruined him.