The sound of screams, loud noises, and chaotic clamor converged in his mind.
There was a constant ringing sound in his ears, as if some instrument was ticking.
People were all around, hurried and anxious. He could hear their gasps of astonishment, their hurried footsteps, but his eyelids felt heavy and couldn’t be opened.
Su Hui felt as if he was floating in the air, surrounded by emptiness.
He could see countless dots of light, flickering like stars around him. Those were fragments of his shattered memories.
He reached out his hand, trying to grab onto something, but those things slipped through his fingers as if they were drifting away.
A bright light appeared before his eyes. Su Hui seemed to see some scenes, and gradually, those scenes became clearer. He couldn’t distinguish whether it was a dream or a hallucination after losing consciousness.
It was as if the moments of his life were playing in reverse.
Su Hui felt as if he was momentarily sitting in a police car. He was in the back seat, and there was no one else in the car.
He could confirm that this was a dream, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t wake up.
The window reflected an unreal white light, and the dream-like world continued. He was trapped within it, unable to find an exit.
In front of him were various pieces of evidence related to the sand explosion case.
So many forms, investigation records, crime scene photos, information about the deceased…
The explosion site, the time of the attack, all the characteristics had been analyzed countless times. Su Hui had drawn several conclusions and written a thick stack of supplementary reports.
But he still felt that something was off.
This case was a major one, and the police had devoted a lot of manpower and resources to pursue the elusive killer.
Every ten days, an explosion occurred in the city.
The approximate timing was fixed, but the location and methods of the attacks kept changing.
This city was too vast…
If they weren’t sure about the location of the next incident, there would be countless possibilities.
It was like they were chasing after the elusive figure of sand, constantly running, but this person was hidden in the city, like a ghost, making it impossible for them to find him.
Surveillance footage, testimonies, physical evidence, none of these provided solid proof.
The police had held numerous meetings during this period. Su Hui had also participated in some phone conferences and online meetings.
Everyone’s nerves were stretched taut because of the different conclusions in the supplementary reports. He even had arguments with Moonlight, unable to persuade each other.
Based on the previous patterns, they could determine that the next crime would happen this afternoon.
They were here now because they had received a distress call half an hour ago, reporting the discovery of explosives near the flower market south of Huadu.
This area fell within the dangerous range he had predicted earlier, and the leadership attached great importance to it. The entire team, led by Captain Chang, came to investigate, and the armed police arranged bomb disposal personnel to accompany them.
Su Hui looked back at the bustling crowd outside and the detectives responsible for the scene.
Suddenly, he thought of something. Why did they receive a distress call all of a sudden?
Sand had always been extremely cautious. In all the previous incidents, it had never been discovered by anyone.
Why did they suddenly receive a call informing them of the specific location?
Su Hui realized that this could be a trap.
“Captain Chang, this might be a setup. The other party may have made that call to lure the police here…” After realizing this, Su Hui immediately sent a message to Captain Chang on the walkie-talkie.
“…,” Captain Chang was clearly stunned for a moment, then he hoarsely replied, “So what if it’s a trap? We have already sealed off the scene. We are organizing the evacuation of people while conducting a search. Even if we know there’s a bomb here, we can’t ignore the people here… The most urgent task now is to find the explosives as soon as possible.”
Su Hui pursed his lips and looked at the crowd outside. Captain Chang was right. There were too many people nearby. They had to deal with the immediate situation. If the people couldn’t evacuate, how could the police retreat?
To prevent an explosion, they had deployed a considerable number of police forces, casting a net over this flower market.
However, every net has gaps, loopholes. If the other party chose a location they hadn’t investigated, it would result in significant casualties.
Su Hui continued to study the documents, unable to comprehend why the situations presented in these cases didn’t conform to psychological norms. There were even different psychological characteristics in the early and later stages of the cases.
These psychological characteristics were difficult to attribute to a single person. Was the other party exhibiting a dual personality? Or was it a case of dissociative identity disorder? Multiple perpetrators, perhaps?
But this didn’t align with the typical characteristics of bomb attacks, and the initial cases didn’t exhibit these features…
Su Hui furrowed his brow. Amidst all the inconsistencies, there must be some rational explanation that could connect everything.
At that moment, his phone suddenly rang. Su Hui paused, as it was an unfamiliar number. Not many people knew his mobile number.
After hesitating for a moment, he answered the call, and a hoarse voice came from the other end.
“Poet, I know you’re here, and you haven’t found the correct location yet.”
“Who are you?” Su Hui asked, looking out the car window, feeling as though someone was observing his every move.
How could that person know that he had come to the scene with the action team this time?
“I am a well-intentioned person reminding you. Now, there are only ten minutes left until the explosion. You won’t… be able to find the final location, will you?”
The call was abruptly disconnected.
Why did the other party know that he was a Poet?
Where did they get his phone number from?
How did they know the precise explosion time?
Many questions remained unanswered.
What if what the caller said was true?
Only ten minutes left. This phone call felt like a taunt from the killer.
Cold sweat broke out on Su Hui’s back. He had to complete a new profile for the killer.
Su Hui placed the earlier files aside, dividing the case files in front of him into two stacks.
The left stack was more regular, while the right stack had undergone changes, with a very chaotic pattern of attacks…
Furthermore, these patterns of placement could yield some information…
Some were obvious, while others were subtle, but they all pointed in different directions.
Boldly, Su Hui set aside the bombings that didn’t match the killer’s characteristics, focusing solely on the remaining incidents.
What similarities did these cases have?
Su Hui made an effort to calm himself down. Through the papers and words, he visualized the scenes of the explosions—the location for a baby’s hundred-day photo shoot, an event in a shopping mall, an octogenarian’s birthday celebration… Every location was a gathering place for people, filled with laughter and joy…
To summarize the similarities, it seemed that the people targeted in those bombings were all happy. The killer seemed to be destroying that happiness, shattering the beauty of everyday life.
If that were the case, the specific location shouldn’t be in the bustling flower market…
Su Hui raised his head and suddenly saw a wedding procession passing by from the opposite side of the road, stopping outside a restaurant not far away.
On the east side of the flower market, across the street, there was a row of restaurants, and one of them was slightly larger, hosting a wedding banquet.
The wedding banquet was scheduled for the evening, and now it was nearing 5 o’clock in the afternoon, with the bridal procession already arriving.
Was it possible that the flower market was merely a decoy, and the explosion would occur at the wedding venue?
Across the road, Su Hui suddenly noticed a middle-aged man standing not far from the entrance of the wedding restaurant.
He recognized the man with gray hair from a photo. His name was Jie Qiu.
Previously, they had identified several suspects, and Jie Qiu was one of them. He had been investigated because he appeared in the footage after an accident. He was a person of suspicion, but his alibi was solid, and the police had no evidence to prove that he was Sand.
However, now this man appeared at the scene of the incident…
Su Hui remembered reading in the file that Jie Qiu was an unemployed miner. His wife had passed away from cancer six months ago, leaving him alone. He himself was also plagued by illness. Such a person matched his profile of the killer.
At that moment, Jie Qiu also seemed to have noticed something. He quickly turned around and walked towards the crowd outside.
If not stopped, he would likely disappear into the crowd soon.
“Captain Luo, I found a suspicious person at the wedding venue across the street. This might be the actual location of the explosives…” Su Hui managed to transmit this message through the intercom.
Time was running out. After hesitating for a moment, Su Hui got out of the car and dashed across the road, intercepting the man.
Su Hui knew very well that if he stayed in the car, he wouldn’t be affected by the explosion. But he couldn’t bring himself to be indifferent to the deaths of others.
In that instant, Su Hui suddenly understood what Chief Chang had told him about knowingly entering a trap…
“Jie Qiu!” Su Hui intercepted him outside the restaurant’s entrance. “Where is it?”
The man looked up at him, silent, and pulled out a knife from his pocket.
Su Hui quickly assessed the situation. How could he change the current state of affairs?
The criminal investigation team was at the flower market. Even if they arrived as fast as possible, it would take about five minutes. Su Hui didn’t have a gun; he only had a pair of handcuffs with him.
He wasn’t skilled in hand-to-hand combat, let alone facing a ruthless criminal… He probably wouldn’t be able to hold on until the others arrived.
Jie Qiu suddenly rushed forward and engaged in a struggle with Su Hui.
Su Hui immobilized the man’s hand, countered with a kick, and tried to use his agility and cleverness, but the difference in strength between the two was too great.
Although the man in front of him was middle-aged, he had been a miner in the past, and his wrists were almost twice as thick as Su Hui’s.
In the blink of an eye, their figures intertwined, exchanging blows.
Su Hui fought desperately. From the situation, it seemed that the two were evenly matched, but he was unarmed while the other had a deadly weapon. If this dragged on…
Su Hui made a decision. He feigned fatigue, creating an opening. The cold blade pierced his body.
Jie Qiu, seeing Su Hui injured, tried to escape but found that Su Hui had tightly grasped his hand.
One end of the handcuffs was clasped around his left hand, while the other end had somehow been fastened to a nearby metal railing by Su Hui.
Su Hui looked up, using his blood-stained hand to grip Jie Qiu’s wrist. “Jie Qiu, you can’t escape. Where are the explosives? Where is the remote control?!”
Jie Qiu realized he had been tricked. He cursed lowly and frantically shook the handcuffs on his hand, attempting to break free. But when he realized it was futile, he raised his head and stared fiercely at Su Hui with a grim expression. He smiled and said, “You won’t find them… And you can’t stop any of this…”
The remote control wasn’t on his person, and he didn’t know where those things had been placed.
Su Hui, clutching his wound, stood up and took a couple of steps back. He had managed to avoid a fatal blow, but the wound was deeper and more painful than he had imagined.
Based on strength alone, Su Hui was indeed no match for his opponent, but he wouldn’t lose so miserably. This was the only way he could buy more time for others.
The entire process lasted only a short two to three minutes, but the fight had alarmed the people at the entrance. They were panicking, some shouting for the police and security to come.
Su Hui had no time to pay attention to all that. He struggled to stand, covering his wound, and staggered towards the restaurant. Cold sweat continued to pour out, and blood kept flowing from his body, staining the ground with bright red drops.
A scene of a blood-soaked person suddenly entering the ongoing wedding banquet caused chaos inside. There were screams, people trying to dodge, and others attempting to assist him.
The venue wasn’t large. After passing through a small hall, there was a larger hall with several tables already set up, and there was a T-shaped stage inside.
Su Hui couldn’t spare the time to bandage his own wound. He struggled to support himself and approached the stage, trembling as he spoke, “I’m a police officer. There are suspected explosives here. Please evacuate quickly…”
People were thrown into panic. Some ran towards the door, children cried, and others still couldn’t believe what was happening, unaware of the impending danger.
Su Hui felt like he was about to pass out, but he couldn’t stop. He wanted to find the location of the explosives, where those things could be…
There was a flickering white light in front of his eyes. His fingers couldn’t hold back the fresh blood gushing from his wound. The internal pain intensified gradually. Cold sweat covered his forehead, and he pressed the message button on his walkie-talkie, speaking intermittently, “48 Xinnan Street, Flower Market Square. Explosives are confirmed at the wedding banquet… I… haven’t found the location of the explosives yet…”
Su Hui looked through the side window and saw several police officers rushing over. Leading them was Chang Yu, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team Three.
The arrival of the detectives didn’t relieve Su Hui. On the contrary, it made him even more uneasy.
In that instant, Su Hui’s gaze pierced through the crowd and suddenly froze. Across the street, there was a person standing, staring directly at the restaurant, coldly observing everything. Su Hui suddenly remembered the eerie phone call he had received before…
Perhaps, this was the final step of the entire trap…
They had been lured step by step, and even if they unraveled the puzzle, they couldn’t change the outcome.
A deafening explosion resounded…
The blast triggered a chain reaction.
All the windows in the restaurant shattered, and a large fire erupted in the kitchen.
The wedding banquet, which was intact just a second ago, instantly turned into a scene of devastation.
The wave of flames pushed Su Hui out, scorching his entire body. Flying debris tore into his flesh, and he desperately coughed up blood, feeling like he was in hell.
The explosion was accompanied by a loud noise that momentarily rendered him unable to hear anything. The ringing in his ears penetrated his mind, and the entire world trembled incessantly. Some people were screaming, others were crying.
Explosion, severe injuries. He felt like he was being torn apart.
Only intense pain remained…
This state persisted for a long time. Su Hui kept reminding himself that this was a dream, a dream about his past. In the long span of the past, his memories were blurred, and he even missed many details about the explosion case.
That phone call, the mysterious figure standing outside the door, he only remembered them now.
The Fine Sand case wasn’t over…
Su Hui knew it was a dream, but everything in the dream was so vivid, as if reliving the scene.
But now he felt like he had lost control of his body, unable to wake up no matter what.
He seemed to have entered another layer of illusion.
Su Hui felt dazed, lying on the ground covered in blood, with some people gathering around him.
His eyes couldn’t see clearly, and his ears could only hear intermittent and vague voices. All he felt was pain.
Someone seemed to be getting closer to him, using their hand to press on his wounds.
Su Hui didn’t know where he found the strength, but he suddenly reached out and grabbed that hand. “Can you… Can you help me send a message?”
After a moment, it seemed like the person found his phone. Someone leaned down and whispered in his ear. It was the gentle voice of a young woman. “I found your phone. Tell me, what do you want to send?”
His consciousness was fading, and Su Hui felt his body in excruciating pain, as if it was tearing apart. He felt like he was about to die.
“Send a message to my mom and dad… Tell them I love them… and also…” He spoke intermittently, “and also, send a message to Lu Junchi: I’m sorry, we can’t meet.”
This time, he finally remembered that name—
Lu Junchi.
Watching from outside the scene, Su Hui suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head.
In that instant, he seemed to have a brief moment to struggle out of this dream.
All the blurry memories floated clearly in his mind. Even the blood dripping from Lu Junchi’s forehead when they were squeezed in the carriage, the pain and unwavering love in his eyes, were incredibly vivid.
Su Hui finally understood…
Why he felt a strange sense of familiarity every time he ate Lu Junchi’s candy.
Why he enjoyed listening to Lu Junchi speak.
Why sometimes when he looked up at Lu Junchi from his desk, he felt warmth.
The figure that protected him even in the most dangerous moments finally overlapped with the figure he had been searching for in his memories.
…He found him.
The person who liked, admired, always accepted him, encouraged him, cooked delicious food, and had deep conversations with him until the end, even confessing their love to him… was actually…
Actually, had been by his side all along.
Actually, he had forgotten.
Actually, he had broken their appointment.
TN:
After 1097378275637 years, it’s finally happened *ugly sobbing*
RECENTLY UPDATES
