Chapter Seven: Cruel Experiences

The interviews with the restaurant staff had come to an end. By this time, the examination of the bodies had also yielded results.

“Captain Su, this killer is truly ruthless! He not only killed the male victim with a single blow, but he also smashed the little girl’s head to pieces!” Xiao Wang read the report as he spoke to Su Tianmu.

“Could it be another deranged murderer?” Su Tianmu took the report from Xiao Wang and examined it carefully.

The report detailed the blows the victims had suffered before death; even from behind the paper, the brutality of the scene came through vividly.

Analysis showed the male victim had been struck fatally on the head with a blunt instrument while completely unprepared. Judging by the severity of the wound and the absence of any signs of struggle, the victim must have lost consciousness instantly after the blow, which ultimately led to his death.

From this, it seemed the killer was not only physically strong but also likely someone familiar to the victims.

As for the little girl, her death was even more horrific. Though she too had been struck by a blunt object, it had not been a swift death. There were likely signs of struggle; she had been beaten repeatedly, and it was surmised that, during the attack on the girl, the killer’s murderous frenzy had reached its peak. That explained the inhuman brutality evident on her tiny body.

Strong? Someone they knew? If the murderer was among the restaurant staff, who could it be?

Su Tianmu rapidly recalled the faces of each worker. Judging by the victims’ injuries, the murderer was likely a burly man. Yet among the male staff, except for a few assistants, most were quite strong, especially the chefs, each broad-shouldered and thick-waisted.

After so many years as a homicide detective, and after seeing countless murder cases, Su Tianmu still couldn’t suppress his hatred for the killer when he saw the scene of the little girl’s death.

What kind of person could bring himself to slaughter a five- or six-year-old child, and in such a cruel manner?

Had the child’s mother witnessed the scene? It was impossible to imagine what a mother would feel, seeing such horror.

The remnants of a shattered consciousness lingering on Xia Wuyou had grown less frequent, but the feelings they brought her had changed markedly.

It was hard to describe—when the bodies were first discovered, she felt a heart-rending agony; but now, as the investigation progressed, a sense of regret filled her.

Xia Wuyou couldn’t make sense of it. Could it be that the female victim was in some way connected to the case? Or perhaps, was this massacre somehow set in motion because of herself?

The days passed as usual. Though Xia Wuyou longed to see the case solved quickly, she still had to go on living her own life.

Every day she faced the relentless pressure from “Auntie Pang,” and she had to focus on her work performance.

Lately, because she had been running to the police station so often, she had been out of the office a lot. Just that morning, her supervisor had given her a severe scolding.

“Do you think my supervisor and I are just destined to clash? Why is he always picking on me?” Xia Wuyou complained to a nearby colleague.

“It’s not all the supervisor’s fault. Even we think you’ve been acting a bit off lately,” her colleague, who was quite close to her, said honestly.

She sighed. “It’s not like I want to! But these messy things just keep finding me.”

To avoid further criticism, Xia Wuyou made sure to put in her full work hours that day.

Her parents were gone, and aside from her uncle’s house where she’d grown up, she had nowhere else to go. With all that had been happening, she hadn’t visited her uncle in a long time.

With a rare free weekend, Xia Wuyou decided to give herself a day off.

She lived far from the city center. Even when she passed through, she rarely stopped. It was as if, unless necessary, there was no place for joy in her life.

Her parents had perished, and she considered herself lucky just to be alive. How could she possibly seek out happiness for herself?

She changed into her favorite clothes, applied a light touch of makeup, and decided to take Sugar Bean to the park. Autumn was nearly here, fallen leaves were gathering in the streets, and she imagined the park would be beautiful.

“Sugar Bean, look, so many children! You need to be quiet and behave, don’t scare the other kids,” Xia Wuyou said, choosing a quiet path to stroll.

The wind brushing against her was no longer warm, but gently cool—soothing and pleasant.

She closed her eyes, savoring this rare sense of peace. With Sugar Bean by her side, she wasn’t afraid of bumping into anyone.

“Woof! Woof!” Sugar Bean barked twice, clearly wary of a stranger.

Xia Wuyou opened her eyes to see what was wrong. “Sugar Bean, what is it?”

A rubber ball had rolled over, and as Xia Wuyou bent to pick it up, a little boy ran over and politely said, “Big sister, could I have my ball back? Thank you!”

Smiling, Xia Wuyou crouched down and spoke gently to the chubby boy. “Of course you can! But why are you playing with the ball here by yourself? Where are your mom and dad?”

“They’re over there!” The boy pointed with his plump little hand to the distance.

After taking his ball, he bounced away. Xia Wuyou gazed at the harmonious, happy scene in the distance—a family of three, joyful and content.

Maybe it was the memory of her own past, but a single tear slipped from the corner of her eye, startling her from her reverie.

She wiped the tear from her lips, determined to keep walking.

Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of remorse surged in her heart, as if she had committed some unforgivable crime and was bound for divine punishment.

She began to strike her head madly with her fists, muttering as she did, “It’s all my fault. If not for me, you wouldn’t have died! I hate myself!”

Clearly, this wasn’t Xia Wuyou’s own voice, but the lingering resentment of the murdered woman expressing her anguish.

“Woof! Woof!” Sugar Bean, terrified and at a loss, barked frantically, as if trying to drive away the evil clinging to its owner.

Fortunately, it was a secluded path, and few people were around.