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墨書 Inktalez
Su Jin'er leaned against the bed, her body hidden in the darkness, still thinking about what Cheng Xiaoying had said last: everything is just the beginning, everyone will die.
Perhaps she could return to school tomorrow, but what difference would it make? That cold dormitory would only make her feel more sorrowful.
She gazed at the starry sky outside the window. Someone once said that each star in the sky represents a soul; which star represents Linyuan's soul? Suddenly, she missed her so much.
Her phone suddenly rang, startling her.
The moment she picked up the phone, a wave of fear washed over her, an inexplicable dread.
When she saw the text message, she finally understood the reason for her fear.
"Everything has just begun; the Death Game is still ongoing. Please do not stop."
Death Game?
She took a deep breath and replied with a text: Who are you? Why are you doing this?
Then came the silence of waiting. Although she knew this wait was futile, dialing the number again still resulted in a disconnected line.
An unprecedented fear left her feeling powerless. Who was this person? Why were they doing this, and what was their purpose?
Too many questions flooded her mind, nearly driving her to collapse. Lin Yazhi had once warned her to be careful of those around her; who did that refer to? Chu Feifan, Zuo Yi, or herself?
It was already midnight, yet she still felt no drowsiness. Perhaps it was because she had slept too much during the day.
She felt cold all over and pulled the blanket over herself, curling up inside.
She didn't know how long it had been; she felt as if she had fallen asleep but also seemed to be awake. Only the sky outside had begun to lighten with dawn. She struggled to sit up from the bed, her head pounding.
Rubbing her temples in an attempt to clear her mind, she found that her head felt heavy as if she hadn't fully woken up. Her temples throbbed relentlessly, and every nerve felt taut as if they might snap at any moment.
"Ah..."
Suddenly, a scream came from outside, lasting for more than ten seconds before finally stopping.
Has it begun?
Her heart began to sink little by little, and then her whole body turned cold, as if she were submerged in ice water, shivering from the chill. She struggled to breathe, but it felt as if what entered her lungs was not air, but water. In pain, she bent over, sweat streaming down her pale cheeks.
She slowly got out of bed and painfully walked to the door, desperately knocking, but no sound came from her mouth.
When the nurse opened the door, she collapsed weakly to the ground, her body slumping against the wall, her face ashen and devoid of color.
"Oh dear! What happened to you?"
The nurse helped Su Jin'er up and slowly walked her back to the bed.
"What happened outside?"
"Oh! It's nothing. Just a new patient who likes to scream for no reason."
Hearing that it was nothing, Su Jin'er finally relaxed. If this continued, she would eventually break down. She knew very well that the most terrifying part was not when fear actually occurred, but knowing that something horrifying might happen without knowing what it would be or when it would happen. Such a situation kept a person's nerves in a constant state of tension; those with strong mental fortitude might endure it, while those with weaker mental resilience would either go insane or commit suicide in the end.
What about herself? How would she react in such a situation?
"What’s wrong?" The nurse asked worriedly when Su Jin'er did not respond.
She managed a weak smile but did not answer.
"By the way, your friend is coming to pick you up for discharge today. You should be happy about that now," the nurse said with a smile, seemingly oblivious to the worry and fear on Su Jin'er's face.
Are you happy? It's good if you are truly happy.
Sure enough, around nine o'clock, Captain Xing and Zuo Yi arrived, while Su Jin'er was sitting on the bed, staring blankly into space.
"Jin'er, what's wrong?" Zuo Yi sat down by the bed and looked at the neatly packed clothes at Su Jin'er's feet.
"He warned me again. He said the Death Game has just begun and please do not stop."
"What?"
Captain Xing leaned in and asked, "What Death Game? What are you talking about?"
Zuo Yi recounted the strange messages Su Jin'er received that night, and then Su Jin'er pulled out the two messages to show Captain Xing.
"This person is so arrogant, even bullying the police," Captain Xing frowned, his eyes fixed on Su Jin'er's phone.
"He's clearly showing off," Zuo Yi said angrily.
"Forget it, let's just go to school first! I think this person is probably targeting me. Maybe if I leave, everyone will be safe."
Zuo Yi wanted to say something else but ultimately said nothing, quietly watching Su Jin'er's lonely figure as she appeared increasingly thin.
Although Cheng Xiaoying's arrest temporarily cleared Su Jin'er of suspicion, in reality, no one had any evidence. Su Jin'er found it strange why Captain Xing was willing to let her go while allowing Cheng Xiaoying—who had no evidence proving she killed Ruan Hongmei—to take the blame for her. However, she didn't ask anything.
When Chu Feifan saw Su Jin'er appear at the hospital door, his eyes were filled with surprise. He struggled to sit up but grimaced in pain due to his wound.
"Just lie down properly! Why do you want to get up? The wound is so deep; it will take a long time to heal!"
Su Jin'er's gentle voice warmed Chu Feifan's heart, but when he saw her dark circles under her eyes, he couldn't feel happy at all.
"Did you not sleep well last night?"
"I don't know, maybe I did, maybe I didn't."
This response left Chu Feifan puzzled, but her appearance suggested she hadn't slept well. Her frail figure made him feel a pang of sympathy.
"I think I want to go home for a while; maybe it would be good for all of us."
In truth, she didn't want to go home. She wasn't someone who liked to bring her troubles back home, but this time she was genuinely scared. That fear gnawed at her mind and body constantly, leaving her utterly exhausted.
"Alright, let Zuo Yi take you home!"
He wanted to take her home himself, but he was still injured and it wasn't convenient for him to go back. Letting Zuo Yi take her home made him feel more at ease.
Su Jin'er returned to her dormitory and began packing her belongings. She had already asked for a week off from her counselor; that should be enough time, right?
Thinking about the scene of the overweight administrator lying on her bed that night made her feel nauseous. She gathered all the blankets, sheets, and mattress from her bed and stuffed them into a large bag. Then she shoved all her underwear in as well and found a few pieces of clothing she rarely wore to stuff into her backpack. Dragging the large bag and carrying her small backpack, she slowly made her way downstairs.
"Hey! Isn't she the girl from Room 414? How pitiful, losing four roommates and being wrongfully accused of murder, driven mad and locked up in a mental hospital. Is it the curse of Room 414?"
One girl passing by Su Jin'er said to another.
"Yeah! I heard even her best friend died! So sad!"
"Do you think there’s something wrong with her? Anyone who gets close to her seems to have bad luck! Historically, beautiful women often bring disaster; maybe she's one of them!"
Su Jin'er stopped in her tracks, and the two girls quickly fell silent before hurrying away.
A bitter smile crept onto Su Jin'er's lips.
Perhaps she really is a Femme Fatale!
Stepping out of the dormitory, the sun still shone with blinding light, and the faces of the students were filled with the vitality and youthfulness typical of adolescence. But what about her? All that remained was sadness and fear.
Zuo Yi was startled to see Su Jin'er dragging such a large bag out, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was something Su Jin'er intended to throw away.
Su Jin'er sat in the passenger seat, her eyes vacant as she stared ahead, seemingly unwilling to speak. Zuo Yi didn't know what to say either, so she pressed the gas pedal and the car sped off.
Captain Xing sat in his office, where the ashtray in front of him was already piled high with cigarette butts. The one in his hand was about to join them. Leaning back in his chair, he looked up at the ceiling, his brows furrowed deeply.
This was the most perplexing case he had encountered, leaving him utterly confused. Although they had apprehended Cheng Xiaoying, he could not find any other evidence to prove she was the Killer aside from her own admission. After bringing her back to the police station, she had not said another word. No matter how much they pressured or tempted her, she refused to speak, as if everything outside no longer concerned her. This situation left him feeling particularly frustrated.
Zhuo Xiaoman, Wang Xiangxiang, Guo Xiaoli, Lu Lili, Hao Hongtao, Cheng Xiaoying, and Qin Yu—all had motives for murder, yet they had all become prey for the Killer. Now only Cheng Xiaoying and Qin Yu remained. Cheng Xiaoying had already confessed to killing Wang Xiangxiang and claimed that Guo Xiaoli had committed suicide. However, there were still loopholes in her statements; he just hadn't figured out what those loopholes indicated yet. In the end, only Qin Yu was left, but he couldn't find any evidence of her wrongdoing, which made him feel quite defeated.
At that moment, Jiang Jie walked in with a cup of coffee in her hands. She gently placed the coffee on the table and looked at Captain Xing as he wrote down several names on a piece of paper. "Captain Xing, why are you staring at these names? Is the Killer among them?"
Captain Xing shook his head in uncertainty; he felt overwhelmed with no leads at all.
"Really? Can this case stump our captain?" Jiang Jie exclaimed incredulously. Although she had been following Captain Xing closely, she had been temporarily reassigned to help another team due to a colleague's sudden issue after their last case and had just returned today.
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