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墨書 Inktalez
The beam of the police flashlight struck my face like a searchlight, blinding me.
I squinted, unable to open my eyes.
"I'm asking you a question! Who are you? What's going on here?" The officer's voice carried an undeniable authority.
Cold rainwater trickled down my neck and into my collar, making me shiver uncontrollably.
My gaze was fixed on the seam of the delivery box, where a thick porridge was seeping out.
The dark metal outline flickered in and out of view within the viscous mess.
It was over; I couldn't hide it anymore!
"I... I'm just a delivery person..." My voice was dry and hoarse, barely recognizable even to myself.
Another officer had crouched down, wearing gloves, and carefully lifted the lid of the Delivery Box.
The strong smell of Seafood Congee mixed with the scent of rain hit me like a wave.
He frowned tightly.
His fingers pushed aside the shrimp and crab meat floating on top of the porridge.
Suddenly, his movements froze!
He lifted his head, his gaze sharp as a hawk, piercing straight at me.
"Boss!" His voice was tense.
The officer strode over, glanced down for just a moment, and his face instantly turned ashen.
"Secure the scene! Control him!" the officer barked, his finger pointing decisively at me, slumped on the ground.
Two policemen immediately stepped forward, one on each side, gripping my arms tightly.
The cold metal of the handcuffs clicked shut around my wrists.
That sensation was colder than the barrel of a gun submerged in porridge.
The wail of sirens still circled overhead, red and blue lights slicing through the rainy night.
I was roughly shoved into the back seat of a police car.
Through the window, I saw the officers treating the situation with utmost seriousness, taking photos, setting up caution tape, and carefully extracting that deadly Delivery Box.
My heart sank to the depths.
There was no way to wash this dirty water clean; even if I jumped into the Pacific Ocean, it would never be cleared!
The interrogation room in the police station was harshly lit, the bright white light almost blinding.
The air was thick with a strange mix of disinfectant and the musty scent of old furniture.
Sitting across from me was a sharp-eyed officer, his rank insignia indicating he was a captain, with the surname Chen.
He tapped his knuckles on the table, producing a dull "thud" sound.
"Name, occupation, ID number," he said, his voice cold and devoid of any warmth.
I mechanically recited my information, my mind blank.
"Let's talk, Wang Lei," Captain Chen fixed his gaze on me. "How did that gun end up in your delivery box?"
The camera mounted on the ceiling emitted a faint red light, resembling a cold, indifferent eye.
I knew that if I didn't tell the truth now, it would be all over for me.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down.
From the moment I received that mysterious woman's order to the panic of discovering the handgun and then hastily hiding it in the congee, I recounted everything without daring to conceal a single detail.
I even mimicked the woman's icy voice as I repeated her words: "Ten minutes. If you don't see anything, you know the consequences."
Captain Chen remained expressionless, quickly jotting down notes in his notebook.
Occasionally, he would glance up, his gaze seeming to penetrate my very soul.
“Mr. Zhang from Building 18 of Jinxiu Villa? Are you sure that’s the name?” he suddenly interrupted me.
“The order… the order states Mr. Zhang, and the address is also Building 18…” I hurriedly replied.
Captain Chen exchanged a meaningful look with the young police officer taking notes beside him.
He leaned slightly forward, exuding an invisible pressure.
“Wang Lei, you’d better pray that you’re telling the truth,” his voice was low and ominous.
“Because just an hour ago, the owner of Building 18 at Jinxiu Villa, Zhang Guodong, was found dead in his study.”
He paused, enunciating each word clearly:
“Shot to death.”
Zhang Guodong? Shot to death?
My mind buzzed as if struck by a heavy hammer!
"Mr. Zhang... is dead?!"
Was he shot?
Could the gun in the congee be the murder weapon?!
A wave of immense fear gripped me instantly.
This sudden calamity had landed squarely on my head!
"It wasn't me! I swear it wasn't me!" I jumped to my feet, the handcuffs clinking loudly, my voice trembling with fear. "I'm just a delivery person! I never even met him!"
Captain Chen gestured for the nearby officers to push me back into my seat.
"Calm down! Getting worked up won't solve anything." His gaze remained sharp. "You say you hid the gun for self-defense, in a moment of panic?"
I nodded vigorously, cold sweat soaking through the back of my shirt.
"Alright." Captain Chen picked up a tablet from the table, swiped a few times, and turned it towards me.
On the screen was an enlarged photo.
It was of the brown paper bag submerged in Seafood Congee.
But the angle was tricky, clearly capturing the edge of the bag, where a dark red mark, blurred by the congee, could still be discerned.
Like a half-formed, blurry fingerprint.
"We extracted an incomplete blood fingerprint from the outside of the package," Captain Chen said, his gaze locked onto mine, not missing even the slightest change in my expression. "Initial comparisons show it does not belong to the deceased, Zhang Guodong."
He leaned slightly forward, intensifying the pressure of his presence.
"You mentioned that those two men in black touched the box, and one even grabbed your wrist?"
He pointed to the location of the bloodstain in the photograph.
"This spot is precisely where your thumb would most likely make contact when lifting the box."
My heart raced like a drum.
That man in black who had gripped my wrist like a vice! His hand!
"If this blood fingerprint matches one of those men in black..." Captain Chen's voice carried a chilling implication.
In an instant, I understood what he meant!
This blood fingerprint could be left by the murderer! It was my only hope of proving my innocence!
But the problem was—
"But… but those two men in black got away! Did you catch them?" I asked urgently, my voice trembling.
Captain Chen's expression darkened.
He slowly shook his head.
"The off-road vehicle had fake plates, and the surveillance cut out on the back road of the villa. They vanished as if into thin air."
He looked at me, his gaze complicated.
"Now, apart from your vague description, we have no leads on these two individuals."
The only hope seemed to have vanished as well.
Despair once again enveloped the room.
The interrogation room fell into a deathly silence.
The only sound was the rhythmic tapping of the recorder's keys, echoing against my nerves.
Captain Chen lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag. In the swirling smoke, his eyes appeared murky and inscrutable.
After a long moment, he extinguished the cigarette.
"Wang Lei, your account cannot be confirmed or denied at this time. Your fingerprints were found on the murder weapon, and you were the only one present at the scene. You are a prime suspect." His voice returned to its cold, official tone.
My heart sank into the depths of despair.
"But—" he shifted his tone, his gaze piercing, "that blood fingerprint is the key. It proves that there was a third person at the scene, perhaps even a fourth."
He stood up and walked in front of me.
"Now, I need you to cooperate fully. Recall every detail about that woman, about those two men in black—anything! Their voices, accents, heights, builds, clothing, vehicle characteristics... every little bit could be a breakthrough!"
He gestured to the officer beside him. "Give him paper and a pen. Let him calm down and think clearly!"
The officer uncuffed me and handed over a stack of paper and a pen.
The red marks on my wrists throbbed painfully.
I grasped the pen, my fingers trembling uncontrollably.
I struggled to remember every terrifying detail.
The woman's icy voice... the iron grip of the burly man in black... the dark windows of the SUV...
Suddenly, a nearly overlooked detail flashed through my mind!
The man in black who had taken the box—before he reached out to lift the lid, it seemed that his suit sleeves had... been slightly rolled up?
The inner side of his wrist appeared to have a vague pattern?
It was like a writhing… green snake?
I suddenly looked up, eager to share this discovery with Captain Chen.
Just then—
The door to the interrogation room was flung open with a loud bang!
A young police officer rushed in, panting heavily, his face ashen.
“Captain Chen! The technical department has an urgent report! The blood fingerprint… the comparison results are in!”
He swallowed hard, his terrified gaze sweeping over me.
“The database shows… it belongs to a fugitive wanted for a massacre case from three years ago—code name ‘Viper’!”
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