Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Hello, I Want to Turn Myself In

"Hello, I’m here to turn myself in. I’m the main culprit behind the recent serial killings."

"Name?"

"Jiang Li."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

The interrogator, Zhao Shuo, filled out her information. Remembering what she’d just said, he frowned in confusion and asked again, his tone serious, "You’re saying you’re the main culprit in the serial killer case?"

Zhao Shuo frowned as he looked at Jiang Li. She was thin and frail, her face pale, with severe dark circles under her eyes. It looked like she hadn’t slept in days.

Looking at the woman before him, he figured she was probably hallucinating from playing too many video games.

The serial killer case had been at a standstill for a full three months, though there had been some recent progress.

But according to the shoeprints, the suspect was a burly man who wore at least a size 48 shoe.

’How could this young girl in front of me possibly...’

Zhao Shuo shook his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts. ’What is wrong with me? I can’t believe I’m getting sidetracked by this.’

Zhao Shuo looked at Jiang Li seriously. "Young lady, do you know what crime it is to fool with the police? Seeing as you’re young, I’ll let it slide this time. Don’t pull this kind of stunt again."

Jiang Li’s chapped lips trembled. She hadn’t slept for two straight days. Whenever she closed her eyes, a scene of her killing someone would appear.

At first, she thought it was just a nightmare. But in the dream, the struggles of those people, their miserable screams, the warm splatter of fresh blood on her face, the THUD THUD THUD of a cleaver striking bone...

None of it felt fake. Worse, she could even feel a twisted sense of pleasure growing inside her.

This dream had been haunting her for a whole week. Then she saw the serial killer case on the official police website. The victims listed there were the same as the ones in her dream.

She began to suspect she had actually killed those people. For the past two days, she hadn’t dared to sleep, enduring both mental and physical torment. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and came to turn herself in.

"No, it’s true. I really did kill them." Jiang Li gripped Zhao Shuo’s hand tightly. "The first girl was named Cao Xue. She was a student. To kill her, I sold roasted sausages at her school gate for a month."

"Cao Xue’s family wasn’t well-off, so I gave her two free sausages for breakfast every day. She gradually lowered her guard around me."

"Then one day, Cao Xue started to worry about me. I knew my chance had come. It was a rainy day, and she didn’t have an umbrella, so..."

A savage expression appeared on Jiang Li’s face. "So I offered to walk her home. The path she usually took was blocked off that day, so I led her on a detour, avoiding the surveillance cameras. We were almost there."

Jiang Li’s expression turned impatient, and she stared ahead with a sinister look.

"But she wouldn’t listen. She was crying and making a fuss about wanting to go home. I got annoyed, so I knocked her out and took her back to my place."

"After I assaulted her, I dismembered her. Her ribs were beautiful. I kept one as a souvenir."

As Zhao Shuo listened to Jiang Li’s account, his expression changed instantly. The investigation had shown that Cao Xue did disappear on a rainy day, and when her body was found, a rib was indeed missing.

Zhao Shuo placed his hand on the small of his back, ready to pull out his handcuffs and restrain her.

But just then, a cool, clear voice sounded from behind him. "You could assault Cao Xue?"

Jiang Li’s face froze, and a brief look of confusion crossed her features. "That’s right... I’m a woman."

She clutched her head in pain. "But why? Why does it feel like I was the one who did all those things?"

Ji Qinghe stepped forward and looked at the distraught Jiang Li, patting her head comfortingly. "You need to rest."

She guessed the girl must have seen something that day, which was why she was like this. For them, this was a good thing.

Ji Qinghe turned her head to Zhao Shuo. "Go check out the sausage vendors near the school."

Zhao Shuo’s eyes lit up. "Right, I’m on it!"

Jiang Li clutched her clothes, shaking her head repeatedly. "No, I can’t sleep. As soon as I fall asleep, I start killing again."

"Qinghe, I heard Zhao Shuo say there was a new development, so I came to take a look." A man in a police uniform walked in. He had just heard from Zhao Shuo that a girl had come to the station claiming to be the serial killer.

"She’s likely a witness from that day. She probably saw something and got a bad scare." Ji Qinghe recounted what Jiang Li had said to him.

After listening, Zhou Tiancheng frowned. It did sound quite plausible.

Zhou Tiancheng looked over at Jiang Li, then walked up to her. "Hello, my name is Zhou Tiancheng. You can call me Officer Zhou."

Zhou Tiancheng observed the girl before him. She certainly didn’t look to be in good shape.

Jiang Li looked at the two officers in front of her. They didn’t seem to believe her.

She frowned. "What I’m saying is true. Besides Cao Xue, there were also Li Hui Zhen, Tian Jiayi, and Ding Chengxi."

Ji Qinghe and Zhou Tiancheng exchanged a look. Ji Qinghe quickly stepped forward to comfort her. "Don’t get agitated. We believe you. It’s just that you don’t look well right now."

Jiang Li hugged her head in anguish, her voice hoarse. "But whenever I sleep, I see myself killing people. I don’t dare to sleep. I don’t want to. I haven’t slept in two days."

"Jiang Li, don’t worry. This is a police station. We’re all here. Nothing will happen to you, trust me."

Ji Qinghe stroked Jiang Li’s head and gave her a smile. Even if they wanted to find out more, they had to wait for her to get some rest.

"I had someone buy some glucose water. Drink this and get some sleep." Zhou Tiancheng’s expression was stern and his voice serious as he handed her a paper cup filled with the drink.

Jiang Li looked at the two of them, then at the large police emblem on the wall. ’Forget it. I’ll trust them this one time,’ she thought. ’I’m in a police station, after all. If I really am the killer, there are plenty of officers here.’

’And if I’m not, I can finally have some peace of mind and stop being tormented into insanity.’

Ji Qinghe had someone find a folding cot. Jiang Li glanced at the two officers, then lay down, clutching a blanket.

Ji Qinghe said to Zhou Tiancheng, "I sent Zhao Shuo to check out the sausage vendors near Cao Xue’s place. For the rest, we’ll wait for Jiang Li to wake up. There might be new clues then."

Zhou Tiancheng nodded with a grave expression. After all, she was able to name the other victims. She might really know something.

Listening to their conversation, Jiang Li groggily drifted off to sleep.

"Damn it, those sons of bitches from the police station are watching the area every day. It’s taken me this long to finally get one. This one’s a little small, but it’ll do. Just enough to scratch the itch."

Jiang Li looked down and saw the person being dragged on the ground. This one was even smaller than the previous victims.

’Animal!’

Jiang Li gritted her teeth, trying to regain control of her own consciousness, trying to stop what was happening. But no matter how hard she struggled, it was useless.

She placed the unconscious girl on the cutting board in front of her, picked up the large cleaver from the side, and raised her hand to strike.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! Open up, police!"

Hearing Zhao Shuo’s voice at the door, Jiang Li’s mind brightened. ’That’s great! It’s Officer Zhao! The little girl is saved!’

But in the next second, she dragged the girl up and headed for the basement. Jiang Li wanted to turn and scream for help, but she could only watch helplessly as she hid the girl away once more.