Free Web NovelChapter 2: Chapter 2: Serial Killer, Human Trafficker Adoptive Father
"No!"
Jiang Li jerked awake, her forehead beaded with sweat, a look of terror still lingering on her face.
The two people talking nearby heard the sound and hurried over.
Jiang Li looked at Ji Qinghe, reached out to grab her hand, and said with a tremor in her voice:
"A little girl, eleven or twelve years old... a chopping block, a cleaver... There were police voices outside the door. I think it was Officer Zhao’s."
The little girl... later, she was in the refrigerator!"
Jiang Li frantically recounted everything from her dream, realizing she was in a police station and feeling like she was about to go insane.
’She knew she wasn’t the killer, so why did she feel so guilty, so terrified? With every death, waking up felt like its own slow, torturous execution.’
Listening to her words, Zhou Tiancheng hesitated for a moment but ultimately pulled out his phone to call Zhao Shuo.
At that moment, Zhao Shuo was following up on a lead, canvassing the area with his team. The case had started three months ago, and so far, they had questioned three households matching the criteria.
Zhao Shuo and his team arrived at a house. After they waited a while, the door was finally opened by a man in his thirties.
"Officer, can I help you with something?" Jiang Dewang asked, looking at the uniformed Zhao Shuo with a puzzled expression.
"Just conducting a small survey. No need to be nervous." Zhao Shuo took out a notepad and pen. "I heard you were selling roasted sausages at the entrance of No. 2 Middle School three months ago. Why did you stop?"
Zhao Shuo looked up, carefully watching for the slightest change in the man’s expression.
"Hahaha, it’s because I injured my foot a while back. I really had no choice," Jiang Dewang said, lifting his pant leg.
Zhao Shuo’s hand froze for a second. He then proceeded to ask a few more related questions.
After the questioning proved fruitless, Zhao Shuo could only lead his team back to the car. Seeing an incoming call, he answered. "Hey, Captain Zhou."
Back at the station, Ji Qinghe continued questioning Jiang Li about what happened next.
Jiang Li was holding a cup of hot water. As she spoke, her expression changed. "I hate Li Hui Zhen the most. If it weren’t for her, my leg would never have been injured."
Zhou Tiancheng, who was on the phone getting an update from Zhao Shuo, overheard this and immediately asked, "You said he injured his leg?"
"Yes, and it’s not a minor injury..."
Before Zhao Shuo could finish, he heard a chair scraping against the floor on the other end of the line, followed by Zhou Tiancheng’s excited voice. "Arrest him! Take him into custody now!"
Hearing this, Jiang Li looked up at Zhou Tiancheng as he left, a faint, almost imperceptible smile gracing the corner of her mouth.
Ji Qinghe, who was taking notes, took a deep breath to steady her nerves and looked at her. "Jiang Li, continue."
Jiang Li then recounted in detail how the victims were lured, kidnapped, and murdered, as well as the twisted trophies taken from each girl.
"Cao Xue’s ribs were beautiful, white as snow—perfect for collecting. Li Jiahui was the reason my leg was injured, so I made sure she wouldn’t have a complete corpse. Ding Chengxi’s eyes were so expressive; she was always smiling whenever she looked at me. I wanted to make her look only at me, forever."
Ji Qinghe’s writing gradually slowed. A chill ran down her spine, and her grip on the pen slackened.
On the other side of town, by the time Zhou Tiancheng arrived at the scene, Zhao Shuo had already led his team inside. They had arrested Jiang Dewang and found an unconscious Xu Wan in the refrigerator. Any later, and she might have been dead.
Zhou Tiancheng and his team soon discovered Jiang Dewang’s basement.
The moment they stepped inside, they saw shelves lined with various items, all while Jiang Li’s ghost-like whisper continued to play through his earpiece.
He stepped farther in and immediately saw a jar placed by the bed. A pair of amber-colored pupils were soaking inside. The moment his gaze met theirs, a chill shot up from the soles of his feet.
Next to it were ribs, leg bones, and a fetus.
Everything Jiang Li had said was true!
Zhou Tiancheng’s breathing quickened. ’How could Jiang Li know all this so clearly?’
Soon, the area was cordoned off, and the medical examiner’s team arrived. After analysis, it was confirmed that the remains belonged to the victims.
When the victims’ families heard the news and rushed to the scene, the sight made them want to tear the culprit limb from limb.
Jiang Dewang watched the scene unfold, unable to process it. ’He had been so careful for so long. How had the police suddenly burst into his home?’
Jiang Dewang was taken back to the station for questioning. In the interrogation room, he tried to deny the accusations, but he finally admitted to everything after Zhou Tiancheng repeated Jiang Li’s words to him.
Even at the end, he couldn’t understand how it all happened.
A major case that had plagued them for three months was solved in a single day. To be more precise, it was solved by a few of Jiang Li’s words.
Zhou Tiancheng suddenly felt the urge to see Jiang Li again. She was incredible—so incredible that it made one want to lock her away for study.
Jiang Li ate the meal Ji Qinghe had brought. After getting some sleep, she was clearly in much better spirits and seemed more energetic.
Zhou Tiancheng stood at the door, watching the scene.
He recalled Jiang Li’s claim that she killed people in her sleep. It sounded utterly absurd, and yet, she was the reason they had captured the suspect.
Zhou Tiancheng walked in. "Jiang Dewang has been arrested, Miss Jiang. We just need to conduct a few more inquiries, and if everything checks out, you’ll be free to go."
Jiang Li paused mid-bite. ’So it really was Jiang Dewang,’ she thought.
"Alright, Officer Zhou."
Zhou Tiancheng and Ji Qinghe stepped out.
Ji Qinghe crossed her arms and looked at him. "Captain Zhou, do you really think such incredible things can happen in this world? You have no idea... when Jiang Li was describing everything, I was terrified of her."
Her heart was still pounding just thinking about it. ’At that moment, I even wondered if Jiang Li was going to stand up and suddenly stab me.’
Zhao Shuo walked over, holding a report. "Captain Zhou, Officer Ji, here’s some information on Jiang Li."
"It shows here that she’d been visiting a psychiatrist for the last few days, then she locked herself at home and didn’t leave until this morning."
"Today’s victim, Xu Wan, is twelve years old. She was taken by Jiang Dewang last night. At that time, Jiang Li was still at home. None of the surrounding surveillance cameras show her leaving her apartment. The timeline doesn’t add up."
"And these are her phone’s call logs. There’s no contact information for Jiang Dewang anywhere in here."
Zhou Tiancheng took Jiang Li’s phone and scrolled through it for a moment. The most frequent search query was: ’What to do if I’ve killed someone?’
That was followed by a search for the recent serial killings. Right after that, Jiang Li came to the police station to confess she was the murderer.
"Captain Zhou, what do you think? Could it be that Jiang Li’s dreams are actually the crime scenes, but since she’s seeing it from a first-person perspective, she can’t see the killer and mistakenly thinks it’s her?"
Zhao Shuo’s eyes lit up. ’That would be so cool!’
The words were barely out of his mouth when Zhou Tiancheng smacked him on the head. "Stop reading so many novels. It’s rotting your brain."
’Then again, if that were true, they should just recruit her. They’d never have an unsolvable case again.’
Jiang Li waited all day. It wasn’t until evening that Ji Qinghe finally approached and told her she could go home.
"Thank you, Officer Ji." Jiang Li smiled and stood up. ’That means I couldn’t possibly be the killer!’
As Jiang Li walked toward the exit, Ji Qinghe caught up to her. "Jiang Li, this is my contact information. If you need anything, call me anytime."
"Okay, thank you, Officer Ji."
Jiang Li took the contact info from Ji Qinghe and walked outside.
Outside, Jiang Li hailed a cab back to her rented apartment. Once there, she sat on the sofa, staring blankly out the window, a small smile playing on her lips.
Back at the station, Zhao Shuo suddenly ran over, his face a mask of tension. "Captain Zhou! That Jiang Dewang... he says Jiang Li is his daughter!"
