Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Getting a New Skill, Replicating the Criminal’s Skill

"Please, kill... kill me. Kill me!"

Jiang Li was dreaming of the man with a pig’s body and a human head again. Bloody tears streamed from the corners of his eyes, and his cracked lips endlessly repeated those words.

Watching him, Jiang Li could feel his pain and torment.

A perfectly normal person had been stitched onto the body of a beast. The worst part was that he could only watch helplessly, death itself having become an impossible luxury.

Thinking of the other test subjects, Jiang Li’s heart ached. ’It’s not just the humans who are suffering.’

"In your dreams. You are my greatest creation! HA HA HA HA!"

The savage laughter echoed through the small space, sounding exceptionally grating.

Jiang Li’s perspective shifted, following the suspect as she walked deeper inside and opened the door to a laboratory.

"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!"

Jiang Li’s pupils contracted. Staring at the person strapped to the operating table, she thought, ’How did she find another target so quickly?’

The suspect then began her work, running a checkup on the man. A satisfied expression appeared on her face.

"Not bad. Human bodies really are superior. But what animal should I use this time?

A pig? Nah, I’ve already done that. A fox? A cow? A sheep?

Hiss... I’ll have to give this some thought. Those cops have already noticed something’s wrong. Who knows how long it’ll be until the next time."

She picked up a scalpel. In the reflection of the light on its handle, she saw a pair of eyes.

Jiang Li’s heart clenched. The next second, she snapped awake. Seeing Qiao Siyuan hovering above her, her gaze turned icy. She grabbed him by the throat and slammed him down onto the bed.

"AHH! Jiang Li, I was just helping you back to your room to rest! I didn’t do anything!"

Jiang Li stared at the terrified Qiao Siyuan, and a single word slowly escaped her thin lips, "Waste."

"Yes, yes, yes, I’m a waste, I’m useless! Can you just let me go first? Please, I’m begging you..."

Qiao Siyuan was so scared he immediately started begging for mercy. In the past, he would never have pleaded with Jiang Li like this, but the Jiang Li of today was a complete lunatic. Things were different now!

Jiang Li looked at Qiao Siyuan. "Perfect. I’ve recently learned a few things. You can be my ready-made guinea pig."

Qiao Siyuan’s face went pale with fright, his trembling lips unable to form a single word.

Jiang Li hauled Qiao Siyuan up, then pulled a pocket watch from her pocket.

With a pleasant click, the watch opened. Qiao Siyuan’s mind went blank, and his gaze couldn’t help but follow the swaying watch in front of him.

"Qiao Siyuan, why did you people trick Jiang Li into coming back?"

Qiao Siyuan’s eyes were vacant. "Xue Yan is pregnant. The doctor said it’s a super-male. That child was so hard for our Qiao Family to conceive; neither my mom nor Xue Yan wants to abort it.

My mom got a folk remedy from a ’master.’ He said all we had to do was find someone to get pregnant, then use the child in her womb to trade a life for a life.

Jiang Li has no parents and is mentally ill, so she’s the best choice. If she died, no one would ever find out."

Jiang Li gritted her teeth, wishing she could kill the scumbag in front of her.

"Remember, you and Jiang Li have already slept together tonight. Your and your mother’s plan is proceeding smoothly."

Jiang Li put away the pocket watch, knocked Qiao Siyuan unconscious, and, as expected, found something on him.

Staring at the runes carved into the piece of red wood, Jiang Li examined it with suspicion.

’Could it really be that magical?’ Thinking of the young Daoist priestess, Wu Ming, Jiang Li took out her phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to her.

[Wu Ming, do you recognize this thing?]

While waiting for a reply, Jiang Li ripped open Qiao Siyuan’s clothes, slapped him a few times to redden his face, and pinched his body to leave marks. Then she took out her phone and, CLICK, CLICK, snapped two photos.

With a disgusted look, Jiang Li made a Moments post visible only to Wu Xueyan.

[He says he loves me most! He’ll love me ’til he dies.]

After posting it, Jiang Li shivered with revulsion. ’What a pain.’

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Qiao Siyuan’s phone, which was lying beside him, began to vibrate nonstop.

After Jiang Li added Huo Qing, he had pulled her into a small group chat.

She typed in the group: [Officer Huo, the suspect has captured another person. A twenty-year-old male, blood type A, works out regularly, in good health.]

After sending it, Jiang Li paused for two seconds. [One moment, I’ll sketch him.]

Huo Qing saw Jiang Li’s message and didn’t disturb her. He turned on his notifications to wait for her update while ordering his team to press on with the investigation.

Jiang Li was sketching on her tablet when a call from Wu Ming suddenly came in.

"Jiang Li, that thing is dangerous! Don’t wear it! Who gave it to you? They’re not even human!"

Wu Ming’s indignant voice came through the phone. ’I’d like to see who has a death wish,’ she fumed. ’Daring to mess with my patron! They deserve to die!’

"My ex-boyfriend gave it to me. Can this thing really trade a life for a life?"

Jiang Li glanced at the talisman beside her, her hand never stopping its sketching.

"The wood looks very red, but it’s not because the wood itself is red. It’s been soaked in blood. I heard my master say before that this method is incredibly evil. And regular blood won’t even work.

It has to be from a newborn.

Jiang Li, listen to me, you absolutely cannot wear this thing. Something terrible will really happen."

The resentment of infant spirits is already immense; this is no joke.

"Mm, okay, I get it. I still have some things to take care of here. Let’s meet tomorrow."

"Alright. Bring it with you tomorrow, and I’ll help you figure something out."

Wu Ming had no choice but to hang up.

Half an hour later, Jiang Li sent the completed portrait.

[Officer Huo, can you find him? My sketching skills are limited.]

Huo Qing looked at the incredibly clear features in the drawing. ’And she calls this limited skill?’

In the past, when they were looking for people, they often had only half a face to work with, sometimes even a disfigured one, and they could still find them. If they couldn’t find someone from a sketch as clear as the one Jiang Li had drawn...

...then the detective unit might as well be disbanded.

[We can. Jiang Li, thank you so much.]

Jiang Li put down her phone. Thinking about that last pair of eyes from her dream, she felt like she had seen them somewhere before.

The eyes were quick to draw; it only took ten minutes. Jiang Li stared blankly at the portrait. The more she looked, the more familiar it seemed, but her memory was stuck.

[These are the criminal’s eyes. Thank you for your hard work, Officer Huo.]

Lu Xingye saw the messages in the group chat. ’Jiang Li is still chatting this late at night, so she must be fine.’

After dealing with everything, Jiang Li glanced at the time. ’How is it already past midnight?’

Looking at Qiao Siyuan on the bed, who was out like a dead pig, Jiang Li still wasn’t satisfied. She walked over and gave him a good beating.

Then she got up, took a shower, and came back. She stared blankly at the wooden talisman on the table. When she recalled Wu Ming saying it was soaked in infant blood, a chill ran down her spine.

’Looks like I’ll have to find some time to ask Chen Xiufang about who this unscrupulous "master" really is.’

Jiang Li came out, holding the talisman by its string between two fingers. She didn’t want to stay in the same room as Qiao Siyuan.

Once outside, Jiang Li was troubled. ’If I don’t wear it, won’t Qiao Siyuan and Chen Xiufang get suspicious?’

Jiang Li picked it up and touched it again. The next second, something burrowed into her body. The empty room was instantly crowded with people.

Jiang Li’s eyes flew wide. Then they rolled back in her head, and she fainted.