Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Trafficking Organization

Jiang Li stepped aside to let Ji Qinghe and Zhou Tiancheng in.

Seeing Jiang Li trembling with fear yet forcing herself to stay calm, Ji Qinghe put an arm around her and helped her to the sofa. She then picked up the kettle from the table and poured her a cup of hot water.

"Just take a moment."

With trembling hands, Jiang Li took the cup Ji Qinghe offered. She took a sip of the hot water, and warmth gradually returned to her ice-cold limbs.

"Do I need to go to the police station?"

Jiang Li looked up at Ji Qinghe. ’Honestly, she was perfectly willing to go. If she could live at the police station, that would be even better, but she wasn’t brazen enough to ask.’

"Yes," Ji Qinghe nodded. ’If what she said is true, and a car ran into a dozen or so people, this is a major case.’

"Okay, let me grab a coat."

Jiang Li grabbed a heavy overcoat. It wasn’t particularly cold out, but ever since she’d started having these bizarre dreams, she woke up feeling ice-cold, unable to get warm.

Ji Qinghe’s gaze fell on the heavy coat in Jiang Li’s hands, and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. According to their investigation, she’d already been to the hospital.

’A normal person, driven to the brink of madness...’

Ji Qinghe turned her head and looked at Jiang Li.

Jiang Li was quiet, staring silently out the car window.

Upon arriving at the police station, a sense of security washed over Jiang Li, and the tension finally left her tightly coiled body.

"Miss Jiang, we meet again. Please, sit." Zhao Shuo walked over with a smile on his face, clutching a notebook.

Jiang Li gave Zhao Shuo a small nod. ’Why is he looking at me so strangely?’ she wondered.

Zhao Shuo sat up straight, picked up his pen, and turned on the recorder. He suppressed his fervent gaze and spoke with a serious tone, "Miss Jiang, please begin."

Jiang Li snapped out of her reverie, her eyes vacant as she looked at Zhao Shuo.

"As soon as I close my eyes, I see myself driving. The car plows straight into the pedestrians ahead. The windshield is spattered with blood, and all I can hear are the thuds of impact and the screams of the crowd.

Their screams make me feel exhilarated. In my excitement, I slam on the accelerator and drive toward the screaming crowd.

Watching the bodies fly everywhere makes me even more euphoric. When I get out of the car, someone pinned under the wheel grabs my pant leg, begging me to save him."

A grim, soft chuckle escaped Jiang Li’s lips, her voice low and chilling. "’Save him? As if. His piercing screams were getting on my nerves.

So I got back in the car and hit the gas.’"

The smile on Jiang Li’s lips widened. With her head bowed, her expression was hidden, but a chilling aura began to spread through the interrogation room.

"I drove over the ones who were still alive, again. After that, it was finally quiet."

"CLATTER!"

The sound of a pen clattering onto the table broke the silence. For some reason, Zhao Shuo’s heart skipped a beat. He hastily snatched the pen up and gripped it tightly.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Miss Jiang." Zhao Shuo had no idea why he was apologizing; the words had just tumbled out. His heart was pounding in his chest.

’He was so caught up in her story that for a second, he felt like she might run him over just for making that little noise.’

Jiang Li snapped back to reality, looking at him with a dazed expression. "Officer Zhao, it’s not like I’m the one who killed those people. I’m just telling you about my dream."

Zhao Shuo managed an awkward smile. "My apologies, my apologies."

’It was the first time he’d heard anyone channel a criminal’s mindset so vividly. It was damn scary.’

Ji Qinghe and Zhou Tiancheng, watching the surveillance feed, got up and walked toward the interrogation room.

"You go," Zhou Tiancheng said with a glance at Ji Qinghe. He felt that Jiang Li was somewhat resistant toward him, not as relaxed as she was with Ji Qinghe.

"Okay. You go check if there have been any reports filed in the area." ’If Jiang Li was telling the truth, it was impossible for an incident of this magnitude not to have been reported by now.’

Zhou Tiancheng nodded and left to have someone check.

Ji Qinghe pushed the door open, giving Jiang Li a smile as she sat down next to Zhao Shuo. "Jiang Li, did you see any landmarks nearby? Or any suspects?"

Jiang Li’s expression went blank at Ji Qinghe’s question. She almost blurted out, ’I’m the suspect.’

"No, everyone I saw is dead. But as I was waking up, I heard someone say something.

’Why’d you have to kill them? They’re still warm. What if they were useful?’

And then, I said, ’Then you go check if they have any valuable organs left.’"

Zhao Shuo’s hand immediately went to the handcuffs on his belt, his body already leaning forward. But when he met Jiang Li’s confused gaze, he awkwardly settled back into his seat.

"Sorry, sorry. Force of habit."

"It’s fine. Perfectly normal. I sometimes feel like I’m the murderer, too," she said, nodding in understanding.

Ji Qinghe’s expression grew heavy. ’If what Jiang Li said is true, then this group is most likely a trafficking ring.’

"Alright, we have people looking into it now." Ji Qinghe stood up and led Jiang Li out of the room.

Out in the main area, Jiang Li spotted a sofa, walked over with her coat, and sat down. "Officer Ji, can I stay for a little while?"

Ji Qinghe couldn’t be happier to let her. "Of course."

Ji Qinghe went to get an update on the situation.

Zhao Shuo eagerly plopped down next to Jiang Li. "Miss Jiang, have you awakened some kind of case-solving system?"

The corner of Jiang Li’s mouth twitched as she looked at him. "Officer Zhao, you actually believe in that stuff?"

"No, no! I just... read novels sometimes to get inspiration for my cases," Zhao Shuo said with an awkward laugh. ’He just never thought he’d run into the real deal.’

Seeing the excited look on his face, Jiang Li asked curiously, "Officer Zhao, don’t you think I’m crazy?"

"Not at all! This is incredible! With the clues you provide, we can catch suspects so much faster.

Take the Jiang Dewang case, for example. If it weren’t for you, Xu Wan might be dead today. And who knows how many more innocent girls would have suffered horrible deaths.

Miss Jiang, you’re our savior."

Zhao Shuo continued to rattle on, his face full of admiration.

Under the barrage of his words, Jiang Li found her self-reproach lessening, replaced by a flicker of courage.

"Thank you, Officer Zhao. I’ll do my best to cooperate with your investigation."

Zhao Shuo kept Jiang Li engaged in conversation, chatting about anything and everything.

After a while, Ji Qinghe and Zhou Tiancheng walked over, their expressions grave.

Zhao Shuo shot to his feet, and Jiang Li followed suit.

Ji Qinghe looked at Jiang Li. "Jiang Li, we’ve looked into your report. It’s been nearly an hour, and we haven’t received a single call about it."

Zhou Tiancheng nodded in agreement. "Yes, we checked with the surrounding precincts as well. There were a few minor collisions, but nothing nearly as serious as what you described."

An incident of this scale couldn’t possibly go unreported for an hour.

Jiang Li’s mouth fell open in surprise. ’Could the Jiang Dewang case have just been a coincidence?’

’Was it just her imagination running wild after she noticed a few suspicious things? But no, that couldn’t be right... she had dreamed of Xu Wan.’

Jiang Li frowned, looking guiltily at Ji Qinghe and Zhou Tiancheng.

"I’m sorry, Officer Ji, Officer Zhou. Maybe it was just a..."

Before she could finish her sentence,

Zhao Shuo suddenly cut in, a note of wonder in his voice.

"Is it possible that the reason no one filed a report is because everyone who knew what happened has been silenced?"