Chapter 6: The Orphan (1/4)

The friendship between Zheng Huiwen and Yang Yue began a year ago.

In 2019, a major criminal case occurred in Zhuji City. From June to October of that year, several people were murdered every month. The victims were male and female, old and young, rich and poor—clearly there was no connection between them. What they had in common was that, without exception, they had all been brutally killed, and their bodies were left in places where they would easily be found—some disemboweled, some dismembered, and one whose intestines had been pulled out and hung outside a building. As this news was reported one after another, it sent chills through the entire city, plunging it into tense panic. One night in October of that year, Zheng Huiwen, having lingered outside too long having fun by herself, didn't notice the time and only realized when she returned to school that the curfew had already passed. Both the main gate and the side gate were closed, and the lights in the security booth had gone dark. She had to plead nicely with the guard at the side entrance to be let in. By then it was already past 10:00 PM, and the dormitory curfew was fast approaching too. Everywhere except the dormitory area was pitch black, and she couldn't help but quicken her pace, completely unaware that someone was already watching her in the darkness.

Zheng Huiwen's dormitory was far from the side gate. The route passed through the teaching area, the Innovation Park, and the flower garden and sports field—the whole walk took at least twenty minutes. She didn't dare delay, so she could only walk briskly. As she passed the sports field, in the dim, pale glow of the streetlights, she vaguely made out a thin, dark silhouette sitting on the reviewing stand of the field. She had no idea what it was, and had no time to think about it either—she glanced at it once and kept walking quickly. Just then, the lights on the field suddenly went out, and everything in front of her plunged into even deeper darkness. Zheng Huiwen couldn't help but feel a rising unease. Just as she was about to keep moving, a hand suddenly reached out from behind her and clamped a towel over her mouth. Zheng Huiwen's heart nearly leapt out of her chest with fright, and she immediately struggled with all her strength. But it seemed the person had soaked the towel in ether—Zheng Huiwen felt herself growing weaker and weaker, but she knew that if she passed out, it would truly be over. She could only bite down on her lip and struggle to break free. With great difficulty, she managed to pull the towel away from her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs: "Help!"

Then something cold seemed to touch her neck—she sensed it was a knife—and she quickly shoved the hand away and ran for her life. But having already inhaled the ether, she couldn't run fast at all. After stumbling forward a few steps, she collapsed to the ground. She struggled to get herself up, but the maniac had already lunged at her, raising the knife to stab down. Fortunately, her reflexes were quick, and she rolled aside just in time to dodge the blow, though the blade still grazed her arm, and blood immediately began to flow. The maniac still wouldn't let her go. He grabbed hold of her and pointed the tip of the knife at her, and just as he was about to stab down, there was suddenly a dull thud. The maniac cried out and toppled to one side, the knife falling to the ground. At the same time, she saw another figure appear before her, holding up the flashlight on a phone, both hands gripping a rock. It looked like a woman—dressed in a black coat over a long skirt, a white shirt dyed blood-red, covered in blood from head to toe, her face a bloody mess with one eyeball bulging out. It was terrifying, but by then Zheng Huiwen had no strength left at all; she lay limp on the ground, hands and feet powerless. Even if this terrifying figure were about to kill her right then, she had no strength left to run. She passed out, and after that, she had no awareness of anything that happened.

By the time she woke up again, she was already in a hospital room. She lay on the bed, her injured arm wrapped in bandages, the air carrying the smell of disinfectant alcohol. Her back felt numb, nearly without sensation, and she used her uninjured arm to prop herself up, slowly sitting up bit by bit. Just then, the door opened, and a female teacher wearing a dark blue dress walked in. Seeing that Zheng Huiwen was awake, a smile spread across her face.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Zheng Huiwen said, studying the female teacher carefully before asking, "Excuse me, was it you who saved me? I remember being grabbed by a maniac—I nearly lost my life."

"Yes, I'm also a teacher at Jiangzhu University. Yang Yue—the 'Yue' in 'exceed.' I was out for a walk at the time and saw you in danger, so I rushed over to save you, and I also called the police. Don't worry, that murderous psychopath is already at the police station."

"You..." Zheng Huiwen tried hard to recall, then said with certainty: "I remember you didn't look like this at the time. You were..."

Yang Yue didn't let Zheng Huiwen continue, cutting her off with a question: "Do you still remember how I looked last night?"

"I remember some of it." Zheng Huiwen looked closely and noticed some residue of glue still on Yang Yue's temples. She ventured to ask, "Teacher Yang, why were you dressed like that? Was it cosplay?"

"That—I'll tell you once you're discharged from the hospital in a couple of days. What's your name, and which class are you in?"

"I'm Zheng Huiwen, from Class 1 of Law, Class of '19."

"Class 1 of Law? I happen to be your class advisor. You don't even recognize me?"

"No, I don't. This is the first time I've seen you."

No sooner had she said this than a clear, polite knock sounded at the door of the ward. Yang Yue called out toward it, "Come in."

Then police officer He Shaobin and two reporters walked in. After briefly offering their concern for the patient and asking about her willingness to cooperate, they interviewed Zheng Huiwen. This interview would be aired on the city news—of course, with the victim's face mosaicked out.

He Shaobin was very gentle with the girl, without a trace of pretension.

"Little miss, I know you don't want to think back on what happened, but I have to ask for your cooperation. We suspect that the person who attacked you last night is very likely the perpetrator of the serial murder case in this city. You're the only survivor—before you, eight people had already been killed. Without exception, they were all brutally tortured to death. I've seen the crime scenes myself; their deaths were extremely gruesome."

"I know. I watch the city news often. They... I think they must have been in complete despair before they died."

"Alright, little miss, please think back carefully. Last night, when you were attacked, how many people were there? Besides the one we caught, was there anyone else?"

"No, just one person," Zheng Huiwen said, her memory clear, answering without hesitation. "It was almost 11 o'clock by then, and nearly all the students had returned to their dorms. I'd stayed out too long, so I came back through the side gate, and on the way back to my dorm, I was completely alone. He first used a towel to cover my mouth, trying to drag me away. There was ether on the towel too—maybe I didn't inhale much, because at first I still had some strength, and I managed to wrench myself free from his hand and scream for help. But my consciousness kept getting hazier and hazier. He still caught me, and then he stabbed at me with the knife. Just when I thought I was surely going to die, Teacher Yang arrived. She seemed to pick up a rock and smash it against his head, and that's how I was saved. After that, I passed out, and I only just woke up now."

"I see," He Shaobin nodded, while the reporter behind him aimed the camera at the two of them. He was ready to wrap things up soon, and said, "We rushed to your school immediately after receiving Teacher Yang Yue's emergency call. Thanks to the two of you, this deranged killer was successfully caught. Both of you deserve great credit."

"Thank you," Yang Yue responded simply.

Zheng Huiwen's eyes shifted, and she asked tentatively, "So, officer, what does that person look like? Could I see him?"

"Sure, I happen to have a photo with me."

He Shaobin agreed readily, then opened the folder tucked under his arm and pulled out a 16k-sized color photograph, handing it over. The moment Zheng Huiwen saw it, she felt a chill run through her—the man in the photo had a gaunt face, high, protruding cheekbones, deep-set eyes, both of them staring forward with a sinister, piercing intensity.