Muscle soreness and the internal clock woke up Feng Mu right on time.
Every morning when he opened his eyes, the first thing that hit his retina was the system interface.
[Game inheritance progress 1%.]
[Reward has been sent!]
[Please keep up the good work, strive to improve the progress and unlock more rewards... ]
Feng Mu closed the interface, pouting: "The system needs to step up, deliver the reward early, 'sent' and 'received' are two different things, don't you understand."
Feng Mu felt that checking the interface every time he woke up was very much like waiting for delivery after online shopping in his previous life, the feeling was maddeningly itchy, driving him crazy with impatience.
Only eating iron could ease this urgency.
After a quick wash in the bathroom, Feng Mu realized he hadn't given much affection to the toilet in two days.
"Because I'm just eating iron and not food, there's no need for excretion, very reasonable. Even though I still wear a human shell, internally I'm shedding the mortal flesh and blood."
Feng Mu looked at the face in the mirror, a shade paler than usual, the skin seemed a bit whiter.
Pulling open his collar, he looked at his chest in the mirror. Whether it was psychological or not, he felt as if the muscles in his chest had sunken in about a centimeter, faintly outlining the contours of the bones.
Feng Mu pressed his hand against the skin, the coldness seeping from the bones was more pronounced, as if there was a cold Iron Block hidden in his flesh.
"Are the bones turning into iron? Hmm, hope they won't eventually grow out of the skin and flesh."
Feng Mu swallowed hard, his mind involuntarily recalling an anime character from his previous life, a guy who could pull bones out of his body and dance, incredibly impressive.
What was his ultimate fate, bone cancer or a blood disease?
Swallowing a few Iron Balls, Feng Mu put this question aside, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and headed out the door.
Today he didn't go to the hardware store but went straight to school. When passing a broken bridge underpass, Feng Mu stopped his bike and threw a food box over.
Under the broken bridge, there was a makeshift tent housing a few beggars. Their faces were so grimy it was impossible to tell their gender, their eyes blank and numb.
It wasn't until a stray dog tore open the food box that the beggars seemed suddenly activated, with low growls emanating from their mouths as they lunged towards the dog using all fours.
For a moment, Feng Mu almost couldn't tell in that tangled heap who was human and who was dog.
He pedaled away.
In the crisp morning, a police car was parked at the school gate. Two Chief Constables from the Patrol Office were walking onto campus with the security guard, drawing curious glances from passing students and teachers.
Feng Mu pushed his bike, deliberately slowing his steps, faintly catching words like "disappearance," "investigation," in his ears.
Feng Mu squinted, unintentionally memorizing the appearances of the two Chief Constables with his peripheral vision.
Campus life was repetitive and monotonous, and the sudden appearance of two Chief Constables was like tossing two cat feces into a bland broth, hard not to draw attention.
Feng Mu sat quietly in the back of the classroom, not needing to go anywhere or inquire, bits and pieces of information would naturally gather in his ears.
"Let me tell you, those two Chief Constables are here..."
"Oh, the Patrol Office received two reports, one is..."
"I heard from the second-year fourth class, it's like this..."
"... "
Every class transformed into an intelligence station, with students collectively becoming intelligence agents. The scariest part was the lack of any confidentiality awareness.
They shared intelligence eagerly, exchanged information, and eventually, pervasively spread the latest news to every corner of the school.
This was exactly why Feng Mu hung around the school even after dealing with the bodies. He was waiting for this moment.
"Everyone is my eyes and ears, thank you."
Feng Mu's eyes grew slightly moist, feeling the camaraderie and help from his classmates. His mind quickly turned, organizing the initial intelligence:
Female deceased, Wang Wei, second-year fourth class, good looks, introverted, average grades, poor family background, father passed away early, mother is a Blank Person, and recently, something seemed to have happened at home, very short of money.
Male deceased, Zheng Hang, second-year seventh class, average appearance, mediocre grades, but generous, had a few cronies in school, had already had three or four girlfriends in college, and it's said his family has some background.
Zheng Hang pursued Wang Wei in the first year, but Wang Wei did not agree.
Wang Wei's mother reported the incident the night before last, Zheng Hang's father reported it yesterday.
.....
During lunchtime, the frenzy of intelligence gathering reached its peak because a dead body was discovered in the abandoned warehouse.
When the body, covered with a white cloth, was carried out, the entire campus was in an uproar.
The more teachers emphasized not to crowd around, the more students gathered outside the caution tape; the more teachers stressed not to gossip, the more gossip and animated discussions were everywhere on campus.
Students crowded to stand outside the caution tape, straining their necks to see, their eyes practically boring into the walls.
Feng Mu stood among them, with his backpack on.
Because a dead body was found and the case escalated from a disappearance to a homicide, two more detectives and a forensic doctor were called in as reinforcement.
Feng Mu squinted his eyes, "Only four detectives were dispatched for a homicide case. It seems the Patrol Office is indeed tied up with a big case and can't spare more manpower."
He silently committed the appearances of these detectives to memory.
In blue uniforms, the deputy team leader Li Shang, with a dirty collar and a scar on his side face, showed clear signs of exhaustion, indicating he had been working nonstop for several days.
"Two were missing, but only one body was found at the scene?" Li Shang asked with a frown.
"Yes, just one. Analyzing the blood at the scene, the victim was likely bludgeoned to death here with a blunt instrument and then dragged to the secret chamber behind the wooden rack," Detective Chang Erbing replied.
The wooden rack had been moved aside, and Li Shang walked into the secret chamber, his pupils suddenly contracting.
Strange dark brown patterns corroded the floor, circling like a black snake embedded in the ground, exuding an unspeakable evil and bloodthirsty aura.
"Evil Sacrifice!" Li Shang growled angrily.
Chang Erbing nodded, his eyes filled with disgust and fear, "Victim Wang Wei was lured here, murdered outside, and then dragged here as a sacrifice."
Chang Erbing pointed to the white outline marking the body's shape at the center of the altar.
Li Shang was taken aback and suspiciously asked, "Who do you suspect as the murderer?"
Chang Erbing replied, "Both disappearance cases involve students from 47 Academy, Wang Wei and Zheng Hang. They disappeared at roughly the same time, and the last known location was the school, making coincidence unlikely."
While speaking, Chang Erbing pulled out a bag containing a cell phone and handed it to Li Shang, "At the scene, only Wang Wei's phone was found. Her last call was two nights ago, with none other than Zheng Hang."
Li Shang checked the phone, "Go on."
Chang Erbing continued, "So I have reason to suspect that Zheng Hang lured Wang Wei here to murder her, completing the evil sacrifice."
Li Shang pondered for a moment, then ambiguously said, "The two missing persons are connected, the final disappearance times coincide, and the place is the same. If one was murdered, the possibility that the other committed the crime and then went into hiding is indeed high."
After a pause, Li Shang asked further, "Is there anything left behind by Zheng Hang at the scene?"
"No."
"Are there any third-party footprints?"
"No, only shoeprints of two people were found."
Li Shang returned the evidence bag to Chang Erbing and suddenly asked, "If the perpetrator was Zheng Hang, why didn't he take Wang Wei's cell phone away?"
Chang Erbing calmly explained, "The phone was found in the gap under the wooden rack. It probably fell accidentally during the body-dragging process. Besides, the perpetrator is a college student; the scene was not handled cleanly, leaving traces, which also aligns with student criminal behavior."
Li Shang squinted his eyes and suddenly changed the topic, asking, "What are the identity status and family backgrounds of the two students?"
Chang Erbing smiled, "Both are sophomores, not yet registered as citizens, hence 'Blank People'. Wang Wei's got only a mother at home, who's also a 'Blank Person'. Sounds like Zheng Hang's dad has some gang affiliation."
Li Shang sneered lightly, "Since the father's involved in a gang, it's not surprising for the son to engage in evil sacrifices. In that case, report this to the bureau and issue a warrant as soon as possible."
Chang Erbing hesitated. Though he strongly suspected Zheng Hang, labeling him as the perpetrator straightforwardly might be too premature.
Li Shang yawned, patted Chang Erbing's shoulder meaningfully, "The sooner we solve this case, the sooner we can return to help with the big case at our team."
Chang Erbing's eyes brightened, reminded of the major case being supervised at the Patrol Office. His breathing quickened.
Knowing what to do, the two chatted casually a bit more, then heard a woman's wailing outside.
"It should be the victim's family," Chang Erbing sighed, having warned the school not to contact the student's family members yet.
"Go handle it," Li Shang waved his hand, taking out a cigarette from the pack, placing it in his mouth, lighting a quiet smoke ring.
The burning tobacco, with the smoke exhaled through his nose, illuminated his face intermittently, his tired and hazy eyes fixed in a daze at the evil sacrifice pattern.
Falling ash polluting the crime scene?
Ha—
Much ado about nothing!