The sixth cigarette butt was thrown into the toilet and flushed away.
Chi Bo was satisfied. He put away his cigarette and washed his hands. His reflection in the mirror still bore the flush of his climax, his skin rotting like an overripe banana, emitting a sticky, foul odor. Yet, he thought it looked quite good, even somewhat handsome.
Pushing open the bathroom door, Chi Bo didn't notice that Hei Pi wasn't there. He covered his slightly dizzy head, stumbled out of the bathroom, and collapsed onto the bed, entering a state of post-coital bliss.
Chi Bo tossed and turned on the bed, clutching his forehead. He had been so engrossed in the film that he hadn't noticed anything before, but now he realized he was extremely dizzy and felt hot all over, as if he were burning up.
"It's already 1 a.m.?" He looked at his phone. "I'll sleep for a while and leave at 4 a.m.
"Ding." His phone vibrated just as he closed his eyes, indicating that a new text message had arrived.
Chi Bo closed his eyes, reached for his phone, and opened it to see a friend request from an unfamiliar number. The profile picture was of a character from a shonen manga. The request message read: "Sharing good movies."
Despite having a splitting headache, he perked up and approved the application number.
The other party sent a video directly. Chi Bo thought it was that kind of video, so he eagerly clicked on it, but what he received was a video of him having a nude chat with some internet celebrity.
He was naked, except for wearing a pair of black stockings with suspenders; the rest of his body was completely bare.
Chi Bo's back was covered in a fine sweat, and his sleepiness was instantly dispelled.
"Who are you?" Chi Bo was panting heavily, not because of hormones, but because of discomfort. He felt that something was wrong with his current state. His throat hurt and he was dizzy. Was he sick?
"I didn't expect you to be so wild in private. I never would have guessed, Chi Bo." Ren Yifei sent a message using his newly created account.
The message came quickly, so it seems it wasn't an acutely fatal drug. He can still think and reply to texts, and his condition isn't too bad. I wonder what kind of feast the original owner prepared for this person.
What a pity.
If the smoke contained a lethal poison, and Chi Bo died, it would be easy to keep these people alive.
A murder has occurred, and people are trapped and terrified, which makes it easier for him to act.
Furthermore, this event could further stimulate 'artists'.
He had observed the area during the day; it was sparsely populated with densely built houses. The village consisted mostly of elderly people and children, who rarely ventured out. There were also no security cameras. With a little caution, this village, surrounded by eerie legends, could be the perfect place to commit murder and dispose of a body.
But now that Chi Bo is still alive, they can only pin their hopes on the 'artist'. As long as one of them goes missing or dies, they won't be able to leave until the police arrive.
I wonder how capable the artist is; will they be able to handle their prey?
Ren Yifei looked up at the computer screen; the webpage displayed official reports on the serial murder case from years ago.
Such a high-profile serial murder case is rare in this area, thus attracting more attention than ordinary cases. Many murder mystery enthusiasts meticulously investigate every detail based on clues. He only needs to find the headquarters of these enthusiasts to uncover a wealth of information.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Chi Bo was sweating profusely. Although his grades weren't good and he was a bit of a troublemaker, he was still an ordinary boy in the class. If this video got out...
He could already imagine what people would say about him behind his back, calling him a pervert and a sex maniac.
Chi Bo is very concerned about his image; he can't stand these things and can't bear being pointed at and talked about.
Moreover, his family is very conservative; his parents are honest and law-abiding people. If they find out about this... just thinking about it makes Chi Bo's heart stop.
Chi Bo suddenly hated himself. Why had he let himself be so blinded by passion and accepted such a thing? Wearing black stockings, doing such a shameful thing. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be facing this threat now.
"What will it take for you to let me go?"
His anger subsided, and he no longer wanted to confront this mysterious man. He wished he could kneel down and beg him.
Chi Bo, who usually complained about being bored, experienced the benefits of ordinariness for the first time and wished he could turn back time.
"How could you say that? What do you mean by 'let me go'? I just thought it was funny and wanted to share it with you and everyone else. It's so hurtful that you would misunderstand me like this."
Chi Bo looked at the words above; they sounded like they were written in a girl's voice.
Women… The thought of those two words brought a slight sense of relief to him; women are all soft-hearted and easy to fool.
"What do you want? I'm just an ordinary person, I have nothing. I know that posting this video will definitely cause controversy, but since I'm an adult, it's not entirely unacceptable."
Ren Yifei glanced at the newly sent text message.
Really? Why doesn't he believe it?
"Ding." The sound of his phone vibrating almost made Chi Bo jump. He looked at the new message, a long message with no threatening words, only the name of the school he had been admitted to, his major, and his parents' phone numbers.
He could almost hear the threat through the screen: "Want to gamble with your family and your future school?"
"What will it take for you to let me go?" Chi Bo coughed loudly, his throat was hurting terribly, but he couldn't care less about that at the moment.
"Oh dear, it seems you really don't like this video? My instinct is to have you dancing in black stockings again, even though you looked so happy in the video."
"Please, I'll do anything you want!"
Ren Yifei stared coldly at the text on his phone, then typed out each word in a cute tone: "Since you're so unwilling, fine, I'll have to settle for second best. I don't like He Xiangxue; she's utterly hypocritical. So, could you help me curse her out?"
"It's in the class group chat. You have to insult me until it makes me happy."
Insulting He Xiangxue?
Chi Bo suddenly remembered something. He looked sharply at the profile picture—a character from a shonen manga—and remembered that someone really liked him. Then he clicked on the profile picture.
The account is newly registered and has not been verified with real names. The description is also empty, but it contains the owner's current login address.
Yes, right here, in this mountainous region.
"Jiang Min, is that you?"
Without a moment's pause, a new message was sent: "What are you talking about? You don't think I'm Jiang Min, do you? That's ridiculous."
The more the other person said that, the more certain Chi Bo became: "You are Jiang Min. On the surface, you seem like best friends, but in private, you dislike each other. Female friendships are so hypocritical."
Ren Yifei almost laughed. He had talked so much bad about his 'brothers' behind their backs, and now he was saying that female friendships were hypocritical? It wasn't the gender that was hypocritical, it was the people.
"I don't care who you think I am. If you don't want your videos to be all over the place, then just do as I say."
After that, Ren Yifei did not reply again, seemingly demonstrating his determination through this action.
He wouldn't actually release those videos; spreading obscene and pornographic content is dirty to talk about and even more disgusting to do. It's just that this kind of threat is more effective against Chi Bo, this two-faced person.
They deliberately gave Jiang Min the wrong information, causing him to attack He Xiangxue. Like dogs fighting, they might tear each other apart and reveal things about their sister from back then.
Under the threat of the video, even though Chi Bo was unwilling, he had no choice but to suddenly hurl insults at school beauty He Xiangxue in the soon-to-be-disbanded class group.
The school beauty was slow to realize what had happened and only found out after being reminded. She then timidly asked if his account had been hacked.
The school beauty's best friend also came up to confront Chi Bo, and Chi Bo was almost furious when he saw the name 'Jiang Min'.
By the time Ren Yifei came to his senses, the class group chat had already been filled with three or four pages of arguments. Chi Bo, enraged, even released a lot of very secretive evidence to prove He Xiangxue's hypocrisy.
These boys aren't that naive; they can see what girls can see. However, their values follow their physical appearance. They're attracted to the school beauty's looks, not her inner qualities. Unless, of course, she threatens them, like she is now.
He heard the sound of the door opening and closing next door, probably because they had gone out to 'check on' Chi Bo. Ren Yifei turned off his second phone and put away all his extra belongings. He locked his suitcase, placed a short hair on the lock, and then went out.
A crowd had already gathered outside the back room, ostensibly out of concern, but actually to watch the spectacle. They were also curious: how could Chi Bo, who had been the school beauty's protector that morning, have suddenly gone mad by the afternoon?
The door to that room was locked. Hei Pi and Liu Jinjie went inside. I wonder what they'll say to Chi Bo. But the gossip in the class group chat is getting more and more outrageous.
"Hiss—" The girls covered their mouths, as if they had seen something unbelievable.
Seeing this, Ren Yifei opened his phone and entered the class group.
"You're just jealous of Han Feifei!" Chi Bo said, using a name that was considered taboo.
He was referring to last year's city-wide painting competition. Because Han Feifei had a more solid foundation and better talent, the school initially recommended her. However, shortly afterward, Han Feifei's past was exposed, and the school had to temporarily change the nominee. Unfortunately, He Xiangxue's painting skills were still a notch below, and she didn't win any awards even though she participated.
"Han Feifei doesn't know anyone outside the school at all, but our school beauty seems to have been pursued by someone from the real world, right?"
After that, the class group was quiet for a while. Chi Bo, who had been speaking like a human machine gun, stopped talking, and He Xiangxue didn't say anything either. However, Xiao Min spoke up, saying that "Xiangxue ran away in sadness" and that she would stay with Xiangxue for a while.
However, the crowd gathered in the courtyard of the rear building did not leave; they remained curious about Chi Bo's situation.
"Click." The door to Chi Bo's room suddenly opened, and Liu Jinjie walked out, covered in sweat: "Chi Bo has fainted."
In the room, Chi Bo, who had been arguing with the school beauty online not long ago, lay on the bed. His body twitched slightly, his face was flushed, and he was having difficulty breathing.
"It looks like he has a fever."
The staff immediately called the village's only doctor.
The doctor was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties. He took Chi Bo's temperature and then looked at his mouth: "Oh, you have a serious case of internal heat. Your gums are red and swollen, and there is bleeding."
After some diagnosis, the doctor concluded that his fever was caused by a respiratory infection and prescribed two days' worth of medication: "Bring down the fever first. Hey, don't crowd here, the patient needs fresh air."
At the doctor's request, they left Chi Bo's room. However, the discussion didn't stop; they simply formed small groups to discuss it privately. Ren Yifei wasn't added to any of the groups; he just flipped through the documents page by page.
It caused quite a stir, but it didn't do him much good. The only useful information was the last paragraph: before her sister's accident, she and He Xiangxue were rivals; also, the news on the forum that the gang leader had pursued the school beauty was confirmed.
"However, we still don't know Jiang Min's role in this."
It was getting dark outside, but there was no sign of rain. If nothing happened, they would leave at four o'clock.
Chi Bo looks like he's still alive; I wonder if the artist has already grasped the 'gift'.
Rushing things won't get you anywhere, so Ren Yifei turned off his phone and reopened the webpage.
On a special forum for enthusiasts, he found a photo of the sole survivor of the serial murder case from years ago. Her eyes were blurred, and the photo was somewhat blurry. However, Ren Yifei, skilled in analyzing bone structure, still recognized her.
The girl went missing six months before she was rescued.
Six months—a very delicate period of time. During these six months, the serial killer also murdered a young and beautiful woman and turned her into an exquisite doll.
Why was this girl able to live for another six months? The question that puzzled many back then has now been answered.
The surviving girl may not be just a victim; she has transformed into a successor. She even participated in the creation of the last doll.
"No wonder the murderer was smiling so happily when he was discovered." The continuation of will is more comforting than the continuation of life.
So, did you catch it?