Chapter 125: Tools for Their Amusement

After fast-forwarding through about an hour of video, Xiao Yu stared at the figure floating away from the victim’s home in the surveillance footage. He was silent as he put down the tablet and gazed out of the victim’s living room window.

The case was bizarre, truly unexpected. Despite his years of policing over two lifetimes, he had never encountered such a scenario. Confusion was inevitable. The lack of rational explanations only meant the answer was yet to be found.

“See anything?” 

Wang Dong, who had accompanied Xiao Yu to the morgue and then to both crime scenes, looked at him with hopeful eyes.

“Is it true that the urine of a diabetic is sweet?” Xiao Yu responded with an unrelated question.

Wang Dong, “…”

Xiao Yu’s comment left Wang Dong feeling like he was hearing nonsense, “They say the steamed buns here are four for a dollar.”

Seeing Wang Dong’s bewildered expression, Xiao Yu almost burst into laughter. He wasn’t teasing his elder brother on purpose. Laughter could make him feel better and help untangle his thoughts. Obsessing over a problem would only lead to a dead end in his reasoning…

“Just joking,” Xiao Yu smiled. “Don’t be mad.”

“Don’t be mad?” Wang Dong gave Xiao Yu a sideways glance that seemed to say, “Are you looking for trouble?”

“Uh-huh!” Knowing he had gone too far, Xiao Yu cleared his throat. “I was stuck in my thoughts earlier. Let me start over.”

Ignoring Wang Dong’s puzzled look, Xiao Yu squinted and continued gazing out the window. He ruled out supernatural methods and special techniques. That left only one possibility.

“Technological means?” A light bulb went off in Xiao Yu’s mind.

He recalled a video that had once amazed him. It was an anti-gravity hoverboard.

Anti-gravity… was this concept really that fresh? Yes and no. 

It was said to involve some kind of superconducting magnetic levitation technology. From his memories of his previous life, Xiao Yu remembered that the so-called anti-gravity hoverboard video had been debunked as special effects. But he could now confirm. 

Was it a flying device?

Xiao Yu sneered. Although he didn’t know exactly how the culprit had done it, he had a rough idea. The blurry surveillance video, combined with wings blocking the view, easily created the illusion that the person was floating.

Since it wasn’t supernatural, normal people were easier to deal with. The clues shouldn’t be hard to find. Flying devices often produce noise or a buzzing sound. In the early hours, light sleepers might hear something.

The National Security Bureau and the police began going door-to-door to interview residents of the victims’ apartment complexes. They got their answer. Indeed, on the nights of both murders, residents heard buzzing noises.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

There was no avoiding it. People harbored a degree of apprehension, horror, and fear of the unknown. But once something became familiar, there was no need to worry. The National Security Bureau and the police began investigating and searching.

Because it was a remote third-tier city without means to detect flying devices, the investigation was very difficult. 

Could one try this in the capital city? A civilian drone would barely get airborne before the police arrived within ten minutes.

A day passed, and the lead went cold again. No, it was clear the killer had anticipated this. Given their proficiency in crime scene investigation, surveillance, and counter-surveillance, a criminal who left no trace wouldn’t overlook cleaning up after using a flying device.

“Kinda tricky,” Wang Dong muttered around the cigarette he handed Xiao Yu, though his demeanor had relaxed considerably.

“Tricky, but you’re so calm?” Xiao Yu chuckled, taking the cigarette and pausing. 

What kind of cigarette was this? The filter bore only a string of numbers. He glanced at the white, unmarked pack in Wang Dong’s hand.

“Special supply,” Wang Dong said with a smug grin, handing the pack to Xiao Yu. “Ordinary folks don’t get to smoke this.”

‘What’s there to be so smug about?’ Xiao Yu shook his head. 

The cigarettes he smoked were bought by his sister. In a woman’s eyes, the more expensive, the better. So… When a smart woman started spending money without thinking, it was frightening. Xiao Yu’s house was stocked with high-end cigarettes, the likes of which you’d never imagine.

“Can I leave now?” Xiao Yu asked, figuring the National Security Bureau had enough methods to handle a human-perpetrated case.

“Don’t go.” Wang Dong’s smugness faded as he begrudgingly said, “Solve the case, and I’ll give you two packs of these special supply smokes.”

“Now we’re talking.” Xiao Yu, successfully bribed, enjoyed his cigarette. Special supply, not something money could buy. 

‘Gotta admit, the taste was decent!’

“Can’t find any leads? Got any tricks up your sleeve?” Wang Dong eyed Xiao Yu, his expression gradually turning odd.

Having worked with Xiao Yu several times before, Wang Dong had grown to respect his case-solving abilities. When Xiao Yu was around, one could practically turn off one’s brain and save some brain cells.

“What tricks would I have?” Xiao Yu grew cautious. 

Was he being watched because of some abilities he had used recently?

“Like…hypnosis or something?” Wang Dong’s gaze changed, looking at Xiao Yu as if he were a monster.

‘Oh, it’s just this…’ Xiao Yu let out a breath of relief and shook his head. “We don’t even know who he is. How could we hypnotize him? But…”

“But what?” Wang Dong perked up.

“I think he’ll strike again.” Xiao Yu’s mood darkened. “Once you’ve done something like this a couple of times, it can become addictive.”

Can crime become addictive? Absolutely! It’s a facet of human psychology and criminal psychology. For instance, a habitual thief, used to getting something for nothing, can’t control their hands or mind and becomes a repeat offender. Or gambling.

So can killing become addictive? Not necessarily. But if killing brings a killer perverse pleasure, then yes, it can become addictive. The killer in these cases violated the victims multiple times, not just committing murder but using some twisted method to mimic animal bites and chewing. If they were normal, even for a killer, who would do such grotesque things without some bizarre, disgusting fetish?

Assault, peculiarities, perverse psychology… If it isn’t to please themselves, why would they do it? Psychology tells us that anything that brings humans physical and mental pleasure can easily become addictive.

“So…” Xiao Yu’s expression turned cold. “He will definitely strike again.”

“Damn it!” Wang Dong cursed, his face darkening. “What do you think these people see their fellow humans as?”

“Prey.” Xiao Yu replied coldly. “Or perhaps, just tools for their amusement.”