Chapter 71: You’ve Got Severe OCD, Huh?

Xiao Yu sat inside an armed helicopter. Gazing out at the blue sea and sky, he inexplicably felt his blood boiling. 

In his past life, he had dreamed of becoming a soldier, but his family had vehemently disagreed. Reluctantly, he chose a second path to fulfill another dream, joining the police. Now, once again, he donned a police uniform in this new life.

Snapping back to reality, Xiao Yu pulled out his phone and opened WeChat.

Xiao Yu: Sister, sorry, I might not make it home tonight, got a case to check out.

Mu Qingwu: … Don’t talk yet!

Xiao Yu: ???

Xiao Yu: Not let me talk, sister? Is there a dog outside?

Mu Qingwu: …

Xiao Yu: Ha, knew it! Woman, you’re playing with fire. Wait up, I’m coming on a shared bike right away!

Mu Qingwu: …

Mu Qingwu: I’m in a shareholders’ meeting at the company, my phone is connected to the screen. I’m super embarrassed right now. The shareholders are giving me weird looks.

Xiao Yu: Uh… that’s a bit awkward

Mu Qingwu: It’s so embarrassing. What should we do?

Xiao Yu: Sister, why don’t you just fire all the shareholders? If they’re not there, it won’t be embarrassing anymore, right?

Mu Qingwu: … They’re watching you type this, you know?

Xiao Yu: Crap, that’s too devious. Sister, are you trying to make me die of shame in public?

Mu Qingwu: … Don’t you feel embarrassed saying things like that?

Xiao Yu: If I say it was just a joke, will I get beaten up?

Mu Qingwu: You’ll find out when you get home!

Xiao Yu: Sister?

Mu Qingwu: What?

Xiao Yu: I like you!

Mu Qingwu: Me too!

When he put down his phone, Xiao Yu’s face was flushed. He had confessed, though a bit late. But his wife was very happy. 

What is love? It’s a gamble! If you lose, you lose everything and become strangers. If you win, you stay together for life, till old age. 

***

Four hours later, the armed helicopter landed slowly. Xiao Yu stepped off and saw Wang Dong standing not far away. A business car was ready to leave the airport.

Inside the vehicle.

“Any clues?” Wang Dong stared into Xiao Yu’s eyes, full of anticipation.

“No,” Xiao Yu smiled. “Relying only on five videos and a dossier, Brother Wang, you really think too highly of me.”

“Indeed, I do.” Wang Dong nodded emphatically and pointed at his head. “Just talking about IQ, you’re the second person I’ve met who is like a monster.”

His gaze at Xiao Yu was filled with a caution reserved for something otherworldly, as if he was assessing a monster.

“And the first?” Xiao Yu’s mouth twitched.

“He’s dead,” Wang Dong stated flatly.

Xiao Yu, “…”

What the hell did that mean?

He was now eager to know how that person had died.

“A special operations group from National Security went to capture him,” Wang Dong said gravely. “All eight agents were killed.”

Xiao Yu felt a jolt. National Security agents, the 007 type? It took eight top agents to bring that man down? It was definitely monstrous.

‘But… what does this have to do with me? Why are you describing me as this kind of monster?’

“You’re different,” Wang Dong chuckled.

Xiao Yu, “???”

“Too many attachments,” Wang Dong chuckled. “Your parents and your wife, they are your Achilles’ heel. As long as they are safe, you’ll never go down that path.”

‘Is it really that I have no problems, or are you just insisting I’m fine?’ Xiao Yu gave Wang Dong a penetrating look.

Indeed, these old foxes were always testing, anytime, anywhere. It might be wise to keep a distance from these people in the future, to avoid unnecessary risks.

***

In K City, in a small alley outside a residential area, Xiao Yu squatted on the ground, examining it. The road had been cleaned, washed down recently.

A stack of photos was handed to him, and Wang Dong said, “These are from the scene at the time.”

Xiao Yu took the photos and began looking through them one by one. The photos were much clearer than the five videos he had initially seen, providing close-up shots of the deceased’s body.

Looking at the photo, the face was mangled like ground meat, with viscous, crimson fluid still oozing down. Intestines hung out of the body, with the victim seemingly having bitten into his own organs.

Despite the revulsion, Xiao Yu could stomach it.

This spot, right here, was where the fifth victim had died. 

There really wasn’t much to examine at the scene, but that didn’t mean it was devoid of clues.

Xiao Yu lifted his head and gazed at a street lamp not too far away, vividly recalling the camera angles from the video. Indeed, he spotted a prominent surveillance camera mounted on the street lamp. 

Reflecting on the other four horrifying self-harm videos, his eyes brightened with a realization.

“Intentional?” he murmured to himself, squinting his eyes, “Deliberately positioning these controlled individuals in front of the camera? Or is it just coincidence? Impossible, five coincidences don’t just happen. It must be intentional, he planned it this way.”

Huh?

Xiao Yu suddenly felt a jolt of surprise. 

Something felt off. Why was he so certain it wasn’t a coincidence? The answer was clear, he was now a psychologist.

Previously, he had relied solely on his own intellect to analyze cases and understand the criminals’ psyches. However, since acquiring the psychologist expertise from the system, something surprising happened. Xiao Yu’s deductive abilities seemed to have leveled up.

***

At the Forensic Medicine Department’s morgue, a body was pulled from its refrigerated coffin. The coroner unzipped the heavy plastic bag enveloping the corpse, revealing the remains inside.

Deceased: Chen Mingxi, male, 34 years old, from K City.

A close examination showed his face was unrecognizable, with his features indistinguishable. His last expression was one of gnawing at his own intestines. It should have been impossible to bite through, yet he swallowed them directly.

Xiao Yu struggled to comprehend how this was achieved. Surely, no normal human could manage such a feat.

Bending over, Xiao Yu observed the deceased’s hands, still clenched tightly from before death. His gaze then shifted back to the grotesque face. Despite the mangled flesh, a strangely blissful expression could vaguely be discerned.

Could it be said that even in his final moments, he was in a state of comfort?

Xiao Yu’s scalp tingled slightly.

It was utterly bizarre and beyond belief.

The deep-seated horror that gripped his heart made Xiao Yu’s body gradually stiffen. He felt as if something unclean had once possessed the deceased, doing unspeakable things. Yet again, his gaze shifted, and he looked coldly at the deceased’s chest, observing the organs that had spilled out.

Suddenly, a strange smile crossed his face.

Wang Dong, who had been watching Xiao Yu, shuddered at this smile. 

“Could you not smile like that here? This is a morgue.”

“…” Xiao Yu turned to Wang Dong, whose face had paled, and asked blankly, “Are you afraid of corpses?”

“No,” Wang Dong shook his head, “I’m a bit afraid of you.”

Xiao Yu, “…”

Are you nuts? Do you have a severe case of OCD?