Chapter 4: Becoming a Suspect Again
At this moment, night had fallen, and the world had donned its inky cloak, with neon lights flickering incessantly.
The number of viewers in the live stream did not decrease but rather surged, clearly indicating that Jiang Xiaoya finding dismembered body parts twice had greatly piqued their curiosity.
Some netizens even created threads online, speculating whether Jiang Xiaoya was the killer, an accomplice, or being targeted by the killer.
In any case, no matter which it was, it was terrifying to ponder, even superficially.
Upon seeing Jiang Xiaoya emerge, all drowsiness vanished.
“She’s out! She’s out!”
“This old man sees a dark shadow between this woman’s brows; she might encounter a bloody disaster.”
“Everyone, quick, guess where she’s going and if she’ll find more dismembered body parts.”
“Wake up, there aren’t that many dismembered body parts to find there.”
“If she finds another dismembered body part, she’s definitely the true culprit.”
“If she can find another dismembered body part, I’ll live stream eating shit upside down.”
“Who the hell cares if you eat shit, but if she really, really finds another dismembered body part, she’s definitely in big trouble.”
“This show is too interesting; I’m not even following suspense dramas anymore.”
“…”
As night fell, Zhou Yuyu saw off her last customer, put down the charcoal in her hand, rubbed her sore arm, and her gaze fell on the cardboard and bottles and cans beside her.
This was a gimmick she had thought of before participating in the show: as long as customers brought trash, whether it was unwanted paper products from home or beer bottles, they could exchange them for one of her paintings. Of course, she had no other materials in her hand, so she could only use charcoal to paint, drawing one and then erasing it for the next customer.
As expected, the show’s launch attracted many people who came specifically for her, and some internet celebrities even came to her place to check in and live stream, exchanging for one of her paintings.
Zhou Yuyu had been following the show’s developments and knew that among the contestants, her popularity had already entered the top three. She also knew that other contestants were each showcasing their unique skills.
She had also heard about a girl who hadn’t found any trash for three days and fainted from hunger.
When she heard that the fainted girl found dismembered body parts and received a two-thousand-yuan reward, she was still unconcerned.
It wasn’t until she found dismembered body parts a second time, stealing the traffic from her own live stream, that Zhou Yuyu became angry.
Now, it was her turn to reclaim what belonged to her.
Zhou Yuyu sold the cardboard to a nearby recycling station, opened Jiang Xiaoya’s live stream, confirmed her location, and then boarded a bus.
After Jiang Xiaoya left the Public Security Bureau, she scanned her surroundings, confirmed the bus stop, and was about to take a bus to her hotel when her foot, which had just stepped onto the road, suddenly stopped.
A voice clamored in her mind.
“Ding, valuable item detected, valuable item detected.”
This place, are you sure?
Jiang Xiaoya blinked uncertainly, her face visibly shocked.
How could she not be shocked?
Right outside the Public Security Bureau!
Did it know what it was saying?
“Ding, valuable item detected, valuable item detected…”
Jiang Xiaoya: “…”
She couldn’t even shut off this voice.
Jiang Xiaoya took a deep breath, felt the cash in her pocket, and thought, what value, I’m not short on money, who cares about its value, whoever wants to pick it up can pick it up.
She put on a smile again, wanting to walk forward.
She moved! But she couldn’t!
The smile on Jiang Xiaoya’s face gradually froze.
No, this alarm is mandatory? If she doesn’t pick it up, she can’t leave, right?
Jiang Xiaoya tried to move her feet but found she couldn’t step out of that area.
She was numb, completely numb.
Seeing the red light about to turn green, if she didn’t move soon, it would be hard to explain.
With a heavy heart, Jiang Xiaoya turned her head, looked at the row of trash cans, and didn’t see the red blood mist. She secretly let out a long sigh of relief, feeling her entire body relax.
She knew it; how could it be this thing every time?
Jiang Xiaoya, carrying her snakeskin bag, hopped forward to rummage through the trash can.
As she was rummaging with gusto, she suddenly saw a cleaning lady not far away slowly pushing a garbage cart, sweeping scattered trash from the roadside as she moved.
Jiang Xiaoya wanted to avert her gaze, but her eyes were uncontrollable, falling on that garbage cart.
The night was as dark as ink, and the distant lights were dim, but they couldn't illuminate the cleaning lady's appearance or the color of the garbage cart.
But Jiang Xiaoya still keenly heard the sound of liquid dripping onto the ground and smelled the fishy odor of blood.
Damn, can this thing enhance her sense of smell and hearing?
Jiang Xiaoya knew she couldn't hesitate. She immediately covered her nose and yelled, pointing at the cleaning lady, “Auntie, why is this cart so stinky? It smells… it smells…”
The cleaning lady also smelled it but didn't pay much attention, not taking it to heart. After all, she swept every day and was used to the smell.
Hearing her yell, she didn't even lift her head: “Oh, isn’t it normal for a garbage cart to stink? What’s the big fuss?”
“No, Auntie, I just feel that the smell is very similar to the dismembered body parts I found today.”
Although Jiang Xiaoya really didn’t want to ‘commit a crime against the wind,’ since it had come to this, she knew she couldn’t avoid it and could only brace herself and act.
The cleaning lady didn't react at first, then belatedly looked up at her: “What dismembered body parts? Pork dismembered body parts? Eh, that thing just now, I don't know who threw it, but it really did smell strange.”
After saying that, she lowered her head and continued sweeping.
Jiang Xiaoya had already taken out her phone, turned on the flashlight, and shined it on the cart. Seeing the familiar black plastic bag, her face vividly portrayed the death of her hanging heart.
Of course, she was acting for others to see.
She still remembered there were viewers in the live stream.
Although the turn of events was already difficult to explain as a coincidence, she still wanted to struggle to the death.
Because it was on the road right outside the Public Security Bureau, the investigators arrived very quickly.
Upon receiving Jiang Xiaoya’s alarm call, the investigators were not happy; rather, their expressions were solemn.
In fact, they had already sent people to monitor Jiang Xiaoya’s live stream. When they saw her walk out of the gate and not go far, only to rummage through the trash can by the roadside at the gate, they became alert, and sure enough…
“Boss, this Jiang Xiaoya has a problem, definitely has a problem.”
The police officer’s expression was solemn.
The others nodded, agreeing with his point.
“She has a problem, but she’s not the killer.”
The captain, who was called “Boss,” spoke sternly.
This conclusion was beyond doubt. The murder case occurred two days ago. First, Jiang Xiaoya entered the show three days ago, and during these three days, she was under the live stream camera, so she had no time to commit the crime.
But that didn’t mean she had no connection to the case.
“Boss, later, we’ll keep her…”
Someone suggested.
“No, the real killer hasn’t appeared yet. This will only alert the enemy.”
Someone immediately retorted.
“Jiang Xiaoya is very likely an accomplice. Doesn’t the killer know what she’s doing? He’s deliberately provoking us, the authorities. If Jiang Xiaoya slips away right under our noses and something bigger happens, wouldn’t we be making a fool of ourselves in front of the people?”