September 1st, 6:42 PM.
There were still twenty-nine hours and eighteen minutes left until the official arrival of the era of terror.
Night had completely fallen, and the sky was pitch black.
Normally, it shouldn't get dark so early at this time.
However, this year's nights seemed to come much earlier than in previous Septembers.
Liu Lian sighed, glancing at her partner who was driving:
"Old Tan, why is solving a case so difficult? Why is it so hard to identify a murderer?"
Tan Yu said:
"Regardless, solving cases requires evidence, although I feel her problem isn't small either."
"You also think that Chu Qing is suspicious, right? Today, he kept asking about Huang Hong's situation on WeChat; he's very concerned!"
Tan Yu looked at the excited Miss Liu, revealing an awkward but polite smile:
"This... the suspect I was talking about is Huang Hong. Didn't we get a lead today?
Huang Hong's husband, Zhao Chuan, said he was going back to his hometown and had been gone for three days, but now, no one in his hometown has found any trace of him!
And Liang Dazhu, the original security guard at North Mountain Cemetery, has also gone missing.
This Huang Hong is really suspicious! I've already applied to Captain Wang for an investigation warrant."
Liu Lian deflated:
"You also think the deaths of the Lin family of three have nothing to do with outsiders, right?"
Tan Yu scratched his head, changing the subject directly: "Sister Liu, it's quitting time. I'm heading out. There have been a lot of cases these past two days, so don't put too much pressure on yourself! Do you want me to drive you home?"
Tan Yu knew very well that when this 'auntie' arrived, she was personally escorted by their Director Zhang and a top-tier figure from Luo City. This 'auntie' was not someone he could covet.
It is good to know oneself.
Seeing her partner's expression, Liu Lian snorted lightly:
"Forget it, just stop here. I'll go grab a bite to eat myself. Oh, where is this?"
Tan Yu glanced around:
"This is the Old City. Isn't Huang Hong's family around here? Sister Liu, forget it, I'll drive you to the city center. It's not very safe here these days."
"No need! Don't forget, I have this!"
Liu Lian patted the gun stock on her slender waist, which was completely out of proportion with her upper body.
Tan Yu thought for a moment and nodded.
This one was indeed not just a pretty face; in multiple internal assessments, she consistently ranked first in target practice!
"Alright then."
Fed and watered.
An hour later, Liu Lian walked out of the small restaurant in this alley.
The reason the Old City was called the Old City was not just because of its other public facilities.
Even the streetlights appeared extremely dim.
It was only around eight o'clock, and there were almost no people on the main road.
Liu Lian walked along the roadside, the buzzing and flapping sounds of mosquitoes, flies, and moths made her inexplicably annoyed, and she grumbled:
"I need to bring this up with Uncle Du. The renovation of the Old City needs to be put on the agenda. It's been so long, and there isn't even a taxi. Really..."
But soon, her eyes lit up.
In front of a large gate, a taxi was parked.
She quickly walked over and knocked on the driver's window.
The window rolled down, revealing a middle-aged man's face that was so pale it seemed to glow in the dim light.
Even facing a beautiful woman, the driver showed no emotional fluctuation, looking at her with eyes like a dead fish.
"Master, are you going?"
The man didn't speak, just nodded.
Liu Lian's heart brightened. She was about to get in the car, but just then, a not-so-harsh scream echoed from a distance.
As an Inspector of the people, Liu Lian suddenly looked up and turned to look behind her.
This was an old-fashioned community.
It could be seen from the dilapidated storefronts and rusty iron gates.
Liu Lian didn't even think, running directly into the community. However, the corner of her eye quickly caught the name of the community:
'Jinshan Community.'
However, the departing Liu Lian did not see that the pale-faced taxi driver's dead-fish-like eyes slowly moved on their own.
Then, this taxi, which looked exactly like a normal one, slowly started, and after driving ten meters, it instantly vanished without a trace.
As if it had never appeared.
Less than two minutes later, a black Audi slowly stopped in front of the community gate.
A figure opened the car window and glanced at the gate of Jinshan Community, a hint of red appearing in his eyes:
"Such dense Yin Energy. This is the place! You wait here first."
...
Excitement, thrill!
At this moment, Liu Lian had only one thought.
The reason was simple.
The opportunity to solve the case, which she had been longing for, was right before her eyes!
And it was the biggest case recently!
Because that scream came from a man.
At this moment, the man could no longer make any sound.
His neck seemed to be constricted by something, half of his head already plunged into that crimson glow, and that crimson object was suspended in the air not far away.
Liu Lian didn't rush to observe. Instead, while hiding in the corner, she took out two items.
Just as other colleagues in the Criminal Investigation Bureau knew,
Liu Lian was indeed not a mere pretty face.
Even at this moment, she didn't act rashly. Instead, she first sent a message to Captain Wang and Tan Yu on WeChat, calling for backup, and only then did she disengage the safety of her pistol and chamber a bullet.
At that time, below the ten-meter-high air, besides that crimson object, there wasn't even a single person around.
At least, she didn't see any.
So, what exactly was that crimson thing?
A drone?
But could a drone achieve this? And who was controlling this thing to kill people? How was he doing it?
Liu Lian didn't know.
She only knew that if she didn't act now, that person would surely die!
So, even at the risk of alerting the enemy, she had no choice but to act.
"The person behind, come out! Put him down, or else I'll shoot! Otherwise, even if I shoot this thing down, I can still track you!"
Liu Lian's sharp shout echoed through the almost deserted community.
However, there was only silence.
Even this red light seemed to cut off all perception in the vicinity.
Even if there were some lit houses, they seemed not to have heard anything.
Liu Lian didn't have time to ponder this scene; the barrel in her hand aimed at the red glow slowly flying less than ten meters high.
The almost pitch-black darkness of the night could not affect her extremely steady hands holding the gun in the slightest.
'Bang!'
A flame shot out from the muzzle.
The spark in the night seemed to pierce through that red glow.
The trajectory of that red glow seemed to be affected.
'Thud!'
That shot really worked.
The man whose neck was originally constricted and lifted into the air fell from the sky.
However, just as Liu Lian was about to help the figure that had fallen from the sky, to her surprise, the object slowly floated, not only did it not fall, but it came to rest above her head.
The moment she subconsciously looked up, she finally saw clearly what that thing was in the darkness of the night.
It was a large red lantern.
The light in the darkness of the night was extremely faint.
However, when bathed in this red light, there was an indescribable sense of comfort.
It was the refreshing sensation of a basin of cold water washing over one's body and mind on a scorching summer day,
It was the ultimate relaxation of soaking in a hot spring during the coldest winter months.
It was the fragrance of nicotine brought by a cigarette after a long night.
That comfort made Liu Lian subconsciously put down the gun in her hand,
Her whole body seemed to fly up...
Wait!
Flying up?
Liu Lian suddenly snapped out of the extreme sensation she had just experienced.
But she didn't know when, her body had indeed flown up.
It was as if she was being pulled by something, and this pull brought no pain, but rather the same joyful sensation as before.
She looked up, and the huge red lantern had appeared above her head, as if it were a hat about to be placed on her.
However, all of a sudden, Liu Lian's pupils contracted sharply.
The next moment she looked up, she finally clearly saw, within the gap beneath the large red lantern, inside the red lantern,
A human head, a human face, was smiling eerily at her.
She covered her mouth; she wanted to struggle frantically, but it was useless.
Even the handgun, the only thing that could give her a sense of security, had already fallen to the ground.
She was dead!
She didn't know what this thing was, she only knew that she was dead.
She didn't want to die!
Her big eyes were filled with tears of fear,
She was only in her twenties, she hadn't experienced the taste of love, and there were many, many things she hadn't done.
However.
Her slowly ascending body,
An indescribable coldness,
And the base of the lantern getting closer and closer to her,
All constantly told her that she was about to become one of the countless headless corpses that had been discovered before.
However, all the unwillingness, all the resentment, slowly dissipated in Liu Lian as the lantern drew nearer.
No matter what, she died trying to save someone.
Her original intention, at least, was fulfilled.
Thinking of this, Liu Lian even curved her lips into a smile, welcoming death.
However, just then, a clear sound of footsteps slowly approached from not far away.
This community was too dilapidated; there were hardly any streetlights.
The faint sound of footsteps made Liu Lian, who had almost seen her great-grandmother, suddenly snap back to reality.
She opened her mouth.
She didn't know if she wanted to call for help or tell this unexpected figure to leave quickly.
However, in her final moments of consciousness, as she looked at the approaching figure, Liu Lian was slightly stunned.
That figure was holding a black umbrella.
Under the clear, star-studded night sky, it appeared so abrupt and strange.
His footsteps were incredibly steady.
He seemed completely unconcerned by the anomaly above his head. In Liu Lian's increasingly weakening consciousness, he came to her feet, and then, the black umbrella along with the figure's head slowly tilted upwards,
He finally looked at her, looked at the blood-red lantern in the air.
Liu Lian almost fainted but forced herself to stay conscious, taking one last look at that figure.
But the next instant, Liu Lian felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
In the darkness, that face, hidden beneath the black umbrella, was still shrouded by the night and could not be seen clearly.
She still hadn't seen the person's face, but in that darkness, heavier than the night itself.
She saw a pair of blood-red eyes.
Even more profound and sinister than the blood-red lantern in the sky.