“So, do you have any leads?”
Ye Sangsang looked at Zhou Qiang’s expression, her gaze drifting to the knife in her hand, its blade reflecting a cold, silvery glow. She spoke casually, as if the situation were of little consequence.
Zhou Qiang, his mouth stuffed with a rag, shook his head frantically. His fierce face was now filled with panic and helplessness. He wasn’t stupid. Ye Sangsang had shown him that photo, and there was clearly a connection. How could he dare to speak about what had happened?
Watching this scene, Ye Sangsang’s lips curled into a faint smile.
[When Sister Sang smiles, life and death hang in the balance.]
[So they know each other, right? They know each other, right? I’m so curious.]
[Still denying it? Too bad no amount of stubbornness can withstand Sister Sang’s blade.]
Ye Sangsang stepped forward, leaning down to look at him. “Do you know?” she asked softly.
The nylon rope binding Zhou Qiang tightened. He stared at Ye Sangsang, her icy gaze piercing through him, and instinctively shook his head again.
The silvery tip of the knife pressed into the flesh that had just been cut open. A searing pain spread across Zhou Qiang’s face.
Only Ye Sangsang could see this scene. The live stream was blurred with pixelation, and Zhou Qiang, sweating from the pain, couldn’t see anything through his squinting eyes.
Ye Sangsang didn’t remove the rag from Zhou Qiang’s mouth to question him after the first cut. Instead, she continued methodically, one cut after another.
Zhou Qiang, after all, was a seasoned criminal who had committed numerous atrocities. He held out through the first few cuts, refusing to speak.
Ye Sangsang wasn’t annoyed. She continued her work slowly and deliberately, her movements elegant as she carved into his flesh.
The pain was excruciating, like a dull blade sawing through meat. Zhou Qiang’s pupils trembled, his body shaking uncontrollably. The tension caused his bandaged wounds to reopen, and fresh blood slowly seeped out.
By the fifteenth cut, as the knife pressed against his skin, Zhou Qiang let out a muffled wail of surrender, frantically shaking his head to signal that he was giving in.
At this point, he understood all too well that if he didn’t talk, Ye Sangsang would never let him go.
Rather than dying in unbearable agony, he chose to reveal everything he knew.
As Zhou Qiang thought about that incident, a deep malice brewed in his eyes as he looked at Ye Sangsang.
Hearing Zhou Qiang’s muffled cries, Ye Sangsang lifted the knife in her left hand, placing its sharp edge against his throat. With her other hand, she pulled the rag from his mouth.
“Speak. If what you say isn’t enough, I might not be satisfied…” Ye Sangsang’s words were clear. Dissatisfaction meant more excruciating pain.
Feeling the pressure against his throat, Zhou Qiang abandoned any thought of calling for help. He looked at Ye Sangsang, his face filled with terror, and said weakly, “That photo… is it your wife’s? Or your daughter’s?”
He was losing blood, and his voice was faint.
Ye Sangsang stared at him intently. “That’s not important. Repeat what you did.”
Mentioning her daughter confirmed Ye Sangsang’s suspicion: Sun Bin and Lin Shu had a daughter. There was no trace of her in the rented apartment, and as educated, cultured individuals, the couple had moved from Lin City to Jiang City.
All of this must have had something to do with their daughter.
Ye Sangsang boldly guessed that the daughter was gone.
And these four men had everything to do with her death.
Zhou Qiang, watching Ye Sangsang’s thoughtful expression, was certain that the girl from that day was her daughter. She had been so young. He hesitated, then said, “It… it’s not entirely my fault. Your daughter was just unlucky, walking outside at night…”
“Keep going,” Ye Sangsang said calmly as Zhou Qiang paused.
She was naturally cold and detached, not prone to excessive empathy or uncontrollable rage over Zhou Qiang’s actions.
Hearing her icy tone, even Zhou Qiang—a man often called heartless and cruel—shivered. But after the shiver, a glimmer of hope rose within him. Perhaps Ye Sangsang was only here for revenge, not out of grief or anger.
Feeling a bit more hopeful, he continued more smoothly, “You know, the four of us were involved in some cases in Lin City. The police were onto us, so we decided to flee to Jiang City…”
The four of them packed their belongings and bought train tickets in the middle of the night to escape.
Seeing Sun Bin’s daughter was an accident. She was carrying a backpack and had ducked into an alley to avoid the rain.
The four of them had been hiding from the police for a while and hadn’t been with a woman in a long time.
She looked a lot like Lin Shu—delicate and scholarly. After exchanging glances, they acted.
“I was going to let her go after… you know. But she was too stubborn. Even after we broke her limbs and stabbed her, she kept trying to crawl out of the alley.” Zhou Qiang struggled to lift his head slightly, gauging Ye Sangsang’s expression. Seeing her deep in thought, he added, “We were afraid she’d ruin everything, so Wang Shun killed her with a rock. It wasn’t me, I swear…”
[Ahhhhhh! I’m crying, these monsters!!!]
[I don’t want to sympathize with Sun Bin, but if it were my daughter, I’d have done worse…]
[I’m crying so hard. Sun Bin is in his thirties, and his daughter was so young… just a girl of twelve or thirteen. How could you animals do something like this?]
The comments were filled with outrage and grief. As Zhou Qiang went on to describe how they dismembered the body to avoid detection, the viewers’ anger only grew.
Those who had initially felt uncomfortable with Sun Bin’s brutal methods now felt no sympathy for Zhou Qiang.
Previously, they had only seen brief written accounts of Zhou Qiang’s crimes. Now, they were witnessing his malice firsthand.
When he spoke of Sun Bin’s daughter, there was a flicker of excitement in his eyes, along with a hint of regret.
What was he excited about? What did he regret? The adults in the live stream understood all too well.
Considering how Wang Shun had been killed, the viewers could piece together the rest.
An eye for an eye.
This was a father’s revenge.
After finishing his story, Zhou Qiang licked his lips, a trace of lingering satisfaction in his eyes.
He looked at Ye Sangsang and said, “I apologize. I didn’t want to, but you’re a man too. You know how it is—sometimes we lose control. I know you’re upset, and I’m truly sorry. There’s over ten thousand yuan in my cabinet, and a few gold pieces in the safe. Take them. Give the gold to your wife as compensation.”
He said this because Ye Sangsang seemed unmoved.
Perhaps it was a father’s love for his daughter, or the rage of having his territory violated, that drove her to seek revenge.
By offering money, he hoped to settle the matter.
That’s what he thought, and so he spoke.
The viewers were horrified. Zhou Qiang’s twisted morality led him to believe that money could erase his crimes.
Many urged Ye Sangsang not to fall for it.
Though they knew Ye Sangsang wouldn’t be swayed by in-game currency, they feared she might relent and let this monster go.
Zhou Qiang finished speaking, his eyes pleading and fearful as he looked at Ye Sangsang.
Only the faint traces of malice in his gaze betrayed his true feelings.
As the object of his desperate pleas, Ye Sangsang felt a rare sense of irritation. She wasn’t used to such emotions, and they made her feel out of control.
She looked at Zhou Qiang, the source of her irritation, and picked up the rag with her gloved hand, stuffing it back into his mouth.
“Mmmph!” Zhou Qiang resisted, but it was futile.
Ye Sangsang watched him, ensuring the rag was securely in place, then resumed her work.
The system’s task had taken some time, and while it didn’t matter much, Ye Sangsang felt she should hurry.
After all, if she didn’t, Zhou Qiang might bleed out before she finished.
Ye Sangsang worked meticulously.
Zhou Qiang’s muffled cries grew louder, and Ye Sangsang listened, a look of fascination in her eyes.
What a beautiful sound.
The sound of suffering, like a slow execution, lasted for an hour before it finally ended. Ye Sangsang showed no intention of leaving.
For the first time, the live stream was filled with thick pixelation, obscuring most of the screen.
The viewers waited in silence, hardly any comments appearing. Even though they couldn’t see the actual scene, they stayed, waiting.
Even though they were fully aware that this was just a game scene.
Ye Sangsang changed her gloves and began cleaning up the items in the room.
If it weren’t for the mission requirements, she felt she could have done it more perfectly.
She removed any possible residual biological evidence, and for footprints, she wore shoes one size larger.
After making sure everything was completely clean, Ye Sangsang glanced at her watch—it was 5 a.m.
The early-rising elderly folks would soon be up. Ye Sangsang changed into another pair of gloves and shoe covers, took off her bloodstained coat, placed it in a prepared plastic bag, and walked out of Zhou Qiang’s house.
As for Zhou Qiang, he had closed his eyes forever in the house he bought with stolen money from robberies.
She took the cash and gold jewelry.
As a murderer, she felt it necessary to give the police some leads to follow.
As for the money, in the game, it was just worthless paper, so she could bury it anywhere.
By the time she got home, it was already 5:30 a.m.
After cleaning off the bloodstains, Ye Sangsang went to the spot where she had previously burned her tools and disposed of the ones she used this time.
Around the Qingming Festival, this didn’t attract much attention.
In the following hours, she started driving passengers around, passing by Zhou Qiang’s neighborhood two or three times.
To her slight disappointment, Zhou Qiang’s body hadn’t been discovered yet.
But it was understandable—no one dared to mess with someone like him, so who would care whether he left his house or not?
His body would probably only be discovered once it started to smell!
Ye Sangsang estimated it would take at least three days.
If it took longer, maybe a week.
In reality, it was nighttime, and she had plenty of time.
During this period, she decided to start her third mission.
She needed to act quickly, or Wei Qingzheng might come looking for her.
Wang Shun, Zhou Qiang, Jiang Jiansheng, Wang Zhi.
And the third one, following the order, was Jiang Jiansheng.
