Police cars approached from different directions, stopping at the base of the building. Curious onlookers peered down from their windows to observe the commotion.
Fang Rui quickly led his team to Chen Hui's apartment, kicking the door open with one forceful blow.
The room was pitch black and eerily quiet. A strong scent of incense permeated the air, mingled with a faint but unmistakable odor of decay.
There was no one inside.
With a sharp click, Fang Rui flipped on the lights.
Zhang sighed, "Chief Fang, you don't think that guy's already fled, do you?"
"Chief, come quick! You need to see this," someone called out in alarm. "Good God, what are these things?"
"Stop being so jumpy. How bad could it possibly be—"
The voice trailed off as everyone stood frozen, stunned by the horrifying sight before them:
On the left side of the living room stood an enormous metal rack. Arranged on it were rows upon rows of transparent glass jars of varying sizes. Each jar contained an infant.
Some held shapeless masses of flesh, others embryos beginning to take form, and still others fetuses with discernible limbs... All suspended in formaldehyde solution.
Fang Rui did a quick count—there were at least forty or fifty jars.
"Dear Lord, how many children did he kill?"
"This is beyond cruel!"
Lin Sen examined the infant specimens on the shelves. Each jar bore a label with a date and number.
The earliest date was from three years ago.
"I don't think he killed all these infants himself," Lin Sen explained. "He's an obstetrician. These are likely fetal remains he collected during his work."
The police searched the entire apartment but found no trace of Chen Hui. The place was immaculate, with no signs of a struggle.
Fang Rui and his team staked out Chen Hui's home for hours, but there was no sign of him.
Just then, an officer on surveillance outside the complex called in: "Boss, we've spotted Chen Hui. He's in Building 8 of the complex. He's taken a hostage and is heading for the roof..."
Mu Mian glanced down at the scalpel pressed against her throat, recalling Chen Xue's words.
"Mian, your Leo sign is in retrograde this month. You need to be careful—you might have some bad luck."
Indeed... very bad luck!
She had simply been heading home after work as usual, never expecting to encounter Chen Hui at the third-floor stairwell landing and end up as his hostage.
"Move faster!" Chen Hui had a black backpack slung over his shoulder, bulging with its contents.
He shoved Mu Mian hard, causing her to stumble. If she hadn't grabbed the railing, she would have fallen.
"The correct escape route should be downstairs. The roof is upstairs—you'll have nowhere to go once you're up there," Mu Mian couldn't help but advise. "Plus, I'm a bit afraid of heights!"
Chen Hui ignored Mu Mian's suggestion and dragged her upstairs.
When they reached the sixth floor, Mu Mian sensed something was different. The sixth floor had always been vacant, with a persistent musty odor in the hallway. But today, the smell was off.
Mu Mian habitually scanned her surroundings repeatedly to ensure her living environment was safe. She had already inspected this building 101 times, so she was certain the hallway smell was different from the last time she'd been there.
"Hurry up!"
The roof access was on the sixth floor. The door was unlocked. Chen Hui kicked it open forcefully. Outside was pitch black, and a gust of cold wind rushed in, instantly tousling Mu Mian's short hair.
"Are you planning to commit suicide? Could we perhaps choose a different method? This way is rather unsightly. Also, I have severe acrophobia."
Chen Hui pressed the scalpel against Mu Mian's neck, muttering incoherently, "For you, this is a dead end. For me, it might be a rebirth."
Mu Mian made a sour face. "I don't want to die right now!"
Chen Hui reacted as if he'd heard a joke, asking in confusion:
"Why don't you want to die? Isn't it exhausting for someone like you to live in this world? You try so hard to disguise yourself as normal, desperately trying to please others, but they still look at you strangely. They mock you, even ostracize you. Don't you feel hopeless?"
As he spoke, his tone grew increasingly agitated. His hand began to shake, waving the sharp scalpel and leaving several thin, long cuts on Mu Mian's neck.
Mu Mian's eyes widened. She protested softly, "I'm a normal person now. My sister said so, and she's an excellent psychotherapist. She loves me very much, so I can't die. It would make her very sad."
"She's lying to you, you fool! Your sister surely sees you as a burden. She'd be happier if you were dead."
Mu Mian's gaze instantly dimmed. Her lips moved, but she swallowed the words she was about to say.
Her sister's friend had once said something similar—that because of caring for Mu Mian, her sister had lost both her career and her love life.
"No one loves you!" Chen Hui looked at her with pity. "Let me help you find release."
The moment Chen Hui first saw Mu Mian, he knew they were the same—both outcasts, rejected by society.
He had wanted to befriend Mu Mian, to ease her loneliness, but she had sided with the police instead.
"Can we at least choose a different method of death? My brain has significant research value, and it would be damaged if I fell. So please don't let me die from falling. Don't stab me either, because I've already pledged to donate my internal organs. If you damage them, they can't be given to others who need them. Strangulation won't work either—I hate the feeling of suffocation..."
"Shut up! Say one more word and I'll stab you a few times before throwing you off!"
Mu Mian immediately closed her mouth.
Just then, they heard soft footsteps behind them. Chen Hui saw that Fang Rui had led his team to the roof.
As Fang Rui burst onto the roof, he saw Chen Hui holding the scalpel to Mu Mian's throat. Mu Mian, however, seemed lost in thought, her expression remarkably calm.
"Stay back! All of you, back off! Don't come any closer!" Chen Hui immediately dragged Mu Mian to the edge of the roof. "Come any closer, and I'll push her off."
The roof's edge had no railing—one small push, and Mu Mian would fall.
"Alright, we're backing up. Don't harm the hostage." Fang Rui signaled his team to retreat a few steps.
"Keep backing up!"
The sensation of hanging in midair snapped Mu Mian back to reality. Suddenly, as if she'd had an epiphany, she asked, "Chen Hui, were you talking about yourself earlier?"
"What?"
"No one loves you!" Mu Mian said. "You're the outsider. You can't fit into this world. You're the one who feels hopeless!"
"Shut up! You're the unloved waste. Someone like you shouldn't be alive. I'll help you find peace!" Chen Hui's emotions flared. Just as he was about to push Mu Mian off the roof, he heard someone say to him:
"Chen Hui, your mother loves you."
