Soul Patch

Chapter 11 Empathy

Wenjie stared at Bai Yu in astonishment, feeling both shocked and angry.

He turned around in a panic and fled!

"Wenjie, Wenjie, wait a minute, what are you doing..." Bai Yu's voice rang out behind him, "Hey! The elevator's over here! Where are you going to run..."

His mind was in complete chaos, as if a flood of memories had been forcibly crammed into him, with various images flashing through his mind one after another: a pitch-black night, women being pierced through the chest by him, watching the blood flow like a river, and he felt a sense of relief.

That way, they won't torture or harm those underage boys.

He frantically patted his head, trying to banish the horrifying images and perverse thoughts.

It was no use. Those thoughts seemed to be deeply rooted in his mind, growing with his body, becoming ingrained over the years, and even becoming the purpose of his life.

Only by constantly eliminating those seductive and alluring women can he feel at ease.

He understood what it meant to successfully correct his life trajectory: he had become the former serial killer "Zhao Xiaolong," and Zhao Xiaolong had become him.

He understood everything about the system, the test questions, the successful correction of his life trajectory, and the reshaping patch!

No! How can it be explained simply by "understanding"?

That amount of emotion was simply not enough to express his feelings; it was a deep, empathetic connection!

I feel your pain!

He kept running and ran into someone coming from the opposite direction; the two almost collided head-on!

"Wenjie! Why aren't you at work yet? What are you doing running around in the street?"

After the woman opposite him saw his face clearly, she asked in surprise.

Going to work? Where do I work?

His mind was a jumbled mess, like paste. He pondered for a long time before finally figuring it out: the branch office, Zhao Xiaolong's position.

He looked up at the woman in front of him.

Judging from her internal uniform, she turned out to be my colleague.

Wenjie tried hard to think of a girl's name, but his head started to ache again. Why did his head throb so badly whenever he tried to recall something from the past?

Could it be a memory distortion caused by a correction in one's life trajectory?

Confusion?

No, it's not a confusion.

He felt some memories rapidly fading from his mind...

After he carefully examined it, he suddenly realized that what had been erased was the part of his life that had been altered!

It seems as if a serial killer's memories of sexual sadism, a twisted mind, and revenge killings were forcibly crammed into his mind!

He pressed his temples, enduring the pain, and finally caught her name from the depths of his memory: "Oh, Liu Qingqing, aren't you at work this afternoon?"

"I'm going to the headquarters to deliver some documents, and I'll be back at the branch office in a bit. You should hurry back; you have an important meeting this afternoon!"

"An important meeting?"

Wenjie endured the pain and tried to think: Yes, the leader did announce the afternoon meeting close to lunchtime and emphasized that no one was allowed to be absent.

On his way back to the station, he glanced down at the backpack he was carrying.

The situation was too bizarre; he was still in a daze, carrying that rather heavy backpack the whole way!

They didn't even think to carry it on their backs, how silly of them!

He grabbed the backpack strap and tried to lift it up, but his movement faltered, and the backpack stopped in mid-air.

Wait... what's in this bag?

Is it really necessary to carry such a heavy bag to work?

He stopped, found a corner of a building, squatted down, and suspiciously unzipped his backpack.

A metal wristband, several bottles of mineral water, and a white velvet rope... came into view.

The faint smell of blood lingering on the wristband wafted into his nostrils... Ugh! He spat.

As if possessed, I picked up the white velvet cord and, incredibly, skillfully and smoothly, tied a butterfly knot.

He glanced at the rope knot on his hand, froze, and let go...

The butterfly cord snapped and fell to the ground!

His eyes were fixed on the rope knot on the ground, as if he were possessed.

After a while, a gust of wind blew by, and he felt a shiver run through his body... He mustered his courage, picked up the rope knot, and put it in his pocket.

The gust of wind completely woke him up.

The rope knot issue needs to be put aside for now. The murderer was caught and executed within 36 hours!

Now that the four tests are over, it means the police will catch the murderer in 12 hours!

Zhao Xiaolong was the murderer before!

Now, I've become the murderer!

Damn it... I am the murderer that the police are trying so hard to catch!

murderer!

Execution!

When those words appeared in his mind, the blood in his body seemed to freeze instantly.

He was enveloped by a grand, overwhelming horror that seemed to engulf him.

He plopped down on the ground, trembling as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

This damn system is so awful, I really suspect it was created by Zhao Xiaolong to find someone to be a scapegoat!

What's the point of criticizing Zhao Xiaolong at this time?

He steadied himself, forcing himself to calm down; he had to calm down!

Everything else can wait; survival is the priority.

He ran all the way to the nearest wetland park, where there was an artificial lake, quite deep... I heard from my colleague that someone had drowned there.

When he arrived at the artificial lake, he stuffed a few stones into his backpack and threw it into the lake with all his might.

Watching the backpack disappear into the water with a splash, his heart finally settled.

After catching his breath, feeling utterly exhausted, he steadied himself and headed towards the Second Precinct.

……

As soon as I entered the office hall, I sensed that something was wrong. The hall was usually packed with people coming to do business, but today it was empty.

Wenjie glanced at the entrance and saw a notice posted on the revolving glass door stating that business would be suspended in the afternoon.

What is so important that it requires suspending business operations?

An ominous feeling welled up inside him. Just as he entered the service hall, he heard someone call out to him, "Wenjie, hurry up and come over here, we're just waiting for you!"

It was his superior, Section Chief Wang.

"Coming right away!" he heard himself readily agree, giving Section Chief Wang a bright smile that revealed a set of neat teeth.

Even he was quite surprised; how could his emotions change so quickly?

It seems I've always been this kind of innocent and straightforward intern, always greeting everyone with a candid smile.

Section Chief Wang, with a dark expression, urged Wenjie to hurry up and go to the main conference room with him.

As soon as Wenjie entered the conference room, he saw a row of people sitting on the podium.

Sitting in the center of the stage were four uniformed police officers, with their branch leaders sitting on either side.

Just what I feared most has happened; the police have investigated inside the company.

then……

Then, during an internal investigation, a crucial clue was discovered within 12 hours…

Oh, he glanced down at the time. The murderer was caught 11 hours and 34 minutes later, and the serial killing case was solved.

Stop! He can't let things go this way!

After seeing Section Chief Wang and Wenjie enter, Secretary Wang from the branch office whispered to his superior, then went to the police officer sitting in the middle and said a few words before returning to his own seat at the far end.

Wenjie noticed that the person talking to Secretary Wang was Officer Cao. He was the same officer who had come to his house to question him and take photos when his notebook went missing.

Secretary Wang said into the microphone: "Everyone, please be quiet. Let's begin the meeting. Let me introduce our guest: Captain Cao Guoqiang of the Criminal Investigation Team One of the East District Police Station..."

Amidst enthusiastic applause, Officer Cao stood up, surveyed the room, and solemnly greeted everyone.

Wenjie looked up at Officer Cao just like everyone else, and for a moment their eyes met.

(End of this chapter)