Soul Patch

Chapter 3 Butterfly Rope Clasp

At this point, the Soul Patch system interface changed again:

[Thinking Test: 0]

[IQ Test: 1]

[Emotional Intelligence Test: -1]

[Skills Test: 0]

[System testing has shown that you currently lack the basic capabilities required to revise the life trajectories of a target individual/group.]

Is systematic intensive training required?

【1, 2, 3】

[Default is acceptance of intensive training]

Wenjie's gaze lingered on Bai Yu's face, but he was wondering what the hell this "intensive training" was.

Bai Yu noticed Wen Jie staring intently at him, and waved his hand in front of him: "What are you looking at? Do I have words on my face?"

"..." Wenjie.

[Systematic Intensive Training]

You walk home from get off work through a dark alley, only to find your keys lying on the street. You retrace your steps, searching under the streetlights, but can't find them.

[Guess the Chinese idiom]

When Wenjie looked at the last line, "Guess the Chinese idiom," he almost burst out laughing. Was this lightning-struck system meant to be funny?

But what kind of question is this?

Nothing to show for it? Forgetful and careless?

The system is stuck on the problem screen and not responding: this seems to be incorrect.

[Hint: Someone asks why you're looking under a streetlight when there are no keys there. Your answer: Because it's bright under the streetlight.]

Upon seeing this prompt, Wenjie chuckled and shook his head, muttering, "What an idiotic question!"

"Hey, why are you making such a long face all of a sudden?"

It was Bai Yu's voice.

How could you possibly understand the helplessness of suddenly having a system appear and being bothered by it...? Wenjie turned around indifferently, staring at the computer screen in front of him, and said, "It's nothing, work!"

[Should I retrieve the test question database?]

[Default Call]

An overbearing system...

Location: An abandoned building materials factory, 500 meters west of the intersection in the urban construction area of ​​M City.

[Time: Between 20:00 and 24:00]

[Perpetrator Profile: Male, age 35-40, height 175-180 cm, cold-blooded and cruel, with a tendency towards dissociative identity disorder]

Police urge the public to report any suspicious individuals to the police immediately. Single women are advised not to walk alone at night, and especially to avoid deserted or remote areas.

Wenjie looked at the information displayed by the Soul Patch System and then checked it against the police website, finding that the information was similar.

Should I make adjustments to my life trajectory?

[Default: Yes]

[Please select patch type: A. Dissuasion type B. Intimidation type C. Violence type D. Collapse type]

[Default: A]

This is blatant coercion... Wenjie was speechless.

What happened next was even more bizarre.

——Enter the system——

Wenjie was clearly sitting at his workstation when the surroundings suddenly darkened. He looked closely and realized he was downstairs in the office building. He glanced at his phone:

2019年6月19日 18:35。

This time... is exactly when he got off work last night.

Is this... a repeat of the case?

He doesn't own a car, but the dormitory assigned by his work unit is very close by, only a ten-minute walk away.

He quickly recalled the crime scene in his mind: the abandoned building materials factory on the outskirts of M City.

The incident occurred between 8 p.m. and midnight. It is estimated that it would take a little over an hour to get there by bus.

After confirming that the bus was heading to the scene of the crime, he hurriedly walked towards the bus stop on the east side of his workplace.

The sky darkened, and soon a light drizzle began to fall. The raindrops pattered down on him, and he leaned closer to the bus stop sign.

Is he really going to go to the building materials factory in the suburbs where the crime occurred?

Should we confront the murderer directly?

Will there be any danger?

Wasn't that too reckless?

Reckless my foot! There's no choice at all!

The image of Yang Shanshan's tragic death flashed through his mind, and the hesitation and bewilderment in his eyes vanished instantly.

As the No. 638 bus they were waiting for slowly pulled into the station, passengers boarded one after another.

Just as the car door was about to close, he waved to the driver, as if making a firm decision, and shouted, "Wait!"

"Hurry up, hurry up!" the driver urged.

He ran over from where he had taken shelter from the rain and got into the car in a few quick steps.

The car headed towards the outskirts of the city. During the more than one-hour drive, passengers got off one by one, until only Wenjie remained.

The driver glanced at Wenjie, who was soaking wet, in the rearview mirror and asked, "What are you doing going to the main station so late?"

"..."

"It's raining heavily, and you didn't bring an umbrella. You're soaked to the bone."

"..."

The number of residential buildings outside the car window dwindled until only vast stretches of wasteland remained.

The driver couldn't help but ask, "Where are you staying tonight? Our last bus is at 21:30 PM. There are no residences or hotels over there. If you miss it, you won't be able to get back!"

When the bus arrived at the terminal, he said simply, "Thank you!"

He turned around and got out of the car.

He glanced at his phone: 20:45.

This was much slower than he had expected, and fearing he wouldn't make it in time, he took off running towards the abandoned building materials factory.

In the darkness, he saw a car with its headlights flashing turn toward the building materials factory; that must have been the murderer's car.

murderer!

Wenjie's heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks, crouching down in the weeds beside him, his eyes fixed on the direction of the abandoned building materials factory.

On a rainy night, dark clouds obscured the moonlight, and the abandoned factory buildings were hidden in the darkness.

After the murderer's car drove in, Wenjie turned on his phone's flashlight and, using the dim light, quietly crept into the factory yard.

This building materials factory has been abandoned for many years. The yard is overgrown with weeds, some of which are even knee-deep... It exudes an atmosphere of desolation and ruin.

He trudged through the muddy grass, and as he approached the factory, he cautiously turned off his phone's flashlight, and darkness instantly engulfed him.

"Ah!" A woman's scream pierced the rainy night.

Just as Wenjie was about to go forward to see what was going on, a line of text appeared in the system:

[Has the perpetrator successfully committed the crime? Should they withdraw?]

【quit】

what?

Was Yang Shanshan murdered?

We're still a step too late!

[Default Exit System]

His eyes were fixed ahead, the scene before him growing increasingly blurry, as if a man in black were walking out of the factory workshop of a building materials plant.

A young man emerged, wearing a black raincoat.

youth?

Wenjie remembered that the police's sketch of the murderer described him as a middle-aged man!

The killer was wearing a glove or something similar on his right hand; it had a metallic feel and gleamed coldly in the darkness.

He raised his left hand and reached into his pocket, pulling out a piece of cloth, along with a white rope knot that fell off.

Wenjie was stunned when he saw the knot made of white velvet rope.

That's a butterfly cord clasp!

He would recognize it even if it were reduced to ashes.

That white, velvety butterfly cord always infiltrated his dreams, becoming an inescapable nightmare. So much so that even the slightest glimpse of a similar white cord would make him feel extremely uncomfortable.

It can't be wrong, absolutely not wrong!

The murderer bent down, picked up the rope, and stuffed it back into his pocket.

I got in the car, started it, and as the engine hummed, the headlights came on.

The headlights were dazzling in the darkness, and Wenjie unconsciously squinted slightly, trying to see the face under the raincoat hood in the driver's seat as clearly as possible.

But the scene before my eyes faded more and more, and finally disappeared.

Before the image completely disappeared, Wenjie didn't see the killer's face clearly, but he did see the killer's eyes hidden in the darkness:

Cold, chilling, yet strangely tinged with barely suppressed excitement...

The killer's barely suppressed excitement was like a thorn stuck in his heart.

Resentment, frustration, grief... a mix of complex emotions welled up within him as he traveled a great distance to the suburbs, only to find the murderer cruelly killing a vibrant life right before his eyes.

The person who was harmed was none other than Yang Shanshan!

Yang Shanshan was so young, how could she have been pierced through the chest and bled to death by a pervert when her life was just beginning to blossom?

Besides, Yang Shanshan is not only young, but also so beautiful... emmm

——Exit System——

"Hey, are you alright? Why are you sweating so much?"

It was Bai Yu's voice.

Wenjie then realized he was still sitting at his workstation. He glanced at the time in the lower right corner of his computer: 9:05.

I just got back from fetching water around this time.

In other words, under the influence of the system, the time spent returning to the crime scene is equivalent to zero in the real world.

A system notification appeared before his eyes:

[System locked, will restart in six hours]

"Restart in six hours!" he muttered to himself.

"Wenjie, what are you muttering about? Director Wang is calling a meeting! Didn't you see the announcement on DingTalk?"

It was Bai Yu's voice again.

What? There's a meeting? My God, I haven't even done the market information gathering that Director Wang asked me to do.

Wenjie responded dejectedly and followed everyone toward the conference room.

(End of this chapter)