My Healing Games

Chapter 11 Since we can't beat them, let's join "them"!

“My mother could never have killed anyone!” Meng Changshou said with absolute certainty. “The forensic doctor also deduced that my mother was unlikely to be the murderer, and on the same day, my mother and my child Meng Chen disappeared together.”

Leaning back on the sofa, Meng Changshou seemed to have lost all his strength as he recalled these events. He spoke with some difficulty: "A few days later, the police found my mother and Chenchen in a refrigerated display case in the old city. Judging from their last postures, my mother was protecting Chenchen. That means there was a third person present at the time, and that person was the real murderer."

“The old woman isn’t the murderer, but she knew there was a body hidden in the freezer in her shop and deliberately concealed it. This means she definitely knew the murderer and was very familiar with him.” Li Xue quickly grasped the key point: “From what you’ve said, I can tell that the old woman is a very kind person in your heart. For someone like that to break their principles, the murderer must be a close relative of the old woman. To narrow it down further, the murderer might be one of you three brothers.”

“If the old woman only wanted to keep it a secret, she probably wouldn’t have been killed in the end.” Han Fei gestured to Li Xue not to jump to conclusions so quickly: “I feel that the old woman was more like giving the murderer a chance to repent and hoping that the murderer would turn himself in. She gave the murderer a week, but she completely underestimated the evil in that murderer’s heart.”

“The police had considered what you’ve said before, but they couldn’t find any evidence. However, shortly after my mother’s death, my second brother, Meng Changxi, disappeared. Nobody knows where he went; he was nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. The neighbors all speculated that he was the murderer.” The middle-aged man shook his head painfully. “Although my second brother is introverted and gloomy, I know he could never have done such a thing. In fact, none of us three brothers could have done such a thing! We’re the ones who lost our closest loved ones, yet we’re the ones who are suspected in the end!”

The middle-aged man became agitated. After speaking, he coughed violently and reached under the coffee table to pull out a large bag of medicine.

“Meng Changxi just disappeared like that. If we can find his body, the pool of suspects will be narrowed down further. If we can’t find his body, he will likely continue to be accused of murder.” Seeing that the middle-aged man was about to take his medicine, Li Xue poured him a glass of water. “I actually think that the second brother, Meng Changxi, is unlikely to be the murderer. What do you think?”

"I don't know." Han Fei didn't say the second thing; he planned to ask the old man himself that night.

Looking at the black and white photo of the old man on the altar, Han Fei's mind was filled with that game.

He couldn't simply categorize Meng Shi as a good person or a bad person; at that moment, he deeply felt the complexity of human nature.

Meng Changshou was not in good health, so Han Fei and Li Xue did not disturb him any further and tactfully left.

A ten-year-old cold case has been unearthed. It was a sensational case at the time, but now, apart from the victim's family and the police officers who handled the case, few people remember it anymore.

Lost in thought, Han Fei took a few steps before realizing that Li Xue was still standing on the steps and hadn't followed him.

"Are you okay?"

“While I was helping you screen the data today, I discovered a very coincidental thing: the residence of the deceased Meng Shi is in the same building as the residence of the victim in another case. Even more coincidentally, both of these murders occurred ten years ago.” Li Xue said as she walked upstairs.

Meng Shi lived on the third floor, and Li Xue led Han Fei to the fourth floor: "Have you ever heard of the human body mosaic pattern from ten years ago?"

"Could it be such a coincidence?" Han Fei suddenly remembered what Director Jiang had said. The crew originally wanted to film at the crime scene, but the homeowner refused, so they moved to No. 15 North Street instead.

"The killer who created the human body puzzle is still at large. The first two victims in that case were found on the fourth floor of building number 15. The deceased were a loving couple." Li Xue stopped in front of a door. "Ten years ago, the police also suspected that the killer in the human body puzzle case and the freezer murder case was the same person. However, the methods used in the two cases were completely different. If the killer in the freezer murder case was a psychologically twisted person, then the killer in the human body puzzle case was a complete demon."

After knocking on the door, it took more than ten seconds for the security door to open a crack.

A gaunt old man appeared behind the door. He frowned and looked at Li Xue and Han Fei outside: "Who are you looking for?"

"I'm a police officer." Li Xue took out her temporary local police officer ID. In fact, this ID did not have the authority to enter the house for a search, but the old man seemed not to understand this and reluctantly opened the door.

In the room, which is over 70 square meters, everything is neatly arranged, as if the old man cleans it every day.

Upon entering the house, many photos hung on the living room walls. The elderly men in the photos were in good health, with cheerful smiles on their faces. It was hard to believe that they were the same person as the gaunt old man in front of me.

Besides the elderly, the most frequent subjects in the photos are a young couple. The man is honest and kind, and the woman is virtuous and gentle. They are very loving, and every photo is filled with happiness.

Next to the photo wall is a display case with many Lego toys inside the glass window.

“I go to the police station every year to ask, I don’t know how many times I’ve been there in the past ten years, have you caught the murderer?” The old man’s tone was tinged with despair. He touched the photo frame on the table, as if he still couldn’t accept that cruel fact.

"I actually have a few questions I'd like to ask you." Li Xue took out her phone and opened several police apps in succession.

Her movements were skillful; she kept asking questions, guiding the elderly man to recall events without causing him too much distress. Her questioning methods and techniques far surpassed those of Zhang Xiaotian and Zhao Mingqiang.

While Li Xue was questioning the old man, Han Fei quietly stayed to the side, silently looking at the photos on the wall.

The person in the photo is Wei Youfu, the character he will be playing.

In the game "Perfect Life", the old lady lives on the third floor and Han Fei lives on the fourth floor.

In reality, the old lady also lived on the third floor, while the house where Wei Youfu and his wife were murdered was on the fourth floor.

Although the building layouts were not quite the same, this astonishing coincidence made Han Fei suspicious. He now strongly suspected that the ghost he encountered in the game last night was Wei Youfu's wife, the woman who was murdered in the bathroom.

Seemingly unrelated clues converged at this moment, and the point of convergence was Han Fei himself.

Through Li Xue's questioning, Han Fei learned about Wei Youfu and his family, who could be described as honest and good people.

If they hadn't met with an accident, they would probably have lived happily ever after.

“They weren’t the kind of people who harbored malice when they were alive.” A very bold idea slowly emerged in Han Fei’s mind: “If I want to survive in that underworld game full of ghosts and monsters, I first need a safe home. If I can gain the approval of Wei Youfu and his wife, and live with them in the haunted house, then my originally certain death will have a way out!”

People who have long since died reappear in the game, and Han Fei decides to integrate himself into it, whether they are human or ghost.

A light shone in his eyes, and Han Fei got up and sat down next to the gaunt old man.

Under the puzzled gazes of the old man and Li Xue, Han Fei said to the old man, "Grandpa, actually, Brother Fu and I are very good friends. Can you tell me if he still has any unfulfilled wishes?"

(End of this chapter)