Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

The animal trainer knelt at the edge of the stage, his hands covering his head, trembling all over. The lion had already run back to its cage, cowering in a corner and growling softly.

Lin Tian walked onto the stage and stood in front of the animal trainer.

Do you know what a "jar girl" is?

The animal trainer looked up, his face covered in tears and snot: "I...I..."

"Can't say it?"

Lin Tian sneered, "Put on some good deeds in your next life."

The animal trainer opened his mouth, as if to beg for mercy.

Lin Tian decisively pulled the trigger, and the animal trainer fell on the stage, blood flowing down the edge of the stage.

The audience had all left, leaving only Lin Tian and corpses scattered on the ground in the huge circus.

Lin Tian walked out of the shed and continued cleaning up the rest of the circus.

Kitchen, warehouse, office—no corner was overlooked.

He put all the valuables into his spatial storage: banknotes, silver dollars, gold bars, and jewelry—he took them all.

This money is the money those children earned by risking their lives; now it's just right to support them for the rest of their lives.

He only left the circus after confirming that there were no survivors.

In the distance came the sound of bells and the whistles of patrol officers.

Lin Tian's figure gradually disappeared into the darkness.

When the police arrived, the circus was already eerily silent.

The team leader, surnamed Chen, was in his forties and a seasoned veteran of Shanghai, a subordinate of Huang Jinrong.

He pushed open the circus door and saw corpses all over the floor; his expression instantly changed.

There were more than a dozen corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, some male and some female, some fat and some thin, all dressed in circus uniforms.

Blood was splattered everywhere—on the walls, on the floor…

"Who...who did this?" a young police officer asked, his voice trembling.

Captain Chen crouched down to examine the wound. It was from gunshot wounds, dense and precise, each shot hitting a vital spot.

He stood up and looked around.

"Search! See if there are any survivors!"

The police searched the circus but found no survivors, not even a single animal.

The children in the shacks had been taken away, leaving only empty cages. Captain Chen's face was grim.

"Captain, we haven't found any survivors. The killer must have escaped," a patrolman reported as he ran over.

Captain Chen nodded, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

"Investigate, investigate which out-of-towners have recently come to Shanghai, investigate any unusual activity at the docks, and also ask a few circus spectators to come and inquire."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "We also need to find out the whereabouts of those children. Who took them away, and where they were taken. We need to find out everything."

The police officer responded and turned to leave.

Detective Chen stood at the entrance of the circus, looking at the iron cages, jars, and dog skins, exhaling a puff of smoke and shaking his head.

Who can truly understand the state of this world?

This circus is dirty, but aren't those who sell opium dirty too?

Are those who do business with ordinary people not dirty?

He was just a nobody.

……

The interrogation room of the police station.

Captain Chen sat behind the table, the ashtray in front of him piled high with cigarette butts; he had already smoked more than half a pack of cigarettes.

The case file lay open on the table, its contents written in black and white: thirty-seven lives lost in the circus, from the owner to the manager to the accountant to the thugs—not a single one was spared.

Having worked in Shanghai for twenty years, what major cases haven't I seen?

But something like today is truly a first.

Thirty-seven lives lost, a submachine gun used, and the killer was reportedly an eight-year-old child.

absurd.

It's absolutely absurd.

There was a knock on the door, and a young police officer poked his head in.

"Captain, they've arrived."

Captain Chen raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and said in a hoarse voice, "Bring him in."

The door opened, and several police officers escorted three people in.

Two men and one woman, all dressed respectably, were clearly not ordinary people.

"sit."

Captain Chen pointed to the chair opposite him.

The three men sat down tremblingly. The police station in those days was not like the police station of later generations; it was a den of cannibals.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses spoke first, his voice laced with obsequiousness: "Captain Chen, we're all law-abiding citizens, we just went to see the circus, who knew..."

"Who knows what?"

Detective Chen interrupted him, "Who knew we'd encounter murder? I know. You don't need to explain; just answer my questions."

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses nodded repeatedly.

Name, occupation.

"My surname is Zhao, Zhao Demao. I run a small business selling goods from both the north and south of China."

Captain Chen made a note on the paper, then looked at the man in the long robe: "And you?"

"Qian Shouyi works at a money exchange."

"And you?" Detective Chen asked the woman.

"Mrs. Sun, my husband is in the cotton yarn business." The woman's voice was soft and trembling.

Captain Chen put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

"Tell me, what did you see at the circus?"

The three men exchanged glances, and Zhao Demao spoke first: "Captain Chen, we really didn't see anything. As soon as the gun went off, we ran away. Who would dare to look?"

"Didn't see it? Then what did you hear?"

Zhao Demao thought for a moment: "I heard... gunshots. Rat-a-tat-tat, very frequent, like firecrackers."

"Anything else?"

"And... screams."

Captain Chen frowned slightly and looked at Qian Shouyi. Qian Shouyi swallowed hard and rubbed his fingers together on his knee.

"I...I also heard gunshots and screams. I also saw a figure holding a gun..."

"What kind of figure is that?"

Qian Shouyi hesitated for a moment, his voice weak: "It looks...not tall."

"Not tall? How tall?"

"Just...like a child."

child?

It can't really be true, can it?

Captain Chen's brows furrowed even more, his gaze piercing Qian Shouyi's face like a knife.

Cold sweat broke out on Qian Shouyi's forehead, and he subconsciously shrank back into the chair.

"A child? Are you sure?"

"I...I'm sure."

Detective Chen then looked at Sun Li-shi, whose head was down, her fingers twisting the strap of her handbag, and her lips trembling.

"And you? What did you see?"

Sun Li raised her head, her eyes reddening: "Captain Chen, I... I saw a child holding a gun, covered in blood. I was so scared, so I ran away..."

"A child? How old?"

"He looked about seven or eight years old, wearing a little suit, and looked very smart."

She paused, then added, "The child was quite good-looking, but his eyes were frightening, cold and unnatural, not like a child's eyes."

Captain Chen slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup to jump up and spill tea all over the table.

"absurd!"

The three people trembled with fear, and Sun Li's tears welled up in her eyes.

Captain Chen stood up, pointing at them, "The three of you have the same story—a seven or eight-year-old child, wielding a submachine gun, killed thirty-seven people."

Do you think I'm stupid?

We don't even have submachine guns in our police station, how could a child have one?

Even if he had one, how heavy is that gun?

It weighs at least ten kilograms.

Even if an eight-year-old child could lift it, wouldn't there be recoil when he fires a gun?

Have you ever seen a submachine gun?

"That thing, one burst out and it can knock an adult off balance, how could a child stay still? If you're going to lie, at least make it believable."

The three people were so scolded that they didn't dare to look up.

Zhao Demao muttered under his breath, "Captain Chen, I'm telling the truth..."

"Tell me the truth? Try telling me one more truth!" Detective Chen slammed his hand on the table again.

Does he need the truth?

What he needs is to suppress this matter. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for talking too loudly in the crowd.

If I can't find the culprit, I'll have to find two scapegoats.

Qian Shouyi quickly tried to smooth things over: "Captain Chen, please calm down. We might have misread it. It was too chaotic at the time. Everyone panicked when the gun went off, so we might have seen it wrong..."

"Morphed? You misjudged one person, but could all three of them be mistaken?"

Captain Chen sneered, "Did you guys conspire together?"

The three men shook their heads repeatedly: "No, no, absolutely not."