Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

"You guessed right."

"I am, but you're not much better."

"You three brothers, when disaster strikes, you each flee for your own lives, abandoning one another without hesitation to save your own."

"Yan Jiecheng ran first, leaving you behind."

"You ran after him, leaving Yan Jiekuang behind. When he finally cried out for help, you didn't even turn your head."

At this point, Lin Tian's tone carried a hint of sarcasm: "This is your brotherhood? How touching."

Yan Jiefang's body began to convulse involuntarily, and the massive blood loss gradually blurred his consciousness.

He could feel life slipping away from his body, like sand slipping through his fingers, impossible to grasp.

But he was not willing to give up.

I'm really not willing to accept this.

He's only in his early twenties, not yet married, and hasn't lived enough.

Why should I die here?

Why should I die at the hands of a madman?

"I...I...I'm not...willing..."

"Unwilling to accept it?"

Lin Tian finished his sentence for him, "Then be unwilling to accept it. The most abundant thing in this world is unwilling people."

The axe was aimed at his neck.

Do you know what your older brother was thinking when he died?

He was probably thinking that he hadn't even had a few days of enjoying the good life of having a wife and kids and a warm bed.

What was your third brother thinking when he died? He was probably thinking, "Why didn't you save him?"

Lin Tian leaned down and whispered in Yan Jiefang's ear, "And what about you? What will you be thinking when you die?"

Yan Jiefang's eyes widened suddenly, his pupils reflecting the rapidly approaching, icy light.

"Are you thinking of your eldest brother or your third brother?"

The axe fell.

The wind howled sharply.

Then came the sound of bones breaking.

Then came silence.

Another headless corpse appeared in the alley, just like the previous two, with the area above the neck missing.

The watermelon rolled a few times on the ground and finally stopped only five meters away from the alley entrance.

five meters.

Outside the alley entrance.

The lights at Hongxing Police Station were still on, so close, almost within reach.

But he will never get there.

Lin Tian straightened up, hoisted the axe onto his shoulder, and looked down at his work.

Three corpses lay across the alley, and three watermelons were scattered in different locations.

"The three brothers are all together, that's good."

The wind blew through the alley, carrying away the smell of blood.

Lin Tian's figure distorted in the moonlight before slowly merging into the shadows.

They disappeared from the spot.

The moonlight was gradually obscured by the clouds, and the alley was plunged into darkness again.

No one knows that tonight, three more dreams have been born in this alley, dreams from which they will never awaken.

The cold wind continued to blow.

In the distance, the lights in the police station's duty room were still on, warm and bright.

But those lights,

The three teenagers who went out of their homes to call the police will never be seen again.

Inside the duty room.

The ends of the light tube were already somewhat blackened, and the light flickered from time to time, making the duty logbook on the table appear and disappear intermittently.

Zhang Defu sat in a chair with his legs propped up on the table, his head slowly drooping down, looking like he was about to fall asleep.

He's on the second half of the night shift today, from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m., which is the hardest time.

Liu Jianshe, standing next to him, seemed more energetic, sipping strong tea from an enamel mug.

The tea had been steeped three or four times and had long lost its flavor, but it was still better than plain water; at least it could refresh me.

A gust of wind suddenly came from outside the window, causing the door to shake slightly and creak.

Zhang Defu suddenly woke up with a start, his foot slipped off the table, and he almost tipped over with his chair.

He steadied himself hastily, rubbed his eyes, and mumbled, "What time is it?"

It's almost three o'clock.

Liu Jianshe glanced at the clock on the wall and replied slowly.

"It's only three o'clock."

Zhang Defu yawned, stretched, and his spine cracked a few times. "This night shift is inhuman, I'm so sleepy."

Be content.

Liu Jianshe put down his enamel mug. "Compared to our brothers who are out on fieldwork, we're already quite comfortable sitting here."

There's nothing much going on in the middle of the night, so I'll just stay awake and it'll pass.

"Look at Xiao Wang and his buddies, they can spot incestuous relationships just by guarding a crime scene."

Zhang Defu was about to reply when he suddenly stopped.

He turned his head to the side, tilting his ear toward the window, his brows furrowing slightly.

There seemed to be something else mixed in with the sound of the wind outside the window.

He couldn't hear it very clearly, but the sound was definitely there.

It sounded like someone was shouting, from a great distance, the sound broken and fragmented by the wind.

"Old Liu, did you hear anything?"

Liu Jianshe was picking up his enamel mug, about to take another sip, when he heard the sound and stopped: "What was that sound?"

"like……"

Zhang Defu hesitated for a moment, seemingly choosing his words carefully, "It seems like someone is calling for help."

He listened carefully for a while longer, but the sound was faint and seemed to be coming from the direction of Fourth Alley.

But when the wind blows, you can't hear anything anymore.

Liu Jianshe put down the enamel mug and listened for a moment.

The wind was blowing outside the window, making a soft rustling sound.

There was nothing else.

You misheard me.

Liu Jianshe waved his hand, his tone very certain, "How come I didn't hear anything?"

"wrong."

Zhang Defu stood up, walked to the window, and opened it a crack. A gust of cold wind immediately rushed in, causing the duty log on the table to flip through several pages with a rustling sound.

"I did hear it just now, over in Fourth Alley, it sounded like someone was shouting for help."

"Who would be shouting for help in Fourth Alley in the middle of the night?"

Liu Jianshe disagreed, "Besides, these days the sounds of cats in heat at night sound like a child crying. Who knows what you're actually hearing?"

Zhang Defu pushed the window open a little more and poked half his head out to look outside.

The streets outside the police station were deserted, without a single person in sight, bathed in a cold, desolate light.

The houses across the street were all dark, and the people were fast asleep.

The entrance to Nanluoguxiang in the distance is hidden in the darkness; from this angle, only a blurry outline can be seen.

"Should we go out and take a look?"

Zhang Defu turned his head back, closed the window, and then turned to Liu Jianshe and said.

"What are you looking at?"

Liu Jianshe yawned, squeezing out a few sleepy tears from the corner of his eye. "It's the middle of the night, and if I run out in the dark, who will be responsible if I fall?"

Even if someone were shouting for help, so many families live in these alleys nearby, why didn't anyone turn on their lights and come out to check?

"But we're police officers..."

"What's wrong with the police? Police officers need to rest too. You've already taken a nap, but I haven't."

Besides, I didn't hear anyone shouting for help when I was awake, how could you hear it while you were dozing off? Did you hear it in your dream?

Liu Jianshe interrupted Zhang Defu, "If you're really worried, just go out for a walk when it's light."

"It's the middle of the night now, what can you see? You can't see anything."

Zhang Defu thought for a moment and nodded. He probably really was still half asleep and was hallucinating.

He sat back down in his chair, but his ears were still perked up, listening to the gusts of wind outside the window.

really.

It's an illusion.

"Alright."

Zhang Defu muttered, "Maybe I really misheard."

"That's how it is."

Liu Jianshe picked up his enamel mug and took another sip of cold tea. "You're just too sensitive."

The worst thing a police officer can do is be suspicious; they must learn to use their brains to make judgments.

Who would go to Nanluoguxiang in the middle of the night? You wouldn't see a ghost in that alley at night.

Zhang Defu did not speak again.

Was that sound just now really a dream?

……