You went on a blind date and presented an A-level wanted criminal as a meeting gift?

inside the car.

Su Ke'er's voice was low, with a tremor unique to young girls, a mixture of fear and excitement.

"In the old art building at our school, there is a practice room that has been abandoned for a long time."

"For the past two weeks or so, some students who are late returning to their dormitories after evening self-study have said that when they pass by in the middle of the night, they can hear intermittent piano music coming from inside, and it is still the same piece, 'Für Elise'."

"The security guards checked several times, but the surveillance footage didn't show anything. The music room door was locked properly and covered in dust, so it didn't look like anyone had been inside."

As Su Ke'er spoke, she subconsciously hugged her arms tightly, as if the air conditioning in the car had suddenly become stronger.

"What's even more frightening is that two girls from our school have mysteriously disappeared."

"They are all students with musical talents, and they are all very beautiful."

"To protect its reputation, the school suppressed the news and told the parents that they had processed the paperwork for studying abroad."

Lin Chen held the steering wheel with one hand, listening to this standard template of campus ghost stories, his heart unmoved.

The sound of a piano in the middle of the night, a mysterious disappearance, no surveillance footage... The version of this story he heard back in school involved a senior in red in the bathroom.

He didn't take it seriously and was just about to give a perfunctory reply.

However, the next second, the cold, mechanical voice in my mind suddenly rang out without warning!

[Ding! Special case clues detected, triggering a side quest: Solve the mystery of the school's piano music!]

[Mission Description: In an old music room at a middle school, the rendition of "Für Elise" late at night is not a lament for the dead, but a prelude to evil. Host, please investigate thoroughly, capture the mastermind, and rescue any potential survivors!]

[Mission Rewards: God-level Driving Skills, 100 million in cash!]

Lin Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

One million!

And god-like driving skills!

If you don't have god-like driving skills, what's the difference between driving an RS7 and being a salted fish?

Lin Chen, who was listless just a second ago, suddenly became energetic, and even his foot on the accelerator was full of power.

He suddenly turned his head and looked at Su Ke'er.

That gaze was burning, focused, and filled with an unprecedented fervor.

"Teacher Su."

His words startled Su Ke'er.

Are you free tomorrow?

"Would you like to show me around your school?"

Su Ke'er's heart skipped a beat at his sudden enthusiasm and aggressive gaze, and her baby face flushed bright red.

What...what does he mean by that?

After hearing a ghost story, shouldn't you be scared?

Why are you so excited?

Could it be... that he's trying to use the guise of "adventure" to ask me out?

Su Ke'er's heart pounded wildly, and her mind instantly conjured up an eighty-episode idol drama.

She lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers, and replied shyly in a voice barely audible:

"Okay...okay."

……

The next morning, Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School.

The tranquil atmosphere of this century-old prestigious school has been completely shattered.

Several police cars were parked at the school gate, their red and blue lights flashing silently.

Conspicuous police tape stretched from the teaching building all the way to the artificial lake, sealing off most of the campus.

Inside the cordon, forensic doctors and trace evidence investigators were busy with their heads down, their steps hurried, communicating only with gestures and hushed voices. Even the air seemed to freeze because of that silent solemnity.

The identity of the unidentified female corpse found last night in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city has been confirmed after overnight comparison.

She is Wang Qian, one of the two missing female students from Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School, from Class 3 of Grade 11.

A dark gray Audi RS7 ignored the long queue at the entrance and drove straight toward the gate.

Just as the security guard was about to step forward to stop him, the car window rolled down, revealing Lin Chen's calm face.

He didn't say anything, but simply flashed a red-covered ID card.

[Lin Chen, Special Criminal Investigation Consultant, Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau.]

Upon seeing the large gold lettering and stamp on the barrier, the security guard suddenly tensed up, straightened up instantly, raised his hand in a perfectly standard salute, and quickly pressed the barrier.

"Hello, Consultant Lin!"

The RS7 let out a low growl and smoothly drove into the campus, leaving all the astonished gazes behind.

At the crime scene by the artificial lake, Lin Chen saw Su Qingge.

She was dressed in a smart duty uniform and was frowning as she spoke with the forensic doctor.

Her eyes were bloodshot, clearly from not having slept all night, and she exuded a weariness and aloofness that made her unapproachable.

Li Mingyu was also standing to the side. When he saw Lin Chen get out of that expensive luxury car, his eyes flashed with intense jealousy.

"Consultant Lin is truly resourceful; even the police cordon couldn't stop your luxury car."

He spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"This is a serious crime scene, not a place for you to experience life. We still need to follow procedures, right?"

Lin Chen didn't even glance at him, and walked straight up to Su Qingge.

Paying any attention to this kind of clown is a waste of time.

"How is the situation?"

When Su Qingge saw Lin Chen, the frost in her eyes melted slightly. She rubbed her throbbing temples and handed him a preliminary autopsy report.

"The cause of death was asphyxiation, and the time since death was more than a week ago."

"But strangely, there were no signs of struggle or external injuries on the body, as if... he had suffocated in his sleep."

Just then, a melodious piano tune, accompanied by enthusiastic applause and cheers, faintly drifted from the auditorium not far away, completely out of place with the deathly silence of the scene.

Su Qingge frowned and explained:

"Gao Ya, an internationally renowned young pianist and an honorary alumnus of No. 1 High School, is returning to her alma mater today to hold a charity concert."

elegant?

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow slightly; the name seemed somewhat familiar.

"Let's go take a look."

He said.

The three of them walked together toward the auditorium.

The auditorium was packed, and the atmosphere was extremely enthusiastic.

The aisle was filled with excited students.

At the center of the stage, under the spotlight, sat a pure white Steinway grand piano.

A man dressed in a black tailcoat was sitting on the piano bench.

He wore gold-rimmed glasses, his skin was sickly pale, and his long, slender fingers with distinct knuckles were dancing wildly and elegantly across the black and white piano keys.

He is elegant.

His fingertips moved so fast they left afterimages, yet his face was flushed with a sickly ecstasy, and a blissful smile played on his lips, as if he were savoring the most exquisite delicacy in the world.

The female students in the audience were completely captivated, their eyes sparkling with undisguised admiration and adoration. Every time the music reached its climax, it would elicit bursts of suppressed screams.

However, to Lin Chen's ears, which were enhanced by [God-level Hearing], this flawless performance had an indescribable eeriness about it.

Every note was as precise as a scalpel, cold and sharp, lacking the warmth it should have.

He could even hear a kind of intensely suppressed, frenzied excitement in the music, as if the keys were not striking strings, but the bones of a living person.

This feeling made him very uncomfortable.

Lin Chen stood at the very back of the auditorium, squinting his eyes.

[Crime Radar], activated.

He fixed his gaze on the radiant figure on the stage.

The next second, the view changed dramatically!

In Lin Chen's eyes, the artist, who was surrounded by a halo and applause, suddenly had a thick, blood-red number burst open above his head. The number jumped wildly, stinging Lin Chen's eyes!

[Sin Value: 880!]

Immediately afterwards, lines of scarlet incriminating information slowly appeared in his field of vision.

[Name: Gao Ya]

[Tags: deviant artist, auditory synesthesia sufferer, serial killer.]

[Core Crime: Under the guise of pursuing "ultimate tone," multiple girls were imprisoned in the wall cavity of an old music room at a high school, used as "living sound absorbers" and "resonance media," in an attempt to create the perfect musical instrument with "flesh and blood resonance"...]

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed suddenly.

found it.

As the music ended, the last note dissipated into the air.

Gao Ya slowly rose to his feet, stroked the piano, bowed deeply to the audience, and wore a gentle and impeccable smile, which drew thunderous applause.

Amid the applause, Lin Chen shook his head and muttered to himself in a voice only the two people beside him could hear.

"You played well."

"Unfortunately, it smells strongly of blood and is too noisy."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Mingyu, who was standing next to him, immediately exploded.

"Lin Chen! What nonsense are you spouting!"

He lowered his voice and rebuked her, his face flushed.

"Mr. Gao is an internationally renowned artist!"

"You, a police auxiliary officer who rose through the ranks by luck, dare to comment on art?"

"Don't bring your street-smart attitude to this kind of situation; you'll only embarrass yourself!"