Chapter 488: Another Qixi[1]

Wu Xu continued to calmly recall, "I took her card to withdraw the money. There was over 300,000 in her card. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. I thought she would have a few million in savings after being in the industry for so long. Haii, but I guess 300,000 is 300,000. This was the first time in my life where I’d earned so much money! I didn’t let it get to my head. I just transferred the money to the card that I had previously prepared and then went back to tie up loose ends with the woman.”

"I didn’t think that Chubby Xiao would have stripped her. He wanted to have sex with her and I was speechless. This damn fatty didn't have any long-term ambition at all. If the police tested the semen, we’d all die! It was then that I started thinking that the damn fatty would be the death of me sooner or later. I may have decided to leave him behind that day. From then on, we were particularly careful. The second women-“

"What about the first victim?" Chen Shi asked.

"She was killed obviously."

"Who did it?"

Wu Xu grinned. "I did! She died with a hit to the temple. Chubby Xiao’s face was splattered with blood. He shouted at me, but I couldn’t be bothered with him! I told him to dispose of the body. I didn’t care about this useless teammate. I supervised him the whole time. This guy was super useless. He kept vomiting while dismembering the corpse. He even begged me to help him halfway through. I just ignored him. He cut and chopped his way through the corpse all night before it was done. We packed the bones and took them to the outskirts to burn them. We threw the minced meat into the sewer and cleaned the scene three times. A whole person disappeared completely without any traces, as if she had evaporated."

Wu Xu smiled proudly, as if it was an achievement that no one could match.

"Do you know what I thought about at the time? I was regretful! It turned out that it was so easy to kill someone. The streets were the same the next day. No one would care about the disappearance of a prostitute. When I thought about how I tried to run away in fear after I stabbed someone over a decade ago, then getting arrested by the police, I feel like I was ridiculously stupid. If I had known that it was so simple killing and dismembering, I wouldn’t have had to go to jail."

Lin Dongxue felt a chill down her spine. Arrogance and pride were inadvertently revealed when this person recalled his killing experience, indicating that his heart had long since degenerated and he no longer held humane feelings. Killing was as easy as hunting prey for him.

Wu Xu asked for a cigarette and exhaled happily. He looked at the ceiling and continued to recall the next two crimes. The whole process was chilling.

"...I started thinking that Chubby Xiao couldn’t be kept around any longer. The stupid cunt would be the death of me sooner or later, so I had to figure out a way to make him disappear. Then, I’d blame everything on him so that the police would keep tracking him. I could roam free with the money and use it on my mother. This was a murder method a death row inmate had taught me in prison. A bottle of hydrochloric acid and a packet of cyanide can create poisonous gas. Both of these things could be stolen from electroplating factories… "

Lin Dongxue glanced at the evidence in her hand, which contained the surveillance footage of a burglary in the electroplating factory. The thief’s body and posture were very similar to Wu Xu’s.

"I set up the trap and then blocked the sewer with some garbage. Chubby Xiao didn't know and stupidly washed down the ground meat into the sewer. As expected, what he washed down overflowed from the sewage pipes and the people in the housing district crowded around after finding it. I called Chubby Xiao and told him to look down at the crowd below, saying we had a problem. I told him to hurry and leave with the woman. I told him that I had already planned for him to go to the roof, kill the woman and throw her into the water tank.”

"I removed the lock on the water tank closest to the roof door in advance. Then, I wore a gas mask and hid in the corner. Chubby Xiao fell into the trap as expected. He opened the lid and was poisoned within seconds. I put the lid back on and locked it. It was perfect! Then, I left from the other door and watched you solve the case amidst the crowd..."

Chen Shi said, "When we first met you, it should have been two hours after the police were called. Why were you still staying near the district?"

Wu Xu answered, "I wanted to see if I was missing anything. Then..." His eyes fell on Lin Dongxue, "I saw you. I wanted to look at you more. I wanted to look at you again. Unconsciously, I stayed at the scene for two hours. Did you know? After talking to you that day, I was very happy. I knew I was the toad who wanted to eat swan meat[2], but I just wanted to look at you more."

Lin Dongxue felt sick and didn't want to look at his eyes at all.

Chen Shi asked, "What did you think you missed?"

"The whole plan was seamless, but I was too stupid. I shouldn’t have shown up in front of you all so frequently, causing suspicion.” Wu Xu answered without knowing his own flaws.

Chen Shi shook the pile of evidence in his hands. "You don't know how much evidence you left behind. Ever since we found Zhang Xiao's body, it was only a matter of time before we caught you. It's your own guilty conscience that caused you to sit here so fast.”

Wu Xu pursed his lips tightly, frowning as he asked, "What evidence did I leave behind?"

Listening to his tone, it seemed like there was a hidden meaning behind his words. Chen Shi asked, "You don’t think you can have a chance to do it all over again, right?"

"I know that I’m dead no matter what. Why would I care? When I get to prison, I’ll tell my deeds to others. The next time someone commits a crime with this method, they can keep improving and make fewer mistakes. Haha... Hahahaha..."

Wu Xu raised his head upwards and laughed out loud. Lin Dongxue shook her head with a pained heart. Chen Shi said, "We’ve asked everything we need to. The specifics will be discussed when the scene has been examined for evidence."

Chen Shi motioned for Lin Dongxue to go. When she stood up and walked to the door, Lin Dongxue suddenly said, "Did those women deserve to die? You said that society gave up on you, but you can kill people weaker than you?"

"Those prostitutes are weak?" Wu Xu pointed at his chest. "Me, who has no money, no rights, and no status, is the weakest. The whole society owes me. It’s right for me to kill anyone I want! Lin Dongxue, I’m not going to hide it from you. If I had managed to drug you on that day, haha, guess what I would have done to you? Unfortunately, God didn’t give me the opportunity!”

Lin Dongxue was so furious that she clenched her fists. Chen Shi held her shoulders, signaling that she didn't have to spend more time with people like that.

In the empty interrogation room, Wu Xu, who had been arrogant, suddenly shed two streams of tears. He murmured to himself, "Everyone looks down on me. No one looks at me without contempt. I’m just trash. One day, I’ll make you all pay the price!”

"No one can help those who give up on themselves." Lin Dongxue walked in the corridor and found a lively scene outside the window. She looked back at Chen Shi. "Hey, is today-"

"Yeah, Qixi. Look how busy it is outside... The case is finally over, let's go for a walk."

"Follow me!"

Lin Dongxue dragged Chen Shi to Lin Qiupu's office. Old Zhang and Xu Xiaodong were actually all there. Chen Shi noticed that the atmosphere wasn’t right, as if something important had happened.

Lin Qiupu stood up and said, "Everyone, tonight... It's Qixi again!"

His tone was solemn and everyone present looked very uneasy, except Chen Shi who looked blank. He looked around at them. “What’s wrong?”

"On Qixi, a girl will be killed in the city." Lin Dongxue furrowed her brows. "This is the shame of the second team. A serial murder case that hasn’t been solved for many years!"

"So it was like that." Chen Shi smiled confidently, "You have me this year!"

1. The Qixi Festival, also known as the Qiqiao Festival, is a Chinese festival celebrating the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in mythology. It falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month on the Chinese calendar.

2. Used to describe people who aren’t thought highly of, trying to get together with a beautiful girl.