Fate Trading System – Chapter 229

Plan A

Mist Map 2

Analysis

It was clearly the scene of some feudal persecution¹; among the group were young and vigorous men who, in such a situation, would rush forward impulsively.

Those people seemed somewhat wary of them, throwing the torches in their hands towards them.

“We saved that young man, but when we were leaving the mountain together, we didn’t know where he went. There was one person I went on the expedition with back then, and my relationship with that person was alright; I don’t have much impression of the others. Even trying to recall now, I can’t remember much. After all, it was six years ago. And because we didn’t find anything at the time, we didn’t take any photos, so there are absolutely no records now.”

This is what Bai Yan told the Police Captain.

From then on, Bai Yan had nightmares night after night, filled with bizarre and motley² things in her dreams. But if she tried to recall them carefully, she couldn’t remember anything. Bai Yan’s sleep quality became extremely poor, living in constant panic. If it really was that group from back then, the ones holding torches and wearing strange clothing, seeking revenge, why wait six years to act? Four people were already dead, the fate of the others unknown. Would she die too?

Although it couldn’t be confirmed that those severed limbs were definitely part of a serial case, it could at least be confirmed that two were.

Bai Yan had almost forgotten everyone involved in the activity six years ago, but she remembered most were locals; she forgot the specific number.

That ‘Mist Map’, still unrepaired, had disappeared without a trace from the secure room. Who was responsible?

The museum authorities knew about the ancient painting, but because it wasn’t the authentic work of any famous artist, not even considered a copy by a master, with an unknown creator and unknown date, it had no value for research or exhibition. So, after investigating for several dozen days, the museum gave up.

But Bai Yan didn’t give up. She felt that the plain and unremarkable painting concealed a great secret, though she didn’t know what that secret was. More importantly, a more pressing matter lay before her: her life was in imminent danger³. A lurking dismemberment killer was somewhere around her, potentially threatening her life at any moment.

What made Bai Yan decide to make the deal was waking up one morning to find a leaf beside her pillow.

She hadn’t opened the window when she slept. She lived on a middle floor of an apartment building; it was impossible for a leaf to drift from the balcony into her bedroom. She hadn’t even left the apartment these past few days. Before sleeping last night, she had checked the doors, windows, and various fixtures, confirming there was nothing unusual in her room. So why was there a leaf beside her pillow when she opened her eyes the next day?

Who had entered her room?

Had someone watched her sleeping face in the dark?

Would there be a day when she could no longer open her eyes?

According to information provided by the police, a total of one head, three arms belonging to different people, and one torso had been collected in the city. One case was very brutal; it was unknown what method was used to cut the human body in half through the middle. This corpse was the easiest to piece together.

Would she, too, die one day in some twisted posture in an unknown place?

Su Xin finally sorted through all her thoughts and stepped off the bed in her slippers.

Summarizing the known situation into the following two points: One, the deceased differed in age, identity, and background, but the only connection was the expedition six years ago. Two, there were now four or more victims.

Regarding the ‘Mist Map’, there wasn’t a single clue yet.

The situation at that time was like this: before the original host discovered the things in the trash can, she had been engaged in restoring an ancient painting in the museum’s Cultural Relics Restoration Room. Due to a heavy rainstorm combined with the impact of events, the original host took three days off work. Three days later, when she returned to the museum from her leave, she discovered that an ancient painting placed in the secure room of the Cultural Relics Restoration Room was missing.

That ancient painting was by an unknown artist, discovered in a tomb. It was already severely damaged when found. After a long period of restoration, only a little over half had been barely recovered.

The ancient painting, not yet fully restored, had disappeared without a trace from the secure room. The secure room used a password lock; only internal museum staff knew the password. There were three attempts allowed; after three failures, it would lock down.

Two surveillance cameras installed in the Cultural Relics Restoration Room had been destroyed, though there wasn’t much useful evidence anyway.

Su Xin splashed her face with cold water to keep herself awake.

This mission seemed extremely troublesome. Assassination… it was the most perfect performance. If someone was lurking in the shadows, wanting to get close to her, then… she would play along until the end.

It was already afternoon, nearing dusk.

Su Xin took a shower, tidied herself up to look clean and refreshed, then went out to eat.

Food is the first necessity of the people⁴; if you don’t let people eat, how can they live?

【Host, someone is monitoring you. It should be people from the police side.】

Mm, understood.

Su Xin took some change and went to a fast-food restaurant near the entrance of her residential complex. She ordered a rice bowl, grabbed a drink, appearing unhurried.

The person tailing her quickly reported the situation to their Boss. This was important; this person might just give them the slip at any moment.

“Boss, she left the complex. She’s eating inside a small restaurant near the complex right now. She looks very abnormal.”

“What does she look like? How is she abnormal?”

“Her hair is combed properly, she looks very refreshed overall, and her clothes are very neat and clean.”

“That really is abnormal.”

This should be the normal appearance of a normal person, but for a witness, this state was very strange.

Just a few days ago, the witness was reacting like a normal person who had experienced such things: no mood to coordinate clothes properly, hair somewhat messy, no inclination to groom herself, entirely consumed by tension and fear, exhibiting some neurotic⁵ behavior.

This wasn’t a persecution complex⁶; just imagine someone secretly watching you from the shadows, not knowing when they might come out to kill you—few people could remain calm.

It was hard to believe she had become relatively calm now just because of their protection, as they had arrived by her side several days ago, and her symptoms of panic hadn’t lessened.

“Continue surveillance.”

“Yes.”

The original host of this body hadn’t eaten properly for many days, consuming only a tiny bit of food and a little water each day—not the intake of a normal adult woman—so she had lost a lot of weight.

Su Xin finished a serving of rice, drank half a bottle of water, paid, and then walked towards the supermarket.

She bought some vegetables and fruit, planning to cook something herself tonight.

After all, her current situation wasn’t suitable for going out every day; it would make the police and the killer find it very strange.

Even though the food she made herself tasted bad, she had to endure it.

Su Xin returned home, opened the windows, and gave the inside and outside of her home a rough cleaning. Sunlight streamed in, feeling warm.

The police side was discussing the current situation.

“Look, these are all the clues we have so far.”

The Captain tapped the whiteboard with a marker pen, his expression grave.

“Through searching, we found these. The other half of a body dismembered through the middle has been found. After investigation, the identity of this victim has been verified.”

“Deceased: Lu Yan⁷, male, 32 years old, resident of this city, single, freelancer, simple social connections. Cause of death was a knife wound to the heart. After death, the killer used an electric saw to cut the body in half through the middle. The location where the body was found is the primary crime scene. The killer left the murder weapon at the scene; no fingerprints remained. No valuable footprints were collected from the ground. The killer dragged the other half of the body out the door and threw it into a nearby trash can.”

The Captain spoke in a heavy tone.

“Why would the killer go to such great lengths? Since the murder weapon and half the body were left at the crime scene, why drag the other half out the door and throw it into a nearby trash can?”

A team member asked.

“This point is indeed puzzling. From this, we can see the killer has immense psychological resilience, committing the crime calmly. Let’s look at the first discovered items.”

“Half a month ago, a report was received. A witness found a head in a trash can. After searching, we found some dismembered remains.”

Head: A1
Left Arm: B1, B2
Right Arm: C1
Torso: D1
Right Leg: E1, E2
Left Leg: None

“Through comparison, A1-B2-D1-E2 belong to the same body. The identity of this victim has been confirmed.”

“Deceased: Chen Tianshu⁸, male, 25 years old, from S City, ordinary office worker⁹, unmarried, had a girlfriend. Time of death was roughly two days before the head was discovered. According to the deceased’s girlfriend, she had lost contact with him two days before his death. Two days later, the deceased was dismembered and his body parts disposed of in our city. The primary crime scene is unclear. Due to the distance between cities, the investigation faces difficulties; there are no leads for now.”

“Our preliminary judgment is that the killer came all this way¹⁰ to dispose of the body parts in order to intimidate this person.”

“Bai Yan, female, 24 years old, museum employee, simple social connections, single, lives alone, parents deceased four years ago.”

The Captain displayed slides; Bai Yan’s photo was on them.

“That trash can is emptied of the previous day’s trash by a garbage truck every morning at five o’clock. Bai Yan passes by there every day at seven o’clock on her way out to throw away her trash; her routine is fixed. This means the killer observed Bai Yan for at least some period and disposed of the head between 5:00 AM and 7:00 AM.”

“Bai Yan had some online contact with Chen Tianshu. According to Bai Yan, the deceased Chen Tianshu was still in contact with her online the day before the incident occurred; it was likely the killer using Chen Tianshu’s account to contact her.”

“Bai Yan shares a common link with the two deceased individuals: six years ago, they participated together in an expedition activity.”

“We suspect the killer is very likely to make a move¹¹ against Bai Yan soon, which is why we requested you to protect her.”

The Captain said this to the woman sitting there, twirling a pen in her hand.

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