American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others

Kate keenly grasped the keyword: "Footsteps are fast? Do you look like wearing high heels?"

The old lady thought for a while and nodded, "Yes, it sounds like high heels, but it's lighter, like dancing."

Kate couldn't help but take a breath and asked hurriedly, "What about after that? Have you noticed anything unusual?"

"No more." The old lady shook her head, "but I don't know if it was a coincidence. The next morning, I found a rose petal on the steps at the door."

Kate's heart was shocked and asked quickly: "Do you still have that petal?"

The old lady showed a regretful expression: "No, I thought it fell off someone's clothes, so I swept it casually."

Kaite nodded and wrote this message, feeling vaguely in his heart that this petal might be the "gift" deliberately left by the murderer. She decided to visit more people near the crime scene, hoping to piece together a more complete picture.

For the next few hours, Kate shuttled through the streets like a hound. She interviewed the taxi driver on duty, the old man walking his dog late at night, the night shift worker, and even knocked on the doors of some nearby residents. While most people failed to provide more useful details, the common points mentioned in several different descriptions have made Kate's doubts grow deeper.

Whether it was the passerby who saw blurred figures or the witnesses who heard footsteps, they all mentioned that the murderer that night was extremely quick and even exceeded the normal range of humans. And that coat embroidered with roses appears in almost all the descriptions, like some kind of unique sign.

As the sky gradually became brighter, Kate stood in front of the coffee stall on the street, holding a cup of hot coffee, looking through his dense notes. The keywords "red eyes", "rose", and "dance-like footsteps" kept echoing in her mind. Although she knew she could not directly participate in the investigation like Lynn did, she had to find a way to summarize the information and write it into a deeper report that might attract more attention.

Kate found a quiet cafe and sat down, turned on his laptop, and started typing on the keyboard. Her article starts from the background of the case, gradually introduces the descriptions of witnesses and her own discoveries, sorting out the case with a calm and objective style, and also faintly exudes an atmosphere of uneasiness between the lines.

She wrote:

On the streets of Manhattan late at night, bloody shadows are hidden under neon lights. One witness described the murderer's movements as if he was dancing, while another mentioned the coat embroidered with roses and his weird red eyes. Does the details that they cannot explain point to some kind of non-human existence? Or is this just a psychologically distorted, extremely confident serial killer who deliberately left puzzles in front of us? No matter the truth, we must be vigilant, because the nights in this city are no longer safe.

Kate's fingertips quickly typing on the keyboard, and finally, she ended the article with a thought-provoking sentence: "Who is the murderer? What does the rose mean? We may not be able to find the answer immediately, but every night the streets may become The next crime scene. And the only thing we can do is to keep each other alert before the truth is revealed - because the danger often lurks where we can't see it."

She pressed "Save" with satisfaction, as if she could hear her heart beating violently in her chest.

Lynn and Carter stood in front of the door of an old apartment, the wind was biting cold and the paint on the door sign fell off, but it could still be seen that it said "14B". This is the residence of one of the victims, bar waiter Jason, and his only residence during his lifetime.

Lynn knocked on the door, and soon a middle-aged woman with a haggard expression opened the door. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she obviously cried for a long time. She is Jason's sister, Martha.

"Hello, I am FBI Inspector Lynn, this is my colleague Carter, and we are investigating Jason's case." Lynn said softly, but his eyes firmly, "I want to ask you some questions."

Martha nodded and opened the door to let the two of them in. The small living room is full of old furniture and scattered items, which looks cramped and depressing. After she called the two to sit down, she couldn't help but wipe her tears: "Jason is a good boy. He has never made enemies with anyone. I really can't figure out why anyone would attack him like this."

Lynn took out his notebook and asked in a low voice, "Please try to recall whether he has mentioned any strange things recently? For example, contacting strangers, or participating in any special activities?"

Martha shook her head, "No. His usual life is very simple, working, going home, and occasionally going out for a drink with friends. He has never been a troublemaker."

"Am anyone of his friends who have been particularly close to him recently?" Carter interrupted.

Martha thought for a while: "His best friend is another waiter at the bar, named Anthony. They often get off work together and occasionally come to the house to have some wine."

Lynn recorded the name "Anthony" and then asked, "Have Jason mentioned having contact with any of the other four victims?"

Martha showed a confused expression: "Other? No, I've never heard him say it."

Lynn nodded, stood up and thanked her: "Thank you for your cooperation. We will try our best to find the real murderer."

After walking out of the apartment, Carter frowned and said, "It seems that Jason's social circle is quite simple and he has not found valuable clues for the time being."

"We'll go see the relatives of other victims." Lynn's tone was firm, obviously having planned the next step.

In the next few hours, they visited the families of several victims. In each conversation, Lynn tried to find clues from different angles, but all relatives said there was no connection between the victims. Their life trajectory, career background, and even hobbies are completely different.

Eventually, they came to the home of the fifth victim, Alyssa, a college student. Alyssa's father seemed calmer than the other family members when he opened the door, and his eyes were filled with suppressed anger.

"Inspector, please come in," he said, his voice low and powerful, "I hope you can catch that beast as soon as possible."

Lynn nodded, walked into the living room and went straight to the topic: "We want to know about Alyssa's recent life. Has she mentioned knowing several other victims, or having any special activities?"

Alyssa's father pondered for a moment before speaking: "Alyssa is an adventurous girl. She has recently become obsessed with an event called 'City Puzzle' and often participates with friends."

Lynn immediately captured the detail: "'City Puzzle'? What kind of activity is this?"

"I heard it is a game that young people like very much. They will form a team to solve puzzles distributed throughout the city. Alisha especially likes this kind of challenge and takes time to participate every week." My father paused for a moment. , frowned, "But after she came back from the last event, something was obviously wrong, and she seemed to be frightened. I asked her what happened, but she kept silent."

Lynn and Carter exchanged glances, and they both realized that this was unusual.

"Do you know the date of her last event?" Lynn asked.

"It should be two days before the incident. I'm not sure which day it will be." My father replied.

Lynn nodded and wrote the message in his notebook: “Did she mention who to join with?”

"It's her college friends, Dany and Lucy." The father paused, "I can give you their contact information."

After leaving Alyssa's house, Lynn quickly called college student Danny. The other party was obviously shocked by Alyssa's death, but was willing to cooperate with the investigation.

"Can you tell me the details of your 'City Puzzle' activity?" Lynn asked.

Danny's voice trembled on the other end of the phone: "We were assigned a very deserted route that day, solving puzzles along the abandoned buildings in the city center. Everything was normal at the beginning, but the last task was a problem... ”

"What's wrong?" Lynn's tone became more urgent.

"We entered an abandoned warehouse, which was pitch black. Alyssa found a puzzle card with a red rose on it. Just as she picked up the card, someone suddenly made a sharp sound from the shadows. Smile, frightened us. We ran out, but something was wrong after Alyssa came home. "Dany paused, his voice lowered, "Think about it now, that card might have been left intentionally by the murderer. Below."

After Lin En put down the phone, he frowned: "It seems that the core clue of this case is that 'urban puzzle' activity."

Katie nodded: "Maybe the murderer has locked the victims through this activity. But the question is, why did he choose these people? Is there really no connection between them?"

"Not necessarily." Lynn narrowed his eyes and analyzed calmly, "Maybe, there is some hidden connection between these victims, and 'urban puzzle' is just a tool for the murderer to screen the target."

The two were silent for a moment, and realized that they had to investigate the event in depth to find out the truth behind the organizers and other participants. This is not only about uncovering the connection between victims, but may also be the key to uncovering the entire case.

Lynn and Carter decided to personally participate in the "City Puzzle" event, disguised as ordinary players, hoping to find hidden clues from it. They forged their identities - Lynn became a programmer named "John", while Carter transformed into "Mike", a photographer. They chose a "Shadow Trace" route from the event, which was once selected by Alyssa and her friends.

On the day of registration, Lynn and Carter followed the instructions to the meeting point - an abandoned cafe. The outside looks desolate, but it is crowded with excited young people. The event organizer is distributing maps and task cards to everyone. The lights on the walls are dim and some old props are placed on the table. The whole scene is very similar to the beginning of a suspense movie.

"Welcome to the 'City Puzzle' event!" A man wearing a rose-patterned mask stood at the front desk and said in a low voice. "The theme this time is 'Shadow Trace', and each team needs to follow the clues step by step Solve puzzles and find hidden treasures. Remember, there may be something malicious in the dark, don't be caught by it!"

There was a burst of cheers from the offense, while Lynn and Carter kept a low profile and silently got their mission cards. The card reads the first clue: "The candlestick that has never been lit, pointing to the entrance to the truth."

"It's started." Lynn whispered to Carter, the two of them looked at each other and quickly began to act.

They followed the map to find an abandoned old building, which was the mission point of the first level. The building was dark and humid, and the air was filled with a musty smell. According to the clues, they quickly found a row of shabby candlesticks, and after careful inspection, they found a string of numbers engraved on one of the bases - "303".

"This is the coordinates for the next step," Carter whispered, looking up at Lynn.

Lynn nodded and the two continued to move forward. The next few levels of tasks are relatively simple, and they are all mini games that require careful observation and decryption, such as splicing and breaking maps, cracking password locks, etc. Although the process is quite interesting, they did not find any abnormalities.

A few hours later, Lynn and Carter arrived at the last mission point—an abandoned warehouse. Under the dim light, the warehouse is filled with rusty metal boxes and shabby wooden racks, which looks desolate and depressing.

"This is where Alyssa solves the puzzle last." Lynn whispered, his eyes sweeping around.

They followed the instructions to find a puzzle card placed in the corner with a familiar red rose on it and a line of text written below: "Dark will finally usher in dawn, but you must find the hidden key."

Carter squatted down and looked at the card carefully: "It looks the same as Alyssa described. This card may be the key."

Lynn nodded, and the two of them began to search for the key separately. However, there is almost nothing worth noting in the warehouse except for discarded debris and spider webs. They searched every corner and even opened a few rusty metal boxes, but still found nothing.

"There is nothing unusual here." Carter stood up, with a puzzled look on his face, "Did the murderer clear all traces after the incident?"

Lynn looked around and the same question arose in his heart. Their activities seem to be no different from ordinary puzzle games, with neither hidden threats nor disturbing signs.

"Let's look for it again." Lin En was unwilling to give up and spoke in a low tone.

The two searched again, but still no new discoveries were found. Just as they were about to leave, Lynn's eyes were on a load-bearing pillar in the warehouse - a small rose pattern was carved on it, almost covered with paint, and it would be difficult to notice without looking carefully.

"This symbol..." Lynn walked over and gently wiped off the floating ash with his hands, revealing the complete rose pattern.

Carter leaned forward and frowned and said, "It looks very similar to the rose on the puzzle card, but it doesn't seem to have any further hints."

Lin En pursed her lips and groped the surface of the pillar, and suddenly noticed an extremely small crack next to the pattern. He tried to press, and the pillar made a slight click, and a hidden small drawer popped out.

Inside was a rusty little key and a note. Lynn opened the note and saw it read:

"The place where roses bloom is the end of darkness and the beginning of judgment."