Madness of the Heart

Ever since Mingshu handed over the skull to Xiao Man for Xiao Man to see, the worry and panic on Wang Jun's face became more obvious.

At this moment, when she heard Xiao Man say "this is a human skull", she covered her mouth all of a sudden, her voice trembling: "What did you say?"

Xiao Man glanced at her, tapped his temple, and said stiffly: "Skull, human skull."

Wang Jun let out a cry.

Mingshu frowned and asked, "Do you know when Li Zhaofeng got this skull back? Where did he get it back?"

Ordinary people would panic and panic when they learned that there was a skull in their home.Wang Jun couldn't stand still for a while, and his back hit the door, "Really, is it really human, bone, bone?"

Mingshu said: "It's absolutely true."

Wang Jun was terrified: "Zhao Feng, did he kill someone?"

Xiao Man shook his head: "That's not necessarily the case. Having a skull doesn't mean you killed someone. The skull is complete and there are no wounds from the blow. It's impossible to judge how the owner of the skull died, let alone say that Li Zhaofeng killed someone. "

After listening to Xiao Man's explanation, Wang Jun calmed down a bit, but his voice was still trembling, "Zhaofeng lied to me, he said that this is a model he bought for more than 50 yuan!"

Mingshu asked: "When?"

"Last year!" Wang Jun said, "In February last year, he went to the Southwest by himself."

"What about these?" Ming Shu pointed to the wolf head and the eye mask, "When did he bring these two back?"

"I don't know!" Wang Jun shook his head vigorously, "but it must be earlier than the skulls. When I noticed them, they were there. I asked Zhaofeng, and Zhaofeng didn't say anything, only that they were his Souvenirs, told me not to touch them. I... Even if he didn't tell me, I wouldn't touch that kind of thing."

·

Human skulls, wolf heads, and protruding-eyed masks were all sent to the Serious Crime Unit, awaiting identification.

Most attention is the skull, everyone wants to know, whose skull is this?Why did it appear in Li Zhaofeng's home?Is there a murder case behind it?And could this murder be related to the deaths of Li Zhaofeng and Huang Yan?

A room in the Forensic Center was lit and the temperature controller beeped faintly.

"My preliminary judgment is that this is a male's skull." Xing Mu wore a mask, and showed the skull to Mingshu as he said: "Compared with females, male skulls are larger, thicker and thicker, and the eyebrow arches are also thicker. Well developed. The upper rims of the eye sockets are rounded and blunt, the forehead is more inclined, the cheekbones are higher and stronger, and the occipital protuberances are well developed—these features fit this skull.”

Mingshu asked, "What about your age?"

"Judging from the teeth and skull joints, the man was between 28 and 30 years old when he died." Xing Mu put the skull on the identification table, "The skull is in complete shape and can be used for craniofacial restoration, but I personally think that This skull may not have much to do with the murder."

"Huh?" Mingshu thought for a while, "Because it's too 'clean'?"

"This is a processed skull. It didn't rot naturally in the wild." Xing Mu said: "But the processing method is simple and crude. Someone uses a blade that is not hard enough, an arc-shaped scraper, bit by bit. Scrape off the flesh and brain tissue. There is also a little more."

Saying that, Xing Mu pointed to the forehead of the skull, "There are some inconspicuous and irregular concave holes, as if eaten by a bird of prey."

Mingshu immediately realized, "Vulture? Sky burial?"

"Yes, the only thing that will be preserved in sky burials is the skull. But in different places, sky burials have different details." Xing Mu said: "In some places, sky burial masters don't treat skulls specially and let them rot naturally. But in other places, The celestial burial master will clean up the skulls like this, and hand them over to the family members of the deceased, or store them in a unified manner. On the western plateau, skull towers and skull walls can be seen everywhere, and some are even left unattended. Some so-called "Wen Qing" came here I often get into the skull tower to take pictures and take photos together. As long as you are brave enough and lack awe of ghosts and gods, it is not difficult to get a skull back."

Ming Shu supported his chin, "It is indeed possible for Li Zhaofeng to do such a thing."

"Just in case, I will still perform craniofacial reconstruction on the skull." Xing Mu couldn't help but sigh, "Why are the cases we have recently investigated related to folk customs and superstitions? This Li Zhaofeng is still a bit abnormal. Bring it home?"

"Perhaps this is also a common point between him and Huang Yan." Mingshu said to himself.

Xing Mu looked up: "Huh?"

"Normal people wouldn't offer 'job cards' either." Ming Shu said, "Now I'm more inclined to believe that they once had some kind of intersection."

On the other hand, the origins of the pop-eyed mask and the wolf's head are also under investigation.

"The mask is purely handmade, and the workmanship is not detailed enough. It can be regarded as shoddy. I can't find any mask with similar workmanship on the market." Xiao Man said: "So I can only give it to Dongye University, which specializes in folklore. Look, teacher. This teacher is studying the folk customs of Southwest China. He said that in Wuli Prefecture in Southwest China, there are many folk artists who can make this kind of masks. A passing 'donkey friend'."

Mingshu held the mask in his hand again, looked over and over again, "How much can it sell for?"

"It's 100 yuan cheap, and it's not capped." Xiao Man sighed, "Don't look at its poor workmanship, even the souvenirs of convex-eyed masks in museums can't be sold at such a high price. The person who bought it is the so-called 'Spirituality' and 'divinity'—because they were not pressed out by machines, but hammered out by local residents."

Mingshu said: "Li Zhaofeng has this kind of handmade mask, which means he has been to Wulizhou, but it is also possible that he got it from someone else."

"I heard from Teacher Xing that the skulls most likely come from sky burials." Xiao Man said: "Sky burials are popular in the southwestern plateau, and the most prosperous is in Wulizhou. From this point of view, it is very likely that Li Zhaofeng has been to Wulizhou himself. .”

Mingshu nodded.

This can be seen from Li Zhaofeng's train ticket purchase records.After marrying Wang Jun, Li Zhaofeng would take the train to Jincheng Railway Station in the west almost every year, and transfer to more remote places from there.But the west is vast, and there are no trains in many places. You can only rent a car or take a bus, which brings many difficulties to the investigation.

Skulls and handmade protruding eye masks show that Wulizhou should be one of Li Zhaofeng's destinations.

What about the wolf head?

Mingshu turned around, "Have you found out the source of the wolf's head?"

"This..." Xiao Man said awkwardly: "I also hope that it has a special direction, but compared with masks and skulls, it is the most common one. It is just a werewolf prop. When the werewolf killed the fire a few years ago, There are many stores selling this kind of headgear on the Internet. I compared some products that I could find, but I can't confirm its source for the time being."

"There is no wolf head in Li Zhaofeng's online shopping records." Ming Shu suddenly remembered that Xiang Tao said that he had seen a wolf head prop in an abandoned scene of the "Storm" secret room club, "I'm going to Nancheng District."

It was the weekend, and the "Storm" secret room club was overcrowded.

The news about the ex-employee supporting the "ghost card" has been spread in the club. Xu Cheng, the deputy manager of the marketing department, immediately showed a cooperative attitude when he saw the police, saying that "Fengbo" had no knowledge of Cai Xinyue's private life.

"I'm not here today because of Cai Xinyue." Mingshu took out the wolf's head from his pocket, "Do you have any impression of this kind of wolf's head?"

Xu Cheng was surprised, "This..."

Mingshu keenly captured his emotions, "Do you know where it came from?"

"Wait." Xu Cheng hurriedly got up and made a phone call.

Mingshu heard that he asked his colleagues to bring something over.

"This may be our prop." Xu Cheng said nervously: "It may also be the peripherals we sold."

Mingshu knew that he had come to the right place this time.

Five minutes later, a person pushed open the door and brought in a dusty wolf head.

The two wolf heads are put together. They are different in size and slightly different in shape, but the overall style is undoubtedly the same.

Xu Cheng said: "Our club now mainly promotes secret rooms, but in the past we actually made board games. In the years when werewolf killing was the most popular, we designed a werewolf-themed secret room. When customizing tools, I considered that if not mass-produced, a single The price of the investment was relatively high, so the peripherals were launched together with the props. There is a series of such wolf heads, a total of seven types, as well as wolf teeth, wolf claws, and maces. Later, the werewolves were killed, and these peripherals we It was never sold again."

Mingshu asked: "Then besides the store, where else have you sold these peripherals?"

Xu Cheng shook his head, "It's only sold in the store. Let me tell you the truth, the workmanship of these peripherals is not very good. If you leave this atmosphere, no one will buy them at all."

Mingshu fell into silence.

It is only sold in the store, which basically means that Li Zhaofeng got the wolf's head in the "storm", so there is a possibility that he, Huang Yan, and the murderer had an intersection in the "storm".

They played Werewolf together?

"You mentioned the atmosphere just now." Mingshu asked, "Can you tell me in detail what kind of atmosphere it is?"

Xu Cheng thought for a while, with a look of satisfaction and nostalgia on his face, "At that time, there were two types of people who came to our place to play, one was a gathering of friends, and the other was a table full of acquaintances, and the other was werewolf lovers. , They don’t know each other, and they gather here, not to make friends, but to enjoy the game. Most of them buy peripherals, and some customers play very speculatively, and even organize offline real-life werewolf killings.”

Mingshu's eyes tightened, as if he had caught an important clue, "Who organized the real werewolf killing?"

"I'm not sure about that." Xu Cheng said: "We originally tried to hold a live-action Werewolf Killing, but it was rejected in terms of project budget, because only a very small number of people would actually participate, the scale was not large, and we couldn't make money. So the guests organize themselves and have nothing to do with us."

Mingshu asked again: "When was the last time the ronin headgear was sold?"

"Two, two years ago." After Xu Cheng finished speaking, he added: "The killing of werewolves was outdated by then."

"Then which year was the most popular werewolf killing in your store?" Ming Shu said, "Which year was the real werewolf killing organized by the customers themselves?"

Xu Cheng said, "It was three years ago."

·

Dongcheng District, Tianrong Medical Beauty.

"Linglong, we opened a gym upstairs. I just went to inquire about it. They have discounts for merchants in the same building!" Liu Ying excitedly waved the flyer in front of Zhu Linglong, " Couples, there are discounts. I have gained weight recently, and I want to exercise, why don't we go together!"

Zhu Linglong took the flyer and looked at it, then said with a smile, "Please forgive me, I can't hold on."

"Let's supervise each other!" After work, Liu Ying took off her skirt, thinking that there were no men in the dressing room anyway, so she carelessly lifted up her bottoming shirt, pinched her belly with her fingers and said, "Look, this is still Before the Spring Festival, I started to 'grow fat', after the Spring Festival is over, don't I have to grow into a little fat pig! Linglong, you can go with me!"

A trace of displeasure flashed in Zhu Linglong's eyes - Liu Ying's voice sounded too sweet to her, men might like it, but she couldn't stand it.

But this displeasure was quickly concealed.Zhu Linglong put on a white plush coat and said while wrapping the scarf: "I really don't want to go. I don't have the two good qualities of hardship and persistence. Compared with sweating in the gym, I still prefer I like to go back to face the 'little sun' and eat my self-heating hot pot."

Liu Ying was easily distracted, "You still eat self-heating hot pot? Aren't you afraid of getting fat and getting acne?"

Zhu Linglong was ready to leave, "I'm afraid, but shouldn't women treat themselves better?"

Liu Ying pouted, "That's true. Then I won't force you, I'll go back and buy a box of self-heating hot pot today."

The smile on Zhu Linglong's face became more and more fake, but Liu Ying couldn't see it.

Tianrong Medical Beauty is located in the center of Dongcheng District. After dark, the lights flicker, like a river of light flowing.

Zhu Linglong walked towards the subway station amidst the crowd of people, her expression getting colder and colder.

Apply for a fitness card together?

What a joke!

When she was a student, Zhu Linglong was always the focus of the opposite sex because of her beautiful and delicate face.In any group photo, she is the prettiest one. The name "Banhua" followed her from elementary school to university.

Compared with her, her roommates are all ugly.And she also relied on this face and this outstanding figure to get this easy job now. She is obviously the bottom one in the department, but she earns a middle-to-high salary among her classmates, which is the envy of her former classmates.

But she also has troubles——

In the past, she was the most beautiful woman in her circle, but in Tianrong Medical Beauty, her beauty has become less noticeable.In this circle where "beauty" is the ultimate goal, there are no ugly women, and everyone is born beautiful.Who is the best of both worlds often depends on who is richer.

Zhu Linglong didn't seem to mind, but her heart became more and more anxious.

She was born in a middle-class family, but she is not poor. When she was in high school, she started using skin care products and cosmetics that many people can only afford after work, and now she spends most of her salary on maintenance.

But this is not enough!

Where is the upper limit of beauty?

It was already past the evening rush hour, there were not many people on the subway, Zhu Linglong didn't sit, even though she was very tired, she still stood by the compartment door.

Someone cast strange glances at her, but she didn't bother to respond.

Just now she told Liu Ying that women should treat themselves better.

In fact, she is very strict with herself-even when taking the subway, she has to practice standing posture, and she is unwilling to sit down easily.

As for going home to eat self-heating hot pot, it is even more impossible.

She has never bought a self-heating hot pot at all, and usually does not eat anything at night. She is really hungry, so she will eat some low-sugar fruit.

Of course she does exercise, but unlike those who post to Moments as soon as she runs, she never lets others know about it, let alone apply for a card with her colleagues.

The subway passes through a small half of Dongcheng District and stops at the edge of Dongcheng District.

Zhu Linglong walked to the "Jushan Villas" 200 meters away from the subway station.

There is her home.

Although there is a word "villa" in the name of this community, it is not a villa, but a mid-grade commercial building. Its selling point is that it is backed by Luhuang Mountain, and there is a trail leading directly to the mountain in the community.

The house was bought by her parents when she graduated from university, and Zhu Linglong is most satisfied with being able to go for a run in the mountains every night.

Green Phoenix Mountain is a forest park open to all citizens, but because it is on the edge of the city, there are not many people climbing the mountain. There is an access control between the "Villas in the Mountains" and the real mountain road. Entering the mountain through the access control has actually left the monitoring range of the property management of the community.

There are no lights in the mountains at night, but under the light of the city, it is not completely dark.Zhu Linglong didn't dare to run at night when she first moved in, but after running a few times, she found that there was no one on the mountain at night.

She is not a coward in the first place, she even dared to go to a deserted village, even more so in Luhuang Mountain.

Back home, Zhu Linglong took a breath, changed into winter night running outfits, put on headphones, and punched in at the gate as usual to enter the mountain.

Every night running is the most relaxing moment of her day. No one is peeping at her efforts to become beautiful, and she doesn’t have to deal with stupid colleagues and customers with hypocritical smiles. The world seems to be integrated with her, sober The warm air sprinkled on her face, and sometimes she even imagined that the cold moonlight fell on her body, she was blessed by the heavens, and she was a fairy in this world.

But after running for half an hour today, she suddenly felt very uncomfortable, as if a pair of eyes were staring at her in the dark, following her footsteps closely.

But how is this possible?

She has been running in this half of the mountain for nearly two years, and she has never met anyone even in summer, let alone cold winter nights.

It must be the sequelae of going to "Ninth Battlefield".

The level of gore in that secret room made her very uncomfortable.

But the uneasiness expanded in his heart, like a thick black mist, covering the good mood that should have been.

Zhu Linglong's footsteps became slower and slower, and gradually stopped.

She took off her earphones and listened carefully to the sounds around her.

There was no sound, only the sound of her own heartbeat and breathing.

She calmed down a little and turned around slowly.

Behind is a familiar path, and the thick leaves cast mottled shadows on the ground.

nobody.

Zhu Linglong swallowed, a little hesitant.

This place is already in the depths of Green Phoenix Mountain, but she has not reached the place where she usually turns back. If she goes back now, the night running task is only half completed.

And she has always been an extremely self-disciplined person in private.

Gritting her teeth, she ran again, but because of the fear in her heart, she didn't put on the earphones again.

After running a hundred meters, she heard footsteps clearly.

Her heartbeat soared to its peak at this moment, and she didn't dare to lie to herself anymore.

Someone is behind her and has been following her!

How to do?

She didn't dare to stop, and she didn't dare to look back, her heart was in a mess.

Is it robbery?Or seek sex?

The footsteps behind her seemed to be getting closer, and she had to speed up her pace, thinking about countermeasures in her mind.

Calling for help is impossible, she knows best in Green Phoenix Mountain, there is no one in the mountain, and this place is far away from all exits, it is difficult for her to get rid of him by running.

"puff--"

A subtle voice came from behind, and together with the dull pain in the lower back.

Zhu Linglong stopped instinctively, and touched her lower back with trembling hands.

The dull pain is actually not obvious, just being hit by something.

She couldn't bear it anymore, turned around abruptly, and her pupils shrank rapidly in an instant.

She saw the most terrifying scene in her life, and this scene was so familiar——

Under the dim light, a figure stood not far from her. It was wearing a dark sports suit, and instead of a human head on its neck, it was a huge wolf's head!

Three years ago, in the real werewolf killing in the deserted village, she drew a useless civilian card. When night fell and the werewolves started killing people, she had no choice but to run for her life.

At that time, there was also a man wearing a werewolf headgear chasing after her, holding a mace high under the moonlight.

But that's the game!

It had been a long time since she played Werewolf Killing, and she clearly remembered that she was running at night on the Green Phoenix Mountain, instead of participating in some real werewolf killing!

Her breathing became uncontrollably short, and a large amount of cold air was sucked into her lungs. She wanted to cough, but she felt her throat was tightly gripped by fear.

The "Werewolf" moved forward slowly but with ease, not having a funny inflatable mace in his hand, only a knife sliding through the dark light under the light.

Zhu Linglong almost collapsed, her legs went limp and she sat on the ground, tears streaming from her eyes, she squirmed back like a snail, "Who are you? What do you want to do?"

"Werewolf" didn't answer, but raised his right hand and lit up the sharp knife.

Zhu Linglong shook her head frantically, "No! No! Don't kill me! I beg you, don't kill me!"

The "werewolf" let out a strange laugh, flashed in front of Zhu Linglong, and grabbed Zhu Linglong's top hair.

Zhu Linglong could clearly see the wolf's face close at hand - the left eye was blood red, the right eye was pierced by a sharp weapon, and the fangs were like blades, exuding a bloodthirsty aura.

She couldn't cry out, and she had a strong premonition that she would die here tonight.

The "werewolf" strangled her neck, and laughter seemed to be squeezed out of her throat.

Zhu Linglong's tears flowed onto the black gloves of the "werewolf", followed by a warmer and viscous liquid than tears.

The blade cut through Zhu Linglong's trachea and carotid artery, and the blood splashed out under the pressure, splashing on the "werewolf"'s bloodshot eyes.

The "werewolf" stood up, while Zhu Linglong, who was still alive, struggled and twitched on the ground.

The last desire to survive made her stretch her right hand towards the assailant.

After a few seconds, the right hand hangs lifelessly.

The "werewolf" looked down at the corpse, and a few minutes later, against the background light of the city, he raised his hand and slammed the thing in his hand on the head of the corpse.

Soon, the "werewolf" left the corpse, and his figure gradually merged with the thick ink of the forest.