CH 121

Translated by Crooked

Edited by Dust Bunny 

Gu Xizhou helped Wang Ao hold his briefcase, and Wang Ao took out his phone to call Wang Shu.

Wang Shu was Wang Ao’s daughter. She was the same age as Gu Ji Ji, just a few days older than him. Gu Xizhou has seen a group photo of Gu Ji Ji and Wang Shu at home. Apparently she was a doctor.

Wang Ao could be halfway considered Gu Ji Ji’s father. Ever since Gu Ji Ji’s parents died, this uncle had always looked after him, so Gu Ji Ji had a pretty good relationship with Wang Shu. Before, Wang Ao intended to play matchmaker and turn them into a pair of childhood friends turned sweethearts, but unfortunately these two simply weren’t compatible, and they bickered every time they met.

“Du——” 

“Du——”

Wang Ao’s eyebrows furrowed. His wife and son-in-law sent him a message when they couldn’t contact his daughter, but today she should have finished work and be on her way back home from picking up his grandson like usual. She should have already arrived, so why hasn’t she gone back yet?

The telephone buzzed with its incessant busy tone. Clearly Wang Shu’s phone wasn’t turned off. Wang Ao suddenly felt his heart skip a beat for no reason. He knew that when his daughter was at work she would occasionally not answer her phone, and later she would send a voice message to inquire. At other times, she was just like other young people with her phone in her hands at all times, and whenever she got a phone call or a WeChat message she would reply in seconds!

“The person you have called is currently busy. Please try again in a little while.”

Listening to the gentle voice on the telephone, Wang Ao’s brows didn’t relax. Instead, they pinched into a ‘川’ shape. He called a second time, and a third, and a fourth…

“Du——”

“Du——”

Hearing yet another busy tone, Gu Xizhou frowned. Uncle Wang had called a dozen times, and even someone slow would’ve found it by now. And nowadays, who isn’t a phone addict? Cell phone addicts also wouldn’t let their phones die. Plus, Wang Ao’s calls were obviously going through, so her phone wasn’t dead. 

Just when Gu Xizhou thought that no one would pick up this time either, the phone call suddenly went through!

“Xiao Shu, why didn’t you answer the phone? Your mom and Huo Zheng were worried about you and made me call you!” Wang Ao scolded into the phone.

“Oh, Officer Wang- no, it’s Chief Wang now.”

There was a man on the other side of the phone. His voice was very ordinary with no distinguishing qualities. Wang Ao was baffled. This voice wasn’t familiar to him at all. He asked, “Who are you?” 

A dark and sorrowful voice replied, “Tut tut tut, it seems that you’ve already forgotten about me.”

“Who actually are you?” Wang Ao was a bit apprehensive. The man’s bizarre laugh gave him an indescribable feeling of familiarity in his gut.

“You may have forgotten me, but I’ve always remembered you. These past decades, your face was always in my mind. Every day, I wished I could grind your bones to dust. For the past twenty years I’ve been in prison, every time I was beaten by the other prisoners, all I thought about was you. Every time I wanted to die, I remembered the day I was arrested I said to you——

“You’ll regret it. 

“I persevered so long by thinking of the sweet taste of revenge against you! I grit my teeth and held on, so that when I was released from prison I would make you regret arresting me!”

Wang Ao remembered when he’d just become a Nanqing police officer, there was a horrifying case——’The Terrible Castrator’.

Twenty three years ago, around 11 pm, a shocking crime occurred in Nanqing. Someone found the victim on the roadside. The victim was lying on the ground, their neck badly mutilated with something twisted around it. Their legs were spread open, and they were covered in blood.

The person who discovered them was immediately scared out of their mind. Nanqing city passed through several rounds of investigation, but the killer wasn’t found. 

Wang Ao was a police officer back then. After he heard about it, he recalled a dispute case he handled a few days earlier.

Back then, a man named Qiao Jian assaulted someone. He strangled a woman’s neck from behind and used his hand to try to castrate her, but because it was daytime, the area was crowded, and Qiao Jian was stopped.

The injured woman immediately made a police report, and Wang Ao handled this case. Later, he was the one who made the connection to The Terrible Castrator case. Following the clues, the suspect was quickly identified.

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Back then, there was no Skynet, and the chain of evidence was insufficient. If not for Wang Ao remembering this public disturbance case, it would’ve been very difficult for them to find Qiao Jian.

Pc atf fcv, Hljb Aljc kjr ulnfc j ilof rfcafcmf lcrafjv bo atf vfjat qfcjias.

Qjcu Cb’r tjcv tbivlcu atf qtbcf kjr rtjxlcu klat gjuf. Pc j rafgc nblmf, tf vfwjcvfv, “Qtja vb sbe kjca ab vb? Tbe vjgf ab abemt ws vjeutafg? P-P’ii-”

“What do you want to do to me? Do you want me dead? Let me tell you, I died 23 years ago. I died when you arrested me. I’m a murderer, but you can’t prove it, hahahaha,” said Qiao Jian. “When you arrested me, I told you I would definitely make you regret it for the rest of your life. 

“Your daughter is really beautiful; she doesn’t look like you at all. Your grandson is also quite adorable. I can play with them slowly. Don’t worry, I already lost my will to live. Try to guess whether you can find me like last time?”

Wang Ao flew into a rage, shouting at the phone, “You dare!”

Qiao Jian’s eyes fell on Wang Shu, whose mouth was taped shut, and appreciated her frightened expression. He smiled. “Now, I have nothing. What don’t I dare to do? I advise you to buy a coffin quickly to receive their corpses.”

Wang Ao’s hand suddenly trembled, and his voice shook. “Let them go; they’re innocent. I’m the one who arrested you! My daughter and grandson have nothing to do with this!” 

“Hahaha, ‘have nothing to do with this’? Yes, that loathsome dead woman also had nothing to do with you, but what did you say to me then?” Qiao Jian’s words were deranged. “It’s your responsibility as the police to catch murderers. I’ll make you pay for that ‘responsibility’! I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life!”

Wang Ao said, “Take your revenge against me alone!”

Qiao Jian sneered. “No, I’ll take my revenge against the people you love most. That way, you’ll regret it. How can I make you regret it if you die?”

“Bang!” 

The cell phone was apparently thrown out the car window. With a bang, all that was left on the other side of the phone call was a busy signal.

Qiao Jian obviously didn’t want to speak with Wang Ao any longer. His purpose was to make Wang Ao wallow in misery and despair, and now that had been achieved.

“Bastard! Ah! Ah!” Wang Ao flew into a rage and turned around to punch the wall of the police department. Then, Gu Xizhou saw this always stoic man secretly wipe away his tears. His voice choked with emotion. “It’s all my… I… hurt them…”

Gu Xizhou saw his dazed expression and hastily helped support him. He took Wang Ao’s phone and ran into the police department, wanting to give it to a coworker in the IT department. “Immediately trace the location of this phone call!” 

The other person realized that something had happened and looked at him.

“The chief’s daughter and grandson were kidnapped. Their lives could be in danger at any time!” said Gu Xizhou. He turned to glance at Wang Ao on the side and lowered his voice. “Uncle Wang, you need to calm down right now. You know what to do!”

“It’s too late…” Wang Ao wept and muttered, “It’s too late… He threw the phone away, ah… How can we find them…”

Wang Ao looked like he’d aged ten years in a split second, and all of his energy and spirit were gone. This was after only a few minutes. Gu Xizhou was distressed. Suddenly, he remembered something. He said urgently, “There’s still a way!” 

Gu Xizhou remembered the other use of the previous world’s missing person poster! As long as he filled in the correct information, someone would call him!

Right, the missing person poster has to work, it has to!

“What way?” asked Wang Ao.

Gu Xizhou grabbed Wang Ao’s hand and ran out to his car. “Let’s go to my house first!” 

Gu Xizhou drove Wang Ao straight home. There were still two missing person posters in his house. They could definitely be used! The mission world was a ‘world’, and reality was also a ‘world’. Since the mission world could let people ‘live forever’, then it should be possible to find someone in the real world!

From Qiao Jian’s killing technique back then, his merciless cruelty was obvious, and you could envision how twisted his heart was.

Qiao Jian evasively drove the car all the way out of Ningqing City, to the region he was most familiar with.

He said he wanted to get revenge, and he’d do what he said. He was arrested twenty years ago. After he got out of prison, he returned to his hometown, but his arrest was popular gossip. All his old neighbors knew about it, even his son. 

After he killed someone, he always thought that as long as the police didn’t catch him, he would never kill again. He thought he was lucky and didn’t leave behind any evidence. He thought everything was fine, but he didn’t expect Wang Ao to actually remember his first assault case. Thus, he was locked on as a suspect and arrested.

His family’s frightened expressions and eyes filled with loathing gave him a sharp stab of pain. He was sent to prison for twenty three years, and his family didn’t visit even once. His family didn’t even come to pick him up when he was released.

He used everything at his disposal to find his relatives, only to be met with his son’s disgust and disdain.

“Please go away. I really don’t want to see you. I already consider my dad to be dead! If my wife knew my dad was the ‘Castrator’, how would she see me? And what about my daughter? I beg you, don’t come back again!” 

His son’s words were like a needle pricking his heart. He was shunned by his family. Qiao Jian’s heart was filled with hate and rage.

He quickly put all the blame on the police. If that little police officer hadn’t connected his assault case with the homicide back then, he wouldn’t have been caught! Everything was that officer’s fault!

If he hadn’t been found, he would still be living together with his family and not despised by them!

Qiao Jian wore a sickening smile. “Just wait to experience a real nightmare. I’ve chosen a very interesting death for you. I guarantee you’ll be surprised!” he said to the tied up Wang Shu and her child who was less than four years old. 

Wang Shu lay down in the back in despair. Her son, similarly tied up, was lying down next to her and looked at her in fear. Wang Shu’s tears couldn’t stop falling.

On the other side, Gu Xizhou violently pushed open his door. At home, Gu Ji Ji was watching TV in boredom when he saw the two come barging in and was startled.

Gu Xizhou had to fill Gu Ji Ji in at home. He rushed into the bedroom to find something. After he found the two missing person posters, Gu Xizhou picked up a pen and a poster and quickly told Wang Ao, “Uncle Wang, tell me the information. Hurry!”

Wang Ao had no clue what Gu Xizhou wanted to do. He numbly gave his daughter’s information to Gu Xizhou, watching him quickly fill in the missing person poster. 

After Gu Xizhou filled in the information, he directly stuck the missing person poster on the wall outside the door.

Gu Xizhou gripped his phone hard enough to hurt, staring down at it. He chanted in his heart: It must be ok! It must be ok!

A few seconds later——

“Ding ding ding——” 

The cell phone rang!

Qiao Jian talked to himself the whole time, talking about his experience being looked down upon after leaving prison as he drove all the way to his destination.

Outside an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Ningqing City, Qiao Jian got out and carefully looked around. After verifying there wasn’t anyone around, he took Wang Shu and her son inside the factory.

There were fourteen barrels of water in the long-abandoned factory, all filled with 18.9 liters, a few chairs, and a water dispenser. 

Wang Shu didn’t understand why this killer had put so much water here, but her intuition told her… she probably didn’t want to know.

“Do you want to know why I put so much water here?” Qiao Jian grinned, taking a hose out from behind his back. He said, “See this? It’s a tube. Just wait for me to stick this tube down your mouth and put the other side in the water dispenser. I’ll see whether anyone can be filled to the point of bursting.

“If you really die, remember not to blame me. Blame your dad. I’ll fill you till you burst for meddling in others’ business.”

Wang Shu looked terrified, shivering all over. Her frightened expression pleased the deranged Qiao Jian. 

Qiao Jian chuckled and said, “It seems you quite like my murder method, right?”

Wang Shu shook her head frantically. “Mm… MmmMnnnn…”

“Do you want to go fast, or your son?” Qiao Jian asked with a grin, ignoring Wang Shu’s disagreement.

Wang Shu wept silently. She moaned against the tape for a long time. 

“Let’s do it like this. If you want to go first, nod your head once. If you want your son to go first, nod twice.”

Wang Shu resisted the urge to cry under her taped mouth and nodded once, not moving her head an inch more afterward.

Qiao Jian clapped his hands and said, “Ok, touching, very touching. Then you’ll go first.”

“Now I’m going to tear off the tape on your mouth. Let me remind you, there’s no one around. No one will hear you even if you scream, so I advise you to be well-behaved. If you aren’t, I’ll let your son go first.” Qiao Jian patted Wang Shu’s cheek. “Got it?” he sneered. 

Wang Shu nodded woodenly, her tears flowing down.

Her son was put on a wooden stool to the side, and he looked at her, crying.

After Qiao Jian tore away the tape on Wang Shu’s mouth, Wang Shu spoke through her tears. “I won’t scream, but I beg you, don’t hurt my son. I promise… I won’t scream. I beg you…”

When they’d arrived, she saw that there really wasn’t anyone around. This area had already been closed, and the nearby residents were long gone. It was only due to planning delays that this place had yet to be rebuilt. 

Even if she really did scream, there was no one to save her.

Qiao Jian looked at her coldly and said, “Don’t try to negotiate with me; it’s futile!”

Wang Shu teared up and looked at Qiao Jian pleadingly. “I’m begging you. I’ll do what you say.”

Qiao Jian gave her a cold glance, not understanding Wang Shu’s request. He put the water dispenser on top of the chair. After ensuring that it was taller than Wang Shu, he attached it to the hose and slowly walked toward Wang Shu. 

“En… Ma… Ma…” Wang Shu’s son, tied up over on the stool, saw the devil slowly approaching his mom.

Wang Shu looked at her son. Choked with emotion, she opened her mouth to say, “Son, close your eyes. Don’t look.”

Then, her mouth was stopped up by the water pipe. Water poured down her throat into her body.

Water, so very much water. 

The author has something to say: Xiaojiejie will be fine!

Crooked: Below the author plugged another series, I straight MTLed it because I didn’t want to put that much effort into an ad. Afaik, there’s no ENG translation of this one 

There’s no CP article in “I’m tattooing totem in the alien world”. It’s V already. Let’s have a look at the cute ones who are interested!

The ronin who lost their totem gathered together to keep warm with each other and lived a life of insufficient food and clothing until one day they found a man from the earth.

Through the strange world, Lin Xiao looked at the primitive world with a confused face. Every tribe in the world has its own totem. Only the person who lights the totem can become a totem warrior. Therefore, he silently picked up his job – tattoo artist.

Lin Xiao: brother, can’t you light the totem?

Tribesman:… You want to die?

Lin Xiao: it doesn’t matter. I’ll tattoo one for you. It can also be used!

Tribesmen:???