Hu Xin

Hu Xin lived in the employee residential area of an abandoned factory, which was also called the "elderly community" as there were basically no young or middle-aged people. Hu Xin's parents were originally employees of the abandoned factory. After the factory closed down, they opened a breakfast shop near the Coke Plant in the Docking Area and rarely came home. Hu Xin's mother video-called her every day. On the night of June 2nd, her call to Hu Xin went unanswered. She thought it was too late and that her child was already asleep, so she made a special trip home the next morning, only to open the door and find the place in shambles.

Hu Xin's body was directly facing the entryway. The plastic bag over her head was still printed with the name of her parents' breakfast shop. The scene made Hu Xin's mother faint on the spot.

"Her father reported it to the police," Yan Junxun said, walking down the dim and cramped corridor. "Her mother is still in the hospital."

Shi Shanyan saw that the stairs were covered in dust, and the small window was so dirty that the scenery outside was obscured. It was hot in the building; only a dilapidated electric fan from an upstairs residence was whirring. His shirt clung to his body. The environment made him feel a bit stuffy, but more than that, it felt familiar.

Many places in the Docking Area were similar to the Stagnation Zone. In Shi Shanyan's eyes, it was like a semi-mechanized monstrosity. In the new urban area of the Docking Area, you could see some traces of the Light Rail District, but they were merely traces. Its true face was exposed here.

Shi Shanyan said, "Understandable."

Hu Xin's home was on the third floor, and the door still had an old-fashioned padlock. Shi Shanyan used a little "trick" on it, allowing the two of them to enter smoothly.

The first thing Yan Junxun saw was the cabinet opposite the entryway, where Hu Xin's body had been placed. The bloodstains in front of the cabinet dragged all the way to the bathroom—that was the killer's main battlefield.

"He's still doing this kind of thing," Yan Junxun said, pointing to the bathroom. "Dragging the victim here to watch himself leave."

The windows in the room were open, but a metallic, rust-like smell still lingered. Shi Shanyan had a keen sense of smell; he could tell that these smells were mostly coming from the bathroom.

Unlike the previous victims, Hu Xin's cause of death was drowning.

Yan Junxun stood at the bathroom door. Just by standing here, he felt as if something inside was screaming.

There were handprints on the door because Hu Xin had been pounding on it from the inside.

Yan Junxun could almost see Hu Xin's shadow. She struggled in vain, filled with despair at the end she was about to face.

This was a problem not covered in any textbook.

Hu Xin was just an ordinary high school student, with an average appearance and excellent grades. All her efforts went into her studies. She would go home on time every day, call her mother, and then cook for herself. Her 16-year-old life had just begun, her dreams just written into her textbooks.

You can't ask why; the question has no answer. But up to a certain moment, the person involved will still slam on the door panel, asking again and again: Why me? Why is this happening? What the fuck is the reason?

Yan Junxun pushed the door open. He didn't want to keep staring at the door panel.

The bathroom was dark red. The dried blood still clung to the mirror, like a deformed creature trying to crawl out. There was blood on the sink as well, along with traces of vomit.

Hu Xin had vomited while leaning over the sink. The killer had hit her hard, which was too much for a girl who could only run 400 meters. She could only express her body's protest through vomiting.

The killer wasn't human; he was a snake writhing in Hu Xin's stomach. He gnawed on Hu Xin's thin body, gradually making her unable to stand. He twisted Hu Xin's hair, dragging her. To him, this was a demonstration of power.

Yan Junxun's stomach began to cramp as well. He saw the bloodstains under the showerhead.

The killer dragged Hu Xin there. He turned on the water to wash her, his movements practiced. Hu Xin was still resisting. She must have cried. The killer slammed her head against the wall. Hu Xin cried in the cold water, and then the killer decided to make Hu Xin "feed" there.

The tool was still a toothbrush.

The stabbing pain in Yan Junxun's head returned. He looked away, but the images followed him like a shadow.

The killer carried out what he considered a sexual assault. This was when Hu Xin's resistance was most fierce, because the pain and humiliation were too intense. This act of inserting a foreign object turned a person into some kind of incomprehensible, lower life-form. This act psychologically trampled Hu Xin—and all the victims—underfoot. This fear even surpassed the fear of being beaten; it had become the greatest terror in Hu Xin's screams.

Yan Junxun felt a pang of pain, not physical, but a resonance of being human. There was no space in this bathroom for him to catch his breath; it was filled with the victim's screams on the verge of collapse.

After the "feeding," Hu Xin's voice stopped. She became a rag doll, dragged once again by the hair by the killer. The water must have been turned off. The killer dragged Hu Xin to the side of the sink.

Yan Junxun stared at the sink and said, "He turned on the water here."

Hu Xin had hit the edge of the sink. She didn't have much strength left.

'What else do you want to do?'

'You've already fucking done what you wanted to do.'

But the killer didn't stop. He let the water fill the sink, then shoved Hu Xin's head into it. The splashing water hit the mirror. Hu Xin's hands had nowhere to go. The killer lifted her up, then pushed her in again.

'Has this bastard gone insane?'

"His M.O. has changed," Yan Junxun said quickly. "He used to 'educate' first, then 'feed', but this time, he continued the act of education after 'feeding'."

Hu Xin had provoked the killer.

Something about Hu Xin must have provoked the killer. Hu Xin made him lose control, and also made him jealous. He intensified his abuse of Hu Xin. Hu Xin's death was sudden. The killer surely hadn't had his fill yet, because he continued his abusive actions after she had died.

"Hu Xin was a student," Shi Shanyan said, looking around the room, his gaze landing on Hu Xin's family photo. "The identity of 'student', just like 'prostitute', is very important to him."

Hu Xin couldn't have done anything to provoke the killer. She was only 16; she didn't have the strength of the previous victims, and as far as the killer was concerned, he was already used to these screams. They couldn't get on his nerves. The only thing about Hu Xin that could have provoked him was her identity.

She was a good student with excellent character and grades.

"He didn't take Hu Xin's family photo." Yan Junxun backed out of the bathroom, sensing the incongruity of that family photo amidst the foul smell.

This didn't fit the killer's previous pattern of hidden malice. He loathed families and wanted to destroy them. So why didn't he destroy Hu Xin's family photo?

Yan Junxun took a few steps back and, while studying the family photo, bumped into Shi Shanyan's chest. Shi Shanyan was quite pleased with his position. He flicked his lighter, illuminating the way for Yan Junxun.

"He's gone insane," Shi Shanyan said in a low voice, "or he's been cured. Those are the only two explanations. Pick one."