Chapter 114: Know the Face, Not the Heart

The atmosphere in the ward was heavy and oppressive; Feng Yuhuai sat by the bedside, worriedly recounting to Feng Ju the various anomalies that had occurred at the school.

Her voice was low and trembling; finally, with a hint of pleading, she said to Feng Ju, "Dad, can you help find out whether that corpse really is Yang Tuo?"

Feng Ju's brows knitted tightly; he did not answer immediately.

Feng Yuhuai continued with lingering fear, "That corpse was too horrifying — the whole body was shriveled beyond recognition, as if some monster had sucked the blood dry, simply not human in shape."

Feng Ju's face suddenly turned grave; he asked with slight panic, "What exactly was the condition of that corpse you mentioned?"

Feng Yuhuai answered blankly, "Dry and shriveled, the flesh sunken in, the cheeks withered — you couldn't make out the original appearance at all."

Her voice revealed deep fear, as if that horrifying scene were still vivid before her eyes.

A heart-stopping thought flashed through Feng Ju's mind — that monster with a face covered in bones, could it have already quietly infiltrated his daughter's campus?

He abruptly straightened his spine, his face dark, his voice cold as he said to Feng Yuhuai, "Take leave from school; for the time being, don't go to class."

Feng Yuhuai's pupils shrank slightly; she tried to feign a puzzled look and said softly, "Dad, isn't that a bit much? It's just one death; the Patrol Bureau will surely catch the culprit soon."

Feng Ju shook his head, as if trying to drive those horrifying memories from his mind, yet they lodged there like stubborn rocks.

At this moment his arms also began to ache faintly, as if that bone claw were tearing at his bones and muscles again.

Feng Ju's voice grew low and heavy: "One death? That's far from enough. At least a dozen or even dozens more must die — it takes lives to fill the count before the Patrol Bureau might possibly capture such a monster."

Feng Ju kept a cold face: "Listen to Dad; recently, don't go to school."

Feng Yuhuai shook her head, her tone exceptionally firm: "No way; the monthly exam is coming up — if I take leave, I'll drop out of the key class."

Seeing his daughter's unusually determined tone, Feng Ju also felt some difficulty — on one hand the danger to her life, on the other the exam and her future.

Feng Ju pondered for a long while, then said to Wang Xiuli, "You go close the door."

Then, with a grim face, Feng Ju lowered his voice to the utmost: "What I'm about to tell you is content the Special Commissioner required to be kept strictly confidential; I'm leaking it to you — you absolutely must not go out and tell anyone, understand?"

Feng Yuhuai was overjoyed inside, but on her face she obediently nodded in agreement.

Only then did Feng Ju tell Feng Yuhuai the whole story of how he was injured, and at the end repeatedly exhorted her: "The moment class ends, return straight to the dormitory; if you encounter a monster wearing bones on its face 【Mask】, remember absolutely do not engage, do not obstruct — immediately turn and run, understand?"

Feng Yuhuai sketched the image of 【Mask】 in her mind; meeting Feng Ju's concerned gaze, she nodded very obediently and compliantly.

"Mask?!!" Feng Yuhuai silently committed this to heart — the identity she would next disguise and imitate.

4.12, Tuesday.

The Patrol Bureau's captains were busy on the No. 8 Middle School campus, conducting detailed questioning and investigation of every teacher and student.

The workload was large and complicated; progress was not as swift as expected.

4.13, Wednesday.

The Patrol Bureau finally confirmed the identity of the murdered woman — Lu Ya Zhi.

And in the school's sewers, the Patrol Bureau found Lu Ya Zhi's cell phone.

After technicians repaired it, the phone recorded calls and text messages from Lu Ya Zhi's family and friends during the two days after her death.

Upon learning of her close friend's death, Feng Yuhuai wept heart-rendingly in the dormitory — truly moving listeners to sorrow and viewers to tears.

4.14, Thursday.

After preliminary screening, the Patrol Bureau drew up a suspect list containing 50 people.

Li Shang swiftly deployed, arranging subordinates for tight surveillance and borrowing extra support from the Jisi Department.

For this operation, the borrowed Jisi personnel belonged to the Second Brigade; the one leading the team was Second Brigade Captain Gou Xin.

During the operation, in groups of three, they began 24-hour covert tailing and monitoring of the suspects on the list, to ensure catching any slip-up by 【Mask】 at the first moment.

Like a cycle woven by fate, Li Shang felt he had seen this scene somewhere before — an eerie sense of familiarity.

Because of Feng Ju, Feng Yuhuai was cleared of 【Mask】 suspicion from the start.

Over these three days, Feng Mu stayed inside 【Douqiong Martial Hall】, never stepping out the main gate or the second gate, single-mindedly cultivating, eating, sparring.

Three days on, his appetite had grown, he grew closer with Hong Ya, more intimate with Yuan Xidi.

E Iron Consumption Rate broke through 4%; everything proceeded in orderly fashion, days tranquil and auspicious.

Mid-way, Mask·Feng Mu and Offline·Ma Bin communicated via a phone call.

Ma Bin reported to him that he had confirmed five members of the A-Class Tactical Squad, including Chen Ya, were imprisoned in Nine Districts No. 4 Prison.

Meanwhile, Eldest Senior Brother Li Bashan and Fifth Senior Brother Gong Qi were serving at Nine Districts No. 2 Prison.

This deviated slightly from the most ideal scenario Feng Mu had envisioned, leaving him undecided about which prison to plan for next.

4.15, Friday.

The Puppet Mother's hunger pangs were like an invisible hand suddenly clutching the heart of Feng Yuhuai, who was in class; a faint bloody taste rose on her tongue tip, as if a warning signal.

Almost at the same time, in the Jisi Portrait Room, Wang Yu received a call from Liu Yang.

Wang Yu did not rush to answer; instead, unhurriedly he set down his brush, handed the portrait to a Jisi Member of the First Squad, patiently waited for the other to express thanks and leave, then slowly called back.

The call connected; Wang Yu's voice held no great fluctuation, just an ordinary tone: "Good, wait for me to come over."

Wang Yu left the Portrait Room, first went to the Third Squad to find Liu Xie, spoke a few low words, then exited the Jisi — he did not take a Jisi car, but mounted an electric scooter and rode toward the location given on the phone.

After driving a stretch, Wang Yu pulled the scooter to the roadside, swapped the phone's SIM card, and sent a text message to Eldest Senior Brother Li Bashan's backup number.

Only then did he unhurriedly restart the scooter and continue toward the destination.

1 hour later.

Wang Yu arrived at the destination, a remote chemical plant residential compound.

The compound's perimeter walls were already mottled and faded, covered in layers of graffiti; broken glass shards hung unevenly along the wall tops, many with gaps — likely smashed by children with bricks.

At the entrance, two iron trash cans stood quietly; the trash inside was not piled high, rather appearing somewhat empty.

"This is an old residential compound; the resident population isn't large," Wang Yu immediately judged in his mind.

Wang Yu parked the scooter at the gate, casually scanning the surroundings.

The compound wasn't large — only six or seven low buildings, arranged compactly but not spaciously.

The gaps between buildings were dotted with some inconspicuous trees and shrubs; these plants, lacking care, had sparse and withered leaves.

Wang Yu looked up at the peeling building number, then headed toward Building Three, Unit Two, which was closer; the unit door was peeling, and a brick was wedged in the threshold.

Wang Yu pulled the door, and it let out a creaking friction sound.

He entered and climbed to the fourth floor; just as he reached the upper floor, the door to 401 was pulled open, and Liu Yang waved at him from inside.

Wang Yu entered the room and closed the door behind him.

The furniture inside the room was very shabby; besides Liu Yang, there was a young man in his twenties with rough skin and sunken, darkened eye sockets, and the latter was yawning incessantly.

"Drug addict." Wang Yu only glanced at him once and slapped a label on him; he could even tell from the yellow spots' color and shape in the other's pupils that the person mainly used T-37 Xing Huanjie Ji, and had been using it for about two years.

T-37 Xing Huanjie Ji was an old-type hallucinogen produced by Shengguang Pharmaceutical Company five years ago; externally it was not called a hallucinogen, but Awakening Liquid, a legal drug with a pharmaceutical serial number.

Liu Yang coughed once and said: "This residential compound is near the chemical factory, pollution is severe, those who could move away have moved away, and hardly anyone lives here anymore."

"This person is named Wang Xu, works at the chemical factory, rents a house in this residential compound; last night he saw someone coming and going at Unit One of the building across the way, feeling very much like 【Black Face】 on the wanted poster."

Liu Yang briefly briefed Wang Yu on the situation.

"Are you sure it's 【Black Face】?" Wang Yu asked.

Liu Yang: "I came over this morning and watched for a whole morning; 【Black Face】 never came out of the unit entrance, but I saw a masked man coming and going, his movements somewhat sneaky; I figured it was almost certainly him, so I notified you to come over."

After saying this, Liu Yang asked suspiciously: "Just you alone, didn't you notify Captain Liu Xie?"

Wang Yu pursed his lips and said lightly: "I notified him, no rush, they'll be here soon."

Chapter End