Chapter 124: [Mask] in the Making of [Masks]

The corpse was found in a trash can behind the school cafeteria, soaked in filth, its surface covered with food scraps and all sorts of garbage; as it was slowly lifted out, a nauseating stench of decay filled the air.

Li Shang frowned tightly, his complexion grim; he lightly covered his nose, his gaze heavy as it fell upon the corpse lying on the ground.

Just like the horrific works of the previous two 【Masks】, this corpse had likewise been tortured into a shriveled, mummified state.

Its limbs and neck were cruelly snapped, twisted into a horrifying posture and curled into a ball; its neck painfully twisted at a 90-degree angle, face upward, staring straight at the empty air above, as if silently voicing the terror and despair before death.

"What are those on the corpse's face?" Li Shang wondered in his heart; he quickly squatted down and leaned in to observe closely. On that mangled face, several glaring white objects stood out conspicuously.

He carefully extended a finger and lightly touched one of those white objects; instantly, a bone-chilling coldness, like an electric current, surged from the soles of his feet straight to his forehead,

"Bones—are those zygomatic bones flipping out from under the skin and flesh?!!"

Li Shang was shocked in his heart: "Unlike 【Mask】 where the entire face is covered in bone, this corpse only has a few zygomatic bones flipped out, occupying roughly 1/10 of the whole face."

"But, the nature is the same."

"It's certain beyond doubt, there's no room for doubt anymore—these cases must all be the work of 【Mask】."

"And, the killing method continues to escalate; 【Mask】 is no longer satisfied with blood extraction and snapping limbs—【Mask】 has begun carving the faces of the dead?"

"Bones flipping out on the face—it looks, simply like a, broken, incomplete 【Mask】 corpse."

A chill ran through Li Shang's heart, and a terrifying, absurd thought arose unbidden: "【Mask】 isn't just killing people; 【Mask】 is making new 【Masks】?!!"

After so many years of handling cases and solving so many, Li Shang felt that never had his imagination been as active as it was now.

Handling cases requires some imagination, and right now, this was the ultimate moment of Li Shang's imagination.

Li Shang reached an answer in his heart: "The corpse on the ground is a failed product, destroyed because 【Mask】 failed to make a 【Mask】?"

"Mask is an inhuman monster, but this monster originally changed from a human; but 【Mask】 isn't satisfied with being the only one—he's trying to turn others into 【Masks】 too; he's longing to create his own kind!!"

Li Shang suddenly stood up, his gaze like a torch sweeping toward Chang Erbing: "Who entered or left the cafeteria today?"

Chang Erbing's expression was equally grave; he replied in a deep voice: "Among the 50 suspects currently listed, 47 entered or left the cafeteria today."

Li Shang pressed on relentlessly: "What did the surveillance team say? Did they notice anything suspicious?"

Chang Erbing answered: "I just asked them one by one, and observed no suspicious behavior."

After a brief pause, Chang Erbing added: "To avoid alerting 【Mask】, we reduced surveillance within the school as much as possible, only assigning a few plainclothes personnel disguised as faculty and staff to observe. But the cafeteria's foot traffic is truly too great; there may have been an oversight."

Li Shang felt a surge of irritation; he realized he might have fallen into a mental rut.

He had originally thought that since a homicide had occurred at the school, 【Mask】 would restrain himself, and the next action would likely take place off-campus in a corner not easily noticed.

Therefore, he cast the surveillance net mainly toward the after-school movements of those 50 suspects, closely tracking their every step. However, to his surprise, 【Mask】 acted contrary to expectation, choosing to continue killing within the school.

"Is this blind, fearless arrogance, or is he certain that as long as he hides deep within the campus, the Patrol Bureau's pursuit will be helpless? Did he anticipate the Patrol Bureau's strategy, and thus become even more fearless?"

Li Shang speculated anxiously and uneasily in his heart.

"But how could he possibly know the Patrol Bureau's search strategy? 【Mask】 surely can't have informants inside the Patrol Bureau, right?"

Li Shang irritably lit a cigarette and asked Chang Erbing: "Any abnormal reports from the Jisi side's surveillance?"

Chang Erbing shook his head: "The Jisi side sent Squad Two; their captain Gou Xin just contacted me, saying everything is normal, no abnormal situation found."

Li Shang took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the student crowd gradually gathering outside the cafeteria, and said with a grave expression: "Send the corpse to the hospital for examination; we'll return to the Patrol Bureau first."

【Mask】's cunning and audacity exceeded Li Shang's expectations; the school investigation had reached a stalemate, making Li Shang feel extremely heavy-hearted.

Fortunately, 【Black Face】 had been caught; perhaps a brand-new breakthrough could be found there?

In the crowd, Feng Yuhuai, her face slightly pale, silently watched; her right hand was in her pocket clutching a rag doll, the rag doll sticking out a red tongue, its color growing increasingly rosy.

Thus, 40 minutes later.

Patrol Bureau Morgue.

Li Shang's face was like dark clouds gathering, completely grim.

His gaze locked tightly onto the headless corpse on the morgue bed; on the corpse lay an iron basin, filled to the brim with bright red and pale flesh, blood, brain matter, and shattered bones.

He glared angrily at the iron basin on the bed and asked in a sinister tone: "You're telling me this is 【Black Face】 sent by the Jisi?"

Chang Erbing's face was also black as charcoal; he replied: "The Jisi side just told me the person would be delivered to us soon, and didn't mention it would be delivered like this."

"No face at all—how am I supposed to confirm who this is? Just find some dark-skinned person and tell me it's Black Face? Is that how the Jisi handles cases?"

Li Shang put himself in their shoes and seriously suspected the Jisi had just randomly found a scapegoat to go through the motions.

"The job was done too crudely." Li Shang suppressed the anger in his heart, asking word by word: "Where is the killer?"

Chang Erbing hesitated for two seconds, stammering: "The Jisi side said they arrived a step too late and didn't see the killer."

Li Shang laughed in extreme anger: "Simply ridiculous—who is handling this matter on the Jisi side?"

Chang Erbing: "I inquired; it's said to be Jisi Team Three, captained by that madwoman Liu Xie."

Li Shang's expression sank slightly; he had long heard of Liu Xie's notorious reputation for reckless evil within the Jisi, and he had no intention of provoking such a troublesome figure.

However, reality forced him; he had to give an account to the Special Commissioner.

The sudden break in the 【Black Face】 lead—this pot, he must pass it on.

Not only to remove the word "Acting" from his head, but more importantly to protect the head before "Acting."

A flash of murderous light crossed Li Shang's eyes; a cold, savage smile tugged at the corner of his mouth; he said in a deep voice: "Come, let's go find the Special Commissioner."

Chang Erbing nodded and was about to follow.

Li Shang stopped again and said to him: "Forget it, I'll go report to the Special Commissioner myself; you go find Ma Bin at the Green Wolf Gang."

After a brief pause, Li Shang emphasized his tone and continued instructing: "The people from Jisi Team Three are unreliable, and Squad Two may not be reassuring either. You go find Ma Bin and have him arrange his men to assist us in closely watching those students."

Upon hearing this, Chang Erbing nodded and responded with a serious expression: "Understood; I'll go handle it immediately."

Before entering the operating room, I asked the doctor if it hurt?

The doctor said, it doesn't hurt.

The doctor didn't lie to me; the surgery was painless throughout, but after the painkiller wore off, it damn near hurt me to pieces.

My question wasn't rigorous enough; damn it, I thought I could write after surgery, but it seems I overestimated my own willpower.

Today there's no more, just this one chapter, and it's only because I endured the severe pain, clutching my phone and typing for 5 hours that I managed to produce it. There's really no more, I'm exhausted, my brain is numb too.

I can only force myself to go to sleep now, hoping that once I fall asleep it won't hurt anymore.

Tomorrow should be better, I'll resume normal updates, aiming to be discharged next month. Next month I'll write more words, hope everyone can understand.

I wish everyone a healthy body. Only when you really get sick, have surgery, do you realize that compared to anything else, a healthy body is the strongest.

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End of Chapter