Chapter 239

Netizens were confused, not knowing why the person posting the bullet comments was so excited.

At the same time, in a town several dozen li outside Lianhua Mountain, Ming Mei stared blankly at her father, still holding up her pose, seeing her father quickly writing on his phone, she froze for a moment before reacting: "Dad? What are you doing?"

That shocking bullet comment was posted by the middle‑aged man; he furrowed his brows, the corners of his eyes carved by time bore several wrinkles, his temples streaked with white, and from years of gripping a gun, thick yellow calluses had formed on the inner sides of his finger joints.

As the longtime head of the local criminal investigation brigade, Ming Guowei had exceptionally keen observation; a casual glance made him notice the abnormality of the man in the livestream.

At this moment, the usually steady man even had his fingers trembling.

Ming Mei was about to be scared to death.

His palm suddenly sank; Ming Guowei tossed the phone to her, immediately stood up, grabbed his phone preparing to leave, and he even directly threw on the police uniform placed behind the door.

Ming Mei: "Dad? What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be taking a long vacation? Why are you suddenly leaving?"

Hearing his daughter's words, the man's brow twitched: "Ming Mei, I have something very important to do! As for vacation…" His expression darkened suddenly, recalling the earlier scene.

In the office, the captain of the criminal investigation brigade—his old superior—said in a calm voice: "Guowei, you've been in terrible shape lately, wound too tight; I'm afraid you'll drive yourself into a dead end. Since you didn't go home for the New Year, your wife and younger sibling probably hate me, so today I'm ordering you to go home and rest; I'll let you know when."

He instantly understood the other's intention, opened his mouth, but the other had already left.

As for why this happened, we have to start from before the New Year, amidst the festive, lively atmosphere everywhere, they suddenly received a report from a married couple.

Upon seeing him, they immediately knelt and kowtowed: "Please, please, save my daughter!"

The couple wept uncontrollably; Ming Guowei and his apprentice soothed them for a while, stabilizing their emotions, before learning that yesterday morning, their little daughter had gone out to buy fireworks and had not returned by evening.

At first the couple didn't think much of it, because the daughter had said in advance she would go out with classmates, but this morning they thought she should have returned by now, so they first called her—no answer—and then called her classmate, who exclaimed in shock: "Uncle Auntie, didn't Miao Miao come home yesterday afternoon? She hasn't come back?"

Those words hit them like a bolt from the blue, striking the couple hard; they barely kept composure, called all relatives and friends, but nobody had seen their daughter!

The couple finally realized something had happened, and without delay went straight to the police station to file a report.

This missing‑person case was taken up by Ming Guowei; after hearing the explanation, he immediately launched an investigation, especially after seeing that the missing girl, Miao Miao, was so young and beautiful.

In the police station, the couple felt each day like a year, blaming themselves bitterly, beating their chests and weeping: "It's all me, it's all my fault!"

Human traffickers? Or some other accident?

Ming Guowei is a policeman; he hoped Miao Miao had just gone out to play without telling her parents, but the mere fact that her phone couldn't be reached was already alarming—in modern society, not to mention young people, even he himself never parts with his phone.

He immediately contacted the friends who had gone out with Miao Miao, investigated nearby surveillance along the route they gave, and after Miao Miao split from her classmates, she suddenly turned into a dead‑end, after which the surveillance forever lost sight of her.

The situation reached an impasse; suddenly, Miao Miao's father received a call, his face flushing red as he shouted: "Phone! Phone! My daughter's phone!"

It turned out that Miao Miao's phone was a Meizu; after failing to contact her, her parents immediately contacted the carrier to lock the phone, and Meizu has a feature: if the phone is lost, entering an incorrect password triggers an automatic photo capture!

No matter how many years!

Soon, Ming Guowei, through his search, found the passerby who had picked up the phone—a vagrant who was startled at the sight, initially denied it, but after learning the gravity of the matter, he was terrified out of his wits: "No! Not me—I picked this phone up from a trash can! I didn't do anything!"

The vagrant produced a phone with a chipped corner; its once‑pretty pink casing had become filthy, and he suddenly focused his gaze, based on years of experience, the tiny dark‑red specks on the back of the case were oxidized blood!

After examination, his suspicion was confirmed, but what followed was ever‑more pressing time, for by now it had been three full days and two nights since the incident, while the optimal window for finding a person is twenty‑four hours.

Some novels and TV dramas often claim that you must not report a missing person within twenty‑four hours, that police won't accept it—total nonsense! As soon as you discover someone is missing, you should report it immediately; every extra minute brings extra hope.

Coincidentally, the vagrant's pointed‑out location was only one street away from where Miao Miao disappeared; nearby stood a large construction site under development, which, due to the holiday shutdown, left only the skeletal framework of a building.

Ming Guowei was the last person who wanted to see a tragedy unfold, nor did he wish to push things toward the worst, but as a policeman with years of investigative experience, he instantly zeroed in on the rear construction site.

The tragedy still occurred.

In the sand at the construction site they found the corpse of the girl Miao Miao; her body was □□, she bore signs of sexual assault and beating, and more importantly, the forensic examiner discovered a severed finger from an adult male in her mouth!

The reporting couple fainted on the spot; Ming Guowei covered his face—he also had a daughter her age—but Miao Miao's promising life had already been strangled.

Ming Guowei investigated almost nonstop, checking nearby surveillance and running DNA tests, to no avail; his eyes were bloodshot, when suddenly the monitor ahead froze, his gaze falling on two adult men dressed very low‑key, with ordinary, unremarkable faces—the sort you couldn't pick out in a crowd.

Yet they both vanished at the exact moment the girl's murder occurred.

After various assessments, the killer turned out to be them!

At this point, the case had become the focus of the entire Xinjiang City; such a heinous crime left the populace panicked, and the police bureau set up a special task force, originally thinking that knowing the two men's appearances would be enough to find them.

But he later learned that the killers' last appearance was near his hometown, after which they simply vanished into thin air!

In his effort to catch the killers, he nearly drove himself to the point of deviation; even so, the murderers remained unseen, and he was forced to take leave.

Ming Guowei snapped back to awareness; before closing the door, he gazed deeply at his daughter: "Mei Mei, stay home and behave, Dad will definitely come back early!"

He went out, began contacting his superiors, forwarded the livestream's ID, and got straight to the point: "I've found the perpetrator of the severed‑finger case!"

After he finished explaining and left the livestream, the bewildered netizens still thought someone was pulling a prank, and they launched a barrage of condemnation.

【I didn't lie or deceive anyone; I just went to contact someone.】

【Can the streamer see the bullet comments in the livestream? Absolutely: don't go down, and certainly don't rescue them! They're very likely the escaped murderers being hunted by Xinjiang City police!!!】

He had specially bought a membership, and wherever his comments went, everything was cleared out.

Seeing this, the netizens could no longer stay calm—escaped murderers!

【Big brother, don't scare me—is this real or fake? Are you joking?】

Ming Guowei directly pulled up the earlier news report: 【Search by this title; above are the photos and traits of the two escaped murderers, one of whom is the severed‑finger suspect! The place where they last vanished is only a few dozen kilometers from here!】

【!!!】

Once this came out, netizens were shocked senseless; looking again at the livestream, if this were fake it would be fine, but what if it were true?

They couldn't help but believe it, given that at this moment the mountains held only Ling Yue and the cameraman big brother; the two of them were weak and isolated, while the opposition might be two killers who don't even blink when they kill.

【Ah ah ah, where's the production team? @Production team, come save us quick! Please contact Yue Yue right away!】

【Holy crap holy crap holy crap, I'm just watching a variety show—no need to livestream catching criminals, this is more exciting than some pop star's concert!】

【Help! Production team, quickly contact the cameraman big brother, hurry and tell Yue Yue, one must never lack vigilance against others!】

【I heard big brother say he's already contacted the police; Yue Yue, this person, we might as well not rescue them! They've been waiting days—letting them wait a few more minutes is no problem!】

At the same time, the assistant director watching the livestream jumped to his feet, large beads of sweat rolling down his face: "Director Liu, Director Liu—something's happened! Something big!"

On Lianhua Mountain.

Ling Yue didn't realize that her every move was tugging at people's hearts; she could see that the person before her was wrapped in killing intent and resentment, even more so than Xu He.

The man was still pleading for her help, his eyes concealing malice completely, but he couldn't hide it from Ling Yue, nor could he conceal the blood‑qi on his body.

Ling Yue moistened her lips, about to say something, when the cameraman beside her suddenly spoke: "Ling, Ling Yue."

He spoke haltingly, his face even paler than paper, one hand touching his earpiece: "We absolutely cannot save them!"

This sentence, not to mention her, even the two people down in the pit heard it clearly; A Liang glanced at the camera on his shoulder: "Brother, we're done for!"

The legless man stared, hearing his brother say: "They must have discovered the truth."

"What should we do?"

A Liang cracked his mouth: "What else can we do? Just like before, brother, we can only wrong you."

Before the man could react, A Liang suddenly stood up, his right arm fully exposed to Ling Yue's view; in the camera, his right arm was actually empty.

Seeing this, Ming Guowei felt relieved: "It's them, it's them!"

【He has no right arm! Ahhh I just saw the photo, one person missing a right arm, another missing a finger! They're definitely not lost travelers, they're murderers!】

As soon as these words were spoken, those who saw it felt their scalps go numb in waves.

Precisely because of such a striking feature, he deliberately concealed it.

Originally, the two brothers had a good plan: hide in the mountains for a while, wait for the police to relax then escape, or simply run straight out of the mountains; after all, the south lacks much besides mountains, endless ranges stretching one after another.

But an accident occurred; they stumbled into a trap, and although they adjusted in time, they still fell in—indeed, the older brother broke his leg and couldn't stand at all.

A Liang's eyes flashed with hatred; the older man seemed to sense it, involuntarily saying: "A Liang you—"

"Pfft—"

His voice cut off abruptly, a revelation struck; he dazedly lowered his head, a bamboo as thick as an arm pierced his body, pinning him to the wall.

He was lifted by A Liang like a chick.

Seeing this, the cameraman: "!!!"

His legs went weak, he almost toppled forward!

A Liang at the pit's bottom exerted himself, then inserted three more bamboo poles; he slowly lifted his head, this scene like a slow-motion film shot, the man pulling up the corners of his mouth in an arc, making hearts tremble.

Even through the screen, knowing they were separated by thousands of miles, knowing he wasn't looking at oneself, it still made people shudder uncontrollably.

The usually lively comment stream now had not a single entry.

A Liang withdrew his gaze, and countless people exhaled in relief alongside him.

The cameraman was nearly scared to piss himself.

Ling Yue remained as calm as ever, her brows and eyes still somewhat surprised, not expecting him to choose this method; at this moment, A Liang had already revealed his true purpose—

He actually supported his brother's corpse, stepped onto his body, and climbed upward step by step; seeing the brother's eyes that died unpeaceful, A Liang sighed: "Sorry, brother, if your leg hadn't been broken and you couldn't stand, we would have climbed out long ago."

"Now we've been filmed, the cops surely know; anyway, you can't run with a broken leg, so better save your own younger brother."

His voice was even, yet his movements were swift as flying; like a monkey, in the blink of an eye he had reached the pit's edge.

Cameraman: "We gotta run!"

He wanted to pull Ling Yue along, which was also everyone's hope in the livestream; Ling Yue shook her head: "If we let him come up, we truly won't be able to run!"

Even she hadn't expected the other side to be so vicious, utterly inhuman!

A Liang looked at them ferociously, like a savage beast locking onto prey; suddenly, his head sank heavily!

In that instant, Ling Yue snapped the wrist-thick hawthorn tree beside her, her motion light as if breaking a roadside weed; the wrist-thick trunk smashed down hard!

In an instant, A Liang's head split open and bled!

He felt dizzy, gritted his teeth and crawled upward on the net; huh, after all, he's just a woman.

Ling Yue commented: "Not bad, about five parts of strength should suffice."

Suddenly seeing the beauty break a tree, netizens were stunned as if Lin Daiyu uprooting a willow; such a delicate, pretty miss striking out was an absolute kill!

【Me me me, did my eyes fail? Yueyue with one hand just snapped the tree?!】

【Ahhhhh I can't believe it, my goddess would absolutely never be this violent!】

【Violence you devil! Yueyue add oil, Yueyue hit him, hammer him down hard for me!】

Ling Yue also didn't disappoint everyone's expectations; she had merely been testing her strength, so as not to kill him with a single slap, after all this person is entangled with many karmic ties, she faintly felt he still had great use; killing him with one blow would be his release!

Ling Yue looked at him, but he thought she had been frightened silly, exhausted, pride filling his chest, until a dense shadow fell; in an instant, he seemed to hear a "Duang" sound, like a temple bell?

Ling Yue: "No, it's your head blooming!"

She had calculated her aim, watching the person fall like a broken-line kite; coincidentally, a leg landed directly on a bamboo tip.

The man immediately let out a fierce wail, comparable to slaughtering a New Year pig.

The screen trembled along, as did the cameraman; he heard the assistant director ask via earpiece: "How's it going? Have you run? Hurry up and run!"

The cameraman honestly replied: "No, we haven't run; the murderer is still climbing up after us."

Assistant director: "?!!"

The cameraman continued: "Ling Yue struck him down with a stick, smashing him back into the pit, as if——" He cautiously poked his head out, looked over, his chest still heaving, and said: "He might still have a breath left."

Later Ling Yue discovered the small fruits in the pit had already been eaten clean; she had promised the little hedgehog she'd bring it a pile of fruit in a few days, and the little hedgehog's spines reluctantly departed.

As for its former home, oh, it went to seize a rabbit burrow, still doable.

When Ling Yue descended the mountain, a group of police surrounded her, behind her was A Liang with only a breath left; down the mountain they were stuffed straight into a vehicle, the ambulance wailing as it sped away.

She also saw other people with shocked faces.

Ling Yue questioned doubtfully: "You didn't go back?"

Song Youli stared blankly, shaking her head: "We've been waiting for you all along, that, that person he..."

Ling Yue clapped her hands,

Xu He hid in his own cottage, confirmed the door was locked, then furtively took out his hidden phone; he resisted the urge to browse other things, directly opened the call log, seeing a whole line of agents calling, he was so pleased his mouth twisted.

Surely it's because he performed too well, the agents came to praise himself!

Xu He directly called back; after a few seconds the phone connected, he was about to speak when a torrent of curses burst forth, hitting him so hard his head swam.

"Xu He! Do you want to die?"

Xu He stared, stunned; the agent's words were like dense artillery fire, crackling as they aimed at him. After he finished speaking, his mush-like brain finally understood, and he sprang up: 'What are you saying? I got scolded? Song Youli went viral?! How is that possible? What does she have? What does a woman like her have?'

Because he was too angry, that oily-headed, powdered face, which could be called handsome, instantly became ferociously hideous; if a fanatical brain-dead fan were present, they would surely be scared pale.

Xu He panted, hearing a cold laugh, the agent said: 'What right do you have? Because they're smart, they're lucky—I was blind to sign you. The company poured effort into making you a top star, yet you don't know how to repay them, spouting nonsense about gods and ghosts. I tell you, if you don't shape up, I won't let you off!'

He would absolutely not let Xu He off; every bit of the capital's investment must be repaid a thousand or a hundredfold.

Upon hearing this, Xu He's body went cold, instantly going limp; he knew best how his position came about.

But that Song Youli, that vase-like female star—how did she go viral? I've been working hard today, just about to buy a hot search for myself, never expecting that Song Youli would snatch it first!

Unwilling and resentful mixed together, after hanging up the phone, Xu He directly began searching today's events; soon, his face changed dramatically.

He slammed a fierce punch onto the wooden board bed: 'I'm the top star!'

In the tranquil mountain village, the bright moon hung high; the other side of the pure moonlight was undercurrents surging.

Early the next morning, Ling Yue was drinking porridge when a flapping sound suddenly came from the eaves.

She looked up, her gaze freezing—there were two pigeons, preening each other's feathers while chatting as they preened.

'Honey, you look really pretty today~'

'You're also handsome QWQ'

'I love you so much, honey.'

'I love you too, dear husband~'

The pigeons snuggled together affectionately; those cheesy sweet words left Ling Yue unable to speak.

What's so rare about that? She withdrew her gaze—who hasn't fallen in love?

She felt a pang of sourness, and a man's face suddenly appeared in her mind; she couldn't help but pick at the table corner.

Suddenly a bang rang out; the pigeons went cooing and flying wildly, feathers scattering everywhere in the flurry.

'I was scared to death, good thing I can fly!'

'Husband, what about me? Save me!'

Ling Yue saw a familiar figure—it was the Li Hua big boss who had earlier led the way, its mouth holding a pigeon, its sturdy build like that of a fierce little tiger.

It paid no heed to the male pigeon's pecks.

Instead, it shook its head, making the male pigeon nearly cry in anger, its round pigeon eyes almost bulging out.

'Let go! Let go of my wife!'

'You big bastard! You big bastard, let go quick—if my wife dies, I won't let this rest!'

'Wuwuwu, wife, wait for me! I will definitely save you!'

Ling Yue felt somewhat moved; looking closer, she realized it was the great pigeon from Gold Dove Cave, both wings entirely gray, seeming to have considerable authority.

If she didn't intervene, the other pigeon's fate would be obvious.

Ling Yue: 'Big Li Hua?'

After seeing her, the Li Hua above instantly had its eyes light up, shook its head, looked around, set the pigeon down, stepped on it with its foot: 'Huh, where's the dumb dog? Isn't it here?'

After receiving a negative answer, the Li Hua big boss felt extremely disappointed.

Suddenly, a tempting fragrance hooked its nose; the one about to leave instantly had its eyes widen.

'So fragrant!' It was especially clever, instantly locking onto Ling Yue—more precisely, the pet food before her: 'What did you take out? It smells so good—is it like little fish? Is it dried fish?'

Ling Yue smiled: 'Fragrant, huh? Want to eat?'

The Li Hua big boss warily widened its small cat eyes: 'Yah, humans are the craftiest—are you trying to get me to work? I tell you, Mao Mao will never be a slave!'

Ling Yue: 'Unless you add another bag?'

After she took out a two-jin pack of cat food, Mao Mao's eyes couldn't move; Ling Yue then stated her request.

The Li Hua big boss: 'What? Release the pigeon? Release, release, release! Quickly give me that fragrant food!'

It instinctively felt this was far tastier than a pigeon—pigeons are tiny and all fur.

The female pigeon escaped the cat's mouth, panting in fright, its wings stiff; meanwhile, seeing his wife rescued, the gray pigeon felt grateful to Ling Yue beyond words.

'Wuwuwu, I wrongly blamed you, humans—from now on, when you go up the mountain, find me, and I'll tell you everything!'

'I'm taking my wife back now—goodbye, humans!'

Ling Yue couldn't help but startle; she had truly meant well, never expecting an extra gain, and she nodded with a smile.

Beside, the cat big boss ate while lifting its head, saying: 'You really are a good person.'

'Too bad good people don't live long, just like that kid from the Qiu family.'

Ling Yue immediately turned her head, looking at the Li Hua big cat: 'Qiu Jun?'

'Eh, Mao Mao doesn't know—do you know him?'

It didn't deny it, just tacitly accepted.

Ling Yue's heart sank involuntarily; recalling her earlier discovery, just a few days ago, she never expected things to happen this fast!

She secretly blamed herself, then immediately looked at the cat: 'What happened to Qiu Jun? Do you know the whole story?'

The Li Hua big boss shook its head, then nodded: 'I don't know; I only know that after he came back from the mountain, he suddenly fell into an unconscious sleep, and his mother cried terribly.'

'Do you want to go see?',,.