Chapter 2575: Rustling Down (70)

It was another beautiful afternoon. Dark clouds lingered on the horizon for a long time, a thin layer of clouds covering the scorching sun, making the sunlight softer and gentler, and the constant sea breeze also softened.

Today was a good day for fishing. Shiler took his fishing gear and the artificial bait he made last night to the lakeside.

He walked all the way down the lakeside and sure enough saw the neighbor who loved lure fishing in the upper reaches of the stream. When giving him the invitation, Shiler knew his name was Fete, 53 years old this year, and a retired special engineer.

Shiler walked up and chatted with Fete. The opening remark was his housewarming party, and Fete was obviously very interested in this. He thought he could bring a big fish he caught himself, and Shiler readily agreed.

Then they talked about today's main topic, which was fishing. According to Fete, there were very rich fish resources in this lake and this stream, especially at the junction of the lake and the river, where lure fishing enthusiasts would never be disappointed.

Then he emphasized to Shiler that only lure fishing was allowed in this water area, and any type of real bait was not allowed to be thrown. The implication was that if you were the kind of fisherman who could only catch fish by nesting, you'd better go far away early.

Shiler introduced himself to Fete and said that he had been busy with work before and really had no time to fish. Recently, the school moved, and he was free, so he planned to develop a hobby.

Fete was even more enthusiastic and began to introduce to Shiler that his fishing spot was usually on a rugged large rock on the south side of the stream, which was the only way for the fish school to migrate.

Then he said with some doubt, "I don't know what's wrong recently, the fish school has no movement. I suspect that the bastards who fish with electricity have thrown bait into the lake again. If it's still like this, I have to go to the community police officer."

"Oh, by the way, did you bring artificial bait?" Fete looked back at Shiler and asked.

Shiler took out the artificial bait he made. Fete took it and looked at it, showing a surprised expression and saying, "Is it actually made by yourself? Professor, this is really amazing."

He looked at the artificial bait carefully, and then said with some doubt, "What are these hairs? Wild boar hair? Or the hair of some long-haired animal?"

"It's the mane of a male moose." Shiler pointed at his neck and said, "It's the hair under their chin. They always get soaked when they drink water. That form reminds me of fish swimming in the water."

Under the gentle sunlight, the artificial bait presented a semi-shuttle shape that was sharp at the top and thick at the bottom. The brown-black hair stood up one by one, shining with a soft luster in the sun.

"Full of creativity." Fete handed the artificial bait to Shiler and said, "Let me show you my stick boys."

As he said this, he lowered his head to set up the fishing rod and walked to the black cloth bag on the side to rummage. Shiler stood where he was.

Soon, Fete straightened up, but what he took out was not fish bait, but a long hunting rifle, the black muzzle pointed directly at Shiler.

"Don't move." Fete shook his beard, squinting his eyes and staring at Shiler, "Don't play these tricks with me, I know that's not moose hair, but human hair."

"Then how did you know, sir?"

"Whose person are you? FBI? Has this group of idiots been chasing me for more than thirty years and still not giving up?"

"I'm not anyone's person, sir. Have you heard of the recent mysterious corpse dumping case?"

"Do you suspect I did it?"

"Oh, of course not." Shiler smiled and shook his head, "You wouldn't be so wasteful, you wouldn't let them have any left."

Fete's face sank. Shiler turned the bait in his hand and said, "Did you carefully look at the invitation I sent you?"

Fete stared at him inexplicably. Shiler had to say more straightforwardly, "In fact, I really like the article "Twelve Wonderful Uses of Human Surplus Value" you published. This bait is made using the method you introduced. Not bad, right?"

Fete immediately showed a look of realization. He said, "Which one are you? You wouldn't be the kid who wrote "Chemical Agents Can Help You Solve All Troubles" and wasted things, right?"

Shiler just looked at him with a smile.

Suddenly, Fete's face changed. He stared straight at Shiler and said, "Professor? You are the professor???"

"Should I say long time no see?" Shiler smiled and said, "Mr. Gourmet, you haven't published any decent articles for a long time recently. Did you encounter any trouble?"

After realizing Shiler's identity, Fete instinctively took two steps back, his Adam's apple moved.

Shiler took a step forward, and Fete immediately roared at him, "Don't come over, otherwise I'll shoot! Why are you looking for me?"

"I'm not joking, sir. I moved to this community and invited everyone nearby to attend my housewarming party. Today, I really want to learn fishing skills."

Fete looked at him with a gloomy face.

"Well, by the way, I'm also here to introduce a business." Shiler turned his head to look at his house. Across the lake and the lawn, it was the only lonely house sitting on the skyline, looking a bit dreamy in the hazy light.

"Did I just hear you say you want to find the community police officer?"

Fete looked at him silently and said, "You don't think I'm afraid of dealing with the police, do you? Or are you afraid?"

"Of course I'm not afraid, but I don't suggest you write him into your recipe."

"Why?"

"Of course because it's unnecessary. Did you catch any fish yesterday, sir?"

"Yes, I caught three good big guys."

"Then you have already tasted it."

Fete's pupils shrank. He said, "You killed him and threw him into the lake? Why did you do this? We need people to maintain public order!"

"Of course someone will come to maintain public order, and it is the same person." Shiler looked down at the bait in his hand and said, "If you don't believe it, let's make a bet."

"What bet?"

"I know you've wanted to do this for a long time."

"Do what?"

"Taste the taste of justice and the rule of law." Shiler looked up at Fete's eyes and said, "When justice melts in your mouth, you want to know what else they will say to your heart. You thought about doing this before, but you weren't sure, so you never put it into practice."

"You are really crazy." Fete shook his head and said, "I never thought that the person who organized this club would be a cop."

"I said I'm not."

"Then how do you know I... are you going to say you can read minds?"

"This guess is more reliable than me being a law enforcement officer. In fact, I am a psychologist."

"Then you can read minds?"

"No, I'll say it again, I can't, but I can analyze the source of your knot. Perhaps it was a childhood accident, people who shouldn't have died died, people who shouldn't have lived lived, and justice and the rule of law didn't bring you anything. You didn't get justice, so you wanted to swallow them into your belly to see if there would be a different taste."

"You are simply crazy."

"There must be some sensory stimulation, I guess... a fire? You were very hungry at that time, and the smell of protein being cooked was too fragrant and tempting. You couldn't resist the instinct to eat from humans. Since then, you have been chasing that aroma, looking for it, looking for it..."

Fete slowly put down the gun.

Soon the two of them sat side by side on the rock. Fete stroked the handle of the hunting rifle and said, "I haven't written anything for so long, I was brewing to say all this, but I don't know how to express it, or rather, words are too pale for this."

"Who died? Your brother or sister?"

"My brother." Fete sighed and said, "It was my own brother. Our biological parents died in a car accident. A couple who lived by adopting children to get insurance money adopted us. In that era, the law was not sound, and there were many such things."

"Did they abuse you?"

"Yes, not only did we have to help them work on the farm, but not giving us food was also a common occurrence. I always felt very hungry since I was a child. Every time I got any food, I would eat it all as quickly as possible, and my father would only mock me from the side, saying that I was a greedy hyena, stupider than the pigs in the pigsty."

Fete recalled and said, "My brother always protected me, helped me do the heavy and tiring work, and would stop them when I was beaten, and even several times was pushed to the ground and knocked unconscious."

"I found out that I was different from others since I was a child. I wouldn't have any feelings for the lambs that had been raised for a long time, and I was indifferent to watching them being slaughtered, and I didn't feel much pain even when I was beaten, I just always felt hungry."

"I set a fire." Fete said, "I've had enough of that place, I wanted to burn it all down."

"The two of them tried their best to put out the fire, but in the end, everything was swallowed by the flames, including my brother who was locked in the room. I heard him screaming outside the door, but what attracted me most was the charming smell of meat."

"Were your parents burned to death?"

"No, I didn't let them die. 99% of their bodies were severely burned. I don't know how to describe it. Anyway, their appearance at that time made all the police, firefighters, and doctors scream."

Shiler suddenly laughed, and Fete also laughed. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "They were awake and asked the hospital to try their best to save themselves, but they had no money for skin grafting. I can imagine what they would become later."

"And your brother..."

"He was liberated." Fete supported his head with his hands and said, "I saw him sleeping in the flames. Someone took his soul to a peaceful place. I wish he could leave his body. That was the most tempting aroma I had ever smelled, but unfortunately, I didn't find anything after I went back."

"Was your parents' matter exposed?"

"They killed the previous four adopted children, all by way of unfortunate fires. The fifth one was my brother, but the police didn't find anything, and they still haven't, but that doesn't matter anymore."

"You threw all the inedible parts into the lake." Shiler said, "Water has a deeper meaning to you."

"Flesh and blood boil in the flames, and bones should be eroded in the water. This is a balance that allows their souls to rest in peace."

"You sound like a priest."

"I am doing the work that the priest failed to do." A light appeared on Fete's face, "All the turmoil in this world comes from this. People don't know how to balance heat and cold, let desire burn everything, and treat others like cold ice."

"Then are you tempted by the aroma, or do you just want them to experience everything they did before they died?" Shiler asked.

"This is not contradictory. What is tempted by the aroma is my instinct, and what wants to make them suffer the consequences is my reason."

"Primitive hunger and transcendental sense of responsibility have forged a brand new you, allowing you to take a big step toward civilized society, making fire, cooking food, and enjoying the dual satisfaction of physiology and spirit."

"Tell me what you are going to do?" Fete said, "Even if our two houses are close, you came so far, it shouldn't just be to show me that you can read minds, right?"

Shiler didn't want to refute anymore, he just said, "I said, I'm here to introduce you to a business."

"I have no interest in extra labor."

"You don't need to do any labor, I just provide you with ingredients and pay you a garbage disposal fee." ===== CHAPTER 2576 =====