Chapter 1515

How do you know we haven't taken any action in the past ten years?

Ying Gui spoke of past events, letting out a few low laughs, 'But a butterfly has to wait until it matures to break its cocoon; nobody has the heart to harm a bunch of silkworm babies.'

That sounded strange, and Jin Chen's frown deepened: 'Are the victims all carefully chosen by you?'

Then why, no matter how we investigate, aside from the website, can we find no other collective connection among these victims?

No, Jin Chen suddenly remembered: the Green Ring Psychiatric Hospital is their second common point, and Wu Lin is also one of them.

So this person today is eager to kill them, perhaps not only out of fear that the police will continue investigating, but also to eliminate Wu Lin as a variable.

Jin Chen moved closer to the car door again, the oppressive feeling of death surged once more, Ying Gui's face grew even grimmer, and his whole body shuddered.

'When did you receive the news, and why did you suddenly decide to act?'

That question wasn't easy to answer; Ying Gui hemmed and hawed for a moment, his gaze falling on the scalpel in Wu Lin's hand.

'In less than twenty minutes, the fuel and the empty vehicle were already ready… it won't take much time.'

Jin Chen's worst suspicion still came true.

The clue to the Green Ring Psychiatric Hospital was only discovered a few dozen minutes ago; his and Wu Lin's conversation is unlikely to be monitored, and Ling Gun Gun couldn't have missed it.

Then the problem must lie in those few phone calls with Duan Xiao Bai and the team members.

There are ears in the bureau.

No wonder the information about the case in the original plot spread so quickly; besides the protagonist being affected by this turncoat variable, the bureau also has ears planted by the Ghost Butterfly.

At this point, only those I brought out myself can be trusted.

Jin Chen quickly sent a message in the seven‑person group, telling everyone to pay close attention and not leak any investigation‑related information in any public setting.

The quickest to respond was Wei Yan: Jin Team, Doctor Gu invited me to see the art exhibition……

This poor kid really didn't want to go, but he still remembered the Jin Team's "beauty trap", so he couldn't bring himself to refuse right away.

Jin Chen: Go, Yi Tian, follow along without showing yourself, test whether Doctor Gu knows about the website.

Yi Tian: Received.

Duan Xiao Bai was visiting the owners of other accounts; the shorter the time someone had joined the website, the easier they were to persuade, but the situation was also very bleak.

"Hey, old man, thanks for your hard work."

Duan Xiao Bai came out of the residential complex, casually greeted the security guard, "If anything happens with the household I just mentioned, remember to call the police immediately."

"Okay, okay, officer, take care."

Duan Xiao Bai just happened to see Jin Chen's message; his hairs stood on end, he replied with an OK and began to speculate in his mind who the ear inside the police station belonged to.

A few minutes later, the content on Duan Xiao Bai's screen was enlarged by the monitor; the person wearing a hat narrowed his eyes and took out a dedicated walkie-talkie.

"They've found it, they're destroying that ear."

——

"You managed to escape back then only because of your luck, and now you actually want to go back to that place voluntarily……"

The Shadow Ghost thought Wu Lin already knew about the past events, and wanted to provoke him without restraint; as long as Wu Lin's killing intent was aroused, that scalpel could replace fire as the thing that kills him.

The Shadow Ghost really wants to die; for now, the scalpel is the tool that best suits his wishes.

Who would have thought Wu Lin merely tilted his head, leaning on Jin Chen as he gave him a doubtful look.

"Go on." Wu Lin said.

The Shadow Ghost froze, and then a bad premonition surfaced belatedly.

If Wu Lin really knew nothing, wouldn't that remark just now be a hint?

In his panic, the Shadow Ghost couldn't care about anything else, and even forgot Rose's words "Never mention Old Mu again" to the back of his mind.

"The day your master died, we were all there." The Shadow Ghost revealed a near‑cruel smile, like a demon finally crawling out of hell, enough to make people's blood run cold.

"Why do you think you lost your memory? Because you personally saw that meddling idiot cop get killed! You just don't remember!"

Jin Chen's attention was jerked back from the group messages, he pulled the suddenly silent Wu Lin into his embrace and kicked the Shadow Ghost, shouting, "You damn well behave yourself!"

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and was even less willing to believe that perhaps a few years ago Wu Lin was still one of "them".

All he could do was follow that line of questioning: "What else do you know? Who exactly killed Old Mu?"

The Shadow Ghost's throat filled with a bloody sweet taste from the pain; he hoarsely shouted a few times: "I don't know…… Back then, I was just a low‑level lackey, only responsible for keeping watch! But…… but back then I really did see him!"

Ten years ago, Wu Lin was only sixteen, none of his symptoms had appeared yet—why would he have any connection to a psychiatric hospital?

Even the few clues were now shrouded in gloom, making them impossible to see clearly or shake off.

"Where is Rose?" Jin Chen asked finally.

"In……" The Shadow Ghost knew that if he said that, even if he survived today, the omnipresent Ghost Butterfly would find out; he shuddered again and let out a few pleading gasps.

"I'll tell you…… I have a demand—kill me! If you kill me today, I'll tell you everything!"

"Speak." Wu Lin straightened up from Jin Chen's embrace, his voice cold and trembling, as if maintaining his calm had taken all his composure: "If you were involved in what happened back then, I will definitely kill you."

Wu Lin's face was stiff, showing no expression, even giving Jin Chen the illusion that if Wu Lin truly discovered that he had been a bystander when Old Mu was killed ten years ago, he would not hesitate to kill himself.

"Rose is in the gallery, monitoring everything that happens in this city; Rose is the Ghost Butterfly's eyes."

This time the Shadow Ghost didn't need to be coerced; after saying that, he fixed his gaze tightly on the knife in Wu Lin's hand.

But at that moment, Wu Lin merely faced the Shadow Ghost's direction and flung himself into Jin Chen's embrace.

Jin Chen instinctively wrapped his arms around him; the shift in angle left him with his back to the car window, "Wu Lin…"

Wu Lin's arms slipped around Jin Chen's shoulders, locking himself tightly in the embrace, his voice weak: "I can't remember, my head hurts so much."

He rarely acted like this, begging for affection; Jin Chen felt a pang in his heart, his palm covering the back of the person's neck in his embrace and gently massaging.

Just then, a sound came from behind Jin Chen—a blade piercing his body.

Jin Chen stared for a moment, then turned his head to look at the Shadow Ghost behind him.

The scalpel was right at the center of his chest—something a medical examiner could easily do; Wu Lin showed no expression as he withdrew his hand, then gave Jin Chen a faint smile.

Jin Chen helped the unconscious Shadow Ghost to his feet, and in the motion of his body he missed Wu Lin's hand reaching to tug at his shirt cuff.

Wu Lin's heart quivered; he instinctively glanced at his empty hand, then lifted his gaze to Jin Chen, who was trying to stabilize the shadow ghost's life.