Chapter 237: Four‑Person Group Splits

On the night of the next day, a major incident occurred in Hawkins Town.

Sheriff Jim received a radio call at the Hawkins police station, claiming that the body of the missing eighth‑grade student Wei Er Bairesi had been found.

"Damn!"

Sheriff Jim was a tall, burly white man, and when he hung up the phone he squeezed too hard, cracking the plastic handset with several fissures.

He tugged at his hair hard, unsure how to speak to the child's mother.

Just as he grabbed his coat to head to the scene, Qiaoyisi Bairesi—Wei Er's mother—had already rushed into the police station in a panic.

"Jim, what they said isn't true! Wei Er isn't dead, believe me—I just got in touch with him!"

Qiaoyisi's hair was a tangled mess, looking unwashed for days; her once graceful face was marred by deep dark circles, and she clutched Jim's uniform tightly, trying to persuade him.

Jim sighed; he knew many people refuse to accept reality when a close relative dies. But Qiaoyisi was being unreasonable.

These past days she kept saying that Wei Er was trying to contact her, but when Jim went to his house he found her claim that Wei Er was communicating through some light bulb utterly nonsensical.

He grasped Qiaoyisi's shoulder hard, the gaunt feel startling him. Once, when they were both young, he had loved Qiaoyisi, whose beauty then was like a blossoming flower.

But their bond was shallow, they missed each other; Jim hadn't paid attention to Qiaoyisi for years, and now he saw that life had crushed her back.

So the harsh words that should have been on his lips softened: "Calm down, Qiaoyisi. Let's go check the quarry together; I believe you."

Wei Er's body had been found in a pond at the quarry. Qiaoyisi regained her composure; though she still claimed Wei Er was alive, she followed Jim to the quarry.

When they reached the outskirts of the quarry, it was already surrounded by reporters and ambulances. Even Mike and his three companions had arrived nearby.

"So this is what you said—Wei Er is still alive?! You're a liar!" the black teen Lucas shouted angrily at Subject 11.

They followed Subject 11 through the forest all day, and finally Subject 11 led them to Wei Er's house, pointing at the home and saying Wei Er was inside.

By then they no longer believed; if Wei Er were truly inside, why would Qiaoyisi be so frantic?

Wei Er's house was not far from the quarry, and at that moment many ambulances and police cars passed their location; sensing something off, they hopped on bicycles and rode here.

All they heard were the adults saying that Wei Er's body had been found.

Subject 11 grew anxious; although they had only spent a few days together, the warmth the peer gave her was something she had never experienced in her life.

So she flustered, trying to explain: "No, um, not—Wei Er."

Her explanation earned no trust; even Mike, who liked her the most, looked at her with disappointment and said, "Enough, are you still trying to fool us!"

"Wei Er is... is already dead! I don't have friends like you!"

Subject 11 listened to Mike's words and felt a pang in her heart, then cried, turned, and ran away.

She knew that someone like her could never truly be liked by anyone.

Not to mention the bittersweet feeling Mike had watching Subject 11 flee. Qiaoyisi at that moment felt her legs go weak. Even though she firmly believed Wei Er wasn't dead, even though she knew everything she said was true, when Wei Er's body was hauled from the water, her heart still felt as cold as if it had sunk to the ocean floor.

Was everything she'd experienced these past days real?

First she received a call and heard Wei Er's voice on the other end. Then the light bulbs at home kept flickering, as if trying to communicate with her.

These details kept her convinced that Wei Er was still alive.

But when she saw Wei Er's corpse, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

"No, no—that's not Wei Er."

Medical staff on the nearby ambulance had already gathered around the corpse, preparing to photograph it and then transport it in the ambulance to the hospital morgue.

But before they could act, a team of trench‑coat detectives in suits blocked them.

"We're from the state police; from now on this case will be handled by the Indiana State Police headquarters."

A trench‑coat man produced his credentials, then unquestioningly ordered the corpse to be carried away.

Jim was bewildered, not knowing why the state police would intervene in such a small case.

But his rank was insufficient; although the state police's actions irritated him by disregarding the Hawkins police department, he was powerless.

!

Meanwhile, Qiaoyisi was already dazed and hadn't noticed what was happening around her.

A light summer rain pattered down, the ambulances and reporters left, leaving only Qiaoyisi sitting on the ground and Jim silently by her side.

Jim stared at the deep pond in the night, sighed, and just as he was about to comfort Qiaoyisi to go home, a footstep sounded behind him.

He turned and saw a tall figure in a black trench coat standing in the rain; a large black umbrella concealed the person's face, with only strands of dazzling silver hair hanging from beneath the canopy.

Jim felt uneasy, a hint of caution in him; after all, this was the site where the body was found, and a mysterious stranger's sudden appearance prompted the detective to ask, "Who are you? What are you doing here so late?"

He knew many murderers return to the scene to admire their handiwork!

Although it was still unclear whether Wei Er's death was homicide, as a detective he couldn't let any clue slip.

The man under the umbrella chuckled lightly, "Qiaoyisi Bairesi?"

The man's voice was a whisper in the mist; Qiaoyisi heard it, her stunned silhouette twitched, she turned to glance at him, then fell silent again.

Jim, seeing the other ignore him, frowned and said, "I'm asking you a question! If you don't answer, I'll take you back to the station as a suspect!"

The man continued in a hazy tone, "Want to find Wei Er?"

His words made Qiaoyisi snap her head back, and even Jim stared at him with a sharp gaze.

"What… what are you saying? You know where my Wei Er is, right? Wei Er isn't dead, right? I knew it. I knew that corpse isn't Wei Er's!" Qiaoyisi anxiously stood up, looking at the man as if trying to grasp the last straw of hope.

But Jim was different; his left hand had already reached for the pistol at his waist.

This damned charlatan, spouting nonsense here!

(End of Chapter)