This house was very close to the villa where old Mrs. Dulage now resided, and we soon arrived. Compared to Dulage's villa, it was not as grand, but its decor was elegant. However, time had taken its toll, leaving it appearing extremely old. Many walls were covered in moss, and the glass windows bore numerous cracks. Some sections of the walls had even collapsed.
As Liu Yu Ning and I walked in, we were both concerned that the walls might just crumble. We carefully avoided the dangerous areas, stepping into this long-sealed dwelling, once inhabited by a gifted artist.
Although the interior was a chaotic mess from a ransacking, a close observation still allowed us to glimpse Du Meisha's dedicated artistic pursuits. In the main hall stood a workbench, a design drawing laid out, art supplies scattered across the desk, and a laptop nearby. I tested it; despite years of disuse, it seemed functional if charged. I decided to take it back for He Xin to examine. I refrained from working here, fearing that the environment would make her too scared to function.
In the hall, we saw overturned cabinets, plates, and boxes. The floor was littered with discarded paper scraps, several newspapers, and even medical supplies. I crouched down to examine them closely, having already donned necessary protective gear like rubber gloves and head coverings.
Near a bottle of medicine, I found an undissolved pill and carefully placed it in an evidence bag. We also collected more hair samples, noting that some did not appear to belong to a woman. I then went to the bathroom, but found nothing unusual. I was about to check the bedrooms when I heard Liu Yu Ning's strange cry from not too far away.
I rushed towards the sound, worried something had happened to her. However, in a room nearby, I found her sitting on the floor, seemingly terrified by something she had seen. I hurried in, helped her up, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Look!" She pointed to a corner of the wall. Whatever could have frightened Liu Yu Ning to this extent could not be ordinary. As I turned my head and saw a shadow at the top of the wall, my heart skipped a beat. On the dark wall, in a secluded corner, was a silver-white symbol. Upon closer inspection, I realized it wasn't a symbol at all! It was the outline of the "Galaxy Light"!
How could this be? Had the "Galaxy Light" once hung here?
I stepped onto the bed, looking up at the wall. As it was now night, I used my flashlight to illuminate the area, but found no hooks or anything similar. If it had been hanging here before, the traces would have been more obvious, unless someone had deliberately created an illusion.
With this thought, I looked at the other side of the wall and indeed saw a beam of light projected onto it, like light from a cinema projector. I immediately understood what was happening.
I took Liu Yu Ning's hand and led her to another room. She asked me, puzzled, "He Sheng, what's wrong?"
"It seems someone wants to tell us something!"
"Ah? You mean the current murderer?"
"I'm not sure. Let's discuss it in the next room!"
I pushed open the door to the adjacent room and shone my flashlight around. Sure enough, not far from the floor, a video camera was set up. I went behind it, adjusted it a few times, and managed to project the "Galaxy Light" into this room. Understanding this, Liu Yu Ning breathed a sigh of relief, but then quickly said, "This machine doesn't look like it's been here long. Look, the surrounding parts are still clean and dust-free!"
"Exactly. Someone is guiding us on how to solve this case, and it's specifically related to the 'Galaxy Light.' This is quite interesting indeed."
"You still say that. We've been searching for so long and haven't found any useful clues, while the killer has already murdered so many people."
Perhaps it was our bad luck, but as we were leaving Du Meisha's house, my phone rang. After answering, Gao Ming Qiang told me excitedly, "Team leader, I regret to inform you that Mr. Collins has also been murdered!"
"What? Didn't you have many people around him? And those fans, the police, and so on!"
"Somehow, Collins managed to slip away to the restroom, deceiving everyone, and ran out. After a while, his body was found in the garbage dump near the association!"
"I understand. We're coming over now!"
Earlier, we had found some fresh footprints in Du Meisha's house. I wondered if...
But I wasn't sure at the time. I asked Liu Yu Ning to go ahead, while I headed towards Dulage's house.
About two hours later, I arrived at the landfill. I discovered it was the only one in Sha Hai Town, vast in area and piled high with discarded items. Many police officers, already equipped, were guarding the site. As I walked into a landfill area, I saw Xie Chu Chu and Zhang Ke Ying moving Collins' body out from a pile of garbage. What was the killer trying to do? Throwing him into a garbage heap? Was it a hint that they despised him, that he was no different from trash?
As we knelt beside the body, Zhang Ke Ying conducted her initial examination. Xie Chu Chu, pinching the deceased's skin, said, "Time of death was about three hours ago, around the time he left the association. About half an hour after he left, the tragic news came. Have you noticed his mouth!"
My gaze immediately shifted. Collins' mouth seemed to be stuffed with something, and the edges of his lips were stitched shut!
But that wasn't all. His limbs and some other body parts also showed signs of being stitched. Although he wasn't wearing Lolita clothing, I could still smell that familiar violet scent from the garbage heap. I had initially assumed it came from Roy's house, but Roy was already dead.
Xie Chu Chu and Zhang Ke Ying carefully removed the stitches from the deceased's lips. His mouth opened like a deflating balloon, and something was instantly expelled. It turned out to be feathers and some paper scraps, which instantly floated around the entire crime scene, creating a disturbingly eerie spectacle.