"Officer He, save me!" the female painter cried, tears streaming down her face. Her hands, like iron claws, gripped mine tightly, yet they couldn't stop her descent. Due to the rain, her grip was slipping from my palm!
At that moment, amidst the storm, everyone rushed over and helped me pull her up. Only Zhou Zijuan remained still!
With our assistance, the female painter, who was about to drown in the sea, was brought ashore. However, a massive wave then swept in!
I personally witnessed all the buildings within a hundred-mile radius being destroyed by the tsunami. We were also washed away by the colossal waves, losing our balance. Unexpectedly, after narrowly escaping one peril, we faced a new threat. We were continually swept along, battered back and forth by the icy seawater. The sheer force of the impact caused wounds to appear on our bodies. Due to her exhaustion, the female painter was the first to be swallowed by the waves. In her final moment, she screamed: "It was us! Thirteen years ago, the retired soldier Gu Yongning, Watanabe Yumi, and Jiang Yisi and I killed an elderly couple in Qingcheng Mountain, Fuming City. They had a daughter, if she's alive, she should be... That's right! The murderer is her!!"
Ah——!!
With that, the female painter was finally taken by the merciless waves. We all looked at Zhou Zijuan. She, however, displayed a look of relief and satisfaction. But, losing our balance, we were all swept along by the waves like madmen. Just as we were about to be submerged by the tsunami, as if by a miracle, we were washed ashore onto a high ground. This was a mountain range on the island, with many gentle slopes. We grabbed onto tree trunks, temporarily stabilizing ourselves. After several more onslaughts of the tsunami, we finally regained our footing. Seeing the sea receding below, I knew we had once again escaped an unforeseen disaster.
When the waves had almost subsided, we climbed to the mountaintop, awaiting rescue. Zhou Zijuan's condition worsened. Her wounds were already inflamed, and with the sea water, she was trembling all over. Dao Zhiyong held her tightly.
Dao Zhiyong no longer seemed to care. We had all guessed some underlying connection, and at this moment, I calmly approached him.
After a moment's thought, I spoke slowly: "Zhou Zijuan's original target wasn't us, but the female painter and the others visiting the island. This was because they had killed her mother. However, our appearance altered her plan.
Therefore, she had no choice but to play along. Aren't the police here to witness this? If everyone dies, we can still reveal this case to the public. If I'm not mistaken, the mysterious guest never existed. That was a tactic you used to divert our attention. And the waiter was also deceived by you. The guest was actually Dao Zhiyong in disguise. He had been here once before we arrived. We can confirm this later with our divine eye investigation. Then, Zhou Zijuan, you first dealt with the retired soldier. I couldn't understand how you could kill with mechanical arts. But with Dao Zhiyong's help, the situation changes. And Watanabe, those bloody words were written by your hand, weren't they? She called herself a gossip. If I'm not mistaken, Watanabe must have said something unpleasant to your parents. Now, before you take revenge, you wanted her to admit it herself, so you killed her. I don't know how you managed to submerge the body in the hot spring like this, but upon later examination, I found subtle fishline bindings on her body. You used this to tie her to stones near the hot spring and secure the corpse. This was discovered after the male chef entered Watanabe's room. There was still some time before daylight, enough for you to commit the crime. Finally, the female painter, you deliberately brought up the garage, didn't you? You had tampered with the electric scooter beforehand. You knew the female painter had a guilty conscience, so you knew that when a vehicle was available, she would be the first to rush to ride it! Once she got on, death was not far away. But you didn't anticipate that I would intervene and save her. At that time, only you did not act, because you desperately wanted her dead. She was one of your targets for revenge. Later, I saved her, but she was swept away by the waves. I noticed your expression was extremely pleased then, perhaps because you felt heaven had eyes. Dao Zhiyong, how could you..."
"I didn't, Group Leader He. Don't slander me. I admit, I am Zhou Zijuan's boyfriend, but it's not what you think!" Dao Zhiyong shielded Zhou Zijuan, his hands spread wide, as if ready to fight if we tried to arrest her.
"Then what is it?" I stared at him patiently.
Dao Zhiyong, not chewing betel nut at this moment, focused his gaze in my direction: "Your reasoning is close to the truth, but the mysterious guest did exist. Zhou Zijuan and I don't know who he is!"
"What?"
...
This was Qingcheng Mountain in Fuming City. After Zhou Zijuan was taken away, we came to this location. Based on Zhou Zijuan's account, we found the remains of the elderly couple. At that time, I asked her why she didn't report it to the police. She said she did, but the police couldn't find the bodies and claimed she had filed a false report.
How did we find them this time? I was initially puzzled. Even the police dogs were disoriented here.
When I discovered the skeletal remains in the cave, Liu Yuning asked me curiously: "How did you smell it when the police dogs couldn't? Don't tell me your nose is better than a police dog's?"
I smiled slightly and pointed to my nose: "Haha, this area is covered with sheep droppings, the smell is overwhelming and severely damaged the police dogs' sense of smell. But using the 'dog gate' scent detection of my He family, these smells are nowhere to hide. Thus, I discovered the skeletal remains here! This is because of years of skeletal remains, the stench of decomposition does not diminish. Stench, as the name suggests, refers to the foul odor emitted after a body decomposes. After a person dies, bodily functions cease. The putrefying bacteria in the intestines, no longer controlled by the human immune system, multiply in large numbers. As the putrefying bacteria proliferate, the body begins to produce putrefying gases. These gases accumulate in the body, causing it to swell considerably. The colon, under pressure from these gases, expands into the upper intestinal tract. This is when we see the deceased's abdomen distend. These putrefying gases also leak out through orifices like the mouth, nose, and anus, which people call 'stench.' There's another point, the vegetation here is gone, but nearby, roses are blooming..."