Chapter 787 The Skin-Rippers

When the name Cao Xiangyang was mentioned, Bai Junren’s body trembled slightly. After a long, long silence, he slowly turned his head, controlled by two bailiffs, and said with a stiff mouth, "How can you say I'm Cao Xiangyang? Have you lost him? Hahaha!! You just casually say someone is him, and then you can complete your mission? It seems even the Punishment Group has times when they are powerless. I never thought you would resort to those despicable police tactics, those low-down methods to close a case, letting the real culprit escape while you claim the case is solved? Hahaha! How ridiculous!"

"Bai Junren!" I suddenly called out his name again. He didn’t seem more relaxed, but calmly said, "Why aren't you calling me Cao Xiangyang anymore? Never mind, you've got it wrong. I'm absolutely not him. Don't worry, you'll still have something to investigate even if I die. Keep investigating. Don't think the Guizhu is finished just like that. It's not that easy. Actually, let me tell you, I don't know where they are either. Before you went to Ocean Park that day, I had already arranged for my students to be picked up. You won't find them. They've returned to headquarters. Hahaha!"

"What did you say?"

Bai Junren didn’t answer my question and left with the bailiffs, leaving me staring at his retreating back in stunned silence…

It seemed our action that day was a bit slow. We thought the mission had concluded perfectly, but there were still omissions. Bai Junren hadn't said anything during his interrogation, so he must have planned to vehemently slap the police in the face at this moment.

That’s right! He even predicted that I would come to see him off today, or rather, to conduct the ultimate test.

After all, I wouldn't have another chance to see Bai Junren before today.

Suddenly, I felt dizzy. Yes, we had captured Bai Junren, but he had thoroughly tricked us before his death. Now we were in a dilemma. If the Guizhu wasn't eradicated, they would definitely continue their investigations. But this was an uncertain event. If we believed they were eradicated, could we truly be at ease? What if similar schemes appeared again one day, leading to someone in our Punishment Group being framed again, or even imprisoned…

I dared not imagine further. What a Guizhu! To escape their crimes, they even changed their name to Zuizhizhe.

However, this was just what Bai Junren said. What if the situation was completely different? What if it was the reverse…

What if they were Zuizhizhe, who pulled the Guizhu into it to save their remnants? Then the situation would be entirely different. Which one was it? Which situation was it!?

Who could tell me?!

As I thought, the sun suddenly felt incredibly harsh. My legs weakened, and I collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness…

From my unconsciousness, somehow, I saw someone who looked exactly like Cao Xiangchen, slowly walking towards my bedside. He held a theatrical mask and chuckled, saying, "Detective He, have you ever played with masks? Have you watched Peking Opera! Hahaha! Look at my face, am I Bai Junren, or the killer of Cao Xiangchen, or Cao Xiangyang? Do you think Cao Xiangyang really exists? Really? Look!"

The person resembling Cao Xiangchen slowly slit his own throat with a dagger in front of me. Blood gushed out, splattering onto my bed. I stared at him with wide eyes, wanting to struggle, to avoid the terrifying, ripped-apart face. But Cao Xiangchen’s dagger slowly descended, from the base of his skull, then through his chest cavity, and into his abdomen. He was digging into his own human skin, tearing it, and in front of me, completely stripping his skin away…

That’s right, he was peeling off his skin like a shedding snake, and then he reached into his internal organs and rummaged around. While doing this, Cao Xiangchen coughed up mouthfuls of blood and even stomach fluid: "Detective He, look, is this me? Am I Cao Xiangchen, or Cao Xiangyang! You tell me! You tell me! Who am I…"

"You are Cao Xiangyang! Cao Xiangyang!!" I roared, and suddenly my eyes snapped open. I found myself in a stark white hospital room. Liu Yuning, by my side, became excited when she saw me awake and grabbed my arm, "He Sheng, what's wrong? Have you been too tired lately? You fainted at the detention center…"

"I, cough, water!" I said with difficulty, feeling parched. Liu Yuning was very agile and immediately opened a bottle of mineral water for me to drink. After I gulped down several mouthfuls, Liu Yuning said, "Cao Xiangyang is dead!"

"Pfft!" I spat out a mouthful of mineral water directly onto her face. She didn’t get angry, wiped herself with a tissue, and said with a bitter smile, "Someone found his body in a rented apartment. His skin had been peeled off…"

"Wh-what?" I looked at Liu Yuning in horror. The next second, Liu Yuning’s words made me almost jump out of bed.

"Bastard! That guy was Bai Junren. We were all fooled. The one who went to the detention center that day! No! It shouldn't be like that. We couldn't catch him. That wasn't him. We were tricked by a pretender again. Do you know? The one in the rented apartment was the real one. That guy must have used another pretender to take his place, and the real person escaped while we were surrounding Ocean Park."

"Ah!" I cried out. This must be what Liu Yuning had investigated while I was unconscious.

Before I could respond, Liu Yuning continued, "We compared his pre-death photos using dental impressions and skull shape, and conducted mitochondrial DNA analysis. So don't argue. Bai Junren is Cao Xiangyang, that's a fact. But we don't know why he was skinned, and who the skinning culprit is?"

"So, there's a new case now?" I said.

"En, you know, a person can't peel off their own skin."

I didn't tell Liu Yuning that I had just had a similar nightmare.

To be precise, I didn't dare to tell her, because I was afraid she would be scared stiff. I could only conceal it, forever keeping this terrifying secret hidden. Unfortunately, I didn't expect that my condition would worsen later, even causing me to contract some terrible illness…

Liu Yuning told me to rest. Then, after receiving some unknown phone call, she had to rush off again. I told her not to worry about me for the moment. Just then, a strange nurse walked past her…