Jiang Ye asked, “In 2005, what exactly happened to my mom?”
Jin Feize took a photocopied document from his bag and handed it to him.
Jiang Ye lowered his head and flipped through it. The cover was stamped Top Secret.
This document was an investigation record from the Special Biology Research Institute regarding a missing-persons case in Western Yunnan. The date was May 16, 2005. The person in charge of the investigation was Jin Ruohai.
As he read, Jin Feize said, “In 2005, your mother participated in an archaeological project as an invited scholar. Some special relics had been unearthed near Taisui Village in Western Yunnan, and the Archaeological Research Center under the Western Yunnan Yuxi Cultural Relics Bureau sent an archaeological team to excavate them. Your mother was invited to the site to study the lacquer paintings unearthed there. She disappeared on the second day after she arrived.
“On the third day, Western Yunnan sent out a search-and-rescue team to conduct a blanket search for your mother. It wasn’t until the eighth day that the team found her. When she was found, her mental state was extremely unstable. She firmly believed a military unit had been stationed around the site and had gone deep into the mountains. Her description was very detailed. She even named the specific unit, and a person called Jiang Ran. According to her, that unit’s designation was Border Defense Infantry Unit 607, and the person she knew was a professor at the Special Biology Research Institute of Capital University.
“According to the investigation, Western Yunnan did indeed have a unit with the same designation your mother described. Its station was one hundred li northwest of the mountain village. But Capital University had no one named Jiang Ran at all. The psychiatrist diagnosed your mother with anxiety disorder. The military unit and Jiang Ran were both judged to be hallucinations produced under extreme psychological stress after your mother got lost in the jungle. Later, at the hospital, they detected LSD in your mother’s blood. The police suspected your mother had used LSD, and combined with her anxiety disorder, that was why she had produced such realistic hallucinations.”
Jiang Ye asked, “What was the Special Biology Research Institute’s conclusion?”
“Have you ever heard of this theory?” Jin Feize explained unhurriedly. “The scientists at the Special Biology Research Institute believe that within the multiverse, countless layered, juxtaposed spaces exist. They are like the pulp segments of an orange, pressing against one another while existing at the same time. Other spaces are very different from our world and extremely dangerous. There are overlapping and intersecting parts between pulp segments, and there are also overlapping regions between spaces. The institute calls these regions ‘forbidden zones.’”
Jiang Ye’s heart sank. “You mean my mom entered a forbidden zone?”
“That’s right,” Jin Feize continued. “And there’s another interesting thing. After your mother came back from that place, she developed a severe psychological illness.”
Jiang Ye looked down.
The file included his mother’s psychological treatment records and the psychiatrist’s diagnosis. It said:
The patient has at least two sharply distinct personality identities. The primary personality is Jiang Ruochu, an archaeological scholar with keen powers of observation and analysis. The secondary personality calls herself Alpha, is proficient in combat and firearms, has a fondness for tobacco and alcohol, and shows a slight tendency toward violence. The two do not share memories, but both know of each other’s existence.
Jiang Ye was deeply shocked.
He had only known his mother suffered from insomnia. He had never imagined her psychological illness had become this severe.
Jin Feize smiled with curved eyes. “These files are all classified. It wasn’t easy for me to get them for you. Remember to destroy them after you finish reading.”
Jiang Ye said, “How do you know all this? Who exactly are you? The investigator on this report is Jin Ruohai. You’re both surnamed Jin. What’s your relationship?”
“He’s my father, the Dean of the Special Biology Research Institute of Capital University, and Shen Duo’s mentor and direct superior. But these documents weren’t given to me by him. He hates me and doesn’t even want to see me. I got these from my grandfather. My grandfather is the head of the Jin family, and also a kind old man who dotes on his grandson.”
Jiang Ye thought of the study materials in Jin Feize’s bookcase. The person who had gifted them had been signed as his grandfather.
For a moment, Jiang Ye did not know what to say.
Jin Feize’s tone was excited, as if he were full of anticipation. “Jiang Ye, I hate your mother, but I like you. After your mother dies, I want to cut off your head and turn it into a specimen, then put it by my bed. What do you think?”
Jiang Ye: “…”
There was an inexplicable madness about this guy.
Jin Feize did not even know what that black water was, yet he had dared to inject Jiang Ye with it. He had clearly known headless corpses were hiding on this cargo ship, but not only had he refused to call the police, he had even lured Jiang Ye here.
Jiang Ye even suspected he had not called the police because he wanted to kill those monsters himself.
To him, killing was a kind of pleasure.
Jiang Ye said indifferently, “You’d better leave as soon as possible.”
He took out his phone, preparing to call the police. There was a huge pile of corpses here. Someone had to deal with it.
Jin Feize tilted his head and looked at him. “Are you planning to take responsibility again and say all the corpses here were your doing?”
Jiang Ye did not answer. That counted as tacit agreement.
Jin Feize might be insane, but he had helped him a lot. Cleaning up the aftermath of Jin Feize’s reckless behavior could be considered his repayment.
Of course, if Jin Feize killed someone and broke the law in the future, Jiang Ye would not care.
Jin Feize smiled. “You really do still like me.”
“You’re overthinking it.” Jiang Ye’s tone suddenly turned cold. “I already broke up with you.”
“What should I do?” Jin Feize showed a troubled expression. “Everyone else is either ugly and defective, or stupid as a pig. I don’t want to replace my lover.”
“I suggest you stay single.”
Jiang Ye turned to leave.
His phone suddenly received a WeChat message. Candy-Loving Witch had sent him a video.
He tapped the video open, and his pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.
The progress bar moved silently.
In the video, Jin Feize held the dazed Jiang Ye and kissed his lips as if licking candy. Not only did Jiang Ye fail to push Jin Feize away, he even responded to the kiss.
He heard Jin Feize say softly, “Jiang Ye, you’re so sweet. I really want to cut off your head and keep it. That way, I can kiss you every day.”
This must have been why Jiang Ye had heard Jin Feize’s voice during the hallucination.
Jiang Ye could not keep watching and skipped ahead.
The video reached the part where Jin Feize took off Jiang Ye’s pants and helped him release again and again.
Jiang Ye quickly dragged the progress bar and watched helplessly as he climaxed in Jin Feize’s hand.
No wonder he had felt weak before, with his head heavy and his feet light.
Jiang Ye gripped his phone, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
This recording certainly enraged Jiang Ye, but he still retained his reason. He quickly noticed that the sequence of Jin Feize’s violation of him was exactly the same as the interaction sequence of the actors in those study materials. First kissing. Then biting the neck. Finally using his hand.
He was imitating the videos he had seen.
Perhaps Jiang Ye should feel lucky. Maybe Jin Feize had not finished watching those videos. Fortunately, he had not continued with the rest of the sequence.
“I got you off four times. It took five hours. I rubbed calluses onto my hand.” Jin Feize took out a tube of hand cream and slowly applied it to his hands while complaining, “So tiring.”
The hand cream Jin Feize used was cherry blossom scented. The fragrance was extremely rich.
“So?” he asked. “Are we still breaking up?”
Jiang Ye knew perfectly well that Jin Feize was threatening him.
If he refused, perhaps tomorrow he would see this video on the school forum.
Jiang Ye said in a low voice, “Jin Feize, you’re really pathetic.”
Jin Feize tilted his head. “Pathetic?”
“Your grandfather cares for you a lot, doesn’t he?” Jiang Ye said coldly. “He hopes you’ll become a normal person. He makes you do things normal people do. He makes you go for morning runs, make friends, and tries to guide you into ordinary life. But does he know you kill pigs at home to vent your desire to murder people? Does he know you can’t control yourself and dismember corpses? You can’t change your nature. All you can do is pretend. Unfortunately, a normal person you pretend to be is not a normal person.”
Jin Feize did not care about what he said at all.
“Student Jiang Ye, you understand me very well.”
“No,” Jiang Ye said. “I’m disgusted by you.”
“How sad. You hate me, but I like you.” Jin Feize took a small pink gift box from his bag and stuffed it into Jiang Ye’s arms. “Boyfriend, here’s a little present for you. Open it when you get home.”
He smiled lightly, turned, and left.
Jiang Ye was irritable and had no interest in Jin Feize’s gift at all. He casually stuffed it into his bag.
He took out a handkerchief and wiped away the footprints along the route Jin Feize had taken.
Then he took out a lighter and burned the file Jin Feize had given him. The ashes scattered into the sea wind.
After that, he returned to the refrigerated hold, found the power saw Jin Feize had used to commit the killing, wiped the fingerprints clean from it, held the power saw himself, and cut those overly neat limbs apart again.
Half an hour later, the police arrived at the scene.
Shen Duo came out of the refrigerated hold full of corpses and dragged Jiang Ye to the Shenzhen police station.
Not far away, a police officer exclaimed, “More than thirty corpses, all killed in a complete mess, too horrific to look at. This is definitely the worst major case our city has seen in decades.”
An investigator from the Special Biology Research Institute walked over with a stack of confidentiality agreements under his arm and had the officers sign them one by one.
Shen Duo pulled one out from the stack and held it in front of Jiang Ye’s nose.
Jiang Ye realized that all cases involving headless corpses were handled as confidential, and the headless corpses would also be entirely taken over by Shen Duo and his people.
“You were the only one on the cargo ship? No one else came with you?” Shen Duo looked him up and down.
“There was someone,” Jiang Ye said.
“Who?” Shen Duo raised an eyebrow.
“The bodyguard you assigned me.”
Shen Duo scrutinized him.
Jiang Ye did not move and looked straight into his eyes.
“Dismembering anomalous organisms is indeed not illegal. Everything related to this thing is high-level state secret, and people outside won’t know what you did. But Jiang Ye, your methods were too cruel. I have to apply for a psychiatric evaluation for you and have a psychologist intervene. Maybe you’ll even have to go to a psychiatric hospital for tea.” Shen Duo bent down until he was eye to eye with him. “Think carefully. Being locked in a psychiatric hospital is not fun. Are you really going to take the blame for someone else?”
“I’m not taking the blame for anyone else,” Jiang Ye said evenly. “Teacher Shen, one person does the deed, one person takes responsibility.”
This child was unexpectedly stubborn.
Shen Duo had only wanted to scare him. He had not expected Jiang Ye to refuse to loosen his mouth even if it killed him.
Shen Duo sighed, then helped straighten his collar and saw a hickey on his neck.
Shen Duo was a person who respected other people’s privacy, so he pretended not to see it and continued asking, “Why did you come here?”
“I saw a headless corpse that had attacked me before,” Jiang Ye lied without changing expression. “I followed him here.”
“Why didn’t you tell me immediately?”
“He moved very fast. I didn’t have time. After I followed him onto the cargo ship, I was discovered.”
“The power saw wasn’t from the cargo ship. You carry a power saw around with you?”
Jiang Ye paused, then said, “For self-defense.”
The two looked at each other.
Both fell silent.
Shen Duo patted his shoulder. “Your mom is missing. You’re anxious. I can understand that. But I’ll give you a word of advice. This matter has already gone far beyond your capabilities. You should focus on studying and not think about anything else. Adult matters should be handled by adults.”
Jiang Ye nodded coldly.
Shen Duo knew he was treating his words as fart. Young people these days were too rebellious. They really were hard to manage.
Shen Duo added, “We just found your stepfather’s corpse. We need to take the corpse back and process it before handing it over to you and your sister for burial. Once you receive the notice, you can come claim the body.”
Jiang Ye listened absently.
He had been thinking about his mother’s situation the whole time.
This personality called Alpha seemed never to have appeared in front of Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye thought back carefully.
There had been a period when Li Yi’an had been listless and drunk at home every day. Li Miaomiao had secretly told Jiang Ye that her father had found the smell of smoke on clothes Mom had taken off and suspected their mother of having an affair.
That suspicion was an insult to Jiang Ruochu’s character. Although Jiang Ye had been unhappy, he had not wanted to involve himself in their affairs.
But once, after evening self-study ended and he was coming home, he happened to run into a drunk Li Yi’an.
In the end, he had still failed to control himself. He walked up to Li Yi’an and said, “If you have something to say, ask her directly. She doesn’t like cowardly men.”
Li Yi’an looked at Jiang Ye and sobbed.
Jiang Ye handed him a tissue, then turned and went upstairs.
After that day, Li Yi’an returned to normal.
Thinking about it now, the person who smoked should have been Alpha. Li Yi’an must have learned of Alpha’s existence back then.
His mother had told Li Yi’an, but she had not told her own biological son.
She did not know what grade he was in or what class he attended, and he did not know what she had suffered.
Neither of them had ever truly entered the other’s world. They were like strangers living under the same roof.
Jiang Ye lowered his dark eyelashes and thought expressionlessly, Were they really mother and son?
Shen Duo glanced at his bag, lifted his chin, and asked, “Do you mind if I search your bag?”
Jin Feize’s gift box was in the bag. Jiang Ye was not very willing to let Shen Duo see it. He was afraid Jin Feize had given him something inexplicable.
That guy liked dismembering corpses. For all he knew, the box might contain some severed finger or ear.
If those things were opened inside the police station, Jiang Ye was afraid he would go straight to the detention center.
“To be honest, Student Jiang Ye, you’re pretty scheming. I can’t trust you.” Shen Duo took his bag with an irresistible posture. “Sorry. For your safety, I need to inspect your belongings.”
Jiang Ye hesitated for a moment, but did not resist.
Although Jin Feize acted recklessly, he had never harmed him. He probably would not put anything strange in the box, right?
Shen Duo opened the bag. Inside was a small pink gift box.
Shen Duo took out the gift box, untied the ribbon, and opened the lid.
The thing inside the gift box appeared.
Both of them froze at the same time.
Inside was a pair of worn black stockings.
Shen Duo’s smile stiffened on his face. “Who gave you this?”
“…”
Jiang Ye braced himself and said, “My girlfriend.”
The two looked at each other and fell into silence once again.
In the end, Shen Duo coughed and said, “I don’t object to young people dating early, but remember to use condoms.”
Jiang Ye: “…”
Shen Duo left.
Jiang Ye shoved the gift box with the stockings back into his backpack, got up, and went to the bathroom.
Standing in front of the urinal, he pulled down his pants, and all at once, he smelled the cherry blossom scent of Jin Feize’s hand cream.
Goosebumps instantly rose across his entire body.
He turned his head instinctively, almost thinking Jin Feize was hiding inside the police station bathroom and peeping at him.
The police officer using the urinal beside him pulled up his pants with a fierce expression. “What are you doing? Where are you looking?”
“Sorry.”
Jiang Ye turned back.
Jin Feize was not here.
Then where had that scent come from?
In the next instant, he realized the truth.
His face turned livid as he tore off a large amount of toilet paper, soaked it with water, and entered a stall.