Lu Wanwan held the flashlight provided by the production team and set off under everyone’s watchful gaze.
To reach the vegetable field, she had to pass through a small bamboo grove. It was pitch black all around, with only the dim yellow beam of her flashlight illuminating the path ahead. She didn’t even dare to swing the flashlight carelessly, afraid that if she accidentally lit up the space in front of her, a face that would send chills down her spine might suddenly appear.
The summer night breeze was cool and refreshing, but goosebumps rose on her skin. The croaking of frogs in the fields sounded like the desperate, unending cries of demons.
“Lu Wanwan, don’t be afraid! We’re right here with you.”
The police officer’s voice came through her earpiece, carrying a soothing power. That’s right—she wasn’t alone. Many police officers were around her, protecting her.
Lu Wanwan took a deep breath and continued forward with steady steps.
After passing through the bamboo grove, she could already see the vegetable field.
“Lu Wanwan, head west.”
West? Lu Wanwan abruptly stopped in her tracks.
Oh no! She couldn’t tell north from south or east from west. In daily life, she only described directions in simple terms like left, right, forward, and backward.
Which way was she supposed to go now?
Perhaps sensing her predicament, the voice changed its instructions. “Go toward your right-hand side.”
As Lu Wanwan followed the command, she also wondered—did this mean the killer was on her left?
With the cover of darkness, she mustered her courage and glanced to the left, but everything was pitch black. She could only make out vague shadows of varying sizes.
She knew the killer was hiding somewhere among those shadows, watching her at this very moment. He was waiting for the right opportunity to strike her with a fatal blow.
Lu Wanwan’s heart pounded like a drum.
Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. The bullet chat will protect me. Today we catch the pervert, tomorrow we sentence him to death, and the day after we send him to the crematorium.
Lu Wanwan chanted silently and took another deep breath. She strode over to the radish patch and, turning her back to the direction of the pervert, bent down to pull up radishes.
The radishes were buried deep in the soil. Her hands were trembling as she pulled, and it took considerable effort to yank out the first radish, then the second.
Just then, another command came through her earpiece.
“Lu Wanwan, walk forward. Don’t run.”
Had the pervert come closer?
Lu Wanwan didn’t dare look back. She dropped the radishes in her hands and began walking forward with long strides, her steps unsteady. She prayed again—bullet chat, please don’t let me trip.
She thought she could hear footsteps behind her—chaotic and hurried, growing closer and closer. She desperately wanted to run, but the last shred of rationality told her she hadn’t received the order yet.
Just then, a voice came through her earpiece: “Run!”
Lu Wanwan immediately sprinted. She still didn’t dare look back at what was happening behind her, but she could hear the footsteps growing nearer, along with heavy, ragged breathing.
He was coming…
Lu Wanwan summoned every ounce of strength in her body and ran forward with all her might.
Officers, save me! Don’t hide anymore! If you keep hiding, I’m going to die!
Just then, as if the police had heard her silent cry, a loud shout rang out from nearby: “Stop right there! We’re the police!”
At that moment, Lu Wanwan felt this was the most beautiful sound she had heard in over twenty years of life.
She saw police officers emerging one after another from the dark shadows around her. Someone shone a high-powered flashlight toward the area behind her, then rushed past her toward the rear.
“Freeze! Don’t move!”
Lu Wanwan still didn’t dare to stop. She didn’t know whether the attacker had been subdued. She sprinted more than ten meters before the sounds behind her faded, and only then did she dare to look back.
She saw that the sick pervert was now surrounded by police. He raised both hands, his face wearing a bewildered, at-a-loss expression.
“Officers, I’m a good person. I just wanted to ask for directions.”
What the hell?
This sick pervert had two faces?
Lu Wanwan finally got a clear look at the pervert’s face—a very ordinary face, but she had seen it before. When she’d passed the barbecue stall on her way back from the supermarket this afternoon, her gaze had collided with this man’s. He’d quickly lowered his head, but even in that brief glance, Lu Wanwan had felt a flicker of suspicion and had memorized his features. She’d even mentally flagged him as the prime suspect. It turned out her instincts had been right.
But his acting right now—Lu Wanwan felt it was no less impressive than those so-called veteran actors on TV dramas.
“Then why are you holding a knife just to ask for directions?” Before the man could argue, one of the officers had already snapped handcuffs on him and picked up the dagger he’d tossed to the ground.
Even in cuffs, the man kept struggling. “I’m scared walking at night, so I carried a knife for self-defense.”
What the hell?
This sick pervert was impressively good at lying through his teeth!
“Officer, I’m telling the truth. It’s all a misunderstanding. It’s not what you think. I don’t even know her.” He pointed at Lu Wanwan, his face somehow looking utterly sincere.
But the police clearly weren’t buying it. One of the officers, a tall, burly man, turned to Lu Wanwan and asked, “Lu Wanwan, take a look. Is this the man who was following you?”
That voice—it was the same one she’d just been talking to on the phone!
Lu Wanwan stepped closer and nodded. “Yes, he’s the one who’s been following me.”
“You’re full of shit!” the sick pervert protested vehemently. “I wasn’t following you. I don’t even know you. We have no grudge between us—why would I follow you?”
Lu Wanwan spat back, “You should ask yourself that!”
“I didn’t! Officer, listen to me. This is all a misunderstanding. I don’t know this woman at all. I have no reason to kill her.”
“Shut up. Whether you have a reason or not, we’ll find out.” Gu Xing cut him off sharply. Knowing they wouldn’t get anything out of him now, Gu Xing said to the man beside him, “Da Liu, get him in the car.”
“Officer, you’ve got the wrong guy! I—”
The sick pervert still wouldn’t give up, but he was ruthlessly shoved into the police car.
Gu Xing walked over to Lu Wanwan. “My surname is Gu. I’m the one who was on the phone with you just now. How are you feeling? Scared?”
Lu Wanwan nodded, then shook her head. “I was terrified at first, but I’m okay now.”
Officer Gu was very tall. Lu Wanwan had to tilt her head up to see his face. She thanked him sincerely. “Thank you, Officer Gu! If it weren’t for you police, I’d be dead by now.”
From this moment on, Lu Wanwan finally let her guard down completely. She wasn’t going to die after all.
Gu Xing let out a snorting laugh. “No need to thank me. I wanted to stop a murder from happening just as much as you did.”
Gu Xing wasn’t exaggerating. In recent months, there had been a string of murders in the city. Several women had been killed, and the killer was still at large. The victims’ families frequently came to the criminal investigation unit to make a scene, and their superiors were putting heavy pressure on them. If someone died again tonight, they really wouldn’t have a way to explain themselves.
In truth, Gu Xing was extremely grateful for Lu Wanwan’s intelligence and vigilance, which had prevented a tragedy from occurring.
He just didn’t know whether this suspect was connected to the previous murders.
“Lu Wanwan, when did you first notice you were being followed?”
“Last week. Because someone left a message on my social media saying they wanted to kill me, I’ve been more alert.”
“Well done!” Gu Xing praised. “Actually, you saved yourself.”
Lu Wanwan lowered her gaze. She didn’t deserve such praise. If it hadn’t been for the Bullet Chat’s warning, she would already be dead by now.
“Come on, I’ll take you back. Get a good night’s rest tonight—don’t think about anything. Come to the city criminal investigation unit tomorrow morning to give a statement.”
Lu Wanwan nodded obediently.
Officer Gu was very tall, measuring over 185 centimeters by the look of him, with a fierce face. Although he wasn’t ugly—in fact, one could say he was rather handsome—he looked somewhat intimidating when he wasn’t smiling. Yet unexpectedly, he turned out to be a considerate and thoughtful person. Truly, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Gu Xing and another officer escorted Lu Wanwan back. Just as they passed through the bamboo grove, Sang Yueyi and the others came rushing over.
Seeing that Lu Wanwan had returned, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Sang Yueyi stepped forward and took Lu Wanwan’s hand. “Lu Wanwan, are you okay? You were gone so long—we thought something had happened!”
The show’s director, Da Fang, also asked anxiously, “Where did you go? We were all worried.” Noticing that two people were following behind Lu Wanwan, he asked again, “Who are these two people? Didn’t you go to pull radishes? Where are the radishes?”
“These two are police officers,” Lu Wanwan explained. “I just ran into a criminal and almost got killed. The police saved me.”
“What?” Exclamations rang out one after another. Da Fang asked urgently, “What happened? Are you hurt?”
Lu Wanwan shook her head. “I’m fine!” She then looked at Gu Xing. “Officer Gu, I want to thank you again. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. I’m safe now, so you should head back and get some rest. Thank you for your hard work!”
Gu Xing nodded and was about to turn around when Lu Wanwan thought for a moment and called out to him again. “Officer Gu, I don’t know that person, and I don’t know why he wanted to kill me. But from reading novels, I think someone like that wouldn’t stop at just one victim.”
Gu Xing’s eyes flickered, and he looked thoughtful. Lu Wanwan knew her words had come out of nowhere. She had a god’s-eye view, but Officer Gu didn’t know that, so she wanted to give them a heads-up, hoping they could solve the case sooner—a way to repay them for saving her life.
Afraid of arousing their suspicion, Lu Wanwan quickly explained, “Th-this is just me guessing randomly from reading novels. Officer Gu, don’t take it seriously. I was just talking nonsense.”
Gu Xing let out a soft laugh. “Mm.” Then he turned and left.
Mm? What kind of response was that? Did he take it to heart or not?
Once Gu Xing and the other officer had walked away, Sang Yueyi hurriedly asked, “Lu Wanwan, what exactly happened? Why would someone want to kill you?”
Lu Wanwan shook her head. “I don’t know either. I don’t recognize that person, but he’s been following me for several days now. I didn’t expect him to follow me all the way here today. I was so scared that I called the police.”
“Ah!” Sang Yueyi gasped. “That’s terrifying! Is he some kind of pervert?”
Lu Wanwan shook her head again. “I don’t know. Probably, I guess.”
“Thank goodness you’re safe!” Da Fang let out a sigh of relief. If Lu Wanwan had been killed during the filming of the show, things would have blown up—especially if it happened while she was carrying out her punishment task. He couldn’t bear to imagine how massive the public outcry would have been.
Lu Wanwan said, “By the way, Director Fang, I need to go to the city criminal investigation unit tomorrow to give my statement. I might not be able to participate in tomorrow’s filming.”
Da Fang waved his hand. “Go ahead! Just make sure they get to the bottom of this as soon as possible!” After saying that, he once again urged everyone present, “Don’t spread what happened tonight to anyone, and especially don’t take it to the media, got it?”
“Got it!” Everyone said in tacit understanding.
But Da Fang was destined to be disappointed—this matter would eventually be exposed to the public anyway.