Xiao He was completely unaware of the huge stir his emails had caused.

At this moment, Xiao He, who should have been asleep, was crouching at the entrance of the dark underground parking lot of the bar, resting his head and dozing off.

As his head gradually lowered until it completely dropped, Xiao He shook his head heavily, and his eyes cleared up a bit.

"How much longer? Did they not see the email?"

Xiao He mumbled, then switched to squatting on the other leg.

Originally, Xiao He had planned to just go to sleep and be done with it, but he felt uneasy without personally seeing Li Zhicheng apprehended. Additionally, Li Zhicheng had inexplicably sought him out, and Xiao He worried that if he didn't respond, Li Zhicheng might target Li Hanyue again.

So, after much thought, Xiao He felt that he should still come to the scene to see, at least to personally watch Li Zhicheng get into the car.

However, Xiao He had been squatting here for a while, and still hadn't seen anyone.

He was about to stand up and shake his numb legs when he suddenly heard urgent footsteps coming from the exit.

As soon as Xiao He heard the sound, he knew it wasn't the police, so he quickly held his breath and moved into the corner. Then, he watched a man, wrapped up as tightly as he was, walk against the light, sneaking towards the deeper part of the underground parking lot.

This area's parking lot was usually in use, but the facilities weren't great; many light bulbs were out, and there was trash scattered on the ground. Since Xiao He was squatting in the corner of the exit, his body completely merged with the darkness, so the man didn't notice that there was someone else hiding in the corner.

Xiao He twitched his nose, inexplicably catching a whiff of blood.

At this time, in this place, at this critical juncture... who could it be?

Xiao He had a bad premonition. He hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and still chose to quietly follow.

Having been in the dark for a while, Xiao He's vision was exceptionally clear. He precisely avoided the trash on the ground, slowly following the person deeper into the parking lot.

A minute later, he heard a low, hoarse voice from nearby: "Why did you change your target? Why didn't you answer my call?"

"What does that have to do ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) with you? Get lost—"

Xiao He's ears instantly perked up.

"Don't be ungrateful—"

"Pfft—"

Perhaps the darkness amplified one's senses; Xiao He could even clearly hear the sound of something piercing flesh.

Then came the sound of someone stumbling and falling.

Oh my god—

Xiao He quickly pressed himself against a pillar, concentrating on the movements from over there.

He... he just happened to stumble upon a murder scene?

Who died? Was it Li Zhicheng, or the person who just came in?

What's going on with them? Accomplice infighting?

Xiao He's mind raced as he quietly activated the backup plan he had prepared in advance—

"Woo-wah woo-wah—"

The bar upstairs, which had been playing loud music, suddenly changed its tune to a police siren.

The sounds were like dozens of police cars all rushing into the bar, sharp and noisy, instantly silencing everyone inside the bar.

"Wow! What's that sound? Which idiot is playing abstract stuff? Turn it off quickly!"

"Huh? What's going on? Why can't I turn it off—"

Accompanied by the exclamations of the people upstairs, these sharp police sirens quickly permeated through the ceiling to the first basement floor.

That faint, lingering sensation had a strong deterrent effect on all those with a "guilty conscience."

Almost as soon as the sound began, Xiao He heard hurried footsteps fleeing.

Once the footsteps faded, Xiao He quickly followed the sound to where Li Zhicheng and the others were.

Surprisingly, the person lying on the ground was Li Zhicheng!

Xiao He turned on his phone, and by the faint light of the screen, he vaguely saw that Li Zhicheng's chest had been pierced by some sharp object, and blood was continuously gushing out.

Li Zhicheng himself was sprawled on the ground, his pupils gradually dilating. Looking at the only light source in front of him, he struggled to move his hand, attempting to call for help—

"Help, help me—"

Xiao He pursed his lips, his heart surprisingly calm.

Having meticulously portrayed Zhu Lao San, he truly couldn't feel any pity for this detestable man.

"Zhu Lao San—"

He drew out his words, slowly squatted down, and looked down at the person on the ground. Only his cold, indifferent eyes were visible from his masked face.

"Wu Xiao Hua seemed to beg you like this back then, didn't she? Begging you to save her, but you raped her again, dragged her back to the slaughterhouse, dismembered her with your brothers, and even threw her into the pigsty to destroy the evidence—"

Li Zhicheng trembled all over, unsure if it was because of what Xiao He said or the fear of impending death. He clenched his fists and said tremblingly, "I admit, I admit, it's all my fault! Please save me—"

Xiao He, however, merely shook his head, his gaze filled with disdain and mockery: "You don't know you're wrong; you're just about to die."

As he finished speaking, Xiao He suddenly heard a faint footstep behind him.

A dangerous signal transmitted through his nerves to his brain, and a chill of death surged into his heart—

Without giving Xiao He any time to think, as that penetrating coldness made all his hairs stand on end, Xiao He caught sight of the pig-slaughtering knife on the nearby chopping board out of the corner of his eye.

At the same time, his body erupted with unprecedented potential. Xiao He immediately rolled on the ground, dodging the opponent's sneak attack, and firmly grasped the knife—

A backhand wrist flick, a horizontal slash of the blade—his ingrained skills fully erupted. Xiao He's movements were fluid and without hesitation, and he swung the knife with almost all his strength.

"Ah—"

Accompanied by a muffled groan of pain, Xiao He felt some liquid splash onto him.

But he had no time to look down. Instead, he continued to twist his wrist, holding the blade upright, his eyes coldly fixed on the person who had returned. The pig-slaughtering knife, meticulously sharpened by Li Zhicheng, now emitted a chilling silver gleam in the darkness.

The person in the darkness gasped in suppressed pain, clearly having suffered a significant injury from the counterattack. The person gazed deeply at Xiao He across the pitch-black space, and Xiao He also remained silent, merely holding up the knife to silently express his stance.

Police sirens continuously blared from above, and the two fell into a silent standoff.

Finally, the person opposite did not dare to test the power of the pig-slaughtering knife in Xiao He's hand again, turned around, and fled.

Xiao He, however, did not feel joy because of this.

His brain was working rapidly.

He... he seemed to have accidentally cut that guy!

No, if he hadn't fought back, the person lying on the ground would have been him!

What to do? In this situation, don't they think he did it?

Xiao He looked down to check himself—the hand holding the knife was wearing medical gloves left over from filming, and he was wearing a very thin protective suit. To avoid making noise during movement, he had even specifically used safety pins to tighten it to ensure a snug fit, and it was also worn under a regular tracksuit... Well, Xiao He admitted that he did look very suspicious right now.

Heaven help him, he really just didn't want to be registered with the police, which is why he deliberately dressed so meticulously!

Forget it, it's very dark here, and he's fully geared up. The other party didn't see his face, and there aren't many traces of him left at the scene, except for footprints and... oh no, Li Zhicheng—

Xiao He relit his phone and shined it on Li Zhicheng, and the wicked man was now lying quietly on the ground, eyes wide with rage, his expression distorted by pain, having already stopped breathing.

Xiao He clicked his tongue lightly.

To let him die like this, it was truly too easy for him.

A man like him should have received his rightful judgment in prison.

Xiao He felt a bit regretful, but he also didn't dare to linger. As for the mysterious accomplice, he could only leave it to the police to investigate. He believed that the bloodstains left by that man could provide some clues to the police...

After making this decision, Xiao He continued to send instructions to the bar upstairs, using "mysterious activity" as an excuse to lure many people from the bar to the first basement floor.

Most of the people in the bar were young, full of curiosity, and had been drinking. With more people, their courage grew, and they actually went downstairs out of curiosity to check out the "mysterious activity."

Immediately after, someone discovered the murder scene, sobered up instantly from fright, and let out a scream—

"Ahhh!"

Accompanied by the screams, police cars with flashing lights also arrived at the scene. Unfortunately, the murder scene had already been completely messed up by the drunken young people. The dusty floor was covered with various footprints left by their panic, while Xiao He, hidden in the crowd, quickly left under the cover of night.

Only a chaotic mess and a gradually cooling corpse were left at the scene...

The next day.

Xiao He was woken up by his constantly vibrating phone with messages.

"Liu Zehang: Oh my god, oh my god, Xiao Ge, wake up, something big has happened!"

Xiao He rubbed his eyes, guessing what Liu Zehang was talking about, but still picked up his phone to ask.

"Xiao He: What's wrong?"

"Liu Zehang: The information is too much, I don't even know where to start with you—"

"Liu Zehang: Do you still remember Uncle Li? The Uncle Li from the crew who often gave us water! He's dead! He was stabbed to death in a bar last night! By the time the police arrived, his body was already cold!"

"Xiao He: ?????"

"Liu Zehang: And it's said that he was Zhu Lao San, the real-life prototype of the case from back then! The police have already started investigating this matter! Our Director Hou was taken away by the police for questioning early this morning, and I was also questioned. Xiao Ge, you'll probably be notified soon to give a statement, so you should be mentally prepared! I never thought the prototype of the case we were filming was lurking among us! It's truly chilling when you think about it!"

"Xiao He: Are Director Hou and the others okay?"

"Liu Zehang: Oh, they're fine, it was just basic questioning. They now suspect that this Li Zhicheng has actually been lurking near the victims' families for over twenty years! Didn't our screenwriter stay in Province C for a while to communicate with the victims' families? It's highly likely that our crew was targeted by Li Zhicheng around that time."

"Xiao He: Why target our crew?"

To this day, Xiao He still didn't quite understand this question.

He didn't understand why Li Zhicheng would target Li Hanyue.

It couldn't really be because they both shared the surname Li and had some kind of blood relation, could it?

"Liu Zehang: Ahem, Director Hou heard about these things from his brother-in-law, who's a police chief. Don't spread it, okay? Apparently, this Li Zhicheng wanted to re-enact the murder."

"Xiao He: ?"

Re-enact... the murder?

Indeed, he couldn't comprehend the thoughts of a pervert.

"Liu Zehang: He set his sights on Li Hanyue! He was planning to abduct Li Hanyue! Simply because Li Hanyue played that role from back then, which held a fatal attraction for him! He wanted to re-enact everything he did to 'Wu Xiao Hua' back then onto Li Hanyue! To prove his criminal prowess and provoke the police again!"

Xiao He's expression instantly turned cold.

He truly died too easily.

"Xiao He: How is Li Hanyue doing now?"

"Liu Zehang: She was scared, and is now undergoing psychological counseling."

Xiao He sighed. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As the actress who played Wu Xiao Hua, Li Hanyue was most aware of the harm and pain Wu Xiao Hua suffered back then.

And this almost turned the performance into reality.

How could this not make one feel fear and dread?

Considering that he played the role of Zhu Lao San, Li Hanyue probably didn't want to hear his voice for now, so Xiao He only sent Li Hanyue a text message of condolence.

However, Li Hanyue quickly replied with a voice message, her voice still a little nasal from crying:

"Xiao Ge, thank you! Now that I think back to what happened before, I realize that every time that Li Zhicheng appeared near me, you and Liu Ge would show up and interrupt our conversation. Although you might have done it unintentionally, I am truly, truly grateful to you both. You won't let my memories become completely insecure."

At least in her memories, she had two companions facing it together, which wouldn't turn her memories into a nightmare.

Thinking of the deceased Li Zhicheng, Li Hanyue felt there was nothing left to fear.

Xiao He didn't expect Li Hanyue to only now realize this, but he was also glad that his help could prevent Li Hanyue from having so much psychological trauma.

After comforting Li Hanyue, Xiao He was also invited to the police station to give a statement.

Actually, his presence in this whole case was very low. The only suspicious thing might be that he took the same car as Li Zhicheng back to the city center yesterday.

However, Xiao He wasn't too flustered. He had already cleaned up his traces yesterday, and he had no motive to kill, so the police couldn't possibly suspect him.

It was the old man surnamed Wu, who was present, who asked Xiao He several computer-related questions, making Xiao He's back drenched in sweat.

But the terrifying thing Xiao He feared did not happen. In the old man Wu's eyes, there was emotion, relief, and the carefree attitude of someone whose knot in their heart had been untied.

"I'm old, I'm old. For all these years, this case has been on my mind. Now that I've seen that email, everything finally has a conclusion. I, for one, have no other curiosities..."

Xiao He finally looked at the old man Wu, pursed his lips, said nothing, and quietly left.

...

Afterward, Xiao He had been silently following the progress of the case.

Li Zhicheng was dead, and his cold case could finally be closed, but the investigation into his murder had just begun.

After investigating the bloodstains left by the killer at the scene, the police discovered something surprising—

Besides Zhu Lao San's DNA, there was also another fugitive's DNA at the scene! The fugitive's name was Shi Wei. That year, he brutally murdered his lover and parents, fled with money after committing three homicides, and the police had been searching for him for seven years!

No one expected him to appear here, and even be connected to Li Zhicheng!

However, it is said that both of them were from Province C, so it is highly possible that they met each other during their escape.

Based on the scene, this Shi Wei likely had a conflict with Li Zhicheng, and then they injured each other, resulting in one death and one injury.

Unfortunately, after his appearance this time, he vanished without a trace again. The police once again lost track of him and were unable to apprehend him.

However, the case of Zhu Lao San finally reached a conclusion after more than twenty years.

The victims' families personally traveled to Shanghai to thank the police and the film crew. If the film crew hadn't attracted Li Zhicheng, they might never have received a satisfying answer before they died.

Although Li Zhicheng did not face legal judgment, knowing that he had not lived well all these years, and was even murdered by others in the end, they found peace.

Director Hou Rongxuan, on the other hand, was practically beaming. He never expected such good fortune to befall their crew. He quickly called Xiao He back for reshoots, determined to film a complete ending for this case.