Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 562 - 560: Old Friend

"On the surface, these cases indeed appear unrelated, but there’s one peculiar detail," Wang Fengnian said gravely. "All the victims had once been criminals."

Upon hearing this, Wei Linglan was startled. She lowered her head to scan the files.

"Fang collaborated with a gang years ago on multiple occasions, committing home invasions, robberies, and murders. After fleeing, he lived under an alias using someone else’s identity. Due to long-term hardship and the ongoing government population census, he feared his crimes would be exposed. Dreading arrest and imprisonment, he ultimately hanged himself."

Wang Fengnian’s fingers glided across several documents as he spoke slowly, "Rong committed crimes in his youth, murdering several young girls with extremely brutal methods. Perhaps due to the era, he wasn’t sentenced to death. Instead, he was imprisoned for forty years and released upon completing his sentence. Less than six months after his release, he died accidentally from excessive drinking." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Zhang was a suspect in several murder cases. After being refused credit at a convenience store, he harbored a grudge. One night, he sneaked into the shopkeeper’s home and brutally murdered the family of five, including the shopkeeper’s eleven-year-old daughter. Afterward, he lived on the run for an extended period, enduring a difficult life. When he noticed increased police activity in the village, he suspected his crimes had been exposed and, fearing the consequences, committed suicide."

"Tong owned a small supermarket. Over a decade ago, he saw a high school girl, who was about to take her college entrance exams, walking home from school. On impulse, he knocked her unconscious, murdered her, and hid her body in an abandoned pigsty."

"Zhao and Mo, who died while having an affair in a rental house, were once members of a human trafficking gang. Ren, who died after his car crashed into a tree and a branch impaled his chest, had once been part of the ’Beggar Gang.’ This gang specialized in abducting people, maiming children and adults with bricks and sticks to deform them, then placing them on wooden carts to beg for money."

Wang Fengnian said solemnly, "All the deceased in this file had been criminals: either on the run, released after serving their term, or lightly sentenced—or even never tried—for one reason or another, always evading the law."

Wei Linglan furrowed her brows. "But these cases are separated by years, and the locations by thousands of miles. The victims all died from suicide or accidents, and there’s no connection between them."

"If you’re looking for a connection, there actually is one," Wang Fengnian said in a deep voice. "Fang and Rong were from the same hometown. Zhang once rented a room from Tong while on the run. Ren, the ’Beggar Gang’ member, had ’purchased’ people several times from the human trafficking gang Zhao and Mo belonged to. The deeper we investigate, the more we find that all the deceased in these cases had been connected in some way—though, of course, these connections weren’t strong. Sometimes, two victims had only met in passing."

"A passing acquaintance..." Wei Linglan blurted out, "Could it be a meme?"

As soon as she said it, she realized the problem. "No, that’s not right. Although this chain of weakly connected, sequential accidental deaths—resembling the movie "Final Destination"—is very similar to meme pollution, the earliest death can be traced back three or four years, long before the current killing game had even started..."

Wei Linglan’s mind raced, and she frowned. "Uncle, could someone be systematically murdering them?"

"It’s a possibility," Wang Fengnian nodded. "When we initially received the reports, we scoffed at this theory and didn’t take it seriously. It wasn’t until another death occurred recently that we started to pay attention, suspecting it could be a series of premeditated murders. However, even when personnel from the Special Affairs Bureau assisted with the investigation and players used Divination methods, they still couldn’t find the ’supposed’ murderer. That’s why the informant seemed somewhat mentally unstable, their behavior erratic and frenzied."

Wei Linglan tapped her fingers back and forth on the file bag and looked up. "Uncle, do you have the information on that informant?"

* * *

"I must say, "Yin City Grand Stage" is truly a show you can’t get enough of."

Li Ang turned off the television with a sense of loss, murmuring, "The contestants’ tacky performances appear wild and frenzied, but in reality, they use artistic hyperbole to express the crushing pressure of modern life on individuals. The judges sit on pins and needles, wishing they had never signed up for the show. Pressured by the cameras and unable to curse freely, they must express their inner turmoil in clean language, creating a modern-day treasure trove of passive-aggressive sayings. Viewers sit in front of their televisions, thinking they are above the program’s format. They don’t realize they are also part of this magical-realist stage play..."

Miss Chai, holding a Nintendo Switch, floated out of the bedroom, her eyes fixed on the screen as she worked the controller. Hearing Li Ang’s murmur, she couldn’t help but retort, "Why do you enter sage mode whenever you watch this tacky show?"

"You don’t understand." Li Ang shook his head. "As they say, ’see a Buddha and you see a Buddha, see a flower and you see a flower, see shit and you see shit.’ Only by setting aside preconceptions, enduring the empathetic awkwardness of identifying with the contestants, and even enjoying the spine-tingling embarrassment, can you experience that profound, soul-shuddering sensation from within. Just like my favorite Osamu Dazai said in "No Longer Human," ’Put on your socks before your shoes, and be a grandson before becoming a granddad.’"

Miss Chai looked completely baffled. "I haven’t read "No Longer Human," but I’m pretty sure that quote isn’t from Osamu Dazai..."

"It isn’t?" Li Ang frowned and thought for a moment. "Then it must have been Osamu Dazai’s brother, Little Green Dazai, who said it."

"That person doesn’t even exist..."

Li Ang clapped his hands decisively. "Then it must be Dale Carnegie in "Humanity’s Weakness," or Keigo Higashino in "White Night, Walk" who said that."

"Are you trying to list the ’three best-selling books that most people haven’t finished but definitely bring up on social media to show off’?"

"Who says? I’ve finished all three of them, okay?" Li Ang responded earnestly. "If it weren’t for the killing games, I might have become a scientist benefiting humankind, or perhaps I would have written books, leaving behind profound and timeless proverbs. Just like Mr. Lu Xun, who wrote in "Wild Grass" the line, ’Blow, blow, my pride, my abandon! Blow, oh blow, you can’t scatter my pure garden!’"

Miss Chai opened her mouth, but in the end, said nothing. She lowered her head and continued playing her game console. "...As long as you’re happy."

Watching Chaichai immersed in the gaming world, Li Ang glanced at the clock, feeling bored. He stood up, stretched, picked up the loose jacket from the chair, and headed towards the door.

Miss Chai subconsciously asked, "Where are you going?"

"Just out for a stroll and, incidentally, to catch up with an old acquaintance."

Li Ang casually put on his coat, ignoring Miss Chai, who stood frozen, pondering the meaning of ’an old acquaintance.’ He walked straight out the door, riding his bike into the night towards the cemetery.

Alone, he arrived before a tombstone engraved with the name "Fei Weiqiang."