The weapon by the pillow

Chapter 12 Who's Watching Us?

"Just three weeks ago. The cause of death was... he fell down the stairs of his own home while intoxicated, hitting his head on a sharp object and dying instantly. Police investigation determined it to be an accident."

The room fell silent again.

A man who had acted strangely and mentioned "ice picks" before the incident was fine for so long after the incident, but then "accidentally" died shortly after a dream began.

The connection between them is enough to spark the imagination.

"An accident?" Li Kai chewed on the word, a cold glint in his eyes. "Another 'accident'? My sister's case remains unsolved, a 'cold case.' And this potentially connected suspect also died in an 'accident'? There aren't that many coincidental accidents in the world!"

"You mean..." Shadow pondered, "this Zhao Jianguo might be related to your sister's case, perhaps even one of the murderers? And then, he was silenced? Or, his death was truly just a coincidence?"

"I don't know!" Cheng Tan shook his head in anguish. "I'm just stating what I found out! This person matches the 'ice pick' murder weapon from my first dream! And he's dead! Could this also be something my subconscious made up?!"

"Perhaps to silence him..." Lin Qian repeated softly, her face also turning pale. "If Zhao Jianguo is really one of the murderers, or someone who knows the truth, then his 'accidental' death is too suspicious. But if he is just one of the murderers... that means there may be other people who 'should be here'."

Her gaze involuntarily swept over the other weapons on the floor—wires, wrenches, paper cutters, paperweights, pliers… and everyone in the room.

The woman's gaze seemed rather sharp at this moment. The implication was so obvious that Lynx, the research enthusiast, A-Zhe, and Xiao Fei all tensed up instantly, their faces showing surprise, anger, and wariness.

"What the hell do you mean?" Lynx yelled at Lin Qian. "Do you think each of us corresponds to a weapon? What a joke!"

"Perhaps it doesn't correspond to a person," Shadow calmly analyzed, his thinking always seeming to grasp the key points, "but rather to a 'role' or a 'behavior.' The sequence of Mr. Cheng Tan's nightmares might hint at the order in which the harm was inflicted back then, or the different methods. The ice spikes might be the first form of harm, coming from the deceased Zhao Jianguo. Then what about the later ones…?"

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

"Enough!" the research enthusiast suddenly shouted excitedly, adjusting his crooked glasses, his face flushed red. "You...you're all guessing! Guesses without any basis! Just a nightmare, a vague rumor about someone who died years ago, and this line of nonsensical words! What does this prove? We should be thinking about how to get out of here!"

"Yes, we need to get out!" A-Zhe and Xiao-Fei nodded repeatedly, terrified by the increasingly eerie and dangerous atmosphere.

The live stream chat has turned into a storm of information and heated debates:

[This is a lot of information! The ice pick man! An accidental death! It's chilling to think about!]

If the ice spike man was the first, then there are twelve more after him? How do these correspond to the remaining people in the room?

That analysis of the shadow was quite frightening...

Who left the note? "Those who are meant to come, will come"—is it an invitation or a death sentence?

Haven't they realized they're being live-streamed yet?! I'm so worried!

When are the police arriving?! The address is Building 7, Anping Lane, right? I've called three times already!

The scene shifts to inside the room, where Li Kai is tightly clutching a note that reads, "What's meant to come will come," and is sweating profusely.

His gaze toward Cheng Tan slowly began to waver.

The information Cheng Tan provided about "Ice Cone Man" Zhao Jianguo seemed to open a new door for his thirteen-year investigation, but it also made the situation more complicated. "Zhao Jianguo..." Li Kai murmured the name, as if trying to etch it into his memory, "I will investigate, thoroughly investigate." He raised his head, his gaze sharp as a knife, "But tonight, here, the answer must have a beginning."

His gaze swept over everyone again, finally settling on Cheng Tan: "Your nightmare is a key, Cheng Tan. The ice pick was the first. So, what's the second dream? An electrical wire, right? A strangulation."

Cheng Tan trembled and nodded.

"Regarding the 'electric wires'," Li Kai pressed, "have you found anything? Or... remembered anything?"

Cheng Tan shook his head blankly.

He had no time, and he had no clue what to do about the second nightmare.

However, at this moment, Ah Zhe, who had been clutching his backpack tightly, suddenly had a very strange expression. He tugged at Xiao Fei's sleeve, his voice trembling with disbelief and a sob in his voice: "Xiao Fei... do you... do you remember... Brother Bin... didn't he... work in the electrician's class before? He... he loved tinkering with those wires and circuits... and... he even bragged to us that he knew how to use wires..."

Xiao Fei was stunned at first, then his face turned deathly pale, and he abruptly covered A Zhe's mouth: "Shut up! Don't talk nonsense!"

But it was too late.

Everyone in the room heard it.

"Brother Bin?" Li Kai keenly caught the address, his eyes sharp as arrows piercing the two young men who clearly knew something. "Who is Brother Bin? What's his connection to the power lines? Tell me!"

A Zhe and Xiao Fei trembled with fear, their psychological defenses seemingly collapsing instantly under the intense gaze of the crowd.

Xiao Fei released his hand from A Zhe's mouth and said haltingly, his voice trembling with tears, "It was...it was an older brother we used to know...named Wang Bin...a few years older than us, we lost contact a long time ago...He...he seemed to have hung out in this area back then...liked doing dangerous things...we only heard about it...we heard he got into a fight once and used an electrical wire...and then...then he left this place, and we haven't heard from him since..."

"Wang Bin..." Li Kai murmured the name, a flame seemingly burning deep within his eyes. "Left? Did he disappear, or did he also die 'accidentally'?"

A Zhe and Xiao Fei shook their heads vigorously, indicating that they didn't know.

The clues seem to point to a potentially related but missing person, connected to "electric wires."

Hearing the name "Wang Bin" and seeing the terrified expressions on A Zhe and Xiao Fei's faces, Cheng Tan's heart sank.

Is the second nightmare beginning to become a reality?

Shadow suddenly spoke again, his voice still calm, but he posed a more crucial question: "Mr. Li Kai, Mr. Cheng Tan, everyone. Have you ever considered who set up this whole thing tonight, this scheme? Who led us here? Who was spying through the window? Who sealed the door? Who... left this note that says, 'What's meant to come will come'? And—"

His gaze swept sharply over Cheng Tan, then over the corner of the room.

"—Who is watching us? Right now."