Chapter 105: Connection Request

Lü Yang knew Yi Ya very well. He knew she must be terrified inside right now, but stubborn as she was, she wouldn’t show any weakness to outsiders.

Just like the past year, she’d always hidden herself behind cold pride when with him. But these past few days together had showed Lü Yang that Yi Ya had a gentle side too. It just needed… him to find a way into her heart first.

Happiness had come suddenly. Yet before either could truly grasp it, it had been cruelly snatched away.

“Xiao Ya…” Lü Yang clenched his fists. Watching Yi Ya on the video feed, his entire body began to tremble.

“You’ve been without parents since childhood. Five years ago, your only remaining relative, your maternal Grandmother, passed away too. I know these years haven’t been easy… You always think you must face everything alone, solve anything by yourself… Really, you should try opening up…” Zhou Ling placed a hand gently on Lü Yang’s shoulder.

“I’m fine.” Lü Yang lowered his head and pushed Zhou Ling’s hand away.

Zhou Ling watched him, sighed softly, and shook her head.

“Regarding Xiao Ya’s whereabouts… did the security cameras inside or outside the Residential Area show any clues?” Lü Yang looked up at Zhou Ling. He fought to regain his composure quickly.

“It’s strange… Xiao Ya… it’s like she vanished into thin air…” Zhou Ling shook her head again.

Lü Yang lowered his head once more. This outcome wasn’t unexpected.

“Based on what we’ve learned before, the Death Killer will likely contact you very soon. He might threaten you with Yi Ya’s life, demanding you don’t cooperate with the police or us from the State Security Bureau. But listen, if you refuse to cooperate with us, Yi Ya will almost certainly end up dead. Very likely, you’ll throw your own life away too, for nothing.” Zhou Ling spoke very seriously. Lü Yang’s earlier lack of cooperation seemed to frustrate her greatly.

“Why did you send Liu Hui to get close to me without my knowledge? Using a tiny camera hidden on her to spy on me? What was that about?” Lü Yang didn’t trust these State Security Bureau people to care at all about his or Yi Ya’s lives. He suspected Zhou Ling and Liu Yin’s real goal was only to use him and Yi Ya as bait to catch the Death Killer.

Liu Yin, as the Director of the State Security Bureau’s Nineteenth Division, had personally come to Guishe City to oversee the Death Killer case, perhaps seeking revenge for his slain girlfriend, Yuan Bei. As for the Zhou Ling before him, her motives were likely purely to gain merit from solving this case to aid her future promotions.

It was these two who had brought misfortune upon Lü Yang and Yi Ya, whose lives had been peacefully happy before.

“What I want now is to help you… Consider it atonement…” Zhou Ling spread her hands, giving Lü Yang a helpless smile. She probably understood exactly what he was thinking.

“If you people hadn’t come looking for me, that Death Killer wouldn’t even know about Yi Ya and me! He wouldn’t have kidnapped Yi Ya! All of this started because of you! Now you say you want to help me? I’m not stupid enough to let you control me! If you genuinely want my help catching the Death Killer, then tell me everything you know! Otherwise, I’d rather do this alone!” Rage filled Lü Yang’s eyes.

“Director Liu and I feel terrible about what happened to Xiao Ya. We truly didn’t anticipate that our actions would draw the Death Killer’s attention to her, causing misfortune for you both. I apologize again, on behalf of myself and Director Liu. Please believe me, had we known this would happen, we would never have come to you last night.”

Lü Yang turned away, fighting the urge to lash out at Zhou Ling right then and there.

Was an apology useful? Could an apology bring Yi Ya back? Yi Ya was already hurt! That pain demanded repayment, tenfold, a hundredfold!

As she spoke, Zhou Ling took a Handgun from the bag behind her, chambered a round, and held it out to Lü Yang. “If you’re absolutely convinced that Xiao Ya’s capture is connected to me and Director Liu… then use this gun to kill me. I know killing me wouldn’t land you in legal trouble. If killing me would make the anger go away, then do it, and then go catch the Death Killer. I’d die willingly.”

Lü Yang snatched the gun, pressing the barrel firmly against Zhou Ling’s forehead. Cold fury flashed in his eyes. “Director Liu was willing to die because of Xiao Bei! And what’s your reason!?”

“For justice,” Zhou Ling said quietly, another small sigh escaping her lips, a look of sorrow appearing in her eyes. “Justice demands sacrifices… I didn’t want Director Liu to stay so broken…”

“Justice? Bullshit! Sacrificing me and Xiao Ya in exchange for your so-called justice!?” Lü Yang roared. He jammed the gun harder against Zhou Ling’s head, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on hers.

“I don’t know how to gain your trust. We were wrong to begin with. If it saves Xiao Ya and brings the Death Killer to justice, I won’t blame you, no matter what you decide.” With that, Zhou Ling lifted her face and closed her eyes. Her expression was calm, resolute, like a soldier ready to give their life.

Judging by their behavior now, she and Liu Yin seemed to have planned for this outcome all along.

True. If Lü Yang killed them, a single Name Cleansing Card would solve everything…

“I’m remembering what you owe me too!” Lü Yang glared hatefully at Zhou Ling for a long moment. Finally, he lowered the gun barrel. But it didn’t mean he was letting her off the hook. He wouldn’t forget.

The moment Lü Yang lowered the Handgun, the Electronic Voice of his Eerie Computer sounded in his mind: “Urgent message received. Please check.”

Lü Yang froze. This was the first time he’d heard such a prompt from his Eerie Computer. He quickly put the gun down, walked to the window, closed his eyes, and brought the Eerie Computer’s screen into his visual field.

“Unknown external connection request detected. Allow connection?” As Lü Yang closed his eyes, this message popped up on the Eerie Computer screen.

“Allow.” Lü Yang confirmed mentally.

“Connecting… Please wait…”

A moment later, the screen of the Eerie Computer in his vision dimmed, then brightened again. A black, vaguely humanoid shape appeared on the screen. Shrouded in swirling Black Mist, Lü Yang couldn’t make out its face at all.

Maybe it was just a generated image.

“I suppose you know who I am?”

The black figure suddenly spoke. Its Electronic Voice was identical to the one Lü Yang had heard earlier on his Mobile Phone.

Lü Yang drew a sharp, cold breath. He had suspected the Death Killer possessed Mysterious Tools, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Now that it was confirmed, a deep shock ran through him, sending a chill down his spine.

If his opponent were just an ordinary criminal, Lü Yang believed he could probably rescue Yi Ya with his Eerie Points, exchanged for Eerie Cards. But this opponent possessed not only Mysterious Tools, but could also connect directly to his Eerie Computer. This fact pointed to two disturbing things: first, the Death Killer also had an item similar to the Eerie Computer; second, his level as a Mystic Scholar was far higher than Lü Yang’s.

As things stood, Lü Yang had no way of knowing if others possessed Eerie Computers, or how to initiate a communication link to someone else’s.

“Surprised that someone can connect directly to your consciousness?” The Death Killer asked with a note of superiority when Lü Yang stayed silent, like a veteran player assessing a newcomer in an online game.

In this ‘online game’ called the Mysterious Domain, Lü Yang was still a complete newcomer. Tragically, his very first encounter was with a veteran player – but not the helpful kind. This was an infamous red name – cunning, vicious, cruel, and drenched in blood.