Chapter 96: The Carrot and The Stick

Being a hero and upholding justice had to be based on having enough strength to protect oneself. Lü Yang knew that if that Death Killer was also a Mystic Scholar, his level was definitely much higher than Lü Yang’s, because he had possessed a Mysterious Tool for at least half a year already.

“Yuan Bei, twenty-one years old this year, the same age as you…” Zhou Ling took a photo out of her briefcase and placed it in front of Lü Yang.

Liu Yin, sitting to the side, looked at this photo, and his expression changed slightly. His previously aggressive demeanor instantly vanished without a trace, replaced by immense heartache and anger.

“She was Director Liu’s girlfriend, whom he met two years ago. Director Liu was always very busy with work before, only getting his first girlfriend in his thirties. They were deeply in love and originally planned to marry this year. But Xiao Bei was taken by that serial killer. In a Death Livestream, she was immersed in a sulfuric acid solution of gradually increasing concentration and brutally murdered. For three days and three nights, her body was corroded inch by inch starting from the lower half, until she finally died…” Zhou Ling explained to Lü Yang, then glanced at Liu Yin beside her.

Lü Yang looked at the photo but did not make a sound.

“This girl is named Xu Kou. She was locked in a Secret Room that had only one air inlet and one air outlet. A camera above the room filmed her situation in real time. The air in the Secret Room was gradually pumped out, stage by stage, until it became a complete vacuum. Her blood gradually boiled, her capillaries burst… After one day…” Zhou Ling continued speaking to Lü Yang.

“This girl is named Yun Zhao. She was strapped to this Iron Bed. There were five gas welding torch heads on the Iron Bed. Over the course of one day, one torch was turned on at regular intervals. Her body was burned through, one after another from bottom to top, creating five bloody holes. But she still didn’t die. Finally, a raging fire ignited beneath the Iron Bed… It’s said that Yun Zhao was Han Cheng’s secret girlfriend, though Han Cheng never admitted it…”

“And this one…”

Lü Yang looked at the terrified and anxious girls one by one on the screen, and the horrifying scenes of their brutal murders, and couldn’t help but frown. He had seen this kind of Death Livestream practice in movies before, but he never thought someone would actually do it in real life.

“I know you have a kind heart. When encountering such things, you wouldn’t stand by and watch people die. If you don’t help us stop him or catch him in time, Guishe City will soon have a new victim.” Zhou Ling continued speaking to Lü Yang.

“That murderer is truly despicable, and I also really want to kill him. However, you’ve come to the wrong person. I truly don’t have the ability for this. Perhaps you should look for some skilled hackers to find the server hosting this Death Livestream website and use that to identify the killer.” Lü Yang suggested to Zhou Ling.

It wasn’t that he would stand by and watch people die; it was that Lü Yang knew Zhou Ling and Liu Yin overestimated him. If he had that ability, he wouldn’t be unable to save Yi Yi after she was erased by the Mysterious Domain, only able to accumulate Eerie Points one by one.

“If we could solve the case that way, we wouldn’t have come to you. We won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. We just need you to tell us, what exactly caused Miss Liu, Madam Yi, and Miss Sun to forget?” Zhou Ling looked directly at Lü Yang, reiterating the purpose of her and Liu Yin’s visit.

“It’s not that I refuse to tell you the truth.” Lü Yang shook his head. “Even if I told you the truth, this truth would be erased the moment you learned it. Apart from feeling like you’ve forgotten something, you wouldn’t know anything, just like… Teacher Yi and Miss Sun. You might not even have that feeling of forgetting.”

Zhou Ling and Liu Yin looked at each other and frowned together.

“Besides, this isn’t some superpower; it’s a curse. It’s not me erasing memories, but that terrible Mysterious Domain… I’m just a person plagued by this curse.” Lü Yang let out a long sigh.

“Are you saying that the killer is under the same curse as you?” Zhou Ling seemed to realize something and quickly asked Lü Yang a follow-up question. She notably selectively ignored the term ‘Mysterious Domain’. Perhaps the moment Lü Yang mentioned ‘Mysterious Domain’, the related memory was erased from her and Liu Yin’s minds.

“Maybe?” Lü Yang suddenly thought of something and couldn’t help but shiver…

If that killer was also troubled by an Eerie Computer like him, it was possible that this Death Livestream was a Supernatural Task the killer had accepted. Lü Yang hadn’t received a Supernatural Task for several days. Before, it had told him to break a cat’s leg, then later to kill four Porters. Who knows if in the future it might also make him do something as cruel as a Death Livestream?

While the three were talking, someone suddenly knocked on the door. It sounded very familiar to Lü Yang because… the rhythm of the knocking was very much like Yi Ya’s style.

Just as Lü Yang was about to get up to answer the door, Zhou Ling, who was closer, had already stood up. She warily went to the door and opened it a crack.

“Huh? No one’s here?” Zhou Ling opened the door completely, suddenly leaned her head out to look left and right, then closed the door looking somewhat puzzled and walked back to the sofa.

Lü Yang frowned, but he didn’t think much of it. Maybe a child from upstairs passed by and knocked on his door out of boredom. Such things had indeed happened before.

…

No matter how Liu Yin and Zhou Ling used both the carrot and the stick, Lü Yang never agreed to join their investigation team. The explanations he gave them, they couldn’t remember. Finally, they left their contact information with Lü Yang and prepared to leave.

“You care for your girlfriend Yi Ya more than your own life. She’s a lucky girl.” As a woman, Zhou Ling seemed to have a rather good impression of Lü Yang.

“I won’t join your investigation team, but I will do my best to help where I can. If I get a chance to kill the Death Killer, I definitely won’t hold back! But don’t you try to threaten me using Yi Ya, otherwise the consequences will be more than you can bear!” Lü Yang warned Liu Yin and Zhou Ling once more.

“We won’t. I believe you. If you later think of any valuable clues that could help us catch the Death Killer, please contact me anytime. Also… the trouble you caused a few days ago, we will help suppress it for you…” Zhou Ling said this last part to Lü Yang, then she and Liu Yin turned and left.

…

“Is there more than one Eerie Computer in this world? Are there things like Eerie Watches, Eerie Lighters, and so on?” After Liu Yin and Zhou Ling left, Lü Yang sat on the Worn-out Sofa recalling their attire and asked the Eerie Computer, because he felt there was something odd about Liu Yin and Zhou Ling, as if they knew something about the Mysterious Domain or Eerie Computers.

Of course, they might also know nothing, and just learned some peripheral things from handling related cases.

The Eerie Computer actually didn’t answer Lü Yang’s question.

“Answer me!”

Still no response.

“Damn it!” Lü Yang cursed loudly and opened his eyes.

Checking the time, it was almost eleven o’clock. Lü Yang, still worried, took his Mobile Phone and dialed Yi Ya’s number.

The phone rang for a while before it was answered. It was very quiet on the other end; Yi Ya seemed to be already asleep.