Corpse Retriever

This was the location listed in the case file where Wu Xinhui and the other three had rehearsed that night.

At the end of this floor was the restroom—the crime scene.

The two of them merged into the darkness at the corner, saying nothing, just standing silently.

The school was in an uproar over the disappearance of the five students. Today, Tan Yunlong had paraded around campus with his colleagues for another round of flashy interviews, like stirring water in a fishpond.

There was a certain chance it might provoke the fish into returning to the scene, reliving the memory.

Of course, that depended on whether the fish was still lurking within the school.

So Tan Yunlong had said he was just here tonight to try his luck and walk off his dinner, without holding much hope.

In truth, the investigation had long been underway. The police had already questioned relevant individuals multiple times. But the term had only just officially started, and today marked the return of most faculty and staff.

Even if it was just a matter of chance, the greater the odds, the better.

They waited in silence as time ticked by.At last, Tan Yunlong said, “Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

The two walked down the stairs.

After they left, a dark figure appeared at the door to Room CJ-302. His teeth looked strikingly white under the moonlight.

Knock knock knock.

Just then, Tan Yunlong, who had already walked away, suddenly rushed back.

The figure turned and bolted. Tan Yunlong chased after him.

But the figure didn’t run downstairs—he ran upward, all the way to the rooftop.

Before Tan Yunlong could speak, the figure, with his back to him, hurled himself off the edge.

Li Zhuiyuan, who had stayed behind on the third floor instead of pursuing the suspect, happened to see the figure fall past the railing right in front of him.

The body looked unnatural in midair.

That meant the suspect had disguised even his physique for tonight’s appearance.

Thud!

A dull sound came from the ground below.

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t rush to the railing to look down. Instead, he took a few steps back, away from it.

Suddenly, a pair of hands gripped the railing, and a face rose up from below.

Now, the person looked much thinner. What had fallen earlier was likely just the clothes and the disguise.

If the boy had been a little more curious just now, he would have been caught by the throat by the man clinging there.

Their eyes met. The man’s face was wrapped in bandages, revealing only a pair of eyes—but that was enough.

All Li Zhuiyuan needed was to remember the feel of that gaze. He believed he could recognize him again in a crowd.

He hadn’t planned to try and stop the man by himself. If it had been an ordinary suspect, he might’ve used his boyish disguise to show him what real fundamentals looked like.

But for someone who could fall from the rooftop and silently catch himself on the outer railing—Li Zhuiyuan had only ever seen Runsheng do that.

This man was highly trained. At barely sixteen, with undeveloped bones and insufficient strength, Li Zhuiyuan would never fight someone like that.

The man was surprised too. He clearly thought he’d made no noise, yet this boy had backed away just in time.

“Xiaoyuan!”

Tan Yunlong came running back to the floor.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the spot before him, signaling the suspect’s location.

And added, “Draw your gun.”

He was sure that with someone so skilled, only Tan Yunlong’s gun could make him hesitate.

Without a second thought, Tan Yunlong smoothly drew his firearm.

The man let go and dropped.

Li Zhuiyuan’s ears twitched. “He landed on the second floor.”

Tan Yunlong immediately ran down.

Then Li Zhuiyuan heard another sound—and mentally reconstructed the man’s move. He had leapt again, caught the third floor’s edge—he was coming back up!

The man had the audacity to play cat-and-mouse with an old cop who had already drawn his weapon.

Or maybe… he wanted to tease Li Zhuiyuan?

Li Zhuiyuan slipped his right hand into his pocket, pressing the red mark, then drew a line down his left arm.

He pointed at the spot where the man’s head would emerge, eyes sharpening.

The man peeked out—and was instantly met with a wave of crimson in his vision, a buzzing in his brain.

Startled, he let go again. This time, he landed fully—on the ground below.

“Police! Freeze!”

Tan Yunlong’s voice rang out from the second floor.

Yelling like that at a suspect was something from the movies. In real life, it only happened when the officer knew they couldn’t catch up.

Li Zhuiyuan moved closer to the railing. He saw the figure dart away like a black monkey, vanishing into the dense shrubbery ahead.

Bang!

Tan Yunlong fired.

It was decisive—and necessary. This was always meant to be a lucky break. And this man, who leaped between levels of a tall teaching building like it was a jungle gym, deserved the shot. Even if he wasn’t the same suspect from seven years ago, taking a bullet wasn’t unfair.

But just as the bullet flew, Li Zhuiyuan saw the man’s body twist awkwardly—dodging the shot without slowing down.

Then he leapt into the bushes—but his form tilted midair. He hadn’t used full force.

Tan Yunlong had aimed for his leg. Though the man dodged, the bullet must have grazed him.

Li Zhuiyuan descended the stairs slowly, replaying the encounter in his mind—evaluating the man’s strength, speed, agility. Then he simulated a scenario where the man had attacked first on their initial meeting.

He even imagined if the suspect had struck while both sides were still in the shadows.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped walking.

Because in both simulations, the man had the upper hand. Especially the second one—in that scenario, he and Tan Yunlong wouldn’t have fared well.

That lowered the odds that this was the killer from seven years ago.

Not just because the man hadn’t attacked first. Someone this skilled likely trained since childhood.

Unless, like Li Zhuiyuan, he’d also been a child seven years ago. But a child back then wouldn’t have had the physical development to commit rape and murder.

If he had been sixteen back then—as Li Zhuiyuan now was—he wouldn’t have needed to hide in a restroom and wait for Qiu Minmin to go in before striking.

A man that powerful could’ve walked into the lecture hall and forced all four victims into submission with sheer violence.

Then again, there were exceptions. Maybe he was just a pervert who liked filthy, enclosed spaces like restrooms.

Li Zhuiyuan exited the building. Tan Yunlong was holding up the clothes the suspect had left behind.

“Xiaoyuan, what kind of outfit is this? Looks like a cape, but not quite…”

Li Zhuiyuan touched the fabric. There was padding inside.

“Uncle Tan, it’s a costume.”

“A costume?”

“Yeah.”

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