Chapter 228
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Chapter 228: The Gradually Unfolding Truth
2:06 AM.
Lin Qiye’s phone vibrated slightly. He frowned and took it out.
Not a call, but an unread message from an unknown number.
—Watch this video.
Seeing these words, Lin Qiye first showed confusion, then seemed to realize something, becoming curious.
Few people knew his number, and the Night Watchmen had installed software to block spam, so only one person would message him in this tone…
An Qingyu.
A moment later, another message appeared.
It was a video. Lin Qiye opened it immediately, his brow furrowing at what he saw.
The video was shot by phone inside the pub, with the camera placed on the bar counter, angled toward the backyard door – almost identical to the original security camera’s view.
The pub was dark, with only faint natural light in the backyard, making the image somewhat blurry.
Then a figure appeared in frame. Standing in the backyard, he suddenly seemed grabbed by invisible hands, violently slammed against the wall, then lifted into the air…
From the figure’s build and clothing, Lin Qiye recognized An Qingyu.
A nail floated up from the ground, piercing the figure’s palm at an odd angle!
Then came the second, third, and fourth… After all four nails pierced his limbs, the figure’s fingers began disappearing as if being devoured!
Just like in the recording!
When only finger stumps remained, the final nail rose and violently pierced An Qingyu’s chest!
The video ended there.
By now, Lin Qiye was full of questions. He knew An Qingyu couldn’t really be dead, but sending this video meant he had completely understood the secret!
Lin Qiye began typing a response, then shook his head and called the number directly.
The call connected quickly.
“What did you discover?” Lin Qiye got straight to the point.
An Qingyu’s voice seemed surprised, “I thought your first words would be ‘Are you okay?’ Didn’t that video worry you at all?”
“Worry about what? About you being killed?” Lin Qiye replied calmly. “I don’t believe dead people remember phone numbers.”
“Fine, how boring.” An Qingyu’s voice held disappointment.
“How did you film that video?”
Until now, all of Lin Qiye’s deductions had hit a wall, with that strange recording being the root cause.
The blood volume after finger severance and wound directions indicated the case wasn’t as simple as it appeared, but that bizarre video made everything seem… too simple.
“As you said, what happened in that video was real,” An Qingyu’s voice came through. “But it underwent the simplest possible manipulation, which led all deductions in the wrong direction.”
“It was… played in reverse!”
Hearing these words, Lin Qiye’s body tensed as he realized something, his eyes brightening.
“You mean…”
“That video doesn’t show someone being killed by a Mystery, but rather… someone with severed fingers rapidly healing. I’ll send you another video – you’ll understand after watching it.”
An Qingyu hung up, and another video arrived immediately.
Lin Qiye opened it instantly.
In this video, An Qingyu was nailed to the wall, fingers severed, but without bleeding.
Then his chest muscles contracted, squeezing out a nail that flew to the ground nearby.
Next, under rapid regeneration, his fingers grew back quickly, returning to normal in seconds.
The second nail was squeezed from his body, falling to the ground, followed by the third, fourth…
After the final nail fell, An Qingyu’s unsupported body dropped to the ground. He moved forward one step, acting terrified!
The video ended.
Lin Qiye slowly closed his eyes, taking a deep breath…
He understood.
No wonder each nail’s entry angle seemed strange! No wonder the fingers weren’t cut off at once but seemed gradually devoured! No wonder the victim was first pushed to the wall, then seemed pulled upward!
It was all… in reverse!
The nails were expelled by muscle tissue, not driven in by an invisible person or telekinesis; the fingers were growing, not being devoured; the body fell first, then deliberately moved forward one step…
Lin Qiye quickly called back.
“So from the beginning, there was no Mystery with invisibility, telekinesis, finger-cutting, and electronic interference abilities? The recording was just staged by someone with rapid regeneration?” Lin Qiye asked, frowning.
“Correct.”
“But why did they do this?” Lin Qiye’s voice was full of confusion. “Why go to such lengths to record this video? Why create the illusion of a Mystery attack?”
“Before considering that question, we should think about who did all this,” An Qingyu said calmly.
“The person in the recording,” Lin Qiye’s eyes narrowed. “They staged this scene, meaning Sun Xiao was nailed to the wall after the recording ended… One question remains: when he was nailed up, was Sun Xiao already dead or still alive?”
Then Lin Qiye shook his head, “No, actually this question is already answered. From Sun Xiao’s body, the inconsistent wound directions show his fingers were cut off before he was nailed up, and the reduced bleeding confirms this.”
“If the ritual was the goal, he would have been killed within ten seconds after finger severance, meaning he was already dead when nailed to the wall.”
“This means… there must be a primary crime scene near the pub where Sun Xiao was killed!”
“No, wait!”
“There’s a security camera at the street corner outside the pub, so the body couldn’t have been killed in another building and brought to the pub – it would have been caught on camera. So… the primary crime scene must be inside the pub!”
“And only one person could have done all this in the pub without anyone noticing…”