Puzzle Madness

Chapter 177 Autumn is the Hunting Season (Thirteen)
For a moment, only the buzzing of the flying insects surrounding Big Head Hong's corpse filled the trapezoidal room; everyone else fell silent.

After listening to the long and rambling speech, Huang Youtian stopped pacing around—he just stood there with his mouth slightly open, stunned; astonishment replaced anger and filled his body.

With a "snap," the sour soup bak kut teh broke the nail sticker in half; the boy with the glasses darted around, probably still processing what Ai Xi had said.

Judging from their expressions, they seemed a little bewildered; perhaps they were considering that the person who said these words was making it difficult for the listeners to understand.

After a moment of silence, it was the boy with the eyepiece who spoke first:

"Um, you're still a middle school student, right? You didn't wear this school uniform on purpose to mislead the murderer or something, did you? Could it be... could it be that you actually look much younger than your actual age?"

"For example—uh, for example, being given drugs that cause you to revert to youth?"

The man unconsciously scratched the soles of his feet, and had his own deductions:

"What nonsense are you spouting, Glasses? She's actually a police officer, just with a baby face. Do you even believe she's a middle school student?"

"They probably just used a student identity as a disguise, like the plot of 'Fight Back to School.' So what if they did? If they had walkie-talkies or something, they would have called for help long ago."

"Now you're just stuck with us. Did you bring a gun? Sigh, if you did, you would have used it already."

Given Ai Xi's precocious nature, she could easily exhibit behavior more like a [high school student].
But Ai Xi's lack of attempt to conceal it only made her seem strange and abnormal.

She waved her hand impatiently:

“You’re overthinking it. I’m just a student at Mong Cai No. 5 Middle School.”

“My analysis is actually quite idealistic. The [cannibalistic air-raid shelter] could also be a random crime; the killer had no choice in terms of timing and just killed whoever he encountered. I simply chose a plan with a relatively high success rate and put it into action to see.”

"This plan doesn't require much cost, but the benefits are: for example, we just happened to stumble upon it this time. Anyway, if you don't take action, there will be no return."

Eyeglasses seemed to want to push up his glasses—but he'd lost them during their escape down the slope, so he tried to push them up but missed. He awkwardly touched his forehead and sighed.

"How should I put it: you don't seem like someone still in school at all. Is it because you're exceptionally bright? Precocious?"

“I’ve had contact with the police for work, but I rarely see them doing things like you. Your efficiency is truly impressive.”

The sour soup bak kut teh leaned closer to Ai Xi; she wiped away the eyeshadow smeared with tears, and casually ripped off her false eyelashes and tossed them aside:
"You're a bit too calm. Are you the kind of person who's naturally immune to nervousness and fear? It seems like some guys who like extreme sports are like that too; they're missing something in their endocrine system."

Ai Xi turned her head and glanced at them:
"Of course I'm nervous and scared. But everyone has their own talents, and I have mine too."

“Mong Cai is a very interesting place. I’m nothing special. The person wearing glasses is also from Mong Cai, you should know that.”

Undeterred—or perhaps even more curious than the looming danger—she continued to press for answers:
"How did you obtain this information? Surely citizens can't just walk into the police station in your Cochin Autonomous Prefecture and check the files themselves?"

This time, however, it wasn't Ai Xi who answered, but Mujingzai:
“When a missing person case is reported, a notice is first published in the newspaper to encourage citizens to provide clues. It’s published on page four of the Mong Cai Daily. This is done not only in Mong Cai, but throughout the entire Cochin Autonomous Region; you may not know this if you’re from Singapore.”

"Then there's a board next to the police station's inquiry desk, specifically for posting missing person notices; it's posted right next to the wanted posters."

“If you’re interested, you’ll find out. Don’t ask me how I know. I told you, I’ve dealt with the police because of my work.” Huang Youtian seemed calmer, no longer as manic as before; the trembling had stopped. But his eyes remained fixed on Da Tou Hong’s corpse, unblinking.

He finally spoke, but his question was different from the other two:
"Hey, girl. You said you're here to investigate some [serial killer]—"

"What if you really run into a murderer? Can you beat him? You probably wouldn't be able to subdue an adult on your own. Didn't you bring any communication devices?"

Ai Xi scoffed and put her hands into her school uniform pockets:
"Fight? Needless to say, just run. What do you take my running for every day for? Running away is the most useful weapon."

"However, in this situation, simply running away won't solve anything."

The boy with the eyeglasses was rubbing his philtrum back and forth with his index finger, seemingly lost in thought.
"What if I'm wrong? What if the serial killer didn't even target the bomb shelter?"

Ai Xi shrugged. She turned around, leaning against the concrete wall beside the stairs; one leg was bent and braced against the wall, showing not a trace of tension.

"Then consider it exercise. Running here is very stress-relieving, you can try it too; it can also help to organize your thoughts."

"But I was right: it seems the so-called killers are not human, but there are definitely traces of humans among them."

"Even if it is an unknown species, a monster, at least judging from its behavior, it must possess intelligence; at least as good as the average human, or it may have humans cooperating with it."

"Alright--I've already explained my thinking."

She approached the stairs leading to the unknown place and patted the wide-open iron gate. Although it bore traces of rust and its paint was peeling, the lock gleamed in the beam of her flashlight.
“Look at the door lock. It’s newly replaced—I found it strange that I couldn’t open it with tools when I came last time. It’s not an old-fashioned lock. After the return of the air-raid shelters in the Jiaozhi Autonomous Prefecture, all the civilian doors were replaced once, but this door has been replaced again.”

Ai Xi's hand tapped on each of the other tightly closed doors:

"The other doors are the same; they should lead to other sections of the air-raid shelter. They've just been specially sealed off this time."

"So this place is being maintained: that monster isn't as simple as it seems."

Ai Xi raised her head and looked back at the narrow rectangular entrance they had come from:
"You've probably noticed this by now—as long as we have something to say, or don't talk for too long, the giant with the cleaver won't appear and won't continue to squeeze and drive us away."

"It might be listening to us."

Eyeglasses Boy raised his hand to cover his mouth, while Sour Soup Bak Kut Teh looked around uneasily.

Only Huang Youtian kept his eyes fixed on Da Tou Hong's corpse, his hands fidgeting with the hem of his clothes.

"Let's go. There's no point in staying here."

Ai Xi stopped talking, turned around, and stepped onto the long, downward staircase. The others got up and prepared to follow her.

Unbeknownst to them, this youngest, most abrupt, and most eccentric person became the one who made the decision among them.

(End of this chapter)