Only I Have the Law: A Fantasy Daily Life

Chapter 129 A Revenge Ritual Filled with Morbid Pleasure

August 6th.

Wednesday, 7:45 AM.

After a speech by the leader that was neither long nor concise, the Chengdu Marathon officially began in the morning air.

Chen Baiyu stood in front of the huge tactical screen wall in the command center, feeling the subtle ethereal sensation brought about by the surging magic power within his body, which had just broken through to the upper limit of 142 points.

Although the practice of "Senluo Visualization Method" lasted all night, it did not reach the rule of "heat" yet, but it was by no means without gains.

He not only expanded his magical capacity, but also seemed to have made his perception of external objects more refined.

The lingering sense of ease from last night's slightly playful "card game," mixed with his current satisfaction with his improved control, gave him a faint smile.

Zhang Yuanzhi had long since given up on inviting him to join the fray. Now, he stood to the side like a tour guide, proudly introducing this command center: "Look, Bai Yu, you have a god's-eye view here! Look around as you please!"

Chen Baiyu's gaze swept over the scene before him.

It's less of a command center and more of an information integration operations room.

Several large main screens are divided into countless smaller sections, displaying real-time monitoring footage from different locations along the racecourse: from the bustling starting archway teeming with people, to the long, winding race through the city streets, and then to the emerald greenways along the open riverbank.

Some shots were zoomed in on.

You can even see the focused expressions on the athletes' faces, and the sweat glistening in the morning sun.

On the other screen, a long list of names and fluctuating numbers flowed, representing the core data of the professional athletes wearing monitoring equipment.

Real-time pace, cadence, distance, and heart rate.

Chen Baiyu's gaze lingered on those numbers.

He didn't need to peer into the small print; a quick glance was enough to read all the information clearly: the Ethiopian dark horse in first place had a heart rate of 158, as steady as a rock. Closely following was an Eastern European man with a heart rate of 172, seemingly nearing his limit.

A Japanese athlete had precise pacing but a heart rate of 179 and a slightly erratic breathing rhythm.

What's even more interesting is that several top domestic players had their heart rates fluctuating wildly between 165 and 170, which shows their struggles and perseverance under different strategies.

【Tsk. 】

[If that Japanese guy in the red shirt on the left keeps pushing himself like that, he'll break down within five kilometers. His heart rate is fluctuating like an out-of-control electrocardiogram. No matter how strong his willpower is, he can't defy the laws of physiology.]

He silently assessed in his mind that the almost instinctive insight made him feel as if he were looking at a group of biological models that were labeled with data and striving forward.

My gaze swept across the edge of the screen wall, where there were real-time connections to supply stations and emergency support points along the route.

Every ten kilometers, you can see a prominent marker with a rapid response team icon, with ambulances, motorcycles, and personnel in bright uniforms on standby.

On the screen, you could even vaguely see a runner with cramps being helped to sit down at a 10-kilometer mark, with volunteers skillfully handing him water and a small sponge.

Further away, beneath a bridge out of the live stream's view, a logistics worker is arranging and stacking insulated boxes containing energy gels.

The preparations were quite thorough.

It seems the organizing committee has taken the lesson learned from the minor incident in Suining last time quite seriously.

Chen Baiyu raised an eyebrow. He naturally thought of the guy who tried to give him the middle finger but was knocked down by him with the "lingering power of the Lost Monkey King". A barely perceptible sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

After standing in the command center for only ten minutes or so, Chen Baiyu began to lose interest.

With his current physical condition, running a marathon is no different from taking a walk after a meal.

Watching these top human athletes struggle with data charts is no different from watching a group of ants lining up to move house in his eyes.

That insignificant hymn to the will of mortals could not stir any waves for someone who had already begun to ponder the laws of the Great Sun.

He yawned, the movement natural and casual.

"It's too slow, and there's no suspense at all."

Chen Baiyu muttered to himself.

Judging from the performance of the leading Black player, he could predict that the player would likely win easily by simply glancing at the data on the screen.

As for how others would adjust their tactics or how the second echelon would be secretly maneuvering, he couldn't be bothered to analyze or anticipate it.

"Brother Zhang."

"I've looked around enough. I'm going back to my hotel room to lie down and browse my phone for a bit."

Chen Baiyu turned her head and said calmly.

It has a relaxed feeling, like you've finished looking at the scales at the market and are about to leave.

Zhang Yuanzhi was watching the leading team's movements intently on the main screen.

Hearing this, he was taken aback for a moment.

He quickly realized what was happening and gave a knowing yet slightly helpless smile, saying, "Oh? You're already tired of seeing that? Okay, okay, go ahead! If you want to rest, go lie down in your room. You have the room key. How about we have dinner together tonight? Or..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Baiyu had already casually waved his hand and turned to walk towards the door.

"We'll talk about it later, Brother Zhang. I'll call you back."

Chen Baiyu's figure disappeared at the entrance of the command center, leaving Zhang Yuanzhi and other staff members still facing the data streams on the screen and the running crowd.

Switching between surveillance cameras.

Just then, a driver stumbled due to uneven energy distribution at a sharp bend, which prompted a soft shout and a few instructions from the command center via walkie-talkie.

But all this.

None of this has anything to do with the "Superman" who just left.

He was like a deity who had accidentally descended to the edge of this mortal arena, glanced at the panorama of humanity composed of data, and then, finding it utterly uninteresting, turned and left.

Perhaps the next mission... or the next power, will be something he can look forward to even more?
While thinking.

The system arrived as expected.

【drop! 】

The cold and urgent notification sound, like a fragment of time and space thrown into the depths of consciousness, suddenly exploded the moment Chen Baiyu stepped out of the command center!

His fingers, which were resting on the door frame, tensed instantly.

[Spacetime Disturbances Detected! Escape Characteristics of [Immortal Monument - Fragment] Locked in!]

You have triggered the quest: Hunting the Minions of Time.

[Mission Background: A secondary-dimensional creature, 'Tindaros Timehound - Juvenile Projection,' has been detected escaping at high speed through the cracks of reality, carrying with it [Immortal Monument - Fragment]!]

[Mission Objective: Follow the trail, respond immediately to the guidance of fate, track the hound's escape route through the interlayer of reality, and retrieve the [Fragment of the Immortal Monument]]

[Quest Rewards: 150 Experience Points, Special Item [Immortal Monument Fragment]]

[Mission Evaluation: Ha! A lost, toothless time-traveling slug! How dare it steal remnants left behind by 'Eternal Collapse' as a toy? Although this speck of dust isn't even worthy of chipping the paint off 'Immortal Monument,' allowing such a claw to steal right under your nose is an unforgivable stain on the hero's resume!]

Tasks always come unexpectedly.

Chen Baiyu pushed open the door and went out without hesitation.

He accepted the task!

Again.

The system tasks were not triggered by any fixed pattern. Having tried various scenarios, he understood that in most cases, it was purely a matter of the system acting on its whim.

He tried drinking more soy milk, watched videos introducing all kinds of bizarre dishes, and even waited for the content creator at People's Park to continue tempting him to drink more.

However, none of these attempts resulted in the God of Blasphemy's trial mission starting immediately as he wished.

He tried wandering around outside and observing the commotion, but this didn't trigger any more missions for him.

under these circumstances.

There is no fixed triggering mechanism for tasks. Each task, which seems numerous, is actually very valuable. He prefers to accept the choice of each system task.

To avoid any possible waste.

Perhaps in some people's eyes, this is being a slave to the system.

However, in Chen Baiyu's view...

Whether he was a slave or not was unimportant; in fact, his life had already been greatly changed by the system, which was something he was happy to see.

Considering the issue of slavery is nothing but unnecessary worry, or even an overreaction.

but……

What if it were possible to actually obtain such a system in real life?
Most people would immediately put their worries aside and become a scroll king, constantly completing various system tasks.

This is the same principle as hating eggs.

Some people criticize famous women online, seemingly able to find all sorts of flaws and shortcomings. But if you actually put those famous women in front of them and let them pick and choose as they please...

They probably wish they could stuff the egg in too.

While thinking.

Following the voice of Guo Degang, which seemed to be guiding her, Chen Baiyu strode out and left.

···························
August 6th.

Around 2 PM, in apartment 301, unit 2, building 3 of Guangmingli residential complex.

The air was thick with an unmistakable, suffocating smell of death and a pungent stench.

The pungent smell seemed to have a physical presence, pressing heavily on the chests of everyone who entered the scene.

The white lights used for trace investigation crisscrossed in the dimly lit living room, giving the scene a cold, eerie, and unreal feel.

"God……"

The landlord's legs went weak as he leaned against the door frame, his face paler than a whitewashed wall.

He opened the door.

He was the first to be nearly fainted by the stench that seemed to come from the depths of hell, and then he saw the strangely grotesque corpse on the sofa.

Several young police officers frowned.

Suppressing his discomfort, he struggled to maintain the cordon and initial protection of the scene. "Old Liu, take the landlord outside to wait for questioning, disperse the onlookers, and extend the cordon further! Xiao Chen, contact the command center immediately and request support from the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division and technical team! Quickly!"

The man who spoke was about forty years old.

He was lean and fit, with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

It was Song Zhaoming, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Guangming Branch.

He had a feeling that this was not a simple case.

When the city police's major crimes unit and forensic team arrived with their sirens blaring, the scene had already been professionally cordoned off.

The two men, who were found alive but in a coma due to mild dehydration and hypoglycemia, were rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

The focus of the entire 301 room is now only the shocking scene in the living room sofa area.

"Team Leader Song."

"Preliminary information about the deceased obtained from the scene and neighbors: Li Changhong, male, 45 years old, unemployed, with multiple records of labor fraud and economic disputes, and complex social relationships. The preliminary judgment is that the time of death was between 36 and 48 hours, that is... from the night before last to the early morning of yesterday."

A police officer who had just finished a preliminary investigation of the living room stepped forward and handed over a printed sheet of paper.

Song Zhaoming took the paper, glanced at it, then looked up at the sofa, his brows furrowing into a deep knot.

on the sofa.

Li Changhong was bound in an extremely complicated and awkward way with a large amount of transparent tape: his hands and feet were tied behind his back, and his arms were tightly bound behind his back with the joints reversed, so that his whole body was in an upside-down position with his head down and feet up.

That bloated, deformed face was now a dark purplish-black, with ruptured blood vessels due to the upside-down position causing a terrifying spiderweb of bloodstains. Its eyeballs were bulging outwards, almost popping out, and yellowish-white vomit and incontinence were still congealed at the corners of its mouth.

His twisted, stiff limbs and the deep marks left by his violent struggle under the tape silently proclaimed the extreme pain and despair he endured before his death.

There were no obvious external injuries, but the manner of death was unusually gruesome.

"The methods were extremely cruel...controlling, humiliating, torturing, and ultimately causing death."

"Preliminary investigations have ruled out a crime of passion during a burglary. The target was so clearly identified, and the methods so... heinous, that a revenge killing is highly likely. Investigate Li Changhong's past enemies—everyone who has recently clashed with him or been swindled out of money by him!"

Song Zhaoming's deep voice filled the room.

Upon hearing the sound, the technical police officers immediately went to work.

Song Zhaoming, on the other hand, began to adopt a sharper gaze.

Slowly scan every corner of the room, trying not to miss any details.

In front of the sofa.

Directly opposite the deceased, a cheap plastic stool sat quietly, clearly indicating that someone had sat in front of the spot where the deceased was being tortured while hanging upside down.

On the ground next to the stool.

Lying there was an apple core that had been almost completely eaten away, leaving only the small core. Scattered around the core were long, thin strips of apple peel that had been peeled off and were already shriveled and blackened.

Next to the stool was a stainless steel basin about the size of a vegetable washing basin. At the bottom of the basin were a small amount of murky water with solidified grease and a clump of dirt stuck together, which looked like the fibers from a kitchen rag.

The inner edge of the basin was stained with some splashed, murky water droplets.

On the floor on the other side of the sofa, a small, half-dried, yellowish stain emitted a strong, fishy odor, evidence of the deceased's incontinence.

The fruit knife, riddled with nicks and chips, was now lying on the sofa armrest.

Song Zhaoming put on gloves.

He carefully picked up the apple core and examined it, then looked at the thinly sliced, long peel on the ground and analyzed, "The murderer must be sitting here... eating the apple bite by bite, slowly appreciating and enjoying the process."

"Abnormal, calm, and with a strong desire for catharsis and revenge. He seems psychologically twisted and is very likely to have antisocial personality tendencies."

"Carefully extract all of these and take them back for biological trace testing."

Song Zhaoming waved his hand and said.

He then turned in another direction.

After walking around the room, he found that he couldn't find any signs of a struggle.

There were simple mopping and sweeping marks in the kitchen and bathroom, but even if they had been cleaned, they shouldn't have been so clean that there was no trace of a struggle.

after all……

Those were three grown men.

If a real fight breaks out, everything should be overturned and in complete chaos.

But now...

Thinking of this, Song Zhaoming immediately continued to instruct his team: "Take samples of all the barbecue food on the table and everything edible in the kitchen, and send them back to test for drug components. These three were subdued instantly during their meal, and no signs of struggle were found, so it's very likely that something was tampered with in the barbecue or drinks."

Having said this, he paused.

Because he suddenly thought of a few other possibilities.

in fact.

The possibility that there was more than one perpetrator cannot be ruled out.

Furthermore, it cannot be ruled out that the perpetrator was so strong that they were completely powerless to fight back.

Do not!
To be precise, the murderer must have been very strong!
Song Zhaoming's eyes lit up at this thought.

He walked back to the sofa in the living room and observed carefully, which further confirmed his point of view.

The fact that a person of Li Changhong's build could be easily hung upside down and tied to a sofa, with no obvious drag marks around, indicates that the murderer was unexpectedly strong.

Song Zhaoming secretly raised his assessment of the killer's strength or methods.

At this time.

The forensic pathologist was squatting next to the sofa, carefully conducting a preliminary autopsy.

Upon seeing Song Zhaoming approach, the forensic doctor frowned and said, "Captain Song, something's strange."

The forensic doctor frowned, his tone filled with intense confusion: "The deceased showed clear signs of asphyxiation, severe shock, and multiple muscle tears due to extreme struggle. However, no obvious external injuries were found."

"It seems like the cause of death was chemical poisoning. I need to go back for a more thorough autopsy."

"Based on the current situation, I suspect that the adrenaline levels in his internal organs were abnormally high, and it is very likely that he was in a state of extreme excitement before death? He must have been experiencing extremely intense emotions before he died. This is not like simple fear and suffocation."

This extreme physiological excitement, intertwined with the suffocating fear of death, appears extremely discordant.

"Excitement?"

"You mean you're on drugs?"

Song Zhaoming frowned even more deeply.

From this perspective, the case may be more complex than initially thought.

"more than."

"Based on the initial diagnosis of the cause of death, I feel that this is an absurdly potent drug, more exaggerated than many others I know of."

After saying that, the forensic doctor began to direct his assistants to prepare to collect the body and take it back.

Song Zhaoming, on the other hand, frowned even more deeply.

Is it a highly effective medicine?

This could very well involve much more.

While thinking.

Song Zhaoming led several team members toward the master bedroom.

The bed was a complete mess.

Large amounts of torn transparent tape remnants were stuck to the bed sheet, clearly outlining the shape and position of the other two people who had been tied up earlier.

"The binding method is consistent with that of the deceased on the sofa, indicating it was done by the same person. However, the fact that these two survived suggests it was intentional; the killer had time to appreciate death, so they shouldn't have been too busy to dispose of these two."

"Was it a clear and not indiscriminate revenge killing? If it wasn't a deliberate misdirection by the killer, then it should be helpful in identifying the suspects later on."

Song Zhaoming took a deep breath. Every detail at the scene reinforced the image of the murderer as cold, ruthless, and in complete control.

Next.

The professional team continued to conduct extensive on-site investigations.

Technicians worked meticulously on site, flashes constantly going off, and film recording this hellish scene.

"Preliminary profile: Suspected to be a single individual, male, age unknown, but psychologically extremely twisted and cold-blooded, meticulous in thought but with strong sadistic tendencies and antisocial personality traits. Immensely powerful and extremely controlling. Has a deep personal grudge against the deceased, Li Changhong."

"The modus operandi was highly ritualistic and cathartic. It included binding, hanging upside down, prolonged torture, and watching the victim eat an apple while observing the whole process. After committing the crime, there was an awareness and ability to clean up some traces, but important traces and physical evidence were still left at the scene, which is suspected to be intentionally left to mislead."

"In short, it is extremely dangerous."

After finishing his sentence, Song Zhaoming couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Standing in the center of the messy living room, the air was filled with the smells of death, excrement, rotting food, and cold medicine.

He felt a chill creep up his spine.

This was no ordinary murder case, but a meticulously planned, coldly executed, and morbidly pleasurable revenge ritual.

Leaving two survivors might not be an act of mercy, but rather a deliberate act by the murderer to leave behind "witnesses," to declare something to them and to this dark world.

"Call back! Take all relevant physical evidence—fruit knife, apple core, apple peel, sewage basin, barbecue residue, beer bottle, all tape samples, as well as the tape removed from the bedroom, the sofa and stool, and biological traces extracted from various parts of the scene... all back!"

"Pay close attention to the two people in the hospital. Once they regain consciousness, interrogate them immediately! We need any details they might reveal about the killer!"

Song Zhaoming's voice was low and solemn.

He finally turned his gaze to the quiet plastic stool, the "audience seat" where the murderer watched the violence unfold.

It took a long time for me to come back to my senses.

This case is by no means simple.

As a veteran criminal investigator with many years of experience, he clearly felt a sense of unease.

(End of this chapter)