The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 17

Worship – 02

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At noon, the sun was at its harshest, glaring so intensely that it was difficult to keep one's eyes open. Lu Zheng fished out a pair of sunglasses, put them on, and glanced at his watch. May twenty-ninth. Today was the day Old Smoker Gu officially returned to duty. By now, if all went as expected, he should already be back with the team.

Back in the car, Lu Zheng opened WeChat on his phone. He stared at the profile picture of God of War Capua and typed a line in the chat box. Then he deleted it. He typed another, then deleted that too. This went on for a while until, finally, he managed to send a single message.

"Congratulations."

Ding! Before Lu Zheng could even set the phone down, Gu Yanta had already replied.

"Congratulations for what? Speak clearly."

"Congratulations on resuming your duties and rejoining the team, Captain Gu."

"You little rascal, you've been missing for ages, ignoring my WeChat messages and not picking up my calls, I was beginning to think you'd blocked me. And now you want to brush me off with a casual 'congratulations'? Not happening!"

"What do you want, then?"

"You must treat me to dinner tonight!"

"Fine, what do you want to eat? Your choice."

"Hotpot mutton!"

"... Then what am I supposed to eat?"

"You can just have the soup."

"Even the soup has a muttony taste, I won't drink it."

"Hahaha, I'm joking, if you won't eat mutton, then let's have pork liver!"

"Instant noodles, my treat, authentic pickled vegetable flavour!"

Gu Yanta set down his phone, grinning smugly. Chen Chen, oblivious to boundaries, leaned over, and Gu Yanta quickly exited WeChat.

"What's with you, Boss? Smiling at your phone like an idiot and hiding it as soon as I come near. Relax, I don't even want to see whatever it is you're looking at," Chen Chen scoffed dismissively.

"What do you know? I'm just protecting your fragile heart, sparing you from unnecessary emotional damage. Anyway, I'm officially back on duty tomorrow, I'll head off early later ha! Make sure to let the others know."

"Go, go, go! The sooner you leave with that lovestruck face of yours, the better, otherwise, people might mistake our criminal investigation team for some shady establishment." Chen Chen rolled his eyes.

"Chen Chen, Old Gu is still your direct superior, why are you talking with such a big mouth now?" Jiang Ziyu walked over, frowning at Chen Chen.

"Ah, Deputy Jiang! I was wrong, I'll apologise to Boss right away! Just don't say anything else, I beg you!" Chen Chen covered his ears and fled in a panic.

Jiang Ziyu turned to Gu Yanta with a serious expression. "Old Gu, you're not getting any younger, it's time to start thinking about settling down. Look at Old Lin, he's your classmate, and he's balancing family and work perfectly. You, on the other hand, spend your days grinning at your phone. Why not try getting to know some girls? You never know, you might find a spark..."

Seeing Jiang Ziyu's stance, Gu Yanta realised a lengthy lecture was imminent. He quickly grabbed his phone and said, "I'm heading to the archives!"

"Hey, hey, what's with you two? I'm not done talking!" Jiang Ziyu called after them, furious as he watched their retreating figures. "Ignore the wisdom of your elders, and you'll regret it later! You'll see!"

Six p.m., Japanese restaurant.

The dim lighting was accompanied by elegant music, and the vibrant murals on the walls gave the place a distinct personality. Both the décor and the furnishings exuded a strong Japanese vibe.

Gu Yanta sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, visibly uncomfortable. Just as he reached into his pocket for a cigarette, his eyes caught sight of a large "No Smoking" sign on the wall. Reluctantly, he put the cigarette back.

"This is what you're treating me to?" Gu Yanta surveyed the table, laden with small dishes and bowls. He picked up a piece of salmon sashimi and popped it into his mouth, looking dissatisfied.

"Don't be ungrateful, this is expensive," Lu Zheng sipped his tea.

"And I can't even smoke here!"

"Perfect, cut down on it a bit."

"I heard from Chen Chen that you've been missing lately because you were working on a thesis, how's that going?" Gu Yanta spoke with his mouth full of sushi, his words slightly muffled.

"What thesis? My graduation thesis? I finished that ages ago. Recently, I've been working on a research project. It's more like one final task to help my professor before graduation," Lu Zheng explained, picking up a piece of salmon and chewing it thoughtfully.

"Oh? What kind of project? Tell me about it."

"It's not finalised yet, probably something on the external factors and internal causes of antisocial personality disorder. Right now, it's just a rough idea. The specifics will require long-term study and observation of real-life cases. Recently, I've been in talks with the municipal psychiatric hospital to see if we can establish a long-term partnership."

"Antisocial personality disorder, huh? That reminds me of a case."

Gu Yanta took a sip of the sake Lu Zheng had ordered for him. "This sake isn't bad."

"Tell me about it." Lu Zheng poured him another glass of the "good sake."

"You're young and grew up in Lingzhou, so you might not have heard of this. Twenty years ago, there was a perverted serial killer in Yuchuan who terrified everyone. Rumour had it that he specifically targeted young women wearing red. At the time, no woman dared to go out at night, let alone wear bright colours. Some secondary schools in Yuchuan even cancelled evening classes."

Gu Yanta, who had been a senior primary school student back then, had little fear of death. All he remembered was how his mother, along with his aunts, would fall silent whenever the topic came up.

He paused briefly before continuing, "I was a kid at that time, I only had a vague idea about this matter. It wasn't until I joined the criminal investigation team that I learned some of the details. The truth is, not all victims were wearing red. Of the nine women killed, only one was wearing red, the others were dressed in ordinary, inconspicuous clothing. The killer's methods were extremely cruel, usually following his victims home before slitting their throats. Some were raped, and in certain cases, the killer removed parts of their bodies post-mortem."

"I've heard of this. They still haven't caught the killer, have they?" Lu Zheng nodded, sipping his tea.

"Indeed, many seasoned detectives from back then experienced this case, and some remained haunted by it even into retirement. At the time, the killer left plenty of evidence at the crime scenes, including fingerprints and semen. But due to the lack of advanced investigative technology, the police had to resort to door-to-door fingerprint collection and comparison," Gu Yanta said with a furrowed brow. "Back then, people criticised the police for inefficiency, but in reality, an enormous amount of manpower was deployed across Yuchuan. Officers visited every household, and all males registered in the city were required to provide fingerprints. Once, two rookie officers collecting fingerprints during Lunar New Year's Eve found that two men had gone out of town for work. To save themselves the trouble, they submitted their own fingerprints instead. The director at the time was furious, and both officers were dismissed as a result."

"At the time, the provincial authorities took the case very seriously, even forming a task force with experts brought in from the Ministry of Public Security. Despite tremendous efforts and resources, they failed to apprehend the killer. The Yuchuan police chief eventually resigned in disgrace. Rumours ran rampant, with all sorts of wild theories. Within just a year, the killer committed ten brutal crimes, claiming nine women's lives. But after the tenth case, the killer inexplicably disappeared without a trace." Gu Yanta downed the rest of his drink.

"I heard there was a survivor from the tenth case, right?" Lu Zheng twisted open another bottle of sake and poured refills for both himself and Gu Yanta.

"Eh, don't you not drink?" Gu Yanta stared blankly at Lu Zheng's cup.

"I can have a little, go on."

"You're right, the tenth case had two survivors, a boy and a girl, both seven years old. This remains the case's biggest mystery. The killer exclusively targeted young women, following them into their homes to commit his crimes. Why suddenly abduct two children? I still can't figure it out." Gu Yanta's frown deepened. "At the time, the killer took the two children to an abandoned factory, but for reasons unknown, he fled before committing any crimes. After being rescued, both children were severely traumatised. The boy was sent to live with relatives in another city, while the girl developed severe PTSD, becoming nearly mute. It took her a long time to piece together a rough account of what happened."

Gu Yanta was actually not much of a drinker, and by now, the bottle of sake had made his face flush.

He continued, "Because of her young age and the trauma she experienced, the girl couldn't recall many details, let alone the killer's appearance. She only remembered that the killer made the children play rock-paper-scissors to decide who would live, and the winner would supposedly be spared. But then, for reasons unknown, the killer fled before carrying out the act. What's even stranger is that he never committed another crime. It's as if he vanished into thin air."

Gu Yanta paused. Lu Zheng nodded slightly and said, "I know what you mean. Serial killers often exhibit obsessive-compulsive tendencies, which drive their repeated crimes and signature 'marks.' If a serial killer suddenly stops, they're either dead, or if they're alive, they've become incapable of committing further crimes."

"Exactly, so, the most likely explanation is that the killer died back then. If that's true, then he got off easy! Nine victims, each one a young woman in her prime! You've never seen the case files. One woman had the skin of her entire back removed, another was missing her breasts and hands. One victim's father had a heart attack on the spot after seeing his daughter's body and didn't survive despite resuscitation. That bastard destroyed countless families!" Gu Yanta's voice began to quaver, his teeth grinding audibly. "He'd better be dead already. If that bastard ever falls into my hands, I swear I'll..."

"Captain Gu, you've had too much to drink..." Lu Zheng looked at the fiery-eyed Gu Yanta, whose face was now crimson. "Don't drink any more, I won't be able to carry you home later..."

"Haven't, I haven't drunk too much, can I get drunk with this little bit of alcohol? I'm just... a little sleepy..." Before he could finish, Gu Yanta collapsed onto the table in a daze.

"Gu..." Lu Zheng gave Gu Yanta a nudge but found he couldn't budge him. "Ai..."

Lu Zheng quickly pulled out his phone and dialled Chen Chen's number.

"Hello, Chen Chen! Your boss is drunk, come and help me carry him!"

"What did you say, Consultant Lu? Speak up? The signal's bad, I can't ~ hear you ~ clearly ~~~" Chen Chen shouted exaggeratedly.

There was some background noise on Chen Chen's end, but it wasn't that noisy! Lu Zheng wished he could reach through the phone and drag Chen Chen over.

"Let me ask you, where does ~ your boss ~ live ~"

"Next to that breakfast shop where you dropped off the Black Jade Bone Renewal Paste last time. Yilin neighbourhood, building 23, unit 501, his keys are hooked on his waistband," Chen Chen answered quickly and precisely before promptly hanging up.

Hearing the dial tone, Lu Zheng sat back helplessly...

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: November 27, 2024 by Angel

Edited: January 5, 2025 by Angel