The weapon by the pillow

Chapter 35 I have a feeling he's going to kill someone!

There's no way out... The room is so suffocating!

Cheng Tan felt somewhat discouraged, so he sat down against the camphor wood chest.

Unexpectedly, the box shifted, causing him to sway. With his other hand, he grabbed a tattered bed sheet from the edge of the box and pulled it out.

"What is this?" Cheng Tan muttered, about to throw it away, when Lin Qian suddenly exclaimed "Huh?", pointed at the bed sheet, and said loudly:

"What's up there?"

Cheng Tan was startled and immediately pulled back the bed sheet.

Under the flashlight beam, the bed sheet looked like an old-fashioned, ordinary blue and white checkered cloth.

But on the back, near the edge, someone wrote a line of large characters in black marker:

"The door will only open when the sum of the points is seven."

This was written in advance, when the dice were placed in the die: the sum of the points is seven.

That die with a missing corner!

Everyone understood instantly!

This die is not a key, not a map, but a "condition"!

A pre-set "condition" regarding whether they could leave the room!

"What do you mean?" Lynx exclaimed urgently. "We really have to roll the dice? And if the sum of the numbers is seven, the door will open? What door? Is it this sealed door? Or the damn door to the second basement? What the hell are these conditions?!"

"It can't be that simple," Shadow immediately denied. "It's more like a metaphor, or a rule. 'The sum of the numbers is seven'... The sum of the numbers on the two opposite sides of a die is seven. One against six, two against five, three against four."

He picked up the chipped die: "The chipped corner of this die corresponds to one, two, and three. So, its opposite face corresponds to six, five, and four. Do these three numbers correspond to the remaining three 'tools'? Or... three people?"

Thinking of this, Li Kai suddenly looked at the other people in the room.

Everyone understands, of course, that there are eight of them. If the dice metaphorically represent "participants" or "tools," then...

"There are eight of us here." Li Kai's voice suddenly became dry. "The dice have six sides, but the triangle is missing, leaving only the triangle. The bed sheet says, 'The door will only open when the sum of the numbers is seven'... Does this imply that someone among us needs to... pay a price? To reach some kind of 'balance'?"

"You mean...people are going to die? Die until they meet some kind of 'points' rule?" Ah Zhe screamed in terror, "No! I don't want to! Let me out! I don't want to participate in this terrifying game anymore!"

"This is no longer a game; they treat human lives like numbers!" Cheng Tan suddenly gave a bitter laugh. "He's already set a trap. I have a feeling he's going to kill someone!"

Panic spread again inside the room.

Our modern, technologically advanced internet world remains a noisy place.

Countless people are still glued to their screens, their eyes red with anticipation...

Hundreds of thousands of eyes are still fixed on this small, dark room 403, shrouded in the shadow of death.

Even more comments continued to surge like a storm in the torrent of data, with emotions of speculation, debate, fear, and excitement flowing through the fiber optic cable—how spectacular!

In whose hands does fate truly reside?

Cheng Jing realized that the direction of public opinion was being subtly shifted by an invisible hand.

She had only flipped through the pages a few times when she frowned.

Rumors about Li Wan began to circulate, spreading slowly and stubbornly like ink dripping into clear water.

[Loan sharking], [moral issues], [relationship disputes]... These vague yet highly damaging terms are repeatedly mentioned, forwarded, and elaborated upon by a group of seemingly rational but actually carefully disguised accounts.

Like a virus, they are trying to erode core discussions that are closer to the truth, such as "ritualistic murder" and "demolition scandals."

The missing piece of the die remains a new topic, especially with the appearance of a bed sheet and a sentence on it.

While most people are intensely analyzing the dice, tools, missing corners, and the puzzle of "the sum of the points being seven," some have already been led astray and have begun to suspect that Li Wan "has a problem herself," and even vaguely feel that "maybe it's not that complicated, just an ordinary murder."

Whether or not public opinion is manipulated, it is itself a kind of "ritual"!

A ritual to confuse the public, divert attention, and shroud the real evil in mystery.

Cheng Jing looked at the hazy night once more. She knew in her heart that at least three forces were vying for power in the darkness.

Just then, downstairs at Building 7 in Anpingli, Cheng Jing received an unexpected phone call.

The caller ID showed a number she didn't want to see, but had no choice but to answer.

She walked to the side and pressed the answer button.

A gentle female voice came from the other end of the phone: "Captain Cheng, this is Yang Hong from the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Inspection Department. Regarding the Anpingli incident you are handling, there are some... questions about your personal case-handling procedures. I need you to come back immediately to cooperate with the explanation. Please return to the Municipal Public Security Bureau right away."

Cheng Jing's eyes twitched, then suddenly widened.

She knew what the phone call meant.

Someone didn't want her to stay here any longer.

Someone wants to remove her from the scene.

She glanced at Building 7, which was just a stone's throw away, and then at the still-watching, suffocating live stream on her phone screen.

"Director Yang," Cheng Jing's voice replied calmly, "I am currently in command of a major emergency, involving the lives of at least eight people, and the reinvestigation of a thirteen-year-old cold case. Any procedural issues can be addressed after the mission is completed. I cannot leave now."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. The woman's voice remained gentle, but carried an air of pressure: "Comrade Cheng Jing, this is an order. Please prioritize the overall situation and return immediately. On-site command can be temporarily handed over to Deputy Captain Chen Ming."

"I'm sorry, Director Yang," Cheng Jing said, emphasizing each word. "The situation at the scene is complex, involving suspected explosives and a possible multiple murders. Chen Ming lacks experience. As the highest-ranking commander on site, I must remain here. I will submit a detailed report on procedural matters afterward. If superiors deem it necessary, they can send someone to the scene to supervise. But right now, I cannot leave."

After saying that, she hung up the phone without waiting for a response.

She knew that this move could bring her a lot of trouble.

But she knew even more that if she left now, the eight people upstairs might really have no way to survive.

She raised her head and looked towards the window of room 403, her eyes sharp as two knives.

"Chen Ming!" she called out, "How's the bomb disposal progress?"

"Report to Team Leader Cheng, the pressure sensor on the first floor has been safely deactivated! We can enter now!" came the good news over the walkie-talkie.

Cheng Jing's spirits lifted: "SWAT Team A, proceed as planned, stealthily approach the fourth floor via the stairwell! Team B, maintain perimeter security to prevent the target from escaping through other means! Sniper Team, keep a close watch on the target room in Building 5. If there is any unusual activity, await my command! Move out!"

The order has been issued.

Fully armed special police officers, like black arrows, silently pierced into the dark corridor of Building 7.

Inside room 403, the fear and suspicion surrounding the "sum of points being seven" is pushing the eight people to the brink of mutual hostility.

The dice lay quietly in Li Kai's palm.

A brand new missing corner, like a mocking mouth.