Chapter 6

When the bracelet lit up again, Shen Chuyi was reviewing the case files anew. Wearing Shen Yulan’s terminal bracelet on her left wrist, she accessed the Special Crimes Bureau’s internal network to examine the files, while her right hand toyed with her own secondhand bracelet. When the bracelet vibrated, she jolted and immediately looked down to unlock it.

A message popped up before her eyes—“Nice shot.”

It was unmistakably from Zhang Dian’s number!

No way! Everything that happened in the game turned out to be real. Otherwise, Zhang Dian would have just dismissed the photo as a ridiculous AI-generated image and never replied!

Shen Chuyi’s heart pounded wildly as memories of the bathtub incident flashed through her mind. So Zhang Dian had been concealing the fact that the supernatural entity had defrauded society, and she really had crossed paths with the renowned Professor Zhang.

Heh, the feeling’s not bad at all.

Excited, she rubbed her palms on her knees, pondering how to reply.

Zhang Dian’s message neither asked who she was nor what she wanted; he simply said, “Nice shot.”

He showed no surprise, fear, or urgency—just calmly waiting for her next move.

Shen Chuyi knew that the more desperate someone was, the easier they were to manipulate—just like when she was anxious to sell the diamond watch and got ripped off badly.

So she must not be impatient. The advantage was hers now; she was the one “blackmailing.”

She sent back to the victim, Zhang Dian—“The video is even better than the screenshot. Professor Zhang, you look as alluring as a siren in it.”

Heh, smooth and in control!

Zhang Dian was smart enough to understand her hint: besides the photo, she had a complete short video too.

Although she didn’t actually have it, since this was blackmail, one more lie wouldn’t matter.

After about twenty seconds, Zhang Dian quickly replied—“Voice call convenient?”

Damn!

Her heart rate spiked at those five words. No wonder he was a nemesis of crime—so direct and to the point.

Probably because voice calls reveal more information, even if one can alter their voice, environmental sounds, tone, and word habits offer clues to unmask her. After all, this was his line of work.

She thought a moment and responded—“Professor Zhang, actually, I’m a murderer. Every time I kill, I wear shoe covers and swagger straight through the front door. I make sure there are no fingerprints, bloodstains, or footprints at the scene. Can you catch me?”

She asked directly, refusing to answer his questions, firmly holding the initiative. She would not be led by the nose.

As for the shoe covers, she wasn’t sure if Bai Shizhou had tipped Zhang Dian off about the case or this newly discovered detail, but it didn’t matter. Blackmail was a gamble. He was so clever that it wouldn’t take long to catch her. And if he did? No big deal, she’d run. She couldn’t impersonate Shen Yulan forever—just cash the reward and vanish. No loss.

The bracelet vibrated again, Zhang Dian replied swiftly—“Voice call is easier for me to answer your question.”

Shen Chuyi barely had time to read the message before a call came through.

Zhang Dian’s number flashed on the screen. The vibration in the silent room pulsed rapidly, racing her heartbeat.

After hesitating only two seconds, she hurried into the bathroom, shut the door tightly, and turned on the shower and faucet.

She answered the call amid the enclosed space and the sound of flowing water.

Her heart pounded as she remained silent initially.

Then she heard a gentle laugh from the other end, mingled with Zhang Dian’s voice. He said, “You should have hung up on me, refused to let me control the pace, only giving orders and commanding me to follow your rhythm.”

Shen Chuyi laughed back, “In a gamble, you have to seem a little foolish to hook the big fish—act dumb enough to keep the big fish confident and keep raising the stakes.”

※※

In the quiet living room, only her voice could be heard.

In the dim light, Zhang Dian sat alone, running his fingers over a patch of sheepskin in the exhibition catalog.

She disguised her voice with a voice changer, turning it into a hoarse male tone, mixed with water sounds and slight echoes.

She must be in a fairly large bathroom.

His tentacles peeked from around his body, curiously approaching the bracelet, each tentacle’s tiny brain pondering—

“Is that the little sheep?”

“The voice sounds strange.”

“I know the little sheep’s fur.”

“I know her hands.”

“Catch her by tricking her…”

These poor little tentacle brains were both dumb and excitable; they were clearly very interested in her.

“You’re very clever,” Zhang Dian said gently. “If you hadn’t answered my call, I’d be sure you weren’t the uninvited guest that night in my bathroom. I wouldn’t have continued this conversation.”

“Why?” she asked.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Judging by your actions and emotions that night, you didn’t plan to show up in my bathroom. You were surprised to see me. I guess you’re not cautious; you have a gambler’s mindset. That’s why you wouldn’t refuse to answer this call and take a chance.”

The other side was silent for a few seconds, then came a laughing voice: “Does the big fish now think someone as foolish as me threatening you is neither a real threat nor boring, so he can play along?”

Just as she had theorized about baiting the big fish.

Zhang Dian’s smile deepened. He said again, “You’re very clever.”

This time almost tenderly, he answered, “I’m genuinely curious about you. Curious how you got into my bedroom. Curious what you want from me.”

“Then be obedient, and I will satisfy your curiosity.” She switched the voice changer again, using an old woman’s voice to issue a command: “Answer the question I’m testing you with, Professor Zhang.”

She repeated her question about being a murderer, asking if Zhang Dian was capable of catching her.

She wore shoe covers every time, ensuring no footprints, fingerprints, or blood at the scene.

This was the part Zhang Dian was more curious about—she was blackmailing him, but not for money or fame; she was posing a riddle to test him?

Either she really was a murderer—narcissistic killers often challenge authority and play games with it to satisfy their ego.

Or…

Perhaps because he didn’t answer fast enough, she clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction: “Professor Zhang, is this difficult for you?”

For the first time, Zhang Dian heard this tone. She had little patience for him: “How many people have you killed?”

“Seventeen or eighteen,” she answered casually.

Currently, no serial killer with that many victims was still at large worldwide.

Zhang Dian chuckled and replied, “If you’d killed that many, always wearing shoe covers, I’d catch you quickly.”

“How would you catch me?” she asked.

“Commonalities,” Zhang Dian explained patiently like a teacher: “A serial killer is caught by finding the common thread in each case. You’ve already told me your common thread.”

A faint thud came from the bracelet’s end, as if she had jumped down somewhere or opened a cabinet door.

Was she sitting at a washbasin, talking to him?

Then suddenly, the call disconnected.

Zhang Dian stared at the darkened bracelet in confusion. She just hung up?

Silence enveloped the room. He felt a frustrating sense of “scratching an itch you can’t reach.” She had tricked him; she hadn’t satisfied even a shred of his curiosity.

The tentacles rustled, all converging on the bracelet, peering and tapping: “Why is there no sound?”

“Out of power?”

“Lure her back.”

“Why did she hang up?”

“Will she come tonight?”

The bracelet buzzed and lit up.

A message from an unknown number appeared—“You are safe for now, Professor Zhang. Before our next contact, your un·coded·high-definition·tentacle video will not be made public.”

It was both a threat and a promise of a next time, telling him to stay alert.

Such surprising confidence and boldness.

How was she so certain he couldn’t catch her?

Zhang Dian replied—“At least tell me, how should I address you, Ms. Goat?”

She quickly responded—“Call me Baby.”

Zhang Dian was momentarily stunned.