Mrs. Lani was peacefully sleeping when she received a phone call. She had no intention of answering, but upon seeing the important number, she quickly picked up the phone.
"In the dead of night, why are you calling?" Mrs. Lani's voice sounded a bit annoyed.
"That girl is dead."
She was taken aback for a moment, but then her face suddenly brightened. She smiled with great satisfaction upon hearing the news of Erica's misfortune.
"How did that happen?"
"She jumped into a ravine." The person on the other end lied: "When we were chasing her."
"She jumped off the cliff." The guy on the other side lied: "While we were chasing her."
"Well done. And what about that thing? Did you retrieve it?"
"We couldn't find anything like a memory card or USB. It might be on her person. It's probably damaged anyway."
"Hmm."
"Now, what should we do?"
"It's okay, you guys hide for a while, be careful in your actions, and don't let anyone find out."
"We have been very cautious, ma'am."
"Good."
The phone call ended, and Mrs. Lani resumed climbing back into bed to sleep. Tomorrow, she will deliver the good news to Kora.
…
The darkness had faded, and the rays of a new day began to awaken. Those magical beams of light danced and frolicked, some happily landing on the serene face of the motionless girl lying on the elevated mound of earth next to the lake. Erica slowly opened her eyes, her body aching, her blurry eyes blinking incessantly, everything appearing hazy and surreal. The distance from the clear blue sky above to where she lay seemed vast and remote. Erica wondered if she was somewhere other than paradise. Because, according to her memory, her mother once said that heaven was often surrounded by clouds. Looking up at the cloudless sky above, it seemed that she hadn't made it to heaven.
Disappointed and disheartened, Erica believed that she hadn't done enough good deeds in her life, which was why she couldn't ascend to heaven upon her death.
After a while of drowsiness, Erica exerted all her strength to sit up. She blinked her eyes and looked around in a daze. Her head throbbed like a hammer, and she felt dizzy and lightheaded. Erica had to close her eyes for a while before daring to open them again.
"Where am I? Am I dead?" Erica is still dreaming, unable to determine where exactly she was. This place seemed unfamiliar to her.
Erica glanced around, finally realizing her current situation. She was sitting on a muddy embankment next to a murky, black lake. Above her, a sewage pipe was draining water, emitting a strong and putrid odor. The stench was overpowering, and Erica's whole body reeked of it. The smell seemed to shock her spirit.
Erica remembers now. Last night, a gang of thugs had cornered her, and she had unfortunately ended up in this place. Last night, Erica found herself cornered by a gang of thugs and unfortunately ended up in this place. However, Erica found herself unexpectedly fortunate as the repulsive water that surrounded her became her savior, sparing her life.
"I need to eliminate this awful odor."
Saying so, Erica stood up and looked for a way to escape her current situation. She didn't want to stay here a moment longer.
While walking, Erica suddenly jolted, her eyes widening as she caught sight of a pair of eyes staring back at her. She couldn't discern the figure clearly, only the glowing eyes in the darkness, peering through thick bushes. Four eyes locked onto each other. At that moment, Erica felt numb, as if those eyes were hypnotizing her. The eyes were deep, vibrant green, shimmering like a small, sparkling lake. Like a puppet under a spell, she gazed blankly in that direction until suddenly, it emerged from its hiding place and lunged toward Erica with alarming speed. Panicked, on reflex, Erica let out a loud scream, shut her eyes, bowed her head, and curled up, her body cringing. Choosing not to dwell on the potential harm it could bring, her fear took hold of her. However, in a delightful twist, it turned out to be a harmless encounter with a wild cat. It leaped over Erica's head and swiftly disappeared. Suddenly, Erica felt a chilling sensation running down her spine. Everything around her seemed to spin. Erica released her grip on her head, barely managed, and then collapsed motionless once again.
In the blink of an eye, she lost consciousness, only to hear faintly, somewhere, someone whispering.
…
Two mountain climbing enthusiasts have been hiking since early this morning. On their way down the mountain, they happened to pass the wastewater treatment area of the JK factory. Suddenly, the person in front stopped when he discovered Erica lying motionless on the muddy ground next to the stinking lake.
The expression of panic was evident on the handsome face of Ansel Brown. He was the future leader of the JK Group and also the owner of the factory near this area.
Ansel hoped that this wasn't a murder case. Why would someone be lying under that filthy and foul-smelling lake?
Observing Ansel's abrupt stop and his intense gaze towards the lake, Kevin, who was running towards Ansel, felt curious.
"What's going on, Ansel? Why did you suddenly stop?" Kevin asked, catching up to Ansel.
The question startled Ansel, but he quickly regained his composure. "There's someone below," he exclaimed, informing his approaching friend.
"What?!" Kevin asked his eyes to follow Ansel's gaze. And there they saw Erica lying motionless, as if dead.
"What happened down there? Is that a corpse?" Kevin suddenly grew so concerned that his words became muddled: "Was there a murder here last night? Did the killer throw the body into the lake to dispose of it?"
"I don't know," Ansel retorted. He was honestly apprehensive that it might be a corpse, and if that turned out to be true, it would create significant trouble. The Ansel family owns the area, so it is only natural that the police would inquire about his family during the investigation. Although they have no involvement in the case, as well as not knowing about the victim, if the incident were to be reported in the news, it would attract public attention and cause annoying complications for Ansel's family.
"Ansel, what should we do now?" Kevin urged anxiously, then suddenly made a suggestion: "We should call the police."
As he said that, Kevin searched all over his body. Oh God, no phone. Both of their phones had been left in the car.
"Let me go get the phone," Kevin said. "I'll call the police while I'm at it. You stay here. I'll be right back."
With that, he was about to leave, but Ansel stopped him.
"We should go down and assess the situation first. If there's something serious, we can report it to the police afterward."
"Are you crazy, Ansel?" Kevin exclaimed in alarm. Ansel's idea seemed foolish to Kevin: "If it turns out to be a real corpse, we'll be in trouble. I hate dealing with interrogations. It's a waste of time. I think it's best to call the police and not get involved in this."
Knowing that Kevin was right, Ansel intended to follow his friend's suggestion. However, an invisible force continuously compelled Ansel to do what he felt was the right thing to do.
"I believe we should go down there," Ansel stated confidently. "There's no harm in conducting a careful examination."
"Ansel, don't be foolish," Kevin interjected firmly. "Let's leave it to the authorities, who are competent to handle this. We are mere outsiders, not connected to the victim."
"What if the person is still alive?" Ansel brushed off Kevin's words, steadfastly following the logic of his heart. "And if we neglect or delay in helping, that person will die. And it will be our fault."
"Where are you getting these crazy, irrational thoughts?" Kevin stared at Ansel in disbelief. Kevin thought he must have misheard as Ansel suddenly uttered unbelievable words. In a displeased voice, Kevin reminded Ansel, "We're just ordinary people, Ansel. No one expects us to bear the burden and responsibility for this."
"I still think I should do it."
Ignoring the objections and advice, Ansel remained determined to follow his own path.