You Mingxu stared at the person on the ground, feeling her heart race and her fingertips turn cold.
"Are you okay?"
She followed the sound and found it was Gu Tiancheng asking Zou Fuyu. Zou Fuyu's face was pale, and she held Song Lan tightly, managing a smile at him, "I'm okay. Thank you so much. If it weren't for you... I... would have fallen into the hands of this serial killer!"
Gu Tiancheng replied, "What are you saying? Would I just stand by if any of you were in danger?" Zou Fuyu and Song Lan both looked at him with grateful eyes, but he didn't say more, turning to walk towards You Mingxu.
As their eyes met, there seemed to be a subtle understanding that outsiders wouldn't notice.
He stood next to her, both staring at the figure lying on the ground. Ming Tao was frantically taking photos and recordings, muttering to himself, "Damn, I knocked him out... I caught him! He said he killed not just four, but seven, right? If he's not the killer, how would he know that? He knows more than the police do!"
Nobody responded to Ming Tao.
Gu Tiancheng asked, "Are you scared?"
You Mingxu shook her head.
Gu Tiancheng had a slight smile on his face as he said, "You are very brave. You even protected others just now."
You Mingxu replied calmly, "What are you saying? Would I just stand by if any of you were in danger?"
For some reason, this attitude amused Gu Tiancheng. He had a deep smile in his eyes, rebuking her, "I hope now you understand not to trust people so readily. This man was suspicious all over, we just didn't see it coming that he would be the serial killer. You even... dared to get so close to him."
You Mingxu sighed, "I'll be more careful next time. At first, he really seemed harmless."
"Will you really?" he asked again, his tone slightly lazy.
You Mingxu scoffed but didn't bother to respond to his teasing.
At this point, Ming Tao was squatting on the ground, looking up with a somewhat incredulous expression, "Did we really... capture the highway serial killer? He's just an unorganized and violent killer? To think that he managed to elude the police forces of Xiang City and the Sichuan-Tibet area, that's impressive!"
Gu Tiancheng said, "Whether he's a killer or not, we'll know once we hand him over to the police tomorrow morning."
You Mingxu also nodded.
Ming Tao looked at the unconscious man beside him, asking, "What do we do now?"
Gu Tiancheng replied, "Before he wakes up, I have some spare rope in my car. We'll tie him up." Ming Tao snapped his fingers, "Brilliant."
Gu Tiancheng had outdoor ropes in his car. He hadn't used all of it to tie up You Mingxu and Ming Tao's bikes earlier. He brought them over and secured the man tightly with Ming Tao's help.
"What do we do next?" Ming asked.
Gu Tiancheng looked around, saying, "We'll lock him up somewhere, to avoid any trouble when he wakes up. Does anyone have some tape?" Ming Tao raised his hand, "I do." He quickly took it out of his bag and Gu Tiancheng used it to tape the man's mouth shut.
You Mingxu, standing by, asked, "Why do you carry duct tape around, Ming Tao?"
Ming Tao responded dismissively, "Just in case. See, it came in handy now, right? Where are we keeping him?"
You Mingxu looked around. Zou Fuyu had retreated back to her cabin and Song Lan was keeping her company. The two of them were also watching their progress with concern.
Judging the situation, You Mingxu said, "How about we lock him up in another cabin?"
Gu Tiancheng shook his head, "No, I've checked before. The locks on both cabins are broken. What if he escapes?"
Ming Tao suggested, "Tie him to a tree?"
Gu Tiancheng said, "That might cause more trouble." You Mingxu also said, "If he wakes up, we'd have to watch him struggle constantly, I don't want to see that." She exchanged a glance with Gu Tiancheng, who then looked at his car not far away, hesitating, before saying, "How about... the trunk of the car? My car is broken anyway, I won't be using it."
Both You Mingxu and Ming Tao fell silent, neither objecting to the idea.
So Gu Tiancheng and Ming Tao lifted the man into the trunk. You Mingxu followed them. Except for some clutter, the trunk was almost empty. Even though the man was tall and long-limbed, he just barely fit.
Watching Gu Tiancheng close and lock the trunk, You Mingxu remembered something, "I wonder where he hid your two large suitcases."
Gu Tiancheng replied, "Right. But they only had some clothes and non-valuable items, we'll see about that later."
The wilderness fell silent again. You Mingxu checked her watch, it was almost three in the morning, at least three more hours until daylight.
She asked, "Should we try to notify the police?"
Gu Tiancheng thought for a moment, "I'll try to call 110 in a while, to see if I can get through and inform them of the situation. However, he just stole from us and he's insane. We have no solid evidence that he's the killer. Whether or not the police will take us seriously, I don't know. And considering how remote this place is, even if the police decide to respond, they won't get here until dawn. I think whether the police come or not, we should all rest and keep our spirits up. In the morning, we can get help and hand over this menace."
Ming Tao also said, "Yeah, we've caught him already. What's there to fear? Tomorrow morning, we'll take him to the police station ourselves. I'll take a video, upload it on TikTok, think about the views, it will definitely explode!"
Gu Tiancheng smirked, clearly finding the thought amusing. You Mingxu wasn't bothered to respond to the youngster.
The three of them headed back to their tents. Song Lan told them, "We won't sleep tonight. I'll stay up with Fuyu and wait until sunrise." Zou Fuyu, whose demeanor seemed to have calmed down considerably, nodded at them and her eyes were full of gratitude when she looked at Gu Tiancheng.
But Gu Tiancheng seemed not to notice, "It's fine, I'll stay up and stand guard. You guys should get some rest."
Ming Tao chuckled, "Fine, you continue playing the hero. I'm going to get some sleep to prepare for tomorrow." He then crawled into his tent.
You Mingxu looked at Gu Tiancheng, "I'm going to rest for a little while too. Call me if anything happens."
Gu Tiancheng sat down in his own tent, saying, "There won't be any more trouble, sleep peacefully." When he said that, there was both fatigue and warmth in his expression. His gaze was deep, his sharp features softening.
You Mingxu looked at him for a moment before ducking into her tent.
Seeing her tent in disarray, You Mingxu was taken aback. She immediately remembered how the man had somehow squeezed into her tent alone, clinging to her like a large baby animal. Everything about that man was confusing to You Mingxu. But there was no doubt in her mind that he had something to do with the serial murders, hence his strange reactions
But what surfaced in You Mingxu's mind was his pair of eyes. They were clear, black and white, childlike. He looked at her like that, eyes full of eagerness, a hint of grievance, sadness and stubbornness.
An unorganized, schizophrenic... serial killer?