Heavy clouds shrouded the urban sky above, and in the distance, the collapsed and broken skyscrapers still stood at crooked angles, reeking slightly of blood. The murky air filled every corner of the city, and the slanted rays of the setting sun always carried an odd, crimson hue.
Like everywhere else, Tianchang City was also a wounded city.
Having just finished his part-time job, Li Yi was now carrying his belongings and walking through the desolate, dilapidated streets of the old district. He skillfully and carefully avoided the puddles on the ground, then quickly slipped into an alley.
The alleyways were interconnected, leading to various parts of the old district. Taking the shortcuts could save a lot of time.
"Cough, cough!"
Li Yi, minding his own business, suddenly caught a whiff of a rotten stench, which made him cough twice, but he didn't dare to linger and instead hastened his pace to quickly leave the area shrouded in the foul smell.
That's because he knew that such a stench came from human corpses in the process of decomposition.
The lowest people in the city, like rats in the sewers, barely managing to maintain a normal life, would quietly rot away in dark corners when dead. Their bodies would fester until the stench became unbearable and only then would they be discovered and cleaned up by the sanitation teams.
After all, the world had changed. Even in cities with good order, the death rate remained high.
"I wonder how my luck will hold up this time and whether I can make it through this ordeal."
The twenty-year-old Li Yi sighed helplessly in his heart, his eyes revealing a hint of confusion and exhaustion. But soon his gaze became firm again, and his pace quickened a bit more than usual.
Following an address in his memory, he crossed the alleyway and entered a district with several decades of history.
The district was small with just four buildings, which was common in the old district.
Even if the environment in the old district was poor, it was at least safer than other places and less prone to accidents. Thus, the seemingly run-down old district was actually home to many people living like ants, nibbling away at everything the city had to offer, barely surviving. Li Yi was one of them.
Wangmen District.
"Right, that's the place." Li Yi confirmed the location on the address.
However, when he entered the district, he found that many people had gathered in the open area in the middle, and in the center of the crowd, he even spotted the figures of investigators.
"What could have happened?" His expression shifted slightly, then, driven by curiosity, he moved closer.
"I heard that the tenant in Building Four, Room 701 died, and it was gruesome. Blood even flowed into the corridor. This definitely isn't a normal death; it must be some special accident. Otherwise, investigators wouldn't come to such a shabby place."
"Who lived in Room 701? I have no recollection. Does anyone know them?"
"It's that woman with big curls, dressed very flamboyantly."
"Oh, now that you mention it, I remember her. Her name is Liu Li, thirty-two years old, unmarried... and she had large breasts."
"Ah?"
Upon hearing this, many people nearby suddenly turned to look at him in surprise.
He was a man in his thirties, currently shaking his head with a sense of deep regret.
At that moment, an investigator came down from the corridor of Building Four, followed by a few sanitation workers carrying a body bag, which presumably contained Liu Li's body.
"What's the situation upstairs?" The leading investigator was named Wang Jian, and he was responsible for this old district.
Plain-looking Wang Jian might have been just in his twenties, but his eyes were sharp, seeming to emit a faint glow in dim light, causing an eerie palpitation.
"Captain Wang, the victim's body was divided into more than a dozen pieces; the scene is extremely bloody. However, based on our current investigation, the cause of death appears to be... suicide." Another investigator came over, his face solemn, and whispered the situation from Room 701.
Wang Jian nodded, his expression calm. He seemed unfazed by such scenes, having encountered even stranger events.
"Have you found any other clues?"
Another investigator said, "There's a resident across from Room 701 who might have seen something."
After speaking, he gestured, and a man about twenty-five years old was brought over.
"I am Investigator Wang Jian. Tell me, what did you see at Room 701?" Wang Jian inquired.
The young man looked tense: "Last night, I saw someone entering Room 701 in dribs and drabs."
"In dribs and drabs?" Wang Jian frowned slightly: "Are you playing games with me?"
"No, absolutely not. That person really did enter in dribs and drabs." The young man affirmed with certainty.
Wang Jian's face turned stern, and he suddenly reached out to grab the young man's throat, then stared intently into his eyes before flinging him aside: "Another one's gone mad from practicing, take him away."
"Yes."
The young man immediately began to struggle: "No, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy. There really was someone entering Room 701 in dribs and drabs. That person is the murderer, she didn't commit suicide, it wasn't a suicide. I'm fine, I was practicing by the door yesterday, I saw it clearly."
But the accompanying staff didn't bother with words, just took him and headed towards the exit of the district.
The middle-aged man who had been watching the commotion now shouted: "If the deceased Liu Li can be taken out in pieces, why can't the murderer enter in pieces to kill her? What right does the investigator have to say someone else is crazy?"