"Dinglingling~ Dinglingling~"
In the office of the Serious Crime Unit of Scotland Yard, Detective Emily Claire quickly picked up the phone: "This is the Serious Crime Unit of Scotland Yard."
A mechanical voice processed by a voice changer came from the other end of the phone: "Good evening, detective. I am the Ghost. I am hereby notifying you that I will commit a murder."
Emily's pupils shrank slightly. She immediately made a warning gesture to her colleagues while keeping the call going: "Sir, this kind of joke is not funny."
"I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you. This is not a joke, but a death threat," the mechanical voice continued. "John Wilson, 48 years old, CEO of Wilson Real Estate Group, a native of London. The person I'm going to kill is him."
"Goodbye, beautiful lady, hahaha—"
"Click." The phone call ended abruptly. Emily quickly called back, but only heard the power-off prompt tone.
By the River Thames, in the shadows.
Victor Black quietly stared at the river surface, his gaze profound. After a moment, he stood up, took off the voice changer from his collar, and turned to leave. Behind him, an old-fashioned Nokia mobile phone traced an arc and fell straight into the river, creating a few ripples, and then the surface of the water returned to calm.
He walked along the path for a long time and came to a black Jaguar XJ.
"Click."
The car door opened, he got into the driver's seat, started the engine, and soon disappeared into the night of London.
Inside the car, Victor had a blank expression, but his gray-blue eyes were faintly red, as if burning with towering anger, yet also as if hiding endless sorrow.
As the black Jaguar XJ drove out of the suburbs of London, the car lights gradually blurred in the thick fog and finally disappeared.
No one noticed this car, and no one had ever seen Victor Black. He was like the thick fog of London, coming and going without a trace, only leaving behind declarations of blood and fire in the world.
"The Ghost seeking revenge is here!"
In the office of the captain of the Serious Crime Unit of Scotland Yard.
The recording stopped abruptly. Detective Emily Claire and Captain James Morrison looked at each other.
Since Emily reported this case ten minutes ago, they had listened to the recording several times, trying to confirm its authenticity.
"Captain, how should we deal with this matter?" Emily asked with a frown.
Detective Thomas Wilson had a relaxed expression. In his opinion, this was just a prank. After all, in this era where surveillance cameras were everywhere and criminal investigation technology was highly developed, he didn't believe that anyone would be stupid enough to predict a murder in advance.
"If I were going to kill someone," Thomas shrugged, "I would definitely try my best to hide it from the whole world and take care of the target quietly. That's what a normal person would do."
Captain James Morrison rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. As the head of the Serious Crime Unit of Scotland Yard, he rarely stayed in the office at night. Unfortunately, it happened to be his turn to be on duty tonight, and he ended up encountering such a thorny case.
"If we ignore it," he thought, "what if this is not a prank and there really is a madman who wants to kill someone? The consequences will be unimaginable. At the very least, I will definitely lose my position. But if we take it seriously, it is likely to be just a farce, not only wasting resources but also making me lose face."
After weighing the pros and cons, James knew that he had to take action. He turned to Thomas Wilson: "Three things. First, find John Wilson immediately and send two people to protect him. Second, notify the technical department to track this number and find out the source of the signal. Third, tell Emily to keep a close eye on it and see if that guy will call again. If he calls again, transfer the call directly to my office."
"Understood. I'll go and do it right away." Thomas nodded in response.
After Thomas Wilson left, James Morrison tried to take a short nap. At his age of over forty, staying up late was really tiring for him. But every time he closed his eyes, the hysterical laughter on the phone echoed in his mind, making it impossible for him to fall asleep. He suddenly had an ominous premonition and always felt that something big was going to happen. This premonition became even stronger when Thomas appeared again.
Two hours later.
Thomas rushed into the office quickly and before he could steady himself, he said eagerly: "Captain!"
Seeing Thomas's nervous expression, James's heart sank, and he suddenly stood up from his chair: "Hurry up and tell me, what's the situation?"
"Regarding John Wilson, our people have already taken their positions, and everything is normal for now."
James let out a long sigh of relief. The worst-case scenario hadn't happened.
"As long as he's okay. Go on."
Thomas nodded: "According to your instructions, I immediately went to the technical department and supervised it personally. The result shows that the incoming call number is an anonymous empty number. The signal source is located in Black Town, ninety kilometers away. I immediately contacted the local police station, and they sent people to the river. I just received a call that they found a mobile phone in the river, a Nokia from the 1990s. The key point is that there is a number 1 written in red paint on the phone."
After listening to the report, James looked serious and gave the order without hesitation: "Notify the two police officers protecting John Wilson to ensure his safety at all costs. Also, call all the police officers who are at home and ask them to return to the team as quickly as possible and execute the order immediately!"
Just then, rapid footsteps came from outside the door, and it was Detective Emily Claire. Before she entered the door, her voice had already come in, obviously very anxious.
"Captain, that person called again!"
Before the words were finished, the phone in the office rang. James Morrison ignored Emily and immediately picked up the phone.
"Hi, I'm here again."
"Who are you? What do you want?" James asked sharply.
Hearing James's voice, the other end of the phone paused slightly before continuing: "Before asking others, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
"I'm James Morrison, the captain of the Serious Crime Unit of Scotland Yard. I don't care who you are, please stop your crazy behavior, or you will definitely regret it."
"Why can't you policemen just talk nicely? Forget it, I don't have much time. I'll make it short. You have three days. In these three days, you can make all your arrangements. After three days, I will take action and kill John Wilson. This is a fair game. I will attack, and you will defend. Captain James, guess who will win in the end? Hahaha, hahahahaha~"
Amidst the laughter, the phone call ended.
The "dududu…" sound echoed in the office, and James was in a really bad mood. Seeing that Thomas was still standing there, he couldn't help but get angry: "What are you still standing there for!"
Suddenly, Thomas turned around and ran, disappearing in an instant. Emily saw the situation and quickly slipped out as well.
When there was only James left in the office, he gradually calmed down, slowly sat down on the chair, closed his eyes slightly, and remained motionless.
The night sky of London was like the curtain of a theater, pitch black, as if it had swallowed up all the light. However, as the curtain slowly opened, the gorgeous lights gradually lit up, and the story officially began.