Chapter 4: Becoming a Suspect Again

Night had fallen, and the world was draped in ink, with neon lights flickering incessantly.

The number of viewers in the livestream was not decreasing but surging; clearly, Jiang Xiaoya finding severed limbs twice had piqued their immense curiosity.

Some netizens had even started threads online, speculating whether Jiang Xiaoya was the murderer, an accomplice, or if she had been targeted by the killer.

In any case, no matter which it was, it was terrifying to think about deeply, and equally terrifying to think about superficially.

Seeing Jiang Xiaoya appear, all sleepiness vanished from the viewers.

【She’s out! She’s out!】

【This old man observes that the girl’s forehead is dark; I fear she is in for a bloody disaster.】

【Everyone, hurry and guess where she’s going. Will she find another severed limb?】

【Wake up, how could there be so many severed limbs to find?】

【If she finds another one, she’s definitely the culprit.】

【If she manages to find another severed limb, I’ll livestream myself doing a handstand and eating shit.】

【Who the hell cares if you eat shit? But if she really, truly finds another limb, she’s definitely in for some major bad luck.】

【This show is too interesting; I’ve stopped watching my suspense dramas.】

【……】

As the sky darkened, Zhou Yuyu sent off her last customer, put down the charcoal in her hand, and rubbed her sore arm. Her gaze fell on the scraps of paper and various bottles and jars nearby.

This was a gimmick she had planned before joining the show: as long as a customer brought trash—whether it was unwanted paper from home or beer bottles—they could trade it for one of her drawings. Of course, she had no other materials, so she could only draw with charcoal, erasing each piece after finishing it to make room for the next customer.

Sure enough, the show’s premiere had attracted many people who came for her reputation, and even influencers had come to her spot to livestream and trade for a drawing.

Zhou Yuyu had been keeping a close eye on the show’s trends. She knew that among the contestants, her popularity had squeezed into the top three, and she was aware that the other contestants were showing off their own unique skills.

She had heard about the girl who hadn't found any trash for three days and had fainted from hunger.

When she heard that the girl who fainted had found a severed limb and received a two-thousand-dollar bounty, she hadn't thought much of it.

It wasn't until the girl found a second severed limb and stole the traffic belonging to her own livestream that Zhou Yuyu became angry.

Now, it was her turn to take back what was hers.

Zhou Yuyu sold the paper scraps to a nearby recycling station, opened Jiang Xiaoya’s livestream, confirmed her location, and boarded a bus.

Jiang Xiaoya left the police station, scanned the area, and after confirming the bus stop, prepared to head to the hotel where she was staying. The moment she stepped onto the road, her feet suddenly froze.

A voice clamored in her mind.

【Ding, valuable item detected. Valuable item detected.】

In this place? Are you sure?

Jiang Xiaoya blinked uncertainly, her face showing visible shock.

How could she not be shocked?

They were at the entrance of the police station!

Did it know what it was saying?

【Ding, valuable item detected. Valuable item detected...】

Jiang Xiaoya: "..."

She couldn't even mute the voice if she wanted to.

Jiang Xiaoya took a deep breath and touched the cash in her pocket. Value or no value, she wasn't short on money. To hell with the value; whoever wants to pick it up can pick it up.

She put on a smile again and tried to walk forward.

One move! She didn't move!

The smile on Jiang Xiaoya’s face gradually stiffened.

No way, this alarm is mandatory? I can't leave if I don't pick it up?

Jiang Xiaoya tried to move her feet, only to find she couldn't step out of that area no matter what.

She was numb. Completely numb.

Seeing the red light ahead about to turn green, she knew she wouldn't be able to explain it if she didn't leave soon.

With a heavy heart, Jiang Xiaoya turned her head to look at the row of trash cans. Seeing no red blood mist, she let out a long, secret sigh of relief, her entire body relaxing.

She knew it—how could it be that thing every single time?

Carrying her snake-skin bag, Jiang Xiaoya hopped over to rummage through the trash cans.

She was just getting into it when she suddenly saw a cleaning lady nearby pushing a trash cart, moving slowly while using a broom to sweep up scattered debris from the roadside.

Jiang Xiaoya desperately wanted to look away, but her eyes wouldn't obey, locking onto that trash cart.

The night was as dark as ink, and the distant lights were dim, failing to illuminate the cleaning lady’s face or the color of the cart.

But Jiang Xiaoya still sensitively heard the sound of liquid dripping onto the ground, and her nose caught the fishy stench of blood.

Damn it, this thing even enhances smell and hearing?

Jiang Xiaoya knew she couldn't hesitate. She decisively covered her nose and pointed at the cleaning lady, shouting, "Auntie, why does this cart smell so bad? It smells... it smells..."

The cleaning lady smelled it too, but she didn't pay much mind to it; she swept every day and was used to it.

Hearing her shouting, she didn't even look up. "Oh, isn't it normal for a trash cart to smell? What’s there to be so surprised about?"

"No, Auntie, I just feel like the smell is very similar to the severed limb I found today."

Although Jiang Xiaoya really didn't want to "commit a crime in the wind," since the situation was already here, she knew she couldn't escape it. She had to summon her courage and bite the bullet to act.

The cleaning lady didn't react at first, but then looked up at her belatedly. "What severed limb? A pork limb? Eh, I don't know who threw that thing away earlier, it really was strangely smelly."

After saying that, she lowered her head and continued sweeping.

Jiang Xiaoya had already taken out her phone, turned on the flashlight, and shone it on the cart. Seeing the familiar black plastic bag, her heart—which had been hanging—finally died.

Of course, she was acting for others to see.

She still remembered that there were viewers in her livestream.

Although the turn of events was hard to explain as a coincidence, she still wanted to make a desperate struggle.

Because they were on the road right in front of the police station, the investigators arrived very quickly.

When they received Jiang Xiaoya’s report, the investigators weren't happy; instead, their expressions were grave.

In fact, they had long since sent people to monitor Jiang Xiaoya’s livestream. When they saw her walk out of the gate and not leave, but instead walk to the trash can on the roadside to rummage through things, they had become alert. And sure enough...

"Boss, this Jiang Xiaoya is suspicious. She is definitely suspicious."

The officer’s expression was grim.

The others nodded one after another, agreeing with his point of view.

"She is suspicious, but she is not the murderer."

The captain, addressed as Boss, spoke sternly.

This conclusion was beyond doubt. The murder case had occurred two days ago. First of all, Jiang Xiaoya had joined the show three days ago, and those three days had been under the livestream camera; she had no time to commit the crime.

But that didn't mean she had nothing to do with the case.

"Boss, let's keep her here for a while..." someone suggested.

"No, the real murderer hasn't appeared yet. Doing that would only alert the enemy." Someone immediately retorted.

"Jiang Xiaoya is very likely an accomplice. Does the murderer not know what she’s doing? He is deliberately provoking us. If we let Jiang Xiaoya slip away under our noses and something bigger happens, wouldn't we be a laughingstock in front of the public?"

(End of chapter)