Beneath the Dome, Sin within Sins - Chapter 65 - Suspicion

“Zhang Yang! How could you be so reckless!”

Zhang Tu sobbed as he reproached Zhang Yang for turning himself in. Watching Zhang Tu’s expression, I sighed and said, “The most reckless person is clearly you. Did you think we wouldn’t find out just because you tried to hide it from us?”

“You… When did you all figure it out?”

“I’ve said it already-we’ve identified the murderer and Zhang Yang’s modus operandi. And yet here you are, feigning ignorance and confessing to things you didn’t do!”

“Officer, I know what I did was wrong, but I only did it to avenge myself against the murderer!”

Zhang Yang’s voice was full of righteous indignation. That determination in his expression indeed conveyed the air of a man believing he’s fighting to serve justice.

But the law exists for a reason. These ignorant, private forms of justice should have no place in this world.

“If everyone handled murderers the way you did, then why would we even need the police?”

“But you didn’t help me!” Zhang Yang’s eyes were filled with despair, and I knew he was referring to the previous case.

But was it really my fault? All we said was that the room was tidy, with no signs of a struggle; we only investigated the matter at hand. Besides, we hadn’t even denied Zhang Yang’s claims. Why couldn’t he wait? Why did he have to resort to murder?

Zhang Yang fell silent as he listened to me. Seeing him lower his head speechlessly, I sneered, “That’s because you’ve wanted to kill Zhou Haifu this whole time but couldn’t work up the courage. That’s why this entire situation happened, isn’t it?”

Zhang Yang’s head shot up abruptly, his eyes betraying a hint of panic. Looks like I hit the nail on the head.

“You… you’re lying! It’s because you refused to help me!”

“Excuses! That incense burner wasn’t placed there just yesterday, was it? Zhang Yang, are you seriously going to claim you couldn’t find us in the past few days?” I stared directly into his eyes. His gaze was flustered and anxious-he was definitely feeling the pressure.

“I…”

“Since you’re already here, don’t try to dodge anymore. If you confess, the court might reduce your sentence. Considering your unique circumstances, the court might even take other factors into account. But right now, I only have one question for you: where did you get the hallucinogen?”

The moment I asked this, Zhang Yang went silent. Hallucinogens are a controlled substance-ordinary people wouldn’t have access to them. Besides, I had investigated Zhang Yang’s social circles. He didn’t have the connections to acquire something like a hallucinogen.

“Someone gave it to me.”

“Who gave it to you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t know?!” I widened my eyes in disbelief, staring at Zhang Yang. “You seriously don’t know?!”

“Yes. The person was wrapped up tightly. He said that if the police weren’t willing to help me, I could take matters into my own hands and seek my own revenge.”

No need to guess-it must have been the bandaged man. Honestly, I have no idea what this person is trying to accomplish. On one hand, he tells me not to investigate further. On the other hand, he’s constantly creating trouble for me. In some ways, this guy is nothing short of a complete nuisance.

After wrapping up Zhang Yang’s situation, I went back home and got a proper night’s sleep.

Before I left, Su Mo had adamantly declared that no matter what, he was going to uncover the true identity of the so-called bandaged man. As I was heading out, I patted him on the shoulder and told him that rather than chasing after some mysterious figure, he’d be better off focusing on reality.

Though that’s what I said, deep down, I couldn’t help but feel curious about the bandaged man’s identity. However, this wasn’t something that Su Mo and the others could look into. If the authorities got involved, the situation would spiral out of control. At that point, the bandaged man’s “fun” might turn into outright toying with innocent civilians, and the resulting crises would be unimaginable.

By the time I woke up, it was already the following evening. My stomach growled with hunger. I thought about heading downstairs to grab something to eat, but then I suddenly remembered the incident that happened after my last visit to the bar. So, I quickly decided to play it safe and ordered delivery instead.

While I was waiting for my food, I got a call from Su Mo. The moment I heard what he said, I was on the verge of losing it.

“Lu Ying, you’re in trouble!”

“What? What trouble?”

Completely baffled, I had no idea what he was talking about. I’d literally just been sleeping-how could I possibly have gotten myself into “trouble” while unconscious? Was this some kind of joke?

“Someone just died.”

Su Mo’s words left me even more confused. What did a random death have to do with me? Was he trying to imply that I was the one who killed this person?

But within seconds, I realized what he was getting at.

“You… you’re saying the delivery driver who was bringing me food is dead?!”

“Yes.”

“What? How? What happened?!” I asked in shock.

“I wish I knew. And the cause of death is extremely unusual. Here’s the deal-come down to the police station to give a statement, and then let’s go check things out together. This case is even trickier than the previous ones.”

Su Mo sounded utterly defeated; it was clear his mood had taken a serious hit.

I sighed, rubbing my temples to ease the tension. Talk about bad luck-getting caught in something like this feels like choking on water while already drowning.

Could it be… the bandaged man again? If it really is him, I’m done. Why can’t he take a break? Why can’t I get a break? Does this guy ever stop stirring up trouble?!

When I arrived at the police station, everyone was already there, including my younger sister, Lu Che. She told me that this situation was just too bizarre, which was why Su Mo had asked her to come. Apparently, the expertise of the station’s existing forensic team wasn’t sufficient to handle this case.

Hearing how mystified Lu Che sounded, I shifted my gaze to Su Mo. At that moment, his face was etched with exhaustion.

He led me to the interrogation room, where I gave my statement. Then, without any delay, we headed straight for the forensic pathology lab.

When we reached the lab’s door, Su Mo stopped me from entering immediately. Instead, he hesitated for a moment, then said with an uncharacteristically serious expression, “I need to explain something to you first.”

It was rare to see Su Mo this solemn, so I nodded and said, “Go ahead.”

“This case is extremely strange-you need to brace yourself mentally for what you’re about to see.”

His words made me chuckle. “Su Mo, do you really think my mental resilience is that weak?”

“I’m serious, senior. It’s not that I think you lack mental strength-it’s that this case truly defies what we, as ordinary people, are capable of understanding.”

Su Mo wasn’t joking; his tone was dead serious. Seeing this, I put away the slight dismissiveness I had been feeling and spent a moment in quiet thought. “Are you saying this case pushes the boundaries of comprehension even more than the mutant case we dealt with before?”

In my mind, the situation with the mutant had already been horrifying enough. If this case was anything like that, we’d be in real trouble.

And yet, despite my wavering hope, Su Mo nodded in confirmation.

The moment he nodded, my whole body froze. It seemed that, once again, reality was proving to be far stranger than anything I could imagine.

Apparently, this situation was far graver than I had anticipated.

With that realization settling in, I took a deep breath, nodded, and said, “Don’t worry about me. I’ve been through enough already-one more incident like this won’t faze me.”