Chapter 54

"Human Bone Blocks 4, The Terrifying Kidnapper"

"Angler... after all this talk, we still don't have any leads," Osmond said, scratching his head in frustration.

"Osmond, perhaps you should start with the rats; it's more practical," Angler suggested.

"Rats?" Osmond stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... indeed... but getting hold of so many rats won't be easy."

"Also," Anger said, "check if there are any recent missing persons. I suspect there may be other victims. Moreover, the killer sending these human bones to the police station must have another motive."

"It seems like a provocation to the police," Mofei commented.

"Hmm..." Angler frowned slightly and said, "It's probably... not that likely."

"Why not?" Mofei asked him.

Angler frowned and remained silent.

By then, Osmond had already gone out to assign his subordinates to search for clues, especially regarding the rats.

Angler gently stroked his chin with one hand, seemingly deep in thought.

"Angler, what's on your mind?" Mofei inquired.

"Hmm..." Angler lowered his head, silent for a long while before finally saying, "Just thinking about a few things."

"About what?" Mofei asked. "Right, you mentioned earlier, if it's not to provoke the police... then why?"

Angler shrugged his shoulders and said, "Think about it... there are usually two types of police that get provoked: one is exceptionally competent and brave, like those depicted in TV shows' elite squads."

"Like the SCI?" Mofei asked.

"Yes," Angler nodded. "And the other type is utterly useless, prone to making mistakes."

Mo Fei nodded and said, "That is true."

"However, the former provocation is entirely different from the latter," Anger stated earnestly. "The former mostly involves villains harming the innocent, while the latter often involves extremists in the name of justice targeting villains... Generally speaking, that's the case."

"Indeed!" Mo Fei nodded in agreement, adding, "Based on this case, the victims were innocent."

"Right," Anger raised his eyebrows, "In other words, if the murderer was provoking, was it to challenge Oss? What about Oss would warrant such a provocation?"

Mo Fei, observing Anger's utterly perplexed expression, shook his head with a smile and remarked, "Well... it's indeed hard to explain."

"Hmm," Anger mused, "This seems as complex as a Rubik's Cube."

"What next?" Mo Fei asked Anger. "Do we just wait here?"

Anger looked at Mo Fei and suggested, "There aren't any leads. Let's head back. It's awkward staying at the police station."

Mo Fei, eager to return because of unfinished business with Anger from the morning, rushed downstairs after borrowing Oss's car keys. "Anger, wait for me at the main entrance. I'll get Oss's car," he said, dashing down the stairs.

Anger shook his head slightly, not quite understanding Mo Fei's hurry. He glanced at the busy Oss at the doorway and then stepped out, heading downstairs.

Mo Fei hurried to the parking lot and was about to drive off when he saw someone struggling to load a suitcase into a car not far ahead.

Recognizing the person, Mo Fei approached and offered, "Need a hand?"

"Oh!" the person exclaimed gratefully, "Finally, some help!"

"I've got it," Mo Fei said, taking the heavy suitcase. Just as he was about to place it in the car's trunk, he felt a numb sensation at his waist... followed by a sharp pain spreading through his body, accompanied by a strange noise.

Having accidentally experienced an electric shock before, Mo Fei realized... it was a stun gun...

Mo Fei's vision blurred, the suitcase dropped from his grasp, and he fell to the ground.

The stranger crouched down, looked at Mo Fei with a sneer, and said, "Your bones would make a fine church, wouldn't they?" After that, he dragged Mo Fei into the trunk of the car, closed the lid, and drove away.

Anger waited at the entrance for a while, but Mo Fei didn't appear.

"Why hasn't he come yet?" Anger turned and walked towards the underground parking, calling, "Mo Fei?"

The deeper Anger went, the more he felt something was amiss... Right, why was there no one in the guard's station? The yellow barrier at the entrance stood erect... Something was definitely off.

Reaching the guard booth, Anger looked inside and frowned - a guard lay there motionless on the floor, eyes open, lifeless, with a cut on his throat and blood pooled around.

Anger furrowed his brow deeply, picked up a phone from the guard booth, and called Oss. Afterwards, he walked down to the underground parking garage alone.

In the dimly lit garage, Angler immediately spotted Os's car in its usual spot, untouched... but Mofei was nowhere to be seen.

Approaching the car, Anger saw a suitcase lying nearby on the ground. He walked over and opened it... Inside were several stones and a pile of bones.

Anger knew that Mofei couldn't have turned into bones in such a short time... but his heart still raced uncontrollably, an experience he had never felt before. He picked up one of the bones, noticing the fine bite marks identical to those on the church jigsaw bones. Mofei had been taken by the killer.

"Anger!" Oss rushed down with his team. Seeing the suitcase, he frowned, "Has that guy gone mad? Killing right at the police station."

Anger's expression was grave as he looked down at the bones in the suitcase.

"Anger?" Oss inquired, "What's wrong?"

"Mofei's been taken," Anger said flatly. "Just now."

"What?" Oss gasped in shock.

"Take him away, kill him, then let the rats consume him... We have, at most, a few hours to save Mofei," Anger said. "Oss, bring your men and your guns, and come with me." Anger tossed the bone back into the suitcase and walked over to the guard booth, where Oss noticed all the security cameras had been destroyed.

Anger pondered for a moment and then said, "Oss, make a call."

Oss, startled, pulled out his phone and asked Anger, "Who should I call?"

"Get Jiyi. I want him, Elisa, and Ace to join us. And then... make another call," Anger's voice suddenly lowered.

"To whom?" Oss inquired.

……

Mofei, feeling incredibly heavy-headed and experiencing severe pain in his waist, slowly regained consciousness. He shook his head; the light in front of him was dim, tinged yellow, and flickering. He could hear a rustling sound close to his ear.

Mofei recognized this sound; it was the noise of a pencil scraping across paper, a sound often heard when Anger sketched. The thought of Anger made Mofei grit his teeth, urging himself to wake up fully. He immediately realized he was tied to a chair, unable to move.

Finally, fully alert, Mofei scanned the dim, closed room. The walls were draped with paintings of various people and animals, and more lay scattered on the floor. For a moment, Mofei felt disoriented, wondering if he was back in Anger's studio. But then he remembered that Anger hadn’t painted anything other than himself for a long time.

As his vision cleared, Mofei looked up to see a figure in the corner of the room, wearing thick clothing, head bowed, engrossed in drawing.

Mofei struggled slightly but couldn't move, noticing the chair was nailed to the floor. When he looked up again, the person stopped drawing and looked up.

Mofei watched the figure apprehensively.

Slowly, the person raised their head.

Seeing the person's face, Mofei gasped in shock... The face was horrifyingly pale, with two gaping eye sockets...

Mofei realized that this was the result of severe burns. He instantly recalled Anger's description of an artist who shunned public view. His gaze then fell on a partially assembled set of human bones on a nearby table, identical to the ones seen at the police station.

Mofei inhaled sharply, realizing who had abducted him.

"Awake, are you?" A voice came from behind. Mofei, recalling what had just happened, realized who the real culprit was - Anger was right again! When had Anger ever been wrong?

"You're the killer?" Mofei asked, turning his head. "Why do this? Aren’t you a policeman?"

The person smiled slightly, "You're mistaken, I'm not a policeman... I'm a forensic pathologist." As they spoke, they lit an alcohol lamp on the table and gently warmed a gleaming scalpel in their hand. The light cast on her face twisted it grotesquely. This was Dr. Wang, the forensic pathologist Mofei and Anger had encountered at the police station!

"Why are you doing this?" Mofei strained against the ropes, but they were tightly bound into his flesh, rendering him immobile.

"No need to struggle," Dr. Wang said with a smile. "I tied you up securely. You won’t be able to break free."

Seeing Mofei nervously eyeing the knife in her hand, Dr. Wang laughed and said, "Don’t worry, this knife isn’t for you." She took a bloodied steak from the table, cut it with the heated knife, and put a piece in her mouth, adding, "I just used this knife to slit a guard's throat. It needs to be disinfected."

Mofei felt a wave of nausea and, frowning, asked, "So, your provocation isn’t aimed at the police station or Oss... you’re targeting Anger?"

Dr. Wang chuckled, nodding, "You're quite smart, I like your brains. After you die, I'll preserve your skull separately... I also like your face. Unlike Anger, who's too pretty and not favored by women, you, on the other hand, have a real masculine appeal."

Frowning, Mofei looked at the person painting and asked, "And him?"

"Oh... a friend," Dr. Wang said with a slight smile. "A very capable friend."

As he spoke, he opened a cupboard door, and Mofei saw a huge cage crammed with thousands of mice, sending a chill down his spine.

Anger reached the entrance of the underground passage.

Oss asked, "Anger, how are you sure it's here? I've been here before and didn’t notice anything special, except for that octopus alien."

"And the bones?" Anger inquired.

Oss hesitated, "Those bones..."

"Those bones are not the truth but the source of inspiration!" Anger concluded, nodding at Jiyi, who set Elisa down. Ace and Elisa entered the damp underground passage. Anger, along with Jiyi, the Xia brothers, and Oss, accompanied by a group of policemen, followed them into the tunnel.