Chapter 223 What do you mean?
"Alien murderer?"
"Um."
Xiao Zhen was checking Wei Jingjing's data on the screen at this time. He turned his head and looked at Mr. Cat.
"You mean, there are aliens killing people here?"
"To be precise, the murderer is hunting for objects related to aliens."
"Ah?" Xiaozhen turned her chair.
"A recent murder case reported recently." Mr. Cat flicked open a holographic screen, which showed a recent case, "An Alter and his roommate who died tragically at home."
"A cat and its owner."
"Please call them Alter and his local helper." Mr. Cat stared at the screen and said, "The Alter victim's neck was broken and he died on the spot, while his local helper's head was smashed directly."
"..." Xiao Zhen asked, "Have you found the murderer?"
Mr. Cat shook his head. "There weren't many traces left at the scene that could be traced."
"Wow, your Overseer's Eye is really efficient."
Mr. Cat ignored Xiao Zhen's ridicule and said, "This is not the first case. In recent years, many similar cases have occurred in various places. There are no signs of damage from thermal weapons or force field weapons. They are all caused by huge external forces smashing their heads or breaking their necks. In addition, all the victims have one thing in common."
"What?"
"The deceased are either weak alien races like the Altes who have no fighting power, or ordinary locals who have some connection with the aliens. The latter are more common. We have received at least six deaths of local insiders or local helpers."
"Was this done by aliens?"
"I'm not sure." Mr. Cat replied, "We infer that this series of cases were committed by the same person. We can't be sure whether the murderer is an alien or a local human. But one thing is obvious, the murderer is very hostile to non-combat alien races and ordinary local insiders."
"As the local saying goes, you pick the weak ones and squeeze the weak ones." Xiao Zhen said calmly. He looked at Mr. Cat, "Well, may I ask why the Lord of the Eyes of Supervision specifically told me this information that should be kept secret?"
"Most of these cases happened outside the city. But the latest one happened in this city. As a result, the lives of people in this city who knew about the case and helped with it are in danger of being threatened."
"Oh!" Xiao Zhen said, "Do you want me to remind Liu Xingquan to be careful?"
"No. Don't worry about Liu Xingquan. Both the Eye of Supervision and the Security Committee have recently sent people to secretly protect the alien insiders and collaborators in this city."
"That's good." Xiao Zhen said, "Then tell me what you want me to do for you?"
Mr. Cat stared at Xiao Zhen and said, "I think you're a good bait."
Xiao Zhen: “…”
"This murderer has been investigating matters related to alien planets. We speculate that he has been lurking in this city for some time. Some time ago, your substitute slime mold has been replacing you. In fact, the performance of this slime mold in many places is a bit inconsistent, and these abnormal performances are enough to attract the murderer's attention. In addition, I have an extremely deceptive and cute appearance. There is a great chance that you will be chosen by the murderer as his target."
"..." Xiao Zhen said, "Were you just saying that you are cute?"
"In short, please be a good bait to attract attention." Mr. Cat announced, "Don't stay at home all the time, please go out for a walk when you have nothing to do."
"My classmate Wei Jingjing has stopped reorganizing, and I have to study and find out the reason. In addition, Cui Mingzhi's family has almost recovered, and I have to monitor the situation." Xiaozhen protested, "And I still have a lot of winter vacation homework to do. The slime mold is so unprofessional! You said that the murderer's targets are all alien races that look weak and powerless, right!"
"Um."
Xiao Zhen pointed to Captain Madara next to him, "It fits the bill perfectly!"
Captain Madara said, "What do you mean?"
Mr. Cat turned his head and glanced at Captain Madara. "No, Captain Madara will only be carried away by some uncle or aunt on the street. He will not be able to lure the murderer into the trap at all."
"That's true."
"What do you all mean?!"
Li Xinyi knocked on Cui Mingzhi's door.
She knocked for a long time, but no one answered the door.
Li Xinyi sighed and looked at the box of freshly made meatballs in her hand.
She lives on the 7th floor, while Choi Ming-chi's family lives on the 3rd floor. She is familiar with the Choi family. Choi's father was her senior in college, and Choi's father's current wife is a person she met at work and helped.
She met Cui's father's current wife a few years ago while researching the topic of self-help and social assistance for women who were abused at home. She remembers Wang Ting at that time. She often had scars on her face. She was obviously a beautiful woman, but she was gradually withering, which made everyone who came into contact with her feel sorry for her. Wang Ting also had a son, Zhang Yiyang, whose eyes were as big and round as his mother's. But his father could still beat such a lovely child.
Wang Ting took off Zhang Yiyang's shirt and showed her the thrilling whipping scars on the child. The child seemed to be beaten silly, and there was no luster in his eyes. He just stared at Li Xinyi blankly, like an unconscious puppet. Wang Ting held the child and told her misfortune after marriage in a discontinuous manner. My husband was not this kind of person before, who knew that he would be a completely different person after marriage. If it weren't for this child, I would have jumped off the building long ago. She spoke lightly and quickly. Every time after beating her husband, he would cry and apologize, and then they would have a peaceful life. But this time would not last long, and he would soon beat her again for trivial matters. As long as she filed for divorce, he would deliberately beat their son in front of her. If you dare to leave, I will kill Yangyang first. After saying this, Wang Ting closed her eyes. Zhang Yiyang, who had been in a daze in her arms, stretched out his hand and gently wiped the dried tears on his mother's face. Looking at them, Li Xinyi made up her mind at that moment to save them from the sea of suffering.
Later, the information she provided was turned into news by a reporter she knew, which first created public opinion online and then appeared on TV, attracting a brief period of social attention at the time. Afterwards, Wang Ting successfully divorced her abusive husband with her child. Later, when Wang Ting went to thank her, she ran into her senior who happened to be visiting. After the two met, their relationship quickly heated up, and soon Li Xinyi received a wedding invitation from her senior. This time, Wang Ting finally found a normal man who loved her and got married.
After they got married, they lived downstairs from Li Xinyi and became neighbors they would bump into from time to time in the community.
From the perspective of the neighbors, Wang Ting is a good wife. She keeps the house in good order. Cui's father always smiles when he mentions his wife. Cui Mingzhi and Zhang Yiyang are also well-fed and plump.
But Li Xinyi sensed something incongruous with her woman's keen intuition. This remarried family looked perfect, but something was squeezing in and ruining the picture. Li Xinyi knew that the incongruous person was Choi Mingzhi.
Every time she saw Cui's father and Wang Ting happily walking into the community with Zhang Yiyang, Li Xinyi always had the illusion that Cui Mingzhi had been forgotten by the family. Even when the family of four went out together, Cui Mingzhi always kept a distance from the three people. It was as if the three of them were the family, and Cui Mingzhi was a superfluous existence.
Li Xinyi watched Cui Mingzhi grow up, and she knew that Cui Mingzhi was a happy and outgoing boy. He was very arrogant since he was a child, and often commanded the children in the community to go here and there. His grades were also good, and he was the class monitor and class cadre all the way from childhood to adulthood. Her Rourou once described Cui Mingzhi in a sour tone , "He is the standard child of other people's families." After Wang Ting became his new mother, Cui Mingzhi was still as happy and lively as before, but Li Xinyi felt something was wrong. In her eyes, Cui Mingzhi's happiness was more like a hypocritical disguise. Behind the boy's carefree smile, she glimpsed a kind of unknown loneliness.
She told her husband about her worries, but he acted as if she was meddling in other people's business. "After all, she's a stepmother, and the child will always have some thoughts in his mind. It's not easy to be a stepmother."
Men know nothing, Li Xinyi thought to herself.
Later, she found an opportunity to make an appointment with Wang Ting. She reminded Wang Ting in words that she must treat Cui Mingzhi well. Wang Ting immediately understood her hints and suggestions after just a few words.
"Don't worry, I will treat Xiao Ming well." Wang Ting said. Then she began to recount how she treated Xiao Ming and Yang Yang equally. Whatever Yang Yang ate, Xiao Ming would also have a portion. Whatever she bought for Yang Yang, she would also buy for Xiao Ming. She had never treated Cui Mingzhi unfairly.
Li Xinyi knew that she was probably not lying, but children never need only material things. As a stepmother, she should pay more attention to Cui Mingzhi, especially now that he has just entered puberty. Wang Ting nodded and agreed. Li Xinyi looked at the young woman in front of her. Wang Ting is no longer the pale beauty who was haggard and melancholy a few years ago. She looks very good now, and her every move has the elegant and dignified demeanor of a rich lady. But she saw the real her in Wang Ting's eyes. She is still the frightened little woman when they first met, the delicate woman whose entire life is dominated by men. It's just that now the man has been replaced by a more reliable and more normal senior brother, but she is always in the shadow of worry.
She was afraid of losing this man, and also afraid that she would suddenly lose her current happiness, so she could only focus all her attention on how to stabilize this man's heart, fearing that she would fall into the hell of the past overnight. She would not abuse Cui Mingzhi, but she was not a qualified mother who would really care about Cui Mingzhi.
The formation of her outlook on life was not formed in one day. It was the indoctrination of her family in her early years and the misfortune of marrying an inhuman person at an early age that made her what she is now. Li Xinyi wanted to tell her that men should not dominate in marriage, and marriage is a contract of equality between men and women. Men and women in marriage are the same. Whether it is a partner or a child, each party should bear the responsibility and obligation. Her senior brother is responsible for Cui Mingzhi's affairs, and Wang Ting is also responsible. The senior brother is a bastard father who is infatuated with love, and Wang Ting is a stepmother who is calculating carefully for herself. She is not a vicious stepmother. In her opinion, she probably just thinks that she has slightly ignored Cui Mingzhi emotionally, but this behavior itself is cold violence, and this kind of harm is fatal to adolescent teenagers. This is an indefensible evil. She must let Wang Ting realize this. Li Xinyi thought about how to start. It was she who facilitated the marriage between Wang Ting and her senior brother, and she also had the responsibility to warn Wang Ting and her senior brother. Finally, she seriously expressed her thoughts and suggestions to Wang Ting.
Wang Ting looked a little confused at the time, and she nodded in agreement.
Li Xinyi will talk to her senior brother later when she is ready.
Then not long after, Li Xinyi got the news that the Cui family was traveling abroad and left Cui Mingzhi behind.
After the Cui family went abroad, Li Xinyi was busy with frequent business trips to give lectures in other places and had no energy to pay attention to Cui Mingzhi. When she came back, she found Cui Mingzhi alone at home. So she asked Cui Mingzhi to come to their house for dinner, but the boy refused. He said he could take care of himself. Li Xinyi went to the neighborhood committee for this, and later the community sent someone to take him to the cafeteria for dinner. Seeing that the boy had a place to eat, she was relieved. Whenever she thought of this, she couldn't help but scold her senior brother and Wang Ting in her heart. No matter what, it was too much for two adults to abandon their children.
Now her family was given a big bag of meatballs by relatives. She thought about it and took out a box to give to Cui Mingzhi. These meatballs can be eaten by boiling them in hot soup. They are very delicious. Now she knocked on the door for a long time but the door didn't open. Instead, the door of the neighbor next door opened.
"Professor Li." Old Zheng poked his head out and said with a smile.
"Ah, don't call me that." Li Xinyi said embarrassedly. Her title is associate professor and she has not yet been promoted to a full-time position. "Is Xiaoming home?"
"No. He left." Lao Zheng lowered his voice, "Don't you find it strange?"
"What?"
"This family," said Lao Zheng, "all but Xiao Ming were gone overnight."
"Didn't you say you were going abroad?"
Old Zheng laughed strangely: "Haha. I live next door. If this family went out, would I hear any noise? The day they left, I didn't hear a single sound. They disappeared in an instant. Do you think something happened?"
"this……"
"Don't scare people with your superstitious words. There is no way that Professor Li would believe your nonsense." Lao Zheng's wife Qin Mei said from behind the man.
"Really? I'm telling you, it's all gone in an instant!!"
Li Xinyi smiled and handed the meatballs to Lao Zheng, asking him to give them to him if he saw Cui Mingzhi coming back.
Mai Mai is eagerly awaiting Choi Ming-chi's arrival.
This time, it will definitely not make any mistakes.
It will definitely wait until Cui Mingzhi has made his selection and ship the goods accurately.
Cui Mingzhi came out of the community.
Mai Mai immediately stood up and waited for Cui Mingzhi to come.
But Cui Mingzhi walked past him without looking at him and walked straight forward.
Why!
Why!
Maimai's electric current vibrated in his body, and he watched Cui Mingzhi walk further and further away.
These days, Cui Mingzhi comes to buy drinks every day. Waiting for him to come has become a habit for Mai Mai.
But it's been three days since the last mistake.
For three days, Cui Mingzhi walked past it without even looking at it. He didn't even glance at it. He didn't stop, didn't pay attention.
Today, Choi Ming-chi ignored it again and walked past it.
Have I been abandoned by this Homo sapiens boy?
Once this realization came into being, it almost stopped functioning.
Can't.
Mai Mai said to herself that she must let Cui Mingzhi know that there was nothing wrong with her functions.
…
Cui Mingzhi walked out of the bookstore, holding a few newly bought books in his hands. He stopped and saw a vending machine next to the bookstore, which was exactly the same as the one next to the community.
Hmm? When was it installed? It didn't seem to be there when I went in just now.
Cui Mingzhi didn't take it seriously. He walked on and walked into a nearby KFC to buy a set meal. After leaving KFC, he stopped and saw a vending machine next to KFC. The model was exactly the same as the one next to the community.
Hmm? When was it installed? It didn't seem to be there when I went in just now.
Cui Mingzhi felt a little puzzled. He continued walking to the nearby community park, sat in the pavilion of the park, finished his set meal, fed the pigeons for a while, and read a book for a while. After leaving the park, he stopped and found that a vending machine had appeared next to the park. The style was exactly the same as the one next to the community.
Hmm? When was it installed? It didn't seem to be there when I went in just now.
Cui Mingzhi was confused and turned to walk towards home. On the way, he went into a convenience store and bought a box of pudding. After he walked out of the convenience store, he stopped and saw a vending machine next to the convenience store. The model was exactly the same as the one next to the community.
I think I may have slept too late last night and am a little dazed.
Cui Mingzhi walked all the way home, entered the community and came to the downstairs of his house. He stopped and found that a vending machine had appeared downstairs of his house, which was originally empty. The style was exactly the same as the one outside the community.
Choi Ming-chi: …
