The Amber Part 7

Many, many years later, I will still recall the moonlight outside the window that year. Many many years later, I will also recall the you who charged into my pitch-black world.

Just like the most fearless knight in the world, my beloved, fearlessly tearing apart the dark nights to walk in front of the light.

I want to transform into your fox. I think… I've already been tamed by you.

Limbs can't be moved. Voices can be heard. Someone was walking around in the proximity. The link between the brain and muscles had been cut. …muscle relaxants? He should have properly studied pharmaceutics.

After Su Junzi woke up, he was in this situation. Remembering what happened previously, his heart suddenly sank to the bottom—Jin Qiu told the patrolling officers at the entrance that they had worked hard and if they won't come in to eat dinner, they should at least come in for a cup of tea. That cup of tea…

Someone sighed lightly. "Inspector Su, you're probably already awake, right?"

Su Junzi opened his eyes. He could only do such a simple movement, unable to control his voice, unable to speak— This was a place in complete darkness, closed up tightly. Only Jin Qiu was lighting up candles one by one. The girl remained clothed in black, the contrast with her pale face made it seem like she came out of a horror film.

Su Junzi looked at her voicelessly—Jin Qiu, why.

Jin Qiu lit the last candle, shooting him a smile. "Inspector Su must be very shocked, right? I know you won't suspect me. You are a good policeman. Too good. Do you know, when I went to the police station, your appearance as you poured me some milk and spoke to me so gently instantly reminded me of him. At the time, I thought, it had to be you. You were different from them."

Su Junzi's gaze kept following her—I don't understand.

Jin Qiu went on a monologue. "Your Leader Shen's eyes were only on the case. The smallest clue could tell him something. That Inspector Sheng, his smile is far too detestable. On the outside, he treats people very well, but inside, G.o.d knows what he's thinking about. And… The Dr. Jiang who asked me questions afterwards—I hate that incredibly sharp and cold gaze. Only you. Only you truly treat others well." A slightly innocent smile spread across her face. "Just like him. As for those pretty female officers of yours, I thought about it but I think I don't want them after all. I already have many female specimens. If I don't change things up a little, he won't be happy."

Just like that perverse serial killer? Wu Ju, Su Junzi felt that no matter if he heard these words positively or negatively, they didn't seem like she was praising him.

Jin Qiu moved closer to him, practically leaning right at his ear to say softly, "Let me tell you, I've practiced for a very, very long time before I finished the preparations for my revenge against you all. Inspector Su, although I also like you very much, I truly, truly hate you all very much. You killed him."

Su Junzi had once gone undercover and had gone through drug training. He listened to this crazed girl's tirade as he concentrated on recovering his physical strength—concentrating his strength on his finger. Right, that finger hidden by the shadow of his body. Lift it a little, and lift it a little, and concentrate your strength there. He can do it, lift it a little…

Jin Qiu did not notice him. She smiled, unhinged, standing up to prepare the last surgical instruments.

Sheng Yao drove the car to the Jin residence and instantly noticed something was amiss—the officers patrolling there before all vanished! He took out his handgun, kicking open the door of the Jin residence. Seven or eight people were lying haphazardly in the house, including Jin Qiu's mother. Sheng Yao carefully searched the entire house. There were no traces of other people. He touched their pulses and found out that they were only drugged. Looks like Jin Qiu's target wasn't them… Then, it had to be Junzi.

Sheng Yao shut his eyes, steadying himself and sucking in a deep breath. He swiftly called for the ambulance. The fingernails of one of his hands were fiercely digging into his flesh in an attempt to dissipate his anxiety with the pain on his body.

Be calm… Right now, he needed to be calm. But Junzi, where exactly were you?

A pot of tea was on the table. Sheng Yao felt it with his hands. Warm. It meant that they hadn't left for a long time. No matter what, Su Junzi was a man with an uncommon weight and Jin Qiu was a young girl. How could she drag away an adult man? Sheng Yao made a round in the house and suddenly, his gaze zeroed in. At the corner, there was a spot on an area where the traces of the dust showed the presence of something like a wheelchair before—Right, when Jin Qiu was just saved, her legs weren't responsive and had used a wheelchair for a period of time.

But Jin Qiu's house didn't have a car big enough to hold a wheelchair. He also didn't see an abandoned wheelchair tossed somewhere. So, they should be at a place not far away. Sheng Yao's limbs became increasingly cooler. The blood in his entire body had acc.u.mulated in his head.

At this time, his phone began to ring madly. Sheng Yao picked it up but did not speak, putting the speaker at his ear.

Shen Yexi was frantic. "Sheng Yao, where are you?"

"Jin Qiu's place. Everyone has been put to sleep. The ambulance will be here in a while. Jin Qiu and Junzi's whereabouts are unknown. The wheelchair has been pushed away." Sheng Yao stated flatly, "They can't go far."

"Jiang Hu." Shen Yexi growled lowly. They probably had it on speaker.

Jiang Hu spoke at an abnormally rapid pace. "Regarding Jin Qiu, we can think that her personality, her feelings were all attached to Wu Ju. After killing so many people, she had enough courage to come to the police bureau to plan revenge. Then, she'll see Su-ge as the best gift for Wu Ju. That place would be a place that's solely of significance to the two of them."

The sound of something being flipped through came from that end. Jiang Hu said in a whisper, "Review Wu Ju's case back then. See if the victims back then have any connection to Jin Qiu. Quick."

"Since Sheng Yao said that they couldn't have gone far, then could it be that Su-ge and the rest are near her house? For example, the Jin's garage or something. Some places are also…" This was An Yining speaking.

She hadn't even finished when she was interrupted by Jiang Hu instantly. "Not a chance. Search quickly."

An Yining was stunned by his sudden imposing air. Jiang Hu instantly realized, apologizing in a low voice. "I'm sorry. I mean, Jin Qiu is someone who thinks of herself as very clever and has lots of guts. She dared to make false evidence in her house, luring us into a trap, so she won't bring Su-ge to such a, such a…."

Surely enough, people like Jiang Hu cannot speak too fast. His speech cannot follow his thought process. Thus, he ended up stuttering as his mind couldn't figure out suitable words.

An Yining laughed, not taking it to heart. She also tossed a bundle of items at him. "Give me some help."

Shen Yexi asked, "Why do we have to investigate the victims related to Jin Qiu? Do you have any basis for it?"

Jiang Hu flipped through the data swiftly. Looks like his reading skills weren't too bad. It was just that his ability to express things was not too good. Likely, America also had the phenomenon of "mute Chinese"[1]. Hearing the question for him, he readied his speech before answering, "Wu Ju objectified people. Usually after catching a victim, he would treat the victim as a tool to fulfill his desire. He won't interact with them for long, while Jin Qiu had been abducted for a very long time. Finally, she still survived from Wu Ju's hands. I'm guessing that the two of them have gone through some… Mn, exchanged some things that they needed…"

"Traded." Shen Yexi pointed it out.

"Right, traded." Jiang Hu often forgot phrases, his expression a little vexed.

"You think that Wu Ju allowed Jin Qiu to live because she provided something for him? Such as… another prey?"

"I studied the Amber Killer's case before. This is the only logical explanation that I can think of. There are not many things that could move Wu Ju."

Time was like a knife, giving Sheng Yao deaths by a thousand cuts with each second. Suddenly, Yang Man gasped in shock. "Found it. This person was called Li Su. Jin Qiu's university cla.s.smate. She didn't live in a place far away either. She was a friend whom she had known since young. Half a day after Jin Qiu went missing, she too was abducted next. Her corpse was found afterwards… My G.o.d!"

Yang Man shook her head hard. Someone as gutsy as her couldn't stop feeling a chill in her entire body.

"Yining, contact Li Su's family. It's incredibly urgent. Let's hope they'll cooperate. Quick." Shen Yexi held the steering wheel, eyes looking straight in tension. "Sheng Yao, don't hang up."

An Yining did things rather quickly. Sometimes, all of them suspected if this woman's heart was installed with information of the entire city's population. What made them let out a breath of relief was that although the Li family was a little at a loss towards this sudden phone call and the police siren on the other end of the call, they still cooperated.

After a moment, An Yining said, "Li Su's father told me that Li Su and Jin Qiu were very good friends when they were young. Back then, because Jin Qiu was too pampered by her parents, she wouldn't interact much with children of her age. She had always been easily excluded, until she met Li Su who had just moved there and still hadn't adjusted to the new environment. The two children often went to an elderly's place at a floor below the Li family's back then to play. Afterwards, the elderly pa.s.sed away and his child rented his apartment out. But the elderly gave Jin Qiu the garage key where he changed the garage to a storeroom, so…"

"Yining, the location of that garage." Shen Yexi interrupted her.

An Yining swiftly announced the location. At the same time she said the words, Sheng Yao's phone call was abruptly cut off.

Shen Yexi stepped on the gas pedal all the way down.

Jin Qiu raised her head occasionally, giving Su Junzi a bizarre yet innocent smile. Su Junzi pretended that he didn't see it, still putting all of his attention on his body. Then, his finger slightly lifted for half a centimeter!

His heart was elated. This meant that he was slowly regaining back control of his body.

Jin Qiu was a little unhappy when she discovered that Su Junzi closed his eyes. She began to speak again, "Inspector Su, open your eyes and look here? I'll tell you about me and Ju's story?"

The feeling in his palms were coming back gradually. Next was his arm… Su Junzi was silently overjoyed as he opened his eyes, pretending to be listening to her in seriousness.

Jin Qiu who regained his attention looked very happy. She smiled, "In the beginning, he was a little scary. I was like you all, thinking that he was a bad person."

Su Junzi realized that he had the fortune of listening to the experiences of how a girl went mad. That numbing feeling on his body had receded a little. He could even feel that his ankles might have been b.u.mped into when he was dragged by the other. They had a slight piercing pain.

　 Jin Qiu probably misunderstood the flash of oddness on Su Junzi's face. She shook her head and sighed. "Alas, you all still believe that he's a bad person, right? How utterly stupid. You can only see what's on the outside and not the inside. Ju is a very very gentle person. He knows art, he knows how to take care of others. He has so much grace."

Part of his strength could be mustered now. Su Junzi s.h.i.+fted unnoticeably. Internally, he had never been so grateful to the bureau's choice in giving him drug training until now.

Jin Qiu tilted her head, looking him up and down in pleased sighs. She laughed lightly and took out a set of instruments. Then she walked over, counching at Su Junzi's side. She said in a gentle and tender voice, "Let us begin. Close your eyes. I'll inject you with anesthesia. I won't let you suffer. I just wanted to chat to you just now."

Su Junzi's eyes were staring tensely at the hand holding the needle as it moved closer. With his current situation, he might have only one chance…

At this time, there was a loud noise. The garage door was kicked open violently by someone outside. A part of the candles placed at the entrance was extinguished by the night winds. Sheng Yao pointed the pitch-black muzzle of the gun at Jin Qiu, expression cold to the extreme. He uttered each word slowly, "Move away from him. Raise your hands up. Back against the wall and squat down."

The author has something to say:

Cough cough, frens, I took a leave permit. The day after tomorrow, it's my grandma's birthday~~~ Mn, so I have to stop updating for two days. The day after tomorrow, I'll come back to update. I won't go missing, rest a.s.sured~

Mn, finally, I'll annotate Stockholm syndrome for everyone, in case there are kids here who aren't too familiar with this

Stockholm syndrome refers to a complex where the victim developed feelings for the captor and would even end up helping the captor. The formation of these feelings cause the victims to develop positive feelings, reliance and would even help to increase the victims.

A professional even suggested that humans can actually be tamed, so in the beginning of this section, there was such a line…

I also know that stopping here so abruptly isn't kind = =

Translator Note:

[1]:  There's a term, "Mute English" that describes people who couldn't speak English, sometimes due to their focus on its written form.