"The killer was arrested half a month ago?"
Su He heard a chilling story from Hou Police Officer.
A cartoonist drew ten comics, themed around terrifying murder cases, each depicting a woman being brutally killed.
The cartoonist uploaded the works onto the internet and started an event called "Ten Comics".
There was no introduction, but beside the comics was a blank box with an upload button.
Until one day, a photo appeared on the website, and the story of Ten Comics began...
The cartoonist was arrested by the police, but the influence of Ten Comics gradually spread across Kunyang.
Was the killer the cartoonist, or someone influenced by the cartoonist?
Who would be the next killer?
Anyone who had seen the comics could potentially become a killer. The first case occurred in Kaohsiung City, and the next in Jiufen. The entire Kunyang had become the murder scene for the cartoonist!
Su He's phone rang. It was Director Yu Qing.
"What? Fan Xiaotong is missing?"
Su He jumped up, causing the coffee cup to roll across the table and smash on the floor.
"Where did she go missing?"
"The hospital..."
Su He and Hou Police Officer exchanged a glance, their eyes fixed on one of the comics.
A murder scene set in a hospital ward!
"I'll drive!" Su He snatched Hou Police Officer's car keys and ran outside.
In the passenger seat, Hou Police Officer contacted the station for backup as they rushed to the hospital.
At 5 AM, with only a few cars on the streets, a police cruiser suddenly roared by, drifting around a corner with a piercing screech.
At the intersection, a street sweeper was taken aback as trash flew everywhere. "What the hell was that? Got my blood pumping..."
Inside the car, Hou Police Officer clung to the door handle for dear life as Su He took several sharp turns before finally relaxing.
"Su He, you drive like a professional racer..." As the car stopped at the hospital entrance, Hou Police Officer couldn't help but remark.
"I know a bit... I'm planning to enroll in a driving school when I return to the capital," Su He said as he got out and headed for the hospital.
No driver's license?
"He must be joking, right?" Hou Police Officer's legs felt weak as he exited the car, but he quickly caught up to Su He.
In the hospital lobby, Director Yu Qing and some crew members were anxiously speaking with the police. Su He went straight up and asked, "Have you checked the security cameras?"
"Su He... we did, but there are no cameras in the ward or hallways... The other cameras didn't catch Fan Xiaotong either, or any sign of her leaving the hospital. We've searched every room, it's like she vanished into thin air..."
Vanished into thin air? Impossible. Su He exchanged a look with Hou Police Officer, who ordered a full lockdown and room-by-room search of the hospital.
Su He was deeply anxious. Though he and Fan Xiaotong had known each other for less than 24 hours, the young girl had already made a profound impression on him. If only he had accompanied her to the hospital, this wouldn't have happened!
In the security room, Su He repeatedly reviewed the footage of Fan Xiaotong's admission until her disappearance was discovered.
Earlier, Su He had a man send Fan Xiaotong to the ambulance. After checking in, that man was seen leaving the hospital.
With it being the early morning hours, there were few people and vehicles entering or leaving, except for one hearse headed to the mortuary.
"The comic!"
Su He looked up at Hou Police Officer, who produced one of the comics. Su He flipped to a panel depicting a coffin lined with ice, a woman's corpse lying atop the ice. Upon closer inspection, her limbs and torso were severed, her head detached and held on by a wooden stake.
Icy bloodied water pooled across the panel, drenching the eerie, blood-red scene.
The killer wasn't in the hospital!
Hou Police Officer's team had searched the entire building without finding Fan Xiaotong.
"Keys!" Su He extended his hand toward Hou Police Officer.
Hou Police Officer hesitated, then placed the keys in Su He's palm. "It'll be daylight soon, drive carefully..."
Hou Police Officer took the passenger seat and guided Su He to the mortuary.
Located in a secluded area, as they neared their destination, Su He turned off the lights and sirens. Arriving at the gate, he scaled the walls to slip inside.
The hearse from the security footage was still parked in the courtyard. Su He and Hou Police Officer split up to search the premises.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
Suddenly, the silence of the mortuary was broken.
Su He dashed toward the source of the sound.
Kicking open a door, he found a scrawny man carrying a large bucket filled with ice cubes.
Their eyes met briefly before the man turned and fled.
Su He didn't give chase. On the floor nearby, Fan Xiaotong lay mumbling, "Su He... ghost..."
A gunshot rang out from outside. Fan Xiaotong rolled over, continuing to sleep.
A piece of paper on the ground caught Su He's eye - it was one of the comics.
Inside the room, a coffin was half-filled with ice. In the corner sat an electric saw.
...
Dawn broke as Su He dozed off in the police cruiser.
Hou Guangyi removed his uniform, draping it over Su He before heading into the station.
Four of the Ten Comics had been realized, the fifth thwarted - but the cases could occur again at any moment.
In the interrogation room, the scrawny man Tan Peng had bandages around his bullet-wounded leg.
"Who is the 'he' in your group chat?"
Police had discovered a group chat titled "Ten Comics" on Tan Peng's phone, filled with disturbing, bloody content. A user nicknamed "he" was live-streaming the killings.
"Don't know him..." Tan Peng glanced defiantly at Hou Police Officer. "You caught one of us, but there are thousands more... We're creating art. Have you ever seen photos this intense?"
"Hahaha, we're everywhere..."
Hou Police Officer approached Tan Peng and pressed down on his leg wound, staring into his eyes as he applied increasing pressure. "You're all just rats crawling out of the sewer. I'll root every one of you out..."
The scrawny man gritted his teeth, refusing to make a sound as he glared back at Hou Police Officer.
"It's just attempted murder, officer... won't be in for too long!"
Leaving the interrogation room, Hou Guangyi could no longer contain his rage. He stormed into the bathroom, shouting at the mirror, "Damn it!"
Hell is empty, and the devils are here on Earth!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
