658: The Old Path (18)_1 658: The Old Path (18)_1 This line she had once uttered herself, now heard in Fran’s ears, sent her soul scattering and her spirit flying in terror.
At the same time, the sound of the hinge being pulled came through, and one could almost imagine the spikes inching closer to one’s body, about to be pierced at any moment.
“Stop joking around!”
In less than half a second, Fran’s voice turned into a scream.
Why was this happening? Could this guy be the hidden Mysterious Killer?
Did he do all these things? Why would he do this?
But Kateman and Lei were together when Jessica disappeared, he indeed was by himself in the room…
He always seemed calm and unhurried, as if the emotion of fear did not exist…
Chief Jones seemed to be very guarded against him…
It was his first time here, yet he seemed to know a lot of information…
When she had wanted to come back just now, he had readily agreed without hesitation…
“What exactly do you want to do?”
As numerous thoughts whirled through her mind, Fran couldn’t help but scream again.
Regrettably, the response to her was still the cold sound of the hinge.
After making the judgement, Fu Qian didn’t respond anymore.
And the silent terror that came brought a pressure that was suffocating.
Soon, Fran found that she could barely utter a scream, and her body was so stiff she couldn’t move.
…
If it really was as she thought—
At this moment in the basement, Fu Qian looked at the Iron Maiden with an expressionless face, idly swinging the chain in his hand.
From the beginning until now, all the encounters seemed to suggest the existence of a mysterious person.
He was ubiquitous and omnipotent.
Even the experienced Chief Jones, who had started with disdain, now deeply believed in it and had set traps specifically.
But what if this person didn’t exist?
There is a saying, “Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily.”
What would happen if one were to take a person who is so perfectly hidden, never seen, existing only in conjecture and deduction, and simply discard him from the equation?
The timid Harold had a bad relationship with his wife, and then his wife died…
The vacationing student Lei hit someone with his car, then the body couldn’t be found at the scene, and he got out of trouble…
In the old house, the most timid Jessica disappeared alone, seemingly passing through a dark passage, without a trace…
After being suspected by Jones, Harold fell off a bridge, and although he did not admit anything, he had almost cleared himself of the suspicion of murder…
In all these events, there seemed to be one consistent point—there were motives, but not enough ability.
Whether it was murder, escape, or clearing suspicion, these people might all want to do it but seemed beyond their capacities without professional help.
But what if at some moment, they “transcended” themselves?
Like suddenly transforming into Superman, empowered by Divine Beings, meaning things previously impossible suddenly became easy?
This was just a conjecture, and Fu Qian wasn’t sure of the reason why.
But regarding how to verify it, he had an existing method.
If the assumption was true, then from the prior situations, this kind of self-transcendence seemed to only occur under immense threat and intense emotion.
And this Iron Maiden was something even the tough guy Kateman didn’t dare to enter and try, let alone Fran.
After everything that had happened before, it was believed that at this moment, her fear could be triggered to the utmost extreme at any time.
…
At a certain moment, Fu Qian realized that the noise inside the torture device was no longer as loud as before.
Gone were not only Fran’s screams but also her heavy, bellows-like breathing.
“I can’t understand the motivation behind your actions,” she said.
The next moment, Fran’s voice came through, no longer tense but imploringly calm.
“The current evidence is enough to prove you have nothing to do with the cases.”
“And you don’t seem to want to kill me, but rather, you deliberately make me feel fear.”
“I just want to say that this joke isn’t funny, if possible please let me go, we should go home.”
It truly was like she had transcended herself, as if she had become a different person.
It looked like my guess had been confirmed.
In silent contemplation, Fu Qian reached out and slowly opened the Iron Maiden.