Crazy Detective

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Han Kuan looked deathly pale as he said, “I was really out of control at that time! At first, I just sought comfort from killing people, and my narrow theory of justice satisfied my heart, which is now only filled with humiliation and depression from the things that I suffered in the past.”

He then added, “I feel that I really became a devil. With the power of the devil, I felt like I could eradicate all of the injustice in the world! Like the characters in my novels, I could use alternative means to uphold justice and help the weak people who have suffered unfair treatment in the past!”

Han Kuan laughed wildly. “But, I didn’t realize that the devil in my heart had eroded me, causing me to gradually lose myself amid the killing, thus falling deeper under the devil’s control! In the end, I was completely out of control and could no longer contain my desire to kill!”

He took a long, deep breath, they continued narrating his story, “When I came back from Jiangxing County to Beiqian, I really thought that was the end of my life! The car I was driving was owned by the company, which I knew could be easily traced back to me!”

Han Kuan shook his head. “I was so frightened that I couldn’t think about anything else. I just wanted to go home. So, as soon as I arrived in Beiqian, I said goodbye to Mr. Lang and got on the train to go home one day earlier than I had originally planned.”

He then added, “When I get home and calmed down a bit, I started to analyze what had happened to me carefully. I couldn’t help but get more terrified as I did so. Only then did I finally realize how crazy I was! My serial killing plan was full of loopholes! I knew that if the police connected all of the deaths, I would definitely become the main suspect!”

He sighed. “So, during the following year, I was completely overwhelmed with fear and panic! I would often dream that the police rushed into my house and handcuffed me! But, that didn’t happen. Everything was so peaceful… At least until I got the news that Mr. Lang had died of an illness after I left.”

“Because it was so peaceful, it made me feel very uncomfortable. But, when I calmed down, I realized my problem. I lost control very often. So, during that time, I read a lot of books and tried to minimize my contact with the outside world, which suppressed my deep impulse to become the devil again! However, a year later, what I was most worried about happened!”

Han Kuan went on to say, “Although it was not exactly like what happened in my dream… Someone did finally link the deaths together, and a guy even saw my devil mask! That’s how the name Devil Case came about.”

He shook his head. “Before that, I thought that the only person who had seen my mask was hit and killed by the truck. At that time, the media was not like it is now, and there were all kinds of versions of the case floating around. There were many versions that even sounded funny to me!”

“But, anyway, I panicked, thinking that my deadline was coming! In my memory, I always felt that when I was fighting with that person in the building on the sixth floor, there might have been someone else in the corridor, who saw me wearing the mask and spread the story.”

He shook his head, then said, “If that was the case, I knew that the police would probably find me as long as they found out about the accident! This was because where the accident happened is very close to where I parked my car!”

Han Kuan scratched his ears and cheeks, appearing as if he was really panicked as he said, “It was December 26, and it was late at night. There weren’t many cars on the street, so they would surely find my company because of the car, and then find me! Later, I finally came up with an idea! You’ve already found what I did then, big detective!”

Han Kuan nodded proudly, then admitted, “I made a new devil suit that was Mr. Lang’s size. I also put the formula of ghost fire into the box. Then, I carried the box to Beiqian and broke into Mr. Lang’s basement, then put it in a corner.”

He smiled, looking satisfied with himself. “In this way, I made it look like he was the real murderer of the Devil Case! And, since Mr. Lang was dead, I knew that as long as the police found the box, they would believe that he was the real murderer!”

He then added, “I am not looking down on the police force’s ability, but I believed that if the police found this box, they would be very happy and just accept this as being the truth so that they could close the case once and for all. After I did that, I also went to Jiangxing to investigate the person who was hit by the truck.”

He paused for a moment, then said, “But… I dared not ask around about it because I was afraid that would bring attention to myself and cause me trouble. So, I didn’t find out much information about him in the end. I just assumed that he was dead. When I came home again, I was still very nervous.”

Han Kuan said anxiously, “I’ve been keeping up with the progress of the Devil Case through various contacts and channels. When I heard that the Central Criminal Division had sent a special investigation group to investigate the case, I was terrified.”

Han Kuan said, “But again, something unexpected happened. Even the special investigation group did not find my car, my company, Lang Xiangyang or the box that I left behind. What confused me the most was that Jiangxing County was not included in the Devil Case’s investigation area that was announced by the police!”

Han Kuan shook his head and sighed. “Only then did I realize that maybe I was overthinking all of this! At that moment, I figured that the witness who saw my devil mask probably wasn’t the one in Jiangxing County. I felt very lucky that I had suppressed my impulses and didn’t end up killing Liu Yubao that night!”

He sighed once more. “I guess that Liu Yubao only knew that he’d been really drunk when he woke up, and he still doesn’t know that he was my target back then! Now, as long as the police don’t associate the car accident with the Devil Case, they will never look for my car, let alone my company…”

Han Kuan raised his head and asked Zhao Yu indifferently, “Officer Zhao, can you tell me now about that witness? Who on earth saw me?”

“A tramp who was picking up waste…” When Zhao Yu saw that Han Kuan had confessed, he sat back in his chair and said to him, “When you were committing one of the murders, the tramp saw you from a long distance away. Besides the devil mask, he said that there was a green ghost fire. That’s when the case name ‘Devil Case’ began to spread!”

Han Kuan nodded slightly, then asked with an evil smile, “Oh… Is that so? Detective Zhao, I have already admitted my crimes now, so what else do you want to know? Just ask me.”

“Han Kuan, we have interrogated you so many times…” Zhao Yu said calmly. “You should be very clear about what we want to know.”

Han Kuan nodded and laughed. “Alright! I like talking to smart people like you! Let me start with something less important… I did not learn my ghost fire formula from my chemistry teacher, but from a magician! It can reduce the smoke and sound that are caused by phosphorus burning, and it can even make the flame look very weird…”

He added, “But… The masks, the clothes, and my plans were all my original works! At school, Laogua bullied me, but I didn’t care. What made me angry was when he tore up my favorite manuscripts!”

He sighed. “At that time, as I was just a young student, I didn’t know anything about psychology. When I knocked him out and took him into the abandoned building, waiting for him to wake up, I had only one thing in mind. If I couldn’t scare him to death, I was planning to jump down off of the building with him! Either way, my plan would be successful!”

He then added, “Sure enough… When he woke up, I just opened my arms, and he was so frightened that he ran away immediately. He was in such a hurry and in such a state of shock that he fell out of the building. And… It wasn’t just him that reacted this way, but it’s been the same every time since then!”

Han Kuan laughed. “A man has unlimited potential. Before, I was worried about what I would do if someone was so frightened that they could not move, instead of running away. However, it turns out that, regardless of whether my victims were men or women, young or old, all of them reacted the same way when they saw my devil suit. They ran like crazy!”

Han Kuan then said with great pride, “Of course, I am still making progress! Since I began, I have made the fire’s flames look even more frightening, and I also added a special sound, which sounds like a ghost’s yell. And, before killing the victims, I will now put some sand down on the victim’s position. In this way, when the police come to collect evidence, they will find no trace of any other person at the scene. Thus, the murder will be regarded as a suicide!”

Han Kuan raised his eyebrow and asked Zhao Yu, “Officer Zhao, is that enough information for you?”

Zhao Yu asked him in a drowsy voice, “Well… As you seem to be so familiar with criminal investigations, what do you say?”

Seeing Zhao Yu’s cold face, Han Kuan suddenly realized something. After a short time of murmuring and hesitating, tears were pouring down his face again, and as he cried piteously, he said, “Officer Zhao, I was wrong. I did it… I killed her, too.”