The weapon by the pillow

Chapter 68 You and I... are now guinea pigs!

A number, a previously overlooked detail, suddenly popped into focus!

"Three people... plus the five people in 403, that's eight people!" Cheng Tan blurted out.

"Eight people... So, corresponding to this, there are four men and one woman, and two men and one woman..." Cheng Jing calmly analyzed.

"Thermal imaging! Officer Cheng, when you used thermal imaging to scan the building, besides the eight of us, did you detect anyone else? Like... Liu Li?" Cheng Tan became excited.

Cheng Jing suddenly sat up straight!

She quickly recalled the infrared thermal image she had seen on the command vehicle's screen.

Inside Building 7, besides the infrared signals from the SWAT team members, there were indeed multiple stationary heat sources distributed across different floors and rooms. At the time, because her attention was focused on the possible trapped individuals in Room 403 and the operators of Building 5, and considering there might still be a few residents remaining in the building, she didn't delve into the exact number and location of these scattered heat sources…

But now, Cheng Tan's words have awakened her!

If rooms 402 and 403 were already in their current "elderly activity room" state when the police arrived, then the heat source signals inside must be from these elderly people!

If Liu Li had already died at that time, her body would have gradually lost temperature, and the thermal imaging signal would have weakened or even disappeared.

But what if Liu Li wasn't in 402 at all before they arrived, or... what if "Liu Li" herself was one of these "old people"?

An even more chilling thought crept into Cheng Jing's mind: "You mean... Liu Li might not be dead? Perhaps... she might be one of those three old men playing chess? Or, one of the five people playing mahjong in room 403?"

Cheng Jing's voice changed tone, "But age, appearance..."

"Disguise? Makeup? Or...it's a completely different person?" Cheng Tan pointed to the body camera. "This 'Sister Fang' looks to be in her fifties, while Liu Li's file says she's forty-two. There's an age difference, but that doesn't mean it can't be faked. Besides, if this was all a pre-arranged 'stage,' then the 'actor' could be replaced at any time! The 'Liu Li hanging herself' we saw might just be a stand-in, or...it might all be fake! Before we lost consciousness, we were all given hallucinogenic gases, so our vision and judgment could be impaired!"

"No...that's not right..." Cheng Tan suddenly doubted himself again. "If it's fake, where did the body double go? Disposing of a corpse is more troublesome than arranging for a living person to act. Besides..."

His voice suddenly stopped, and his breathing became rapid.

Cheng Jing pressed further, "And what?"

Before Cheng Tan's eyes, the last glimpse before he lost consciousness flashed again—the woman's face, blurred and eerie under the influence of the swaying perspective and hallucinogenic gas.

Liu Li's face. At the time, he thought it was the pain of his impending death.

But now, setting aside the distorted perceptions that hallucinogens might cause, and discarding the preconceived notion that "hanging is certain death," let's recall that moment...

"Officer Cheng..." Cheng Tan's voice trembled with disbelief, "I think... I remember now. In the last moment, before I completely lost consciousness... the woman who smiled at me... was dead."

"What?!" Cheng Jing exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, it's Liu Li, it's her laughing!" Cheng Tan's thoughts became clearer and clearer, and the chill intensified. "It wasn't a painful laugh, not a laugh of relief... but a... strange laugh, tinged with... mockery? Or perhaps... anticipation? It's as if... as if she'd been waiting for that moment, waiting for us all to fall, waiting for everything to go according to plan... and then, she'd finished her 'role,' and could... take her 'curtain call'?"

The impact of this memory is more shocking than any deduction.

If Liu Li could still laugh in that situation, and could still express emotions of "expectation" and "mockery," then there is only one explanation—

She is not a victim at all!

She was a participant! An actress! She might even be… one of the core planners!

"If Liu Li... wasn't dead, she could very well be a key 'actor' in this whole scene." Cheng Jing said with a chilling realization, "The so-called 'hanging' might have been a performance all along! It was used to provoke us, create panic, and prematurely establish the 'murder' charge, while also providing cover for the subsequent 'scene cleanup' and 'personnel replacement'—a 'body' needs to be removed and disposed of, but a living person 'taken away after falling unconscious,' or an actor 'disguised,' offers much more room for manipulation!"

"Furthermore," Cheng Tan interjected, his train of thought becoming increasingly clear, "if Liu Li is an actress, then all her previous 'background'—living alone, keeping to herself, having simple social relationships—is very likely fake, or deliberately created for this 'role'! She wasn't just a neighbor who was accidentally dragged into this; from the very beginning, she was a 'spy' planted there! Responsible for monitoring, guiding, and even, when necessary…participating in the 'performance'!"

"Jin Xiaohao's confession mentioned that Liu Li was once the temporary accountant for Jincheng Demolition Company..." Cheng Jing thought quickly. "If Liu Li herself was involved with Jin Dafu Group, or even an informant or executor planted by that behind-the-scenes force, then everything makes sense! She lived in 402, monitored the movements of 403, and may have been involved in something back then. Thirteen years later, she became the executor and 'actor' at this 'live trial'!"

"Where is she now?" Cheng Tan pressed. "Did she already leave with those 'old-timers,' changed her identity, and leave? Or... is she still lurking nearby, observing how things develop?"

"I don't know." Cheng Jing's eyes had sharpened again. "But if it's the latter, then those 'veterans' in 402 and 403 aren't just 'actors,' they might also be 'sentinels' or 'observers'! They're there to confirm the police's reaction, to confirm whether things are developing in the direction they've predetermined, or even... they might be waiting for the 'right person' to arrive!"

"The person who should be here..." Cheng Tan pondered the word. "Could it be that Sister Fang is waiting for... the real 'director'? Or perhaps, a 'superior' coming to inspect the results of the 'stage cleanup'?"

Both of them felt a chill run down their spines.

They seem to have inadvertently stumbled upon a corner of a massive plan. This plan, spanning thirteen years, involving multiple lives, and employing staggering resources for cover-up and manipulation, is far more complex than simply "revenge" or "performance."

"Cheng Tan," Cheng Jing stood up with an extremely serious expression, "you are in grave danger right now. If Liu Li really was involved, and you saw her 'smile' at the end, it could very well be an accident, a 'blooper' outside the script. To ensure everything goes smoothly, the other side might take action against you. You absolutely cannot stay here!"

"Maybe I... or you, are already a guinea pig!" Cheng Tan laughed.

Unbeknownst to the two, on a tablet, an elderly man with white hair pointed at Cheng Tan on the screen and sighed:

"He's really clever; he figured out the problem with Liu Li, the woman who hanged herself!" he continued. "But what he didn't know was that Liu Li wasn't with us at all!"