mesbooks Chapter 97 The Red Hood
Chapter 97 The Red Hood
After all, according to Li Wei's estimation, although these two guys were captured, they should have gained at least a few dozen reputation points.
These guys chose to commit suicide without hesitation, making their previous efforts seem utterly ridiculous.
When a player dies, their reputation is reset to zero, and all attribute bonuses disappear; this is a fundamental rule of the game.
No player would easily give up everything they've accumulated, unless... they have no other choice.
"Reputation", "Suicide".
Li Wei thought for a moment, then added "threat" to his mind.
As he drove, his brain was working at lightning speed.
Threat? Who could threaten these players who treat life like dirt?
Only other players.
Once this idea takes hold, it grows wildly like a vine.
If these Red Hood members are gamers, how were they threatened?
Players' identities are randomly assigned, and no one knows what their identity will be when they start the game next time.
If threatened, we can always start over.
What kind of threat is it that they can't get rid of even after they've been given new identities?
It is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm; this is a perfectly normal thing.
Unless... these players have reasons they can't get rid of.
Even if you start over in the game world, you can't escape the threats you face.
Li Wei's brows furrowed even more.
He recalled seeing guild recruitment messages on the public chat before, and remembered the mysterious "Shentuo Guild".
Is it possible that these guys are members of the Shen Tu Guild?
Moreover, these guys, having had their real-world addresses discovered, have a reason to die.
He opened the game panel and tried to search for information about the "God's Path Guild", but found nothing.
This guild is like a ghost hidden deep in the internet, with no publicly available information about it.
Only the occasional job posting acts as bait, luring greedy players in.
By the time I arrived at the police station, it was already daylight.
Gordon stood at the door of the interrogation room, his face pale and his eyes bloodshot.
Clearly, what happened in the early hours of last night shocked even this veteran police officer.
Upon seeing Li Wei, he immediately came to greet him.
"The surveillance footage is here; take a look."
Gordon handed him a tablet computer, his tone heavy.
Li Wei took the tablet and opened the surveillance video.
The scene shows two separate interrogation rooms; Toby is on the left, and Gray is on the right.
At 2:03 a.m., Toby suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with terror, and his body began to tremble violently.
He looked around as if he were hiding from something unseen, his hands gripping his hair tightly, his nails almost digging into his scalp.
A few seconds later, he suddenly stood up, dragged the chair he was sitting on, and charged toward the wall.
With a muffled thud, his head slammed against the wall, leaving a dark red stain of blood.
But he didn't stop; he kept ramming the head until it burst open and his body collapsed limply to the ground.
Li Wei's gaze shifted to the surveillance screen on the right.
Gray reacted a few seconds later than Toby; he also showed a terrified expression and let out a mumbled growl.
He suddenly reached out and pressed his right eye tightly, digging it out with his fingers.
Blood flowed from between his fingers, but he seemed not to feel any pain.
They gouged out the eyeballs and threw them on the ground, then reached for the left eye...
At the end of the video, the two interrogation rooms were in a mess, with blood staining the floor and walls.
Levi noticed that in the final moments of their lives, the terror on Toby and Gray's faces vanished.
Instead, there was a strange sense of relief, with the corners of his mouth even slightly turned up, as if he had completed some kind of mission.
Li Wei turned off the video, his fingers turning slightly white from the force he used.
He looked up at Gordon.
"Were they held in separate cells?"
"right."
Gordon nodded. "After the interrogation failed, I had them separated."
The two interrogation rooms were separated by three walls, and there was no contact between them.
"Did anyone see them during that time? Or pass them anything?"
Li Wei pressed for an answer.
"no."
Gordon shook his head. "There are police guarding the interrogation room 24 hours a day. No one has come near except to deliver food."
Furthermore, surveillance footage shows that when they were self-harming, there was no one around except for the police officers guarding them.
Li Wei fell silent.
Without external contact or tools, the two men were separated and imprisoned.
However, they committed suicide at the same time in an extremely tragic manner, and exhibited the same emotional changes before their deaths. This is definitely not a coincidence.
He opened the video again, slowed it down, and carefully observed Toby and Gray's expressions.
Fear, struggle, pain, relief... this series of emotional changes seemed to be controlled by some external force.
Only the player can do this.
These two guys must have been threatened before they committed suicide! A thought suddenly flashed through Li Wei's mind.
"Were autopsies performed on their bodies?" Li Wei asked.
"It's already been sent to the forensic department, and the results aren't out yet."
Gordon said, "However, initial examinations revealed no signs of external injury or poisoning; the death appears to be purely physical."
Li Wei nodded, already having formed a preliminary judgment in his mind.
If the autopsy finds nothing unusual, it will further confirm his suspicion that the two men were indeed threatened.
A threat from the real world!
He turned and walked out of the interrogation room, with Gordon following behind him.
"Li Wei, has something come to mind?"
Li Wei didn't answer directly; his brain started working at lightning speed.
"I have some ideas, but they're still very vague."
He couldn't tell Gordon the truth, so he could only give vague answers.
"Li Wei, what are you thinking?"
Gordon sat down next to him, his tone urgent.
"The identities of the two deceased have been verified. They had no connection whatsoever and no history of mental illness."
Their suicides are too bizarre; we must give the citizens an explanation.
Li Wei looked up at Gordon's anxious face.
He knew Gordon was under a lot of pressure; the citizens of Gotham had already endured too much chaos and killing.
If this suicide is not handled properly, it could trigger even greater panic.
"Gordon, I suspect there's a huge organization behind this."
Li Wei carefully considered his words before speaking, "The members of this organization come from all walks of life. Their goal is not money or power, but to create chaos and panic."
It was impossible to tell Gordon about the players' situation, so Levi could only remind him in this way.
"An organization?" Gordon paused, taken aback. "Creating chaos and panic? What are they after?"
Gordon couldn't understand why a person would do something for a reason.
What good does it do these guys to create chaos and panic?
Judging from the current situation, there seems to be no benefit whatsoever.
"Their goal," Levi's voice was low, "is perhaps simply to create panic, nothing more."
These players' goal was, of course, reputation, but there was no way they could say that to Gordon.
Levi's words silenced Gordon completely.
Based on the information he currently has, he knows that Li Wei is telling the truth.
But he couldn't understand how such a person could exist in the world.
Even for gangsters, the ultimate goal of doing this kind of thing is to make money.
While antisocial personalities who are solely focused on creating panic do exist, the likelihood of a dozen or so of them gathering at once is still very small.
Gordon knew that Levi was holding back some information from him, but Gordon believed that Levi would tell him if the conditions allowed.
"What should we do now?" Gordon asked.
Li Wei stood up, his gaze resolute.
"We need to find clues about this organization. Since they were able to create chaos in Gotham, they must have left traces."
Perhaps next time we capture them alive, we can try communicating with them first.
"You can go first in the next communication," Gordon said. "We must stop them from continuing their killings, no matter what."
Li Wei nodded and turned to walk towards the police station entrance.
Stepping out of the police station, the morning sun shone on me, but it brought no warmth whatsoever.
Li Wei looked at the increasing number of pedestrians on the street, his heart filled with heaviness.
He opened the car door, got into the pickup truck, and started the engine in one smooth motion.
The car headed towards "Hope Home" because he needed to make sure the children were safe.
Back at "Hope House," the children were already up and having breakfast in the dining room.
Anna sat next to Jamie, holding a piece of bread in her hand and eating it in small bites.
When she saw Li Wei come in, she looked up and gave him a faint smile.
Li Wei walked over to her and patted her head.
"Did you eat well?"
"Mmm." Anna nodded. "Jamie got me some milk."
Jamie sat down next to him and grinned. "Mr. Levi, where did you go yesterday? We thought you'd left."
"I have to take care of something," Li Wei smiled. "I'll come to see you often from now on."
He walked over to Marcus and asked in a low voice, "How's the security? Anything unusual?"
"Everything is normal, Mr. Levi," Marcus said. "Security personnel are patrolling 24 hours a day and no suspicious persons have been found."
Li Wei nodded, feeling slightly relieved.
He knew this was only temporary.
If someone really wants to harm children, they will definitely find an opportunity.
"Marcus, could you please reinforce security, especially around the doors and windows?"
Li Wei said, "Notify me immediately if you find any suspicious persons."
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away." Marcus nodded immediately.
Li Wei walked to the window and looked at the children playing outside.
The children's smiles were so innocent; he absolutely couldn't let anyone hurt them.
He took out his phone and dialed Bruce's number.
"Hey, Levi?" Bruce's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Bruce, I need your help." Levi's voice was serious. "Have you heard about what happened these past two days?"
"What happened?" Bruce's voice held a hint of doubt. "Nothing. What's wrong?"
"A bunch of crazy guys who take pleasure in creating chaos and killing."
Li Wei said, "The perpetrator of yesterday's bank robbery has committed suicide."
I'm worried they might harm the children at 'Hope Home'.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Bruce's voice came through.
"I will have Wayne Enterprises' security department send more people there to strengthen security at 'Hope House' and ensure the safety of the children."
"Thank you, Bruce," Levi said.
"You're welcome." Bruce paused, "Mr. Levi, from your description, these guys are dangerous. You should be careful yourself."
"Thank you, Mr. Bruce. I'll keep that in mind."
After hanging up the phone, Li Wei went into the restaurant and watched the children laughing and playing.
He secretly vowed to protect these children no matter the cost.
...
It rained for three whole days in Gotham, and the damp air, carrying the stench of blood, permeated every corner of the streets.
Li Wei parked the pickup truck in front of the police station, the windshield wipers repeatedly scraping the blurry glass, just like the nightmare that had been recurring for the past month.
Gordon emerged from the police station with an umbrella, the hem of his trench coat soaked by the rain, and the wrinkles on his face were deeper than usual.
He handed Li Wei a thick file with the cover titled "Red Hood Series Robberies," the edges of which were curled up from repeated reading.
"The twentieth one."
Gordon's voice was hoarse, revealing an undeniable weariness.
"At the Queens bus hub last night, 27 people were killed or injured, but only $3,000 in cash was missing."
Li Wei opened the case file, and the photos from the scene were shocking.
Broken suitcases lay scattered in pools of blood, and crying passengers lay on the ground.
Several figures dressed in black and wearing red hoods moved through the chaos.
The flash from the gun muzzle left blurry spots of light on the photograph.
"Still thirteen people."
Gordon added that rainwater slid down his cheeks.
"Each operation involves thirteen people. Even if they were all killed last time, the next operation will still have exactly thirteen people, no more and no less."
The forensic report made Li Wei's fingers tighten slightly.
The Red Hood members who were killed came from all walks of life—some were Wall Street white-collar workers, and some even had unfinished reports in their suit pockets.
There was a chef at a suburban restaurant whose hands were still covered in unwashed grease.
There were also homeless people living under bridges, with half a moldy loaf of bread in their pockets.
"Their loved ones are on the verge of collapse."
Gordon sighed.
"That office worker celebrated her daughter's fifth birthday the day before, and her WeChat Moments were full of photos of cakes."
That chef's wife is still in the hospital awaiting childbirth; he said this morning when he left home that he was going to earn money for baby formula.
Li Wei recalled Toby and Gray in the interrogation room; their identities were also completely unrelated, yet overnight they had become cold-blooded killers.
Attached to the case file was a psychological evaluation report, which stated that none of the individuals involved had a history of mental illness before the incident, were mild-mannered, and some had even done charity work.
"It's like a switch has been flipped."
There was a hint of fear in Gordon's voice.
"One day he was a normal person, the next day he turned into a demon."
They acted without hesitation, even taking pleasure in it.
The rain intensified, pattering against the car roof.
Li Wei closed the file, a fierce struggle raging in his mind.
The player's secrets must not be revealed, so the only thing to do is to remind Gordon in a different way.
Levi had been thinking for some time about how to say this in a way that Gordon could understand.
"I have an idea about these guys..."
Before Li Wei could finish speaking, he saw a black figure descend from the sky.
Batman emerged from the rain, his face tense and he didn't look happy.