Chapter 107: Number 3 and His Family

Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Number 3 and His Family

The homeless man’s voice was as hoarse as ever, but his speech was noticeably more fluent than before.

Evan Keller and Heath Hale exchanged a look. They decided to start from the very first question. Everything had to be done gradually, especially when dealing with a suspect who was clearly unwell, both mentally and physically.

Coming on too strong from the start could provoke a defiant reaction, causing them to clam up completely.

"What are your and your brother’s names?" Heath Hale asked. "And why didn’t you say anything when you heard they were going to hurt that kid? Why did you refuse to call the police?"

If he could get their names, they might be able to find their family.

But Heath Hale thought that was unlikely. After all, facial recognition hadn’t turned up any matches for the man.

"Names?"

The homeless man tilted his head, as if in thought. "My name is Number Three."

He then pointed to his brother, his tone sincere and innocent. "He’s Number Five."

Evan Keller and Heath Hale inside the room, as well as Zoe Sawyer and the others listening from outside, all couldn’t help but frown.

’Who uses numbers for names?’

’Could it be some kind of trafficking ring that specializes in using deformed people for begging?’

’Using numbers to make them easier to identify?’

"Are those really your names?" Evan Keller asked with a frown.

Number Three nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. ’It’s the name I’ve heard my whole life, so of course it is!’

"Livestreaming... making money... why call the police?" Number Three’s voice was filled with confusion.

’Isn’t this how you make money? Why would I call the police?’

"Wait a minute, something’s not right with him," Heath Hale muttered, tugging on Evan Keller’s sleeve, his brow tightly furrowed.

’He knows livestreaming can make money, but he doesn’t know that what those three teenagers were doing was wrong.’

’This is seriously wrong.’

The worldview formed by whatever information Number Three had been exposed to had taught him that what the lanky teenager and his friends were doing was normal. Therefore, in his eyes, their actions were right and didn’t warrant a call to the police!

’So, can we assume that in the environment where Number Three came from, this kind of thing happened often?’

Evan Keller and Heath Hale locked eyes. They were in deep trouble.

This case was not simple. It was already beyond what they could handle alone.

This was no longer the simple homicide they’d thought it was. They would need the cooperation of the entire judicial system here!

Evan Keller immediately stood up and spoke with Officer Stone outside the room, telling him to call for backup urgently.

Officer Stone didn’t dare to waste a second. He stepped aside to call the chief, gave him a brief rundown of the situation, and told him to bring a team back immediately.

"Num... Number Three, can you tell me about your family?" Heath Hale asked, the name coming out with some difficulty. Perhaps fearing the man would refuse, he quickly added an assurance: if he told them the whole story, from start to finish, Heath would have someone bring food for his brother.

Number Three, who had been hesitating, finally relented.

"Mama likes to livestream us. Sometimes we dance with no clothes on, and sometimes we move heavy things."

"If we perform well, people give money. If we get money, we get to eat that day." Number Three’s four fingers began to writhe and tangle together like tentacles.

The sight made Evan Keller and Heath Hale feel physically ill, but they remembered they were in an interrogation room and forced themselves to fight the urge to look away.

Number Three seemed oblivious, continuing to explain to the two men as his hands kept twisting.

Heath Hale pressed a hand to his stomach and took a deep breath. "Do you remember where you were abducted?"

"Abducted? We’re Mama and Papa’s children!" Number Three’s expression turned angry, as if he was deeply offended by Heath Hale’s words.

’His biological parents?’

’How could they treat their own children like that?’

Outside, Zoe Sawyer’s imagination ran wild, and she quickly pictured the horrific scenes. She couldn’t stop herself from covering her mouth, her face turning pale.

’How could they be so cruel!’

Evan Keller seemed to have thought of something. He quickly asked, "The ones who are... gone. Were they like you?"

"Of course!" Number Three said, a hint of pride in his voice.

Through a back-and-forth of questions and answers, Evan Keller and Heath Hale finally pieced together the whole story.

According to Number Three, all of them—from Number One to Number Ten—were their parents’ biological children.

They ranged in age, and every single one of them had some sort of defect.

Some were like him, with only four fingers in total. Others were like Number Five.

There was even a set of twins who had three ears between them, and their eyes were misaligned, one higher than the other.

A "normal" child like him, he said, was a rarity among the ten siblings.

They had never been to school and had no contact with the outside world.

The family of more than a dozen lived in a remote village.

Every time they livestreamed, "those people" would come to watch. Sometimes, they would even instruct his parents on what to do to please the viewers.

But sometimes, there were "accidents," resulting in "personnel reduction."

Number Three didn’t want his younger brother to end up like their dead siblings, so he fled with him in the middle of the night.

Before they escaped, he "took care of" his father, who had passed out drunk in the yard. He then disposed of the body using the same methods his father had used in the past.

The livestream he’d been planning was an attempt to imitate his parents and make money, hoping to get some things with the earnings.

Number Three saw nothing wrong with his actions.

It was just that before he had a chance to act, he was caught by Evan Keller and his team, brought to the station, and dragged Number Five down with him.

As promised, Evan Keller and Heath Hale brought in a few loaves of bread from outside, placed them on the table in front of Number Three and Number Five, and prepared to leave.

Just as they reached the door, they heard Number Three speak again.

"Mama’s belly is big again. There’ll be a Number Eleven soon."