Chapter 181: The Murder Process

Chapter 181: Chapter 181: The Murder Process

Zoe Sawyer didn’t refuse Heath Hale’s help. Just as before, she waited for that elusive, mystical feeling to arrive before pushing the door open.

The scene that appeared before them was the one from the photograph.

Heath Hale stared at the scene, a look of hesitation on his face. ’He... can see it too?’

He thought back to the day before. He had stood behind Zoe Sawyer as usual, waiting, but had seen nothing. Today, however, he could see a living room with a distinctly dated feel.

’Could it be that Zoe’s ability upgraded without her knowing?’

’Or perhaps her ability didn’t upgrade. Maybe something else just changed.’

At that thought, Heath Hale glanced down at where he was holding Zoe Sawyer’s wrist. That was the only thing that had changed.

As Zoe Sawyer watched in confusion, Heath Hale let go of her hand. The next second, the once-clear image of the living room began to flicker like a bad TV signal. Less than three seconds later, it reverted to the familiar hallway Heath knew.

He could no longer see it.

Heath Hale took Zoe Sawyer’s hand again, and the scene reappeared almost instantly.

"What’s wrong?" Zoe Sawyer asked, looking at Heath Hale in confusion. ’What is he doing?’

"When I hold your hand, I can see the other side, too," Heath Hale explained simply.

Just as Zoe Sawyer was about to say something else, a noise came from the doorway.

Both of them immediately turned their attention toward it.

Zoe Sawyer scanned the living room; its layout was identical to the one in the photo.

CLICK.

With a crisp click, the lock turned and the door opened. A faint rustling sound followed from the entrance.

A lanky, slightly stooped figure tiptoed inside.

The living room curtains weren’t fully drawn, allowing the cold moonlight to filter through the glass.

This allowed Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale to get a crystal-clear look at the killer’s face.

He looked nothing like the man of the house from the case file.

He had a very plain face, the type you wouldn’t notice in a crowd. If he had any distinguishing feature, it was the enormous tumor on the back of his neck.

At a glance, it looked as if he had an extra head. The massive tumor forced his neck and back into a slight hunch. His expression was savage, and his eyes, as they scanned the room, held a look of grim determination.

The man had cloth wrapped around each of his shoes, completely concealing them and preventing any footprints.

Zoe Sawyer couldn’t help but gasp. ’He came prepared!’

Heath Hale’s low voice sounded in Zoe Sawyer’s ear. "Back then, the police had several forensic experts who could identify a suspect from footprints alone. The killer must have wrapped his shoes specifically to avoid leaving any prints at the scene and getting caught."

"As for the hallway, there was so much foot traffic that he wouldn’t have to worry about being noticed."

As the man moved, Zoe Sawyer noted that he left no tracks behind.

He wore a hat and gloves, and his every step was painstakingly cautious.

The man tapped a hand on the dining table, creating a soft sound.

The sound was stark in the silent living room. Soon, a rustling came from one of the bedrooms.

One of the two girls sleeping inside must have heard the noise and come out to see what was going on.

"Are you home?" a girl, the older of the two, mumbled as she walked out rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, I had to take care of something, so I came back for a bit," the man replied.

Her eyes still half-closed, the girl skillfully navigated around the living room’s obstacles and walked right up to the man.

When she finally saw the man’s face clearly, terror washed over her. She was about to scream, but the killer clamped a hand tightly over her mouth and nose.

A little girl’s strength was no match for a grown man’s.

Soon, the girl’s violent struggles weakened. Her limbs gave a final twitch before hanging limp.

A life snuffed out, just like that.

Zoe Sawyer’s face contorted with fury. She lunged forward, thrusting her hand out as if to break through the barrier of the doorway and stop the killer.

But it was useless.

The gap in time was too vast. Zoe Sawyer was powerless to break through the barrier.

She could only watch, helpless, as the killer moved the girl’s body onto the sofa.

Just then, a knock sounded at the apartment’s front door, followed by a woman’s voice.

It was the next-door neighbor, who had heard the noise and came over to ask what was going on.

Next, Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale watched in amazement as the man switched flawlessly between two different voices, perfectly mimicking the man of the house and his young daughter.

At the same time, the killer pulled a sharp cleaver from his coat and started toward the front door.

If the neighbor were to ask him to open the door, that cleaver would be in her skull in the next instant.

Fortunately for the neighbor, she didn’t ask him to open up, completely unaware that she had just had a brush with the Grim Reaper.

If she weren’t seeing it with her own eyes, Zoe Sawyer would have also believed it was a father and daughter speaking in the living room.

The neighbor, hearing the voice and believing it was the man of the house, was put at ease and went back home to bed.

It was already eleven at night, long past her usual bedtime.

The killer stood by the door, waiting until all sounds from outside had faded. Only then did he tiptoe back into the living room and use the same ruse to lure out the second girl.

He killed her using the same method. The whole process was ruthlessly efficient, without a single wasted motion.

Then, the killer carried the sleeping infant out of the bedroom and smothered the baby with its own swaddling blanket.

Zoe Sawyer didn’t know what to feel—a sliver of relief that the children’s lives ended without prolonged suffering, or pure condemnation for a killer so cruel he wouldn’t even spare them.

They watched in horror as the killer laid the two girls on the floor, stripped them naked, and turned them facedown. He pulled another knife from his sleeve and carved two words onto their backs: "Go Die."

He then placed the infant’s body on the dining table. As he worked, he muttered, "Why does everyone else get to have children? Flaunting it in my face! I’ll let you have a taste of what it’s like to have your family line cut short!"

He placed the infant’s severed limbs among the dishes on the dining table.

The killer glanced around, then took the severed pieces and the bits of flesh from his knife and rinsed them in a small pot on the briquette stove. SWISH.

After finishing, the man looked around again, touching the large tumor on his own neck. He clicked his tongue in displeasure, then carefully gouged a hole in the back of each girl’s neck.

He remained meticulous, making sure not to get a single drop of blood on his clothes or shoes.

After confirming he hadn’t missed anything, the killer left the scene.

The moment the killer left, Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale were forcefully ejected from the vision.

Prepared this time, Heath Hale stepped back with his right leg, bracing himself and catching Zoe Sawyer before she could fall.

"We found the killer!"