Both murders had taken place in Dongshui City.
And both had been premeditated killings. Ordinary people did not have the nerve for that unless they no longer wanted to live in this peaceful place.
Wenren Sheng went to inspect the first crime scene. It was an art studio—the murderer really was a painter, and his targets were his own students.
Two patrol officers explained what had happened.
The murderer had lured the students to the studio, then used hallucinogenic gas to knock them out. Just as he was preparing to paint, the city management system caught him, and the two officers rushed over to deal with it.
The murderer was currently tied to a pillar. When he saw Wenren Sheng, he immediately began babbling:
"It wasn't me, it wasn't me. Something bizarre and indescribable appeared in my mind. It had many eyes, writhing tentacles, and slick skin. All of a sudden, I thought one of my students looked like part of that monster, and inspiration for a painting came to me."
The painter, in his forties, had bloodshot eyes. Halfway through, he began shouting madly again. "That would definitely be a peerless masterpiece! That inspiration cannot be wasted. As long as I paint her expression in death into it, paint it in, it will absolutely become a masterpiece passed down through the ages!"
"Such a sacrifice is entirely worth it for art!"
The students in the studio, both male and female, had only just woken up. Seeing their teacher in such a crazed state, they all fell silent in terror, huddling together behind Wenren Sheng.
"Oh, I see. You have no right to take someone else's life. If you want to paint that kind of picture, you should sacrifice yourself instead," Wenren Sheng said, shaking his head.
"I certainly will