Though Her Body Stayed Home, Her Heart Soared (Part 2)

"Gold Glitter" naturally couldn't follow them into the hotel. After Wang De'an and Zhao Feng entered the elevator, it relied on the faint sound of the elevator's operation to determine the floor they had arrived at.

In fact, the sound was heard by "Gold Glitter," but the judgment was made by "Little Apple" at home.

Although "Gold Glitter" can acquire a lot of sensory information, it doesn't actually know what this information means. Only after "Little Apple" makes a judgment and provides feedback can it understand and know what to do.

The elevator stopped on the seventh floor, and at "Little Apple's" instruction, "Gold Glitter" flapped its wings and also arrived on the seventh floor.

Then, just like before, they circled the building, eavesdropping from window to window.

Soon, "Gold Glitter" heard Officer Wang and Officer Zhao talking, located the room they were in, then jumped to the window, rested its head against the glass, and listened to what was happening inside.

"The food here is pretty good, isn't it? Whenever I have free time, I go there with my colleagues. It's authentic local cuisine, generous portions, and great value. It's really satisfying. The only downside is that the decor is a bit old." These were the words of Wang De'an.

The two first chatted about what they had for dinner, then talked about food in several different places, some interesting things from their university days, and the current situation of some old classmates.

"Little Apple" rested her elbows on the table, cupped her head in her hands, and listened intently to the two police officers' casual conversation.

Although the information they were discussing wasn't what she wanted to hear, she wasn't in a hurry.

In the past, when she sent "Gold Glitter" out to act as her "eyes and ears," there was never a very clear purpose; they were just allowed to wander around freely and casually.

This was the first time she had deliberately asked "Gold Glitter" to take the initiative and help her gather information, and that he had even found the right person. She felt excited, thrilled, and a little smug, as if she were "strategizing and winning battles from afar." She wasn't so concerned about whether she could get the information she wanted.

However, the two officers didn't stay catching up and talking about food for long. Before long, they finally got to the information that made "Little Apple" perk up her ears.

"What do you think of Guo Tianxiang's case?" asked Wang De'an.

"There are indeed quite a few suspicious points, and our previous guesses weren't entirely unfounded. What's most suspicious is that he repeatedly hypnotized people and always succeeded. According to the victims' descriptions, the method he used was very simple: just talking normally. They would even see some very realistic hallucinations because of it... Although the hallucinations the victims saw did not have the image of a 'Many-Armed Monster,' the way this hallucination was created was somewhat similar to how the 'Many-Armed Monster' appeared," said Zhao Feng from Citong.

"Yes, and according to the investigation team, Guo Tianxiang has no educational background in psychology, nor is there any record of him specifically studying psychology or hypnosis. His hypnotic ability seems to be something he was born with," Wang De'an added.

"However, there isn't enough concrete evidence yet to prove that Guo Tianxiang is related to the 'Many-Armed Monster.' We're mainly speculating about this because of Chen Tianhua ... Mi Qiao was once with Guo Tianxiang and appeared not far from where the corpses were found in Purple Huan Mountain," Zhao Feng said.

In a room several kilometers away, "Little Apple," propping her head up with her hand, listened with furrowed brows and a serious expression.

At first, "Little Apple" was completely confused by the talk of Guo Tianxiang, hypnosis, hallucinations, and special task force, but gradually she managed to piece together a general clue from the conversation between the two police officers.

Both officers have now joined a special task force established to apprehend the suspect "Guo Tianxiang," who has also committed crimes in this city and has several victims. Officer Wang, who is more familiar with the area, volunteered to come with Officer Zhao.

As for why they joined the task force, it seems to be related to a woman named Mi Qiao whom they met in Citong.

As "Little Apple" took out her phone and used the voice notepad to write down Guo Tianxiang, Mi Qiao, and a few other keywords, preparing to ask Xiang Kun about them later, she heard the two police officers talking about her. She put down her phone and straightened her back.

"Do you think that girl named Li Jun might be related to the hallucination of the 'Many-Armed Monster'?" Zhao Feng asked.

"No, I don't think it has anything to do with that girl. I've thought carefully about what happened when I arrived at the scene that day, as well as the footage from the dashcam in the suspect's car. The thing most likely to be related to that 'Many-Armed Monster' hallucination is the girl's 'guide bird' canary!" Officer Wang De'an said with considerable certainty.

"So... our main target here is that bird?"

"Yes, it's that bird." Wang De'an sensed the doubt in his companion's tone and explained, "I checked online, and there's never been a record of a canary being a 'guide bird.' Even the term 'guide bird' itself only exists in research papers, and they use 'parrots'; there's no practical application in reality. The fact that this canary could help the blind girl, Li Jun, get from her home to that small park speaks volumes about its special nature. The dashcam footage shows the canary behaving even more strangely; I've never seen a canary behave like that before. So my guess is that it reacted to the possibility that its owner Li Jun, was being threatened by the suspects in the car, causing them to hallucinate the 'Many-Armed Monster' and creating a lasting psychological impact and intimidation."

Zhao Feng wondered, "In this case, what does the hallucination of the 'multi-armed monster' mean? What is the relationship between the bird and it? Why did this hallucination appear in this city and then in Erythrina the next day?"

"We don't know for now. Hopefully, we'll have the answer after we see Li Jun's 'guide bird,' the canary."

"Do you think that girl will see us?" Zhao Feng asked with some concern.

"If we're talking about investigating the 'Many-Armed Monster' hallucination the suspect saw, then there's a 100% chance we won't see it. Even without that girl, Brother Li would have refused outright. But this time, our excuse is that we're asking about training 'guide birds' for your friend's school for the blind, so there's a good chance we'll see someone. I think that girl is a kind and righteous person; she should be willing to help. Otherwise, she wouldn't have reacted so bravely to stop someone committing a crime, disregarding her own safety."

Hearing Officer Wang's words, "Little Apple" chuckled a little shyly, then quickly covered her mouth. Eavesdropping on someone praising her was still a novel experience for her.

But just then, she suddenly heard some strange sounds through "Gold Glitter".

Inside a hotel room.

After bringing up this topic, Wang De'an casually asked, "By the way, is the school for the blind your friend mentioned actually there? Have you done any research? Don't give yourself away after just a few questions. Otherwise, not only will we be unable to complete the investigation, but we might also be arrested and interrogated by Brother Li..."

"Don't worry, I do have connections with a blind school in Citong. I just delivered some things there with my bureau leaders before the New Year. I often help them out whenever they have any difficulties. As for that friend I mentioned, hehe, you know him, didn't I tell you before? The one who works in environmental protection," Zhao Feng said.

Wang De'an recalled for a moment and said, "Environmental protection? The Sichuan girl you mentioned two years ago... the one who came to Citong to do environmental volunteer work? The kind and beautiful young lady you said you were very attracted to? Was her surname Wang or Huang?"

"Her surname is Huang," Zhao Feng said. "When she came to volunteer, I happened to help her out. On my way home from work, I caught two drunk guys trying to harass me, and that's how we met. At that time, I really admired her. I thought she was the kind of person who truly had ideas and ideals, much better than a common person like me. I guess there was some liking or admiration involved. So after she volunteered as an environmental volunteer for more than ten days and then went to our city's school for the blind to volunteer, I often went over to help her."

Wang De'an asked, somewhat puzzled, "So what happened after that? Why haven't I heard you mention her again?"

Zhao Feng smiled wryly, "Because she only volunteered at the school for the blind for five days before leaving, saying she was going to Africa with a friend to volunteer and protect wildlife. But when I saw the pictures she posted on her WeChat Moments later, it seemed she didn't even stay in Africa for a month before going to Europe, Switzerland or Sweden, I think? She seems to be in Japan now, but I haven't been in touch with her for a long time, so I don't know exactly what she's doing. As for that school for the blind, I got to know the teachers and leaders there because I went to help out twice. My former boss, Old Xu, also often went with me to help out later. Over time, our bureau established contact with the school for the blind, and the bureau leaders would visit them during holidays."

Wang De'an listened and also gave a wry smile, "This really is... I don't know what to say."

Suddenly, two knocks came from the windowpane, startling both of them.

Immediately afterwards, there were two more knocks, this time seemingly from the window of the room next door.

The two rushed to the window, drew back the curtains, opened the window, and looked to the side.

They saw that the people in the next room were also pulling back the curtains to look, but as soon as they saw the two of them, they pulled the curtains back down and went back inside.

"What was that? A stone launched from the construction site next door? Or something falling from upstairs?" Wang De'an looked up and peered through the half-open window, searching both above and below. He couldn't find the source of the noise, and the window wasn't damaged, so he closed it.

"That person next to me... seems a bit off," Zhao Feng said, frowning.

"What do you mean?" Wang De'an asked.

"That person's eyes... something's not right," Zhao Feng said.

Just then, there were two knocks on their window, followed by two knocks on the window next door.

The two quickly turned around, opened the window, and looked outside, but still saw nothing. This time, however, the curtains in the neighboring window were not drawn.

"He probably thought it was us making the noise," Wang De'an said, turning to look at his companion.

Zhao Feng squinted and thought for a moment, then said, "I'll go ask."

After saying that, he went straight out and knocked on the door of the next room.

After knocking for a while, a voice finally came from next door. "What is it?"

Judging from the sound, Zhao Feng knew that the person inside was standing behind the door and had probably already observed him through the peephole. He then said, "Excuse me, I live next door. I wanted to ask if you heard any strange noises coming from your window just now?"

The person inside paused for a moment before replying, "No, I'm sleeping."

"Uh... but I clearly saw you pull back the curtains just now? Were you woken up?"

"Don't bother me, I want to sleep." After saying this, the person in the room stopped responding to Zhao Feng.