Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
6 p.m., the Golden City Police Station interrogation room.
Zhao Yu took a bag of cookies and stepped into the monitoring room that was next to the interrogation room. In the monitoring room, besides Zeng Ke and Cui Lizhu, there were also several leaders from the Golden City Police Station. When they saw Zhao Yu coming, they quickly moved to give him the best seat.
As Zhao Yu was used to such preferential treatment, he just took it for granted and didn’t even think to thank them. As he sat in front of the monitoring screen, he chewed his cookies and looked at the people in the interrogation room with a solemn gaze.
At this moment, Miao Ying was interrogating Xie Tongguo with the assistance of Wu Xiumin and Ran Tao. Xie Tongguo didn’t even bother to lie, but just told them all the whole truth. Hence, his interrogation went rather smoothly.
Under Wu Xiumin’s guidance, Xie Tongguo quickly told them how he had obtained the manuscripts, “Eight years ago, I saw the box of manuscripts in my neighbor’s basement. The door to the basement was open, and I was curious about what was inside it, so I went over to have a look…”
Although Xie Tongguo was young and handsome, his gloomy eyes made people feel uncomfortable. With this gloomy demeanor, he continued to explain, “When I was in school, I liked drawing. So, I was naturally attracted by the sketches that I saw on the manuscripts! I felt that those sketches were very similar to my style of drawing, so I stole the whole box! Then, I took it to my own basement and hid it. I didn’t think that the manuscripts were important, but are they?”
Xie Tongguo didn’t wait for an answer, but just shook his head and said, “Anyway, the family that lived opposite me never asked about the box, so after a while, I wasn’t even afraid that I would be caught! At first, I just liked the sketches on the manuscripts, but after studying the manuscripts for a long time, I also started to really like the stories, too. After all, they were very exciting stories about murders!”
Xie Tongguo then raised two index fingers as he said, “I especially like the book 11 Kills. It’s like the book was written just for me, as I just can’t seem to get along with others. In my primary and middle school days, I always got bullied!”
He shook his head, then added, “Actually, the reason why they bullied me was not because they hated me, but because they wanted girls’ attention and felt that bullying me in front of the girls would make them look good. I was like a toy that amused them… Nobody cared about my feelings at all. When other students saw me get bullied, they just laughed at me, and even the teachers turned a blind eye to what was happening.” Xie Tongguo seemed extremely calm as he recalled this painful time in his past. It was almost as if he were telling someone else’s story.
However, he suddenly got an angry look on his face and spat out the words, “Actually… I do kind of hate them though! In fact, this kind of hatred that I feel in my heart is exactly the same kind that Julie, the murderer’s daughter in 11 Kills, felt!”
Xie Tongguo’s eyes grew wide as he added, “But, at least Julie had a father who was willing to find justice for her! My father just lies in bed all day and needs others to take care of him!”
He sighed, then said, “During those very painful days, this book was my only consolation. I kept telling myself that I couldn’t die like Julie, and that I have to live! But, I also promised myself that I would remember who bullied me, and even though I knew that I couldn’t get revenge yet, I vowed that one day, I would kill them all like Paul, the murderer in 11 Kills! After all, they should pay the price for what they did to me!”
At this point, the room was absolutely quiet. Xie Tongguo’s words, as well as his painful experience and the psychological changes that he underwent, made everyone sigh. It was truly a sad story.
“They called me trash, and they even treated me like garbage,” Xie Tongguo recalled bitterly. He then smiled coldly and said, “They always used to pull down my trousers, grab my hair, or slap my face. They couldn’t even be a bit more creative than those silly methods! But, I determined that I would be different once I exacted my revenge! I used various creative ways that I learned from 11 Kills to murder every one of them. They really are the most wonderful killing methods!”
Xie Tongguo squinted for a moment, then added in disappointment, “It’s only a pity that I killed them off so slowly. You caught me before I could finish! I have to admit that this book might not have been written exactly for me, after all, as its hero didn’t keep silent like I did at the very beginning!”
Upon hearing this, the two chiefs beside Zhao Yu exhaled with relief. They knew that they were very lucky that the murderer had been arrested. Otherwise, the Golden City would have been in big trouble, having a killer on the loose!
Wu Xiumin then raised a question about the order of deaths. “Those people that you planned on killing later… Are they more important to you, which is why you were going to kill them last? If the campus bullies were your ultimate target, then… The people you killed earlier were the ones you met after you started working? Did they bully you as well?”
Xie Tongguo replied calmly, “Yes. Those people were also scum. They enjoyed bullying me as well! They were selfish little dirtbags, who never considered my feelings! In order to be able to afford my father’s surgery fee and support my family, I had to work a hundred times harder than an ordinary person, but I still failed to get the reward in the end, just because of those scumbags!”
Xie Tongguo pulled at his clothes and stared at the table without blinking. After a long while, he added, “Actually… I really cherished my job! I know that I’m stupid and not good at talking, but I really tried very hard at work! I just never understood why everyone was so mean to me!”
Although he was emotional, his eyes remained motionless and fixed on the table. He then said, “First, Zhan Jiankang hit me with his tricycle, and after that, without apologizing or saying anything to me whatsoever, he started to beat me up! Then, he even came to my company and made trouble at my workplace! He asked me to bow down to him and and kicked me several times in secret. After that, he filed a formal complaint against me! So, I killed him, and I don’t feel guilty! He asked for it!”
At this point, Xie Tongguo’s eyes were fierce, and his body was trembling. But, his eyes were still staring at the table, as if he could set it on fire with his fierce glare!
Xie Tongguo continued to explain the events that brought him to this day, “And… That woman lied to me! She signed the contract but broke her promise! Others might think that is normal or okay, but I was counting on that commission to save my dad’s life!”
He shook his head in dismay and frustration, then added, “Moreover, Sun Peibin is also a scumbag! He had a mountain of debt, but he still came and pretended like he was buying a house. He even hit me because I refused to help him!”
He then said, “Pei Zhi is also a very dishonest person! And… So are Qiao Xin and Wang Ling! These two are my colleagues, but instead of helping me, they were trying to get me kicked me out of the agency. If you hadn’t caught me, neither of them would be alive! And… Manager Zhao… And big boss Liu Qiang…”
Xie Tongguo became more excited the more he spoke about his past abusers. “If they hadn’t fired me, my dad wouldn’t have died!”
Xie Tongguo’s tears kept rolling down his face, but the others could not see the slightest bit of remorse on his face, only anger. The whole time that Xie Tongguo was speaking, the monitoring room was completely silent.
This was because everyone was shocked by Xie Tongguo’s angry words. No one expected that Xie Tongguo would have such a motive for the murders.
“You… You must calm down…” Wu Xiumin said, then looked at Ran Tao, who immediately brought Xie Tongguo a glass of cold herbal tea that he had prepared in advance. However, Xie Tongguo was too upset and didn’t drink it. Upon seeing his refusal, Wu Xiumin insisted, “Have a drink. You’ll feel better.”
After Xie Tongguo calmed down a little and took a sip of tea, Wu Xiumin asked him, “Was your father’s death the main reason why you decided to commit the murders?”
“Yes!” Xie Tongguo admitted without hesitation. “Before that, I had already made a careful plan! But, I knew that if I was caught, no one would take care of my father! So, I planned to wait until a future time to execute my plan. But, once my father was gone, I had nothing else to worry about, so I just went ahead and did it!”
