Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang led Cheng Mu to carriage number 9.
Cheng Mu lowered his head and asked softly, "Can I be alone for a while?"
The two men didn't press her for details about the murder, so they collected her Fruit Knife and backpack and told her to wait in the guardhouse in car number 9. Zhou Zheng, who had been in car number 9, heard the commotion and ran out of his berth to see what was happening. He pointed at Cheng Mu and roared, "They brought you here? Did you kill my brother?!"
Cheng Mu coldly replied, "Yes."
In a fit of rage, Zhou Zheng was about to pounce when Yu Hanjiang grabbed him by the back of his collar with one hand. Xiao Lou turned around and said, "Your brother infected her with AIDS and made her miscarry."
Zhou Zheng stared in disbelief: "W-what?"
Cheng Mu smiled slightly and said, "Although you and he are twin brothers, you are not alike at all. I've heard your brother mention you... Zhou Zheng, treat your girlfriend well, don't be like your brother who juggles multiple relationships. If you capsize, you'll be doomed."
Zhou Zheng stood there blankly for a while, then lowered his head and stopped talking.
He had no right to blame the girl; it was his brother who had made the mistake first… Xiao Lou whispered in his ear, "You and your brother are different after all. Go find a psychologist and get some proper counseling."
After Zhou Zheng left, Xiao Lou thoughtfully gave Cheng Mu some drinks and snacks, and offered her a few words of comfort.
Cheng Mu smiled and said, "Thank you. Actually, there's no need to comfort me. I was already mentally prepared. For me, dying together with Zhou Quan is actually a kind of relief."
Her mindset was the same as Grandma Mei's. Grandma Mei had also been diagnosed with bone cancer and given only six months to live, so in her final moments, she grabbed Shu Ping's syringe and personally killed Li Zhemin.
In both cases of Red Heart 4, the victims were deserving of death, while the murderers were the ones who evoked sympathy.
Xiao Lou sighed inwardly and gently closed the door for her.
The train journey took a total of 72 hours, but they found the real culprits in the two murders in just over 30 hours.
Having solved the case ahead of schedule, with more than thirty hours left before reaching their final destination, the two were bored on the train. Xiao Lou suggested, " Captain Yu, let's go back to the room and sit for a while. You've worked hard these past two days."
Yu Hanjiang deserves much credit for solving this case. Xiao Lou was only responsible for the autopsy, determining the cause of death, and assisting in evidence collection, but Yu Hanjiang oversaw the crucial interrogation process. Captain Yu, as expected of a Criminal Police Officer, always managed to ask the most critical questions, break down the suspects' psychological defenses, quickly find loopholes in their testimonies, and thus identify the real culprit.
If Xiao Lou were to tackle Red Heart 4 alone, he would probably be completely overwhelmed by the numerous testimonies from the suspects.
The two returned to the carriage, and Xiao Lou thoughtfully poured two cups of hot water, handing one to Yu Hanjiang.
Thinking about the experiences of these girls, Xiao Lou couldn't help but feel sorry for them. She sighed and said, "I really don't understand Zhou Quan's thinking. He has a high IQ and a strong learning ability. Wouldn't it be better to use that intelligence in his career? Why does he have to harm innocent girls?"
Yu Hanjiang said coldly, "Some men have such narrow vision that they think they're great for deceiving a few girls, but they don't realize that by sleeping with girls everywhere, they've actually become breeding pigs who only think with their lower bodies."
Yu Hanjiang took a sip of water and continued, "I've encountered quite a few cases of crimes of passion in real life. Most of them are caused by infidelity. If two people are together and there's no love, it's best to break up peacefully. Some people insist on having multiple relationships at the same time, and when they fail and get retaliated against, it's really hard to feel sorry for them."
Xiao Lou nodded in agreement: "You can only say that Zhou Quan deserved to die, it's just a pity for those girls he ruined."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Don't worry, they will definitely get through this. Maybe this experience will help them grow and become stronger."
Xiao Lou felt slightly comforted. He lowered his head, about to drink some water, when Yu Hanjiang glanced at him and suddenly asked, " Professor Xiao, have you ever had a girlfriend?"
Xiao Lou almost choked and quickly coughed lightly before putting the cup down.
He touched his nose sheepishly, his ears burning slightly: "Ahem, Captain Yu, don't laugh at me, I've been single for many years. I've never even held a girl's hand, let alone had a girlfriend."
Yu Hanjiang was somewhat surprised: "Someone like you should be very popular with girls, right? How come no one is pursuing you?"
Xiao Lou almost blurted out, "I actually..."
I actually prefer boys.
Since starting high school, Xiao Lou has been receiving love letters from girls. He realized that he had no feelings for girls. When he looked at girls, he felt no passion. He just thought they were pretty and cute, like beautiful scenery that he could only admire from afar.
He prefers tall men and has been drawn to athletic boys on the basketball court since his teenage years. He's known for a long time that he's sexually attracted to men, but he's never considered going to gay bars to hook up. He's a very reserved person and has a phobia of germs; he wouldn't easily get close to strangers. For him to initiate a hug, he'd have to genuinely like the person.
Unfortunately, he hasn't met any particularly attractive guys over the years, so he's remained single.
He had planned to settle down and find a boyfriend after his career stabilized, but unexpectedly, an accident dragged him into Card World. In this world, how long one can survive is a question; talking about relationships... isn't that too much of a luxury?
Xiao Lou smiled slightly and quickly corrected himself:
"I was busy with my studies in college and with my career after I started working, so I never had time to date. Besides, I'm a Forensic Doctor, which isn't a very popular profession. People all think Forensic Doctors dissect corpses every day." He gently rubbed his temples, looked at Yu Hanjiang with some helplessness, and changed the subject, asking, " What about Captain Yu? Has he ever had a girlfriend?"
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "No."
Xiao Lou was about to ask why when Yu Hanjiang calmly replied, "The girls all ran away when I glared at them."
Xiao Lou: "......"
Captain Yu's gaze is indeed very powerful.
Xiao Lou suppressed a laugh and said, "I can imagine. Isn't it true that some girls mustered up the courage to give you a gift, but you caught them and interrogated them like criminals, scaring them away?"
Yu Hanjiang touched his nose somewhat awkwardly: "Pretty much."
It seems that Captain Yu also focuses all his life on work. Both of them are almost thirty years old and have no dating experience. Compared to Zhou Quan, who is an experienced scumbag, they are almost too innocent.
But Xiao Lou didn't think this was a bad thing. He preferred to be simple and persistent in his relationships, patiently waiting for someone who could truly love and stay with him, rather than sleeping around like Zhou Quan, who ended up getting a disease and harming himself and others.
Since the topic has come up, Xiao Lou couldn't help but ask curiously, " What kind of girl does Captain Yu like?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "I haven't thought about it." He paused and added, "My profession is risky and could easily attract retaliation from criminals. I don't want to find a partner who would make him worry about me. Plus, I don't have the energy to take care of someone, so I won't hold him back."
Xiao Lou was taken aback. She could tell that Captain Yu was a very responsible man who was worried about implicating others, so he hadn't found a partner. Xiao Lou couldn't help but suggest, "If you don't have the energy to take care of others, you can find someone gentle and considerate who will take care of you. Criminal Police Officers don't necessarily have to be single. I know some police officers who are very happy after marriage. There are actually quite a few people who support and understand this job."
Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou, his gaze deep: "Do you think I can find it?"
Xiao Lou smiled and nodded: "It definitely will."
Yu Hanjiang's cold expression softened slightly, and a smile even appeared on his lips. He said in a low voice, " Card World, who knows when it will end? As for personal matters, let's talk about them when we get back alive."
Xiao Lou nodded in agreement: "Indeed, getting back alive is the most important thing. We've only reached the fourth level, and just thinking about the King of Hearts and Spade K that's to come makes me feel like my brain isn't up to par..."
Yu Hanjiang's voice was unusually gentle: "If yours isn't enough, there's mine. Together, it should be enough."
Xiao Lou chuckled: "That's true, we've broken the world record for Red Heart 4 again this time."
Yu Hanjiang nodded and said, "We cleared customs too early. We won't arrive at the final stop until 6:00 PM tomorrow. We can't get off the train halfway through, and we still have more than 30 hours to go. With nothing to do, why don't we find something to do?"
Xiao Lou thought about it carefully: "Then let's just do our job as 'flight attendants'. I want to go back to carriage 4 and chat with the passengers, and also find out some clues about Sun City and Moon City."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Okay, then I'll go back to car number 6."
The two turned around and went back to their assigned carriages, where they began to chat casually with passengers.
Sun City and Moon City are indeed the two largest and most prosperous cities in Card World, with populations exceeding 50 million each. According to passengers, 50% of the residents in Sun City and Moon City are natives who have lived there for generations, and about 50% are outsiders.
Xiao Lou recalled the mysterious organization he encountered in Spade 3 —the " outsiders " they spoke of were actually challengers.
To the people of this world, Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang and others are indeed from out of town, and their habits are different from theirs. Moreover, outsiders can also use magic (actually, they are various cards obtained from completing levels ). When outsiders are mentioned, passengers feel that they are a mysterious group.
The two continued to chat with the passengers, but the passengers said they didn't know much about the " outsiders " and couldn't find out any more information.
More than 30 hours passed quickly, and the train arrived at its final destination on time at 6:00 p.m. the following afternoon.
Police, who had been notified, were already waiting at the station. Cheng Mu and the other six girls were all taken away, and Zhou Quan's body, covered with a white sheet, was also carried away. The police thanked the two train attendants and then drove away in their police car.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang got out of the car; they were finally able to leave Red Heart 4.
The final stop was Moon City. Xiao Lou looked around and saw a huge crescent moon hanging high in the sky. The entire train station was brightly lit, and pedestrians were hurrying to and fro, not much different from a train station in the real world. It was just that the moon was excessively large, probably more than ten meters long, and almost covered a quarter of the sky, like a beautiful poster drawn by a child on the dark sky.
Before he could think further, he was pulled out of Secret Room World by a tremendous force.
The two appeared in Personal Space and met Red Heart A, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.
The beautiful woman in the long dress smiled and said, "Congratulations on breaking the world record again. Many Challengers only find the murderer in a panic on the last day when they are about to arrive at their destination, and they can't even find all the clues. But you found him in just over thirty hours."
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, " Isn't the difficulty of the Red Heart 4 escape room too high? Two cases that are almost unrelated happened one after the other. There were five suspects in the Li Zhemin death case, and then there were seven suspects in the Zhou Quan murder case."
Xiao Lou nodded in agreement: "And they even covered for each other! During the interrogation, they told countless lies; our heads were about to explode."
.
Red Heart A laughed and said, " It's normal for Red Heart 4 to be a bit difficult, because once you pass the fourth level, you'll officially leave the beginner zone. Don't worry, the next level, Spade 4, will also be extremely difficult."
Xiao Lou asked incredulously, " Spade 4 is also very difficult? Is this leaving Challenger no way out? "
Red Heart A shrugged and said, "There's nothing we can do. Our boss set a rule for us: the elimination rate for the fourth stage must be kept above 80%. We can't send any really bad Challengers to the main city."
Yu Hanjiang frowned and said, "The main city? You mean, we can go to the main city after passing the fourth level?"
Xiao Lou then asked, "So, Sun City and Moon City?"
Red Heart A nodded: "You'll understand once you see the rewards for clearing the game."
With a gentle wave of her right hand, a brand new card appeared in front of both of them at the same time.
[ tool card: travel ticket]
Rarity: A
Description: A fixed reward obtained after clearing the " Express Train " room in Red Heart 4.
Usage: This is a universal travel pass for Card World, allowing free travel on any mode of transportation, including high-speed trains, airplanes, and ships, limited to the area between " Sun City " and " Moon City ".
Usable times: 5/5.
Red Heart A said, "This travel ticket I'm giving you will allow you to travel between several cities in Card World. The travel area between Sun City and Moon City also includes the two small cities of Bingzhou and Cangzhou. Whether you're traveling for fun or visiting relatives and friends, you can travel five times for free, with no restrictions on the mode of transportation. This ticket is worth at least a million dollars. I'm being very generous to you."
Xiao Lou smiled as she put the card away and said, "Thank you."
Yu Hanjiang asked pointedly, "After we get to the main city, will we have to keep going through levels like this?"
Red Heart A shook his head: "That's the normal world, where you work from Monday to Friday and have weekends off. But the Challengers are the opposite. From Monday to Friday, you can go out and earn money or travel freely. On weekends, you need to complete challenges at fixed times."
The two breathed a slight sigh of relief—it seemed they were currently in a closed-door challenge phase, much like military training before the start of the school year. After passing the fourth level, they could enter the main city and begin a regular life of resting from Monday to Friday and challenging themselves on weekends.
Red Heart A clapped their hands and laughed, "There's another surprise. Because two cases occurred in Red Heart 4, you'll have two chances to win a prize after a perfect completion!"