Murder Call  

First Case: The Last Supper  

I overturned the entire world just to set your reflection right.  

—— “Sacred Legend”  

A cello piece drifted from the car radio, its deep and lingering melody like memories breaking free from the body’s constraints, filled with sorrow and despair…

At exactly 11 PM, the cello music abruptly stopped, replaced by the elegant and steady voice of a female host.

“Hello, dear listeners, you’re now tuned into ‘Heart-to-Heart Night Talk’… The theme of this episode is ‘Finding a Listener for Lost Souls.’ You can call our radio hotline to share your experiences…”

Most people choose to listen, only a few would call the hotline to share their unbearable past.

“Today, we have a special guest. I think everyone already knows who he is. Yes, he’s the famous criminal psychology expert, Teacher Mo Lin!”

“Teacher Mo Lin, why did you agree to our radio’s invitation?” the host asked.

“Your theme is excellent.”

Mo Lin’s deep voice came through the speakers, sounding even richer and more magnetic than usual.

“There are still many people in this world living in inner struggles. People need an opportunity to release their emotions, and talking and listening are great ways to relieve stress…” Mo Lin’s official response made him sound very serious.

At this moment, a bloody hand reached for the car radio, slowly turning up the volume.

After a brief chat, the host connected the first listener’s call.

Host: “Hello, is there anything we can help you with?”

The host only heard her own echo coming from the receiver, while the caller remained silent.

The other end of the phone was silent, only the sound of breathing blowing back and forth on the receiver, as if the caller was experiencing inner torment.

The bloody hand clenched into a fist, and a man’s voice sounded: “I killed someone.”

“…killed someone…killed someone…killed someone…”

Due to the reception equipment repeatedly receiving signals, the echo continuously entered the receiver and then drifted out of the radio, looping endlessly like a ghostly presence refusing to stop.

Receiving such a special call, the host was very surprised but remained calm: “I’m sorry, you just said… you killed someone… is that right?” The host, afraid of mishearing, confirmed again.

On the other end, the man’s voice came again: “I want to speak with Mo Lin.”

The host glanced at Mo Lin for his opinion, and Mo Lin nodded, indicating his agreement.

“You may speak.”

“Can you come and catch me?”

Mo Lin was a bit surprised, raising an eyebrow: “What’s the reason?”

The other party was silent for a moment: “You’re my last hope.”

Mo Lin heard the emotion in the other party’s tone. He knew the other party’s purpose was not simple.

“Is it really that simple?”

He spoke as if discussing a very ordinary day, as if what happened was just a common occurrence.

The other party didn’t reply for a long time, so Mo Lin yawned: “Host, please switch to the next listener.”

“Wait!” The man’s voice suddenly jumped out from the phone, like a chainsaw, cutting through the host’s already tense nerves.

The other party seemed very anxious: “You must come and catch me!”

Mo Lin: “How can I believe what you’re saying is true?”

“Check your email! The extraction password is 020721!” The other party’s voice was very excited, breathing rapidly.

It didn’t sound like a lie.

Mo Lin: “It seems you were well-prepared, so I’ll give you a little more time.”

His long fingers tapped lightly on the textured fabric of his trousers, then he said in a relaxed tone: “Check your email.”

A quick-handed staff member had already logged into the email and opened an encrypted link.

A terrifying photo of a corpse appeared on the computer screen, startling the staff in the back!

“What should we do, should we call the police?”

“Don’t rush, first inform Teacher Mo!”

Someone entered the room and whispered a few words in Mo Lin’s ear.

Mo Lin’s narrow eyes showed no waves, he leaned closer to the microphone, his deep features divided into light and shadow: “If I remember correctly, a week ago, the radio announced that I would have an interview tonight, so your murder plan started a week ago, you’ve been waiting for me, right?”

The other party was silent for a while, then said: “Aren’t you the most popular criminal psychology expert in the country? Catch me, and I’ll tell you!”

“Cat and mouse game, I’m not interested.” Mo Lin chuckled lightly: “But since you’ve called, I can give you some face.”

“I’ll be waiting for you!”

Before Mo Lin could speak again, the other party had already hung up, and the surrounding air suddenly became deathly silent.

The host was stunned for two seconds: “So next…”

“Hide well,” Mo Lin said softly into the microphone: “I’m coming to catch you.”

His tone was plain, yet it made everyone around feel extreme oppression and suffocation.

When the host looked at Mo Lin again, she suddenly felt that the man who spoke so amiably and was full of charisma had suddenly become unfamiliar.

She couldn’t explain why, just felt that the cold face looked mysterious and dangerous.

He seemed like a player hiding his true strength, more like a crazy hunter.

It wasn’t until he pushed open the glass door of the studio and walked out, closing the door, that she slowly came back to her senses.

Mo Lin walked out of the studio, showing no extra expression on his face, under the horrified or fearful gazes of everyone, he walked step by step to the computer in the farthest corner.

His gaze fell on a bloody photo, he only glanced at it, and had already memorized all the details.

In the photo, a woman lay on her back on the ground, her neck twisted at a very strange angle to the left, looking lifeless.

The deceased was wearing a tight short-sleeved shirt, which had been stained with so much blood that its original color and pattern were unrecognizable. The area above the neck was hacked to a bloody pulp, like a pile of chopped meat dumped on a mass of pitch-black long hair.

There were also obvious restraint marks on her wrists and ankles, indicating that she had been controlled by the killer for some time before her death.

Based on his experience, the photo was likely taken at the primary crime scene, the surrounding light was very dim, the ground exposed many weeds, possibly outdoors, and it was already dark when the photo was taken.

The photo was clearly static, yet Mo Lin felt as if the blood was moving along the direction of the flow, converging into a small pool of blood in a depression.

Sensing something unusual, he suddenly leaned closer to the photo, his narrow eyes squinting slightly: “Today is unfortunate, please reschedule this program to the next episode.”

When Mo Lin said “today is unfortunate,” it was as if he was talking about something ordinary, like saying “the weather isn’t good today,” his reaction was different from everyone else’s, making it hard to see what he was really thinking.

“It’s okay, Teacher Mo, is there anything we should do at the radio station? Should we block the news?” the staff asked.

“No need, send the photo to the Yanhai City Criminal Police Brigade.” Mo Lin said casually while replying to a text message: “I suggest you write an article and post what happened tonight online.”

“Are you sure you want to post it?” The staff, afraid of mishearing, confirmed again.

Mo Lin finished texting, raised his light eyes: “If you want to see the comments go out of control the next day, you can also choose not to post it.”

•

After the murder call was broadcasted, the Yanhai City Criminal Police Brigade received a report from the radio station, and soon after, the police station’s email received a photo of the deceased sent by the radio station.

The corpse in the photo was horrific, with the face so severely damaged that it was impossible to recognize the features, but judging from the body shape, the deceased was a female.

For a while, the police station was in chaos, the police tracked the mobile signal provided by the radio station, eventually determining that the signal was on a road leading from Fanzhou County to Xiaoxi Town in Yanhai City.

Subsequently, the radio station posted a side story about the murder call, catching the Yanhai City Criminal Police Brigade off guard, as it pushed the case into the spotlight, with countless eyes watching its progress.

The number of people forwarding and commenting on the post kept increasing, the topic snowballing, and in a short time, the post was trending.

Heavy Crime Team Captain Wang Yue listened to the suspect’s call with Mo Lin while browsing online comments, which were almost unanimous, with everyone hoping the police could solve the case soon and catch the arrogant and provocative killer.

Among the consistent comments, there were occasionally a few unrelated to the case, like [Teacher Mo is so handsome!], [Teacher Mo’s voice is so nice!], and even more outrageous ones like [Teacher Mo, come catch me too, I’m pretty and sweet and easy to push over~].

If it weren’t for the urgency of the situation, he would have liked to give these bizarre comments a thumbs up.

Wang Yue put down his phone, seriously listening to the call recording, trying to find any clues from the conversation between the two.

This case was the most baffling one he had encountered since becoming the Heavy Crime Team Captain. The suspect’s accent sounded local, the voice had no distinctive features, possibly using a voice changer, and beyond that, he couldn’t gather more useful information.

Li Meng also listened to the recording many times, still not recovered from the shock, even a bit dazed: “I’ve been a criminal police officer for so many years, and it’s the first time I’ve encountered a killer confessing by calling a hotline. How many heads does the killer have to squander, daring to openly provoke Teacher Mo like this!”

In Li Meng’s eyes, Teacher Mo was a god-like figure, never failing to solve a case he took on, and the killer’s actions were truly reckless.

Meng Lan finished her call, turned to Wang Yue, and said: “Teacher Mo called, he’s on his way, Director Zheng wants us to start the investigation immediately! Also, the image investigation team is in place, investigating road surveillance, and will cooperate with traffic police to screen suspects. Team One is all here, ready to go at any time.”

Meng Lan spoke quickly, her short, neat hair making her look very capable.

Wang Yue nodded, picked up his phone and leather jacket from the table: “Team One, come with me on field duty, I want to see how far he can run!”

With that, he put on his black leather jacket and plunged into the night.

[Author’s Note]

For those who haven’t read the first book, you can seamlessly connect because this book is a mini-series, focusing on reasoning with a side of romance~