Monster - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Power Bottom's Wrath

Just as Xing Meilu and the others were considering their next move, a sudden commotion erupted outside.

Yang Lian had been caught.

This surprised Xing Meilu, but there was no time to waste. After hastily arranging an interrogation, she and her team obtained the audio recording from the moment Cheng Lina and the female killer entered the hotel room.

Cheng Lina and Yang Lian had indeed planned a honey trap to blackmail Lou. Yang Lian had booked the room in advance, and Cheng Lina was to bring Lou there. Then, while Lou was in the shower, Cheng Lina would connect a voice call with Yang Lian, who would record it, intending to use it for sustained blackmail later.

"Cheng Lina told me this girl, Lou, was a lesbian and seemed to have a thing for her. She also looked like a rich young lady, a real big spender, so she wanted to give it a try." Yang Lian had been arrested on a bus heading to the countryside. He looked utterly drained, with dark circles under his eyes, and was clearly terrified. He trembled as he spoke.

Xing Meilu knew that a small-time crook like him was used to petty theft and scams; this was his first encounter with a murder case, which explained his state of shock.

The details of how he and Cheng Lina had plotted the honey trap were of little investigative value. Xing Meilu knew the truly valuable information was anything related to the woman named Lou.

This was the woman who had appeared at the scene of the serial killings.

After sending Yang Lian's phone to her colleagues in the tech department, Xing Meilu handed the interrogation over to Shen Fan. She immediately went to the tech department herself, wanting to hear the information firsthand. Saya, having nothing better to do, followed her.

Yang Lian's phone was hardly a high-end encrypted device. The tech department quickly extracted the audio he had recorded with Cheng Lina.

Perhaps it was the potential for salacious content in a honey trap recording that piqued everyone's interest. After getting Xing Meilu's approval, the audio was played aloud on the spot.

"She's gone to shower. Are we connected now?" The recording began with a burst of static, followed by Cheng Lina's somewhat furtive voice.

"I can hear you," replied Yang Lian's rather high-pitched voice. "Recording has started."

"I'm putting the phone in my bag, then on the nightstand. If you can hear anything later, do what we agreed on. If you can't, pretend to call me and say a package has arrived."

"Got it."

A series of muffled sounds and the rustling of fabric followed, presumably Cheng Lina placing the phone in her bag and then setting it on the nightstand.

A moment later, the sound of Cheng Lina humming could be heard.

The phone's recording quality was excellent.

After about seven or eight minutes, a voice other than Cheng Lina's or Yang Lian's finally came through.

Xing Meilu and the others in the room tensed up. They all held their breath, staring at Yang Lian's phone on the table.

"You should go take a shower too," said a female voice with a slight southern accent. Her tone was soft and tinged with a youthful innocence, suggesting she wasn't very old.

"Then wait for me." Cheng Lina's voice, in stark contrast to her earlier furtiveness, was now steady and confident, clear and bright—the perfect voice of a mature, sophisticated woman.

"If you want anything to drink, just call room service," Cheng Lina said with a hint of a smile in her voice, making it impossible to imagine she was about to commit blackmail.

"Straight girls pretending to be lesbians will be struck by lightning," Saya muttered under her breath.

"I'll wait for you." The girl's voice was somewhat muffled, as if covered by something, but her tone was still well-behaved and submissive.

An image naturally formed in Xing Meilu's mind: a seemingly naive and worldly-unaware girl, dressed in the hotel's white terrycloth bathrobe, sitting on the edge of the large bed. A towel was draped over her head as she carefully dried her damp, long hair.

Another long period of silence followed. Even though they knew the general outcome, the people listening to the recording felt a growing tension in the silence, a feeling no less intense than being at the scene of an arrest.

The girl was quiet. After Cheng Lina entered the bathroom to shower, she made no sound. Xing Meilu and her team were also silent, the quiet atmosphere allowing the officers of the Inspectorate to hear only the pounding of their own hearts.

Infected by the tense atmosphere, other colleagues from the tech department silently gathered around, curious to see what would happen next.

After more than ten minutes, they heard the crisp sound of a door opening on the recording.

Cheng Lina had finished her shower and come out of the bathroom.

The listeners couldn't help but picture the scene: Cheng Lina with her wet hair loose, wearing a thick, white terrycloth bathrobe.

It would be the last thing she ever wore.

Cheng Lina, playing the part of a seasoned hunter, must have worn a calm, veteran-like smile. She was attractive, possessing the charm of a mature woman, and her smile could easily make people feel fond of her.

After emerging from the bathroom, she approached Lou, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. The latter's friendly and pretty face tilted up slightly, offering a smile. Her small canine teeth and faint dimples made her look harmless and gentle.

"Your heart is beating so fast," Lou's voice sounded, still soft with a childlike innocence.

"Because you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Cheng Lina replied, a trace of nervousness in her voice.

"Then hurry up and hold me~" Lou's coquettish, sweet words seemed to strike a chord in one's heart. The moment the line came from the phone, Xing Meilu clearly felt the atmosphere in the room freeze. Some of the younger colleagues couldn't help but swallow audibly.

This girl named Lou possessed a bewitching power.

…

The recording fell silent again, save for the faint rustle of clothing. Xing Meilu imagined that Cheng Lina was kissing Lou at this moment. They didn't seem to be in conflict, so why would Lou suddenly shoot Cheng Lina?

During the wait, Xing Meilu glanced down at the recording time on Yang Lian's phone, then at her watch, mentally comparing it to Cheng Lina's time of death. By her calculations, Cheng Lina was about to die.

The recording resumed, and it was Lou's voice.

"I don't want to kiss you. I don't kiss other people."

"Oh, okay." Cheng Lina's voice was now audibly nervous.

"Have you really been a top before?" Lou asked next.

…Cheng Lina didn't reply, but in that instant, the atmosphere shifted from romantic and ambiguous to tense and confrontational.

Xing Meilu's nerves tightened. She shot a sharp glare at those around her, signaling them not to make a sound.

"You're so bad at this," Lou continued, her voice still youthful and soft, but now laced with impatience.

A rustling sound came from the recording. Since Cheng Lina was fully clothed when she died, Xing Meilu guessed it wasn't the sound of clothes being removed, but of the two of them breaking apart from an embrace.

"Uh… sorry, I'm a little nervous." The nervousness in Cheng Lina's voice was more pronounced. Though she tried to sound self-deprecating, her earlier composure was gone. "You really are the best-looking girl I've ever met. Isn't it normal to be nervous?"

"No need to be nervous. It's not like I'm going to eat you," Lou's voice sounded somewhat exasperated.

The recording went silent again. They must have resumed what they were doing.

But soon, Lou's annoyed voice was heard again.

"You lied to me! Have you never been a top at all?"

An image of Cheng Lina being forcefully pushed off Lou flashed through everyone's mind.

"Pfft…" Saya's shoulders shook as she stifled a laugh.

Xing Meilu whipped her head around and looked up at her, displeased, reprimanding her for making a noise.

Saya immediately pressed her lips together, but her deep blue eyes were brimming with amusement.

"I have!" Cheng Lina's voice came from the recording, though she sounded unconvincing.

"Your technique is awful. You can't get me excited at all!" The once docile and obedient Lou had become rather exasperated.

Saya crossed her arms, gripping the fabric of her sleeves tightly. She pressed her lips together firmly and looked up at the ceiling, the corners of her mouth twitching uncontrollably into a grin.

"Isn't this how it's done?" Cheng Lina also feigned annoyance, but the nervousness in her voice was now impossible to hide.

Cheng Lina had previously been imprisoned for fraud, so Xing Meilu was very familiar with her file. Cheng Lina was not a lesbian. But hearing Lou's question, Xing Meilu was also a bit puzzled. Although Cheng Lina wasn't gay, she was surely an experienced veteran. Even if you've never seen a pig run, you've eaten pork before. Weren't these things all done more or less the same way?

Why did this Lou care so much?

"No, it's not! How can you touch like that!? You don't even know how to caress someone!" Lou's voice grew distant, as if refuting Xing Meilu's very thought. Judging from the recording, she must have gotten up from the bed, preparing to get dressed and leave this liar.

At this point, Lou still didn't seem murderous, just like she was having an ordinary tantrum. A tantrum whose subject matter was almost laughable.

Sitting before the phone, Xing Meilu's back was ramrod straight as she listened intently to the rest of the recording. Beside her, Saya watched as both of Xing Meilu's ears seemed to perk up, thinking she looked like a little police puppy.

"Why don't you be the top?" Cheng Lina's voice shifted. A pro, after all. Her tone was now playful, indicating she had regained her composure. "Whatever you want to try, I can play along."

"I don't like doing charity work." Lou's voice turned icy in that instant.

"Don't go~" Cheng Lina's voice became soft and seductive. She must have grabbed or hugged Lou. Despite knowing her fate, Xing Meilu couldn't help but scream internally: Don't make her stay, let her go! You're going to die!

"Or, you could teach me… how to get you excited~"

Xing Meilu covered her face with both hands in an agony of second-hand embarrassment, her fingers pulling down the corners of her eyes. She had put a mask of torment on her own adorable, baby-like face. Beside her, Saya covered her mouth, trying to keep from laughing out loud.

After a moment of silence on the recording, the youthful voice with the southern accent spoke again. "Are you sick? Why should I let you use my body to practice your top skills? You're not even my girlfriend. Have you no shame?"

"Hey, you don't have to be so harsh, do you?"

"I only came with you because you acted like a super butch top!" Lou's voice rose several pitches, like a petulant child denied candy. "You're all looks and no substance, it's so annoying! Can't you practice your skills before trying to pick up lesbians?"

"Do you think just anyone with hands can be a top? What do you take tops for?!"

"Fucking dyke! What are you so proud of!? You make me sick!" Cheng Lina suddenly lost control. She screamed, the discomfort of pretending to be a lesbian already grating on her. Being so blatantly rejected was more than she could take, which was, in a way, understandable.

"…Forget it."

Suddenly, the faint click of a gun's safety being released could be heard on the recording.

The hair on Xing Meilu's body stood on end.

"I wasn't going to kill you, since your mutation isn't that severe…"

"Bang! Bang!" Two crisp, muffled shots echoed from the recording, followed by the sound of a door closing. Then, silence.

Cheng Lina had been killed by Lou.

Saya, who had been enjoying the spectacle, narrowed her eyes the moment she heard Lou say, "your mutation isn't that severe."

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