Chapter 1
[…Once again, we remind all citizens to be vigilant, the serial killer ‘K’, who holds thirteen lives, is highly likely to have infiltrated our city…]
[We hope all citizens protect themselves, and if anything is discovered, please report it promptly…]
On the old TV screen on the wall, an emergency news broadcast was being temporarily inserted.
The serious voice of the host came out word by word from the TV, mixed with the drizzling rain outside the window, it seemed somewhat distorted.
The rich night had seeped in.
The first floor of the small inn was shrouded in dim light, the light mixed with the night seeping in through the window formed a dark hue.
The man standing under the light gently put down the black umbrella in his hand, the tip of the umbrella “clinked” on the ground.
Rainwater mixed with a bright red liquid fell along the umbrella, a faint red color spread from its tip.
[The characteristics of the serial killer ‘K’ are: medium and thin build, about 1.82 meters tall, likes to appear on rainy nights, holds a special weapon disguised as a black umbrella…]
[He is keen to lodge under the name of a traveler, then brutally kill the homeowner…]Click!
The light on the TV screen on the wall went out instantly, the sound in the inn also completely disappeared, leaving only silence.
The increasingly urgent sound of raindrops outside the window became particularly noticeable.
Casually throwing the remote control onto the sofa next to him, the man looked down at the two bodies lying at his feet.
They were a young couple dressed very ordinarily, the dim light shone on their gradually pale and rigid faces, like two pale statues.
The eyes that had lost their luster still retained the shock and fear before death, the dull pupils reflected a tall and thin man in a black trench coat.
This small inn, which was not doing well in the small town, had welcomed a guest that night after a long time.
This weary traveler, who was said to be sightseeing in the small town for at least a week, was the only business they had had in several days.
When this young couple was hit by the sudden surprise, the emergency news suddenly started broadcasting.
The guest, who looked tired but couldn’t hide his elegant demeanor, slightly furrowed his brows.
He elegantly and swiftly raised his black umbrella.
Two living people quickly turned into corpses.
The light on the TV screen dimmed, and in the dim light of the bulb, the wide-open eyes of the two bodies looked increasingly terrifying.
“…I almost exposed myself. I didn’t plan to make a move.”
The man reflected in the pupils of both eyes frowned. His drooping gaze swept over the two rigid faces one by one.
The blood on the ground gradually began to dry up, and the man who deliberately avoided all the bloodstains withdrew his gaze from the two bodies, looking around, trying to find a handy tool.
“I rarely take lodging seriously.”
After all, he would thoroughly investigate each target and prepare all the escape routes in advance. He wouldn’t make a hasty move in a situation where he knew nothing, almost being counter-killed by the male host who had good combat experience.
Thinking of this, the man straightened his collar that had been splashed with a few drops of blood. “What a mess…”
This sudden accident disrupted his original plan. Now, he had to clean everything up to avoid being tracked down by those useless detectives whose brains were empty and waiting for clues to appear, ruining his supposed one-week vacation.
Suddenly——
A hurried footstep sounded from behind him, accompanied by the overburdened sound of the old wooden board.
Creak!
It was as if someone had been startled and stepped heavily on the wooden board.
The man’s figure suddenly paused.
He held the handle of the umbrella with one hand and quickly turned around.
The blood-stained umbrella tip drew a swift shadow in mid-air, shaking off a string of droplets.
With the silent contraction of the mechanism, a pitch-black gun barrel appeared where the umbrella tip had been, pointing directly at the newcomer.
Then, he was taken aback.
A small figure fell on the staircase steps, his blank and hollow pupils meeting the man’s deep gaze.
Reflected in the boy’s pupils, along with it, were the bloodstains behind the man, belonging to his parents’ bodies.
…The sudden appearance of a child in this inn, which had no guests at all, was already clear.
The outcome that was about to greet him seemed quite obvious too.
The man gently lifted the tip of his umbrella.
“…Are you Dr. Filte?”
Just then, the boy who had fallen on the steps suddenly stood up, feeling the wall next to him.
His vacant eyes looked around for a while, finally looking in the man’s direction, just slightly off.
The boy’s trembling voice carried a bit of surprise, he almost stumbled down the steps, nearly falling again, before finally stopping, his hands firmly supporting the wall.
His vacant eyes were always looking to the side of the man.
“Mom said, if anyone can cure my eyes, it must be you! Have you finally come?”
“Oh?” The umbrella tip pressed down a bit, the man lightly raised his eyebrows in surprise, as if he had discovered something interesting, “How do you know I came?”
The boy slightly widened his eyes, smiled shyly, “I vaguely heard the voices of my mom and dad talking to a stranger upstairs, it’s been a long time since we had any guests here. Mom said yesterday that she had already contacted you…”
In the other’s silent listening, he spoke clearly, with a bit of pride in showing his abilities in front of mature adults, finally lifting his chin slightly, revealing a big smile, “——So, I guessed it must be Dr. Filte who arrived!”
Snap!
“You guessed right.” The man suddenly raised his hand and snapped his fingers, the black umbrella he held in his hand had somehow returned to its original state, the umbrella tip once again gently prodded the ground.
He laughed softly, “Smart little guy.”
The smile on the boy’s face seemed to become even brighter because of his praise, his melancholic eyes seemed to be shining.
“Actually, I thought you would arrive in a few days, I didn’t expect you to take the night bus…”
It wasn’t until then that he seemed to suddenly realize that the inn was overly quiet, he couldn’t help but sweep his vacant eyes from side to side. He scanned the two bodies lying quietly on the ground again, and also the man who had dragged the two bodies to one side and started cleaning the bloodstains on the ground.
The boy who knew nothing about this opened his mouth in confusion, “Huh? Where did mom and dad go? Why aren’t they here to entertain you properly? That’s a bit rude.”
“No, no, no. You misunderstood, your parents were very enthusiastic. Very enthusiastic.” The man laughed, his tone a bit strange.
As he spoke, he casually wiped off the last piece of bloodstain on the ground with the mop he had found.
“Probably seeing me coming in the rain late at night, cold and hungry, they insisted on treating me well, then they braved the rain and went out, this is really…I didn’t have time to stop them.”
While he was looking down at the bodies he had dragged together, thinking about how to deal with them, he answered in a polite, even elegant voice.
“…I think, you’ll see them soon. Very soon, I promise.”
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