Chapter 111: The Madness of Lu Zuozhi

After listening to Tudeng Nima, Li Tianque felt he had basically identified the culprit. However, his suspicion remained merely a theory, and obtaining concrete evidence to support it would be incredibly difficult.

Where could he find such evidence? The research team at the hotel should have already started packing to leave; if there was any evidence they hadn't yet destroyed, it would likely be hard to secure now. Was there anywhere else to search? The scenes of the second and third murders? Li Tianque had already carefully searched the second crime scene, finding nothing of value beyond a few clues pointing toward Grandmother Zhuoma. As for the third, the fire had consumed everything, leaving little behind.

Wait. Li Tianque suddenly realized he was trapped in a circular line of reasoning. Beyond finding evidence to indict the killer, there was another way to expose him: catching him in the act! If his deduction was correct, the killer would not stop and would continue to kill. Li Tianque could prepare in advance and catch him red-handed.

With a plan in mind, Li Tianque let the three men go and drove Liang Zhichao to the hotel on his motorcycle. Ma Baoguo, having lost interest in the case and being exhausted from many sleepless nights, did not follow. Tudeng Nima, still shaken, stayed behind as well.

The motorcycle sped along. Upon arriving at the hotel, Li Tianque saw police cars waiting to load luggage, but they were empty. A commotion came from upstairs, suggesting something had happened. Li Tianque hurried up the stairs. Originally, two officers, Xiao Hu and Da Zhuang, were assigned to guard the team. Xiao Hu had been reassigned to track down leads on Zhuoma, leaving only Da Zhuang.

When Li Tianque reached the floor, Da Zhuang was using a square cabinet to ram the laboratory door. Others stood around, watching the laboratory with nervous expressions. With a loud boom, the cabinet slammed into the door. Dust showered down, and the entire building seemed to shudder.

Drawers from the cabinet scattered, spilling cigarette butts and trash onto the floor. Li Tianque walked over and asked, "What's going on?"

Su Wei, looking horrified, covered her mouth and said, "We were packing when Xiaoxue knocked on the door to ask if Professor Lü needed help. As soon as she knocked, a terrifying scream came from inside. Professor Lü is still in there—he must be in danger! I rushed over when I heard it, but the door is locked from the inside and won't budge. What should we do?"

"Move aside, let me try again!" Da Zhuang hoisted the cabinet to strike once more. The proprietress looked pained by the damage but didn't know how to intervene. Li Tianque stepped forward and stopped him. "Let me."

Though Li Tianque generally avoided displaying his extraordinary abilities in front of ordinary people, the situation left him no choice. He decided to use his power to breach the door. He pressed his hand to the door, releasing his cancer cells. The black, fibrous substance seeped through the cracks. Sensing the interior, he realized the door was barricaded by several heavy lab cabinets.

"There are storage cabinets behind the door, stacked two layers deep," Li Tianque said.

"No wonder! We heard Professor Lü moving things earlier; we thought he was packing, but he was actually blocking the door," Su Wei said anxiously.

"Do you need help? Should we call the police?" Liang Zhichao asked urgently.

Li Tianque frowned, feeling around with the cancer cells. "Proprietress, what was kept in the storage cabinets in this room?"

"Oh, I can't quite remember. Lots of useless things—thick carpets, old batteries, space heaters, fans..." she recalled.

Li Tianque withdrew the black substance. If the door was blocked by such heavy items, he couldn't move them by brute force. He tried the door handle, intending to open the lock and then have everyone help push the cabinets away. Just as he was about to do so, another blood-curdling scream erupted from inside the room. It was very close.

If he forced the door open now, he might accidentally injure Professor Lü. After a moment of thought, Li Tianque decided on a different entry point. "Stay here and don't do anything rash. I'll handle this!"

He ran to Liang Zhichao’s room next door. Liang’s belongings were mostly packed. Li Tianque stepped onto the empty bed and vaulted onto the balcony. From there, he leapt toward the laboratory window. He was grateful his physical abilities far exceeded those of a normal human. As he reached the window, his fingers morphed, turning into hard, sharp black blades.

*Crash.*

He shattered the glass and grabbed the inner window frame. With a powerful leap, he vaulted into the laboratory.

The room was in shambles. The two wandering tiger beetles had been shredded. Their internal tissues were gone, leaving only empty, hardened shells. Professor Lü Zhizhi lay on the floor, convulsing. His hair was soaked, his eyes were vacant, and his mouth was agape in an unnatural, circular shape. Veins bulged on his forehead, and saliva trailed from his lips. Several crushed mineral water bottles were scattered around him, and his upper body was drenched.

Li Tianque helped him up and checked his pulse. His breathing was shallow, but he was alive. Li Tianque felt a moment of relief; Lü Zhizhi was the most critical link in his plan, and he could not afford to lose him now.

Li Tianque pried open Lü Zhizhi’s mouth and secreted a mass of black substance from his own body, slowly feeding it into him. Lü Zhizhi let out another strange howl, a sound so piercing it nearly shattered Li Tianque’s eardrums. Startled, Li Tianque stumbled back, but he quickly regained his footing and began searching through the scattered bottles. Before long, he found a bottle of powdered medicine and sprinkled it over Lü Zhizhi.