Seeing his first strike hadn't fully succeeded, the man swung his hammer again. You Mingxu, already knocked to the floor, swiftly rolled beneath the counter. His Iron Hammer smashed into the wooden surface with a crash, splintering it downward.
You Mingxu jerked her head up. In the pale moonlight, Deng Yao stood holding the hammer, shirtless, his bear-like muscles bulging. His face was twisted with savage excitement—the gaze of a predator fixated on its prey.
He was the one.
The man who ambushed young women in the darkness, repeatedly tortured and assaulted them, then meticulously shattered their bones with a hammer as if crafting personal artworks before folding them into boxes and discarding them in remote locations.
A man who had lived in silence for years, rooted at society's bottom, hiding in a foul-smelling room, dependent on his parents—a dull, unresponsive man.
You Mingxu clenched her jaw, about to lunge at his legs, but before she could move, a sharp pain shot through her back. She knew it was bad. Glancing up at Fan Jia's dangling hand, she felt a sting in her eyes. She turned and scrambled toward the door.
Deng Yao discarded the hammer, tore away the counter she'd hidden under with both hands, and pounced. He seized one of her ankles—his grip like a vise, threatening to snap it. Gritting her teeth, You Mingxu twisted around, but the movement aggravated her back injury. She kicked him in the head. He didn't flinch. A kick from You Mingxu was no light matter, yet he seemed unaffected, grabbing her other foot and dragging her out from under the table before lunging again.
You Mingxu twisted aside, evading him. He stumbled past. In that split second, his brute strength revealed its weakness—clumsiness. A surge of fierce resolve ignited in her. She leaped onto his back like a monkey, scrambling up to straddle his shoulders, locking her legs around his neck to choke him while pounding her fists repeatedly against his Temple.
Deng Yao grunted in pain, his face turning crimson, eyes swelling from the blows. Dizzy, he staggered in circles. You Mingxu nearly lost her grip but clung on desperately, landing several more punches. Unable to shake her off, he grabbed her legs and thrashed violently. Pain wracked her body, trembling uncontrollably, yet she refused to let go. She knew this stalemate would end in mutual destruction—it was a test of endurance. She had to wait for even the slightest chance to deliver a fatal blow.
A dull thud struck You Mingxu from behind—an iron rod. Her limbs went limp instantly. Sensing her weakness, Deng Yao flung her to the ground. She landed like a rag doll, vision blurring, struggling to draw breath.
Something cold looped around her neck and yanked backward. You Mingxu jolted awake, clawing at it, but it was too late. The rope tightened, strangling her throat. She scrabbled frantically behind her, finding nothing.
Then she saw an inverted face.
Wrinkled, aged like stagnant water. She saw the white hair at his temples, the dead-fish eyes. His expression was nearly blank, yet the rope in his hands continued to tighten.
So that was the owner of the fingerprint.At this critical moment, such thoughts still flashed through You Mingxu's mind. The father and son had hidden themselves in an inconspicuous butcher shop deep within the bustling city, concealed within this deep slaughterhouse. A seriously ill and paralyzed elderly wife, a single son whom no one respected. They abducted lone girls to become sacrifices in their lives.
You Mingxu had no strength left in her body, and her vision was gradually blurring. In her dazed state, she saw Deng Yao's iron tower-like figure slowly approaching. He raised the Iron Hammer in his hand toward her.
Just one strike.
Just one strike, and she would be like them—skull shattered, falling straight into hell.
Strangely, at this moment, You Mingxu didn't feel much fear; her mind was completely calm. She knew she had no chance of survival—if death came, then so be it. Yet her gaze finally fell on Fan Jia nearby, and she felt immense sorrow, like a giant beast in the deep night, about to devour her whole.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Fan Jia. I'll die with you, I'll go with you.
And yet...
A handsome, vivid face appeared before her eyes. In that instant, countless versions of Yin Feng seemed to rush toward her simultaneously. The bewildered child crawling out of the sleeping bag, the aggrieved guy sitting in her building's hallway, the lonely man surrounded by reasoning walls, his eyes full of joy after their kiss, and finally, her resting on his arm, refusing to look at him. He held her gently from behind, actually already embracing her completely...
You Mingxu's tears fell, feeling only an explosive pain throughout her chest. This is terrible, she thought, this is terrible. When he learns I'm dead, how he'll cry. You Yingjun will have no companion left. But I, but I already have one foot in hell, I can't climb out anymore. I can't even breathe properly anymore.
The intense pain and suffocation made You Mingxu even weaker. Her hands feebly clawed at the ground.
I'm sorry, Yin Feng. That was all she had time to think.
From now on, you'll have no one to protect. You Mingxu is useless—couldn't even save her own comrade, and got herself killed too.
If I die, I die. If I'm gone, I'm gone.
You damn well better take care of yourself. Probably once you regain your memories...
You won't suffer because of me anymore.
But why, why do I feel so much pain, as if my heart is being torn apart, never to find peace again?
As Deng Yao's Iron Hammer fell, You Mingxu closed her eyes.
——
When Yin Feng finished administering the lie detector test to Fu Wenxiu and walked out of the interrogation room, the sky outside was still pitch black. He stared blankly at the empty corridor for a moment.
Fu Wenxiu had passed the lie detector test—he wasn't the one they were looking for.
But where had A Xu gone?
Yin Feng's phone had been on silent during the test. He took it out, frowned deeply, turned around and went downstairs. Somehow, he found himself running.
His car was still parked in the police station courtyard, delivered earlier by Chen Feng. Afraid of upsetting You Mingxu, Yin Feng never brought his own people to the police station. He drove alone to the Deng residence, pulling out his phone on the way and scrolling to You Mingxu's number. After hesitating for a moment, he put it down and instead called Xu Mengshan, requesting emergency backup.When Yin Feng got out of the car and ran to the entrance of the alley where the Deng family lived, he suddenly heard a sharp, miserable scream coming from the Deng residence. The voice was distorted, but he could still tell it was You Mingxu's. Yin Feng felt his entire chest tremble, and his nose began to sting. He frantically rushed to the Deng family's door, but it wouldn't budge when he slammed into it. He pulled out the lock-picking tools he carried with him every day, his eyes filled with ferocity as he glared at the lock. His hands were incredibly steady, and with two quick moves, he picked the lock and burst inside.
At a glance, he saw that the doors to the three rooms in the courtyard were slightly ajar, and there was a clattering sound coming from the slaughter room. Yin Feng dashed in with a single stride.
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