Chapter 21: The Things Beneath the Floor

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At first, when I saw the inverted character for "wood" not far away, I didn’t think much of it. I figured it couldn’t have been written upside down on purpose; it must have been an issue of perspective. Yet, deep inside, I felt uneasy—wasn’t this "wood" character just a trap set to frame me? Or rather, not exactly a frame, but the deceased had recognized the killer before dying, someone who looked exactly like me. Since he knew me, he left this clue before passing away. Of course, it was also possible that the murderer deliberately left it there.

But who exactly was this dead man?

His body was crawling with countless large black ants, covering his face so completely I couldn’t make out his features or identify him.

Then I suddenly remembered—I was still tied up. I had been drugged by Fang Qinghe. So all this—was it Fang Qinghe’s doing? Had Fang Qinghe committed murder?

As I pondered this, I suddenly heard footsteps. Soon, someone slowly approached from nearby—it was Fang Qinghe.

He carried a gun in his right hand and a large spray bottle in his left.

His eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept for days on end. It was the first time I saw Fang Qinghe look so disheveled.

He glanced at me briefly, then went straight to the corpse. He sprayed the body with the bottle, and soon the ants scattered everywhere—he must have been using insecticide.

The ants fled wildly in all directions, a terrifying sight. They swarmed in layers like a black tide, and even as many escaped, they clung tightly to small scraps of human flesh. It was utterly disgusting.

After most of the ants had dispersed, I finally looked at the corpse in detail. When I saw it, I gasped sharply—the scene was so distressing that even those without trypophobia would lose their appetite for days.

The body was riddled with tiny holes, bleeding from each one, as if countless steel needles had pierced through his flesh.

And when I saw his face, I was stunned once more.

It was someone I knew—not closely, but someone I recognized and even liked. It was Professor He, the same professor Fang Qinghe took me to visit at the psychiatric research center during the memory implantation of the deranged Chen Mu.

I had always thought Professor He was a deeply knowledgeable and enigmatic figure; Fang Qinghe seemed to respect him greatly. His status must have been high, yet here he was, dead. It was unbelievable.

After driving the ants off Professor He’s body, Fang Qinghe bowed sorrowfully to him. It didn’t seem like he had killed the man, though I couldn’t rule out the possibility that Fang Qinghe, as a major psychopath, might bow to those he himself had killed.

Having bowed, Fang Qinghe suddenly turned toward me and pointed the gun directly at me.

I was startled, but before I could react, Fang Qinghe pulled the trigger.

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I thought I was going to die inexplicably—but quickly realized there were no bullets in the gun.

Fang Qinghe struck his own head hard with the butt of the gun, as if trying to calm himself.

After a few seconds, he came over and said to me, “Chen Mu, I really want to kill you!”

I couldn’t speak, only whimpering softly.

He continued, “But I can’t blame you entirely. I bear a large part of the responsibility for not knowing when to stop. Our National Security Bureau also holds great responsibility—when we chose to execute this plan, we should have anticipated a day like this.”

I didn’t understand what Fang Qinghe meant. He seemed to be blaming himself, yet he never showed a malicious side. He spoke strictly as the head of the cold case unit and a member of the National Security Bureau.

Unable to speak, I looked at him with my eyes, signaling for him to explain.

He kept watching me, his gaze a mixture of anger and bitter disappointment.

In a low, hoarse voice, he said, “Chen Mu, why? Why do you have to kill? You can control yourself! If you killed Fang Lin, that’s one thing—she was a criminal. We could cover for you. But Professor He was a national elite. No matter how much we defend you, you can’t escape the law. And Gao Bing, Xiao Liu—the two detectives who died. Chen Mu, you have fallen beyond redemption. You’ve completely become that madman. No one can save you now.”

Hearing this, I felt he wasn’t acting. He probably didn’t know about the person who looked exactly like me, so he had pinned all these murders on me.

I shook my head violently.

Fang Qinghe then tore away the cloth gagging me and said, “Chen Mu, want to explain anything? It’s useless now. I believe that innocent part of you, but your twisted personality is out of your control. It’s gradually taking over. You’re no longer a first-time murderer; there are multiple cases now. Professor He is dead because of you. We must take extreme measures.”

I hurriedly told Fang Qinghe, “No, Captain Fang, you’re wrong. You’re mistaken. None of these murders were committed by me. There’s someone in this world who looks exactly like me!”

Hearing this, Fang Qinghe stiffened, then looked at me in astonishment.

I quickly added, “Captain Fang, I’m not lying. There really is someone who looks exactly like me. His name is also Chen Mu.”

Fang Qinghe furrowed his brows and asked, “Chen Mu, you know everything?”

I was stunned at first, but then realized—oh no, Fang Qinghe was pretending earlier. He was testing me.

He probably didn’t know about my contact with the other Chen Mu. He was probing to see how much I knew. Now that I’d exposed myself, Fang Qinghe might kill me to silence me!

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Feeling terrified and regretful, Fang Qinghe continued, “Chen Mu, it seems you’ve recalled something, but these memories have only confused you further. It’s these chaotic memories that caused you to lose yourself and become that madman. But that’s no excuse for murder. The reason I tied you up and brought you here today was to let you understand something—to let you die with some clarity as you face punishment. Of course, once you know the truth, you might not even get the chance to die. Professor He told me before: if you’re forced to confront the truth, your fragile nerves won’t hold. At best, you’ll go insane or lose your mind; at worst, you might suffer brain damage or even die from the shock and surging blood pressure.”

Unable to hold back, I said, “Captain Fang, what exactly are you saying? Please explain clearly. I truly haven’t lied. If you think I’m the culprit, you’ll regret it. The real murderer might still be out there killing!”

Fang Qinghe sighed and shook his head helplessly. His gaze on me was like that of someone looking at a madman. Soon, he said, “Enough. It’s come to this. Your fate rests with heaven now. You’ve already committed serious crimes. Becoming brain-damaged is nothing you can’t accept. It all depends on your endurance. It’s time you learned the truth.”

He then pointed to the inverted "wood" character written in blood not far away.

He asked me, “Chen Mu, do you know what that character means?”

I pretended ignorance and shook my head.

He said plainly, “That was written by Professor He in his dying moments. He wrote your name backwards. Professor He meant that Chen Mu has been reversed—that you’ve rebelled, that you are no longer yourself.”

Hearing this, I realized the inverted character wasn’t a mere matter of perspective; it carried this deeper meaning.

But what rebellion was he talking about?

Just as I felt confused, Fang Qinghe pulled something from his pocket and said, “Chen Mu, remember that thing we mentioned earlier—the thing under your floorboards at home?”

Of course I remembered. Fang Lin had told me about it. It was something I mentioned during a sleepwalking episode, saying it could prove my innocence, prove I was a good person. Sadly, when Jin Ze and I went to retrieve it, it was gone. We thought Bai Ye had taken it, but Fang Qinghe said he took it.

I nodded, and Fang Qinghe unfolded the item in front of me, saying, “This is the thing from under your floorboards.”

He pulled out an ID card—a military officer’s ID.

Seeing it, I was completely stunned. At the same time, it felt as if my head had been struck hard with an iron hammer. Suddenly, memories flooded back.

It was a special forces officer’s ID, bearing the name: Chen Mu, Southwest Falcon Special Operations Unit, Captain.