Guess Who I Am

Liu Snake proposed a deal: he would tell me who I truly was if I helped him kill the Avenger. To be honest, his words instantly tempted me. The question of my identity, and the idea of killing that maniac—both held immense allure for me.

But soon, I realized this was unrealistic. My instincts told me Liu Snake was trying to deceive me. After all, even Fang Lin, who had lurked by my side for so long, seemed unable to figure out who I really was—how could Liu Snake know? And besides, how could I possibly be capable of helping him kill the Avenger, that madman?

I looked at Liu Snake with suspicion. But he was clearly a decisive man; perhaps he also realized this was no place to linger. He wasted no words and simply took out a widescreen phone from his pocket, opened a video, and began to play it.

As he handed me the phone, Liu Snake said, “Chen Mu, the reason I had Zhang Hu make such a big scene with the kidnapping and explosion was, first, to use him as a scapegoat. But there’s another important reason: to divert attention, to draw the authorities away. While the police were focused entirely on Zhang Hu, I paid a visit to one of Fang Qinghe’s private residences. This video was found there.”

Hearing the video was found at Fang Qinghe’s place, I became even more intrigued and watched with full attention.

At the very first glance, I was shocked. The video seemed to be recorded in an operating room. I saw an operating table, surrounded by several doctors wearing masks, looking very professional. Clearly, this wasn’t a hospital; it must have been a secret operation.

Soon, I saw the person on the operating table. When I saw his face, my mouth fell open and I nearly lost my breath.

Damn, he looked just like me—which meant he was me!

On the operating table, I was covered with surgical drapes, leaving only my head exposed. There appeared to be blood on my head, as if I’d been injured.

Very soon, my head was covered with a surgical hood, and the doctors gathered to perform surgery—brain surgery, though I had no idea what had happened to me.

Because the doctors blocked the camera, I couldn’t see exactly what they were doing. After a while, in my dazed state, I saw one doctor use forceps to extract a blood-soaked mass.

Seeing this, my mind went numb—not because I remembered anything, but because I felt as if I were experiencing it myself, as if that mass had been taken from my own skull.

At that moment, I suddenly saw a familiar face: Fang Qinghe.

He was standing quietly in the corner of the operating room, watching.

Just as I was trying to see clearly if it was indeed Fang Qinghe, and what he was doing there, the video abruptly ended. I didn’t know if this was where the video truly stopped or if Liu Snake had edited it.

I turned to Liu Snake in confusion and asked, “What does this video mean?”

He replied, “You have no recollection at all? The person in the video is you—so even if you lost your memory, seeing this should trigger something.”

I shook my head. “I don’t remember a thing.”

He continued, “As far as I know, in the medical field, many types of brain surgery can result in amnesia—lobotomy, hippocampectomy, and so on. But these surgeries usually leave severe side effects, and are only performed in extreme cases, such as with schizophrenics—they’re generally forbidden. People who undergo such brain surgeries often suffer from dementia, forgetfulness, and the loss of learning or memory abilities. But from what I’ve seen, you don’t fit that category—in fact, you’re very sharp.”

I was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted. “So you’re saying the person in the video wasn’t me?”

As soon as I asked, Liu Snake suddenly moved to my side. I instinctively wanted to dodge, but managed to stay still. He parted my hair and ran his fingers over my scalp, as if checking for scars. I’d never thought of this before.

Soon, Liu Snake said, “It looks normal, but if you had scar repair and hair transplants, it’d be hard to tell with the naked eye. Still, I can feel it—your scalp has had restorative surgery.”

I was stunned again. Liu Snake’s words overturned my earlier suspicion—so the person in the video really was me?

While I was lost in thought, Liu Snake said, “Chen Mu, as far as I know, you don’t have a twin brother, do you?”

I shook my head, and he continued, “Then here’s my initial assessment of you. You were once an Avenger, but for some reason you fell into police hands. You may have suffered a head injury, and the police secretly saved your life. When you woke up, you had lost some of your memory, but not to the extent of dementia—you were selectively amnesiac. Someone as dangerous as you would normally be held in secret or even executed, but you weren’t. That means the police probably let you go on purpose—they’re using you, hoping to take down the entire criminal syndicate.”

Listening to Liu Snake’s analysis, I was only uncertain about my memory loss—I couldn't be sure if I truly had amnesia, since I’d always felt normal and never had missing time. But as for the police using me, I had no doubt. According to Liu Snake, I finally understood why Fang Qinghe always seemed to trust me—it wasn’t trust at all. I was his bait all along, and he knew I was no longer the Avenger. He just wanted to use me to catch more people, and so he wouldn’t convict me, even deliberately steering me away from memories that might resurface.

I guessed only Fang Qinghe knew the truth; the other officers, even Jin Ze, likely had no idea.

While I was pondering this, Liu Snake said, “So, once this case is fully cracked, you’ll definitely be arrested. As for the Avenger, he keeps trying to make you revert to your old self, but you haven’t. The police are confident you won’t, which is why they use you as bait. But once that demon realizes it, that’s the moment he’ll kill you.”

These words made my heart leap into my throat. No wonder Xia Tian said he wanted to kill me. I seemed to be facing grave danger—no matter which way things went, I might die in the end. I was doomed to be discarded, whether by the police or the killer.

Instinctively, I asked Liu Snake what I should do. He answered flatly, “If you recover your memory, you’ll be an enemy of Dawn. But I know you probably won’t, which is why I’m negotiating with you. Your best option is to work with me. I’ll use you to kill that demon, and once he’s dead, the police will find it hard to continue the investigation. Then, I’ll use my connections to help you change your identity and start a new life as an ordinary person.”

Honestly, I was tempted. I didn’t want to die, nor did I want to spend the rest of my life in prison.

While I hesitated, Liu Snake checked his phone and said, “I’m out of time. I’ll contact you again tonight—think carefully about whether you want to work with me. Here’s my number.”

He entered his number into my phone, then left.

I sat in the private room, dazed for a while, then left as well.

I wandered over to the police station and saw Jin Ze and the others still busy. I told them I had a headache and was going home to rest, then left—not for home, but to a small hotel where I got a room.

Lying on the hotel bed alone, I thought over my meeting with Liu Snake. Clearly, he didn’t truly know who I was—he was only speculating. But his reasoning made sense. Should I collaborate with him?

Should I tell the police? But I feared, as Liu Snake said, that once I helped them solve the case, they’d discard me. Then I remembered what Fang Qinghe had said: even if it turned out I was once a criminal, he would spare my life. He must have known something. Yet, even if he spared me, I would never be free again.

In the end, I decided to keep this from the police for now. I’d wait until I figured out who I really was, then make further plans.

After lying in bed for a while, I woke as night fell. I went to the train station and bought a ticket to another city under my real name, creating the impression that I’d left town, then quietly slipped away from the station.

Around eight in the evening, my phone vibrated. It was a text from Liu Snake: “There’s new evidence to confirm your true identity. Meet me at No. 13, Swallow Cove, in the northern suburbs. Come quickly.”

Without hesitation, I took a taxi. I circled the city, switched cabs twice more, then finally arrived at No. 13, Swallow Cove—a small house on the outskirts.

The door was slightly ajar. I pushed it open and stepped inside. The lighting was dim. I was just about to call out to Liu Snake when I heard three knocks behind me.

I instinctively turned, only to see the door suddenly creak shut. At that instant, a chill ran down my spine, and a familiar sense of danger swept over me.

Sinister, mysterious, a fear that rises from within—this was the hallmark of the Voyeur.

The realization hit me like a lightning bolt. I turned my head sharply, and as I did, a pair of delicate hands, smooth as jade, suddenly covered my eyes.

At the same time, a calm yet mocking voice whispered in my ear, “Guess who I am?”

I almost blurted out, “Is it Liu Snake?”—but the words froze on my lips. Damn, his voice was exactly like mine!

The Voyeur—it was that maniac covering my eyes! He’d mimicked my voice in Jin Ze’s car before.

At that thought, I began to tremble uncontrollably.

He kept his hands over my eyes and slowly steered me to the sofa, making me half recline, pinning me down. I was like a puppet, like his pet, at his mercy.

Suddenly, he spoke: “Ah Mu, why are you trembling? Are you afraid of me?”

This time, it wasn’t my voice, but his own—a deep, magnetic tone.

I was too frightened to answer. He abruptly let go of my eyes, and I instantly saw him.

The moment I saw his body, every pore on my skin burst open.

I opened my mouth and, trembling, called out a name: “Jin Ze?”