February 11, 2013 at 7:10 a.m., north of Silmersay, eastern section of the Selmo Railway.

It's a cloudy day, and the bitter cold wind is coming from the north, burrowing into your neck and cuffs, making you shiver. People from the police station wandered the railroad tracks, and children's clothes were scattered on the nearby gravel road.

It's a wilderness, far from the city, and only a gravel-paved path can reach it. The railroad is close to the hillside, surrounded by fields and towering weeds, and beyond that is a tunnel from which the train comes out.

A young man in his twenties crouched on the railroad tracks, examining a child corpse in front of him. He has grayish-blue eyes, wears a brown jacket, and has slightly curly hair.

"Kane! Did you find anything? The police chief, Gleick, walked over to the young man and asked, "Oh my God, what the hell is this?" ”

"The corpse of a child." Kane replied lightly.

The body was found by the railroad cleaners at five o'clock in the morning and immediately reported to the police.

The gloomy weather had stained the surroundings with a layer of gray, and the corpse was crushed in half in the middle of the rails, the bright silver and brown rust of the rails contrasting with the rotting blood on the ground, making the lump of flesh look even more disgusting.

"Vomit!!! Ah....." Greck retched as he clutched his nose, the smell of blood mixed with the smell of dead bodies, "Damn, I can't get used to this disgusting smell in my life." ”

Kane tugged the white glove upward, then reached into the halfway of the corpse, rummaging through it for a moment. Greck pinched his trigeminal nerve, oh my god, it was terrible.

"Oh.... My God..... What is that? Greck asked, looking at the blue gadget he was pulling out of his hand.

Kane hesitated for a moment, wiped the blood off it, and said in surprise, ".... A C-type battery? ”

A cold wind blew, making the scene look so eerie. The two looked at each other and were silent for a long time.

Back at the police station, the commissioner, Kane, and the rest of the task force gathered around the medical examiner's room to discuss the case.

After an autopsy, the deceased was a three-and-a-half-year-old male child with a total of 42 injuries, all of which were non-fatal. Blue or green paint was found on the left eye and face, and two No. 5 batteries were found in the victim's intestines.

Kane listened carefully to the elaboration, observing the corpse as he pondered the analysis.

[So many non-fatal injuries suggest that the victim died in chronic torment.] Swallowing batteries resembles a kind of master-servant abuse, in which the murderer satisfies perverted pleasures, suggesting that he has obvious sadistic and child-obsessive tendencies. ]

The medical examiner continued: "The shoes, socks, trousers and underwear of the victim were also found near the tracks, which were apparently taken off by someone and died before the train ran over him. ”

As the medical examiner presented the report, Kane glanced at Greck, his face furious, and his fists bulging.

"Have you identified the victim?" Greck asked.

"We prioritized the families who recently reported the disappearance of the children, and after PCR reaction and capillary testing, it was found that the genes of the corpse had a high matching rate with those of the Joneses, and it was determined that the victim was the son of the Joneses and his wife, Benjamin, who had gone missing the day before yesterday. Jones. ”

Greck knew about the case, and he happened to be next to the couple when they came to the bureau, the child's mother was so bitter that her eyes were swollen, and her husband was also so anxious that his forehead was covered with sweat.

"I swear to God, I'll catch this shit offal!" Greck said fiercely.

"Put the Jones couple case file in my office, now! Immediately! And you, you, go and investigate all the surveillance around the child when he went missing, and see if you can find anything. ”

After giving the order, Greck walked up to Kane's side, lowered his voice and said, "Do you think it's possible that 'Zodiak the Ripper' did it?" ”

"It's not like his style, the perpetrator has a very clear goal and modus operandi, and it stands to reason that he won't suddenly change the target group and make a mess of the scene, which is different from what is described in the book." Kane responded.

This was obviously not the answer Greck wanted, and he said angrily, "Maybe this bastard has suddenly changed his taste and wants to experience the pleasure of child abuse." ”

"How much knowledge, read less books, top students, that thing is about to wipe out your ability to make basic judgments." He patted Kane on the shoulder and walked out the door, "The mongrels in this world can't be caught just by reading. ”

Kane looked at his distant back and shook his head helplessly.

In the evening, Kane and his colleagues sat in a black car. The car was parked on the side of the road, and across the road was the most famous 'stubble bar'.

You can see many men with beautiful women in their arms in their arms at the door, the corners of their mouths are raised, and one hand is groping the buttocks of their female companions. Anyone who wants to get drunk or have an affair should try it here.

Kane pondered for a long time and said, "I've got to find a way to meet him." ”

The colleague glanced at him and asked, "Any good ideas?" ”

"Yes, it will cost me a month's salary."

The colleague tilted his head and teased: "It's not much, just don't go on a date with a woman next month." ”

Kane smiled, pushed the car door open, and walked towards the bar.

"Cody!"

"Oh! Kane! A big fat man standing behind the bar shouted at him, a look of surprise on his face, "What wind brought you here?" ”

Cody was the owner of the bar, in his thirties and forties, with a thick beard on his face, and he smiled a bit like Santa Claus. They both have big bellies, but Cody wears a plaid shirt and suspenders, and he doesn't have a flying reindeer.

"What kind of babes do you want? There's just a Czech chick in the store this afternoon, and her body and looks amazing! Oh! She said she'll be back tomorrow and I can introduce you to you! Cody stepped forward and asked enthusiastically.

The two have known each other for a long time, and Sylmersey is Kane's hometown, and they have been neighbors with the Cody family for a while, and the family is very hospitable. When Cody was seventeen, little Kane used to play on his father's farm.

"Uh.... No, I have something important to do today. Kane dragged him backstage to the bar and said to him after making sure there was no one around, "I want to meet someone, someone who walks in the dark with a hood." ”

Hearing this, the happy expression on Cody's face disappeared instantly, in exchange for a very serious look, and his brows were tightly locked.

"Are you sure you're going to do this?" Cody asked.

"We found the dead body this morning, a three-and-a-half-year-old child."

"I know about it, I heard about it in the morning."

"Greck thinks it was the 'Ripper' who did it, and he has been overwhelmed by emotion, and orders his subordinates to search for suspicious men throughout the city. It's a waste of police resources to do so, and I need to talk to the real culprit before he escapes. ”

Cody retorted, "What's the point of doing that? Like you said, this case doesn't look like he did it. ”

"I know, but all the criminals in the county are afraid of him, and he knows better than I do what those madmen think."

After some argument, Cody couldn't resist him, shook his head and asked, "What do you need me to do?" ”

Kane put his hands on his shoulders and said earnestly: "Put the news on the road and put a pot of on his head." ”

Cody stared at him, worried.

"Wow!! Wait a minute, you actually thought of using the agitation method to lure out that damn madman? Kane. Bryant, you're the crazier fool I've ever met. Peter teased incredulously.

Back in the present, Peter was listening to his autobiographical story with relish, and after drinking his coffee, he felt empty in his stomach, so he ordered another plate of chocolate-flavored macarons and listened to them as he ate.

"Uh.... I was young, you know young people..... Not so much about the consequences. Kane took a piece of macaron from his plate and said as he chewed.

Peter shook his head appreciatively and grinned, "Damn, I like your way of doing things, and if you had agreed to my errand, we'd have gotten rid of all the bastards in the world." ”

Kane immediately interrupted him, saying, "No, working with you will make me die young. ”

"Oh! Come on~~~"

The macarons on the plate were almost finished, and Peter picked up a napkin to wipe the scum off the corners of his mouth, and then asked, "So what?" Did you get your wish to see your old friend? ”

Kane nodded and said, "Yes, but I want to make two points." First, he's not my old friend. ”

"Second .....," he said, putting his tongue on his cheek and looking Peter in the eye, "no matter how many times he's seen, he's a damn bastard who can scare people." ”

Returning to the memory, although the passage of time has eliminated many uncomfortable details, the fear of facing the Ripper, no matter how many times he recalls it, will make him feel uneasy.

When he awoke, Kane found himself in a secret room, strapped to an old wooden chair, with bruises on his wrists strangled by the rough Aso. His coat and leather shoes were taken off, and his feet were tormented by the cold water.

"I... Where am I...," Kane muttered.

When he regained some sanity, he began to observe his surroundings. There was a light on the ground to his right, the only light in the room that shone so blindly white that he couldn't see the dark part.

In addition to this, he could hear water droplets falling from the wall on one side, making an ethereal ticking sound on the water. Cold sweat flowed from his body, and his instinct in the face of danger made him very sensitive.

"Is anyone there? Help me! ”

After a few shouts, Kane felt footsteps coming from the other side, and he narrowed his eyes to see a tall figure standing behind the light.

The figure was more than one meter eight meters tall, and he couldn't see it clearly, but he could feel that his figure was very strong and intimidating.

"Kane. Bryant! The figure roared, like a lion with bared teeth, and every word was filled with anger, "Why do you want to discredit my reputation? ”