The utterly exhausted Lu Ren could no longer bear the weight of his drooping eyelids and slowly closed them, subsequently falling into a coma.
"Ding, the dark ritual is complete, superdimensional perception shutting down, time-space integration about to leave, all..."
The system alert in his mind was barely audible when suddenly, a cacophony of sounds reached his ears, with hands continually touching his body.
"We've found a car accident victim here, still alive, but not in good condition. Get an ambulance over here, quickly."
"Stretcher, stretcher!"
"Everyone, clear out, we need to circulate the air here, don't crowd around!"
He abruptly opened his eyes, staring blankly at the crowd surrounding him. Seeing several people in white coats around him, the taut string in his heart snapped, and his tense body relaxed before he completely blacked out.
"Ding, Silent Forest world event triggered, system verdict grants three threads of world qi, host receives an A-level evaluation, earning three attribute points."
"Superdimensional perception deactivated..."
...
...
Three days later, in a single-patient room of the Shu Capital's First People's Hospital.
"Shocking!! The statue within the Earth God Temple in Wenhou District, Shu Capital, suddenly started speaking..."
"Major incident! Police are on the lookout for a tall, foreign-looking man clad in armor in Luo River, who was shouting 'Where is my Demacia?' with a large drawn greatsword in hand, before suddenly disappearing!"
"Astonishing! The mirage becomes reality!! Someone actually did this..."
"I was stunned after watching; a famous martial path master knocked dozens to the ground with one palm, actually..."
"You must see this; a hiker captured such scenes deep within Kunlun Mountain..."
Lu Ren, leaning against his hospital bed, put down his phone as he noticed a man and a woman, two police officers, appear in front of him.
"Lu Ren?" the male officer asked.
Lu Ren nodded, "That's me."
"My name is Chen Wen, responsible for investigating this incident," Chen Wen said politely.
Could it be that his deeds were exposed? No, definitely not, those people were all turned to ash, it was self-defense. Wait, if I say I had a time-lapse and came back, will they think I'm crazy?!
Even with his mind filled with rich internal drama, Lu Ren remained calm, "Officer Chen, feel free to ask any questions you have, I'll tell you whatever I know."
Chen Wen nodded, and the silent woman officer beside him turned on a voice recorder.
"According to our investigation, around six o'clock on the evening of February 27, 2021, surveillance captured you, Wang Gang, Zhang Qingya, and Luo Zixuan suddenly disappearing for a period while passing through the Du Ya Pass Tunnel. Where did you go during this time?"
Lu Ren asked back, "How long were we missing?"
Chen Wen hesitated for a moment, as he hadn't encountered someone questioning the police before. Checking the notes in his hand, he answered, "You disappeared for almost seven hours."
"To be exact, six hours and thirty-seven minutes," the female officer added.
Chen Wen continued, "Then, the footage showed your car speeding out of the tunnel at over two hundred miles per hour, crashing through the guardrail, and into the hillside beside."
Two hundred miles?
Lu Ren couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows. He didn't have any memory of it, only vaguely hearing voices as he fell asleep.
Chen Wen's expression was somewhat odd, "As of now, you're still alive, but the other three companions of yours are missing."
At this, his gaze became piercing as he stared directly at Lu Ren, "We found many injuries on your body; your ribs, back, cheeks, and eye sockets all bear signs of heavy blows, definitively indicating traces of being attacked."
Chen Wen placed both hands on the bed's railing, leaning slightly forward, "Moreover, the bloodstains on your clothes aren't yours. DNA comparisons show they belong to Zhang Qingya and Luo Zixuan. The tissue fragments extracted from your nails indicate you fought with Wang Gang. The injury at the tiger's mouth of your hand suggests you wielded a long-handled weapon, killing Wang Gang, Zhang Qingya, and Luo Zixuan.
After investigation, we found no fatal conflicts among the four of you, and you seemed on good terms back in school. This trip was to climb Mount Emei. What happened during that time?"
Chen Wen asked with an imposing tone, "What's baffling me most is that at least three of your injuries were inflicted at least three days before you exited the tunnel. Your body bears wounds old and new. How were these caused?"
Danger!!!
The word loomed large in Lu Ren's mind; the evidence extracted from him was enough for a death sentence!
"Also, where did their bodies go?" Chen Wen nonchalantly pressed on.
Seeing Lu Ren remain silent, Chen Wen nonchalantly said, "This is to formally notify you; the police deem you a suspect and will initiate a public prosecution. If you cooperate, you might obtain some form of compensation. Lu Ren, you're currently heavily suspected of personally killing three people and hiding the corpses."
Hearing himself prematurely sentenced to death, Lu Ren finally raised his head, glancing at the two officers. Though Chen Wen appeared indifferent and businesslike, there was a hint of contempt and loathing in his eyes.
The female officer beside him seemed to regard him as a murderous madman, her vigilant gaze openly brimming with disdain.
These two are really people who hate evil as if it were a personal enemy!
Lu Ren calmly stated, "Officer Chen, you say I killed them, so where are the bodies?"
Chen Wen's eyes flashed, "Where did you hide them?"
"Ding, Chen Wen employed a fishing tactic to capture your attention."
Lu Ren: "..."
Lu Ren did not respond directly, "You should have thoroughly searched the entire Du Ya Pass Tunnel, perhaps even dug three feet deep, yet found no one, right?"
Lu Ren phrased his words cautiously, knowing they were trying to lead him into admitting Wang Gang and the others were already dead. Once confirmed, he would be doomed.
Fishing enforcement is unacceptable!!!
Observing Lu Ren's extremely calm demeanor, the two officers exchanged a glance, simultaneously labeling Lu Ren in their minds.
A remarkably calm serial killer with exceptionally high psychological resilience.
Lu Ren continued, "Officer Chen, you mentioned we disappeared in the Du Ya Pass Tunnel for a full eight hours. Is there no surveillance inside the Du Ya Pass Tunnel?"
Before Chen Wen could respond, Lu Ren said, "I've checked the records before. It seems that a range earthquake occurred a few days ago near the Du Ya Pass area, disrupting the underground lines, which were under repair, so there's no surveillance within the tunnel. It was inside the tunnel where Wang Gang and the others ambushed me. I fought back desperately and managed to escape, though in my disorientated state, I inadvertently drove at over two hundred miles per hour, crashing out onto the nearby hillside."
Lu Ren stared directly at Chen Wen and his colleague.