Anomaly

After hearing this, Qi Xia immediately took out a lighter from his pocket, which was lent to him by "Xiaoxiao."

He ignited the lighter and reached out with it.

Officer Li was taken aback for a moment, then covered the flame with his blood-stained left hand, leaned forward, and lit the cigarette.

A moment later, he patted Qi Xia's hand.

"Phew—"

After exhaling a mouthful of thick smoke, Officer Li seemed to relax a bit.

"Comforting," Officer Li smiled, "Now I'm not afraid to die."

"What do you want to tell me?" Qi Xia sat down opposite Officer Li, looking at him with a serious expression.

Officer Li did not answer but instead asked, "Qi Xia, how did Tian Tian and Qiao Jia Jin die?"

"They were killed," Qi Xia replied without hesitation, "In the afternoon yesterday, they were brutally beaten to death by the owner of this lighter."

After speaking, he extended the lighter forward and placed it into Officer Li's hand.

Disappointed.

"Is that so..." He raised his head and said to Qi Xia, "Was there anything strange about the person who killed Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian?"

"Strange?" Qi Xia stroked his chin to organize his thoughts. There were too many "strange things," so he briefly organized his language and told Officer Li everything that happened yesterday afternoon.

Including the woman's peculiar physique and the baffling poisoning.

Finally, Qi Xia added, "By the way, I heard the 'bell' twice, once before she killed and once after she killed."

After hearing this, Officer Li raised the cigarette, took a shaky drag, and after exhaling the smoke, he said, "When the bell rang, I was right in front of that huge display screen."

"What?" Qi Xia asked, surprised.

"That huge bell rang beside my ear, making me think the whole world had exploded," Officer Li said jokingly, "Do you know what was written on the screen?"

Qi Xia then remembered that the screen would display text for no apparent reason, so he asked, "What was written?"

"I heard the echo of 'scapegoating,'" Officer Li said slowly and deliberately.

"Scapegoating?" Qi Xia murmured to himself, pondering, "Before it was 'disaster,' and now it's 'scapegoating'..."

Officer Li offered the last cigarette from the box to Qi Xia, "Want one?"

Qi Xia nodded and reached out to take the cigarette.

Officer Li used his left hand to light it for him.

"I knew you smoke," Officer Li said with a smile as he smoked, tossing the lighter to Qi Xia, "It's best to smoke when you're thinking, right?"

Qi Xia didn't answer but took a puff of the somewhat moldy cigarette after taking the lighter.

The taste of a cigarette becomes spicy after being left for a long time, and this one was no exception.

"I haven't smoked in many years," Qi Xia said.

"Yes, quitting is good," Officer Li nodded, "Quitting is good for your health..."

After saying that, he paused, and both of them fell silent.

The two of them slowly exhaled smoke, just like students who used to hide in the bathroom to smoke together.

"And the second bell?" Qi Xia asked, "Was there new text on the screen?"

"No." Officer Li shook his head while holding a cigarette, "When the second bell rang, that line of text disappeared."

Qi Xia thoughtfully held the cigarette in his hand, feeling that there was still something unusual about the situation.

"What does this all mean?" Qi Xia asked, "That bell is not a 'death knell,' but some other kind of warning."

"This question is for you to ponder," Officer Li said helplessly, leaning against the wall and smoking his last cigarette, "I'm just telling you what I saw. You have a better chance of surviving here than I do."

"Why?" Qi Xia asked reluctantly, "Why can't you survive here?"

"Because I'm a police officer," Officer Li smiled, raising his severed right arm, "I lost this hand trying to save Lawyer Zhang. I could have just ignored her, but I couldn't bear to see her in danger. But you're different, Qi Xia, you're not burdened."

Qi Xia seemed to understand the meaning behind Officer Li's words.

This man had always wanted to save everyone from the beginning.

His principles remained consistent, never changing.

These principles would lead to his death here.

Qi Xia nodded gravely and asked again, "You kept me alone for a reason, not just to tell me these things, right?"

"Yes..." Officer Li's face turned even paler, "Qi Xia, I have a secret that I've never told anyone. I don't want to die with this secret, so I want to tell it before I die."

"But why me?" Qi Xia asked in confusion, "You could have told Lawyer Zhang."

"Because you're like 'him,' both of you are liars..." Officer Li said with a bitter smile, shaking his head, "Although you're not at all alike, if you think about it, it seems like it's all part of fate."

After hearing this, Qi Xia took a deep puff of his cigarette and said, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

Officer Li stared blankly ahead and slowly revealed his "true" story.

For a full ten minutes, Qi Xia listened quietly as he told everything.

Qi Xia's eyes flickered, as if he had heard something utterly unbelievable.

"Officer Li... So you lied so much in the first game?" he asked, his lips trembling slightly.

Qi Xia had only felt that Officer Li's account at the time was a bit strange, but he didn't expect that he had maintained such a huge lie throughout.

"Yes," Officer Li's eyes turned red in an instant, "This is the biggest mistake I've made in my life."

"It's just a 'mistake'?!" Qi Xia frowned and stood up, the previous reverence for Officer Li was gone, "You conspired with that swindler to help him escape, but you lied to us, saying you were on guard at the time... Although I'm not a law-abiding citizen, the last thing I despise in my life is a corrupt cop."

Officer Li raised his head, and tears slid down his face.

"Yes, a corrupt cop..." Officer Li gave a bitter smile, "I wasn't surprised when I arrived here because I felt this was my 'trial.'"

"What?"

Qi Xia frowned tightly, looking coldly at Officer Li.

"Maybe if I die here, it will be atonement."

Just as Officer Li finished speaking, a loud bell suddenly rang from the distance.

"Dong!!"

Qi Xia turned his head to look outside, his face full of shock.

Why did the bell ring again?

What word is written on the screen this time?

Officer Li, as if he hadn't heard anything, reached out with a trembling hand, picked up the empty cigarette box from the ground, and then took out a cigarette.

He felt in his pocket and pulled out a metal lighter.

In Qi Xia's incredulous gaze, Officer Li relit the cigarette, a smile of relief on his face.

Then he slowly lowered his head and seemed to mutter to himself, "Qi Xia, if I die, it's atonement..."

Qi Xia was stunned, looked at the perfectly clean cigarette in his mouth, and felt that something was very strange.

"Hey... Li Shangwu, don't die yet..." Qi Xia rushed to Officer Li's side, knelt down, and found that he was no longer breathing.

He still had the cigarette in his mouth, and in his hand, he held an old Zippo lighter.