2025-04-21 03:28:56
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The Crime System It Should Be the Piano
Luke handed her the cola, capped and untouched, and watched as she turned and started to leave, disappointed but understanding. The case still weighed heavily on his mind, but part of him wondered what else this morning had in store.Looking up at the solemn, towering gate of Riverside Heights Middle School, Luke felt an odd heaviness in his legs, as if they were rooting him to the spot. The school loomed before him, intimidating and massive. Known as one of the most prestigious middle schools in the entire district, it was the place people would move mountains to get their kids into. And yet, here he was, about to enter.Jenna Dalton—who would've guessed she was a student here? She was in the eighth grade, no less, with the High School Entrance Examination only a month and a half away. Even more surprising was the reason she didn't want her real father to attend this parent conference. It wasn't because her grades were poor but because they were almost too good. As it turned out, Jen
The Crime System The Pianist's Edge
Fifty-three days. That's all they had until the mid-year exams. To be honest, Luke couldn't care less about the exams, but it seemed like a big deal to these kids and their parents. So there he was, sitting in a packed school auditorium, pretending to listen to Jenna Dalton's class teacher ramble on about strategies for exam preparation."Parents," the teacher declared, knocking the table for emphasis, "these fifty-three days are crucial for your children. Today, we're here to discuss how you can support your kids effectively and help dispel their tension." He paused, scanning the room as if his speech was life-changing.Luke glanced at the teacher on the stage—a white-haired, middle-aged man who was all too serious about his job. His mind wasn't on the lecture. It was elsewhere, consumed by the case that had been plaguing him. The Maimed Case.And then, like the universe was in sync with his restlessness, a cell phone rang loudly from somewhere in the audience."Ah, Hero, please chase
The Crime System The Crazy Guardian
For the first time in this case, he felt like he was one step ahead. Whatever the killer's motive, it had something to do with the piano. Now, it was up to him—Luke Sullivan—to prove it.He took a deep breath, staring into the horizon as the pieces of the puzzle started to align."Vincent, Priscillia, open your eyes wide and watch how I crack this case," he muttered with a smirk.Luke couldn't help but chuckle to himself, feeling a mix of confidence and amusement. "Hmph! It's their fault for underestimating me," he thought. "This time, don't expect me to share the wealth, either!"The eavesdropped information revealed that Priscillia's team had shifted focus to the older cases, even sending someone to Yara Voss's former residence to dig deeper. Priscillia seemed to be out of ideas, a fact that only fueled his determination.He sat down with his notepad, jotting down the latest details as the gears in his mind began to turn. One thing he was certain of: the Maimed Case had a connection
The Crime System Not the Person
Luke didn't bother answering Bella's question. As soon as the call ended, he plunged into the crowd. His eyes darted frantically, searching for the woman playing the piano—Shaun's mother."Hey, it's you!" he called out as he spotted her. Without missing a beat, he asked, "Ma'am! Quickly, tell me, when you participated in that Grand Piano Competition years ago, did you know Mary Nelson, Yara Voss, or Lisa Mendes? Any of these three people?"Her expression froze, and she backed away, looking at him as though he were the plague itself."No? After so many years, how could you be so sure right away?" he pressed. "Think carefully—did you know any of them? Were they in that competition with you?""I… I really can't remember!" she stammered, clearly rattled by his intensity. She turned away, trying to escape.Luke grabbed her by the arms. "Ma'am, what are you so afraid of? I'm investigating a case!""Hey, you there! Parent, I've been watching you!" a white-haired teacher barked from behind a
The Crime System Related to the Competition
At the vice principal's office, he showed his badge. The man was cooperative, calling in the file administrators immediately. They searched the records room top to bottom, but nothing. No participant lists. No rules. Not even a mention of the competition.One administrator explained apologetically, "It's been too long. The competition records weren't prioritized for archiving. The school's been relocated several times since then, so they might have been lost."Luke's frustration boiled over, but he bit it back. "This is a matter of life and death," he insisted. "Keep looking, and call me the moment you find anything."They promised to do their best. Feeling defeated, he left the building, brainstorming other solutions.As he stepped out of the main entrance, his phone rang."Senior!" Bella's voice crackled on the line, excitement bubbling in her tone. "How's it going on your end? I've got great news: I found the list of participants from Riverside Heights's tenth Grand Piano Competiti
The Crime System The Culprit is a Female
Out of ten competitors, three had already lost their hands. The eerie pattern was chilling, and it consumed Luke's thoughts as he sat across from Bella in a cozy seafood restaurant. She was multitasking like a pro, peeling prawn shells while studying the list of names with hawk-like focus."Could the culprit be among the remaining seven people?" she asked, pointing at the list in her hand."That's possible," Luke mused, trying to piece together the puzzle. "But if we're being practical, the top three can probably be eliminated. They performed well—why would they want to chop off the hands of the losers? Doesn't make sense."Bella nodded thoughtfully, her excitement visible. "That's true. Look, Luke!" She jabbed at the list. "The first victim, Mary Nelson, came in 3rd in the Grand Piano Competition. Yara Voss was 2nd, and Lisa Mendes was first. The culprit is following a sequence—chopping off hands in order! The most likely suspects are ranked below sixth place: seventh to tenth! These
The Crime System The Relentless Case
The sound echoed like thunder, and Vincent Parker stumbled forward, knocking over a stack of documents. His face went pale, and he turned to glare at Luke with murder in his eyes."You…" he stammered, but Luke was already doubled over in laughter."Relax, Captain!" Luke chuckled. "It's not a crime to scare you, is it?"Bella Lane tried to stifle her own laughter, but the moment felt like a small victory. Sure, Vincent Parker might have been a thorn in Luke's side, but he wasn't about to let him ruin his day—or his case.The clock was ticking. Somewhere out there, a woman's life was in danger, and the culprit was waiting to strike again. As they gathered their notes and headed out, Luke could feel it in his gut: this case was far from over.That night at 12:30, Luke finally crawled into bed, completely spent. Running around all day, from dawn till late at night, had drained every ounce of his energy. He never imagined that investigating cases could be this grueling. Back in his old lif
The Crime System The Past Chaos
Early in the morning, someone was banging furiously on Luke's door.Groggily, he stirred. He had been chasing shadows in his dreams, but now, thanks to the racket, he was half-awake, rolling over with a groan. "Who's that? So annoying…" he muttered, still unwilling to fully surface from sleep."Luke Sullivan! You! I know you're in there, open the door now!" a young girl's sharp voice hollered from outside, accompanied by relentless pounding.Through the haze of sleep, the voice registered. Jenna Dalton? Why on earth is she here this early? he thought groggily, glancing at his watch. Only 5:30 in the morning? Seriously?Suddenly, his mind raced back to yesterday's events. The parent-teacher conference. He'd crashed it while trying to sniff out a clue, stirring up chaos. He'd nearly gotten someone's mom to call 911. And poor Jenna Dalton? She was probably mortified after his antics had disrupted her school's carefully planned event.He meant to explain things to her afterward, but, as a
Latest Chapter
Hands of Justice
Luke understood two things clearly as the pieces fell into place. One, Lila's drugged gun wasn't some off-the-shelf purchase. It had been specially prepared for this crime. She couldn't have been sure that Sophia Young would go into the grave alone, so the gun was her backup plan. Ironically, Luke ended up being the one who got shot in the end.The second realization was more chilling. For years, ever since that piano competition, Lila hadn't thought about severing hands in revenge, even though she felt robbed. It wasn't until last January when she learned her mother had a terminal illness that her resentment boiled over. Losing her mother's presence, already so fragile, shattered her last thread of patience. Devastated, she finally gave in to her thirst for vengeance.Luke sighed deeply and said, "You're so capable, Lila. But why would someone with your skills choose something so stupid for revenge? You could've tracked down those suspects and forced them to tell the truth! Whoever h
Fifteen Years of Festering Hatred
Luke sat up instantly. Lila Davis? Wanting to see him? What could her angle possibly be? Despite himself, he was curious. There were still gaping holes in the story—mysteries left unsolved.After grabbing his coat, Luke made his way to the station.The interrogation room was just as oppressive as he remembered—dim corners soaked in shadow, with a single, merciless bulb spotlighting the prisoner. Luke had been here many times, but never on this side of the table.Lila Davis sat waiting, her arms strapped tightly to the interrogation chair. Her head drooped forward, long tangled hair hiding her face. When she heard Luke’s footsteps, she raised her head slowly.She wasn’t tall. Her face was sharply angled, her skin pale to the point of translucence. She barely looked thirty. If not for the crimes she had committed, she could have passed for an ordinary college student. Yet this woman had done the unthinkable—severing the hands of three victims."I heard you wanted to see me," Luke said,
How Luke did it
Luke Sullivan hadn’t caught the culprit through sheer intellect. No, he had something far more valuable on his side—the Crime System’s gift: an invisible tracking device.When he was struck by the anesthetic dart and had hovered on the edge of unconsciousness, an idea had flashed through his mind like a lifeline. The tracking device. Summoning the last of his strength, Luke had managed to plant it on Lila Davis. The device had been nothing short of miraculous—completely invisible. She hadn’t noticed a thing.Later, when he regained consciousness, the Crime System had activated the radar in his mind, lighting up with Lila Davis’s exact location. That was how he had found her.Still, he hadn’t expected her to be so cunning. Lila had dug a hole in advance, creating an escape route for herself. As Luke stared at the grave she’d hidden in, he couldn’t help but wonder: what kind of willpower did it take to lie there in absolute silence for days? No ordinary person could endure such mental t
Finishing the Incomplete Mission
Luke Sullivan was still drifting in a semi-conscious haze when the baritone voice of Vincent Parker sliced through the fog like nails on a chalkboard."You’re really something, Luke Sullivan! Such a major thing happened, and I’m the last to know! Do you even consider me your superior anymore?" Vincent’s booming indignation hammered at Luke’s skull. "Sure, I’m not the acting leader, but I’m still your superior! How dare you keep me in the dark? I’m no better than an outsider now! Let me tell you this—if the culprit isn’t caught, none of you will have a peaceful day!"Luke barely mustered the energy to curse Vincent out in his mind. The man’s voice was so obnoxious. Yet, as the anesthetic’s hold on his body slowly ebbed away, a more alarming realization struck him—he couldn’t move. His limbs felt leaden, like he’d been run over by a truck.“Miss Wendy, is Officer Sullivan alright?” a soft, worried voice asked. It was Bella Lane, and her concern was a welcome relief from the shouting.“D
The Close Attack
Hanging up, Luke scrolled through the photos again, searching for anything he might've missed. Then it hit him—the jars under Lila Davis's bed. There was an empty spot, clearly meant for a fourth jar. His gut churned. That jar was for Sophia Young. But where was it now? If it wasn't at her place, had Lila Davis taken it with her?A thought struck him like lightning. Why was Sophia Young even in town? To repair her father's grave. If her flight landed on schedule, she'd likely have gone straight to the graveyard.The graveyard. A secluded spot with no cameras and no witnesses. The perfect place for Lila Davis to strike.Luke's hands tightened around the steering wheel as he sped off. The clock was ticking, and the pieces of this grim puzzle were falling into place. Time to stop a killer.He had never driven a police car before. He didn't even have a driver's license. But Luke Sullivan from his previous life? A different story altogether. Back then, he was a street king. Police stations
The Unknown Location
Luke had barely flipped his phone open when Bella Lane's vivacious voice burst through the line. "Luke, what a coincidence! I was just about to call you!" she chirped. "Lily Xavier's private life is a mess. I just saw her go into a hotel with two guys!""What?" he stammered, thrown off guard. He had meant to tell her about what he'd just uncovered at Lila Davis's house, but this? This was unexpected.Before he could gather his thoughts, she cut him off with a laugh. "I'm joking! She's there for a conference. Relax! Kekeke…"Luke sighed, cutting her short to lay everything on the table about what he'd found. The dismembered hands, the chilling clues—everything. By the time he finished, Bella Lane was silent, her usual spunk replaced with stunned disbelief."L-Luke! What do we do next?" she stammered.Good question. What did they do next? Luke wasn't exactly a seasoned cop, and an earth-shattering case like this wasn't something they taught at the academy. He knew they had to lock down
The Ladder of Vengeance
When Luke finally laid eyes on Lila Davis's detailed plan, it all clicked. The methodology was diabolically brilliant. If "vent" was the keyword for Mary Nelson's case, then for Yara Voss's case, it was undoubtedly "ladder." The revelation hit him like a sledgehammer. Lila Davis had used a retractable ladder to bridge the five-meter gap between the building next to Yara Voss's apartment and her home. This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment crime; it was a masterclass in meticulous planning. Months earlier, Lila Davis had scouted the rooftop of the adjacent building, stockpiling food and water to sustain her. On May 23rd, after severing Mary Nelson's hand at the stadium, she didn't return home. Instead, she disappeared into the bustling morning work crowd and made her way to the neighboring building. From there, she ascended to the rooftop and hid. Her entry was ghostlike. She hadn't come through Yara Voss's building but the adjacent one, days in advance. When law enforcement reviewed s
A Real Mastermind
Luke walked over to the bookshelf, his gut telling him this was where the answers lay. The books were arranged perfectly, categorized into literature, science, technology, and—interesting—medical science. His eyes stopped on a section labeled "Medical." Among the titles were books on anaesthesiology and human anatomy. Luke's heart raced. Could this be a clue to Lila Davis's connection to the Maimed Case? Reaching out for one of the books, he heard the old lady gasp. "Officer, why aren't you wearing gloves?"Luke stood in the dimly lit room, the faint smell of old books and lavender air freshener lingering. The elderly woman, with her worn expression and frail frame, watched him warily from the doorway. "I'm here to investigate, not to take evidence!" he said bluntly, waving off her protests. "Why would I need gloves? Don't worry, your daughter isn't a detective. She won't notice!"Ignoring her muttering objections, Luke grabbed a book from the neatly arranged shelf. The title read
The Secrets Behind Closed Doors
"Do you know where your daughter is?" Luke asked Lila Davis's mother, trying to mask the uneasy feeling creeping up on him. Something about her story didn't sit right. "How can I find her?" The old lady shifted nervously, still preoccupied with her worry over the piano incident. "Officer, I've told you everything you asked. Why do you still need to find her?" "Nothing serious," he lied, flashing his badge for effect. "This is just routine. We're investigating the piano competition. There's a chance we might catch the culprit who hurt your daughter." Her furrowed brow relaxed slightly. "Oh… well, my daughter should be with the performance troupe—the one at the City Cultural Center. She mentioned going to the countryside with them tonight and wouldn't be back for four or five days." Luke felt his chest tighten. Out of town? The timing was too convenient. If Lila Davis was the mastermind behind the so-called Maimed Case, could this be her next move? "Ma'am, let me ask you this.
