I work in digital media, making a living by writing about odd and unusual stories.

But I never thought that one of these incredible stories, something I couldn't even dream up, would happen to me.

Last June, on my way back from my hometown, I met Wang Bo on the high-speed train.

I had played mahjong all night the day before and was feeling sleepy, completely ignoring the short man sitting next to me.

Of course, even at other times, I'm not interested in men.

Unless situations like this occur.

We had been sitting together for three hours without exchanging a single word.

When he spoke to me for the first time, he was holding my head in his hands.

I turned my head, looking at him in confusion.

He was wearing a mask, but it was pulled halfway down, exposing his mouth.

It only covered his chin.

Then he said his first words: "Hello, you fell asleep and your head is resting on my shoulder."

This guy not only wore his mask improperly but also sounded obviously heavily congested.

This was mid-2022, indicating he had taken a COVID-19 test to board the train.

But having a severe cold and not wearing a mask properly clearly showed he wasn't a lawful citizen.

I pulled my head back, glanced at him, and apologized.

This man was quite talkative and asked, "Played mahjong all night yesterday?"

I was startled; had I seen this person last night?

He did look somewhat familiar.

He explained, "You spoke several times about '天糊' when you were sleeping."

Oh, so that's what it was.

But I had no interest in chatting with him about mahjong.

So I ignored him, sat straight, and prepared to continue sleeping.

But after closing my eyes for just one second, I opened them again.

I was completely awake now.

His exposed face really was very familiar.

I had a gut feeling that his resemblance to someone was connected to something very important to me.

So, I decided not to sleep and switched to chatting.

This guy introduced himself as Wang Bo, a salesperson, engineer, and customer support for a company that sells firewall software.

To my surprise, he was quite the social butterfly.

Coincidentally, so am I.

So, we had quite a lively conversation.

Halfway through, a shudder ran through me as I finally realized who Wang Bo resembled.

Li Shaobing, the serial killer wanted nationwide.

Others might not see it, but I am special.

I am so familiar with Li Shaobing that I could recognize him at a glance.

Li Shaobing is the most notorious and vicious murderer since the founding of the new China.

Known to have at least 14 victims in two years.

There are possibly more.

He is a textbook sociopath who loves destroying the psyche of his victims using various means.

To achieve this, he can spend days getting close to his victims and setting traps.

According to police records, the longest time he took to murder someone could be up to six months.

So at that moment, I did shudder a bit.

Had I encountered Li Shaobing by chance?

Had he targeted me?

Did he plan for us to sit together?

Nah, it can't be, no way.

This absurd thought made me scan my surroundings.

Even amid a pandemic, the train carriage was quite full.

But I saw no security personnel.

I looked at Wang Bo again and made a decision.

I told him, "You know, you look a lot like Li Shaobing."

Wang Bo was momentarily stunned and asked, "Really? How much do I resemble him?"

"Almost identical."

Wang Bo leaned back in his seat and laughed out loud.

Everyone knew who Li Shaobing was.

Every Chinese content creator with more than one follower had written about Li Shaobing.

After laughing, Wang Bo asked, "So with those observant eyes of yours, you think I'm Li Shaobing?"

I shook my head and told him, "There are still a few differences."

"You're slightly overweight, while Li Shaobing is very skinny."

"Your skin is a bit fairer, Li Shaobing is slightly darker."

"You look a bit younger, Li Shaobing is 33 but looks like he's 40."

Wang Bo laughed again and said, "Well, that's easy. Eat a bit more and apply a couple of pounds of makeup, and I'll be fair-skinned and young again, right?"

I said, "You have a point. However, there's one important difference: Li Shaobing has a two-centimeter scar near his chin on the left side of his face."

I stared at Wang Bo's half-revealed face and continued, "Plastic surgery can't remove it, and makeup can't cover it, but a mask can."

Coincidentally, Wang Bo's mask was pulled halfway down, neatly covering the lower part of his face.

In a moment of damned silence, I looked at the man who called himself Wang Bo, and he gazed back at me.

Wang Bo reached out his hand to touch his left cheek, forcing a laugh, "Really?"

I nodded and looked into his eyes.

When someone is about to attack another, the first thing that moves is not any part of their body; it’s their eyes.

And no matter who the opponent is, he's a smaller guy, while I'm nearly 1.85 meters tall and regularly go to the gym.

Why would I be intimidated?

At this moment, Wang Bo lowered his voice, leaned forward, and said to me:

"I will remove my mask to let you see, but no matter what you see, I hope you don’t make a fuss."

I didn't speak.

Wang Bo continued, "We have no personal animosity; there's no need to be absolute, right?"

"Besides, you never know if we might meet again, leaving yourself a way out isn't a bad idea."

I still didn't speak.

At that moment, Wang Bo suddenly ripped off his mask.

His left hand also suddenly reached out toward me.