The house is still the same broken house, the chairs are still those broken chairs, and the people are still the two of us broken people.

But the situation has completely reversed.

The fainted man is tied up by me, and I am holding his phone, sitting opposite him.

Of course, I didn't have those plastic zip ties, so he is tied to the chair with his own belt and shoelaces.

If left alone, he might struggle out of it.

The broken chair could fall apart at any moment.

But I don't care. I'm stronger than him, and the knife is in my hand.

So what if he struggles out?

I knocked this guy out because I knew he wasn't Wang Bo.

Of course, it doesn't matter if I got it wrong.

Even if he really is Wang Bo, he just got knocked once; the pain is not mine.

Also, the articles I wrote about Liu Shaobing, most of the things in there are true.

For traffic, there is indeed some adaptation and exaggeration.

But the basic facts are true.

Just like the things I just said about Liu Shaobing, every word is true.

I really saw the internal materials from the police, and Liu Shaobing really likes to play cat and mouse games before killing.

He likes watching people mentally collapse before they die.

He wants to grasp human nature in his hand as if holding a lump of clay.

Liu Shaobing never thinks of himself as a killer; he says he's a human nature administrator.

He just made up a story to trick me, making me believe he was Wang Bo, to give me hope.

If he really let me go, I would be even more ecstatic.

That would be a bigger hope.

Then he would undoubtedly show various flaws, making me realize he's not Wang Bo, and I would fall into the abyss of despair again.

I didn't know what he would do to torture me after that.

But now I don't need to guess. I want him to tell me himself.

So I slapped Liu Shaobing roughly a few times to wake him up.

The awakened Liu Shaobing looked at me and said nothing.

Aside from indifference in his eyes, there was a hint of curiosity.

I repeated the promises I'd previously made to Wang Bo to Liu Shaobing:

"Don't worry, I won't kill you. I'm not a murderer. I won't call the police either; I just want money."

"So, as long as you are willing to tell me all the details of your crimes, I will let you go."

"In that case, with your exclusive firsthand story, I should be able to gain a million followers."

"Although your bounty is a million—"

"But with a million followers, even if I sell merchandise related to your story, like toy handcuffs, I can make three hundred thousand a year."

Saying that, I waved the phone in my hand.

This phone was originally turned off. After I turned it on and took a look, I confirmed that this phone should be Wang Bo's.

Because at a glance, I saw those strange apps on it.

Liu Shaobing must have used Wang Bo's face or fingerprint to unlock the screen, changed the password, and then took it for himself.

I casually threw the phone out of the window, looking at Liu Shaobing, waiting for his response.

After hearing my flawed reasoning, Liu Shaobing let out a short laugh.

It sounded like a squirrel's call.

"Did you really see the internal police materials?" he asked me, "How do you know I'm Liu Shaobing?"

I hummed in response, feeling quite unhappy inside.

I should be the one asking him, not the other way around.

I'm the one holding the knife.

So I waved the knife.

"It's useless," Liu Shaobing said, "If you had really seen the police materials, you would know that people like me aren't too afraid of death."

I patted the knife in my palm.

"Right, I know what you're thinking," Liu Shaobing said, "Someone might not be afraid of death, but they can't be unafraid of pain. And you seem very good at inflicting pain."

I looked at Liu Shaobing in surprise; the police materials didn't mention he had such keen observation.

"I believe you won't call the police, but I think, in the end, you will kill me."

"Don't deny it; I can sense it. You want to learn from me, slowly torture and kill me?"

Dang, this old man is more arrogant now tied up than when he had me tied up.

And he's right about everything.

So I took a step forward, planning to teach him a lesson, such as re-opening the scar on his face.

This is a new wound.

To look more like Wang Bo, he must have re-opened this old wound.

But I only took a step, then dropped the knife to the ground.

Because my hand went limp, I couldn't even hold a knife.

Then my leg gave way, and I sat on the ground.

My mind was still clear, but I couldn't move at all.

"Are you acting as me now? This twist is too much." Liu Shaobing laughed, "Don't worry, I know you're not acting."

"Did you put something in the water I drank?" I could still speak.

"Yeah, you heard of obedience water? I added that. You drank it twice, enough for two people."

Of course, I had heard of obedience water.

It's a kind of potion that makes people lose their ability to move within half an hour.

Actually, it's not that magical; it just contains some controlled psychoactive drugs.

A journalist once drank it during an undercover investigation, saying it first made people weak in the limbs, then they would fall asleep.

That's nonsense. Is this making people weak?

This is paralyzing people, alright?

"You'll be lying there for half an hour, then you'll fall asleep, for at least an hour."

Liu Shaobing said as he moved his body:

"Guess how long it will take for me to break free from the ropes."

"Of course, even if I can't break free, I can still stomp you to death."

I didn't feel like talking.

Tonight, regardless of the situation, it seems Liu Shaobing has been in control.

Liu Shaobing continued to struggle and said, "I actually know who you are."

"You're into self-media, right? You mainly write about me, right?"

"I've read every one of your articles. I came to find you tonight."

"You don't even have a sister, but you have a girlfriend, right?"

"I'll take a wild guess; her name is Linlin."

"Don't get mad if I guess wrong. Such a good girl, suits you."

"How do I know? You told me."

"The police only know I killed 14 people, and you've written about 14."

"But the old Hu who ran away didn't die; he doesn't count among the 14."

"Thanks for telling me his situation later. I've been thinking about him. Maybe I should go see him again; it surely will be fun."

"I can see that you know a lot of things. You wouldn't be a cop, right?"

"No, cops have rules; they wouldn't do something like this, right?"

"Forget it, it doesn't matter who you are. The only person you didn't write about is that girl named Linlin."

"Well, she was my ninth victim."

"Actually, she can't really be considered my kill; she jumped off a building herself."

"I didn't want her to die so fast; I tried to pull her back but didn't manage to. However, she was perfect. Watching her jump was a great feeling."