I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 29: Chapter 27: Seeing the Abandoned Amusement Park Scene Again

The disappearance of a senior from Jinghai First Middle School.

Su Miaoyi had seen the news online while waiting for Cheng Jue to pack up his dorm room.

The police issued a reward.

They also released surveillance footage.

Shi Tianyu left the school on Friday afternoon.

Following that was a compilation of video from various cameras along his route.

He finally disappeared in a public square.

Su Miaoyi waited outside the men’s dormitory.

Cheng Jue hadn’t let her inside.

She scrolled through the online comments.

Amidst all the speculation, she found out why the surveillance footage cut out at that square.

Because there had been a massive power outage in the square’s vicinity that day.

It lasted for a whole day.

So, nothing had been recorded.

”Sis. All packed,” Cheng Jue said, emerging with an armful of bags.

”Let’s go.” Su Miaoyi started walking ahead.

Cheng Jue followed her for a short distance. ”Sis, don’t you think you should be doing something?”

Su Miaoyi stopped, turned to look at him, and after a moment’s thought, said, ”You’re right.”

She walked up to him and slung her own bag around his neck. ”I was wondering why I felt so weighed down.”

Cheng Jue: ”...”

”Let’s go,” Su Miaoyi said.

Cheng Jue sighed softly and continued walking, lugging a large bag in one hand, a small one in the other, and a small backpack hanging in between.

After a few more steps, Su Miaoyi stopped to help him with his bags.

”No need, I can carry them,” Cheng Jue huffed.

”Let me help you, let me help.”

Cheng Jue handed her the lightest one.

Su Miaoyi cradled it in her arms.

Cheng Jue said, ”Sis, Mom and Dad came by on the weekend to give me money. For the training camp.”

Su Miaoyi looked at him and then sighed.

”Sis, don’t overthink it. Even their own daughter shouldn’t have to pay for this,” Cheng Jue said. ”I’m your little brother, not your son.”

Su Miaoyi snorted coldly. ”You were just playing pitiful to get me to talk to Uncle and Auntie. You calculated that they’d agree to let you study acting just so I wouldn’t have to spend my money.”

Cheng Jue just smiled.

Su Miaoyi shot him a glare.

Cheng Jue said, ”But the part about giving you all my money when I start earning was true. I wasn’t lying.”

”Go away. Stop talking to me,” Su Miaoyi said.

”Sis,” Cheng Jue called, chasing after her.

Su Miaoyi ignored him and strode forward.

Cheng Jue shouted from behind her, ”Sis, Sis, Sis! Big Sis!”

”Shut up,” Su Miaoyi warned him.

”Oh.” Cheng Jue meekly followed behind her.

...

After sorting out Cheng Jue’s affairs, Su Miaoyi returned to her apartment.

She sat on the sofa and scrolled through videos for a while.

She decided to check some job sites, still wanting to find work.

Turning on her computer, she noticed a news pop-up in the bottom-right corner.

It was still about the missing student from Jinghai First Middle School.

She moved the mouse, intending to close it.

The moment the cursor hovered over the close button, the scene before her eyes changed.

Everything around her was pitch-black.

She could faintly make out some structures in the darkness, but she couldn’t see clearly what they were.

She stared into the darkness.

After a long moment, she heard a sound and saw a sliver of light.

She saw a man approaching furtively.

He was holding a shovel and a flashlight.

The flashlight beam flashed across her eyes.

The man was so startled he nearly fell flat on his butt.

After a moment, the man shakily got back to his feet.

The man walked elsewhere, sweeping the flashlight beam around as if searching for something.

A short while later, he stopped, placed the flashlight on the ground, and began digging with the shovel.

He dug for a bit, then the flashlight rolled.

The man stopped digging to grab the flashlight.

As he placed it back on the ground and adjusted its position, the beam swept across a nearby sign.

She saw the words ”Joyful World” on the sign.

The vision ended there.

Su Miaoyi snapped back to reality, staring at her computer.

The page on her screen was still on the document she had been writing in yesterday.

A few seconds later, she called Zhuang Yanzheng.

It didn’t connect.

She then searched for ”Joyful World” on the map.

The sign had looked like some kind of information plaque.

The name ”Joyful World” was at the very top in a large font, like the name of a place.

When she searched the map, the first result was the one closest to her.

There were quite a few places named Joyful World.

But the nearest one was... the abandoned amusement park on Qingyang Road.

The amusement park’s former name was: Joyful World.

Su Miaoyi thought about the pitch-black darkness from her vision.

’It seems to match this abandoned amusement park perfectly. Because the surrounding area is slated for demolition, no one lives there, so of course it would be dark at night. That’s why it was so dark. And there were those indistinct structures... They were probably the abandoned amusement park rides.’

Zhuang Yanzheng’s call hadn’t gone through.

Su Miaoyi wanted to call the police, but... ’I only saw a man digging. I didn’t see anything else. I don’t even know what that man was doing in the middle of the night. Besides... that man looked a little familiar. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.’

After mulling it over, Su Miaoyi moved her hand and clicked on the news pop-up in the bottom-right corner.

The computer screen changed.

Su Miaoyi watched the comments scrolling on the news page.

Among them, she saw one: [He’s been found, at the abandoned amusement park on Qingyang Road. The police are already there.]

She stared at the comment for a few seconds, then got up and left her room.

After moving, she lived very close to that area.

She left her residential complex, walked a few hundred meters, and unlocked a public-share bike.

In less than ten minutes, she arrived at the abandoned amusement park.

Two police cars were parked at the entrance.

A large crowd had gathered outside, including members of the media holding up cameras.

A police officer was shouting, ”Everyone, please step back. Don’t crowd around. No pictures. We will make an announcement when we have results.”

Su Miaoyi walked closer, squeezing to the front to get a look.

Just then, Qi Feng came to one of the cars to get some tools and spotted her immediately.

Their eyes met, but neither said a word.

Qi Feng grabbed a case and left, returning a few minutes later to wave Su Miaoyi over.

The officer standing by the police tape lifted it to let Su Miaoyi pass.

She followed Qi Feng into the amusement park.

The amusement park was huge, and they walked for quite a while before stopping deep inside.

Zhuang Yanzheng and Yan Cheng were both there.

The forensics team was taking photos and collecting evidence in the surrounding area.

Yan Cheng and another medical examiner were performing an autopsy, though she couldn’t see it from her angle.

Su Miaoyi didn’t get any closer and instead looked around.

Her gaze fell on the sign that read ”Joyful World.”

Below it was a description of the nearby attraction.

’This must be the spot I saw.’

After a short wait, Zhuang Yanzheng came over. ”Qi Feng told me you were here. You’re not just here to spectate, are you?”

Su Miaoyi described the vision she had seen to Zhuang Yanzheng. ”It was right here. I saw him digging, right in this spot. A man, looked to be in his forties or fifties. He was acting furtively, very scared, and trembling the whole time. But I didn’t see him kill anyone.”

Zhuang Yanzheng was silent for a moment. ”I’ll have someone take you back to the city bureau to work on a composite sketch first.”

Su Miaoyi nodded, but just then, a flash of inspiration struck her.

She looked up at Zhuang Yanzheng abruptly.

”What is it?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”We don’t need a sketch. I know who it is.”

...