Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 40: Chapter 13: Bloody Manhunt (Part 1)

The road ahead was pitch-black, with only the faint glow from his phone screen.

Zhang Shutong didn’t turn on his flashlight. Instead, he held his phone in one hand, propping it on the handlebars of his bicycle.

He had forgotten to put on his gloves before leaving. The icy night wind bit at his hands, making them sting with pain, but he didn’t have time to stop and put them on.

The road was treacherous at night. He had to watch out for potholes and, even more so, for patches of ice. He wasn’t even sure where he had ridden to; based on the time, it had only been a seven or eight-minute journey.

As it turned out, he had gotten one thing wrong—the patrolling officer wasn’t that easy to catch. He had assumed the officer hadn’t gone far and that he would surely be faster on his bike.

But the sound of a motorcycle engine he had heard a short while ago made Zhang Shutong realize that patrolling the island naturally required a vehicle. There was no way the officer was just walking.

He probably rode to one location, got off to search the area, and then moved on to the next spot once he confirmed everything was clear.

Thus, an urgent choice surfaced in his mind:

Keep chasing?

Or not?

If he kept chasing, it was like the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise could run for its life and never catch the hare, that was true. But the hare would eventually stop to get off his vehicle and patrol. Perhaps that small window of opportunity would appear soon.

But how long was "soon"?

He didn’t know.

He could only pin his hopes on the officer’s actions.

If he didn’t chase, he’d have to change his strategy. Zhang Shutong remembered that on his way back from the restricted area after school this afternoon, his phone had suddenly been bombarded with messages at a certain spot. All he had to do was find that place with a signal and call the police.

But that was easier said than done. If this were him from years ago, he’d know every nook and cranny of the island like the back of his hand. But he hadn’t been back in eight years. At best, he remembered the general locations of major landmarks, like where his home was or where the school was. Finding a single spot with a cell signal would be like finding a needle in a haystack, especially at night.

Even if he did find it, he’d have to wait for the police to be dispatched. How much time would that take?

Time was slipping away second by second. The longer he waited, the slimmer the chances of finding any clues about the killer. He pedaled faster, making his decision—

...

The footsteps grew closer.

Their minds went blank for a moment. Almost instinctively, the group dove into the reeds.

Feng Ruoping was the last one in. She held her breath, her eyes wide, heart pounding in her chest.

’Who is it? Why aren’t they using a flashlight?’

’The police?’

’No, it must be the man Du Kang saw!’

’But what should we do?’

’Keep hiding?’

It was terrifyingly quiet all around them. The group panicked for a moment, and by the time they could assess the situation, it was already too late to act.

At that moment, none of them knew what to do.

Suddenly, the ringing of a cell phone shattered the silence, echoing across the open field.

The call was answered quickly. Amidst a few muffled words, Feng Ruoping could tell it definitely wasn’t a police officer, but a man with a hoarse voice.

The surroundings were vast and empty. The faint sounds squeezed from the man’s lips were carried far away by the night wind.

"West side... Yeah, there are cops..."

"They’re gone now. I’m on my way..."

"A student..."

The man’s voice paused.

Feng Ruoping froze, a chill running down her spine.

"...Didn’t see me. It’s fine."

"Be careful... Mm."

The man’s voice started up again, and only then did she realize he wasn’t talking about having discovered them.

But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, more questions flooded her mind—

’Who is "the student" he’s talking about?’

’Zhang Shutong?’

’Has he been spotted already?’

But she immediately dismissed that idea. Shutong had gone west, but the man’s footsteps came from the east. There was no reason for them to have run into each other... But who else fit the description?

’Du Kang?’

’It has to be him.’

If the man above them was the same one Du Kang had run into on the road, then enough time had passed that he could have circled all the way back around. Now the man was heading west.

’But isn’t that the same direction Zhang Shutong went?’

Realizing this, Feng Ruoping was suddenly overcome with anxiety and anger.

’Zhang Shutong, oh, Zhang Shutong! You thought you were so clever going to find help! It never occurred to you that the guy would circle around behind you! You could search until you’re dead and you’d never find him!’

Besides, no one knew what this man was doing here. Based on her earlier guesses, it was definitely nothing good.

She had already made up her mind: as soon as the man left, she would immediately call Zhang Shutong and tell him not to come back under any circumstances. What if they ran right into each other?

As she thought this, she gripped the phone in her pocket, but the next thing that happened—or didn’t happen—above her made the girl freeze again.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t a sound that made her freeze.

It was that the man’s sounds...

...had simply vanished.

Everything was dead silent, except for the howling of the night wind.

But it was precisely this silence that made the hair on her arms stand up. If there was no sound at all, didn’t that mean—

’He’s standing right above us?’

She didn’t dare look up, didn’t even dare to make any unnecessary movements. Before she knew it, her palms were slick with sweat.

The next moment, the footsteps started again. But before she could let out a sigh of relief, she realized the sound had changed direction. It was no longer passing over her head, but coming from up and to the side!

’He’s coming down the slope!’

Accompanied by the RUSTLE of his shoes crushing weeds and dirt, she saw a blurry shadow descending the earthen slope through the thick reeds.

’But why?’

’Why is he coming down here?’

’Did he spot us?’

’Should I tell Qingyi and Du Kang to just make a run for it?’

’Should we run now, while we can?’

All these thoughts raced through her mind. In that instant, the clouds above seemed to drift apart in the night wind. Moonlight spilled down, and the man’s figure suddenly became clear.