Her agitation made her constantly scratch her forehead.
Several scratch marks appeared on her forehead.
She knew clearly what schemes that woman was plotting.
If the serial killer knew she was planning to cooperate with others, her life would be forfeit.
No wonder they found her but didn't call the police, nor did anyone come to arrest her.
So that was the plan.
Qian Chuntao gritted her teeth, a gloomy expression appearing on her face.
She looked around and quickly walked into the room.
Zhao Yan's expression was calm during the interview, showing no signs of nervousness.
She answered Zhou Lin's questions almost fluently.
This surprised Zhou Lin; she hadn't expected Zhao Yan to have such strong psychological resilience.
"Miss Zhao, have you seen the killer?" Zhou Lin asked.
Zhao Yan had said a lot in the previous questions, but they were all unconfirmed matters, leaving Zhou Lin with few points to probe.
Zhao Yan smiled faintly, "Yes, my eyes were injured by him. The doctor said if I had gone to the hospital any later, I would have lost both eyeballs."
"That serious? How did you feel psychologically when facing the murderer, were you scared?" Zhou Lin asked.
Zhao Yan replied, "Well, to say I wasn't scared would be a lie, after all, he has killed people. But I wasn't afraid."
"He is human. If he stabs me, I will die. Similarly, if I stab him, he will also die."
"Death is the same for everyone."
Zhou Lin asked Zhao Yan for details about her struggle with the killer.
Zhao Yan recounted everything, speaking vividly. The more Zhou Lin listened, the more she worried for Zhao Yan.
As the interview neared its end, Zhao Yan looked at the camera, her eyes open, and said sternly, "I know you're watching. I want to tell you, I will catch you."
With a round of applause, the interview concluded.
"Patient 306, time for medication," a nurse entered the ward.
Seeing no one in the room, she withdrew in confusion and asked the doctor beside her, "Dr. Liu, where did patient 306, Qian Chuntao, the mental patient, go?"
At a small convenience store, Qian Chuntao took out a coin and, with the shopkeeper's permission, made a phone call.
Qian Chuntao lowered her voice, "I haven't betrayed you. She's trying to trick me, trying to sow discord."
Even with her voice lowered, it was filled with anxiety.
"I can't go to your place now, I have to leave. I need to leave Jiangcheng."
"I'm calling you just to tell you that I, Qian Chuntao, have never betrayed you."
After speaking, Qian Chuntao handed the phone back to the shopkeeper and quickly left.
Behind her, a man zipped up his jacket, pulled his hood over his head, and quickly followed her as she walked away.
Qian Chuntao wanted to take a black taxi to leave Jiangcheng and waited by the roadside for a while.
As soon as she got into a black taxi, Qian Chuntao sat down.
Her buttocks had barely touched the seat when a broadcast voice came from the taxi's radio.
"So Miss Zhao, can you reveal what the killer in 1996 looked like?"
Qian Chuntao quickly lowered her head and immediately pushed the car door open, "I'm not taking this."
The driver turned and said, "Just waiting for one more person, I'll give you a five-dollar discount!"
Qian Chuntao ignored him, trying to avoid the crowd.
She felt as if everyone around was staring at her.
The more she walked, the more restless and uneasy Qian Chuntao felt.
She had planned to live her life this way, so why had things become like this.
As she walked, Qian Chuntao realized something was wrong.
She quickly looked back behind her, feeling as if someone was chasing her.
Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, she nervously hugged her arms.
When she looked, the person quickly retreated to a corner.
Qian Chuntao thought of something and shouted behind her, "I haven't betrayed you!"
As she spoke, she glanced at the traffic light by the roadside.
Seeing that the green light was about to disappear, she quickly ran towards the roadside.
She ran while looking back, only to find that the person following her had vanished.
Her expression became increasingly fearful, biting her fingernails tightly as she continued to walk forward.
After just a few steps, she immediately looked back.
She observed carefully for a while, and seeing no one chasing her, Qian Chuntao breathed a sigh of relief. As she walked forward, she suddenly bumped into someone.
When she looked up, her eyes widened in horror, her face a mask of sheer terror.
Before she could speak, the person wrapped an arm around her neck and dragged her into a small alley.
"I didn't say anything," Qian Chuntao struggled with all her might.
The person remained silent, their cold eyes fixed on her.
The grip around her neck tightened,
The intense feeling of suffocation instantly overwhelmed her, and the lack of oxygen made Qian Chuntao feel as if her lungs were about to burst.
Her feet scraped against the ground incessantly.
The person's gaze on her was as if she were an animal, devoid of any emotion.
Qian Chuntao saw the person reach behind their back with their left hand and pull out a hammer.
Seeing this, Qian Chuntao quickly rammed the back of her head backward.
With a "bang," the back of her head struck the person's nose bridge.
The hand covering her mouth loosened its grip. Seizing this opportunity, Qian Chuntao pried her hands apart and immediately lunged forward.
She crawled forward like a madwoman, like a disheveled dog.
She crawled out of the alley and shouted at the passing vehicles, "Help!"
As she shouted, she ran frantically forward.
The person picked up the hammer from the ground, glanced outside, and seeing Qian Chuntao run madly into a shop, let out a long sigh of relief.
He rubbed his nose and took off his hat, revealing a delicate face.
"This hurts so much, I wonder if I can claim worker's compensation," Officer Xiao Qin said.
He put the hammer away and tucked it behind his back.
He then looked at the text message on his phone.
The more he read, the more he admired Zhao Yan.
She had asked him to impersonate the killer and scare Qian Chuntao.
The intention was to make her believe the killer wanted her dead, and that her only chance of survival was to cooperate with the police.
Now that Qian Chuntao had entered the shop, she was probably going to call the police.
As he thought about it, Officer Xiao Qin patted his clothes, took off his outer jacket, revealing another jacket underneath.
After changing, he quickly walked towards the shop.
The shop sold lamb noodle soup. He pushed the door open and looked inside.
Seeing no one, Officer Xiao Qin quickly asked, "A woman was here just now, where did she go?"
The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man, looked up at Officer Xiao Qin.
Officer Xiao Qin took out a photo ID. The middle-aged man immediately said, "You mean the woman in the blue clothes?"
Officer Xiao Qin nodded.
"Oh, her husband picked her up and left through the side door."