Warm and Cold CP Short Story Collection

Protagonists: Guo Xuan, Zhou Ping

Source: Novel "The Thirteenth Floor of Abandoned Building" ("Science Fiction World" Issue 2006, 11)

About: The radio drama "Waste" is pretty good, I recommend it!This article attempts to investigate the theme of the case and is divided into the first and second parts.

==========

When Guo Xuan walked in, it was pouring rain outside.At that time, I had just hung up the phone call with my cousin, and I glanced at the time, and it was five minutes to fourteen o'clock. After 5 minutes, it will be time for class, and there are not many people in the classroom.

"Why did you come here? Didn't you just ask for leave because you have something to do?" I asked curiously, glanced at Guo Xuan who was drenched in the rain, and had to borrow money from a girl sitting not far away. handkerchief, and handed it to Guo Xuan to signal him to wipe his face.I don't know where this person went before?He hadn't seen anyone all morning, and now he suddenly emerged dripping with mud all over his face.

Guo Xuan waved his hand, wiped his forehead casually with his sleeve, sat on the empty seat next to me, stared at the blackboard in front of the classroom, put his elbows on the desk, pointed his fingertips at each other, and put his index finger against his lips. say.

Seeing him like this, I knew he was thinking about something again.It seems that there are cases waiting to be cracked by his clever head.I have become accustomed to Guo Xuan's expression.When he is willing to speak, he will naturally tell me the whole story.

Returning the unused handkerchief to the classmate, I looked down at the history book, and in two weeks it will be the exam week. Anyway, not failing the exam is my basic goal.As long as the exam is over, it will be the long-awaited vacation. Then I will go to my cousin's house in the north of the city to play for a few days. If Guo Xuan is fine, I will invite him to go with him.

"Zhou Ping, do you know the White Church?" Guo Xuan's voice came, and this was the first sentence he said after entering the classroom.

"What Whitechapel?" he asked suddenly, which made me a little bit overwhelmed, and my mind was still stuck in the eight-year civil war more than 130 years ago in the history books.

"Whitechapel Massacre." He said, his eyes still on the blackboard in front of him, without much expression on his face.

If he hadn't called my name, I would have thought he was talking to himself!

"Ah, you mean 'Jack the Ripper'?The famous nineteenth-century killer who killed several people near Whitechapel in London's East End but was never caught? "

Suddenly, I raised my hand and patted my head, and the information corresponding to the words mentioned by Guo Xuan appeared in my mind.There are quite a few novels and film and television dramas created based on this incident, and I have watched some of them, but I only know the general idea. I don’t really like the kind of excessive blood and depressing dullness.

"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing. I'm going out to do some errands. I'll be back late at night." Guo Xuan said, he left his seat quickly, walked out of the classroom, and passed the teacher at the door.

I looked up at the surprised expression on the professor's face, and secretly sighed.Guo Xuan goes to and from get out of class on time on weekdays, and rarely leaves suddenly during class. He should have asked for leave for the afternoon class, right? !With his appearance in such a hurry, could it be that he has encountered a very difficult case?Will it be related to the question just mentioned?

By the time school was over in the afternoon, the rain had stopped. On the way back to my residence, I bought two siu mai to take home. I guess Guo Xuan would not remember to eat.If you don't remind him, this guy will definitely stay up all night hungry.

After finishing dinner quickly, I washed up and lay down on the bed, then pulled out the network terminal cable at the head of the bed, connected it to the socket hidden in the back of my head, closed my eyes and entered the network simulation self-study room, and started to do what the professors arranged today. exercises.The times are advancing, and the way of doing homework is also constantly changing with the times. Now it is no longer so hard to write and draw on paper with a pen, but the homework has not decreased.

By the mid-21s, network technology was developing rapidly.The emergence of real-life MUD online games has made continuous progress for more than 50 years. It has been in the initial stage of exploration, and now it has truly achieved popularization.

The real MUD game time ratio is 1:1, the time spent in the game is the same as the time spent in reality.Many people will get lost in online real-life games, unable to distinguish between fantasy and reality, and even abandon the real world in the end, because the virtual world on the Internet is more fulfilling and unrestrained than reality.Of course, if you commit crimes in online real-life games, online police and virtual prisons are not just decorations.

After finishing today's homework, I exited the online virtual study room and poured myself a glass of water.Glancing at the hour hand projected on the wall, it was past eight o'clock in the evening, and Guo Xuan hadn't come back yet.The calendar shows that today is Monday, May 2073, 5. Come to think of it, Guo Xuan's 29th birthday is still a few days away.Children's Day!If it wasn't for the special day, he probably wouldn't even remember his birthday.In fact, Guo Xuan didn't want to tell me. When I found out, it really made me laugh for a while, hehe!

What kind of gift should I give then?I lay in bed thinking to myself.I made a few small bucks in live MUD games, and I can afford to give gifts and the like as long as they are not too expensive.Well, tomorrow I will take the air intercity bus to go around the best shopping malls in this city.

Guo Xuan is a strange person, not because he looks so strange, but he is actually quite handsome, otherwise Shen Rong, who jumped off the building, would not be obsessed with him.He is also very smart, with a flexible mind, and his grades are very good. Of course, he also has subjects that he is not good at. No one is perfect!If you really want to say it, it has a unique personal charm.

Sometimes I think about it, since I became roommates with Guo Xuan, my life has not changed much. Except for Shen Rong’s suicide incident that happened shortly after the start of last semester, Guo Xuan rarely asked me to follow him to solve cases. In the virtual network world, I have only experienced the "Moriarty Murder Incident". Shen Rong is dead, and Moriarty no longer exists. Play games on other MUD stations to pass the time.

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

When I was thinking about how to give birth to Guo Xuan, the door was pushed open from the outside, and Guo Xuan came in. I jumped off the bed, ran to close the door, then looked at him, and asked worriedly, "Guo Xuan, Are you okay? Did you catch a cold from the rain today? You don't look very well."

Guo Xuan held a large black plastic bag in his hand. I don't know what is in it?His clothes were half dry, his hair was a bit messy, but the mud spots on his face were gone.Maybe because of the light projection, I always feel that his face is a bit too pale.

"I'm fine. Zhou Ping, don't sleep, I have something to tell you." Guo Xuan put the bag and a small piece of paper on the table, and then took the pajamas into the bathroom.

I went over to look at the things on the table. The piece of paper was just a photo of two young people, neither of whom knew each other.The man is tall and handsome, and the woman looks pretty.Judging by their appearance, they seem to be a couple.What a man and woman!I pondered this photo with my chin in my mouth, wondering why Guo Xuan brought this thing back?

After about ten minutes, the bathroom door was opened.With a dry towel on his head, Guo Xuan went straight to the bookshelf, took out his medicine box from the cabinet below, found a few cold medicines and swallowed them.

I glanced back at him, then turned my attention back to the black bag on the table.After watching for a while, I couldn't help frowning. "Guo Xuan, do you think something inside is broken? It seems that something has leaked out!" At the position where the bag was pressed, several bright red water stains of different sizes appeared on the table and slowly moved towards the table. flow all around.It looked like blood and had a fishy smell.I rub my nose.

"I'm about to tell you." Guo Xuan walked over, and his cheeks that had just been slightly flushed by the water vapor returned to a pale color again.He turned his head and looked at me, "Have you had dinner?" Seeing me nodding, he continued, "Then you should be mentally prepared first."

"what happened?"

Guo Xuan didn't answer me, and reached out to untie the black plastic bag.When the contents were presented in front of my eyes, I began to regret eating greasy things at night.Covering my mouth and nose, I felt my stomach start to cramp, and finally couldn't help but push Guo Xuan away, and rushed directly into the bathroom...

"Are you okay!" Guo Xuan walked over worriedly.

"No, nothing!" I thought my face must be blue and white.I rinsed my mouth with water and patted some cold water on my face to restore my spirits. I hesitated for a while and looked up at Guo Xuan who was by the door, "Well, can you reinstall that thing first?"

Guo Xuan turned around and walked over. A few seconds later, his voice came over, "Okay, Zhou Ping." I just walked out, and he looked at me worriedly, and handed over a glass of water, "Zhou Ping, are you okay?" ?” In fact, his complexion was not much better.

"Where did this come from?" I asked. "You didn't steal it from the medical school, did you?"

There are many departments and subjects in the school. Only the School of Medicine and the School of Network Information are independent, which are not far from where we live.Guo Xuan sometimes goes to the School of Medicine to borrow laboratories, and some useful information comes from the School of Network Information.

"Remember the question I asked you during the day?"

"The Whitechapel murder? Jack the Ripper?"

"Yes. Have you heard of the White Pigeon Church? I went there today." Guo Xuan sat on the chair in front of the desk, lowered his head, and said slowly, "What happened near the White Pigeon Church in the East District last night A murder case, the bag contained... a part of the victim’s face. The method of committing the crime is very similar to that in the story. But it’s not disemboweled!” He pointed to the woman in the photo, “ This woman is the victim. She had multiple stab wounds on her body, and parts of her face were cut off and thrown next to the corpse. The traces on the deceased showed the professionalism of the murderer. I went to her house today and only found this photo, brought it back."

ah!I looked at Guo Xuan.It turned out that he went out immediately after answering a phone call in the middle of the night, and it was for this reason.At that time, his movement was a bit loud. After I was woken up, I saw that the door was closed, and the bed on the opposite side had been made empty.

For convenience, the city is divided into four districts, named according to the four directions of east, west, north, south.Every city has two sides of great disparity.The East District is a place where good and evil are mixed. People living there generally do not have high incomes, and their social status is relatively low, and their religious beliefs are even more varied.The west district is here, and there are famous colleges and universities.The southern area is an industrial area, where both light and heavy manufacturing are concentrated.The North District is a high-end residential area and urban government agencies.

"Hey, Guo Xuan, are you kidding me?! I know you're a detective, but you're only 20 years old, and you're only a student. Murder or something..." Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at the black bag on the table, and I was a little I can't go on.

"One of my distant uncles is the police detective in charge of this case. Sometimes I will help him solve some small problems. Zhou Ping, go online! I will tell you when I get inside." Guo Xuan said while lying down On the bed, he pulled up the terminal cable at the head of the bed, and muttered in a low voice, "Holmes must not leave his Dr. Watson."

This is the second time I've heard him call me Watson.This guy really thinks of himself as Sherlock Holmes.

I connect my own terminal wires and close my eyes.I opened my eyes, and after adjusting to the light, I found myself in the corridor I had been to once again.

I looked around, but I didn't find Guo Xuan, but there was a tall man talking to someone not far from me.The thin, stern, tall man with a hooked nose is the image of Sherlock Holmes that Guo Xuan designed for himself.With the help of Guo Xuan, I once registered as an Internet police assistant.Touching the small mustache on my upper lip, I have also transformed into the image of Watson.

I walked over and heard two people speaking Chinese.Although each MUD site is open to the whole world, an intelligent language translation system can enable unhindered communication between people who cannot communicate in real language.However, listening to the speed of their conversation, I guess this person may also be Chinese.

The person talking to Guo Xuan was a small foreign old man.He has an oval head, neat and shiny hair, a well-trimmed mustache on his lips, is meticulously dressed, wears a pair of white gloves, and holds a finely crafted black cane. He has the demeanor of a British gentleman.

I seem to have seen this image somewhere.As I remember, there are quite a few big-name figures haunting here.

"Watson, we have to go!" Holmes, no, Guo Xuan, who has the appearance of Holmes, saw that I was standing beside me, so he nodded to the other party, "Goodbye, Mr. Poirot."

"Goodbye, Mr. Holmes, Mr. Watson. I have to go to my old friend Hastings too." The little old man smiled, then opened a door beside him and walked in.

I glanced at the sign "Agatha Christie Station" on the door.Come to think of it, that person is the famous detective written by Agatha Christie—the famous Belgian detective who likes to use gray cerebellum cells to solve cases—Hercule Poirot.

Sure enough, there are many famous people here!Before I could finish expressing my feelings, Guo Xuan patted my shoulder, then took a few steps forward, and pushed open another door by the corridor. "Come on, Watson."

It is easy for Guo Xuan to enter the role, but I am much more sober, at least I will not be confused by these illusions, knowing that I am just playing a specific role in an online real-life game, and playing a game.

Instead of going directly to "Conan Doyle Station", we entered the virtual home designed by Guo Xuan.The two sat face to face in front of the fireplace in the living room. A fire had already been raised in the fireplace, and the rattles were ringing. The orange-red flame seemed to really raise the temperature in the room.Feelings that are too realistic make it difficult to tell whether it is real or illusory. No wonder so many people are easily addicted to the online world.

"After I went to the murder scene of the White Pigeon Church, I surveyed the surrounding environment and found that the place was very similar to the environment of the White Church in the East District in the story. Watson, there have been three similar murders on the live network. The locations are all consistent with the famous Whitechapel massacre in the East End of England at the end of the 19th century. After investigation, the ID of the victim of the recent murder on the Internet shows that the deceased was found near the White Dove Church today."

I looked at Guo Xuan.He sank his body into the sofa, and once again assumed the classic Sherlock Holmes pose, with his fingertips pressed against each other, and continued.

"You know, Watson, the only reason for the death of a person on the Internet is that the ID cannot be used, and you can apply for a new one in the future. But in reality, human beings who die cannot be regenerated."

"The Whitechapel massacre and the White Dove church massacre are only one letter apart! Could it be that someone imitated this crime? I heard that no one knows the true identity of the Ripper." I said.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out. Watson, didn't you think of it? The place where the homicide happened was near the White Pigeon Church in the east of the city, which shows a problem..."

"The murderer is in this city." I replied quickly, sat up straight in surprise, and stared at Guo Xuan.

"Yes."

"Then what are we going to do?"

"We want to find this murderer and bring him to justice before he kills again. Whether it's on the Internet or in the real world." Guo Xuan said firmly. He stood up and pushed open the door of the study, "Let's go." ! Let's go to Scotland Yard."

I stood up and followed Guo Xuan to the small room with many doors behind his study, which can lead to many places.

"Guo Xuan, I remember that Jack the Ripper has nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes!" I said suspiciously. "However, it seems that Conan Doyle has expressed some opinions on this matter. By the way, which station are we going to Scotland Yard?"

Guo Xuan "hmm" for a moment, then stopped by the door with the sign of "Scotland Yard Terminus" and turned to explain to me.

"There are many MUD stations in online live-action games, and they are generally named after famous writers. Most players enter this MUD space and choose to play different identities. Sometimes they can make diverse choices according to their occupations. Writers The famous person in the novel can only be the only one, once he is registered in the Internet Police Center, then he is the only one. The registered identity cannot be played by others.”

"The Scotland Yard we are going to now is a comprehensive space, or an intermediary space, which can be regarded as a branch of the Internet Police Center. It is not limited by time and space, so it gathers famous policemen from the 15th to the 21st centuries in London, England. Detective. The Mister Poirot you just saw was the famous Belgian detective of the early twentieth century. He and his assistant, Hastings, are also registered."

"I talked to him just now. If it wasn't too far away from this city in reality, he would also participate in the detection of this bloody murder. Let's go to Inspector Lestrade first, and he can provide us with some necessary information. help."

"So, I am the only Holmes' assistant——Dr. John Watson?" I smiled, feeling very interesting.Not everyone can be an assistant to a famous detective.

"That's right. Watson." A smile flashed in Guo Xuan's eyes, "Okay, don't waste time. We must seize every minute and every second, crime does not wait for anyone."

……

Entering Scotland Yard, I followed Guo Xuan straight through the lobby on the first floor where people were coming and going, and walked upstairs.Unexpectedly, during this time period, there are quite a lot of players in the MUD.As Guo Xuan said, I really saw many famous detectives haunting here.

In a small office, I once again saw the London police officer I had seen last time, holding a document and talking in a low voice to a lady in her thirties.

"Lestrade." Guo Xuan called out.

"Mr. Holmes. You are here! Dr. Watson, it is very kind of you to be here." Lestrade looked over, greeted, and then introduced us both in his strange way of speaking, "This is Scottish Miss Laura Richard, the forensic expert of the Violent Crimes Command, who is in charge of the Whitechapel case. These two are Mr. Holmes, the famous detective consultant, and his assistant, Dr. Watson."

"If you need anything, please feel free to speak to the policemen in Scotland Yard." The British policeman handed the document to Guo Xuan, and left in a hurry.Apparently, he's not a laid-back guy either.

Guo Xuan browsed quickly, then handed things over to me, and chatted with Miss Richard.

I stood aside and opened the file. On it were the online identities of several victims and related investigations in reality.The online profiles of the three victims don't have much in common other than being young women.Each person's real-life detailed address is written under the information, and they are all from the city, and the first and third victims live near the White Pigeon Church in the eastern part of the city, which surprised me somewhat.

The first victim played the role of a restaurant waitress in the MUD. In reality, she was a female college student named Meng Linlin. She was still a classmate with us, but she was a student in the computer department.According to the information, because of this incident, she was greatly stimulated, and she no longer dared to go online or communicate with others, and she has already suspended her studies.

The second victim played the role of a dancer, but her real identity was a man in his 30s, quite fat, estimated to weigh more than 200 catties, unmarried, a typical otaku. (Uh, why do you feel that this fat man pretending to be a woman is a bit out of shape? I am secretly dumbfounded in my heart.) The name is Li Da.

The third victim, Guan Xiaoxue, who was found near the Baige Church, was indeed the same person in the photo that Guo Xuan brought back. Her online image was very close to reality, and she was both an elementary school teacher. The facial features are correct and beautiful.pity……

Recalling the contents of the bag I saw in the dormitory, I resisted the urge to vomit.

In this world, where there is light, there is darkness, where there is justice, there is evil, and murder has either already happened, is happening, or will happen.Unsatisfied with killing people on the Internet, they shifted to killing people in reality, and even brutally cut off the victim's organs. This murderer must be a very cold-blooded and inhuman guy.

I close the file and focus on the two people who are talking.Guo Xuan looked like Sherlock Holmes when he got serious.

"No witnesses? No one heard the screams? Few people appear near the church at night. Why did they (victims) walk there alone? When they were discovered, the body temperature of the deceased had not completely cooled down, but had already There are no signs of life, and some organs will be missing from the avatar's body. How did the murderer kill, cut off the organs and then disappear suddenly in such a short period of time? Who is the person who found the victim? Could it be? Did the same person show up with different IDs? If it was an imitation of "Jack the Ripper", did you receive any letters with very arrogant contents? "

Guo Xuan asked a series of questions, speaking very fast and in a low tone, enough for Miss Richard and I to hear clearly.

"We have checked everything you said. Up to now, there have been no letters or anything like that. The three murders were all about a week apart. The first two found the victims were a group of players playing homeless or punks, They are at least three people working together. We blocked the news and have been looking for the murderer, but there is no clue. The day before yesterday was the weekend, we received the third murder case, and within 48 hours, we heard that your Excellency in the real world A similar incident happened in the city where I live. Not many people know about it, but the ability to block news is limited, and this kind of thing cannot be concealed for too long. If the case cannot be solved within four days..."

Miss Richard's words did not go on, we all know what she meant: if the murderer is not found before this weekend, there may be another homicide, the fourth on the Internet, and another victim in reality .

"I see, then Ms. Richard will first report the situation to the high-level of the Internet Police Center in detail. They will send special personnel to take care of the aftermath of such incidents, and strengthen police patrols in the Eastern District. The Whitechapel and its surrounding areas are encrypted and closed to the public. Watson and I are looking for clues in the present world, after all, the murder happened in the city we live in."

After a few words, Guo Xuan took me out of Scotland Yard.He was right, there are naturally people in the network who specialize in handling all kinds of emergencies.But in the real world, solving the case early can prevent more innocent people from dying.

……

Unplugging the terminal cable, I rolled up from the bed, rubbing my eyes to adjust to the light in the dormitory.I turned my head and saw Guo Xuan lying motionless on his bed. If he hadn't opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling, I would have thought he was still offline!

"Guo Xuan, have you figured out how to find clues?" I asked.

"I have already been to Guan Xiaoxue's home during the day, and I will go directly to visit the other two victims tomorrow."

The hour hand projected on the wall showed that it was less than ten o'clock in the evening, and the lights outside the window were brilliant.

"I'm going to the medical school. Zhou Ping, you go to bed first and keep your spirits up. Ask for leave tomorrow morning and we will go together."

Guo Xuan got out of bed, found a coat and put it on, wrapped the things on the table with a bag again, wiped the blood and water marks on the table with a rag, and then went out.

I heard his footsteps getting farther and farther away, so I lay down and closed my eyes to sleep again.Guo Xuan is a man of action. As a detective assistant, I can't lose the chain at a critical moment.It was past the wee hours of the morning and there were less than four days to the deadline.I calculated the time, and it will be Guo Xuan's birthday in two days.I hope the case can be solved as soon as possible.

……

=====TBC=====