Chapter 11 Dark Angel “Then how did you make them wake up at 2 AM, climb onto the window sill, and jump?” This is the only part of the process I couldn’t figure out.
Li Ling took a deep breath, her gaze wavering on the coffee cup. “With WeChat. I’d send them messages at 2 AM with a random account, telling them the truth is outside the window. Since they’ve already taken two doses of the mescaline, they’d hallucinate when they were half-asleep. And when they opened the window, they’d smell the lavender and be tempted to walk closer. They all liked lavender, and knew the scent. I just had to put dried lavender on the window sill and make sure it had a scent.”
WeChat? So this was how she did it. “Wouldn’t they be suspicious of messages from someone random? And where did you get the dried lavender?”
Ling smiled at my questions. “I erased all the WeChat messages before the police came. Zhou Nan, the last to die, didn’t use WeChat. I had to wake up her up at 2 AM and tell her there was something outside. She was afraid at first, but when she smelled the lavender she forgot reality and just jumped. The lavender came from Lin Xiao, she said a sea of lavender flowers was the most beautiful thing in the world.”
“How did you know a girl killed herself at the dorm five years ago?” This question also bothered me, maybe it had something to do with the forum Teng had found.
Ling looked a little surprised, with an odd emotion showing in her eyes. “The Dark Angel told me.”
“Dark Angel? What’s that?” I squinted my eyes.
Ling shook her head at my serious look. “It’s no big deal, just an online forum. I found it by accident. When I saw there were so many people venting on there, and other people helping them, I also posted messages, saying how much I suffered. Gradually, I found I had more self-esteem and felt more worthy when I was on the forum. Then I saw people leaving messages for the forum owner, asking for help, so I did it too. The forum owner would answer questions randomly, and when I left a message, he actually replied, and told me a girl at my dorm killed herself five years ago.”
“What was your message about? Could other people see it? Did he say anything else to you?” I was intrigued and curious about the forum.
Ling looked at me silently and continued. “I just said I needed help. Other people could see my message too. He also told me: pen oracle.”
“Dark Angel? Is this the website?” I looked down and thought of the situation. Who was the forum owner? How did he know about the death five years ago? And he gave her the idea of the pen oracle? Who was he?
“Well, now you know everything. I was too naive, I thought I plotted perfectly.” Ling laughed at herself.
Teng pushed open the door of the interrogation room and came in. I knew he was here for the forum. Indeed, he sat down across from Ling and asked, “you didn’t erase the messages on the site, did you?”
Ling shook her head. Maybe she didn’t think we would find the site, and she was too simple. She eventually leaned forward on the desk, saying she was tired and ignored us.
Teng was still frowning as he left the room, with none of the joy of cracking the case. “It doesn’t make sense. If Ling didn’t erase her own messages, then the forum owner did it. He erased Ling’s messages when I logged on, and then kicked me off the site.”
Teng tested his theory back at the office. The Dark Angel site could only be logged onto after midnight with the way it was programmed, which he realized after he tried to see the site.
Every person on the site is anonymous and didn’t need to share any information. The posts they made were all stories of suffering and filled with negativity.
According to Ling, it was possible that since she always complained and vented on the site, when she asked for help, the forum owner knew what her issue was without mentioning the details.
The forum owner also told her a girl at her dorm killed herself five years ago, and to play the pen oracle. What was weird was how nothing could be found on this person, which was why Teng looked defeated.
“OK, Ling already admitted everything and explained the crime. The forum owner may just be a pervert who knew of some gossip and pa.s.sed it onto Ling. Hackers could also find out things easily, they just had to hack into the college files.” Hao didn’t overthink like I did and just wanted to close the case.
Teng still felt aggravated. Even though more investigation didn’t seem necessary now, he seemed determined to try.
It was rare to see him this conflicted. I patted his shoulder. “You can keep trying when you have time. Or log in with a new account after midnight. You’re so talented, you could definitely figure it out.”
I guess I rarely spoke so gently; he seemed really encouraged at my words. I tried not to smile, “tell me if you find anything!”
I met Li Ling’s parents after the case closed. Her mom wiped tears silently while her father cussed, saying things like raising her was a waste of his time, and she was totally crazy, etc.
I watched them in silence. The world was filled with different people, and everyone had different minds. Whether you were killers or kind people, the environment you grew up in had something to do with it.
I worked late again one night. After I got into the building, I stomped my feet subconsciously to trigger the light to turn on, but the hallway was still pitch black. I tried a couple more times, but nothing happened, I felt a little panicked. I coughed as I felt my heart racing.
In a rush, I looked for the flashlight in my bag. The moment the light came on, it was as if I had found a life raft in the ocean. I quickly walked upstairs, trying to control my meltdown.
When I opened the door to my apartment with shaking fingers, the room was still dark. I had no courage to go inside, inspite of living here for years. A sense of powerlessness spread throughout my body. I squatted by the security door, shivering, which made me angry. How come I was so weak? Just because there was no light didn’t mean I should lose my composure like this.
Standing in the hallway, with my world reduced to the flashlight’s glow, I could feel my breathing quickening and tears blurring my vision.