Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

I grabbed Dexter from behind and directed my middle finger at the crowd with an indifferent gaze. I was aware that the murderer possessed a strong sense of self-esteem and would not tolerate provocation from others.

Therefore, I had to take the lead in provoking... This way, he would focus on targeting me instead of Violette.

Violette immediately understood my intention and stepped forward in a panic to press down my arm. Sophia, what are you doing?"

I steered Violette toward Zion. "Tell him to come to me. Get her out of here."

Zion was about to speak, but as soon as he saw my determination, he grasped Violette firmly. "Don’t stir up trouble. Come with me to examine the first body. You’re a forensic doctor. You should be able to uncover some clues."

Only after that did Violette react. She nodded and followed Zion. After taking a few steps, she glanced back at Dexter and said, "Protect Sophia."

Dexter nodded in response.

"A steel nail was found on top of the victim’s head, indicating she was killed by a direct blow to the skull, leaving no external wounds." Eason meticulously inspected around and discovered only the steel nail on her head.

"To ensure a successful attack, the perpetrator must possess considerable strength while the victim must have been defenseless. Given the victim’s serene facial expression, it appears that she did not suffer greatly in her final moments." Joel carefully checked the corpse.

I shook my head incredulously and examined the nail cap intently. "But if a steel nail were to strike the skull, the deceased would not lose consciousness, and there would also be signs of pain on her face. Unless it was carried out with a nail gun..."

The nail gun’s power drove the nail directly, preventing uneven force that could occur when using a hammer.

"The steel nail embedded in the skull wasn’t the fatal injury." Dexter examined the victim’s mouth, nose, and eyes. The arachnoid hemorrhage appeared to be not severe, suggesting that the major blood vessels were not affected by the steel nail. The deceased likely did not die soon after its insertion.

"The victim was killed by suffocation." Dexter pointed to the victim’s neck. The murderer must have strangled the victim from behind.

"Then why did the murderer drive this steel nail in?" Eason was utterly perplexed. He found this completely unnecessary.

Dexter followed the line of sight to the top of the deceased’s head and gestured toward the railing. "To stabilize the body.

"The deceased’s muscles will experience slight contractions within one to three hours after death, and the joints will become immobile, which will occur throughout the body within 12 to 16 hours.

"Assuming that the murderer was the first person to test the safe last night, then the time window for him to commit the crime was only 12 hours. However, before the body becomes completely stiff, and if he wanted her to stand here flawlessly, he would need something to stabilize it."

Dexter assumed that the steel nail should have been fastened with something like a fishing line and then looped around the railing. After the initial discovery of the first body, he discreetly severed the fishing line of the second body while no one was looking.

I carefully glanced around. "The surveillance on the deck has been destroyed. The bathroom area is actually a blind spot. This lunatic is quite clever."

"To strangle a person without resistance, the murderer must possess exceptional arm strength." Dexter carefully examined the body, noting only a steel nail lodged in the head and faint bruises on the neck. The absence of any other injuries indicated a lack of struggle or resistance.

"The deceased trusted the murderer, or... did not believe that the murderer would pose a threat to her," Dexter analyzed again.

In conclusion, it was dangerously easy to ignore the identity and appearance of the murderer.

Joel snuck up behind Eason, put his arm around his neck, and strangled him forcefully. Eason nearly passed out and slapped Joel’s arm hard while scolding him, "Are you out of your mind-"

"With my size and arm strength, it’ll still take some time to strangle him, and he can resist..." Joel was trying to convey that the murderer was significantly stronger than him.

At that moment, Zion had confined the people to the deck, forbidding anyone from leaving. However, among the onlookers on the deck, Joel appeared to be the strongest person. There was even an elderly woman with a stooped back among this group of individuals.

The elderly lady was trembling as she expressed her desire to leave the deck. "We’re all hungry. Why don’t you let us leave?"

The elderly lady gestured in sign language, prompting the woman with her to inquire why they were not permitted to leave.

"Allow the elderly and the weak to go down first. It’s windy up there," Eason walked over to Zion and informed.

Zion nodded in agreement.

The elderly woman walked down trembling, leaning on the support of the woman.

Directly beneath the deck lay the bathroom on the 15th floor, where Violette was carefully examining the body. Violette looked up at Zion.

"Suffocation was indeed the cause, but it wasn’t strangulation. If it were, we would see visible marks on the neck. When an external force fractures the neck, it results in a spinal cord injury.

"This will cause immediate death since the spinal cord break disrupts the respiratory center, consequently leading to respiratory and cardiac arrest. The killer violently snapped the victim’s neck."

Zion turned around and relayed the message to us, who were still on the deck.

"Being able to break someone’s neck with your bare hands? I’ve only seen this in movies. I’ll give it a try," Joel muttered, then raised his hands to experiment with Eason’s head.

Eason looked at Joel warily. "Go away!"

Joel chuckled, and I found myself amused as well. Zion rested against the door frame with a helpless smile. "Enough causing trouble. Go check on the people on the deck first."

Eason nodded, his gaze shifting toward the men who remained on the deck. They didn’t seem particularly strong, lacking the prowess to effortlessly snap someone’s neck.

"Violette?" Zion had just shared a few words with us when Violette, who had been inspecting the corpse outside the bathroom door on the 15th floor, suddenly vanished.

Zion was extremely panicked. "Violette!"

Dexter and I also rushed over.

"Both of you, stay back and investigate," Dexter instructed Joel and Eason.

We rapidly descended to the 15th floor and hurried into the bathroom, only to find no trace of Violette. It was as if she vanished before our very eyes in a matter of seconds.

"Violette..." I stood there, breathing heavily. I hit my forehead hard.

"No! This is wrong! The murderer must have just been on the deck. He couldn’t have had much time to leave the crime scene. But how did he manage to take Violette away?" I looked around nervously and hastily exited the bathroom.

While I was anxiously trying to figure out how the murderer committed the crime, Dexter unexpectedly kicked an elderly lady with a hunched figure. The lady screamed in fear and looked at Dexter. A few of us rushed over.

"Dexter, you..." Zion looked at Dexter with a puzzled look.

In the past, I might have unconsciously questioned Dexter’s motives for attacking the elderly lady. But I now firmly believe that Dexter had a valid reason behind his actions.

I stepped forward and firmly grasped the collar of the person in front of me. As my hand touched the person’s skin, I noticed an unnatural texture. The person seemed to have applied a substance resembling egg liquid, and it had dried up and shrunk.

To my surprise, behind this disguise was not a woman but a man. "Where’s Violette?"

After I pulled off his wig, Zion rushed up and kicked him directly. "Where’s Violette?"

The murderer ceased pretending and leaned against the wall, laughing maniacally. "It only takes a few seconds for me to kill someone. You discovered it too late... She’s already dead."

I suddenly noticed my breathing was irregular, and my fingers were shaking. As I lost consciousness, I faintly heard Zion and Eason calling my name. When I regained my composure, I realized I had pulled the murderer into the bathroom, and my hands were covered in blood.

The murderer lay dying, yet a smile still played on his face as he uttered, "We’re of the same kind."

I struck him on the bridge of the nose, my voice low. "Someone who pursues perfection as diligently as you wouldn’t rush to kill. You’d surely hide the person first, wait until we’re far away, and then arrange it to your liking."

The murderer stared at me, a flash of emotion in his eyes. "Are you the mastermind behind the serial murder case? The one who provoked me and urged me to board the cruise?"

I was stunned and confused. "What do you mean?"

"The Huma serial murder case... The murderer sent me letters to provoke me and even took the life of the dog I raised for six years. He said I was worthless and dared me to come to Huma and board this cruise. He said he’d be waiting for me here."

"So I’ve been killing people to lure him out. I’m sure he’s on board." The murderer looked at me and the others who rushed in warily.

My blood ran cold in an instant. The murderer from the serial murder case... The one who took Sophia’s life, the individual seared into my memory with a distinct red birthmark on his arm, his hoarse yet all too familiar voice...