Where Truth Makes You Fall

After a car accident left me in a vegetative state, all the caregivers hired to look after me died horribly.

One had only poured me a glass of water before she, as if in a trance, ran onto a train track and ended her own life.

Another had merely given me a sponge bath before she, seized by a sudden madness, leaped from a rooftop.

No matter how the police investigated, they could find no trace of the killer.

In the end, the ten deaths were declared a series of cold cases.

Strangely, the second the tenth person died, I suddenly woke up.

The first thing I did was go to the police station and turn myself in.

The police were stunned.

"Are you saying you murdered ten consecutive caregivers over the ten years you were in a vegetative state?"

I was perfectly calm.

"Yes."

"A vegetative state only means you can't move. It doesn't mean you can't kill."

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1

Every officer in the room was stunned into silence.

"Before her accident, Song Yue was the city's 'Teacher of the Year,' known for her gentle nature. How could she kill someone?"

"Exactly. A person in a vegetative state can't even open their eyes. What did she do, kill them with her mind?"

Soon, they decided I was mentally ill and arranged to have me committed to a psychiatric hospital.

But I sat calmly in my chair and, in a soft voice, revealed details that left them reeling.

"The first caregiver bled to death from self-inflicted knife wounds. Seventy-two cuts, to be exact."

"The second caregiver jumped off a building. Before she jumped, she also took a hundred sleeping pills."

...

I calmly recounted the details of all ten caregivers' deaths.

A young officer shot to his feet, his voice trembling.

"Those are details we never released to the public. How could you possibly know them?"

I shrugged.

"Because I'm the killer."

"I'm the one who killed them. Of course I know the details."

The moment I spoke, the station erupted into chaos.

I was immediately handcuffed and taken to an interrogation room.

The officer in charge of my interrogation, Officer Liu, had been on the force for over thirty years and had a perfect conviction record.

But even with all his experience, he frowned deeply as he wrestled with my confession.

"Song Yue, for the past ten years, you've been comatose in a vegetative state. How did you manage to kill ten caregivers in a row?"

I let out a sneer, leaning back lazily in my chair.

"Are all of you cops this incompetent? Do you need me to spell out something so simple?"

"If you want to know the truth, then go investigate it yourself!"

"If you can't figure out something this simple, you might as well turn in your badges and go flip burgers!"

Officer Liu slammed his hand on the table.

"Don't get smart with me!"

"Those caregivers had no history with you. Talk! What was your motive?"

My expression suddenly turned serious.

"The thing is, even in a vegetative state, I had a sliver of awareness. I could feel things."

"All of those caregivers deserved to die!"

As I spoke, my eyes filled with tears.

Seeing my grief-stricken and indignant expression, Officer Liu's tone couldn't help but soften.

"Did... did those caregivers abuse you?"

I nodded frantically.

"Yes!"

"I was incontinent. One of them had the audacity to wear gloves while cleaning me. Was she disgusted by me? Some hired help, daring to be disgusted by me? She ended up drowning in a septic tank."

"Didn't she love being clean? So I let her take her last breath in the filthiest place imaginable."

"Another one. I prefer my water at exactly 36 degrees Celsius. She dared to give it to me at 37. Was she trying to scald me? Doesn't she know how delicate a comatose patient's esophagus is? So, I made sure she was burned to death with boiling oil. I wanted her to feel what it's like to be scalded."

I grew more and more agitated, clenching my fist and slamming it on the table.

"After abuse like that, of course they deserved to die!"

Officer Liu stared, his mouth agape, utterly speechless for a long moment.

The interrogation lasted for three hours.

After that, no matter what Officer Liu asked me, I refused to say another word.

They had no choice but to temporarily detain me.

News of my confession spread like wildfire. The moment I walked out of the interrogation room, I was surrounded by a large crowd of the victims' families.

Every one of them had eyes burning with rage. Someone even hurled a brick, aiming it right at me.