My reflexes, dulled by years of paralysis, were slow. I couldn't dodge in time, and the brick connected, knocking out two of my teeth.
The crowd surged forward, their curses filling the air.
"You monster! My daughter was only twenty-three! She was so proud of her looks, and you… you pushed her into a vat of boiling oil…"
"My son had been battling depression. He had just recovered, but after being your caregiver for a year, he suddenly threw himself in front of a train."
"All our loved ones are dead, so why are you still alive?"
They kicked and punched me, unleashing all their fury.
The police watched on with disgust, only intervening when it looked like the crowd might actually beat me to death.
"Officers, please, sentence Song Yue to death immediately!"
But the officers just looked at each other, lowering their heads without a word.
Officer Liu stepped forward, his expression helpless.
"Although Song Yue has admitted to being the murderer and has described the details of the deaths..."
"We found no fingerprints of hers at the scenes, nor is there any witness testimony or physical evidence of her crimes. According to the medical examiner's autopsy reports, all the deceased can only be classified as suicides."
"Unless Song Yue explains her motive and methods, our hands are tied. There's no way to convict her."
Despite my swollen face, I broke into a wide, bloody grin.
"So, as long as I keep my mouth shut, you can't sentence me to death?"
"This is fantastic. I killed ten people, and I get to live!"
Splat.
Someone had brought a rotten egg and smashed it hard on my head.
Everyone started shouting at once.
Just as the scene was about to spiral out of control, Officer Liu yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Shouting isn't going to solve anything!"
"Only by finding the truth can we make Song Yue pay for her crimes!"
His words sobered the crowd, and the shouting gradually subsided.
All the victims' families gathered together, murmuring amongst themselves, trying to figure out my methods.
Soon, a sharp-looking middle-aged woman slammed her hand on the table and stood up.
"Do we even need to guess? She must have been faking it the whole time!"
"She waited until the caregivers weren't paying attention, knocked them out, killed them, and then made it look like suicide!"
But Officer Liu shook his head, refuting the theory.
"Song Yue has been in a hospital room with 24-hour surveillance."
"We've repeatedly reviewed all the surveillance footage. For ten whole years, Song Yue didn't even open her eyes. There's no way she could have physically killed anyone!"
Someone else guessed that there might be a neurotoxin in my hospital room.
The caregivers, exposed to a toxic environment for a long time, went mad and killed themselves one by one.
But that theory was also quickly debunked.
Doctors had already inspected my room meticulously several times and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Some people speculated that there was another killer, but there were no traces of a second person at any of the death scenes.
Seeing their frustrated, somber faces only made me feel more smug.
"Before each of them died, they cried and begged me to spare them, saying they had parents to support and children to raise."
"A real shame... The families they cherished so much can't even figure out how they died. I wonder if that makes them turn in their graves."
"I hear that spirits with lingering regrets are forced to relive their deaths over and over."
"Some of them were ground into a paste by a meat grinder, some were burned to a crisp..."
I savored the memories, a blissful expression on my face.
My demeanor made everyone present clench their fists, wishing they could tear me apart on the spot.
Left with no other options, the police decided to publicize the case online, hoping an outside perspective might crack the case.
Soon, the "Vegetative State Serial Killer Case" shot to the top of the trending charts.
【Teacher of the Year or Serial Killer? The Twisted Case of Song Yue】
【How Does a Woman in a Coma Kill? Uncovering the Baffling Truth Behind the Murders.】
Netizens argued endlessly, with all sorts of theories emerging.
Suddenly, a young man shot to his feet and shouted.
"I know!"
