LGHTNOVELBOOK Episode 5 - Cold Tropical Fish
Episode 5: Cold Tropical Fish
Duanmu Liang remained silent, his gaze passing over Miyagi Aki to quietly observe the aquarium behind her.
In the cold water, tropical fish swam about, occasionally touching the glass before retreating back among the water plants.
Come to think of it, what was the appeal of people watching fish confined to tanks, spending their days leisurely swimming around behind transparent glass?
Duanmu Liang had never understood it.
Was it an obsession with the dazzling colors of fish scales? Or perhaps a subtle satisfaction derived from looking down upon these ignorant prisoners from above?
Lost in these irrelevant thoughts for a while, he eventually refocused his attention.
“Since this murder case happened eight years ago… Miyagi-san, how old were you then?”
“Hmm? Twelve,” she replied matter-of-factly.
…
“I’m sorry, Miyagi-san, but I still can’t understand your thinking…”
Duanmu Liang prepared to stand up and leave.
“Wait a minute! Are you that eager to call the police?”
Aki quickly grabbed hold of him.
“Sorry, but I’m a law-abiding citizen.”
Rather, wouldn’t it be stranger for a normal person not to call the police in this situation?
“Mmm…”
Miyagi Aki looked somewhat troubled.
“To be honest, Landlord-san, do you really think the police can resolve the current situation?”
“…”
Duanmu Liang had no response.
If everything she said was true, then perhaps this time too, that murderer would escape justice.
…That would indeed be dangerous.
“Everyone knows Japanese police aren’t trustworthy. However…”
He pointed at the woman sitting across from him.
“Comparatively speaking, I find you more suspicious.”
“Hmm, suspicious… Let me put it this way – do you have any hobbies, Landlord-san? For example, hiding under your blanket on Sunday afternoons, using adult magazines to pleasure yourself…”
…!
W-what’s going on?
Why does she act like she’s seen it with her own eyes?!
“I don’t, I’m not…”
Duanmu instinctively tried to deny it, but he quickly caught himself. After clearing his throat, he said:
“Miyagi-san, isn’t this an irrelevant topic?”
“No, because what I’m planning to do now is no different from what Duanmu-kun does.”
She shook her head.
“For a landlord without a girlfriend, it’s neither strange nor shameful. The world is full of desires, and it’s through these desires that humans continue to progress.”
“Reproduction, self-improvement, realizing one’s value, protecting the group… Various desires provide nourishment for the species to thrive. In fact…”
Somehow, the topic seemed to be wandering into strange territory again. But for some reason, what Miyagi-san said afterward resonated with him unexpectedly.
Duanmu Liang couldn’t understand the thinking of the woman before him. But perhaps they were living in this world harboring the same feelings… Just kidding.
“—I’m just doing that sort of thing. Do you understand, Landlord-san? You don’t need to do anything, just watch quietly and maintain your silence until the incident is resolved.”
Miyagi Aki’s gaze swept over the corpse on the floor.
“I can understand your concerns, Landlord-san. If the police do come knocking, I’ll be their only suspect. Conversely…”
She smiled softly.
“If I can thoroughly resolve that trouble, wouldn’t that be more beneficial than harmful for you, Landlord-san?”
*
Ten minutes later.
The hallway lights flickered as the young landlord silently left the room.
“That was unexpectedly difficult to handle…”
In truth, she didn’t dislike this high school student landlord… rather, she should say she had taken a liking to him.
If possible, she wouldn’t want to involve him in what was coming next.
Miyagi Aki let out a breath.
She stood up from the tatami, stepped over the corpse on the floor, unplugged the charging laptop, and turned off the lights.
The room immediately plunged into deep darkness.
Only the aquarium that Duanmu Liang had noticed still cast a green glow through its glass. The colorful fish swam leisurely in the water.
The opened screen flickered dimly.
A darkly-themed webpage, divided into different sections, with massive data streams from around the globe converging into a place as dark as an abyss.
On it were recorded countless forbidden pieces of information unimaginable to ordinary people.
“Long is the way and hard, that out of hell leads up to light.”
Milton’s verse adorned the website’s title page.
This was the website known as “Paradise Lost.”
…
Desire is the nourishment for human growth.
This point is indisputable.
However, excess nourishment spoils faster than anything else—that is to say, corrupted desires gradually accumulate.
The birth of the internet created a wellspring for the darkness accumulated in people’s hearts to gush forth.
Miyagi Aki certainly wasn’t a necrophiliac. Rather, what kind of twisted mind would find those stinking, rotting things interesting?
There were actually people she knew who took pleasure in such things, which she couldn’t understand.
However.
She deeply loved those… elements that caused dead people to appear in the world.
To satisfy twisted desires without dirtying one’s hands, the only way was to become an “observer.”
Only through human death could the valleys of the heart be filled. Murderers, murder weapons… serial killers, murder scenes, murder motives… just thinking about these things would elevate Miyagi Aki’s mood.
She used her laptop’s camera to record the corpse on the floor. Carefully photographing from various angles, she documented the wounds, appearance, and personal effects, then uploaded everything to the website.
The dim light source softly illuminated her face. Her usually pale, beautiful cheeks now showed an unhealthy flush. The curves of her chest beneath her clothes rose and fell with her surging emotions.
…
Chess pieces need to be placed on the board.
Characters exist to serve the story.
An actor’s place is on the stage.
The subjects of abnormal crimes are a group of irredeemable dregs with defective hearts.
From long ago, she had harbored eager and expectant feelings, quietly observing these people with the eyes of one watching prey and food.
Those people who deviated from morality and common sense were like tropical fish swimming back and forth in the tank; toy soldiers lined up in the cabinet; ants building nests under trees… There was no need to worry about damage to their hearts and bodies. Even if they were subjected to pain and torture, it would never invite condemnation.
Silently calculating the calendar and time, Miyagi Aki dialed a certain number.
“Hey, are you free? Yeah, that thing… Of course, I’ve already received the promised payment. When we talk tomorrow, someone can come by to take it away.”
After hanging up, she smiled pleasantly.
“To escape from that kind of place was indeed somewhat unexpected… Come then, long-unseen Mr. Serial Killer, if you’re challenging me, let the game begin now.”
The broken toy she had casually tossed aside eight years ago – who would have thought she’d see it again. Such a rare unexpected pleasure in life should be properly enjoyed.
*
Even if one desperately tries to understand them, incomprehensible situations in the world continue to unfold.
Choices made to avoid trouble might ultimately result in being drawn into an even bigger “situation”—such a possibility still existed.
This was something that Duanmu Liang, falling asleep with an uneasy heart tonight, could not have predicted.