vstars Chapter 1 Murderer
Chapter 1 Murderer
The fishy smell, mixed with cheap tobacco, leftover food, and a faint, cloying sweetness of DM, seeped into my nose.
Xu Shengjie opened his eyes. The dim yellow light bulb on the ceiling flickered, like the last heartbeat of a patient being killed.
I felt waves of pain in my abdomen.
Head down, white shirt...
Well, if it can still be considered white.
The front of the shirt was soaked in dark red, and the edges had turned black and stiff.
Fresh, semi-coagulated blood was slowly seeping out, clinging to the skin with the residual warmth of the body.
It's not a prop syrup from the film set!
This realization, like an icicle, suddenly dug into his chaotic mind.
He moved his fingers, his fingertips touching the rough wooden tabletop, the blood mixed with oil stains, it was a bit greasy.
A well-worn copy of the magazine "Penthouse" lay open on the table.
Isabella Vinnie, naked and with a seductive smile, was looking at him, her eyes seemingly carrying a hint of allure.
Damn it, how am I supposed to know this cover girl's name?
Xu Shengjie frowned, swept the magazine into the trash can, and then his gaze fell on the dark object on the table.
gun!
The Smith & Wesson J-type revolver was a tool he bought on the black market for $200.
Fragments of memory suddenly crashed in: the narrow back alley, the stench of sewage, the flashing neon signs, Li the Cripple's wide eyes, his face filled with fear.
A very beautiful Asian woman...
A deafening explosion, scalding liquid, splashed onto the skin!
His stomach churned, he covered his mouth, rushed into the bathroom, and vomited into the toilet.
"Li the Cripple" fired!
If it weren't for the appearance of that Asian woman, which distracted him, this wouldn't have happened at all.
However, he also fired his gun and killed "Li the Cripple".
So, I fucking killed someone?
Xu Shengjie shivered, jumped up, walked to the washbasin, turned on the tap, rinsed his mouth to get rid of the nauseating sour smell, then splashed cold water on his face and looked up abruptly.
In the mirror was the youthful yet handsome face of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy.
He's somewhat like a Chinese version of Alain Delon—handsome, with sharp features… If he were in China, he would definitely become a top idol, the kind that rich women adore, and they wouldn't mind spending a fortune on him.
But at this moment, this face, which should have been attracting attention on the screen, was filled with a fierceness, arrogance, and a hint of weariness that did not belong to its age.
Those black eyes flashed with an arrogant, fierce light, but there was none of the fear and lingering dread that should have come from killing someone.
What fierce eyes those were!
Only then did Xu Shengjie truly come to his senses.
This is not the dormitory of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, not the editing room of the company, not the film set, or the editorial office of Guangdong People's Publishing House, much less the damn hospital bed in the hospital that smells of disinfectant and makes him increasingly powerless to move!
There was no bitter taste in the air, unlike the characteristic bitterness of medications used to treat ALS.
The unique atmosphere of Manhattan's Chinatown is born from the smell of sweat, blood, dirty deals, and the struggles of the underprivileged.
Yes, he time-traveled!
But he didn't feel fear; he was even a little excited.
Although he shot and killed someone, becoming a murderer, he could move again and was no longer like a lump of rotten flesh, unable to move at all.
"Hehehe..."
Xu Shengjie couldn't help but laugh.
He felt no fear, only a strange excitement.
……
Xu Shengjie, or rather, the soul from 2026 that had just pieced together fragmented memories within this body, leaned on the table and stood up unsteadily.
My legs feel a little weak.
The heart is behind the ribs, like a heavy drumbeat.
This is the heartbeat of a nineteen-year-old!
He glanced down at the gunshot wound in his abdomen; it was a penetrating wound.
"Li the Cripple" used a modified M1911, and the 9mm bullet pierced his abdomen directly.
However, the wound is healing at a speed visible to the naked eye; it was bleeding just a moment ago, but now granulation tissue has begun to grow.
What am I doing...?
This can't be the world of Lord of Mysteries, can it?
It shouldn't be. The fragmented memories the original owner pieced together told him that this was a normal world, not the kind of fantastical world of American variety shows where people could fly and escape.
He, also known as Xu Shengjie, is a third-generation Chinese American in Manhattan's Chinatown.
My grandfather fled to New York during World War II, and my father was involved in organized crime and was once a member of the Ghost Gang.
In the 1980s, Mr. Yin, the powerful leader of the Ghost Shadow Gang in New York, was arrested, and the Ghost Shadow Gang fell apart, becoming a small gang in Chinatown.
Xu Shengjie's father died in a gang war.
And the mother...
He seems to have no memory of his mother.
His dead father told him that his mother left America after giving birth to him and then disappeared.
He grew up with the help of the old men in the Ghost Shadow Gang.
After failing the joint entrance exam last year, he did not continue to study for the exam, but instead joined a gang and became a member of the Ghost Shadow Gang.
Everything was going smoothly!
They blocked "Li the Cripple" on Bloom Street, near Little Italy.
This guy colluded with BTK and stole a batch of goods from the Ghost Shadow Gang... As for what kind of goods? He didn't know either. Anyway, Kenny Zhang, the current acting leader of the Ghost Shadow Gang, ordered the elimination of "Li the Cripple," and he unfortunately became the executioner.
If that woman hadn't suddenly appeared...
The woman's face reappeared in Xu Shengjie's mind.
Huh?
It looks familiar!
But I can't remember who it is.
After he eliminated "Li the Cripple," the woman fled in a frenzy, even leaving her backpack in the alley.
Xu Shengjie also realized what was happening, quickly walked out of the bathroom, and came to the table. There he saw a red canvas backpack lying on the chair next to him.
However, it was covered in blood...
Bloom Street, between Chinatown and Little Italy.
Overall, it's part of Chinatown, but it also serves as a buffer zone between Chinatown and Little Italy, as it's not too far from here.
Otherwise, he might not have been able to run back to the safe house.
Yes, this is a safe house!
Xu Shengjie looked around at the cramped single room, the walls peeling and covered with a few celebrity posters.
One of them was a still from Demi Moore in "Ghost," and next to it was a poster... um, it was Andy McDowell! Xu Shengjie remembered, that must be the movie poster for "Groundhog Day."
Yes, Andy McDowell is the female lead in Groundhog Day.
There was a wooden bed in the room, with the blanket crumpled up.
He had been staying here for three days before the operation.
In the corner were several cardboard boxes with illegible contents, and the room's only window, facing the fire escape, was covered in a thick layer of dust.
Outside the window, it was pitch black!
"Hold!"
Xu Shengjie suddenly cursed.
How did he become a murderer?
Moreover, he was a murderer who was involved in gangs!
Reincarnation is certainly something to be happy about.
But becoming a murderer is a very troublesome thing.
Most importantly, there were eyewitnesses.
Once the other party realizes what's happening, they'll definitely go to the police station to report it... They've just come back to life, haven't even had a chance to enjoy it, and now they're going to lose their freedom again?
Then I've worn it for nothing, haven't I?
Suddenly, I felt extremely agitated, as if a fire was burning fiercely within me.
He ripped off the blood-stained clothes clinging to his body, revealing his strong physique.
He put away the gun on the table, wiped the bloodstains off the table, and cleaned up any remaining personal traces in the room.
When Xu Shengjie wasn't sick, he was a diligent person.
After spending six years in the hospital, I have now come back to life and feel full of energy.
After cleaning the room and confirming that there wasn't much obvious evidence left, he plopped down in a chair and picked up his backpack.
The wound on my abdomen has healed.
At least on the surface, there were no visible signs of gunshot wounds.
Xu Shengjie finally breathed a sigh of relief and rummaged through the items in his backpack.
There wasn't much stuff; I had a wallet with four or five bills inside, but they were all small denominations, totaling no more than thirty dollars.
There are also some coins!
He didn't look closely and continued rummaging through his backpack.
Cosmetics, and... a passport and a green card?
Xu Shengjie took out his passport and opened it: Zhou Wenqiong, from Suzhou, Jiangsu, born in 1965, so she is 29 years old this year?
That name looks so familiar!
His gaze fell on the photo in the passport, and he felt that the woman looked familiar.
or……
His eyes darted around. Since he was already a murderer, he might as well go all the way...
Knock knock knock!
There was a sudden knock on the door.
Xu Shengjie quickly stuffed the blood-stained clothes and passport into his backpack and then pulled out a pistol from his back waist.
"Who?"
He walked to the door and asked in a low voice.
……