Is What You See Really the Truth

"Who the hell would do such a thing...Damn it!"

Director Yu Qing was stuffing the internal organs into the belly of a female corpse under a bridge, having already completed ten comic strips. The police had reported the news through various channels, and he had expected the case to end there.

The comic artist was still being held in custody, awaiting legal punishment, when suddenly a new comic strip appeared online.

In the same style, it depicted yet another gruesome murder scene of a slain woman.

It truly was an endless ordeal.

Given Yu Qing's extensive experience, the police instructed him to continue staging fake murder scenes, while Su He and Officer Hou visited the detention center.

Wang Bin, male, 29 years old, majored in art. After being forcibly expelled from school, he made a living by drawing comics online.

His works were dark, hopeless, and evil. Apart from a small group of fans, the comments were overwhelmingly filled with insults.

Officer Hou placed the eleventh comic strip in front of Wang Bin and said, "You drew this..."

Wang Bin glanced at it, and beneath his thick glasses, a hint of smugness emerged as he coldly remarked, "Officer, I'm just a comic artist. Why must you make things difficult for me?"

"You have an accomplice. Who is it? How many more of these comics do you have? Don't you know that people have died because of your drawings?"

Officer Hou stared intently at Wang Bin, who displayed an indifferent expression despite the fact that five women had been brutally murdered due to his artwork.

Wang Bin gently adjusted his glasses, smirking, "Officer, in this world, some people are destined to live in dark corners, scurrying like rats, unable to find their way back or know where they're going. I'm merely helping them..."

"Everyone wears a mask of hypocrisy. Do you really think the smiling faces you see are truly clean?"

"Tell me, what you see, is that the truth? Does sunshine represent justice, and darkness, evil?"

Wang Bin suddenly became agitated, shouting loudly.

Then he abruptly slammed himself against the wall.

"Bang!" Wang Bin's head was covered in blood, and the prison guards rushed over to restrain him.

On the stretcher, Wang Bin continued to struggle violently. As he passed by Su He, Su He suddenly said, "Since you wanted to die so badly, why didn't you succeed the last time?"

Wang Bin fell silent, staring at Su He. He licked the fresh blood from his lips, then closed his eyes as a tear trickled down.

As they exited the detention center, Officer Hou couldn't help but ask, "Su He, what did you mean by that statement? Why did you say that, and why did Wang Bin cry?"

Su He walked towards the car, explaining, "Wang Bin's arms are covered in tattoos, but they can't conceal the scars from his attempted suicide. He wanted to die but failed. What exactly happened?"

Officer Hou nodded, then added, "You still haven't explained why he cried."

"How would I know? It certainly wasn't from getting sand in his eyes..."

As Su He approached the driver's seat, Officer Hou yanked him back, cursing, "You don't even have a license, and you're already addicted to driving... Where are we going next?"

Su He obediently sat in the passenger seat and said, "Wang Bin's home!"

Experts had confirmed that the eleventh comic strip was drawn by the same person as the previous ten. But with Wang Bin in custody, who had released it?

In a dilapidated apartment building, Wang Bin's room, which was originally a storage closet, was now empty except for the graffiti covering the walls.

"I've already told you, we've cleared out everything and brought it to the police station. All that's left are the walls we haven't demolished yet..."

Officer Hou followed Su He into Wang Bin's former residence, observing the dark-themed graffiti covering the walls. "The place was rented, for less than a year. The police station has photos of the wall paintings. Su He, if you're hoping to find clues here, I'd advise you against wasting your time... You'd be better off investigating the source of the eleventh comic strip..."

Su He took out his phone, pulled up the eleven comic strips, and compared them to the wall graffiti, suddenly smiling.

"The comics weren't drawn by Wang Bin... Look here, the colors should be more vibrant, suggesting they were drawn recently. Notice the edges - Wang Bin attempted suicide by slashing his wrists, causing an unsteady hand while drawing. The edges have significant fluctuations, though it's easy to overlook since it doesn't affect the visuals..."

"The comic artist we arrested is merely an impersonator..."

Officer Hou compared the comics to the wall graffiti, then asked, "Following your reasoning, if the real comic artist is someone else, there are so many artists in Kunyang City. Where do we start looking?"

"And if the comics weren't drawn by Wang Bin, why didn't he simply say so instead of taking the blame?"

The comics were originally spread online, making it difficult to pinpoint the source.

Previously, Wang Bin's distinctive style made him easily identifiable within the industry.

Now that someone is imitating Wang Bin's style, finding this mimic is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Wang Bin gave us a clue. Do you remember what he said: 'What you see, is that the truth? Does sunshine represent justice, and darkness, evil?'" Su He didn't prolong the suspense, adding, "If we reverse his words, we'll be closer to the answer."

Officer Hou frowned, "What I see isn't the truth? Sunshine represents evil, and darkness represents justice?"

Su He smiled, explaining, "Wang Bin's first question, 'What you see, is that the truth?' He said that to tell us we haven't found the truth yet. As for what the truth is, it's certainly not what we currently believe to be true."

"'Does sunshine represent justice, and darkness, evil?' If my previous assumption is correct, and the comics were drawn by someone else, then the 'darkness' here refers to Wang Bin himself. The comics weren't drawn by him, and the police have wrongly accused him. He's using this way to express his dissatisfaction..."

"Darkness doesn't necessarily mean evil, and sunshine doesn't always represent justice... If the Wang Bin hiding in the storage closet represents darkness, then perhaps this 'sunshine' is right before our eyes..."

"Wang Bin is even willing to go to jail to protect this 'sunshine'!"

"Who is the 'sunshine'?" Officer Hou asked.

Su He paused, looking at Officer Hou, replying, "How would I know? Investigating social relationships is the job of you police officers."

Officer Hou chuckled awkwardly, realizing he had subconsciously viewed Su He as a fellow police officer, forgetting that he was merely a theatrical food delivery man.

If they could find the real comic artist, this whole ordeal would finally end.

Back at the police station, they reviewed Wang Bin's file. His parents were deceased, and he had no contact with relatives. He had never held a job, supporting himself by taking online art commissions.

Based on Wang Bin's social circle, none of these individuals possessed artistic talents. The eleven comic strips, in terms of concept and layout, were skillfully executed and convincingly imitated Wang Bin's style, achieving a deceptive effect. The artist's drawing ability was extremely high!

Su He stared at the education section of the file, which listed Wang Bin's highest level as high school. However, Officer Hou had previously mentioned that Wang Bin had attended college but was forcibly expelled.

Su He looked up at Officer Hou and said, "Our next stop, the Kunyang Academy of Fine Arts!"