Jiang Ran got up, made himself a sandwich, and ate it.

Then he packed a change of clothes in a bag.

He walked to the Starlight gym.

When he arrived at the gym, it was already past eight, close to nine o'clock.

At this time, at the front desk on the first floor of the Starlight gym, many people were queuing up, all members who had cards here.

They were all preparing to cancel their memberships.

After all, a suicide incident happened here yesterday; someone hanged themselves here. Even though it was suicide, it's still considered inauspicious.

Some superstitious people definitely wouldn't want to come again, but even those who aren't superstitious would inevitably feel a chill in their hearts every time they reached the first floor.

They would always remember that a dead person once hung here.

Anyway, there are so many gyms; they can cancel their card and go to another one.

Jiang Ran did not cancel his membership. He didn't care about this kind of thing at all.

After all, he was a butcher whose hands were stained with blood. If he got scared into canceling his membership just because a girl committed suicide at this gym...

Never mind what others would think, Jiang Ran himself would laugh himself to death.

As for other people's thoughts on this matter.

Jiang Ran felt there was no need to cancel the membership.

He believed that Hua Country, this nation with over five thousand years of history, possibly even more than five thousand years,

is just a continuous, repeating cycle of peace, war, peace, war.

Not even counting the births, aging, illnesses, and deaths during peacetime.

Just looking at those war-torn eras in history.

What, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Chu-Han Contention, the Three Kingdoms, the later War of the Eight Princes during the Western Jin...

Which one wasn't a river of blood?

And these periods were often accompanied by natural disasters.

Especially during various little ice ages.

Even more people died.

People died here in one place, died there in another place.

Therefore, on the land of Hua Country, where can you find a single place where no one has ever died?

So, why be afraid of a mere suicide at a gym?

On the first floor of the gym.

Business was still as dismal as yesterday.

Besides the significant reduction in members, Jiang Ran noticed that many employees in the gym had also vanished.

"Xiao An, it looks like quite a few of your colleagues have resigned, huh?"

When Jiang Ran reached the treadmill area, he was surprised to find Xiao An was actually there.

She was on a treadmill, the speed set very slow, and she was continuously walking on it.

Her gaze was fixed, staring at the street outside the glass.

Therefore, Jiang Ran's sudden question startled her.

She patted her chest, calmed down for a moment, then answered Jiang Ran's question: "Yes, many of my colleagues have resigned. Those people really ran faster than rabbits, fleeing as soon as they saw the situation turning bad."

Jiang Ran said, "Why didn't you run?"

She said, "I've been here a long time, I have feelings for the place. And I don't like changing workplaces often; I prefer stability."

"Hey, what about you? You can cancel your membership now, aren't you going to?"

Jiang Ran started the treadmill and began to run: "I'm not afraid of these things, so I don't need to."

"Me too. She was my good sister, my close friend. I'm not afraid either. If ghosts really exist in this world, even if she became a ghost, she would absolutely never hurt me."

Even though she spoke frankly and openly, she was still devastated and listless because of her good friend's death, as if she had lost her soul.

She wasn't wearing makeup today, which made her look less pretty than yesterday and the day before.

Moreover, Jiang Ran noticed that her black long hair was clearly dry and brittle.

The human body is incredibly wondrous.

Everything is interconnected.

For example, if your eyes are uncomfortable, the problem might not be with your eyes, but with your liver, which then affects your eyes.

And Xiao An's dry, brittle black hair was probably due to psychological factors, the blow of her friend's sudden death.

"Has that coach resigned or not?"

By now, Jiang Ran was already running, his pace getting faster and faster, but his speech was very steady, without any panting or breathlessness.

"Which one do you mean? Is it... that new coach you were paying attention to?"

Xiao An forced a smile: "That coach is pretty unlucky too. He hadn't been here for more than a few months when this happened. All the students he worked hard to gather have canceled their memberships and classes."

"So, of course, he resigned along with the other employees."

"Oh, is that so?"

He turned his head back, and with it, his gaze.

His gaze was entirely on the clear street outside the glass.

There were still quite a lot of people on the street.

Coming and going.

All sorts of shady characters were among them.

You just don't know their background.

Based on the information currently available.

Jiang Ran strongly suspected that the death of Xiao An's sister was actually the work of that new coach from that day.

That new coach was definitely a serial killer who roamed from place to place.

And even among serial killers, he was an extremely special, unique existence.

Jiang Ran had encountered this type of serial killer before on Earth.

These serial killers, they don't kill for money, for lust, or because of conflicts arising from grudges.

Instead, they crush hope.

The modus operandi of this type of serial killer.

For example, take this new coach.

The last city the new coach stayed in was a city thousands of kilometers away from Nancheng City.

There, he worked in a supermarket.

His personality was introverted, his appearance ordinary, and the clothes he wore were either black or white.

After he killed someone there.

He came to Nancheng City.

In Nancheng City, using a fake identity, he became a coach at this Starlight Club in Nancheng City.

This coach, from his appearance to his personality, was completely different from the supermarket worker persona of the previous period.

Not only was he enthusiastic and outgoing, but he also loved to smile, and the clothes he wore were extremely trendy.

Apart from the face he couldn't change, everything else was different. You would never think these two were the same person.

Even if you met him, you'd just think they were people who looked alike.

Afterwards, he killed Xiao An's sister, found the right opportunity, resigned, and moved on to the next city.

Several major characteristics of this type of serial killer:

First, the people they kill are all disguised as suicides; it will never look like murder.

To avoid bringing trouble upon themselves.

Second, they roam through many places, presenting themselves to the public with completely different images and identities.

Third, and this is the special part about their chosen targets.

Regardless of gender or age, there's only one thing in common.

They are people who are deeply mired in despair but are just about to embrace hope.

Xiao An's sister was exactly like that.

Sick, dumped by her fiancé, deeply in despair.

But later, she not only got a boyfriend, but her illness also improved, and her life was once again filled with hope.

"I remember, in the last two years, there was a TV drama in Cherry Blossom Country called 'Calamity'. The protagonist it depicted was this type of deranged serial killer."

"That protagonist was the embodiment of calamity, bringing disaster to people."

Jiang Ran sighed inwardly.

However, all this was just speculation, even though he was ninety percent sure.

It was right at this moment.

The sound of footsteps abruptly rang out behind them.

Neither of them turned around, thinking it was just someone passing by.

But those footsteps stopped right behind them and didn't move away.

Only then did the two of them turn around.

Standing behind them was a man who looked about thirty years old.

This man was wearing a black tracksuit, with running shoes on his feet.

His hairstyle was the most common short cut.

With a thin, narrow face, the whole man gave off an aura of neatness and efficiency.