Headshot

I had always thought that the phrase “I am a dead man” must be some kind of hint, perhaps that I was in danger, that I was about to die, or even a secret code of sorts.

But it wasn’t until I watched the video on the data card that I realized things were far from as simple as I imagined. A vast, chilling, and bizarre web had already been spun around me in silence.

The video was so shocking that both Jin Ze and I were left stunned after the first viewing, so he quickly played it again from the beginning.

The video unfolded as follows: In a dimly lit room stood a row of six people.

What sent chills down my spine was that all six of these people were headless.

Yes, they truly had no heads—not like the earlier video I’d seen of myself, where a camera angle concealed my head and created the illusion, but actual headless bodies, genuine headless figures.

The six of them stood erect and motionless. I wondered how a person could remain upright after losing their head. I scrutinized their surroundings, searching for ropes or supports, but saw none. Nothing held them up. This only made the scene all the more terrifying.

Then, even more horrifying, as I watched, a human head suddenly emerged from behind the first headless body.

And the face was identical to mine! In other words, the head was my own.

Honestly, when I saw my own head appear, I was completely petrified, my scalp tingling. But soon enough I understood what was happening.

It was “me,” hiding behind the headless body, quietly pushing my head through the opening at its neck and leaning forward, making it look as though the head belonged to that body.

After placing my head on the neck of the headless body, “I” began gesturing, as if trying out whether this body suited me.

Soon, “I” shook my head, then moved behind the second headless body, repeating the same action, placing my head onto its neck...

One by one, I tried all six headless bodies in this manner, seemingly searching for one that fit me best.

Watching this, an indescribable discomfort welled up inside me. I was certain the person in the video was me—or at least looked exactly like me. Yet I had no memory of ever doing something so grotesque, which meant perhaps this was the me from before, before I lost my memory.

Judging by my actions in the video, I must have been some kind of lunatic. I had no idea what I was doing—maybe it was some peculiar fetish of mine.

As I was thinking this, the person who looked like me in the video suddenly returned to the third headless body, and this time he wrapped his arms around it and began to lift it up.

At that moment, as I watched him hoist the body, a cold shiver ran through me. I finally understood how these headless bodies could remain upright.

There were two long iron spikes, about as thick as fingers, driven into the floor. The headless bodies had been impaled onto these spikes. Each spike was about one meter seventy in length, running from the soles of their feet up to their shoulders, pinning them in place and giving the appearance that they were simply standing.

The man who looked like me quickly pulled the third headless body off the spike and tossed it aside as if dissatisfied.

Next, he stepped between the two iron spikes, placed his hands on them, and looked up and outwards—I had no idea what he was doing.

Then, the video reached its climax—a scene so traumatic I knew I’d spend the next week steeped in terror, haunted by nightmares.

As the man was looking up, a sudden streak of fire flashed across the screen. It wasn’t particularly bright, but in the darkness it was startlingly distinct. It happened so quickly that in the blink of an eye, it seemed to vanish.

Immediately after, the man who looked like me let out a scream. Even before his cry had fully emerged, a sharp explosion sounded in the video.

And then... the man’s head simply vanished, leaving only a blur of blood and flesh.

In that instant, I understood—he’d been shot in the head!

There was a sniper, and the shot was so powerful that it blew away half his neck as well.

He collapsed to the ground with a thud, joining the other headless bodies around him—he too had become one of them.

Just then, another man burst in from outside, gun in hand—not a sniper rifle, but a regular handgun.

When I saw his face, my mouth fell open—it was Fang Qinghe!

The video ended abruptly there.

Even after watching it a second time, I was still overwhelmed. I turned to Jin Ze, unable to speak for a long time.

Had I died? Had I really been shot in the head?

Xia Tian’s claim that I was a dead man was true. Fang Lin said I’d confessed to dying while sleepwalking—that was true too. I really was dead... But if that was the case, why was I still alive, able to watch this video?

While I was still reeling, Jin Ze suddenly turned to me and said, “Chen Mu, calm down. Don’t let your thoughts run wild.”

He placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

I was trembling uncontrollably. I heard Jin Ze say, “Chen Mu, no matter how bizarre or eerie something seems, there’s always a scientific explanation. Based on what we know, if what happened in the video really took place, then the person in the video definitely isn’t you—because you’re still alive and well.”

I nodded instinctively. Jin Ze’s presence gradually helped me regain my composure.

Then I asked him, “Leaving aside whether that’s really me, what’s going on with Team Leader Fang? Why was he there? Was he working with the sniper to kill the man who looks like me?”

Jin Ze narrowed his eyes, deep in thought, and after a pause, replied, “Maybe Team Leader Fang was on assignment. He’s never mentioned it to me, but judging by that video, he seems to know a lot. Not surprising, really—he’s in a much higher position than I am, and must have access to many more secrets.”

I nodded, refraining from speaking ill of Fang Qinghe, sensing Jin Ze’s trust in him.

Jin Ze continued, “From the looks of those floor tiles earlier, there were clear signs of tampering, so whatever was under the floor had already been swapped out. This video might not mean anything—it could be the killer’s doing, some kind of trick. We’ll have to bring it back and let the tech experts take a look.”

As he finished speaking, a low, somber voice sounded behind us: “That’s right. The things under the floor were planted there by the killer.”

Jin Ze and I instinctively turned around. It was Fang Qinghe, who had somehow appeared behind us without a sound. We hadn’t noticed him at all—a sign, perhaps, of how shaken we were by the video, our senses dulled.

Jin Ze quickly spoke up, “Team Leader Fang, how can you be so sure the killer planted them? The marks on the floor could have been made by Chen Mu himself.”

Fang Qinghe then said something that nearly made me wet myself. I almost bolted right then and there.

He said, “Because I already removed what was under the floor a few days ago.”

Damn, Fang Qinghe had taken whatever had been hidden under the floor. Was he about to turn on us and silence us forever?

Jin Ze, however, remained much calmer than I was. He didn’t leap to wild conclusions like I did. He merely asked, “So, Team Leader Fang, what exactly did you take?”

Fang Qinghe glanced at me, then said, “I can’t tell you what it was just yet, but I will say this: because of that object, I’ve been doing everything I can to protect Chen Mu.”

After a brief pause, he continued, “When I removed it last time, the floor was left empty, so whatever you found today was definitely planted by the killer. The killer probably came for that item too, but he was a step too late.”

Jin Ze then showed the video to Fang Qinghe, who narrowed his experienced eyes after watching, then said directly, “This video was fabricated, pieced together through editing.”

Of course, it still needed to be examined more thoroughly, so we returned to the police station.

I spent some time alone in the holding room, waiting for news that never came, so I decided to get some sleep.

I slept until dawn, woken by Jin Ze the next day.

He woke me up and got straight to the point: “Chen Mu, two things. First, the video of you being shot in the head yesterday is fake—definitely edited and produced, so you can relax. You’re still alive. But I must remind you, even though it was fabricated, much of the content is based on real events. For instance, the scenes of someone who looks like you trying on headless bodies—that really happened. That was probably you, once.”

He paused, then went on, “Second, we were able to confirm that the number was a tracking number, and with the torn-up shipping receipt, we quickly identified the package. Coincidentally, the recipient is someone we both know.”