True Apocalypse Game

On the main street of Shuanghu Town, Minnesota, Joey cruised slowly in his beat-up police car, conducting his routine daily patrol.

As he passed, a few people forced smiles and greeted him, but most just lowered their heads and ignored him, as if he were a complete stranger.

The scene infuriated Joey, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

As the police chief of Shuanghu Town, he should have been well-respected, but now, he had let everyone down.

If it weren’t for his decent reputation over the years and the lack of any suitable replacement, he probably would have lost his position as chief by now.

Joey’s brows furrowed. He knew this was all because of the disappearance that had occurred yesterday.

A six-year-old girl with autism had disappeared in broad daylight and was yet to be found.

And on that day, Joey, the chief, had clearly seen a glimpse of the abducted child, but he had fallen unconscious during the pursuit, crashing his car into a tree.

When he woke up in the hospital, his subordinate told him that when they found him, he reeked of alcohol, and there were no signs of a struggle in his car.

His blood alcohol content also met the legal limit for intoxication.

It looked like a clear-cut case of dereliction of duty due to drunkenness.

Thinking of the suffering that poor little girl might be enduring, the townspeople simply could not forgive Joey’s actions.

But Joey knew the truth: he hadn’t had a single drop to drink that day!

’He’d been played by those damn criminals!’

"Don’t be so angry, Chief," Thomas said from the passenger seat. "Everyone makes mistakes. God knows that, and it’s why He gave humanity the chance to repent."

Joey’s brows remained tightly knitted; he said nothing.

He hadn’t bothered to explain that he hadn’t been drinking. In the face of ironclad evidence, any explanation would be futile and would only make people think he was trying to shirk responsibility.

’What I have to do is find the perpetrators, find the missing girl, Martha, and clear my name!’

So, ignoring his injuries, Joey had left the hospital today and driven straight for the scene of the crash.

"Chief, word is the State Police have taken over the case," Thomas said cautiously from the side. "They’ve cordoned off the scene and told us to stay out of it."

He was all too familiar with his boss’s fiery temper, afraid that one wrong word could get him kicked out of the car.

"The State Police?" Joey frowned, muttering to himself in confusion. "What are they doing here?"

Just then, the roar of an engine grew louder, and a police motorcycle pulled up alongside their cruiser, blocking their path.

A female officer with curly red hair took off her helmet, slid into the car, and slapped a stack of files down in front of them.

"Aili, what’s this?" Joey asked with a frown.

The officer, Aili, shook her hair out as she settled into the car. "They’re case files for related incidents. Starting in 1995, there have been four child disappearances, one happening roughly every six years. Martha’s case is just the latest. All the missing children share similar traits: no older than six, with congenital psychiatric disorders."

"This all happened before we were stationed in Shuanghu Town?" Thomas said, shocked. "How is that possible? Why didn’t I know about these cases? And why has no one ever mentioned them?"

"That’s because after the children disappeared, their parents all either moved away or died in accidents," Aili said, tossing over another stack of papers. "Martha’s drunkard of a father hanged himself in the bathroom this morning. Ruled a suicide."

The papers were news reports, mostly about various couples dying in car crashes or homicides.

Aili had made notes next to the names, each one corresponding to a missing child.

There was even a news clipping about the former police chief, who had disappeared while on vacation.

"This is a serial crime!?" Thomas exclaimed in shock. "What the hell is going on? Is there something wrong with Shuanghu Town? Some kind of twisted serial killer like Jack the Ripper? Why hasn’t anyone caught him after all these years?"

His lips were trembling; he could hardly believe something like this could still be happening in the world today.

"Hmph, Shuanghu Town has never exactly been a rich neighborhood," Aili scoffed. "Those recluses on the farms out west have dozens of underage wives."

Thomas fell silent.

’That was the reality of it. Police resources and the quality of services were directly tied to an area’s wealth.’

Shuanghu Town only had three police officers, precisely because there was so little money.

The cruiser’s engine rumbled as it turned onto a fork in the road. Thomas couldn’t help but ask:

"Chief, where are you going? This isn’t the way to your crash site, nor is it where Martha’s drunkard father lived."

Joey didn’t answer. He just kept driving, eventually veering off into a field of tall weeds. He continued for several kilometers before the car came to a stop in the mud.

He glanced at his two colleagues, his expression turning serious.

"Grab your guns. We’re getting out. I’m going to investigate, but it’s extremely dangerous. You can leave now if you want."

As he spoke, he screwed a suppressor onto the barrel of his service pistol.

Thomas and Aili exchanged a look, then grabbed their guns and followed Joey out of the car. They moved behind him, crouching low as they pushed through the dry, yellowed weeds toward the nearby lakeshore.

They knew their boss, with whom they had worked day in and day out for the last five or six years, quite well.

He wasn’t one to act recklessly.

Still, they needed an explanation.

Looking at his two colleagues following him without question, Joey was moved. He lowered his voice and said:

"Right after I woke up this morning, I got a call from the FBI. They said they’re taking over and that local police are to stand down. The agent said it was also on the authority of a certain state senator."

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation?" Thomas asked, stunned. "First the State Police, and now the FBI. Is this like *Stranger Things* or something? Is there some secret government or military lab here in Shuanghu Town?"

Joey’s eyes narrowed. "I’m guessing it’s not *Stranger Things*," he said slowly.

"Have you ever seen *Sin City*?"

Thomas’s eyes widened.

"Of course. The senator’s psycho son had people kidnap a bunch of women, locked them up in his house, and tortured and killed them to satisfy his sick desires. Are you saying... this is connected to politicians?"

"I hope not. I still want to have faith in our government," Joey said flatly. "But Epstein was quietly killed in prison, so who can really say for sure? Yesterday afternoon... I was the one who saw Martha and her father."

Yesterday afternoon, Joey had been behind a large rock by the lake, lazily fishing in the tall grass to kill time, when he saw Martha and her drunkard father.

Besides Martha and her father, there were two men in black suits.

The two men handed Martha’s father a bulging paper bag. From experience, Joey knew it was obviously full of money.

Then the men took Martha, and along with her father, all four of them got into a car.

Joey, sensing something was wrong, immediately gave chase, trying to pull them over for an inspection, but that was when he crashed.

"Chief, what else do you remember? Are you sure this is the place?" Thomas asked.

"Whisper..." Joey said slowly, advancing with his gun raised. "On the back of that black sedan, I think I saw a word. ’Whisper’... And there was a red, geometric pattern on the trunk!"

Just then, the sound of footsteps crunched up ahead, followed by the low murmur of voices.

’Someone’s approaching!’

Aili, who was behind Joey, abruptly racked her shotgun, aimed it toward the sound, and shouted:

"Who’s there! Come out! This thing’s loaded with steel-core slugs!"