Chapter 281 - 280: Asher Says to Be More Perverted Than a Pervert

Chapter 281: Chapter 280: Asher Says to Be More Perverted Than a Pervert

"Don’t be afraid. One by one," one of the leader’s men told the trapped passengers.

They needed to lock onto their target.

Those confirmed not to be the CEO of the Astraeus Group were told to leave, granting them temporary freedom on the ship.

Because of this, more people, desperate to escape this terrifying place, began to cooperate more eagerly.

"Whoever gets tested last must be the CEO of the Astraeus Group." Just as I was wondering how to get out of this crisis, Asher deliberately said this in the middle of the crowd.

The words seemed harmless, but they sent a wave of panic through the desperate survivors.

"That’s right! We can’t be last... We can’t be at the back of the line."

"Let’s hurry up and get tested so we can leave! We might still make it for dinner!"

Someone in the crowd echoed the sentiment.

’With over a thousand people, if a riot were to break out, what could these guys do, even with guns?’

But the crowd was like a flock of sheep. In a state of extreme fear, they were incapable of uniting. That’s why a single sheepdog can control hundreds of sheep.

"Let me go first!"

"I’ll go first!"

Everyone surged forward in a chaotic swarm, all trying to get to the front.

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, the leader didn’t try to restore order. He just let it happen. And... ’I could almost see the twisted smile under his mask.’

He saw us all as a flock of sheep, and he was enjoying the show.

"AH!" Suddenly, someone in the crowd screamed in pain.

Immediately after, more screams followed.

It was only then that the leader realized something was wrong. He stood up and fired a shot.

Terrified, everyone dropped to the ground, covering their heads.

"AARGH!" The screams continued to rise and fall. "Someone cut my palm! Ah! It hurts so much!"

Someone shouted from within the crowd.

Although the chaos was brought under control, quite a few people now had injured palms.

This way, the enemy could no longer narrow their search down to a single individual.

Asher watched the crowd indifferently, the coldness in his eyes deepening.

I looked at Asher, then at his bandaged palm. ’I never thought an injured palm would actually cause more trouble.’

’The leader would definitely mark everyone with an injured palm as a key person of interest.’

"I told you, the CEO of Astraeus Group is a genius," Lucas Grant cursed. "A ruthless one, too."

The leader flew into a rage. Seemingly losing control, he started smashing things around him. "You think I can’t find you now? How long do you think you can hide?"

The leader laughed manically. "Anyone without an injured palm, keep testing!"

The testing went on for the entire night. Of the 1,064 people held captive on the ship, 678 were tested and ruled out as the CEO of the Astraeus Group.

The remaining 386 people all had palm injuries of varying degrees, making identification impossible.

Asher was one of those 386 people.

"Those of you who have finished testing can go back and get some rest. Thank you for your hard work." The leader’s tone suddenly became friendly, an unnerving change as he told everyone to return to their quarters.

I took Asher’s hand. "They’ve narrowed their search from over a thousand people down to three hundred and eighty-six. They might find the CEO of the Astraeus Group soon. We have to find him first and protect him."

"Oh, right. I forgot to explain the rules of the game." The leader stepped onto the main stage and spoke again in that eerie voice. "The entire cruise ship is now open. You can use... any area. Everyone, return to your duties. Chefs, go back to your posts and work your regular hours. Waiters and attendants, you too must return to your stations..."

The leader’s gaze fell on our group. "But what I want to tell you is that among the... thousand-plus people before me, there isn’t just an undercover police officer, or an undercover thief... there’s even... an undercover psycho serial killer..."

"If you want to survive, you’d better think of something. Try not to get targeted by the killer... I’ll see you all again tomorrow at three in the afternoon, sharp. I wish you all a pleasant time on this cruise ship!"

After he finished speaking, the leader turned and left.

I looked at Zeke Shaw warily. "There’s a psycho serial killer on this ship?"

"Yes," Zeke Shaw said helplessly. "This... our superiors only told me after you agreed to come aboard. It was classified. I..."

Zeke Shaw was in a bind. "The killer escaped from Aeridor. The Aeridor police had a lead on a suspect and were working with the Meridia detectives to apprehend him. During the investigation, they discovered he’d stolen an identity and boarded this ship. He’s mixed in with over a thousand people now, making him incredibly hard to find. This person is an expert at disguise. He’s been known to wear women’s clothing or a school uniform during his crimes, making it impossible for surveillance to get a positive facial ID."

Madeline Quinn looked around at the crowd, frightened. "With so many people, how are we supposed to find a killer? If he just lies low and doesn’t kill anyone, isn’t he just a ticking time bomb?"

"The Aeridor police and the Meridia department discussed it and came to a consensus. They believe this killer has psychological problems. He’s a psychopath with a mental illness who kills for pleasure... If he goes too long without killing, he can’t stand it. He has to kill every seven days. His targets are exclusively women, and his M.O. is somewhat similar to the Meridia serial killer case. He likes to embalm his victims and turn them into dolls..."

Lucas Grant leaned in and looked at me. "The Meridia police initially suspected it was the psycho killer from Aeridor who had fled and was committing crimes here. But they later found the timelines didn’t match up. The two cases were likely not committed by the same person, but they couldn’t rule out a copycat."

"Meridia is under lockdown right now, and the other serial killer case has everyone on edge. Why would this killer run from Aeridor to Meridia? Isn’t that a death wish?" Felix Foster muttered.

"Have you ever heard of criminal one-upmanship?" Lucas Grant said, putting on the air of a wise master as he began to lecture Felix Foster. "This is something you wouldn’t understand. From a criminal psychology perspective, killers are divided into those who commit ’dangerous personality’ crimes and those who commit ’crime-inducing fixation’ crimes. The psycho killer from Aeridor clearly falls into the dangerous personality category. These people lack empathy and remorse. They have a compulsion to kill, find pleasure in it. It’s a predatory act, and they have a strong need to control their victims."

"But the serial killer case in Meridia is clearly a planned, purposeful act of revenge. They operate under the banner of not harming the innocent, planning their murders in an organized way. That falls under ’crime-inducing fixation.’"

"Damn..." Felix Foster cursed. "So, this naturally twisted, dangerous-personality criminal felt like the Meridia serial killer was challenging him, so he ran over to their turf to kill someone and challenge them back?"

’Psychos really are twisted.’

"The simple analysis of this mindset is that he enjoys the pleasure of killing and believes he’s a high-IQ genius who can’t be caught by the police. But when someone else is also killing people and also can’t be caught, he gets upset. He has to go to their territory to act out and provoke them," Madeline Quinn explained in simpler terms.

"Holy crap... To kill that many people and not get caught, he must be damn good at what he does." Felix Foster scratched his head and looked back at the chaotic swarm of people leaving. "Now I’m looking at everyone and thinking they’re the killer."

"I think you look a lot like one," Lucas Grant said smugly.

Felix Foster sneered. "If I were the killer, you’d be the first one I’d kill."

"People these days have such poor resilience to pressure. A ’crime-inducing fixation’ is when a normal person can’t handle immense stress and snaps, leading to crazed and deviant behavior," Madeline Quinn sighed. "But the killer we need to be wary of, the one hiding in this crowd, has a born criminal personality... He’s more terrifying than a criminal with a fixation because he has no empathy. He won’t sympathize with his victims, nor will he feel remorse or guilt. That means he can put on a better disguise, a more flawless one."

"Ever heard of Hannibal? A high-IQ criminal with unshakable mental fortitude," Lucas Grant said, deliberately trying to scare Felix Foster.

"If you want to find that psycho, you have to be more..." Asher rubbed his palm. "More clever."

Felix Foster rolled his eyes. "You scared me. I thought you were going to say you had to be more psycho than the killer."

Asher snorted. "As long as he doesn’t touch my people."

’If someone crossed Asher’s line, he could become more of a psycho than anyone...’

A chill went down my spine. "His targets are all women. We might already be on his radar..."