"So you tortured him to death?" Dean asked, picking up the cigarette butt that had been searing Daniel's flesh and setting it aside.
A flicker of tenderness passed through Daniel's eyes as she nodded. "Yes. It wasn't just about torturing Mike Smith to death; it was also a form of self-destruction. After Mike Smith died, we felt very empty inside. So, after some discussion, we decided to let God decide. If the police could find us, we would offer ourselves as an experiment, a warning to the world. If not, we would continue our former lives, becoming new Mike Smiths, transferring our misfortunes onto new, innocent victims to gain some twisted sense of satisfaction."
Daniel spoke with an air of indifference.
Dean, however, felt his scalp tingle. If Daniel and her group started spreading their practices everywhere, potentially forming a powerful group akin to an academic clique, it would be a true disaster for those innocent people.
After all, this fantastical Federation tolerated the existence of cults. Of course, they didn't call them cults. Instead, they spoke of religious freedom, freedom of faith... anything was permissible as long as it was associated with the word 'freedom'.
After listening to her story, Dean stood up. He picked up the cigarette butt that had fallen onto Daniel's chest, tossed it onto the bedsheets, then took out a lighter and set the sheets ablaze.
Panic and confusion flashed in Daniel's eyes.
Dean smiled faintly. "Quite a story. In return, before you die, I'll teach you two things. First, don't make explosive packs so safe. What makes them intimidating is their instability. Otherwise, they're pointless."
As he finished speaking, Dean yanked hard and, as Daniel watched in shock, easily defused the explosive pack strapped to her body!
Her eyes widened. "You know how to dismantle it, yet you had Detrov call the bomb squad?"
"How else could I justify being alone with you and taking the bait you dangled?" Dean retorted. He then picked Daniel up and threw her onto the flame-engulfed sheets.
Daniel struggled desperately, her previous indifference gone now that the cigarette wasn't the only thing searing her flesh. Sadly, with her limbs shattered, she was like a helpless worm. She struggled in vain to escape, only able to listen to the CRACKLING sound of her hair burning and watch the flames draw closer.
Dean ignored Daniel's struggles and continued, "Second, you talk about how playing with people's hearts will backfire, but from the moment you began your story, you've been trying to steer my thoughts, even planning your escape route if your ploy failed. You deliberately let the cigarette butt fall on you, leaving a scar to evoke my sympathy, making me remove it and leave my fingerprints. You showed me that a dog can't change its ways. I'm done wasting time. You like playing with fire, so I'll give you a passionate blaze. It should help purify you of your sins."
"If I die, you'll never know the other members of the Source of Pain! You'll face assassination for the rest of your life!"
"No need to be so dramatic. How many close students did Mike Smith even have? Besides, your photos are all on display on the wall in his home. At worst, I'll just hunt you down one by one."
With that, Dean didn't even glance at Daniel, who was now enveloped in flames and screaming miserably. He turned and left, thoughtfully closing the door as her curses and screams echoed from within.
An intermittent red warning light began to flash. It was the fire alarm.
Unfortunately, this hospital wing had already been evacuated. Now, only Dean at the doorway and the burning figure of Daniel inside remained.
Inside the room, water droplets began to fall, likely from sprinklers. Daniel's screams didn't lessen; instead, they grew even more piercing before, soon after, silence descended.
Dean pushed the door open. Confirming she was covered in burns and had stopped breathing, he took the explosive pack. Then, feigning panic, he ran downstairs...
The flames would erase all traces from Daniel's body.
And he would cleanse the potential threats with bullets!
No murderer from this case would be left alive!