Epilogue (puzzle-solving Chapter)
To understand the key to this murder, I must start from the childhood of B, Beyond Birthday.
Well, if you don't want to hear it, I will force it out and say it, alright! You can even say that I will open your eyelids and pick up your ears, forcing your attention not to be diverted for a moment, so that you can listen to me in a painfully tied position on a chair.
What? You said you were not tied up? that's not important. Please imagine a similar crisis situation - cha la la!
Please listen to me. To establish credibility, I'm willing to give a hint or two about identity. First of all, I know Beyond Birthday very well because I have been with him for more than fifteen years. Walking beside him all year round, I know everything about his habits, preferences, ideas, personality and even beliefs. Call me his shadow or the virus in his brain. In short, there is no one in the world who understands him better than me.
Besides, I'm a detective. A criminologist, a practitioner, a genius, and the biggest asshole. Why call yourself a bastard? Because I am a human being like you, and I have no doubt about the badness of human beings. Moreover, even if I had any conscience at all, I would not deliberately reveal the poor guy's secret.
Those who tried to understand him failed. including me.
However, if I continue to record, compile the records into a book, and read them to more people, then the possibility of Beyond Birthday being understood - even a little - can be increased. At the same time, I will keep this memory myself and carry it with me into the next life... Yes. Exposed to too much sin and filth, my body and mind collapsed under unimaginable pressure. My memories were divided into different time periods, and I could only pick up one piece at a time... Someone listed this Symptoms of "schizophrenia".
do not worry.
My mind is clear.
...
So let's get back to the topic and start with Beyond's childhood.
Beyond was born in a traditional family in Berlin, Germany. His parents are both Christians. He has had a pair of blocked eyes since he was a child. Not only are they blood red, but they can also see the lifespan of others.
The first death was an old woman walking down the street. When the number on her head reached zero, her whole body collapsed like a puppet, and the strawberries in the shopping basket rolled to the ground, blooming with bright blood.
A similar incident occurred when B went to the hospital for a physical examination. Therefore, before the age of three, he summarized the laws of numbers and their connection with death. He began—almost compulsively—to calculate the death date of each person who came his way.
When he was five years old, his mother was seriously ill and bedridden. He walked into the ward on a bright morning, together with his anxious-looking father. He told his father: "Mom will die in five minutes and five seconds."
His father covered his mouth. "Don't say such things!" the father got angry. Five minutes later, the call bell rang throughout the hospital. The mother died of kidney failure before she was rushed to the emergency room.
The father calls Beyond a devil. The boy was very confused because this was the first time he had mentioned the "secret of the eyes" in front of others - a secret that he expected to be praised and commended. Knowing your own death date can make human beings happier. This is because living is a punishment and a trial for atonement. Just as the holy scriptures say, as long as you die, you can go to heaven.
His father did not praise him. In order to let the "eyes" bring happiness again, Beyond made a new attempt. He pointed to the neighbor's child and said, "He will be dead in three days."
Three days later, screams and cries were heard next door. On this day, his father whipped him, tied his limbs with belts, and threw him into the cellar. Beyond spent half a year there in total darkness. The day he was found, his body was covered in scars - some caused by his father, many from himself. Those were the days when Beyond associated "eyes" with "bad luck" and "curse". That was the day when my father died in a traffic accident and the society and the author came to look for this "orphan".
The father's violence against his 5-year-old child was once widely exaggerated by the media, but no one knew the motive behind it. From that day on, Beyond kept silent about the eyes.
It is true that the realization that "oneself is equal to death" has a deeper impact on Beyond than the impact of violence.
Not long after staying in the shelter, Beyond was spotted by an American family because of his extraordinary talents. The couple had a daughter who was born with low intelligence and were desperate to find a "smart" child. The results of the intelligence test showed that Beyond was the best choice.
In fact, subsequent developments confirmed this. Beyond is undoubtedly the smartest child, he is a genius once seen in a century.
His happy life should have started here.
That's how it should be.
Beyond was favored as soon as he was adopted, and even received a kind of family affection that he had never experienced in his life.
This is happiness, the love that Beyond has been looking for for a long time.
But how can human beings, so vile and depraved, be happy without paying the price? The more the Braidleys favor him, the more they despise the other; the more they pursue his talents, the more they feel their daughter's stupidity. Beyond has indeed become a substitute. To taste this happiness is to let the same misfortune fall on others.
The Braidley couple's violence against their daughter Ellina was implicit. They scolded her, insulted her, punished her, and locked her in a small room without leaving any trace of violence. The girl shivered at the slightest sound and lived a life of hell at his presence. Even so, when she saw his eyes, she did not look away. She once said that they were like blood and like red flowers, very beautiful.
That is a girl who is not good at words. But in a home filled with words such as "reputation," "talent," and "genius," the existence of Beyond Birthday is closest to and understood.
Just talking to her will arouse the disgust of the adoptive parents, because they firmly believe that stupidity is contagious, and if it does not succeed, the efforts spent in nurturing will be in vain, and having children requires them to become higher social status. Elites achieve their unachievable wishes.
Beyond made a cut on his arm, and the adoptive mother who witnessed this scene cut the same cut on Ellina with a fruit knife.
The girl didn't cry, she couldn't even understand the meaning of violence.
At some point, Beyond's weirdness, Beyond's eyes, and Beyond's hobby of secretly dissecting insects and studying anesthetics were all attributed to her fault. It's not that Beyond has never thought about rescue. Beyond is thinking about ways to rescue every day, every hour, and every second.
But in that case, she would become an orphan.
Beyond understands the meaning of being an orphan, understands what she will face after becoming an orphan, understands the true appearance of human beings in this world, understands her dependence and love for her parents - and then hates it all.
You see, it is always like this: if you want to be happy, you will fall into another kind of misfortune.
Her alcoholic adoptive father accidentally hit her legs with a bat.
The girl therefore could no longer get out of bed.
At the same time, Beyond saw the death countdown hanging over the family change into the same number - indicating that they would die from the same disaster. Beatrice Braidley, Gerald Braidley and Ellina Braidley, would die on the same day in a disaster that befell the apartment.
He didn't know how the disaster would come.
A plan took shape in his mind.
That is the plan of salvation—destruction in order to save. If you make up your mind, do it thoroughly. If you make up your mind, you have to bear all the sins yourself.
Beyond Birthday I will never regret it. He declares war on fate, the countdown to death.
Therefore, long before the disaster, on September 27, 1928 to be precise, he mixed the poison prepared in advance into the food of his adoptive parents, cut and stabbed the bodies, smashed the legs with a bat, and on the same day He pushed the wheelchair and took the disabled and sleeping Ellina out of the apartment.
—The number of neighbors has not changed, indicating that disaster will only happen to this apartment. He pushed her further and further away.
If the girl wakes up, she will learn that her parents are dead, but not in an accident. no. It was murder, the worst kind of murder where the body was mutilated beyond recognition. She would hate him, not her parents; she would be orphaned, not to escape their shadow, but to escape his.
Beyond pushed her out of the city.
The girl's eyelashes fluttered and she was about to wake up. As long as she opens her eyes, she will see the blood on Beyond's body, so Beyond stands behind her.
The girl—Ellina—did wake up. Her eyes were blank and her expression was confused.
-You just escaped a gas stove explosion. Beyond wants to say this. You will survive. You escaped the curse.
The next second, she covered her heart and let out a scream. The number above her head returned to zero.
Her thin body also collapsed like building blocks, and she collapsed in a wheelchair. The eyes that had just been opened remained open forever, looking at his scarlet orbs. A strand of soft linen hair fell beside her ear.
—The curse...has come true. Even if they escape from the scene of the incident, even if they kill the possible instigator, even if they make all kinds of efforts. The curse is inescapable. It seems that people who are close to him, those who love him, and those who hate him, will all die in this miserable appearance, just because he is the curse itself.
grim Reaper...
Beyond understands the meaning of this word. However, it's too late.
He walked around the river a few times.
He pushed her and the wheelchair into the river.
He walked in a certain direction, sometimes standing in front of the rushing water, sometimes standing in front of the garbage incinerator, sometimes not going anywhere, just standing and looking at the sky.
Beyond Birthday, this name can be abbreviated as BB. It is more suitable to be written as Bye Bye than Broken Birthday. BB doesn't want to live in this world. Never been here, never survived. Never existed.
It would have been better if he hadn't been born.
Death is nothing but a return to the state before birth. Thinking this way, he can hum again.
...
Gahaha! Hahaha!
What, you said the laughter has changed? Is it weird to use onomatopoeia in written documents? That's not my normal way of laughing.
Cha la la! That's right. This is my laughter now.
When it comes to "now," don't get me wrong. I'm not him. I am not Beyond Birthday. No matter how well I know him, to me, he is a completely different existence, the most familiar and strangest existence.
Beyond Birthday became Backup Birthday after entering the slums of Los Angeles, and Backup Birthday became someone else after leaving Freedom House. Here, the title is not important.
All you need to know is that B has a different name at each stage. These names represent different memories.
Let me tell another story about Beyond, and let's begin to reveal the answer this time.
Please take your time.
I write slowly - in order to maintain accuracy, I have to write slowly and pick up "that" memory slowly.
...
During the time when Beyond was imprisoned in the basement by his biological father, he gradually developed a preference for pain. This partly explains his masochistic tendencies.
The biological father believed that the abuse was a necessary means of purification. In order to wash away their sins, humans slaughter innocent lambs and let their blood purify themselves. They put their hands on the lamb's head, thus committing their sins. The more blood is spilled, the more complete the purification effect will be.
The biological father had no scapegoat to use, and he didn't think a beast could cleanse Beyond's soul. He killed his biological mother, a crime that can never be atoned for. Every time he beat Beyond, he thought of using his own violence to slightly lessen it, and then using Beyond's own pain and repentance to weaken the demon's power.
After all, his biological father did not have the courage to gouge out his eyeballs, so he covered them and tied his hands and feet with shackles to prevent Beyond from taking them off. He asked Beyond to turn around, beat his exposed back to pieces, and made him kneel on the gravel, making his knees so painful that he could not stand.
"It hurts..." Occasionally, Beyond would moan. The biological father's face became ugly, and the violence escalated.
"What does it hurt?" he said. "I'm doing this for you. You like pain. Say you like it."
Due to pressure, Beyond complied.
Soon after, his father removed his shackles, but only so that he could whip himself. He brought more devices—each causing a different pain—for Beyond to try out one after another. The pain of being tied up turned into the easiest pain, making the flesh sore at most. Beyond cried and sobbed. At the end, he even laughed out loud.
"Does it hurt?" Dad asked.
"It hurts, it hurts." If you say this, you will be beaten. He said: "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt."
"You loved it."
"Really? Hahaha, hahahaha...!"
Beyond let out a weird, sick laugh.
Telling the truth or lying is no longer important. Because he himself could no longer understand the level and extent of the pain.
"You're sick, Beyond. You see those numbers because you're possessed by a demon. You're so sick. I want to cure you," he said. "I'll make you normal. I'll make you normal."
There were no more sobs in the dungeon, only hoarse, horrifying laughter.
...
After coming to Freedom House, Backup still maintained this habit. Therefore, most of the scars discovered by young detective L did not come from his adoptive parents, but from himself. He has become addicted to it, so fascinated that he actively pursues it.
Even if it means tempting others to do violence to you.
Even in real pain, laughter can still come out.
The truth behind the pseudonym Backup is the desire to become a substitute for his sister. Wasn't he already a substitute when he was favored?
No, no, no. No! The real substitute is not only love, but also hatred can be borne for her. All the injuries that fell on her should fall on herself. The violence she encountered should be borne entirely by herself. What she suffered should be repaid in full.
So he put on a wig. It was the same flaxen color as hers, soft, hanging down to her ears, and curly at the end.
That was discovered by Detective L as evidence that "Beyond killed his sister." However, L missed one thing. It was not something he cut from the body - Beyond would never destroy Ellina's body - it was something he made himself using dyed artificial fibers.
Without Ellina's DNA, it wouldn't be evidence.
Likewise, there was the blood that L collected and poured on him. Is that the Braidleys' blood? If so, he can certainly be sentenced. What a pity, what a pity.
That's Beyond's own blood. He collected it bit by bit through self-mutilation, accumulated it in bottles and buckets, and when the time came, poured it into his body.
Beyond has the talent for perfect crimes. Although he had decided to surrender, he had inadvertently made complete preparations and considered all possible loopholes.
—This is so abnormal! This is too abnormal, too unreasonable, too perverted, too crazy!
Cha la la! The biggest characteristic of Beyond Birthday is that he is not a guy who plays his cards according to common sense, and he is not a guy who can be measured by rules, regulations, and worldly ethics. He's a madman. I admit.
He did stand in front of the incinerator that day, intending to end his life—and in the most painful way possible. But at that moment, he was pulled by a strange force.
Boring. How boring. Such a death brings no meaning, no interest.
His death was boring.
There was no way he could stand that.
Boring. My sister is dead, so what? Parents die, adoptive parents die, people around you die, all human beings are going to die.
Die, die, die, die...are you going to die like this before you see your own lifespan, before you witness the downfall of the world? At that moment, he realized what a pathetic existence he was. He had never even felt alive and was about to disappear like this.
Beyond changed his pace and walked in the other direction.
He knew the place, he knew the address, he knew the owner, and he knew the man who claimed to be the best detective in Los Angeles.
He walked towards Skidrow, towards Freedom House.
...
L's reasoning is almost perfect, except for the motivation. It's no wonder, he doesn't know the eyes of death. Moreover, from beginning to end, L faced the murder case with an indifferent attitude, as if for him, the death of three people was not enough to make him take serious action.
B's plan was successful, and what made him most proud was the name that was finally reported. He could remember the detective's expression at that time forever. If there was any mistake in this plan - if it was a mistake...
He developed feelings for Freedom House and even L himself. The feeling was similar to experiencing an exciting adventure, but there was a slight difference: he was attached to it.
Every moment he was escorted to the police station, he recalled it, as if he could smell the sourness of jam.
L is an excellent detective. Today, he dares to bear the risk of his life. There are not many detectives sleeping next to murderers anymore.
He misses him.
...
Let me just say a few words about the ending of the record.
Beyond Birthday was eventually released due to insufficient evidence. By this time, L had arrived in the UK. He spent a lot of time to find the name of the shelter, and worked hard to make several layers of disguises and change his appearance. As a "genius", he was selected by the builders of the shelter.
He set out for Winchester, England, when he was ten years old. At this time, he is no longer Beyond, he has a new name. He no longer has black hair, and his facial features have also undergone plastic surgery. His voice was rougher, and it was hard to tell it was a child's voice unless you listened carefully.
L might hear that the new orphan has red eyes, but does L really care?
Apart from the answers to the puzzles, apart from the truth, apart from the pleasure of solving the case, does he care?
All in all, the admission process was very smooth. For L, it was a case he solved casually in his youth, but for the new B, it was everything, an experience that turned the world upside down.
That was the purpose he found in Freedom House, or the "vitality" he needed to live: to catch up and transcend.
Cha la la, cha la la...that's his new laugh.
He became me.
END