2 THE GAME OF ANUBIS

I was speechless for a moment, then slowly approached the phone when it rang again. I changed my mind and picked up the phone.

After ten seconds of silence, the murderer said, "I suppose you received my message; am I right, police officer? It didn't take long to pick up the phone." I realized the voice was computer-generated and that it wasn't a prank after fully hearing it. That was an important issue.

I chose to enrage the killer to gain additional information from him. Who do you think you are to contact the police and make such a ridiculous statement?

"You have no clue about the effects of your joke. Do you comprehend? We'll make you regret making that call,".

The killer said, "Ha ha ha, regret, you say," and then he started laughing.

"I've been playing a game with the cops for seven months. The public has given me the moniker ANUBIS, THE GOD OF THE DEAD, Then I think I should announce myself by that."

The serial killer Anubis is well known in this nation. He commits a murder each month, using a sharp knife to etch an ankh on the victim's stomach. The victim is then imprisoned for three days until dying of blood loss. The victim was brutally murdered, and the authorities realized they were dealing with a highly dangerous man and needed to get him sooner rather than later when the killer left a sign. But the worst came true; in all, he murdered seven people, the perpetrator remains at large, and there is no clue leading to the killer.

The victim had an ankh symbol on their stomach, which caused their death and was carried out by a serial murderer, as revealed by a news station; however, police officials kept the matter highly private. The only thing that the police officials were able to prevent from leaking was the news channel not receiving any images of the victims.

At this time, every news outlet is making every effort to get pictures of the victims.

This was not going to turn out well if what he was saying was accurate.

I have to pay close attention to every aspect to look for any hints to find who he is. I started by asking,

"I don't care about your Anubis or anything; what is the objective of your call?" without further ado.

"You are a fascinating person, I will allow you that,"

he said after sitting in silence for a while.

"Timing is crucial. This is going to be an excellent match, and I want Your police officers to want to find out who the rat was that got in the way of the game between me and the cops. I will free the victim I imprisoned for two days if you people provide the solution within three days. Exmoor Mountain's paddy field is my clue for this game, and the third day will be the day of judgment for the victim. We're starting a new game right now, haha."

I became enraged. I ended the phone call after saying,

"You insane f*cker, human life is a game for you."

I attempted to enrage him, but I ended up becoming angry.

"Crap shit,"

I struck the wall firmly. Suddenly, a call came in asking,

"Hey, rookie, what are you doing?"

Four persons had just entered the room, and I believe they were my teammates, I realized at that point. I went to them and said, "Sir, I think we have a case," since they felt uneased. They all inquired at that moment simultaneously,

"What are you saying?"

I explained every detail of the call to my team members, and then the guy in his forty-six said to everyone,

"the call is just a prank of someone; don't let that bother you,"

and everyone agreed with him. Then they took their seats, and the forty-six-year-old man began the introduction of his group to me: he is the team captain, and his name is "Soe," and there are four team members in my team: the first a slim body and his name is "Ray," and the second is a fat guy, and his name is "Kay." Then there are two lovely ladies left, one named "Testa" and the other "Shuna".

Of the five people, I think Shuna is the youngest, and Testa is the same age as me. My mind was full of thoughts of the killer, so I didn't pay any attention to the details of their introduction. Soe San then informed me that he would be my partner.

There are 70 hours left to save the victim. Then I told Soe san,

"Soe san, we can't just leave this matter like this. He stated at the end of the call that he has a victim in his custody and that he will kill the victim in three days".

Soe san then tapped me on the shoulder and asked,

"Did you hear the victim's voice at least? Or did the killer at least tell the name of the victim?"

I said "no" in a slow tone.

After hearing from me, Soe san sat in the chair and said,

"It's not like you think. We are trying our best to capture that serial killer, yet there is no single clear lead to identify him. Even today we were late due to patrolling the town. Every police officer is on patrol at night and also during the day to prevent the killer from increasing the number of victims. This is your first time experiencing this kind of prank call, which is why you can't accept this."

Even after Soe san informed me that this is a prank, my mind refuses to let it go.

"Sir, why don't we check if anyone has been missing for days?" I asked Soe San again.

Roy san abruptly rose from his seat, turned to Soe san, and said,

"Captain, three days ago, a mother came to report," before Roy san could finish his sentence. Soe san interrupted and said to Roy san,

"You also believe this bullshit"