Snow had begun to fall again over the city.
At first it was light—tiny white flakes drifting lazily through the cold air.
But as the night deepened, the snowfall grew thicker, covering rooftops, roads, and sidewalks with a quiet blanket of white.
The Christmas decorations that hung across the streets glowed softly through the snowstorm.
Red lights.Golden stars.Silver bells.
It should have been a beautiful sight.
But the city no longer felt peaceful.
Fear had begun spreading like a disease.
Three days had passed since the car explosion outside the Riverside Police Station, yet the investigation had only grown darker.
The case was no longer just about a mysterious explosion.Now it involved murder.
Inside the Police Station,
Detective Harrison Cole stood in front of a whiteboard filled with photographs.
Crime scene pictures.Evidence markers.
Victim profiles.
Red strings connected different pieces of information like a spider web.
But no matter how long Harrison stared at it…
None of it made sense.
He rubbed his tired eyes.
"Three incidents," he muttered.
Behind him, Officer Lena Park leaned against a desk with crossed arms.
"Car explosion," she said.
"Dead officer in the alley behind the station… and now the third victim."
Harrison looked at the newest photograph on the board.
A middle-aged man.Dead.
His name was Victor Grant.A local mechanic.
He had been found that morning inside his workshop.
Body cold.No signs of struggle.No forced entry.
Just one strange detail.
On the wall behind his body…
Written in dark red paint.
"6"
Harrison stared at it.
"Six…" he whispered.
Officer Park spoke quietly.
"We also found something else."
She handed him a plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a small object.
A Christmas ornament.It was shaped like a tiny snowflake.
Harrison frowned.
"This was found at the crime scene?"
Park nodded.
"And guess where we found similar ones."
Harrison already knew the answer.
"Other crime scenes?"
"Yes."
She pointed to the photos.
"One near the exploded car."
"One near the dead officer."
"And now this one."
Three ornaments.Three scenes.
Harrison slowly realized something.
"This isn't random," he said.
Park nodded grimly.
"No."
She pointed again to the red number written on the wall.
"Neither is that."
There is a Terrifying Pattern,
Harrison turned toward the whiteboard again.
Then he wrote something next to the photos.
Incident 1 – Explosion – No number
Incident 2 – Officer murdered – Number: 7
Incident 3 – Mechanic murdered – Number: 6
The room went silent.
Officer Park spoke first.
"You see it too."
Harrison nodded slowly.
"It's a countdown."
The realization sent a chill through the room.
A killer…
Who was counting down.
But counting down to what?
Harrison looked at the calendar hanging on the wall.
The date circled in red.
December 18
Christmas Eve was only six days away.
Harrison's stomach tightened.
"Don't tell me…"
Park whispered it before he could finish.
"Seven… six…"
"Five… four… three… two… one."
Both detectives looked at each other.
Then Harrison spoke the words neither of them wanted to say.
"He's counting down to Christmas."
News of the murders began spreading across the city.
Local television channels ran headlines.
"Serial Killer Terrorizing City Before Christmas."
"Mysterious Countdown Appears at Murder Scenes."
Citizens grew nervous.
Parents stopped letting their children play outside after dark.
Stores closed early.
Even the Christmas markets that normally filled the streets with laughter felt uneasy.
Police patrols doubled.
Officers stood guard on nearly every major street.
But the killer remained invisible.
Like a ghost.Watching.Waiting.
Preparing the next move.
Far away from the city center…
Inside a massive modern building surrounded by tall metal gates…
A meeting was taking place.
The building belonged to an organization few people even knew existed.
PDH
Psychology Detective Humans
An elite institution that trained the world's most advanced investigative minds.
Inside a quiet conference room, several senior members sat around a long table.
Large screens displayed the crime scene images.
The car explosion.The murdered officer.
The number 6 written on the mechanic's wall.
A gray-haired man in a suit spoke.
"This case has begun attracting national attention."
Another woman adjusted her glasses.
"The psychological signature is unusual."
She tapped the screen showing the number.
"A killer who uses numbers as ritual markers."
Someone else added,
"And Christmas symbolism."
The room fell quiet.
Then one of the directors spoke.
"The local police requested assistance."
He looked around the table.
"We need someone capable of analyzing a killer like this."
A younger man leaned forward.
"There is one candidate."
The others looked at him.
"You mean him?"
"Yes."
"But he's only a first-year student."
The man smiled slightly.
"That's exactly why."
He tapped a tablet and brought up a file.
A single name appeared on the screen.
Student Code Name: Endless
Several directors exchanged glances.
The gray-haired man sighed..
"He's brilliant…"
"But unpredictable."
Another director said quietly,
"Sometimes the most dangerous minds are the ones that understand other dangerous minds."
After a moment of silence…
The chairman made the decision.
"Send him."
Meanwhile…
Snow continued falling across the city.
Late at night…
Inside a quiet apartment building…
Someone sat in darkness.
The only light came from a small desk lamp.
A large calendar hung on the wall.
Several days had been crossed out.
December 17
December 18
December 19
December 20
December 21
December 22
December 23
And at the very bottom…
December 24,Christmas Eve.
On the desk sat several objects.
Photographs.Police reports.City maps.
And Christmas ornaments.
The mysterious figure picked up a marker.
Then slowly wrote something on a sheet of paper.
5.
The figure stared at the number.
Then quietly whispered.
"Soon."
Outside…
Church bells rang softly in the snowy night.
Back at the Police Station
Detective Harrison sat at his desk, reading through files again.
But no matter how many times he checked the evidence….
The killer felt unreachable.
No fingerprints.No witnesses.No security footage.
It was as if the murderer planned everything perfectly.
Officer Park walked into the room.
"We just received word from headquarters."
Harrison looked up.
"What now?"
She placed a document on the table.
"Special investigator arriving tomorrow."
Harrison frowned.
"We didn't request anyone."
"Yes we did."
He read the document.
Then paused.
"What kind of name is this?"
Park shrugged.
"Not a name."
Harrison looked again.
The file said:
Investigator Code Name: Endless
Age: Unknown
Affiliation: PDH
Status: Student Investigator
Harrison blinked.
"A student?"
Park nodded.
"Apparently… one of the best."
Harrison leaned back in his chair.
"Great."
"A serial killer counting down to Christmas…"
"And we're getting help from a student."
Park smiled slightly.
"You never know."
Harrison sighed.
"Let's hope this 'Endless' kid knows something we don't."
Outside the station…
Snow kept falling.
The city lights glowed through the storm.
And somewhere in the darkness…
The killer prepared the next step.
End of Chapter....