The chainsaw-wielding giant had stamina for days. Endless energy poured through his massive frame.
In his simple way of thinking, his chainsaw was invincible! See someone, they die!
Bumblebee, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. After the brute finished scrubbing his arms, he moved on to the legs, then the back. The Autobot was clever too—he waited until the chainsaw teeth were completely worn down before letting the giant "scrub" his neck.
The chainsaw maniac's intelligence was severely limited. Gradually, he forgot his original purpose and thought Bumblebee was just playing with him. He kept making "heh-heh-heh" sounds, working enthusiastically to help him "exfoliate."
Years of accumulated rust flew in every direction as the chainsaw whirred. The sludge and black oil on Bumblebee's frame mixed together, spreading across the floor. Carpets that already looked ancient were now completely ruined. The entire house reeked of a sour, acrid smell. To make himself more comfortable, Bumblebee casually demolished two walls.
The next day, Bella came looking for Bumblebee.
When she didn't see the car on the front lawn, she had to shout: "Bumblebee? Bumblebee?!"
Bumblebee poked his head out from what used to be the front door, then waved at her rather sheepishly.
The moment Bella stepped inside, she was stunned.
This was Heather's grandmother's house? This was a condemned building waiting to happen!
Could anyone even live here?
Several load-bearing walls had holes of various sizes. Spider-web cracks spread everywhere. The floor was covered in clumps of black oily sludge. She looked left and right, unable to find a single clean place to step.
"What the hell happened? Bumblebee, don't you dare tell me you did this! How am I supposed to explain this to Heather?" Bella put her hands on her hips, radiating indignation.
Bumblebee whirred twice apologetically, then dragged his "accomplice" out from the next room, indicating that this guy had to bear half the responsibility.
The chainsaw maniac was an incredibly strong individual. His brain might not work properly, but his strength and constitution were genuinely impressive. God had closed one door for him while opening a window—that freakish strength was bordering on superhuman.
But even this hulking brute was completely exhausted now.
An entire night without rest! He was still flesh and blood, not made of iron! Even pumping iron has its limits!
He was drenched in sweat, looking like he'd just been pulled from a swimming pool. He'd gone through three chainsaws during the night. When Bella looked at him, the maniac's arms were still trembling unnaturally.
The chainsaw maniac wore a leather apron over tattered clothes. His face bore a grotesque mask made of human skin, which he'd sewn onto his own face with needle and thread. The effect was even more terrifying.
Holy crap! This is the legendary Texas Chainsaw Massacre guy!
The characteristics were so obvious—Bella recognized him instantly.
"Bumblebee! What is going on?" she demanded.
After Bumblebee's rapid-fire explanation, she slowly pieced it together. Combined with what she'd learned about the case recently, the story of the Sawyer family's simpleton son gradually became clear.
The Texas Chainsaw Maniac was a man with severe intellectual disabilities and nothing but brute strength.
The Sawyer family ran a butchering business. He'd grown up watching family members cut livestock and slaughter animals, those images seared into his mind, warping his worldview into something bloody and violent.
In his understanding, there was no difference between humans and animals. Just take the chainsaw and cut—that was it. He didn't understand morality or law. His muddled brain couldn't process complex information. From start to finish, it was just one action: saw.
The Sawyer family weren't good people. Not only did they fail to restrain this simpleton, but they actively encouraged his evil deeds, deriving their own twisted pleasure and satisfaction from it.
The black president and Hobbs' father had been wise to leave the family. The Sawyers were somewhat deranged and had done plenty of terrible things, but... they shouldn't have been slaughtered to the last person, tortured and killed.
Bella pondered how to handle this situation. Bumblebee, for his part, felt refreshed—with all that accumulated grime cleaned away. He couldn't be more comfortable.
He actually had a pretty good impression of the chainsaw maniac. A good person, really! Way better than those lazy bums in the Angel Squad. Still, seeing Bella's expression, he couldn't help shrinking back.
Bella had Bumblebee transform back into a car and wait in the yard while she called Heather to briefly explain the situation.
A day later, Heather rushed back to Dallas without alerting Max or her newfound uncle, meeting up with Bella before heading to the estate.
By this time, Bella had bound the chainsaw killer with iron chains. No matter how strong his body was, without fighting skills or superior strength and speed, he was no match for her.
"This might also be your relative..." Whether it was a cousin once removed or what, Bella wasn't sure. She hadn't investigated further, leaving everything for Heather to decide.
Heather had a president for a great-uncle, a kind, optimistic second uncle who saved lives every day, and if you counted the grandmother who'd transferred her inheritance before they even met—Heather had originally been full of goodwill toward the Sawyer family. Unfortunately, all that turned dark the moment she saw the chainsaw killer.
"Did he kill a lot of people?" Heather asked, feeling sick just looking at the human skin mask on his face.
Bella didn't answer directly: "He has severe intellectual disabilities. I honestly can't say how the law would handle sentencing."
In the end, Heather decided not to send her cousin to prison. Everyone has their selfish side, and she wasn't some paragon of selfless virtue—she was just an ordinary person. After weighing her options repeatedly, she made a choice that felt almost like running away.
Bella agreed with this choice. The guy was mentally disabled. Trying to make him understand the law? Completely pointless.
Find a psychiatric hospital with strict management and strong security guards, send him there, and call it done. Give him sedatives every day. After that, whether they put him to work or kept him strapped to a bed—whatever. It was just a matter of money.
Bella saved herself the trouble, Heather saved herself the trouble, and the black president who knew about all this also saved himself the trouble. They'd just pretend the man died in the massacre years ago. Don't mention it, don't acknowledge it. This served everyone's interests.
Excluding Heather's adoptive parents, excluding those already dead or in prison, attorney Jeri Hogarth organized the case files. As the plaintiff's lawyer, she sued a total of seven defendants.
Among them were the town mayor of Newt, a police officer, a teacher, a maintenance worker, and three farm workers.
All seven flatly denied their crimes, not taking the charges seriously at all. They were young back then, didn't know better, had a few drinks, made some small mistakes—what's the big deal? Who hasn't been young?
But when the black president appeared at the courthouse as an "ordinary citizen" to observe the trial, the entire nation's attention suddenly focused on Texas.
Reporters swarmed outside the courthouse, interviewing both sides' lawyers, the jury, even chasing the judge to his home for interviews.