Chapter 21 A Shocking Tragedy

The highest temperature in Liancheng in summer is around 35 degrees Celsius, which is not as hot as the 40-degree Celsius heat in the south. This kind of climate also makes many people lose their appetite.

However, people passing by Sister Liu's shop looked inside curiously, wondering why there were so many people so early in the morning.

Customers crowded into the shop, enjoying the spicy, numbing, and sweet flavors, the rich braising sauce, and the duck products were in high demand.

Some people were drawn in and tried a small bite with a toothpick. Their first reaction was that it was sweet and fresh, but then the numbing spiciness attacked them, forcing them to take out their wallets to buy and choose.

Those who weren't in a hurry simply sat inside and couldn't stop eating, wiping their sweat and licking their fingers after finishing their meals. It was such an addictive experience!

The electric fan whirred and the television set buzzed.

After returning from her workout, Chen Zhenzhu spent two hours studying using Gu Yanzheng's notebook. The attic had been too hot lately, preventing her from sleeping, so she used all her time studying.

Shen Liuhe made cold noodles. The alkaline noodles were chewy and smooth, and they were served with a rich sesame sauce and a hot and sour sauce. The aroma of minced garlic and vinegar burst out as soon as they were sprinkled on. The crisp cucumber strips and peanuts made it so delicious and appetizing. The customers next to her were also craning their necks to have a serving.

"Is this really that scary? Seven people died at once? I was feeling hot, but now I feel completely chilled." The chubby customer, holding a bowl of cold noodles, bought four ounces of cold noodles for his wife and children. He wasn't in a hurry to go upstairs and go home; he was staring at the TV.

Chen Zhenzhu stopped in her tracks, wiped her mouth, and looked up.

The simplicity of the morning news reports has sparked considerable discussion.

"These are recent college graduates, what are they going to do now? It's not easy for society or schools to raise college students, and their parents are heartbroken too."

"Seven beautiful female students died at the same time; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them seven fairies. They won't say how they died, and we don't know when the case will be solved."

“If I were their parent, I definitely wouldn’t be alive. They were all in the prime of their lives, and they were a group of girls. How could they be so foolish?”

***

Shen Zhenzhu rode her bicycle to the police station entrance. Recently, she had seen Hong Le arrive early every day and even sweep the ground in front of the station. She parked her bicycle in the bike shed across the street and walked to the entrance.

When Hong Le saw her, he took out a broom and was about to hand it to her: "You can't give up on yourself just because you can't register. Let me show you how you can do it."

“I don’t need to sweep the floor to make a good impression.” Shen Zhenzhu raised an eyebrow at him, revealing a fake smile. What others saw as politeness was, in Hong Le’s eyes, a very hypocritical politeness.

He was about to say something sarcastic when three hearses, escorted by police cars, drove straight into the alley. The guard at the gatehouse ran to open it.

The hearse was parked in the criminal investigation team's compound. As soon as it stopped, Qin An and the other forensic doctors, who had received the news, ran out and began transferring the bodies, which were then placed into yellow bags, from the vehicle.

"One, two... six, seven." Chen Zhenzhu swallowed hard. The case of the "Seven Fairies" had arrived...

The neighbors who were still chatting and laughing as they passed by were affected by the somber atmosphere and stood aside to mourn for them. The colleagues at the police station no longer dared to envy the serious crime unit; the thought of seven young women who had died so tragically was terrifying.

I wonder which squad I'll be assigned to this time to solve the case.

Shen Zhenzhu's sixth sense told her that such a major case would most likely fall to the capable Fourth Team.

"Come in, everyone, let's have a meeting." Chief Ma's expression was also heavy. As a grassroots leader in the public security system, such a tragedy would put pressure on the work at the grassroots level. They had to prevent the spread of rumors, prevent imitation, and prevent everyone from feeling insecure and unable to work normally.

The morning meeting was unusually long. Ma instructed all personnel not to conserve their energy, but to visit, investigate, patrol, and comfort the masses more.

Shen Zhenzhu was taking notes on the key points of the meeting in her notebook when Sister Wang whispered beside her, "I was hoping my daughter would go to university soon, but now I can't. It's a pity for the students from Lianshi. I heard some of them have already been assigned teaching jobs."

Liancheng Normal University, abbreviated as Lianshi. As a customer aptly put it, this case is known as the "Seven Fairies" murder case. Ma, the police chief, doesn't know the specific details, nor is he qualified to know them; it's said that it alarmed provincial leaders who personally intervened. The case has also spread widely among the public due to news reports. As a tourist city, Liancheng's tourism industry will be negatively impacted every day the case remains unsolved, resulting in enormous economic losses.

Shen Zhenzhu also felt sorry for the seven female college students who had passed away. Her colleagues couldn't help but speculate about the cause of their deaths. Some said it was suicide, some said it was a crime of passion, and some said it was killed by the bullies.

She remained silent, recalling similar cases she had witnessed in her past life, and carefully considering Gu Yanzheng's notes. She knew that making wild guesses would only cause further harm to the deceased and their families.

"That little girl has been crying for two hours, hasn't she? Is she alright?" Sister Wang followed Shen Zhenzhu's gaze toward the entrance of the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Team.

The petite, short-haired girl with blond hair looked rather lonely among the groups of parents. She had no luggage, so she must have come from the local area.

After the meeting, Chen Zhenzhu told Sister Wang that she had brought out some tea and handed it to her by the sycamore tree: "Classmate, have some water. It's unbearable for people to keep crying like this."

The girl, wearing a red T-shirt with "Authentic Lancheng Beef Noodles" printed on it, looked to be just over 18. She took the tea in a daze and drank a few mouthfuls. After putting down the teacup, the police officer opposite her handed her a vegetable bun.

Chen Zhenzhu sat by the flower bed, patted Li Lili on the back and said, "What if you starve yourself and can't witness the case being solved?"

Li Lili initially wanted to refuse, but upon hearing this, she began to eat heartily. Taking the first bite of the vegetable bun, she seemed to taste the long-lost flavor of her mother's cooking. Now, her only remaining relative, her older sister, had also passed away, and large tears streamed down her face as she ate.

Shen Zhenzhu sighed silently, her eyes gazing towards the fifth floor of the Criminal Investigation Team building, eagerly hoping that Captain Gu would take on this murder case.

“I remember my sister saying that they caught a male student peeping in their dorm.” After finishing her vegetable bun, Li Lili calmed down a bit and, accompanied by Shen Zhenzhu, found Kang He, who was temporarily in charge of the case’s statements.

Cam River frowned and said, "Why are you everywhere?"

"Please take careful notes." Chen Zhenzhu didn't want to talk to her old classmate, and gently patted Li Lili's back: "Just say whatever comes to mind."

Kanghe gave a short hum and buried his head in his notes: "What's their name? Are they also from a teachers' college?"

Li Lili said, "I only know about this incident; my sister didn't tell me the specifics. I don't even know his name. Anyway, they and the school security guards tried everything they could to catch him once."

Kang He's inclination was that it was a crime of passion. Even though the case was still with Director Liu and hadn't been assigned, he felt it would definitely go to the Major Crimes Unit. The Major Crimes Unit only had two teams, Team Three and Team Four. Team Three also had a high chance of getting the case.

Moreover... Team Three has a missing person case that remains unsolved, so Captain Park will likely apply for the cold case filing and take the lead in solving a case with significant social impact to reverse the impression left by the previous unsolved case.

Upon hearing Li Lili's confession, Kang He's dark skin flushed with excitement: "It's very likely that he is the suspect. It's said that they were both poisoned, which theoretically fits the pattern of a crime of passion turning from love to hate! I'm going to report this now. We must find him no matter what."

"But it's not suitable for the perverted psychology of a voyeur." Knowing that it's a poisoning mass killing allows for basic analysis, Shen Zhenzhu said: "The criminal motives, behavioral patterns, and psychological needs of poisoning mass killings have nothing in common with voyeurs. Essentially, they cannot coexist in the same person. I suggest you don't waste your time on this."

Kang He chuckled at her words. As an experienced detective who mentored new recruits, he didn't think he deserved to be mentored by a lowly patrol officer. He sarcastically remarked, "I heard you didn't get a spot in the internal promotion this time. Why don't you just resign and let Captain Gu hire you as a consultant? You're so capable anyway—"

"She's really capable; her analysis is correct." Gu Yanzheng returned from the crime scene at Lianshi Middle School and was preparing to call the parents into the interrogation room for a talk. As he passed the main gate, he ran into Chen Zhenzhu and Kang He and overheard their conversation.

When Kang He saw Gu Yanzheng with Director Liu, he immediately lost his composure.

Director Liu asked Shen Zhenzhu with great interest, "Xiao Gu said you have a lot of talent in this area. How did you analyze it? Please elaborate."

Shen Zhenzhu looked at Gu Yanzheng shyly. Gu Yanzheng nodded, and she slowly began to speak: "The motives for most poisoning mass killings are hatred or revenge against society, while voyeurs suffer from sexual perversion disorder, and their criminal purpose is to obtain sexual satisfaction. Poisoning mass killers are highly premeditated and indiscriminately pursue large-scale killings, while voyeurs are impulsive and repetitive. They have specific target selection. Their behavior patterns are very different."

She saw Gu Yanzheng nod in agreement, his hand secretly clenching into a fist at his trouser leg, and earnestly say to Director Liu, "In terms of psychological needs, the perpetrator of the poisoning mass murder case sought to destroy society and become a martyr of revenge. Such a person suffers from paranoia and is an extremely vicious criminal. On the other hand, a voyeur, due to obstacles in sex/relationships in reality, compensates for psychological losses through voyeurism. He usually has an anxious personality and is a low-aggression criminal. The degree of harm caused by the two crimes is also vastly different."

Before she could finish speaking, Director Liu slapped her: "Well said, your analysis is very logical and insightful, very much in your style."

Gu Yanzheng recognized that some of the content came from the notebook he had given her and said with a smile, "She put a lot of effort into it. However, I want to add that a very small number of voyeurs may develop violent crimes due to frustration or delusions, but generally speaking, the psychological roots of the two are different. In this case, I agree with her assessment and will temporarily rule out voyeurs and focus our efforts on their acquaintances and emotional networks."

“I’m at ease entrusting this case to you, Comrade Xiao Shen. If you’re interested in this case, you can learn from Captain Gu first. He has high hopes for you.” Director Liu squinted under the blazing sun and said to Gu Yanzheng, “There’s a shortage of female police officers. We can have her temporarily transferred if needed.”

Director Liu is shrewd and calculating; this way, he can let Shen Zhenzhu get used to working with Team Four first. If they don't get along well, then there's no point in considering anything else.

Gu Yanzheng hesitated for a moment. He wanted more than just a temporary transfer, but it was clearly a test given to him by Director Liu.

Director Liu smiled kindly and said, "If you don't transfer her, I'll give her to the third team later. Xiao Pu is also anxious to ask me for her."

Shen Zhenzhu felt as if she had been hit by a pie falling from the sky—two pieces, no less! She didn't know it was a test; she simply hoped that she could solve the case with Captain Gu.

Her almond-shaped eyes were full of anticipation, hoping that Captain Gu would immediately order her to be temporarily transferred there! Even just for this one case would be fine.

Kanghe stood to the side, his face stiff, unable to believe his ears.

The captain who had sworn to him that he didn't want female operators actually betrayed him, wanting to make an exception and borrow Shen Zhenzhu, and even competing with Captain Gu for her!

What was he up to? Kanghe dared not speculate. He only felt his face burning, as if someone had slapped him across the face mid-air.

"Go back to the police station first, I'll contact you if anything comes up." That was all Captain Gu said.

Shen Zhenzhu didn't dare to argue back, and pretended not to be disappointed: "Isn't it supposed to be the family members who claim the body? Li Lili has no one to accompany her, so I'll go with her to the morgue to take a look?"

"Go ahead." After Gu Yanzheng finished speaking, Lu Ye, who was standing below Building Two, called him over. He turned around and almost bumped into the dazed Kang He, saying unhappily, "What are you still doing here?"

Kang He never expected that Shen Zhenzhu would make such great progress after graduating from the police academy. She not only gained Captain Gu's favor, but also made an appearance in front of Director Liu.

The things she talked about weren't taught at the police academy, and he'd never heard of much of it before! Her growth over the past six months has been terrifying.

Kanghe, who had just been mocking others, walked into the building under the blazing sun. He ran into another colleague who saw him covered in cold sweat and assumed it was just from the heat.

Shen Zhenzhu helped Li Lili to the morgue, surrounded by wailing and extreme grief.

Lu Xiaobao was already standing guard at the entrance of the morgue, where seven female college students' corpses were neatly arranged. Once beautiful and vibrant, they now had ashen faces, stiff limbs, and remained unmoved by the wails of their loved ones.

Behind them, the Heavenly Eyes in front of Shen Zhenzhu unfolded one by one—

A note from the author:

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See you tomorrow! Please add this to your favorites! Both are very important!

***

Criminal psychological analysis is derived from publications such as "Criminal Psychology," "Abnormal Psychology," "Criminal Profiling," and online resources.