Chapter 176 Stockholm Syndrome
"The doorbell rang."
Li Cheng's eyes suddenly focused, "Zhou Ming went to open the door... and then I heard a 'pop' sound——"
Her fingers unconsciously slashed across her throat, "Gu Xin's knife... was too fast, Zhou Ming fell down without even making a sound."
Li Cheng raised his head, tears welling up in his eyes. "You know what? The moment I saw Zhou Ming breathe his last... I felt like I was finally free."
"When I was about to be beaten to death, it was Gu Xin who saved me."
Li Cheng repeated morbidly: "I didn't know him at all, but he saved me..."
When Li Cheng said this, a strange smile even appeared on her face, as if she was immersed in her own thoughts. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that there was something wrong with her mental state.
Seeing that something was amiss, the policewoman quickly interrupted her: "So, what happened? Gu Xin let you go? And to repay him, you decided to become his accomplice?"
Lost in memories, Li Cheng finally woke up as if from a dream and continued, "When he killed Zhou Ming, blood splattered on his face. I could see he had mysophobia and was disgusted, so I took the initiative to find him some alcohol wipes and offered to help him clean up the scene."
"He was disgusted by my injuries and said I looked 'bad'. He didn't kill me. He kidnapped me and took me back to a basement and locked me up."
When Xia Lili heard the phrase "bad appearance," she understood that Gu Xin had certain requirements for his victims, choosing victims without wounds, just like selecting vegetables. In his eyes, the victims were not living people, but objects.
In the interrogation room, Li Cheng continued, "Later, every time Gu Xin killed someone, he would lock me in his car and then ask me to help him clean up the scene."
"He said I had become his accomplice, and if he was caught, I wouldn't have a good ending either..."
"Although Gu Xin is moody and often dislikes me, he won't hit me."
Li Cheng said this, unconsciously saying: "Actually, he treated me very well. Later, he no longer locked me up, did not restrict me from going out, and even bought me very expensive clothes and shoes."
She even showed a guilty expression: "I think he cares about me a little."
This passage made everyone who watched the interrogation shudder!
Xia Lili listened to Li Cheng's words on the loudspeaker, her brows furrowed, a trace of disbelief flashing in her eyes: "She actually thinks the murderer who imprisoned her is a good person?"
Li Qihan's eyes were calm: "Maybe it's Stockholm syndrome."
Xia Lili tilted her head, slightly confused. "I think I've heard this term before, but I don't quite understand it... Does it refer to the psychological phenomenon where the victim becomes dependent on or even loves the perpetrator? Why is this name so difficult to pronounce?"
"Stockholm is the capital of Sweden." Li Qihan spoke calmly, yet with the patience of a lecturer. "In the 1970s, a bank robbery occurred there."
He raised his eyes slightly, his gaze cast into the distance, as if recalling a period of history: "Robbers held four bank employees hostage and engaged the police for six days. But after their release, the hostages not only did not accuse the robbers, but actually defended them. One female employee even became engaged to one of the robbers."
He paused, his gaze returning to Xia Lili's face, and his voice was low and clear: "Psychologists have named this phenomenon of 'victims becoming emotionally dependent on their perpetrators' 'Stockholm syndrome'."
"In an environment of extreme oppression, victims will infinitely magnify the occasional 'kindness' of their perpetrators, and even distort it into gratitude."
He tapped the tabletop with his fingertips, speaking calmly and confidently, "To Li Cheng, Gu Xin wasn't just the man who killed her husband, but also the 'benefactor' who 'rescued' her from long-term domestic violence. This cognitive dissonance is a typical manifestation of Stockholm."
Xia Lili nodded thoughtfully, a complex emotion in her eyes: "So... she's not really grateful to him, but is just psychologically twisted?"
Li Qihan said "hmm" lightly, his eyes slightly cold: "But no matter what she thinks, Gu Xin is a murderer who is evil to the core."
At this point, he said self-deprecatingly: "No wonder."
"Every time Gu Xin committed a crime, he would take something from the crime scene as a souvenir, such as a doll or a whole head of the victim's hair... They were like travel souvenirs to him."
Xia Lili immediately thought of the various terrifying objects displayed in the wooden cabinet.
"In the case of Zhou Ming's body being dumped in a septic tank, our Yangcheng police have yet to find out what he took from Zhou Ming Licheng's rental apartment."
Li Qihan looked at Li Cheng on the interrogation room surveillance camera and said, "So they took Li Cheng away as a 'souvenir'."
In the interrogation room, the police officer knocked on the table and looked at Li Cheng with a sharp gaze: "Why did you go to so much trouble to send the carpet to Jin Yan Laundry?"
Li Cheng's fingers twisted unconsciously together. "I found it on the app... It's a ten-year-old shop that offers door-to-door pickup and expedited cleaning. The reviews all say the owner is incredibly responsible."
Her voice gradually trembled. "I thought... such a professional and experienced laundry shop would definitely notice the bloodstains on the carpet... and call the police..."
Xia Lili sighed at this. Li Cheng was indeed unlucky, having met a greedy man who was blinded by money and had no bounds. In her hallucination, she and Feng Jinyan were both killed in the end...
Li Cheng suddenly laughed bitterly, tears welling up in his eyes: "I contacted the owner through a public telephone booth."
"The boss lady was so enthusiastic on the phone, but who would have thought..." She dug her nails into her palms, "Not only didn't she call the police, but... she blackmailed me! She asked me for hush money!"
"Thinking about it now, it's really ridiculous," Li Cheng shook his head self-deprecatingly. "For such a shabby shop to have so many good reviews, there must be something wrong. I actually comforted myself by saying 'good wine needs no bush'..."
"Those good reviews for Jinyan Laundry are fake," the officer interrupted coldly, "We've checked."
"She almost killed me!" Li Cheng suddenly became excited. "I rushed to get the carpet last night because I heard that Gu Xin was coming back!" Her breathing became rapid. "If he found anything unusual..."
The two officers exchanged glances and asked, "Why not just call the police?"
Li Cheng raised his head suddenly, fear flashing in his eyes: "My phone, every corner of the house... are all under his surveillance."
She lowered her voice, "This is the only way I can do it... Even if I'm discovered, I can still pretend it was unintentional..."
Her shoulders began to tremble. "Besides, Gu Xin is very cunning. If you only catch me and not Gu Xin, he will probably retaliate against me, or even my family in Yangcheng."
The police officer guided him step by step and asked the most crucial question: "You helped Gu Xin clean up so many murder scenes and acted as an accomplice for so long. Why did you suddenly decide to call the police?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com