Chapter 1: First Fight
2011 Winter Dragon City
1. Extremely cold scene
At midnight, the temperature was over thirty degrees below zero, and the wind was like a poisoned blade blowing across the Songhua River. The sound of the ice cracking was particularly harsh in the dead silence. It was an extremely ordinary night in the Northeast, but this night was destined to be not peaceful.
The voice-controlled lights on the third floor of the No. 3 residential building of the motor factory were broken. Qin Chuan climbed up to the fifth floor on the broken ice. Wang Yang was shining a flashlight on the pile of debris at the corner of the corridor. The smell of mold and fishy smell rushed into his nose.
"Ouyang Lanlan, 26 years old, an accountant at Hongda Trading." Wang Yang briefly described the situation. "Like the previous three, she was a young, single woman living in a rented apartment. She was attacked between 9 and 10 pm. When she opened the door, the perpetrator rushed down from upstairs and pushed her into the house."
Qin Chuan didn't say anything and just kept walking up. The three-millimeter card-sized head was steaming in the dim light.
His gaze passed Wang Yang and finally locked onto the mottled, peeling wall outside the rental apartment where the crime occurred. There, a tiny scratch, as if deliberately drawn with a sharp piece of metal, was a short, straight vertical line, resembling the number "1."
His pupils contracted slightly. He clearly remembered that at the previous three crime scenes, there was the same symbol in a similar location. It was like a silent brand, a mark of arrogance.
Wang Yang noticed Qin Chuan's gaze and understood what he meant. "We've taken the photos and collected evidence!"
Qin Chuan nodded and walked in thoughtfully.
"In one month, four girls were harmed. The modus operandi was the same. This case can be combined into one." The white air exhaled by Wang Yang condensed on his eyebrows, and he said angrily.
Qin Chuan walked into the house and the heating temperature suddenly rose. Although the door was open, a fishy smell could still be smelled in the house. Because the temperature rose, it took a long time to dissipate and became even stronger.
He paid no attention to the unpleasant smell. His professional habit made him first quickly take a look at the layout and furnishings of the entire house: this was a typical one-bedroom old-style family building apartment, not very large in area. It used to be welfare housing allocated to employees of the motor factory. Now, the employees with better conditions had already moved out, and most of the remaining houses were rented to migrant workers or young white-collar workers like Ouyang Lanlan who had just started working.
The house, though old, was immaculately kept, revealing a clean, idyllic owner—several pots of succulents flourished on the windowsill, a small bookcase crammed with books, and the bedroom door ajar, revealing a glimpse of pink sheets and a large stuffed bear on the bed. In stark contrast to the bedroom's tidiness, the living room was a mess: a slipper tilted against the doorway, a keychain fallen to the floor, the contents of a small satchel spilled out, a chair toppled over... All this indicated that the victim had been attacked the moment she entered the room, propelled into the house with immense force, and engaged in a fierce, though brief, resistance and control.
"Who called the police?" Qin Chuan's voice rang out in the room, breaking the depressing silence.
"The landlord reported it." Wang Yang followed in and closed the on-site record book in his hand. "They happened to come here today to visit an old neighbor and stopped by to fix the water pipe. They don't usually live here."
Qin Chuan didn't ask any more questions. His attention was drawn to a photo on the bedside table in the bedroom. In the photo, Ouyang Lanlan was smiling brightly, with long black hair cascading down like a waterfall.
"Have you checked the surveillance footage?" Qin Chuan finally spoke.
Wang Yang threw his notebook to the ground. "What a bullshit surveillance camera! There's only one camera at the main entrance of the entire factory—and it's fucking broken!"
"This guy only targets old and dilapidated houses without surveillance. He's very slick."
At that time, the Skynet project had just become popular, and surveillance systems on main roads in first- and second-tier cities were just being built, with a coverage rate of less than 30%. There was no surveillance in second- and third-tier cities and old urban areas, and solving cases depended entirely on visits and investigations.
Inspector Lao Zhao's voice came from outside the house: "Boss Qin! This is the landlord and his wife. They were the first to discover the incident and report it!"
"Qin Tou'er" is actually not a standard name. Qin Chuan is a top student who graduated from the police academy. After two years of training at the grassroots level, he was transferred to the criminal investigation team for three years and is still in the process of training and learning. It was only in the past three years that he was qualified to participate in major cases. However, he performed very well among his peers. Not only did he make several meritorious deeds, but now he is also a detective who can stand on his own. He is also the leader of the special task force for the recent serial rape and murder case in Longdu City, which was named "12.4 Case".
He walked outside and saw a couple in their forties, perhaps even fifty, wearing thick cotton-padded clothes, their faces still tinged with fear and unease. Qin Chuan, in his thirties, had a buzz cut and a face roughened by years of wind and sun. His small eyes, slightly narrowed, were sharp and carried an unmistakable sense of oppression.
"It was you who reported the case?" Qin Chuan spoke, his voice steady, but with a power that forced people to take it seriously.
The woman instinctively shrank her neck and leaned closer to her husband. The man rubbed his hands and quickly replied, "Yes, we reported it. Officer, we don't usually live here. We rented the house to that girl and rarely come here."
"How did you find out? Tell us in detail what happened at that time." Qin Chuan asked.
The landlord took a deep breath, still feeling a bit shaken, and began to narrate, "She... is Miss Ouyang. A few days ago, she said there was a leak in the kitchen pipe and asked us to come take a look when we have time, saying a girl wouldn't be able to fix it herself. So, today we happened to be visiting an old neighbor, so we thought we'd stop by and fix it for her. When we arrived, we knocked on the door..."
In his narration, the picture of that cold night gradually became clearer -
The cold night in Northeast China was so still and eerie that it made one feel uneasy. A lonely telephone pole stood by the roadside, its shadow stretched long and thin, slanting across the icy pavement. There were hardly any people around. At this hour, everyone huddled in their warmth, some sleeping, some enduring, as if cut off from the outside world.
Inside Ouyang Lanlan's room, only a low humming sound could be heard, but it was definitely inaudible through the door. Her arms were bound behind her back with a special kind of industrial tape, and her face, or rather her entire head, was also wrapped in tape, making her unable to see or shout.
The dark shadow was lying on top of her, holding a shiny object, as if doing his "final beastly act", but then there was a knock on the door.
"Bang, bang, bang," the sound was not loud, but it was like a sharp whistle in the dark night, freezing the murderer's imminent action.
The murderer held his breath, waiting for further developments.
"Girl, are you home? I'm the landlord!" A man's voice sounded outside the door.
"The water pipe is broken, so we are here just the two of us!" The female landlord was afraid that the female tenant would feel inappropriate at night, so she added another sentence at the right time.
The murderer was probably worried that they had the key and would open the door and come in, so he tiptoed to the door, holding the weapon tightly in his hand, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Separated by a door, both sides listen attentively. If the door is open, it will be a fight for life and death, but if the door is closed, perhaps there will be peace.
After a while, someone muttered outside the door: "He hasn't come back yet or something, why don't you come back later."
As the footsteps faded away, the murderer breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't dare stay for long. He watched for a moment and then fled immediately.
"After a while, we sat at the neighbor's house and thought about going to take a look. When we got there, we found the door was ajar, so I asked my wife to push the door and see if anyone was home. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen? Then we called the police right away!" The male landlord recounted the story with lingering fear.
The landlady patted her chest and said, "It's so scary. When I pushed the door open, I saw someone wrapped up like a dumpling. I almost had a heart attack..."
Qin Chuan was also straightforward. Seeing that he had almost understood the situation, he signaled the policeman next to him to take over and rushed to the hospital with Wang Yang. He wanted to see
Victims, see if there are any clues.
2. Ward Inquiry
In the ward, Qin Chuan, dressed in police uniform, sat upright on a creaking stool beside the bed. He had gone to the city for a meeting this morning, so he wore a formal police uniform. He rushed to the hospital without having time to change his clothes. After all, he was the only survivor of the December 4th serial rape and murder case.
The victim, Ouyang Lanlan, half-leaned on the bed, a disposable paper cup deformed in her grip. The light bulb hummed, casting a dark shadow on her pale face.
Qin Chuan didn't rush to speak, but just sat quietly for a while, allowing her to feel a sense of calm and security. Then, he asked in the softest voice possible, "Do you feel better?"
Ouyang Lanlan's eyes slowly turned, her gaze focused on him, she nodded, and then quickly looked away, as if even looking into his eyes required great courage.
"We need to understand more about the situation. Any details may be very important for us to catch him." Qin Chuan's voice was low and steady. "When he covered your mouth with the glove, did you feel anything special? The texture? Or... the taste?"
The girl shuddered slightly. The collar of her down jacket rose high, almost covering half of her face and the bruises on her neck. She was silent for a few seconds, her voice fading like a wisp of smoke. "It's coarse cloth, very thick, greasy, and has a... terrible smell."
"Stink?" Qin Chuan keenly caught the word and leaned forward slightly. "What kind of smell? Can you describe it in detail?"
"It's like the smell of rotten eggs or a gas leak." She tried to recall, frowning painfully, "and a bit like that feeling of machines, rust, and grease mixed together in a factory. It's very pungent." She murmured softly, her eyes filled with bloodshot from the fear she had felt.
Qin Chuan memorized this detail thoughtfully. Rotten eggs, gas, engine oil, rust… these odors combined, and their direction seemed to become clear.
While flipping through the preliminary interrogation record book made by his previous colleague, he continued to ask, "The record said you mentioned that they might be two people?" He asked carefully to avoid irritating her again.
Ouyang Lanlan's breathing suddenly became rapid. She closed her eyes in pain, as if she was wrestling with a difficult psychological struggle. "I, I'm not sure. I was so scared at the time. They only spoke once, very briefly. A man and a woman! Both their voices were very low."
"A man and a woman?" Qin Chuan's brows were tightly locked again. A man and a woman committing a crime together was extremely rare in rape cases.
"Well, the woman said: Why is she a woman? Is she prettier than me? The man..."
Laughter erupted from the corridor. Two young auxiliary police officers huddled together, talking about something. Ouyang Lanlan's shoulders hunched sharply. Qin Chuan pushed open the ward door and yelled, "Nothing to do?!" The laughter stopped abruptly.
Back in the ward, Qin Chuan glanced at her hand. It was trembling slightly, and the frayed, snow-white cuffs were covered in dust, standing out in the holy air. "That man didn't say anything, but he laughed. It was a terrifying laugh!"
Ouyang Lanlan dug her nails into the bed rails, causing the white plastic paint to peel off. "When he laughs," she said, a sound like a broken bellows coming from her throat, "it's like someone scraping an iron pipe with a file, scraping and stopping, ho... ho... ho..."
Qin Chuan saw the spot of light from the ceiling light reflected in her pupils, trembling violently with the memory. The rhythm of the laughter seemed to suddenly squeeze out from between her teeth, short, dry, with a trembling end of metallic friction, like a rusty hinge opening and closing in the cold wind.
"I can still hear it now with my eyes closed," she suddenly curled up, "It's like the feeling of scratching a blackboard with my fingernails when I was a kid." She suddenly grabbed Qin Chuan's cuffs, leaving deep marks on the brushed fabric with cold sweat. She held Qin Chuan's arm tightly, digging her fingernails into it. Qin Chuan could feel the force even through his police uniform.
The light from outside the window flickered across the ward window for some reason, a fleeting glint. In that moment of alternating light and darkness, Qin Chuan saw the bulging veins on the back of her hand twitching slightly in response to the terrifying auditory hallucination. The ward was now eerily silent, with only her heavy breathing and Qin Chuan's own heartbeat as the only sounds.
Accompanied by an extremely slight but clear "click" sound, Qin Chuan felt his cuffs loosen - a button on the cuff of his police uniform was pulled off by Ouyang Lanlan due to extreme tension and force, and fell to the ground.
The button was a standard police uniform button, made of metal, with a small national emblem pattern in the center. Even in the dim light of the ward, it faintly reflected a faint light, symbolizing responsibility and protection.
Qin Chuan didn't pick it up immediately. Instead, he used his other hand to gently and soothingly pat Ouyang Lanlan's violently trembling back. After a while, when her grip loosened slightly, he bent down and prepared to pick up the button.
However, a faster hand got there first and grabbed the button almost snatched away.
It was Ouyang Lanlan. She clutched the button tightly, as if it were the only piece of driftwood in the vast and raging ocean, her knuckles turning white from the force, and she trembled slightly.
Qin Chuan was stunned for a moment, watching her holding the buttons tightly to her chest. In the end, he said nothing more, but continued to pat her back, giving her silent comfort.
3. Case analysis meeting
The Criminal Police Division meeting room was thick with smoke, the air so thick it felt like water dripping out. On the wall hung a massive map of Long City, with four glaring red circles marking the locations of the series of crimes, like four burning scars.
The deputy director in charge of criminal investigation rapped hard on the whiteboard, his face grim. "We now have sufficient evidence to combine the cases! The time of the crimes—all between 9 and 10 pm on Sundays. The targets—all single women aged 26-28, living alone, working in the city center but renting in the old town. The modus operandi—they're all identical. They seize the moment the victim opens the door, attack from above the stairwell, cover their mouths and push them into the room, then use special blue industrial tape to bind their hands and feet, seal their mouths and blindfold them. Furthermore, in the first three cases, part of the victim's hair was cut off and taken away! Starting with the first case on December 4th, Cui Li, Jiang Tingting, Wen Jing, and now Ouyang Lanlan—four cases in a month! The social impact is extremely severe, and panic is spreading among the citizens, especially the women! The city bureau leaders have issued a strict order, requiring us to go all out and solve the case within a deadline. We must give an explanation to the people of Longdu!"
Qin Chuan stood up, walked over to the map, and continued, "Besides the director's summary, the on-site investigations have several common points: there's no effective surveillance footage, the criminals are highly resistant to detection, they wore gloves, and left no fingerprints or clear footprints. The only thing that connects them is this highly consistent, ritualistic modus operandi, which fits the characteristics of a serial offender. And the testimony of the surviving victims is very useful. Currently, we're focusing our investigation on three main fronts: first, conducting large-scale surveys around the four crime scenes, searching for suspicious individuals; second, studying the mysterious '1' symbol on the wall at the scene; and third, thoroughly investigating the social relationships of the four victims, looking for intersections or anomalies."
He paused, his eyes sweeping over the people present. "Wang Yang, first tell me about your investigation and visit."
Wang Yang flipped open a thick notebook, his eyes bloodshot, clearly from the constant work and lack of rest. "Judging from the time the criminal chose to enter, he must have been lurking upstairs for a long time, accurately knowing the victim's return home time, and knowing that only one person was home at the time. This suggests he must have spent a long time observing and scouting the area before committing the crime. We've concentrated our efforts recently, conducting three rounds of sweeping searches of all suspicious individuals within a one-kilometer radius of the four victims' residences, especially those who fit Ouyang Lanlan's description of 'possibly a man and a woman.' However, we haven't found any particularly valuable clues yet. The area is too large, the people involved are too diverse, and many people I only remember seeing, but the exact time doesn't match."
Veteran investigator Uncle Zhao chimed in, his voice hoarse and thick with fatigue. "This case is truly bizarre. A man and a woman working together to commit this kind of rape is incredibly rare. What's their relationship? Husband and wife? A couple? Or some other perverted combination? Regardless, their psychology is incredibly twisted. Furthermore, if it were two people, their coordination, scouting, and retreat would have been much more covert, leaving fewer loopholes."
Seeing many of his colleagues nodding, Lao Zhao continued to report on the area he was responsible for: "Our team is mainly following up on the mysterious symbols on the wall. Through a detailed investigation of the four buildings where the crimes occurred and even the entire community, we found that not only at the door of the victim's home, but also on the walls of other residents' doorsteps, there are similar symbols carved in this way. In addition to the number '1', there are also '2' and '3'. We consulted with senior criminal police and colleagues in the public security system. This method was actually very common in burglary crimes in the past. It was actually marked by scouts. '1' represents a single person, '2' represents a couple living together, and '3' represents a family of three. Even more, it's used to indicate the target's risk and value to accomplices. Therefore, we believe this suspect, or his accomplices, are very familiar with these residential complexes, and may even be employed in professions with regular and reasonable access to these buildings, less likely to arouse suspicion. For example, they could be meter readers, food delivery drivers, couriers, various types of repair workers, or scrap collectors. However, this range is too large, and we are investigating all those working in these industries, especially those who were in the vicinity during the time of the incident. Currently, most have alibis or no obvious suspects, making investigation very difficult.
Hua Zi, the investigator in charge of investigating the victims' social connections, also shook his head. "The four victims worked for different companies and had no overlapping social circles. Their social relationships were complex, but after preliminary investigation, we found no common conflicts or suspicious connections. The possibility of an acquaintance committing the crime is currently low, and it's more likely that the targets were randomly selected."
The conference room fell into a suffocating silence, the only sounds being the faint hiss of burning cigarettes and the rustle of shuffling papers. There seemed to be many clues, yet they were all insubstantial, like a fist hitting cotton.
Qin Chuan's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table. Suddenly, he seemed to catch a flash of light in his mind: "What about the physical evidence? The tape, and the smell that Ouyang Lanlan mentioned, is there any more in-depth analysis?"
A colleague from the physical evidence department pushed up his glasses and shook his head. "That blue industrial tape is so common, you can buy it everywhere from hardware stores to building material markets. There are so many brands and countless production batches. Trying to trace it back to the source is like looking for a needle in a haystack. And the smell... current technology makes it difficult to quantify it, so it relies more on the subjective description of the person involved."
Qin Chuan suddenly stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and drew two heavy horizontal lines under the word "smell": "The smell of rotten eggs! The smell of gas! The smell of engine oil! The smell of rust! When you think of these smells combined together, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?" His eyes swept across the audience.
"Maintenance worker?" "Plumber?" "Machine operator in the factory?" someone murmured.
"And that marking!" Qin Chuan's voice rose a few notches. "He's so familiar with the family members of the residents in the community that he can even freely enter and exit the corridors to mark them. What profession best meets these requirements?"
"Gas smell!" Qin Chuan pointed his finger at the word "gas". "Could it be possible that he was the one who changed the gas tank?"
Workers who change gas tanks have their snow-white cotton gloves moved and twisted all year round, which are inevitably stained with engine oil and rust, especially the ethyl mercaptan added to the gas tanks, which is an irritating gas specially added to prevent gas leaks. The unpleasant smell permeates the glove fibers all year round and is difficult to wash off.
The atmosphere in the conference room instantly ignited! Everyone's eyes lit up! This analysis connected the seemingly scattered clues: scent, markings, and location-finding capabilities, into a clear thread!
"Investigate! Immediately!" Qin Chuan's voice was firm. "In the next phase, we must continue investigating other areas to prevent any omissions. But we must focus our efforts and go all out to investigate all the gas station workers in these four communities and the surrounding areas! Don't let any of them go undetected, and screen them all! Focus on investigating their whereabouts during the time period of the crime, any criminal records, and their social connections, especially any female accomplices or any male partners with withdrawn personalities or unusual behavior!"
4. Deadlock and Gambling
The days slipped by in a frenzy of investigation and waiting. The red numerals on the electronic clock on the wall of the Criminal Investigation Division's conference room ticked away with cold precision, each beat like a hammer, hammering down on the hearts of everyone on the task force. A sign reading, "40th Day Since the Establishment of the 12.4 Task Force," silently recorded the passage of time and the accumulation of pressure.
The ashtray was already overflowing, like a small mountain. The strong, refreshing tea, brewed over and over again, had long since lost its flavor. The office was filled with a complex aroma of tobacco, sweat, and anxiety. During this period, the entire task force had worked through nearly every night, their eyes bloodshot and their faces haggard.
The final results of the investigation were stacked into two piles half a man's height. Wang Yang rubbed his swollen temples vigorously and reported to Qin Chuan in a hoarse voice, "Those on the left have solid alibis or irrefutable evidence that completely eliminates suspicion. Those on the right..." He sighed, "After repeated rounds of questioning, I still can't find any obvious flaws or loopholes. The interrogation records and peripheral investigations all seem... normal. Moreover, the continuous large-scale investigations of the same group have caused dissatisfaction and resistance among some people."
After several more rounds of more detailed but still futile screening...
It was the 63rd day since the task force was established. All the clues, whether related to the gasman, social connections, or mysterious symbols, seemed to have hit an invisible wall and reached a dead end. The ghostly criminal, after his fourth crime, seemed to have completely vanished from the face of the earth, with no further trace. A deep sense of defeat enveloped the entire team.
Qin Chuan stood by the window at the end of the corridor, smoking silently, his eyes looking out the window at the criminal police compound shrouded in severe cold, but his gaze was unfocused.
Wang Yang nudged him lightly with his elbow, pointed downstairs, and whispered, "Here we go again."
Downstairs in the courtyard, next to the bulletin board, a frail figure in a white down jacket stood quietly. It was Ouyang Lanlan. Snowflakes drifted silently, gracing her hair and shoulders, though she was oblivious. Behind her, on the glass window of the bulletin board, was a photo and biography of Qin Chuan, who had been awarded the "Outstanding People's Police" award.
Since her discharge from the hospital, Ouyang Lanlan has moved back to her parents' home to recuperate, but she still visits the city police station almost daily to inquire about the case's progress. Initially, Qin Chuan would meet with her in person, patiently explaining the situation and, despite the minimal progress, still offering her confidence. However, as the case reached a stalemate, Qin Chuan felt increasingly ashamed and began to subconsciously avoid her. Perhaps he feared seeing those eyes that had gradually turned from hopeful to despair.
Ouyang Lanlan, seemingly delicate and delicate, possessed an unusual stubbornness and obstinacy. She no longer proactively inquired, simply showing up at the Criminal Investigation Team on time every day. Sometimes, she simply stood silently at the compound gate, watching the Criminal Investigation Team personnel and vehicles come and go without a word, like a silent, accusatory benchmark; sometimes, she would sit at the western end of the long, paint-chipped wooden chair with wire-wrapped legs in the first-floor reception hall, like a lifeless, dead tree, expressionless, and sitting there for half a day.
Once, Qin Chuan analyzed the case all night long. When he came out at dawn with red eyes, he saw her sitting on the cold bench in the corridor, nibbling on a sesame cake that had long been cold and hard. In the plastic bag at her feet, there was a half-filled box of "Valium" pills.
"This medicine hurts your stomach. You can't take it on an empty stomach." Qin Chuan handed her the hot porridge he had just brought from the cafeteria.
She didn't even raise her eyes, her voice as light as a feather: "It's better than not being able to sleep."
There was some water leaking from the joint of the heating pipe next to her, forming a small muddy puddle of ice at her feet. The ice reflected a banner hanging on the wall - eight golden characters "Defend the People and Live Up to the Mission". Most of the word "Mission" had fallen off, making it particularly glaring.
Qin Chuan felt his face burning and he couldn't say a word. He lowered his head and almost ran away from there.
At that moment, seeing that lonely, stubborn figure in the snow again, the helpless yet resolute wait within him was like a blunt knife, repeatedly slicing at Qin Chuan's nerves. His inner anxiety, guilt, and immense pressure instantly reached a peak. He fiercely stubbed out his cigarette in the snow on the windowsill, turned abruptly, and strode towards the office with his head held high.
Upon entering, he saw a young auxiliary police officer frantically trying to level a wobbly table. The pad he was using was a thick brown paper file bag! Qin Chuan instantly recognized it as the file bag for the "12.4 Series Cases"! The stagnation of the case had temporarily reassigned some personnel to other tasks, and some material management had become lax.
A nameless rage suddenly shot up Qin Chuan's head! He rushed over and shouted at the auxiliary police officer, "Is this for you to use as a table cushion?! This is a fucking case! If you don't want to do it, get out immediately!" His voice was so loud that the whole office was instantly silent.
The auxiliary officer's face paled with fear. He frantically pulled out the file bag and clutched it in his arms, bewildered. Wang Yang hurried over and winked at the auxiliary officer, signaling him to leave immediately. Everyone looked at each other, not daring to breathe.
Qin Chuan's chest heaved violently as he continued to walk inside. He tripped over a trash can in the corner and stumbled. Some people instinctively wanted to laugh, but immediately suppressed it. This small stumble seemed to light the final fuse! Qin Chuan suddenly raised his foot and, as if to vent his anger, kicked the trash can to the ground!
"Clatter!" Waste paper, cigarette butts, and instant noodle buckets scattered across the floor. On top, a photo fluttered down, a snapshot of Ouyang Lanlan's life before the incident. She stood in the sunlight, her long, shiny black hair as smooth as satin, her big eyes curved into a smile, full of longing for life, as if she were looking at the now-disgraced Qin Chuan.
Qin Chuan stared at the photo, stunned. Those bright eyes were like a flash of lightning, splitting the fog and dejection in his heart. He bent down suddenly, picked up the photo, and quickly picked up the thick stack of files from the ground, then turned and rushed downstairs.
He almost rushed to Ouyang Lanlan, grabbed her arm without saying a word, and dragged her into the relatively warm hall on the first floor.
"Why do you keep running here every day instead of staying at home and resting?!" His tone was a little aggressive because of his excitement.
Ouyang Lanlan staggered when he pulled her, raised her head and looked at him. Her voice was very low, but it pierced like a needle: "I can't sleep at home. As soon as I close my eyes, I think of that night. I can't sleep when I think that the bad guy hasn't been caught yet and he may still be outside. I want to see you, I want to see you catch him with your own hands." Fear and expectation were intertwined in her eyes.
Qin Chuan looked at her pale face, and his heart seemed to be tugged by something. He sighed, his tone softened, and pointed to the bench next to him: "Sit down first."
Ouyang Lanlan didn't move, but just looked up at him and asked softly and tentatively: "Yes, is it possible that you can't catch it?"
"We have rules and cannot tell you the details of the case." Qin Chuan felt his throat dry and hoarse. He took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind. "Sit down, I'll show you something."
He opened the thick file bag and pulled out the scene photos and reports of the first three cases, of course omitting the gory and overly revealing parts. "Look, in the previous three cases, the criminal cut off a lock of the victim's hair after committing the crime and took it away. We analyzed that this was a 'ritual' he had to complete to satisfy some kind of perverted psychological need. In your case, we infer that he had intended to cut your hair as well, but because the landlord and his wife suddenly arrived and interrupted him, he fled without completing that step."
Ouyang Lanlan was smart. She immediately understood Qin Chuan's hint. Her eyes suddenly widened, and her body shrank back slightly in fear, her back hitting the cold metal filing cabinet with a soft "dong" sound. "You mean. He, he will come to me again? To come to me to complete that 'ritual'?"
"We can't rule out this possibility." Qin Chuan stared at her intently, his tone serious and earnest. "Many serial criminals have this kind of obsessive paranoia. They feel incomplete and resentful about unfinished 'rituals', and they might even take the risk of committing the act again."
The "home" Ouyang Lanlan referred to was the rented house at the motor factory. After the incident, the place was cordoned off as a crime scene, and she moved back to her parents' home.
"Maybe." Qin Chuan wiped his face, exhausted but with a determination to burn his boats. "This is just a speculation based on criminal psychology. But Miss Ouyang, do you dare to bet with me?"
The cold wind rushed in through the open door of the hall, carrying with it flakes of icy snow that fell on the hair and shoulders of the two men.
Ouyang Lanlan faced the wind and snow, looking at Qin Chuan. Her body was still shaking slightly, but her eyes gradually became firm: "You, you will protect me, right?"
Qin Chuan suddenly pulled out his police ID and slammed it against the metal cabinet next to him, making a crisp sound. "If I lose this time and can't catch him, I, Qin Chuan, will take off this police uniform!"
Neither of them spoke again. The only sounds in the hall were the wind and their heavy breathing. Outside the window, an unknown bird let out a few sharp cries, piercing the silence.
Ouyang Lanlan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly raised her head, listened attentively, and asked softly, "Is that the cry of a yellow bird? It sounds quite pleasant."
Qin Chuan was stunned for a moment and shook his head. "At this time of year, there are no yellow sparrows in the Northeast. They are just ordinary sparrows, crying out of hunger. The winter in Longdu is too cold, and the yellow sparrows have already flown south for the winter."
Ouyang Lanlan raised her head, her eyes seemed to be looking through the cold window, towards the distant south: "The south is good, the south is warm."
Qin Chuan followed up her question and asked, "Which city in the south do you like?"
Ouyang Lanlan thought for a moment, her eyes a little vague, and she said softly, "Linzhou, right? The books say that there are small bridges and flowing water there, and it's like spring all year round. I always felt that was what the Jiangnan region in my memory should look like." There was a hint of yearning in her voice, but deeper was the fatigue brought by the trauma that she couldn't get rid of.
With all leads cut off and the murderer elusive, Qin Chuan, desperate, chooses a bold and risky plan: persuading the victim to act as bait in a highly dangerous special operation. He's completely focused on catching the demon, yet he has no idea how this tragic decision will profoundly alter the fate of both him and Ouyang Lanlan.
5. Sit tight and wait
The action plan was quickly and cautiously approved by superiors. Ouyang Lanlan moved back into the dreaded rental apartment in the motor factory's residential compound. Qin Chuan, leading the remaining elite members of the task force, rented a room in the building across the street as an observation point. They also deployed officers at every entrance and exit of the complex, as well as in hidden areas of the corridors, for 24-hour surveillance. A silent net, quietly spread in the bitter cold.
Qin Chuan was gambling. He was betting that the murderer, like a cheetah, was still observing from the shadows, believing that the police, after a long period of inaction, had relaxed their composure, that the scene would be unsealed, and the victim would return, presenting the perfect opportunity for him to complete his "unfinished ritual." He was betting that his perverted obsession would ultimately overwhelm caution.
After days of continuous surveillance, the target still didn't appear. Time passed, the cold and the waiting wore away everyone's energy and patience. The initial all-out patrol shifts were now being replaced by three shifts of surveillance.
In the surveillance room across the building, Qin Chuan held up his binoculars, his eyes sore but he didn't dare blink. In the car downstairs, Wang Yang and Lao Chen wrapped themselves tightly in their coats, taking turns staring at the unit door, their breath forming a cloud of white mist on the car window glass.
"Damn, this is such awful weather, even peeing can freeze into icicles." Wang Yang grumbled softly, rubbing his almost frozen hands. "Old Chen, how many days have we been squatting here? If that bastard hadn't come, we would have been frozen into an ice sculpture."
Old Chen was older and more patient. He lowered his voice and said, "Stop talking nonsense and keep a close eye on him! This kind of lunatic is hard to figure out. The more you think he doesn't dare to come, the more likely..."
At this moment, Qin Chuan's voice came from the intercom: "Old Chen, there's a woman coming over, go and take a look."
Everyone's spirits lifted slightly, but they were not too nervous. It was normal for residents to come in and out of the family building.
Old Chen got out of the car, wrapped his cotton coat tightly, hunched his neck, and walked slowly towards the woman like an ordinary resident. The woman had long hair and wore a mask, so his appearance could not be seen clearly, but she was very tall and had a bag in her hand... She looked like she had just come back from shopping, and he secretly looked at the woman.
"Why haven't you gone home yet so late?" Old Chen asked in a natural tone with a local accent.
The woman seemed startled and turned her head sharply, revealing a pair of panicked eyes above her mask. "Ah, you?" Her voice came through the mask, a little muffled, but it sounded like a young woman's. She subconsciously moved her bag behind her.
Old Chen's vigilance was half let down, but he still asked, "Oh, neighbor, the one in the building in front. We see each other so often that you may have forgotten him! You live in Unit 3?" As he spoke, he subconsciously adjusted the position of the miniature headset hidden in his ear. This subtle movement was almost imperceptible.
The woman's eyes seemed to be extremely sharp, catching the tiny outline of the electronic device in Lao Chen's ear, which was different from the ordinary earmuffs. Her eyes flickered quickly, but then returned to normal. She even said in a defensive tone, "I don't live in Unit 3, and I don't remember seeing you before. Sorry."
Seeing this, Old Chen couldn't stop them, so he said, "Well, be careful late at night." He turned and walked back, coughing very lightly into the microphone, indicating, "No abnormalities at the moment, continue observing." He was completely unaware that he had been identified as a police officer.
Wang Yang downstairs and Qin Chuan in the opposite building heard Lao Chen's signal and relaxed their tense nerves a little, but they still did not dare to take their eyes off the unit door in the target area.
However, just as Lao Chen returned to his car, something unexpected happened: a worker wearing Longxiang Gas Company overalls and carrying a gas tank came to the door of Unit 3 on a tricycle and stopped. He got off the tricycle and prepared to carry the gas tank.
The sudden appearance of the gas worker instantly attracted the full attention of Wang Yang downstairs and Lao Chen who had just returned to the car!
"What's going on? Changing the gas so late at night?" Wang Yang immediately became nervous and reported in a low voice through the intercom, "Boss Qin, there's a gasman downstairs! He's moving the tank!"
Qin Chuan, in the building across the street, felt a sudden pang of fear. The word "gasman" was too sensitive! He immediately focused his telescope on the worker, his mind racing: Was this a coincidence? Or was it the murderer's disguise? Or was it a deceptive ploy to lure the enemy away?
"Keep an eye on him! Don't act rashly!" Qin Chuan ordered, his heartbeat accelerating. The attention of all the peripheral surveillance points was involuntarily drawn to this "gasman" who matched the previous profile.
During the few seconds the police's attention was briefly drawn to the gasman downstairs, the woman quickly flashed to the door of Unit 3 and walked in. She walked quickly to Ouyang Lanlan's door and knocked gently. Ouyang Lanlan was of course awake and asked carefully, "Who is it?"
The woman said she was a police officer and asked the captain to come and see. As soon as the defenseless Ouyang Lanlan opened the door, she was hit by a sharp and sharp blunt blow to the head, and instantly fell to the ground unconscious! The murderer didn't even give her any time to react. Then, the cold scissors stuck to her long hair...
At the same time, the gasman from earlier came down from another unit angrily, cursing, "Who the hell is playing tricks on me!"
He was stopped by the police in a corner for questioning. He looked confused and nervous. "It was... the resident of 301 who just called! They said they needed it urgently! Then when I came, they said they didn't call, so I made a wasted trip."
At this moment, an extremely ominous premonition pierced Qin Chuan's heart like an ice cone. In the telescope's view, the light in the window of 501 seemed to flicker, and the voice-controlled light in the corridor seemed to be on all the time!
"No!!!" He yelled into the intercom, his voice changing tone. "The target may have already entered! Lao Chen and Wang Yang, block the door! Everyone else, follow me to 501! Quick!"
He threw down his binoculars and rushed out of the surveillance room like a madman, dashing towards the opposite corridor at the speed of a 100-meter sprint! Old Chen and Wang Yang also woke up from their dream, suddenly drew their guns and rushed out of the car, firmly guarding the unit door exit!
When Qin Chuan arrived, the most horrifying scene appeared before his eyes: Ouyang Lanlan was lying in a pool of blood, bleeding from her forehead, unconscious, and a large lock of her beautiful hair had been cut off!
"Ouyang!" Qin Chuan rushed over to check her vital signs, and at the same time frantically yelled to his colleagues who followed behind, "Call an ambulance! Quick! The person just got away! He must not have gotten far! Seal all exits!"
He suddenly looked up, his scarlet eyes scanning the room. There was no sign of the murderer! The windows were all locked from the inside! The murderer could only be still in the building!
"He ran upstairs!" Qin Chuan made a quick judgment and immediately led the charge to the rooftop! Lao Chen and Wang Yang stayed behind to protect the scene and the wounded, while the others followed Qin Chuan upstairs in pursuit!
Qin Chuan rushed all the way to the rooftop. The cold wind was howling, and there was no one there! He immediately saw that the two unit rooftops of the old family building were connected! The murderer must have run from here to the next unit!
"The murderer ran from the rooftop to the second unit next door! The people downstairs in the second unit are blocking the door!" He shouted into the intercom, and without hesitation, he chased across the rooftop, rushed into the stairwell of the second unit next door, and chased down with all his might!
When he rushed to the door of Unit 2 panting, he saw a young auxiliary police officer standing there, looking around nervously.
"Did anyone go out just now?!" Qin Chuan asked anxiously, his heart almost jumping out of his chest.
The auxiliary policeman was frightened by his appearance and said quickly: "Yes, there is a woman who just went out. She was covered very tightly and walked over there." He casually pointed to a road on the side of the community.
"A woman?!" Qin Chuan was struck by lightning and immediately realized, "Oh no! It's her! Go after her!"
He led his men in pursuit in the direction the auxiliary police pointed! Sure enough, he saw a "long-haired" figure walking quickly in the distance. Hearing the noise and shouting behind her, the "woman" suddenly broke away and broke into a run at an astonishing speed that was completely unlike that of an ordinary woman!
"Stop! Police!" Qin Chuan shouted while chasing.
The "woman" was not only incredibly fast, but also extremely physically fit. She rushed to the neighborhood wall and effortlessly pushed herself over with her hands! At the moment of her climb, perhaps because of her excessive movement, her "long hair" was scraped off the wall and fell to the ground!
Qin Chuan and others chased to the wall, picked up the wig, and looked at the empty path outside the wall, all stunned.
"Damn! It's a man! A man dressed as a woman!" A policeman gasped and said in disbelief.
A huge sense of frustration and anger at being tricked instantly overwhelmed everyone. They realized that from the very beginning, the "woman" was the murderer himself! He had exploited gender stereotypes, cleverly identifying the police, and using the sudden appearance of a completely unsuspecting gasman to perfectly attract the police's full attention, buying himself precious time to commit the crime and escape!
Afterwards, the police found out through investigation of the unfortunate gas worker that it was indeed a "woman" who asked him to go to 301 to deliver gas using the public telephone at the entrance of the community, but he had never seen the woman's face and did not know that this was a complete scam to exploit him. The reason why the police knew that the key suspect was the gas worker was that the police speculated that he might have been disturbed during the previous investigation, or even that he had been investigated but was missed.
Qin Chuan lost completely this time!
6. Aftermath and Farewell
Police sting operation fails, serial murder victim attacked again
The murderer of the "12.4" case arrogantly provoked the police's ability to handle the case, raising questions about the police's ability to handle the case.
Who will ensure the safety of women in Longdu?
Similar horrifying headlines, accompanied by grainy photos of Ouyang Lanlan being loaded into an ambulance, quickly dominated the front pages of major newspapers in Longdu City and circulated wildly on local forums and social media. Public opinion was instantly in an uproar, with questions, criticism, and panic flooding the Municipal Bureau like a tsunami. Pressure from superiors, pressure from society, and public accusations weighed heavily on every investigator involved in the case, like three mountains.
As the direct person in charge of the operation, Qin Chuan was immediately suspended and under investigation.
Half a month later, on a cold evening, Qin Chuan, dressed in casual clothes, sat on a small stool at a roadside noodle stall not far from the Municipal Bureau, staring at the bowl of noodles that had long since clumped together and were still cold, motionless. Wang Yang sat across from him, also unable to eat, and the two of them sat in silence.
Old Chen dragged his tired feet over, sighed, and took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Qin Chuan: "It's forwarded from the team. Ouyang Lanlan asked her parents to deliver it."
The letter was very thin, containing only a single sheet of ordinary letter paper. There was only one sentence on it, the handwriting was a little sloppy, but it was so strong that it could be seen through the paper:
"The dragons are too cold."
No signature.
Along with the letter was the police uniform button, carefully wrapped in a small handkerchief. The golden national emblem still shone brightly, but at this moment, the light was like a needle, piercing Qin Chuan's eyes and causing him to feel pain. He felt indescribable depression, guilt, and a huge sense of failure.
He stared at the button and the words for a long, long time. Then, he suddenly picked up the chili pepper jar on the table and fiercely ladled several large spoonfuls of the glaring red chili oil into the bowl of cold noodles, as if trying to mask something with the intense stimulation. He lowered his head and mechanically shoveled the cold, spicy noodles into his mouth with big mouthfuls, eating until tears streamed down his face. He couldn't tell whether they were tears from the spiciness or from the pain that was pent up in his heart and had nowhere to vent.
After being discharged from the hospital, Ouyang Lanlan quickly boarded a train south with her family. Longdu City had left her with only horrific memories and endless gossip. Perhaps this unfamiliar city in the south could bring her a glimmer of warmth and peace.
A few days later, Qin Chuan formally submitted his resignation. As he was packing his belongings in the office, the director called him over, shoved a document in front of him, and sighed, "Chuanzi, I know you're upset. The disciplinary decision has been made: a serious reprimand. This is the best I can do for you. You're still young, and making a mistake once..."
Qin Chuan said nothing, but silently placed his resignation report on top of the disciplinary decision. His movements were slow, but incredibly firm.
The director looked at his haggard but increasingly angular face, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing and just waved his hand heavily.
As he exited the imposing gates of the Longdu Public Security Bureau, fine snowflakes began to fall again. Qin Chuan pulled the cold button from his pocket and clutched it tightly in his palm. The sharp edges of the metal stung his palm, causing it to ache. The icy snow flakes scraped against his face, bringing a biting chill, but he seemed to no longer feel it.
7. Evil smile
In the dark night of Longdu, in a slightly messy room,
A man is facing a mirror, practicing his smile.
Some people are born unable to laugh.
If they want to fit in with society and disguise themselves, they have to practice smiling.
The face reflected in the mirror looks ordinary and even a little cowardly.
But the corners of his mouth slowly pulled upwards, forming an extremely weird, twisted smile.
Accompanied by a hissing sound, it sounded more like panting.
On the table, there were several plastic mannequins, all wearing long wigs.
After laughing, he picked up the comb and began to carefully comb the hair of one of the mannequins.
Eyes focused and strange...
(End of Chapter 1)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
