Chapter 18 The Final Judgment
1. Broken Mirror
The light in the city bureau's interrogation room was cold and dazzling, driving away all shadows, but it also made people's faces look pale.
Huang Qiang, or rather, the person who was controlling this body at the moment, whether it was "Huang Qiang", "Huang Qiang", or the imaginary "brother", was sitting on a fixed iron chair, his handcuffs reflecting a cold light.
He kept his head down, mostly silent. Occasionally, he would raise his head, his eyes sometimes empty, sometimes fleeting with a fleeting, feminine resentment, and sometimes revealing a protector's anxiety that was completely inconsistent with his current situation. These rapid, subtle transitions were eerie enough to send chills down one's spine when viewed on the surveillance screen.
The interrogations seemed to have little effect. He either avoided answering key questions or, in his dry, flat voice, repeated fragmented, seemingly unrelated snippets, his logic scrambling and his sentences incoherent. Mentioning the Longdu case would cause him to fall into prolonged silences or suddenly launch into passionate denials, his lips trembling and his eyes unfocused, as if he had touched a taboo.
The veteran detectives in charge of the interrogation were experienced, yet they found the situation daunting. They had encountered criminals who were stubborn, cunning, and even relished confrontation, but this was a new experience, a conversation like a fog, a shattered mirror. Their intuition told them that the man before them was undoubtedly connected to the series of crimes, but how to pry open this twisted heart and find the key that connected all the doubts was an extremely difficult task.
Qin Chuan sat alone on a bench in the residential complex, his brows knitted into a knot. The man inside struck him as strangely familiar. It wasn't the appearance, but the sense of disunity, the faint suggestion of different forces tearing at each other within him, struggling for dominance. His mind involuntarily flashed back to his numerous encounters with Huang Qiang during his time as a delivery driver in Linzhou.
Once, also between deliveries, Huang Qiang huddled in a corner, head bowed, lips moving ever so slightly, as if arguing with someone. Qin Chuan thought he was venting his emotions to himself at the time and paid little attention, only vaguely catching a few fragmented words: "...No...", "...Danger...", "...Listen to me..." Looking back now, the tone and demeanor didn't sound like a monologue at all, more like a hushed, hurried conversation!
There was also that time when he pretended to complain about the unfair assignment of orders by the system. Huang Qiang rarely responded with a word in a low voice: "...It's all the same...No one cares..." The resentment and despair in his tone were completely different from his usual silent and numb image.
What made him even more frightened was that one night when he finished work, he saw Huang Qiang standing in the shadows on the roadside, whispering something into his cell phone, with an expression that was almost ferociously gentle: "...it's almost there...it's almost there...help me one more time...brother..." At that time, he just felt that this man was indescribably weird, but now these fragmented memories were gathering together as if attracted by a magnet!
Especially that time when Huang Qiang hid in the inner room and had a furtive conversation with a man under the pretext of drinking!
Two middle school-aged girls were fiddling with their phones. One pointed at the screen and asked the other, "Have you played PIA lately?" The other girl asked, "What's a PIA play?" "It's just dubbing imitation. The best actors can switch between male and female voices at the same time, playing multiple roles by themselves. It's amazing!"
Qin Chuan suddenly woke up!
Is it possible that the other voice in Huang Qiang's room is not a man's, but just a "male voice"?
Qin Chuan suddenly closed his eyes and pressed hard on his throbbing temples. An absurd thought, yet one that perfectly matched all his suspicions, suddenly split the fog in his mind like lightning in the darkness!
He remembered that when he was training at the police academy, he occasionally heard the old instructor talk about strange cases abroad. He mentioned an extremely rare mental illness called "multiple personality" or "split personality". It was said that there could be several people living in a person's mind, talking to themselves, and even different personalities might not recognize each other.
Could it be that Huang Qiang wasn't collaborating with his brother? Could it be that the deep male and shrill female voices he heard were actually Huang Qiang himself?
This idea was so shocking that even he himself found it unbelievable. He was not a psychiatrist and did not understand those profound medical terms. He just relied on his detective intuition and all the clues to make a bold hypothesis.
He immediately sought out the task force leader, his former superior, and shared his observations and his astonishing speculation. The office was thick with smoke, and the old leader's brow furrowed as he listened to his account.
"Split personality? Xiao Qin, that's too far-fetched. Do you have any evidence? These feelings and scattered fragments alone can't serve as evidence, let alone convince the procuratorate and the court." The old leader exhaled a puff of smoke, his tone heavy, "What we need is irrefutable evidence, physical evidence that directly links him to the Longdu scene, or a clear and unambiguous confession from him that can stand up in court."
"I know this is hard to believe," Qin Chuan argued anxiously, "but, Commander, don't you think this is all too coincidental? A male and female voice acting as a team, yet their coordination is flawless? He knows every detail of the residents in the community, yet there's no trace of any accomplices? And his strange behavior, if we change our thinking, all these contradictions can be explained! He's not pretending, he's truly ill! And he's extremely ill!"
He paused, his eyes sharp. "I request that a forensic psychiatric evaluation be initiated immediately on Huang Qiang! This isn't to exonerate him; on the contrary, it may be the only way to find the key to conviction! We need the most professional doctors to determine his exact state of mind when he committed the crime! Which 'he' committed the crime!"
The old leader pondered for a long moment, extinguishing another cigarette in the ashtray. Finally, he sighed heavily. "Alright. You have a point. The interrogation has indeed reached a stalemate. Let's try our best. I'll report to my superiors and request a mandatory psychiatric evaluation. But Qin Chuan," he raised his head, his gaze piercing, "you must be mentally prepared. If the results truly show that he was unable to recognize or control his actions at the time of the crime, then..."
That means that even if the truth comes out, the devil may not receive the severe legal punishment he deserves.
Qin Chuan's heart sank suddenly, but his eyes remained firm: "No matter what, we must first know the truth. The rest will be left to the law."
The evaluation request was quickly approved. A team of experts from several leading mental health centers in China moved into the city's designated supervisory hospital. Huang Qiang's evaluation was lengthy and meticulous, involving complex questionnaires, interviews, hypnosis attempts, and even medication. The process was full of twists and turns, and Huang Qiang's condition was extremely unstable, sometimes cooperative and sometimes resistant, displaying unpredictable personality traits.
Qin Chuan and the task force could only wait anxiously. Upon learning this direction, Ouyang Lanlan's emotions fluctuated dramatically, from incomprehension to skepticism, and finally to a deep, utterly terrifying feeling. If this were true, then the conversation she had heard in her utter terror... was actually a mad drama staged and directed by one person? This, more than pure evil, filled her with a physical discomfort and absurd fear.
After several long weeks, the preliminary appraisal opinion finally came out.
The atmosphere in the conference room was so solemn it could have dripped water. The person presiding over the appraisal was an elderly professor with graying hair and a wise yet weary look in his eyes. He adjusted his glasses, looked at the police officers before him, breathlessly watching, and spoke slowly, his tone carrying the rigor of a scientist, yet also a rare heaviness:
"After multiple consultations and assessments by our expert team, we can confirm that the individual being assessed, Huang Qiang, suffers from severe dissociative identity disorder (DID), also known as multiple personality disorder. He also suffers from severe gender dysphoria."
A suppressed gasp echoed through the conference room. Despite being mentally prepared, the shock of hearing this unbelievable situation confirmed by a leading expert was still immense.
The old professor continued to explain, his tone steady but each word weighted. "Within him, we can clearly identify at least three alternating dominant 'identity states' or 'personality parts.'"
"The first is the main personality, also known as 'Huang Qiang' in registered identity and social relationships. He is male, but his self-perception is extremely confused. He is cowardly, introverted, and numb, and unresponsive to external stimuli. This is the part that bears the most weight of childhood trauma and daily stress. He may have only vague, fragmentary memories of the actions of the other personalities, or even be completely unaware of them."
"The second is a female personality constructed based on his childhood identity as 'Huang Qiang.' She strongly identifies with her female identity and is filled with resentment and anger at being forced to 'transform' back into a man. She obsessively pursues outward feminine beauty, such as collecting long hair and feminine items. At the same time, she harbors extreme jealousy and a desire to destroy victims who are born with beautiful long hair and lead 'normal' female lives. We believe that the 'ritual' of selecting targets, marking them, and finally cutting their hair as 'trophies' in the series of crimes is most likely dominated or strongly driven by this personality."
"The third one," the old professor paused, his gaze sweeping across the crowd, "is a protective personality modeled after his long-deceased brother, Huang Chao. He's male, exhibiting a certain aggressiveness and a sense of responsibility. He speaks in the tone of an older brother, claiming to 'protect' his younger sister, Huang Qiang, and doing things for her that she 'wants to do but dares not do.' Based on the available evidence and the conversations we've been led into, we highly suspect that the specific violent attacks, controlling behavior, and aggression in this series of cases were instigated by this 'older brother' personality."
The conference room fell silent, everyone speechless and shocked by the unprecedented nature of this case. Could one person truly split into several distinct "people" and collaborate to commit a series of crimes?
"So is he a mental patient? Did he know he was committing a crime when he committed the crime?" A young criminal police officer couldn't help but ask the most crucial question.
The old professor pushed his glasses up, his expression becoming extremely serious. "This is the most critical and complex part of the identification process. The key to legal evaluation lies in the perpetrator's ability to recognize and control the crime when committing it."
He flipped through the thick report. "Based on our in-depth study of the case files, especially the highly consistent, ritualistic, and anti-reconnaissance methods, including the choice of an unsurveilled residential complex, the use of gloves, the use of a gas worker's identity to mark the location, the subsequent cleanup, and his warning to Ms. Ouyang Lanlan and subsequent frame-up of Comrade Qin Chuan..."
The old professor raised his head, looking sharply at Qin Chuan, then surveyed the crowd. "We believe that both Huang Qiang, the personality that led the target selection and rituals, and the brother personality that led the violence, were fully aware that their actions were criminal and were consciously evading detection and punishment. Their actions weren't completely irrational and frantic, but rather had inherently twisted logic and clear purpose. Their exceptional anti-detection capabilities, in particular, strongly suggest that their ability to identify individuals hasn't been lost, and their ability to control themselves is even more calm and meticulous than that of an ordinary person."
He ultimately delivered the crucial conclusion: "Thus, our assessment is that although Huang Qiang suffers from severe dissociative identity disorder, his dominant personality possessed substantial recognition of the illegal acts when committing the series of crimes implicated in this case. Furthermore, his crimes were meticulously planned, allowing him to evade investigation and demonstrate complete control. Therefore, he is assessed as having full criminal responsibility."
Full criminal responsibility! These words hit everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.
Qin Chuan let out a long, drawn-out sigh, his tense back instantly drenched in cold sweat, a sudden release from the intense tension. A wave of overwhelming, indescribable emotions washed over him. There was the relief of the truth being revealed, the joy that the evil would finally be brought to justice, and a deep chill and sadness at the extreme distortion of human nature.
After learning the results of the test, Ouyang Lanlan locked herself in her room and cried for a long time. Her sobs were a mixture of the joy of revenge, the relief of having survived, and the fear and pain of an incomprehensible, maddening fate. The conversations she heard, the cold touch she felt, the utter terror she experienced—all emanated from the same shattered soul. This truth, more than simply evil, filled her with a sense of absurdity and a chilling chill.
2. Storm in the Court
Because the case had an extremely bad social impact, involved multiple locations and was a series of serious cases, the public prosecution against Huang Qiang was initiated by the Longdu City Procuratorate and the trial was held in a closed manner at the Longdu City Intermediate People's Court, but some victims' families, related personnel and specially invited attendees were allowed to attend.
The sky was overcast on the day the trial began. A cordon was erected outside the solemn courtroom, and reporters were kept at a distance, their cameras trained on the entrance. The spectators who arrived gradually wore solemn expressions, speaking little to one another. A suppressed sense of grief and anticipation hung in the air.
Qin Chuan changed into a neatly tailored uniform and sat down early in the first row of the public gallery. His back was straight, his gaze fixed sharply on the entrance to the dock. Ouyang Lanlan sat a little further away from him, wearing sunglasses and looking pale. Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, her knuckles white. Lin Jingliang had also arrived, quietly sitting beside her, handing her a bottle of water, his eyes filled with both concern and support.
Following in succession were the parents and family members of the other three victims: Cui Li, Jiang Tingting, and Wen Jing. Their aged, haggard faces were etched with the pain and suffering of four years. Their gazes toward the dock were like sharp blades, filled with deep hatred and endless sorrow. The entire gallery seemed shrouded in a silent thundercloud.
As the bailiff led Huang Qiang into the dock, a subdued commotion erupted in the courtroom. He was wearing ill-fitting prison clothes, making him appear even smaller. He lowered his head, his expression unclear. But everyone could sense the presence of an invisible, cold, twisted aura.
The prosecutor read out the indictment in a loud and sorrowful voice, enumerating the multiple crimes Huang Qiang (alias Huang Qiang) was suspected of, including rape, intentional injury resulting in death, and illegal entry into a residence. He described in detail the course of the four cases and the serious consequences they caused, with every word laced with blood and tears.
However, when it was the defense attorney's turn to speak, all the audience were stunned.
The man who stood up was a middle-aged lawyer wearing gold-rimmed glasses, a suit, and a haughty demeanor. His name was Qian Ming, and he was known in the industry for his sophistry and his penchant for taking on sensational cases, earning him both praise and criticism. No one expected that Huang Qiang's family, who had all but severed ties with him, would hire such a lawyer. Perhaps he had even taken the initiative to represent them in this case.
Qian Ming adjusted his glasses and began to speak in a startling manner: "Your Honor, Jurors, I am deeply shocked and regretful that the public prosecutor has accused my client of such a horrific crime. But please note that my client, Mr. Huang Qiang, is first and foremost a patient with a serious mental illness diagnosed by an authoritative institution!"
He raised the copy of the psychiatric evaluation report in his hand: "This report clearly states that he suffers from dissociative identity disorder and gender dysphoria! His inner world is fragmented, and his actions are not governed by a unified, sound will! In this case, simply equating him with a sane criminal and holding him fully criminally responsible is unfair and contrary to the spirit of the law!"
His voice was passionate, as if he was defending someone who had suffered a great injustice: "The law punishes the subjective malice and free will of a crime. However, my client, when committing the crime, was likely under the control of another personality, and his ability to recognize and control was flawed! Perhaps even completely lost! How can we ask a patient to take full responsibility for his actions during a seizure? This is tantamount to punishing an epileptic patient for convulsions during a seizure!"
The audience was in an uproar! The victims' families were so emotional that some couldn't help but curse under their breath: "Bullshit!" "Beast! You bastard will die!"
The judge had no choice but to bang the gavel loudly: "Silence! Silence in the courtroom!"
Qin Chuan's brows furrowed tightly. He had expected someone to argue Huang Qiang's case through the lens of mental illness, but he hadn't expected them to be so direct in attempting to completely deny Huang Qiang's criminal responsibility, and to do so with such eloquence and incitement.
Ouyang Lanlan was so angry that she was shaking all over, and tears welled up in her eyes behind her sunglasses. Lin Jingliang gently pressed her shoulders and whispered comforting words.
The prosecutor, clearly prepared, immediately stood up to refute: "The defense attorney has unilaterally misinterpreted the conclusions of the evaluation! The evaluation report clearly states that the individual being evaluated, regardless of which personality was responsible for the crime, had not lost the ability to recognize and control the crime!" The planned, anti-detection, and unique ritualistic nature of his crimes prove that his actions were intentional and carried out with clear knowledge! Mental illness cannot be a golden ticket to exoneration for his brutal crimes!
After a pause, the prosecutor continued, "And we have reason to believe that even if it's a crime committed by multiple personalities, the multiple personalities in Huang Qiang's body are also complicit in the crime!"
Qian Ming sneered, refusing to back down. "Planning? Ritual? Comrade Prosecutor, do you understand the inner world of a DID patient? It's a world of extreme pain and chaos! The so-called 'plan' may just be the pathological logic developed by their inner personality system to cope with trauma! It can't be measured by ordinary people's rationality! As for counter-detection, if he is really as lucid and rational as you say, how could he have left so many psychological traces? How did he end up being captured? Doesn't this in itself prove that his behavior pattern is pathological and irrational?"
He turned to the bench, his tone becoming grave and earnest: "Your Honor, my client himself was a victim of tremendous childhood trauma! He was the victim of incorrect family education, social prejudice, and bullying! His behavior is certainly hateful, but its root cause is tragic! In addition to punishment, the law should also have the function of education and redemption. I believe that in extremely special cases like these, compulsory medical treatment should be considered first, rather than simple criminal punishment! This is the embodiment of a civilized society!"
"You are talking nonsense!" In the gallery, the mother of a victim could no longer bear it and stood up suddenly, her voice shrill, "My daughter is dead! He killed her! Why should he be pitiful? She is the one who is pitiful! What did she do wrong? Why did she have to meet such a beast? Why can he kill someone and then go for 'treatment'? Where is justice?" The old woman burst into tears and was helped to sit down by the family members beside her. The courtroom was filled with sad cries.
The judge looked stern as he banged the gavel again to maintain order, but his eyes also revealed a hint of complex emotions.
The trial descended into a heated legal and ethical debate. The prosecution and defense engaged in a heated exchange of arguments, citing legal references and engaging in acrimonious debate over Huang Qiang's criminal responsibility, the interpretation of the expert's findings, and the legal definition of DID. While his motives were ulterior, attorney Qian Ming, despite his exceptional professional skills, repeatedly seized upon details describing the disease in the expert's report, exaggerating and distorting them in an attempt to portray Huang Qiang as a completely out-of-control, irresponsible "patient."
During the recess, the atmosphere in the corridor was oppressive. The victims' families gathered together, silently shedding tears, their eyes filled with despair and resentment. Ouyang Lanlan removed her sunglasses, wiped her red and swollen eyes, and whispered to Qin Chuan, "Are we really going to let him get away with this?"
Qin Chuan looked at her firmly and said in a deep voice, "No. The prosecutor is well prepared. Qian Ming is just playing word games to confuse the public. The core of the law is the state of the behavior at the time of occurrence, not whether he is sick or not. His anti-detection ability is the most solid evidence!"
Sure enough, when the court resumed in the afternoon, the prosecutor launched a more powerful counterattack. He did not dwell on complex medical concepts, but instead took the most direct approach - presenting evidence.
He produced photos of the markings on the wall outside the Longdu crime scene in court and asked: "Could you please explain, defendant, whether these markings representing living alone or sharing a house were made by you?"
Huang Qiang lowered his head and remained silent.
The prosecutor also presented Huang Qiang's work schedule at the gas station, which closely matched the time of the crime. "Could this be a coincidence?"
silence.
The prosecutor concluded by playing a carefully edited video clip of Huang Qiang making numerous, unusual stops near Ouyang Lanlan's company and apartment while delivering food in Linzhou. It also included footage of him finally finding Ouyang Lanlan's home and issuing a tentative warning. The prosecutor questioned the suspect: "How could someone completely mentally disturbed and unable to recognize things be able to track, locate, and threaten her with such precision? What kind of calmness and planning does that require?!"
Every piece of evidence presented was like a heavy hammer, hitting Qian Ming's defense strategy and Huang Qiang's seemingly numb exterior.
Finally, when the prosecutor harshly questioned, "Huang Qiang! Look at the evidence! Look at the parents in the audience who lost their daughters! How long are you going to keep using 'illness' as an excuse?! Do you really have no humanity at all?!"
In the dock, Huang Qiang, who had been keeping his head down, began to tremble violently. He suddenly raised his head, his face no longer numb, but one of extreme pain and struggle. His eyes were confused, and his voice became sharp and strange, as if several voices were vying for the right to speak:
"It's not me...it's my brother...it's my brother who wants to protect me..."
"Why...why are they so happy..."
"Hair...my hair...give it back to me..."
"Don't ask! Don't ask anymore! Ah——!"
He suddenly put his hands on his head, let out a shrill scream, curled up, and slammed himself against the railing of the dock out of control.
There was a commotion in the courtroom, and the bailiffs quickly stepped forward to restrain him.
But this sudden loss of control was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it seemed to confirm his mental instability; on the other, his chaotic mumbling inadvertently revealed key information—"brother," "protect me," "hair"—that vaguely matched his alleged motive and method of committing the crime.
Lawyer Qian Ming's expression darkened. Huang Qiang's loss of control in court, while revealing his illness, also confirmed his connection to the case, shattering the image of a "completely innocent patient" he had been trying to create.
The judge watched the farce gravely and exchanged glances with the jurors.
Finally, after a whole day of intense and suffocating legal confrontations and emotional clashes, the judge adjourned the court and will announce the verdict on another day.
Everyone walked out of the courtroom with heavy and complicated hearts. The sky remained gloomy, as if it was also waiting for the final judgment.
Qin Chuan and Ouyang Lanlan walked at the end. Ouyang Lanlan looked back at the solemn and cold court building and asked softly, "Will he be sentenced to death?"
Qin Chuan did not answer immediately. He looked at the gray sky, was silent for a long time, and then slowly said:
"The law will give its answer. But no matter what the answer is, the truth has come to light."
He knew that no matter what the verdict was, for Ouyang Lanlan and all the victims' families, this long nightmare had finally come to an end. And the demon bred in distortion and pain would eventually pay the price for everything he had done.
The storm in the courtroom subsided temporarily, but everyone was waiting for the final, solemn gavel of judgment to fall.
(End of Chapter 18)
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