Through Captain Yang's brief description of the case, Xu Nian keenly picked up on a peculiar timeline.
"2019..." Xu Nian hesitated before continuing, "The last case committed by the first killer was the 0913 case in 2019. As far as I know, the second killer murdered Zhong Chenghong on December 27, 2019. After that, both killers vanished for five years, until the second one recently resurfaced to kill again. Could there be some connection between them?"
Guan Xia hadn’t noticed this detail before, but now that Xu Nian mentioned it, she realized the coincidence was striking—enough to make one wonder if there was some hidden link between the two cases.
Captain Yang nodded. "We’ve considered that possibility too, but after investigating the social connections of both victims, we found no common ground. At one point, we even speculated that the two killers might have crossed paths in some way."
Guan Xia frowned, instinctively wondering if the killers had formed some kind of partnership. But she quickly dismissed the thought.
The next moment, it occurred to her—if they had truly collaborated, given the first killer’s cunning and the second’s brutality, it was unlikely they would have remained inactive for five years afterward. Could it be that instead of cooperating, they had turned on each other?
As Guan Xia’s thoughts raced wildly, Xu Nian asked, "Are the victim selection methods of the two killers completely different?"
Captain Yang sighed and nodded again. "Not just different—they’re worlds apart. The first killer murdered four victims, all adult men aged 35 to 50, with wives, children, and elderly parents. The second killer’s four victims, however, were entirely random—men and women, young and old. The only common thread was that they were all financially well-off."
Pang Le stroked his chin and asked, "What about the financial status of the first killer’s victims?"
Captain Yang turned to him. "Compared to the second killer’s victims, they were from ordinary families—maybe owning a car or a house, but still burdened with mortgages. However..." He paused before continuing, "Based on our investigation, we suspect the four victims were targeted because of their children. The children may have been the first killer’s motive."
Because of their children? Guan Xia’s frown deepened. She couldn’t understand how children could be involved.
Her mind flashed to dramas she’d seen before—could these children have bullied the killer’s child to the point of irreversible harm, driving a grieving parent to seek revenge?
Everyone’s expressions mirrored the same question as they looked at Captain Yang.
He said, "Judging by your faces, you’re thinking of school bullying. That was our initial theory too. But after investigating the victims’ children, we ruled it out. All four children were boys, though their ages varied—the youngest was six, the oldest twelve. They attended schools in different districts and didn’t know each other. The only commonality was that all four were exceptionally unruly—not just mischievous, but displaying a kind of pure malice that caused real harm."
"For example, the first victim’s child didn’t want to do his homework. While visiting a classmate’s house, he secretly set fire to their curtains, hoping the blaze would destroy his homework. Instead, the fire got out of control, leaving two classmates with severe burns."
Guan Xia sucked in a sharp breath. This wasn’t just unruly behavior—it was deliberate arson. The child sounded like a budding criminal. What kind of normal kid would burn down a classmate’s house over homework?
Wang Yu pressed, "What about the other three victims?"
Captain Yang continued, "The second victim’s child loved watching TV and developed both nearsightedness and a squint. By nine, in third grade, he already wore glasses. His parents constantly compared him to the neighbor’s child, so he stabbed the other kid in the right eye with a pencil."
Guan Xia was at a loss for words.
"The third victim’s child pushed a classmate down the stairs during a fight, damaging their spinal nerves. Even after treatment, the victim never fully recovered and ended up paralyzed from the waist down. The fourth victim’s child was the oldest—twelve years old. He’d already taken to robbery. During a fight, he beat the victim unconscious by striking their head. Panicked, he fled without calling for help. By the time passersby found the victim and got them to the hospital, it was too late—they were left in a persistent vegetative state."
As Captain Yang spoke, Guan Xia suddenly recalled Xu Nian’s words during last night’s case discussion at the hotel. She couldn’t remember the exact phrasing, but the gist was that the killer’s methods carried a sense of vengeance and judgment.
Now, it seemed Xu Nian’s assessment was spot-on. The first killer was indeed venting rage—rage on behalf of the victims and their families who had suffered at the hands of these children. And they were passing judgment, condemning the fathers for failing to set a proper example and rein in their children, leading to such horrific outcomes.
Guan Xia also formed a new theory: What if the killer had once been a victim in a similar incident caused by such a child? That trauma could have resonated deeply, driving them to kill.
Following this logic, even the killer’s choice of crowded public places for dumping the bodies made sense—it could have been a deliberate act of intimidation.
Her thoughts racing, Guan Xia was about to share her insights when she noticed Captain Yang standing right in front of her, extending a hand with a warm smile.
"You must be Guan Xia, our expert consultant? Welcome to Jianyang City. We appreciate your hard work."
Swallowing her words, Guan Xia forced herself to dredge up the few polite phrases she knew and exchanged pleasantries.
Fortunately, Captain Yang wasn’t one for small talk either. After brief introductions and handshakes with the others, he checked the time and said, "It’s getting late. Little Yan should have recovered by now. Let’s head up."
With that, Captain Yang bounded up the stairs two at a time, the others following closely behind.
Since they didn’t have enough shoe covers, only Captain Yang entered the actual crime scene. The rest stopped at the edge of the second-floor landing.
The moment she paused, Guan Xia spotted a slender girl with a neat bob standing in the corner of the room, staring intently at the outline on the floor—clearly marking where the victim’s body had lain.
The girl was lost in thought, so absorbed that she didn’t even notice the sound of numerous footsteps coming upstairs. It wasn’t until Captain Yang called out to her that she snapped back to reality.
Seemingly surprised by the number of people, she glanced at them briefly before turning her attention to Captain Yang and nodding. "Captain Yang."
"Little Yan, any findings?" Captain Yang asked gently.
Guan Xia noticed that his tone was far softer than when he had spoken to them earlier, as if raising his voice might startle the girl in front of him.
The girl referred to as Little Yan shifted her gaze back to the white outline of the corpse and replied calmly, "Same as the previous three cases. Before the victim bled to death, the killer sat here—on that stool—smoking a cigarette while watching the victim struggle until they died."
Following Little Yan’s line of sight, Guan Xia stared at the human-shaped outline and the large pool of dried blood beside it.
"The killer was enjoying it," Little Yan continued. "Look at the placement of the body. From this angle, directly facing the victim’s head, he had a clear view of their eyes. He was savoring the victim’s fear and despair."
Guan Xia glanced at where Little Yan was standing, then back at the position of the corpse. Though only the outline of the head remained, Little Yan’s description allowed her to vividly reconstruct the scene in her mind.
After imagining it for just a few seconds, Guan Xia shuddered involuntarily.
If the first killer’s motive could still be inferred from the existing clues, the second one seemed to be killing at random—or perhaps driven purely by hatred for the wealthy. The victims were tied up, not killed outright, but tortured before the killer patiently waited, relishing their deaths.
"Another psychopath," Pang Le muttered, unable to hold back any longer. He leaned closer to Guan Xia, almost whispering, "What’s the term for it again? Oh right, antisocial personality disorder? This killer must have it. No normal person could have such nerves of steel—not just gutting the victim and removing their organs, but calmly smoking while waiting for them to die."
Pang Le paused, then added after a moment, "Wait, no. If the killer had gutted them right away, the victim would’ve died instantly. No waiting needed. So he must’ve slit their throat first, waited for them to die, then gutted them and removed the organs. Ugh, even more twisted. The whole process sounds like butchering a pig."
The last sentence was almost muttered to himself, but since they were standing so close, Guan Xia heard it clearly.
Unconsciously recalling the photos of Zhong Xiaoyu’s uncle’s corpse from the night before, her expression turned slightly uneasy. Admittedly, there was some resemblance.
While the two were talking, the others remained silent. Little Yan, deep in thought, slowly walked over to where they stood.
To make space for her, the others had to squeeze further apart. Guan Xia stepped back until she was nearly pressed against the wall, her view partially blocked.
Just as she was eyeing a gap to squeeze into, she felt someone grab her arm. Looking up, she saw it was Xu Nian, who effortlessly pulled her to the front while stepping back to lean against the wall.
Guan Xia glanced up at the towering figure beside her, envious of his height, then turned her attention back to Little Yan.
Little Yan adjusted her posture slightly, bending forward slightly and planting her feet firmly as if carrying a heavy weight. She walked forward in this manner until she reached the outline of the corpse, then mimed the motion of tossing something heavy down.
"Based on my analysis of the scene," she said, "the killer likely carried the body like this and threw it into position—head first, feet last. The victim was probably unconscious, which explains why the head ended up facing that corner."
Straightening up, Little Yan glanced at where she had been standing earlier, then took a few steps to the side. She turned sideways, looking down at the outline of the victim’s head, and added, "Footprints at the scene suggest the killer stood here for a long time before cleanly slitting the victim’s throat. Then he walked over to that corner, sat on the stool, and smoked while watching the victim die."
"Before coming here," Little Yan continued, "I stopped by the forensics team and checked the cigarette ash they collected. I even ran some tests. In that corner, the killer smoked four or five cigarettes in total. According to the autopsy, given the massive blood loss, the victim died quickly—within minutes. Smoking so many cigarettes in such a short time suggests the killer has a heavy nicotine addiction. Compared to the previous three cases, he was also more careful this time—taking all the cigarette butts with him and cleaning up the scene before leaving."
Guan Xia looked at the chaotic footprints on the second floor. She had initially assumed they were left by panicked bystanders, but now it seemed the killer had calmly tidied up after himself.
Zhong Xiaoyu suddenly asked, "Who reported finding the body? What were they doing in such a remote place?"
Captain Yang replied, "A group of elementary school kids. They ran away from home together, and one of them somehow remembered this abandoned villa district. They hid here for three days and stumbled onto the body while playing hide-and-seek. Their smartwatches were dead, so they ran to the nearest police station to report it."
"Ran away from home"—those words made Guan Xia’s heart sink. Ever since the Daqu County case, hearing about kids running away immediately made her think of murder.
Pang Le scoffed. "Kids these days are something else. When I was in school, running away meant sneaking out of the neighborhood. These little troublemakers almost made it out of Jianyang City."
Writer’s block—took me all day just to get this much down. Need to sort out the plot.
