In the Huadu General Bureau, the new case brought over by Xing Yunhai gave the Major Crimes Unit new leads and directions for investigation.

Lu Junchi called everyone into the conference room and brought over all the files and information.

The investigation in the Huadu City Bureau shifted towards the relationship between the “sleepers” and the victims, and at the same time, the police started looking for other victims.

“What about the middle-aged man who was with Liu Mengying? Did his lead provide any clues?” Lu Junchi turned to Qu Ming.

Qu Ming hurriedly replied, “That man’s name is Luo Wei. We checked his bank records and found that he had previously made large payments to someone named Lian Fei. I suspect that Lian Fei is the loan shark.”

They had learned from previous interrogations that Luo Wei’s friend who borrowed money had fled, making him the guarantor-turned-debtor who needed to repay a large sum of money, otherwise he would continue to be harassed by the creditor.

“Lian Fei? I remember that name.” Xia Mingxi opened the table she had previously organized. This person died in an accident last August because his name was unique and his death was very unusual, so she remembered it.

Xia Mingxi quickly found the information.

“Lian Fei was a small boss of a clothing factory. He made some money a few years ago and then began to engage in private high-interest lending. Because he had many workers acting as enforcers, he was reported but was not afraid. In August of last year, Lian Fei got drunk at a construction site and fell into a newly dug lime pit, dying on the spot.”

The case also had no surveillance, no on-site witnesses, and the footprints on the ground were chaotic, ultimately being classified as an accident.

Lu Junchi asked, “Can we check Luo Wei’s whereabouts at that time?”

“This is possible. He had a record of checking into a hotel in another city on that day.” Qu Ming pointed to the just retrieved information and said, “According to the testimony, Lian Fei had just met a beautiful woman at the time, and he went out with her that night. However, none of their workers knew who the woman was. No one knows why Lian Fei suddenly went to that construction site or how he fell in.”

It was another clever case of absence of evidence, a suspected case of murder disguised as an accident.

This type of non-obvious method of committing the crime was actually easier to identify because of its uniqueness.

“Captain Lu! I checked all the surveillance and videos of the streets near Pang Huacheng’s death on the night of the incident, and I found that someone wearing a dark green raincoat entered the community after midnight.” Zheng Bai turned back to report.

“How did he get into the community?”

“He swiped the access card, and the record on the property management side showed that the user holding the card belonged to the building where Pang Huaqing was located.

On the screen, the person was wearing a thick raincoat and looked like they were pregnant. It was obvious that they had something hidden under their raincoat.

The person had an access card and the keys to Pang Huaqing and Gu Ruoru’s homes, which allowed them to sneak in without a sound.

More and more relevant characters and evidence emerged.

All of this increasingly proved that these cases were not accidental, but rather murder.

Lu Junchi wrote the names of the victims and their corresponding depression patients side by side.

Zhuang Xueyi corresponded to Liu Mengying.

Lian Fei corresponded to Luo Wei.

Pang Huaqing corresponded to Gu Ruoruo.

These complicated character relationships and cases gradually became clear.

Xia Mingxi said on the side, “Lu team, another sub-bureau has sent a joint case for investigation. After verification, two of the related persons on the contact list provided by the comatose patients have died.”

Qiao Ze raised his head and asked, “Could this be the work of a single killer?”

Qu Ming replied, “Based on the surveillance footage, it doesn’t seem like it…”

Sitting quietly at his desk, Su Hui stared at the gradually piecing together picture and said softly, “It’s not a single killer, this could be a swap killing, but it’s not a typical swap killing…”

Su Hui went on to explain, “We have already contacted the comatose patients before and always felt that they were hiding something in their statements. I think this is probably the part they have hidden – their true motive and the way they help and redeem others.”

He further analyzed, “The reasons for people’s depression are varied, and these reasons can be divided into internal and external factors. Internal factors are psychological factors of the depressed person, while external factors include family, school, and society. If we further classify them, there are psychological effects caused by love, abandonment, coercion, debt, and so on. These external factors are mostly inseparable from other people.”

“I found that many of the people contacted by the Sleepers were depressed due to external factors. When they approached these people, the real help they wanted to provide was likely to help them fundamentally solve the problems they encountered. That is, to kill the people who caused their depression and caused them to be in distress.”

“Those helpers were all victims…they may be using murder as a way to save people. And they constantly recruit new members.”

He walked to the whiteboard, erased a small area, and drew a triangle on it.

Su Hui wrote a few words on each vertex.

Perpetrator, victim, savior.

“This is also known as the Karpman Drama Triangle.”

“When the perpetrator begins to oppress and attack the victim, and the savior joins in to rescue the victim, this psychological game begins.”

“This triangle describes the simplest pattern of human interdependence and manipulation. Each of us is unwittingly playing these roles in human society, often as an unconscious behavior. These three identities will be repeatedly played out in the original family, teacher-student relationships, and workplace, and many people are not aware that they are trapped in the triangle, even being controlled by those emotions and relationships.”

Su Hui cleared his throat and continued, “However, in fact, these three relationships are constantly fluctuating and changing. Some people may even have two or even three identities at the same time. After implementing the rescue, there will also be various patterns of change.”

“For example, once the helper’s assistance ends, the victim may become dissatisfied and some victims may turn into persecutors, persecuting the helper.”

“Also, if the helper gives too much pressure and intrudes excessively into the victim’s life, they may become another type of persecutor.”

“Furthermore, some helpers may be overly dominant and engage in reverse oppression against the persecutors, which may cause them to shift from being helpers to victims.”

“The intense drama triangle often has no winner, and everyone is harmed unless one of the roles breaks free from it and the game ends.”

Su Hui calmly explained this, recalling Eric Berne’s “Games People Play”, where everyone in society is a so-called “player”, hurting and depending on each other, and also achieving together.

After hearing his words, everyone pondered. In this case, people’s relationships were also constantly changing.

Gu Ruoruo’s depression and pain came from her marriage and her husband. Therefore, her husband’s death was the best way to save her.

Liu Mengying’s life was unfortunate, and her mother was the one who brought her this misfortune. Her mother’s unexpected death also helped her break free from this pattern.

Luo Wei was deeply in debt from usurious loans. Although usurious loans are illegal, he was helpless against the other party’s dominance and his life was in despair. Therefore, his creditor’s death was undoubtedly a simple way for him to get out of this predicament.

However, these people did not break free from it. They were involved in it and became new helpers.

Lu Junchi followed Su Hui’s thoughts and took the whiteboard pen, connecting those seemingly chaotic and unrelated people with various lines on the whiteboard, looking for relationships between characters.

Everything seemed to become clear.

Su Hui took a step back, “These are just hypotheses. What is most important now is to find evidence and further investigate their behavior and physical evidence.”

Otherwise, even if they bring Gu Ruoruo and Liu Mengying over now, it will be completely useless because all the crimes are not substantiated. As long as the other party denies it, they will repeat the same mistake as that night.

Who saved them and how they “helped” those who were in pain.

These cases were all covered up on the surface by accidents.

Bloodstains, footprints, surveillance, fingerprints, and eyewitnesses, these routine case evidence were almost absent in this case, and they needed to find new criminal evidence.

Using psychology and criminal profiling to draw inferences, the puzzle in front of them became more complete.

Putting the relationship diagram together, Lu Junchi stepped back and summarized, “Maybe… everyone has signed a contract with Sleeper, and after you are liberated, you must also kill someone. This is a cycle of murder. As long as there are new members joining, it will continue.”

Their methods are secretive, and the participants have no criminal record. They appear to be depressed patients who are pitiable, but they are killing people who have no direct relationship with them.

This may be the true face of the Sleeper organization, and the reason why their people are cautious and keep secrets.

Lu Junchi crossed his arms and said, “Starting tomorrow, everyone will conduct investigations, focusing on past cases, searching for witnesses, continuing to search for evidence, and when there is conclusive evidence, re-examine Liu Mengying and Luo Wei.”

Then he turned to Su Hui, and this time, his prediction might be right.

Su Hui lowered his head thoughtfully. They were getting closer and closer to the truth, but he had a vague sense of unease in his heart…

Today was the day of An Yuci’s biweekly supervision, and the person in front of him was his supervising teacher, a psychologist surnamed Zhang who was in his fifties.

An Yuci had already done many supervisions. In China, it was required for mental health professionals to undergo regular supervision. But in reality, people didn’t pay much attention to supervision, seeing it as a perfunctory procedure. Supervision was only useful when a major problem arose.

In normal times, supervision had become a formality for obtaining professional qualifications.

An Yuci knew the routine well and knew how to answer the supervisor’s questions and how to hide his true thoughts. The entire supervision process went smoothly.

Near the end of the supervision, An Yuci hesitated for a moment but finally expressed his recent mental confusion.

” Professor Zhang, I recently met a former patient. He was a depressed patient who was isolated and didn’t communicate with others. He was extremely thin, weighing only ninety pounds. I helped him seriously, and later I suggested long-term treatment, but he started to come less and less. I’ve been very worried about him, but I ran into him on the streets of Huadu recently…”

Professor Zhang vaguely felt that this was an unconventional question and turned to ask, “And then?”

“He looked much better, but he was avoiding me and didn’t want to communicate with me,” An Yuci said.

“He may have gone to see other psychologists, or he may have self-healed,” Professor Zhang said, sitting up straight and looking at the handsome and elegant young doctor in front of him. “His behavior has caused you to doubt yourself?”

An Yuci didn’t want to admit it, but in the end, he nodded. He felt that his past efforts hadn’t yielded the results he wanted. The patient’s avoidance of him also made him very uncomfortable. But he didn’t know where the root of his current low feeling was.

Professor Zhang said, “Firstly, not all patients want to see their mental health professional in their daily life. Secondly, I think you have become too close to your other patients, which has created a contrast for this patient. As a mental health counselor, you cannot make all patients like you. Also, helping others can actually bring some pressure to them, and some people may avoid their helpers.”

Dr. An Yuci seemed to be used to patients’ gratitude and worship towards him, so he was caught off guard when the patient dodged him.

Listening to Professor Zhang’s words, An Yuci kept thinking about some questions in his mind.

Why do some people refuse his help?

Why do some patients become embarrassed and flee when facing him?

Professor Zhang’s words did not solve his problem, so he could only continue to comfort him, “I think you have tried hard enough. As mental health professionals, we cannot cure all of our patients, nor can we satisfy all of them. This is the first thing we need to face in this profession.”

After hearing this, An Yuci knew that he could not get his answers anymore. He understood all the reasons, but they were not enough to help him understand many things or even see his inner self.

An Yuci politely blinked and said, “Thank you, Professor Zhang.”

Professor Zhang stood up, relieved, “Okay, see you in two weeks.”

An Yuci stood up, and his eyes gradually changed. Perhaps he should not have asked that last question. Professor Zhang’s words were just some comforting principles, and these high and mighty doctors had long been numb.

They did not know what the patients’ suffering was like.

Only he was close to these people, only he experienced their pain, and only he could save them.

When he listened to their suffering, only he reached out his hand to save them, instead of letting them fall…

TN:

The Karpman Drama Triangle is a model that describes the roles of persecutor, victim, and rescuer in human relationships. It was developed by psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Karpman in the 1960s and is used to analyze and understand dysfunctional communication patterns.

According to the model, the persecutor is the person who acts aggressively or oppressively towards the victim. The victim is the person who feels oppressed or helpless. The rescuer is the person who intervenes to help the victim but may inadvertently reinforce the victim’s helpless position.

The Karpman Drama Triangle is often used to describe dysfunctional communication patterns in families, relationships, and workplaces. It is important to recognize these patterns in order to break free from them and establish healthier communication and relationship dynamics.