Su Hui asked calmly, “What is your purpose for bringing me here today?”

An Yu Ci looked at him sincerely and said, “I want you to profile me.”

He then explained, “As a therapist, I often encounter patients with various psychological issues. I feel like I can see through them, but I can’t understand myself. I’ve also had supervision sessions, but I never dare to reveal my secrets, and they have never discovered any clues. I want to hear your analysis of me. As a monster, I’m also curious to know how I appear in the eyes of others and how I ended up where I am today.”

Su Hui hesitated for a moment and then raised his head, saying, “Indeed, I have noticed some distinctive elements in your behavior. However, because there is very little information in your file, with many gaps, I can only speculate to some extent.”

An Yu Ci generously replied, “It’s okay, even if you’re wrong, it’s fine.”

Su Hui rhythmically tapped his knee with his fingers, his fingers slender and nimble. “I believe that your killing behavior stems from two significant events, involving three deaths.”

Then, Su Hui extended his fingers, intertwining them as he continued his deduction. “The first death is the death of your sister.”

Mentioning this, An Yu Ci involuntarily clenched his fingers, his expression becoming serious. “Yes, my sister committed suicide when I was young, and it was because of that incident that I decided to become a psychologist.”

Su Hui continued, his voice low and gentle. “I investigated your sister’s case and discovered more information. At that time, your sister was violated by her boss, a married man. After seeking help in vain and being repeatedly humiliated by the man, she ended up jumping into the river in front of you. This death, in your subconscious, caused the first distortion in your worldview. Your sister’s tragedy was caused by an outsider. Such an incident connected your perception of salvation with death.”

An Yu Ci nodded and said, “I once wanted to kill that man. I often thought, if only I had discovered my sister’s changes earlier, if only it was that scumbag who died, if only my sister were still alive.”

Su Hui’s voice was gentle as he said, “Your sister’s death implanted a wrong belief in your young mind. You believed that only through death could you save death. Only if that man died, your sister had a chance to live.”

“The second death was Yutian’s. I looked into her records, and she died over a year ago. It awakened your childhood memories. And this death also formed a distortion in your subconscious. This death made you determined to save your patients. You no longer believed that they could free themselves with their own strength, so you gave up on helping them find alternative solutions.”

Su Hui paused for a moment and continued, “After these incidents, your thinking changed. You believed that killing certain people was the only solution to problems. You didn’t realize this error within yourself, and you kept instilling it in your patients, leaving them with no other choice but to rely on you and trust you.”

An Yu Ci listened to his words, his lips pressed together in silence.

He wanted to say that he wasn’t the cause of those tragedies, that those people truly had no way out. But then he remembered, Su Hui was right. He had indeed instilled such thoughts in his patients.

He didn’t let them try other methods.

“The third time was Zhuang Xueyi’s death. You pushed her off the stairs.”

“You believed that you successfully rescued Liu Mengying from her clutches. You believed that what you did was just, and sacrificing for it was inevitable. You weren’t forcing those people into hypnosis; you genuinely believed it in your heart…”

“After these three deaths, your world finally became completely distorted. You relentlessly executed vigilante justice driven by your own desires. You started with good intentions, but ended up going against them.”

“You wanted to save and help others, and this need was extremely strong.”

Su Hui reached this point and lifted his head to look at An Yu Ci, his eyes filled with compassion.

“But in reality, it is yourself who needs help.”

Upon hearing his words, An Yu Ci instinctively wanted to refute, his lips moved, but in the end, he didn’t say a word.

“Because of your sister’s death in your childhood, it left an old wound in you. When your patient Yutian died, that old wound was reopened. You focused on helping others as a way to avoid dealing with your own wounds.”

“Your actions of helping others are a form of self-escape to make yourself feel better. You replaced your own psychological healing with this behavior, and in the process, your own wounds festered, giving rise to toxic emotions that led you down the wrong path…”

“You are using vigilante justice to kill those people. Your desire for power is gradually inflating, devouring your humanity. You are becoming more and more monstrous, but you don’t realize that you are already standing on the edge of a cliff. At this moment, all it takes is a gentle push, and you will fall into the abyss.”

As An Yu Ci listened intently, he suddenly noticed Su Hui leaning over, giving him a gentle push on his shoulder.

It was a subtle movement, as light as brushing off the dust from his shoulder.

But in that instant, An Yu Ci felt his body lose control, losing its balance. He sensed a weightlessness, and the sound of water echoed in his ears. He plummeted from a great height, landing into the icy river water.

The turbulent river water surged forth, instantly engulfing him. The water covered his mouth and nose, causing him to feel the suffocation.

Was it an illusion? Or was it real?

Instinctively, An Yu Ci turned his head to look for the hourglass beside him. There was still a quarter of sand left, but it had completely stopped…

Suddenly, he remembered that during their conversation just now, Su Hui’s hands kept tapping lightly on his knees, making various gestures.

He had been completely focused on listening to what Su Hui was saying, constantly recalling the past, gazing, listening, reminiscing, the warm environment, the soothing music. The layers of suggestion stacked upon each other, and he had step by step fallen into Su Hui’s trap, entering a state of hypnosis.

This was the highest state of hypnosis—sleepwalking…

An Yu Ci felt as if his entire body was splitting from within.

He could feel that there was a version of himself sitting on a cozy sofa in that warm room. And another version of himself was being swept away by the river water.

This was a consciousness split caused by hypnosis, awakening his suppressed subconscious.

An Yu Ci struggled with all his might. “I’m not wrong… I just want to help others with all my might.”

Endless water surrounded him, and his fingers could feel the chilling coldness of the water. The water gushed in from every opening, wanting to engulf him. His body felt weightless, bobbing up and down, with water constantly rushing into his mouth. His chest felt incredibly stifled, almost unable to breathe.

An Yu Ci desperately tried to break free from the hypnosis, but he knew very well that without someone to wake him up, it would be difficult to struggle out of that state in a short period of time.

The world was dark, and the sky seemed patched together, with stars intertwined.

He was being carried away by the river water, unable to discern the direction or where he would be swept to. Then, he raised his head and saw his sister in the water. She wore a blue dress and looked like a mermaid.

“Sister!” An Yu Ci called out, reaching out his hand to try and grab her, but the girl swam past him.

Years ago, his sister had leaped from a bridge, and he had chased after her, only witnessing her falling into the water…

It was a heart-wrenching pain, piercing through his heart and soul. Even after all these years, he couldn’t bear the thought of his sister’s death.

His sister’s figure was so petite, and she was still so young…

An Yu Ci swam with all his might, desperately trying to rescue her from the raging river water.

The icy river water continued to rush, attempting to separate them.

Several times, he could almost feel his fingers touching his sister’s. But they were always swept apart.

Despair and powerlessness surged in his heart, urging him to give up, to let himself be submerged in the water. But he didn’t give in. He felt himself growing exhausted, nearing death…

In a sudden twist, he firmly grabbed hold of his sister’s hand.

The storm seemed to still, and they sank together in the water, surrounded by a blue hue.

His sister reached out her hand and gently caressed his face.

“Sister, did I really do something wrong?” When he uttered those words, he realized something. Tears welled up in his eyes, merging with the river water.

Countless people were falling around him, plunging into the water. They were individuals, lives, and he could even see some of their faces.

Some were the people he had killed through vigilante justice, and some were the patients he had manipulated.

They drifted silently in the river water, watching him.

An Yu Ci had always felt that he was walking towards the light, but as he lifted his head, he realized that he had already entered into darkness.

The light was far behind him, and he was no longer allowed in its brightness.

He didn’t even have the right to seek forgiveness.

In the quietness, the girl’s face transformed. She no longer seemed like his sister but rather a fusion of Yu Tian, Liu Mengying, Fang Jiayue, and many other patients’ faces…

Silent tears streamed down An Yu Ci’s cheeks. “I realized that I haven’t actually helped those people…”

In that instant, as if an endless amount of water surged forth, they were submerged into the depths of the sea.

He was engulfed by immense self-blame.

She embraced him, gently pulling him into her embrace…

The container being filled with water continued to make noise. Lu Junchi turned around, quickly making a decision. The building had been modified and appeared strange, but it still followed the general rules of construction.

He had some understanding of hydrotherapy. This type of hydrotherapy claimed to be fully enclosed, and the water would enter from the top once it was filled. Currently, both the entrance from above and the emergency entrance on the side had been sealed shut. To save someone quickly, they would need to find the right method.

Tempered glass is very strong and bullets cannot shatter it. It’s unrealistic to find other tools temporarily, so the fastest and safest method is to locate the control panel and see if there is a pause setting.

Once the water flow stops, the urgency of rescuing people will diminish.

The control panel and the water inlet are obviously located on the upper level. The primary issue now is how to get upstairs.

After organizing his thoughts, Lu Junchi asked Qiao Ze, “Which way should we take to go upstairs?”

Qiao Ze sat beside him and quickly opened his computer. “We need to make a left turn and then go up the stairs…”

“Forget it, I’ll take a different route,” Lu Junchi made a quick judgment. The building was very peculiar, resembling a maze inside. If he went upstairs, he might encounter new traps, and he couldn’t afford to take that risk.

At this point, going from the inside clearly wasn’t as fast as going from the outside.

So he turned his head and looked at the sealed floor-to-ceiling window beside him.

Lu Junchi raised his hand and fired a shot. The bullet whizzed through the air, hitting the window, causing the tempered glass to crack. He then leaped out through the opening, exerting force with his arms, swiftly and agilely climbing up along the window ledge on the exterior wall.

This building was different from ordinary residential houses, with very few footholds on the wall. But this didn’t pose a challenge for Lu Junchi.

In just a few tens of seconds, he climbed to the second floor, shattered the window, and entered.

Holding onto the window sill with both hands, his muscles tense, he jumped and landed gracefully, with someone waiting upstairs. It was Luo Wei, the man who had previously visited the police station. They had been searching for his whereabouts ever since Liu Mengying was captured, and it turned out he had been hiding here all along.

Luo Wei guarded the entrance to the hydrotherapy room, completely unaware that someone would enter through the window.

Upon seeing Lu Junchi coming in, he quickly approached, intending to strike. Lu Junchi didn’t waste any time, evading his punch, kneeing him swiftly in the side, and then delivering an elbow strike directly to his throat.

Within two moves, Lu Junchi knocked Luo Wei to the ground. Injured, Luo Wei clutched his stomach and writhed on the floor.

Lu Junchi’s hand pressed against Luo Wei’s throat. “Quick, stop the water injection!”

Luo Wei struggled and revealed a sinister smile. “It’s set to automatic… the water gate is locked… even if I want to stop it, I can’t…”

Lu Junchi couldn’t help but curse angrily, “Stop talking bullshit! How is it possible for a device like this not to have a pause mechanism to prevent danger?”

Luo Wei said, “If you’re capable, find it yourself…”

Lu Junchi didn’t waste any more time talking to him. Time was of the essence. He turned around and quickly identified the water inlet nearby, directly firing two shots to burst the pipe the size of a bowl.

The pipe instantly ruptured, and water gushed out, rapidly spreading inside the room.

This handling method left Luo Wei stunned on the spot. Without wasting words, Lu Junchi grabbed the waterproof bandages they had used to restrain people before and bound Luo Wei’s hands and feet. He asked, “How many people are still here?”

Luo Wei, surprised by how quickly Lu Junchi resolved the issue, trembled as he said, “No… no one is here. Dr. An told them all to leave earlier…”

“Where is An Yuci?”

“I… I don’t know. He only told me to stay here…”

At that moment, Lu Junchi suddenly heard a sound.

The sound came from a distance, passing through several walls. It wasn’t loud, but Lu Junchi immediately recognized it as a gunshot…

Lu Junchi’s face turned pale instantly, and he quickly turned around…

Outside the treatment center, the subsequent reinforcements had arrived. People surrounded the area, and a team of well-trained armed police had entered the villa, swiftly rescuing the captive team members.

When the door of that white room was opened, Lu Junchi never expected to see such a scene.

The room was quiet. Su Hui was kneeling on the ground, and An Yuci lay on his lap. His eyes were closed, and a continuous flow of red blood poured from his chest. The red blood seemed to dye the room crimson.

Su Hui raised his head and looked at Lu Junchi, who stood as the leader. He was backlit, and the white light cast a soft halo around his silhouette. A few droplets of blood splattered on his pale and handsome cheek, accentuating his features, which appeared as dark as ink.

His gaze, however, was elusive. He seemed like a wisp of smoke, as if he would dissipate without effort to hold him back.

“I’m late. Are you okay?” Lu Junchi squatted down.

“He’s dead,” Su Hui’s expression remained calm, but something had stained his eyes, no longer devoid of ripples.

At that moment, he never expected that An Yuci would break free from his hypnosis and pick up the nearby gun, pulling the trigger…

Su Hui didn’t react in time, only managing to catch him when he fell.

He wanted to use his hand to stop the bleeding, but the flow was too fast. Everything was in vain.

Blood gushed out and continued to seep through his fingers.

Su Hui watched helplessly as An Yuci’s complexion turned pale, tightly holding his hand in the final moments.

Even someone as sinful as him, in his last moments, still wished for someone to provide comfort…