Chapter 115

“Recently, a series of vicious serial killings targeting women returning home at night occurred in Nancheng. The perpetrator has brutally murdered three victims: Li, Zhang, and Wang. The police are currently conducting investigations and apprehension operations against the suspect. We urge all citizens to pay attention to their personal safety, avoid going out at night, and returning late. Based on the testimony of eyewitnesses, the police have produced a composite sketch of the suspect. Citizens with information are urged to call the hotline: …”

The day after the third case, this announcement was posted on online platforms and broadcasted by the Nancheng TV station. Subsequently, Zhuang Yi was interviewed and featured on various major radio stations.

On the third day after the third case, inside a small fast-food restaurant next to a demolished building in the Nancheng urban area, the content of this interview was playing on the television.

The restaurant, named Ru Yi Rice Restaurant, only had eight tables in total. It had been in business for several years, offering moderately priced meals, and although it was doing well, the owner had no ambitions to expand beyond providing for his family.

On one of the yellowing walls inside the restaurant were numerous price tags, and in the corner hung an old-fashioned television set.

“The recent series of vicious serial killings in our city has caught the public’s attention. Here, I would like to remind our viewers in front of the television to rely on the police platform to understand the relevant information and not to spread rumors.”

The host in a black suit turned to his guest beside him. “Today, we are very honored to invite Professor Zhuang Yi, a consultant to the law enforcement authorities, to conduct an interview for our Frontline of Legal Affairs program. Professor Zhuang, hello. The progress of the current investigation is of great concern to the general public. Can you reveal some information about the case that can be disclosed?”

Seated beside him, Zhuang Yi adjusted his glasses, his expression serious and solemn. “Regarding this case, I believe everyone is already aware of the basic situation and the composite sketch of the suspect released through the police platform. Currently known, the suspect targets women returning home at night…”

…

“There is currently a theory circulating on the internet that, based on the suspect’s profile and analysis of various clues at the crime scenes, the police suspect there may be two perpetrators working together.”

“Well, such a hypothesis does exist,” Zhuang Yi nodded, “but this is only a psychological model analysis based on the scene.”

“Could you provide us with a detailed analysis of the possible roles of the two perpetrators if there were indeed two?”

Zhuang Yi replied, “Of the two perpetrators, one is more violent and deranged. He is male, around 25 years old, and uses violence to attack the female victims. I personally have given him the codename ‘Night Owl.’ The other is gentler, slightly older, and possibly coerced. He often appears after the crimes to help the victims tidy their clothes and appearance. I believe this accomplice still has some conscience, and I’ve given him the codename ‘Night Butterfly.'”

“Here, let me explain to our audience friends. The Night Owl is another name for an owl, which we are familiar with. In fact, owls are nocturnal carnivorous animals and are very fierce, so this name is very appropriate. As for the Night Butterfly, it refers to butterflies active at night, which carries a mysterious aura. The police have released a sketch of the male suspect based on eyewitness testimony, and we ask viewers in front of the television to provide more clues.”

…

“Professor Zhuang, how soon do you think the police can apprehend them? Or let me rephrase, do you think the police can catch the culprit before the next victim appears?”

Zhuang Yi adjusted his glasses again. “That’s hard to say. The police are currently investigating, and I can’t give a specific time frame. All efforts are being made. Of course, everyone hopes there won’t be any new victims.”

“Then, one last question. Perhaps the perpetrator is also watching our program in front of the television. What message would you like to convey to the perpetrator through our program?”

“The wheels of justice grind slow but exceedingly fine. I hope the perpetrator of this case can stop the killings and surrender as soon as possible.”

“Thank you very much, Professor Zhuang, for joining our program recording. We wish everyone to avoid encountering the Night Owl while enjoying late-night snacks. Life is precious, so please stay safe. Female friends must be extremely cautious when out at night…”

In a small restaurant, a young couple sitting at table number four watched the program on television. The young man started complaining, “In my opinion, staying home all the time won’t guarantee safety.”

The girl pushed her food around with her chopsticks. “That’s just your typical straight male thinking, like that rule about women not being allowed to take rideshare after 8 PM. Do you really think if male criminals just behave themselves, these things won’t happen? She glanced at the TV and continued, “But if it weren’t for coming here to eat and see this, I wouldn’t have known about it. Only old folks watch TV.”

The guy muttered to himself, “Isn’t it because you’re always glued to your phone or computer? You never care about current affairs?”

The girl protested, “I didn’t see it on Weibo either. Ultimately, this matter is still too far from our lives.”

“It’s already trending, and you still haven’t seen it? You’re just busy chasing stars every day.” As they finished their meal, they called out, “Boss, the bill, please.”

The boss pointed, “38 yuan, payment code is on the table.”

After the young couple left, the atmosphere in the small restaurant quieted down considerably.

The legal affairs program finally finished airing, and the familiar ending music began playing. A young man sitting at table number two in the corner of the restaurant stood up, took out a few crumpled bills from his pocket, and said softly, “Boss, I left the money on the table.” His voice was very hoarse, sounding like it was rubbing against sandpaper.

The boss was busy checking orders on the Ele.me app behind the counter and sighed.

He recognized this customer, a regular at the small restaurant who always sat in that spot. He would order egg fried rice and eat silently, never saying a word. He would just bury his head in his food and leave after paying.

He wondered if the man was sick; his throat sounded bad, and his voice was hoarse. He looked young, but his voice made him sound like an elderly man in his seventies or eighties.

The young man paid the bill, put on his hat, lowered the brim, and walked out of the door with his hands in his pockets.

Two auxiliary police officers in police uniforms walked into the restaurant and nearly brushed past the young man. They approached the counter and said, “Boss, have you heard about the recent cases?”

Since the incident was reported, various police stations had received orders from the City Bureau to cooperate in the investigation. All police officers and auxiliary police in the area of the incident were mobilized to conduct detailed inspections of restaurants, shops, companies, and residential communities in their jurisdictions. Patrol cars were stationed for patrols at night.

“Oh, I’ve heard, I’ve heard. It’s really disturbing.” The boss hurriedly rubbed his hands and came forward, “Have they been caught?”

“Not yet. How could it be so quick? We’re working overtime every day.” One of the auxiliary police officers took out a wanted poster. On it was a sketch drawn by Song Wen. “Have you encountered anyone resembling this person around here?”

The boss frowned as he looked at the sketch, feeling it looked familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had seen it.

“No, I haven’t seen anyone like that.” Finally, he shook his head and replied almost as if reassuring himself, “Don’t worry, there’s definitely no psychopathic killer here. Otherwise, how could I run my business?”

“Be careful then.” Another auxiliary police officer handed over a poster. “Put this one up at the counter. In case someone recognizes him.”

“Okay, okay.” The boss nodded and used double-sided tape to stick the poster at the counter.

The auxiliary police officer said, “If you happen to see him, remember to report to the hotline. There might be a reward.”

“Okay, thank you for your hard work.” The boss saw the two auxiliary police officers off, then turned around and went to table number two to pick up the bills placed there. He muttered under his breath, “These days, young people still use cash every day.”

At the Nancheng City Bureau at this time, Commissioner Gu specifically had the vacant room next to the commissioner’s office cleaned up as a dedicated office for this case. Various boards with clues were posted on the walls, and all the information was piled up nearby for easy viewing. Several elites from the Nancheng City Bureau had spared no effort in investigating this case.

The program’s broadcast had a good effect, and soon, they received numerous reports on the hotline, although valuable information was scarce for the time being.

Just after lunch, Tian Ming’s hotline phone rang again. He picked up the receiver immediately. “Hello, this is the Nancheng City Bureau. Do you have any information on recent cases?”

“…You suspect your neighbor in the shared rental is the serial killer? He peeks at you when you’re bathing?” Tian Ming furrowed his brows and repeated, “Um, that… the perpetrator doesn’t seem to have an interest in males for now.”

After the caller said a few more words, Tian Ming nodded. “Okay, the height of 185 doesn’t seem to match the perpetrator… but we’ll contact colleagues from nearby police stations to go and check it out. Please leave us your address and contact information.”

“What? No need to go?” Tian Ming wanted to say something more, but the call was cut off. “Sigh, they hung up.”

Song Wen glanced at the dejected Tian Ming. As expected, this call turned out to be a false alarm. The problem was that they had received many such calls already.

Tian Ming angrily opened the logbook and made a few marks on it. “The seventeenth hotline call, and it’s still not… “

“It’s better than the previous ones. At least you didn’t have to make a trip only to find out it was completely unrelated.” Fu Linjiang beside him said, “We can’t just sit around like this. Besides these, what else can we do?”

Three days had passed since the incident, and apart from occasional hotline calls, they hadn’t received any new leads. The entire city was as calm as water. For the elite detectives of the Criminal Investigation Division, they felt increasingly passive. Moreover, with each passing day, they felt like the sword hanging over their heads was getting closer to falling.

Sitting nearby, Lu Siyu carefully examined the scene investigation report for the third case. This was already the fourth time he had gone through it. He lifted his head from the pile of documents and glanced at Song Wen.

Feeling that the people in the room were becoming more anxious as time went by, Song Wen sighed and took the lead: “Where’s Professor Zhuang? Why haven’t we seen him lately?”

Tian Ming replied, “Professor Zhuang is a busy man. He’s been recording programs lately. But he said he’ll come over here later. If there’s progress or if we encounter difficulties, we can also contact him.”

Zhang Ziqi added, “Oh, I heard him say before that he didn’t want to go on the show to talk about this case, citing confidentiality concerns about investigative details. But once it got approved by the leadership and aired, he didn’t hold back.”

Song Wen raised his head again and asked, “Has the sketch been distributed as planned?”

Fu Linjiang shrugged, “Yes, police officers from various sub-bureaus and police stations are patrolling the streets, and the sketch of the suspect has been distributed to neighborhood committees and companies. Even small stalls weren’t overlooked. But so far, there hasn’t been a single effective lead. This suspect surely doesn’t live in a vacuum, without relatives or friends, never encountering passersby, only coming out at night to commit crimes, right?”

Song Wen pondered and said, “We only have one eyewitness, and there are no photos or video footage. Perhaps the features aren’t distinctive enough.” He was absolutely confident in his drawing skills, but due to limitations, a good suspect sketch might not necessarily help them catch the killer.

Lu Siyu whispered from the side, “People don’t remember casually encountered individuals, and for familiar faces, there’s a cognitive bias that makes them believe someone they know couldn’t possibly be a criminal.”

That killer might just be lurking in people’s blind spots.

Fu Linjiang nodded in agreement, “This killer must be quiet enough in everyday life to not attract attention.”

Zhang Ziqi thought for a moment and asked, “Can we conduct fingerprint screening of all eligible males in the entire area?”

Tian Ming immediately dismissed the idea, “Do you know how many eligible men live in this city district? And with such high mobility in the city, with our limited police force, it might take months without definite results…”

Song Wen proposed after some thought, “But we really can’t just wait like this. How about setting a trap? Arrange some female officers to patrol near here at night, in coordination with regular patrols. It’s better than sitting idle.”

Tian Ming became interested upon hearing this, “Ah, I like this action, laying a trap. But where should we set it up to catch the killer?”

Song Wen looked at the map of the Nancheng district hanging on the wall, “According to the circular perimeter hypothesis theory, we know the perpetrator’s activity range. Each time they commit a crime again, they’ll avoid their previous crime scenes. Excluding various bustling areas, we’ll subdivide the map into grids and set up ambushes. Then we’ll have female officers with communicators patrol around.”

“Will the killer take the bait?” Fu Linjiang expressed some concern.

Song Wen said, “Not necessarily, but right now, we don’t have a better option. We won’t know if it works until we try. In any case, strengthening nighttime patrols can bring us a little closer to catching the killer.”