Let’s rewind to last night.

The police station held an emergency meeting.

Once all the important figures were present, Mo Lin pulled out a thick stack of files from a manila envelope. “I know it’s late, but there’s something very important we need to discuss. We must revisit the serial murder case.”

Xiao Ze, sitting in the front row, asked, “Zhang Haiyan has already confessed. What’s the issue?”

Mo Lin moved to the center of the room. “She’s not the killer.”

Everyone present was shocked, including Gu Yuan.

“Tonight, I’ll quickly go over everything again, starting with the three serial murders in Lianchi City. Due to insufficient evidence, the case has been at a standstill. The police interviewed the victims’ friends and family but found no particularly suspicious individuals. Thus, the police speculated that the killer had no normal social relationship with the victims, appearing suddenly and disappearing just as quickly.

The information from the wax blocks is limited, but when you string these three keywords together: first night, game, lie… an abstract image forms in my mind. This image reflects the killer’s past experiences or perhaps his current values…

His world is filled with sex, games, and lies, but at the same time, the rose, the tree, and the small dark room reveal his longing for true love, authenticity, and honesty. These two contrasting states prevent him from achieving mental balance, leading to an antisocial personality that seeks satisfaction by punishing others.

In simple terms, the victims do share common traits. The women from these three professions can be summarized as: educated, wealthy, and busy… To men, these women are hard to fool, and emotionally, they can’t find a sense of security. So, the killer chooses to murder them, exposing his inner insecurity and extreme lack of safety…”

Xiao Ze asked, “So you’re saying the killer is male?”

“Exactly.”

The discussion in the meeting room grew louder, almost drowning out the thunderstorm outside.

Xiao Ze urged, “Please continue.”

“No need to be too shocked; everything is still under control. Please listen to my further explanation…” Mo Lin moved to an empty seat next to Gu Yuan and sat down. “All of this has led to the killer’s long-term depression. He frequents depression forums to find solace among like-minded individuals.

The crime scenes are very clean; the killer is extremely cautious and enjoys detective novels and TV shows.

In the three cases in Lianchi City, the killer’s emotions were relatively stable. As the number of crimes increased, he gradually formed a new set of values, believing himself to be above ordinary people, able to decide others’ life and death.

Then came Li Zheng’s copycat murder, which caused the killer’s emotions to fluctuate. He couldn’t allow his meticulously crafted masterpieces to be imitated or replaced. Driven by his new values, he conceived even more sinister ideas, leading to the repetitive cases in Yan Hai City.

On the surface, the killer still targeted women from three professions, but in reality, his target was only one person: Zhang Haiyan. She was chosen because she was a young woman and represented another version of himself.

So I investigated Zhang Haiyan’s background, visited her childhood home, and learned about her past. Her parents divorced, and she lived with her grandfather until she was 12. When her grandfather passed away, she was left alone and moved to the big city to make a living.

I don’t know the exact relationship between the killer and Zhang Haiyan, but they definitely know each other.

All the evidence pointed to Zhang Haiyan. I wanted to know the killer’s next move, so I decided to play along, making Zhang Haiyan the scapegoat.

The killer’s goal was to use the police to complete his final masterpiece… He would definitely keep an eye on all news about Zhang Haiyan, and when the time was right, he would flaunt it to the world…”

The meeting room suddenly fell silent, and you could almost hear the breathing of those around. Xiao Ze suddenly stood up, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor echoing in the room. He seemed a bit dizzy, steadying himself on the table. After a moment, he pulled out his phone to search for a number in his contacts.

He then went to the hallway to make a call. When he returned, his face looked grim. “We only have one day.”

“That’s enough,” Mo Lin said, sliding the PPT and glancing at Gu Yuan beside him. “I have a photo of the killer.”

The PPT displayed a paparazzi photo of a man in a black trench coat and baseball cap, enlarged in the center of the screen.

“After nine o’clock tomorrow, he’ll leave traces. We just need to prepare for the capture. Captain, please arrange for communication and location tracking.”

*

Less than an hour after the serial killer made the call, Xiao Ze returned to the police station with a man in custody, followed by a group of arresting officers.

Everyone stopped their work, craning their necks to see the serial killer who had been a headache for months.

He wore a black baseball cap, and his height and demeanor were on par with Xiao Ze.

After removing the cap, it was revealed that he had shaved his head. Even without hair, his looks were still striking.

It was a face women would like.

Especially his eyes, deep and unfathomable, like a pool of water.

The man’s name was Sun Du, 25 years old, 183 cm tall, weighing 70 kg. The police found that he had shaved all the hair on his body, even his eyebrows were drawn on.

He had also used a special method to erase the fingerprints on all ten fingers.

He didn’t seem surprised, even appearing quite pleased. “You finally caught me. You’re a bit smarter than I thought.”

In the interrogation room, there were two police officers, one adjusting the recording equipment, the other preparing to take notes.

Sun Du’s hands were cuffed behind him, and he was visibly excited.

Mo Lin smiled as he pulled out a chair in the interrogation room and sat directly across from him. “You can start explaining your criminal process now.”

Sun Du glanced at the officer taking notes beside him. “You should point the camera directly at me.”

Mo Lin clasped his hands together, patiently watching him, his narrow eyes sharp like an eagle’s. “You don’t need to worry about that. They’re very professional. Let’s begin.”

Sun Du leaned back in his chair. “Where do you want me to start?”

“Start with the first person you killed.”

Sun Du chuckled. “The first one was a flight attendant. We only chatted for two days before she said she liked me and cooked a great meal, inviting me over. I knew what she wanted. Hookups are common these days. I went with a big bouquet of roses, but she wasn’t as pretty as in her photos. I was quite disappointed. Where’s the trust between people?

But she was happy, partying all night, while I wasn’t.

The second time we met, I prepared sleeping pills for her. Watching her slowly fall unconscious and then die was addictive. After killing her, it wasn’t long before I met the second girl. She was a kindergarten teacher, quite conservative. I arranged to meet her in a park. Without any suspicion, she drank a beverage laced with sleeping pills… After that, she was at my mercy. I hung her from a tree. She woke up before dying, her limbs dangling in the air, moving gracefully like a dance…

The third girl was more open, a nurse at a hospital. She wasn’t shy about matters between men and women. I arranged to meet her in a warehouse, in the dark. I suggested something exciting, and she was more enthusiastic than me. I tricked her into drinking what I claimed was an Indian miracle drug. She believed it, and when she lost consciousness, I injected two syringes of air into her veins. Soon, she struggled to breathe, dying painfully, her fingers clawing at the ground…”

Mo Lin asked, “How did you meet them?”

“Dating websites. Women these days like wealthy men. Being rich isn’t enough; you have to be handsome and not too old. I fit their criteria.”

At this point, he suddenly assessed Mo Lin. “Someone like you would be very popular. Just post some photos of high-end places, snap a few shots of your luxury car, and they’d swarm like bees.”

Mo Lin smiled. “Tell me about Zhang Haiyan. She doesn’t seem like your type.”

Sun Du’s smile gradually faded. “Someone disrupted my plans. That kind of vulgar imitation made me very uncomfortable. My order of killings contained my thoughts, which is very important and must not be destroyed. But I’m no longer satisfied with such low-level thrills. Life is boring. I need to do something big to be remembered by everyone.

I’ve known Zhang Haiyan for many years. She’s always liked me. I’ve rejected her many times, but she’s resilient and never gave up. She texts me every day, like a diary, sharing her mundane life. Over the years, I’ve come to know her very well. Under life’s pressure, she found a boyfriend and was planning to get married.

Though she’s not pretty, she’s loyal, fitting my criteria.

I planned to mold her into another version of myself, helping her take that crucial first step…

Her boyfriend came home and caught us together. He was quite fierce, turning to the kitchen to grab a knife, threatening to kill us. I picked up a dumbbell from the floor and dealt with him.

Zhang Haiyan was terrified, but she had no choice but to listen to me. From that moment, we became a shared destiny. I disposed of the body, collected the semen that leaked from her boyfriend’s body (post-mortem ejaculation), and saved it for later use.

After that incident, Zhang Haiyan did everything I said. I had her sell her valuable belongings at a low price, then took her away from the city.