The police’s initial profile of the killer had been: Female, approximately twenty-five years old, relatively tall, someone who had suffered trauma related to intimate relationships during childhood or early adulthood. Attractive in appearance and presentation, likely working in a profession that naturally drew attention. Outgoing and socially adept, with a comfort zone centered around the Zhenxiong Bay area.
“The conclusion that the suspect was female was only our initial profile,” He Shu explained. “And honestly, I think that’s a broader category than people realize. A person with gender identity issues who genuinely sees themselves as a woman would fit into that definition as well. What’s so strange about that?”
“You mean Lin Jinxuan has gender identity issues?” Zeng Yongjia still looked completely lost. “That was your first time meeting him. How could you possibly know that?”
“I didn’t know,” He Shu replied. Then, keeping a perfectly straight face, she added: “I was bored, so I took a gamble.”
The mischievous glint in her eyes immediately gave her away. After enjoying the baffled expressions on the other three men’s faces, she finally became serious.
“Lin Jinxuan certainly looks like a typical wealthy playboy on the surface.”
“But his Adam’s apple is extremely inconspicuous.”
“His limbs are unusually slender.”
“And his jawline is too smooth.”
She continued her analysis: “Even men who shave very cleanly usually leave subtle traces. However, the skin on his chin was so smooth that even the pores were barely visible.”
“If someone has been taking estrogen for a long period of time, those are all possible characteristics.”
“And his shirt size was at least two sizes too large.”
“On such a hot day, he still insisted on wearing a leather vest as if he were trying to look cool.”
“That may not have been fashion. He could have been trying to conceal physical changes caused by estrogen, features that wouldn’t conventionally match a male appearance.”
She paused.
“Of course, you could argue that he was simply born that way.”
“But there was another thing that made me suspicious.”
“His reaction after seeing me.”
“His reaction?” Zeng Yongjia looked puzzled. “Wasn’t it just the reaction of a horny guy seeing an attractive woman?”
In the process, he rather subtly slipped in a compliment, earning himself a look of contempt from Xie Zihao.
“A wealthy second-generation heir who drives a car worth over two million yuan and successfully runs a large club,” He Shu countered, “does he really seem like an idiot?”
“What kind of women hasn’t he met before?”
“Yet during an active police investigation, he kept hovering around a female officer like some lovesick puppy.”
“Are successful businessmen really that incapable of reading a room?”
After firing off several rhetorical questions, she arrived at her conclusion:
“His behavior matches certain psychological patterns commonly seen in serial offenders.”
“He was eager to learn about the progress of the police investigation.”
“He even tried to involve himself in it.”
“That gives a person the feeling that they’re in control.”
“That they’re above everyone else.”
“That they’re playing God.”
A faint smile touched her lips.
“And I suspect that feeling is almost as intoxicating to him as killing itself.”
“The third thing that felt off happened during our first meeting, when he tried to shake my hand. I noticed it by accident. Later, when he was looking through the search warrant, I was able to confirm it.”
“His fingernails weren’t long, but they were trimmed in an unusually delicate shape. Several of the nails also had obvious wear marks on the surface. It looked very much like the result of frequent manicures.”
“At the beginning, before he saw the search warrant, he wasn’t especially guarded. But once he’d read it and learned the purpose of our investigation, I never got a clear look at his nails again.”
“And that afternoon, when he came to the bureau claiming he’d remembered some new clue, his hands were either shoved into his pockets or clenched into fists.”
Chang Bin cut in: “Right, I remember that. Captain He even tried testing him with that paper cup. Sure enough, he was cautious enough not to fall for it.”
“Then why did he keep insisting on taking you out to dinner?” Zeng Yongjia asked, slipping into one of his self-directed thought processes as he voiced every conclusion forming in his head. “Wasn’t he worried that getting that close to you would expose something?”
His eyes suddenly lit up. “I get it.”
“He was testing you.”
“If you’d readily accepted his invitation, he might’ve suspected you’d already noticed something unusual and wanted to get closer to confirm your suspicions.”
“In that case, he would know there was a chance he’d been exposed and could start making preparations.”
He Shu pressed her lips together, tacitly acknowledging the theory. “There’s also another point. Whether from Lin Jinxuan’s own statements or information we gathered indirectly from the club manager, he had no solid alibi for either night.”
“He was either alone at home or working alone in his office at the club.”
“The surveillance footage from the club confirms that once he went inside, nobody saw him leave.”
She paused. “But that only proves he didn’t leave dressed as a man.”
Just then, another officer walked into the room and nodded toward the four of them. “Captain He, the records you asked me to retrieve from the archives have come back.” He handed over a file.
Taking the faded case folder, He Shu quickly flipped through it before passing it to Chang Bin.
The three other men immediately crowded around.
Zeng Yongjia looked genuinely surprised. “This is…”
“A home-invasion murder case from fifteen years ago.”
“It happened in the Jianzhong Garden Villa District.”
“Jianzhong Garden? Isn’t that the villa district? The people living there are all wealthy!” Chang Bin exclaimed.
After reading through the file, Zeng Yongjia summarized the case: “The victim was Wu Bailan, thirty-four years old. When police arrived, they found that the killer had cut her neck, severing a major artery and causing her to bleed to death.”
“She was completely naked when found. There were numerous injuries inflicted before death, suggesting she had been deliberately beaten. The medical examiner also found evidence of sexual assault.”
“There were pry marks on a villa window. A later inventory by the homeowners showed that a significant amount of property was missing. The police concluded that it had started as a burglary and escalated into a homicide.”
“But wasn’t this case solved already?” Xie Zihao flipped a few pages further into the file.
“The perpetrator was a repeat sexual offender. He was arrested only a few days after the crime. In the end, he was sentenced to death.”
At that point, He Shu snapped out of her thoughts and gestured toward the rest of the file. “Keep reading the statements.”
The three men lowered their heads almost in perfect synchronization, the sight oddly amusing.
A moment later, Zeng Yongjia suddenly blurted: “Holy shit!”
“Wu Bailan’s son was Lin Jinxuan?”
He quickly continued reading aloud: “When police arrived, they discovered that ten-year-old Lin Jinxuan had also been stabbed in the abdomen. Fortunately, the wound missed any vital organs. He spent several days in intensive care before being transferred to a regular ward and eventually recovered.”
“When he regained consciousness, the murderer had already been identified and arrested.”
“The police attempted to determine whether he had witnessed the crime.”
“But he refused to cooperate.”
“The attending physicians believed that the traumatic experience may have caused partial memory suppression and dissociative memory loss.”
Chang Bin finally let out a long breath. “This must be the relationship-trauma element from the profile.”
“When Wu Bailan died, Lin Jinxuan was only ten years old.”
“At ten years old, he witnessed something like that happen to his mother and was nearly killed himself.”
“It’s hardly surprising that his body healed while his mind became twisted afterward.”
“A tragic but understandable progression, from victim to perpetrator.”
Bzzzt… Bzzzt… He Shu took out her phone and glanced at the image that had just been sent to her. Immediately, she sprang to her feet.
“Ding Qi just sent over the fingerprint comparison results!”
“The fingerprint recovered from the business card matches the fingerprint lifted from the search warrant.”
“It belongs to Lin Jinxuan!”
“Then let’s go bring him in!” Zeng Yongjia declared, brimming with fighting spirit.
“We’ll have to split up.” He Shu glanced outside. They had spent the entire day dealing with the three women and waiting on various investigative results. By now, it was fully dark.
“You and Old Chang take a team and go to Lin Jinxuan’s residence.”
“Brother Xie and I will head to Phantom.”
Everyone responded with grim expressions. Although they finally had a prime suspect, the situation was far from reassuring. Because no one knew whether, at this very moment, the suspect was searching for another victim or whether he’d already found one.
…
Bzzzt… bzzzt…
Inside a black sedan parked not far from Phantom, the radio occasionally emitted bursts of static.
In the back seat, He Shu held a pair of binoculars, watching the people entering and leaving the club. She chewed gum absentmindedly as she observed.
A short while later, a figure emerged from the club.
The person walked up and down the street twice, cautiously surveying the surroundings. Only after making sure everything seemed clear did he quickly cross the road, jog over to the sedan, and pull open the passenger-side door.
Seeing this, He Shu handed the binoculars to Xie Zihao in the driver’s seat. Ignoring his muttered complaints, she gestured for the newcomer to begin his report.
The young man was someone they had specifically borrowed from another division before leaving the bureau.
Since the Special Crimes team had already collected evidence at the club, employees would likely recognize them if they tried to gather information covertly.
Unable to risk that, they had no choice but to temporarily send in a fresh face to carry out the task.
“Captain He, I did exactly what you asked and made a full circuit of the club. I didn’t see Lin Jinxuan anywhere.”
“While no one was paying attention, I slipped into the back area and found what looked like an office. The door was closed. I tried pushing it gently, but it wouldn’t open.”
“I was worried about attracting attention, so I left immediately.”
“The car parked outside belongs to Lin Jinxuan, that’s for sure. Earlier, we checked traffic camera footage from the intersection ahead. It shows him arriving here in that vehicle at 8:14 p.m., dressed in men’s clothing, and entering the club.”
“He hasn’t come out since.”
“That was less than half an hour before we completed our surveillance setup…” He Shu muttered quietly to herself. Then she spoke into the communication device clipped to her collar. “Team Two, Team Three, status report?”
A voice immediately came through her earpiece: “South side of the rear alley. No abnormalities. No one has entered or exited.”
Then another: “North side of the rear alley. No abnormalities. Someone came out of Phantom’s back door, but it was only an employee taking out trash. They went right back inside.”
“Copy.” He Shu narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
A message had also arrived from Zeng Yongjia’s team. Their search of Lin Jinxuan’s upscale downtown apartment had turned up nothing suspicious so far, though evidence collection was still underway.
“See that guy standing across the street smoking?” Xie Zihao asked while watching through the binoculars. “He’s been there for seventeen or eighteen minutes. Doesn’t that seem a little strange?”
Before He Shu could respond, a champagne-colored sedan pulled up in front of the man. Grinning, he tossed away the half-smoked cigarette still burning between his fingers and climbed into the passenger seat.
The next second, accompanied by the roar of the engine, the sedan sped off, merging into traffic. After a few aggressive lane changes, it vanished from sight.
He Shu’s expression darkened. A bad feeling suddenly rose in her chest.
“Team Four?”
“Captain He.”
“Did a sedan with the license plate Jing ABB557 leave the parking lot just now?”
There was a brief pause on the other end, as though someone was checking.
Soon an answer came back: “Yes.”
“It exited the parking lot less than two minutes ago.”
“The toll-booth surveillance camera captured it. I’ll send the footage to you right away.”
Ding. The phone notification sounded.
After glancing at it, He Shu’s expression changed slightly. “The person driving that car just now was almost certainly Lin Jinxuan!”
Xie Zihao was equally startled. He glanced at the image on the phone screen, which showed an alluring figure in the driver’s seat with light-brown curled hair. He immediately started the engine.
“What do we do now? Should we contact Traffic Police and request a vehicle-tracking assist?”
“He’s already taken the person away,” He Shu said with a frown, her fingertips rapidly tapping against her phone.
Tap tap tap.
“By the time a formal assistance request gets approved and we start searching, it’ll probably be too late.”
The first crime scene where Ying Weiqiu had actually been killed still hadn’t been located. And if the killer had deliberately stepped outside his comfort zone to dump the body, why choose the area near Golden Sunshine Beach?
The fifteen-year-old home invasion murder case… Jianzhong Garden. Golden Sunshine Beach. The two locations were less than ten kilometers apart.
“Quick, to Jianzhong Garden!” She slapped the back of the driver’s seat. To be absolutely safe, she dialed the bureau before the car had even shot forward, preparing to issue a citywide assistance alert.
…
Nearly forty minutes later.
Jianzhong Garden Villa District.
Everything was silent. Only the flowers and trees inside the neighborhood cast shifting shadows beneath the dim streetlights. Then, concealed by darkness and shadow, a group of people quietly emerged from multiple directions. Without making a sound, they surrounded the villa in front of which the champagne-colored sedan was parked.
Keeping low, Xie Zihao approached He Shu from behind. Together, they looked up at two second-floor windows faintly glowing with soft pink light. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he lowered his voice to barely above a whisper.
“I can’t believe this house was never sold after all these years.”
“Back then, it was considered a haunted house because of what had happened there. Properties like that are notoriously hard to sell. The Lin family wasn’t short on money, so they simply left it standing.”
He Shu lowered her voice. “Then, three years ago, someone suddenly purchased it at a low price. The name on the deed isn’t Lin Jinxuan’s or any other member of the Lin family. That’s why we overlooked it during the initial investigation.”
She glanced around at the team. “They probably only arrived not long ago. You and I will take two officers and breach through the front entrance. Everyone else holds their assigned positions and prevents the suspect from escaping.”
“Got it.”
Once everyone was in place, He Shu gave a hand signal. Four shadowy figures immediately sprinted toward the front door. After reaching it, they confirmed it was locked from the inside.
A technician stepped forward and quickly got to work. Fortunately, the lock was old. Within moments, it clicked open.
The four officers slipped inside. The first floor was pitch-black. Only a faint amount of light filtering through the windows allowed them to move forward.
He Shu signaled for the other two officers to clear the ground floor. Meanwhile, she and Xie Zihao raised their firearms and headed upstairs. They finally stopped outside the bedroom emitting the pink glow.
Leaning close to the door, He Shu listened carefully. From inside came the faint sound of someone softly moaning. Without hesitation, she stepped back two paces.
Then she raised her leg and kicked the door with all her strength.
BANG! The door flew open with a tremendous crash. A visible crack even appeared across the wooden door panel.
Xie Zihao stood staring at her back in utter disbelief for several seconds before recovering. Wait, isn’t this the kind of physical job I’m supposed to do…?
The moment the door opened, they saw a double bed. A man was sprawled on it, wearing nothing but boxer briefs. His hands were cuffed to the headboard, leaving him unable to move, and a gag ball had been strapped into his mouth. All he could do was make muffled “mmmph, mmmph” noises.
Rushing to the bedside, He Shu noticed a door set into the left wall still swinging back and forth. Immediately, she shouted: “Old Xie?!”
“Got it!” Xie Zihao answered and charged through the doorway in pursuit.
Meanwhile, He Shu pulled the gag from the man’s mouth.
The man looked to be well into his thirties, but the moment he was free to speak, he burst into tears like an oversized child. “My neck hurts… hurts…” Still crying, he wailed nonstop.
Taking a closer look, He Shu noticed ligature marks on his neck. Blood was slowly seeping from the wounds. His wrists, still trapped in the handcuffs, had also been injured from struggling.
At that moment, another officer who had heard the commotion came upstairs. He Shu quickly instructed him to call for the medical team. Then she turned and rushed out of the bedroom. After identifying the direction from which the noise was coming, she sprinted up the stairs to the third floor without slowing down.
The third floor was also dark. Near a window in the small sitting area at the top of the stairs, two figures were struggling with each other.
The shorter of the two had wrapped an arm tightly around the taller person’s neck from behind.
Hearing someone arrive, the attacker immediately shifted position and used the hostage’s body as a shield, completely hiding behind them.
He Shu reached out and felt along the wall with her right hand.
Click.
The lights blazed on.
Xie Zihao was currently being strangled with a wire saw looped around his neck. In that split second, he’d reacted quickly enough to get a hand between the wire and his throat. Now he was desperately using his hands to resist the tightening loop. Both palms were covered in blood.
“Lin Jinxuan.” A cold light flashed in He Shu’s eyes as she spoke his name.
Compared to Xie Zihao, Lin Jinxuan’s frame was far slimmer. Hidden securely behind his hostage, he was completely shielded, making it impossible for her to risk a shot.
At that moment, a voice came through her earpiece: “Captain He, the suspect is too close to our officer! If the sniper takes the shot, there’s a very high chance of hitting the hostage as well!”
He Shu said nothing. Instead, she lowered her gaze to an ashtray lying near her feet. It had probably been knocked to the floor during the struggle upstairs.
She bent down, picked up the ashtray, and threw it in one smooth motion.
“AAAH!” A scream rang out as the ashtray smashed into Xie Zihao’s shin. His right leg immediately buckled from the pain, making him wince and shudder uncontrollably.
Seizing the opportunity, He Shu dropped into a crouch and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew out and struck the section of calf that had been exposed behind Xie Zihao when his leg suddenly gave way.
Another muffled cry of pain followed.
Xie Zihao instantly felt the pressure of the wire saw around his neck loosen. Taking advantage of that split-second opening, he twisted his body and successfully broke free of the restraint. He hadn’t even had time to catch his breath when a shout exploded beside him.
“Watch out!” He Shu lunged forward and yanked him aside. Only then did he see that Lin Jinxuan had produced a dagger from somewhere. The blade had come within inches of stabbing into his side.
Before Xie Zihao could fully process what had happened, another powerful force shoved him away. Momentum carried him forward. His stomach slammed directly into the edge of a table. The pain made him bare his teeth and suck in several sharp breaths.
Seeing his attack fail, Lin Jinxuan immediately changed targets. This time, he charged straight at He Shu. It was obvious that he was skilled. Otherwise, he never would have been able to put Xie Zihao in such a miserable position. Unfortunately for him, the gunshot wound in his calf had already affected his mobility. Every movement was now hindered, if only slightly.
He Shu caught Lin Jinxuan’s wrist, the one holding the dagger, and drove a clean punch into the ribs beneath his right armpit. Taking advantage of the opening, she smoothly disarmed him, wrenching the knife away. Then she pivoted and drove a kick squarely into his chest.
A metallic taste flooded Lin Jinxuan’s throat. His body slammed hard into the wall behind him. With injuries front and back, it felt as though his internal organs were being carved apart. He collapsed to the floor, wheezing like a broken bellows.
Huff… huff… Holding the dagger delicately between her thumb and forefinger, He Shu casually tidied the hair that had come loose during the fight.
“Captain He…!” Zeng Yongjia and Chang Bin had just arrived from the apartment search. The moment they rushed upstairs, they found a bizarre scene: One man sprawled in a corner—another kneeling beside the coffee table. In the middle stood one person, looking perfectly calm and unhurried.
“…”
Chang Bin fell silent for a moment. Then he picked up his radio and said: “I think the third floor needs the medical team too.”
Zeng Yongjia hurried over and helped the stomach-clutching Xie Zihao to his feet. “That bastard did this to you?!”
“…”
For the first time in his life, Xie Zihao understood what it meant to be at a loss for words. Finally, gritting his teeth, he managed to force out a few words: “No wonder the rumors say Ji Chen had two broken ribs.”
Considering the force behind those two kicks He Shu had delivered, one to a door and one to a person, it would have been stranger if ribs hadn’t broken.
Zeng Yongjia wasn’t surprised in the slightest. First, he glanced at Lin Jinxuan lying face-down on the floor. Then, in a solemn, almost philosophical tone, he said: “Better late than never.”
“Some things, you only understand after experiencing them yourself.”
“Back in the day, I refused to accept it too… right up until this woman also…”
He abruptly stopped talking. The look of regret on his face made it obvious he’d just said something he shouldn’t have.
“Huh?” Xie Zihao instantly latched onto the important part.
Chang Bin also rushed over, eager for gossip. “I fucking knew there was a story here!”
“You brat, spit it out!”
“Didn’t Captain He beat you up too? Is that why you’re so scared of her now?!”
Zeng Yongjia responded only with a strained: “Heh… heh… heh…” Then he desperately tried changing the subject. Grabbing his radio, he exclaimed: “Preliminary assessment: suspect has lost the ability to move independently. Why hasn’t the medical team come upstairs to carry him out yet?!”
“Don’t change the damn subject!” Chang Bin hooked an arm around his neck.
The message was clear: No explanation, no release.
At this point, Xie Zihao had completely forgotten about his injured stomach and bleeding hands. He was dying of curiosity as well. What had happened to him tonight was already embarrassing enough. But if someone else had gone through the same thing? Then what was there to be afraid of? What was the saying?
First there was Ji Chen. Then there was Zeng Yongjia. Now there was also Xie Zihao. When so many people had been humiliated by the same person, being one of them suddenly didn’t seem so bad.
Meanwhile, inside Zeng Yongjia’s head, sorrow flowed like a raging river. He wanted nothing more than to slap himself twice for opening his mouth.