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Published at 14th of April 2023 05:53:44 AM


Chapter 17

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After hearing this precise judgment, Xia Ming's mouth was wide open.

Qu Ming was the first to respond and asked Su Hui: "The police have tightened the investigation recently. Won't the murderer stop?"

Su Hui turned back and shook his head: "The serial killer has his own crime cycle. The interval between the last crime and the next crime can be divided into a cooling period and a fantasy intensification period. After that, the killer will kill again. At present, the killer's behavior has been accelerated and intensified with the deepening of the case. He has been immersed in it. At this time, it is unlikely that he will stop."

Qu Ming frowned and continued to ask, "That... Is it possible that he will change the pattern of the murder and the choice of the victim?"

Su Hui opened his mouth and replied, "If the police follow up closely, he may change the mode of murder, or he may change from organized state to unorganized state, but the way of screening the victims should not change. He will take the new crime as a challenge, and he will enjoy the stimulation. If he can succeed, he will be able to obtain double satisfaction and pleasure from it."

If the team members just admired the theory at the beginning, then at present they were completely awed by it.

Apart from Qu Ming, who was still a little hesitant, the others were silent.

"Qiao Ze, contact these five coffee shops, and then have the criminal police unit send people to shadow them." Lu Junchi arranged, "There are at least three days between the kidnapping and disappearance, and the murder of the victim. So we'll try to take precautions before the next victim appears. If there is a new victim, we must seize the time to rescue them."

Su Hui lowered his head and coughed a few times. The corners of his eyes were a little red, which made the tear mole more obvious. His eyebrows frowned slightly, and he said with some worry: "I hope it's not too late."

Lu Junchi got up and poured him a cup of warm water, handed it to him, then turned around and asked, "Do you have any questions?"

Xia Mingxi was ashamed of her previous selfishness. She asked with tears in her eyes: "Teacher Su, when can you enter the post ah? We need you..."

Su Hui replied, "What post?"

Xia Mingxi was a little surprised: "That... Teacher Su, aren't you here to be our consultant?"

Su Hui was a little embarrassed and looked at Lu Junchi asking for help: "I just came to help..."

Xia Mingxi, the silly girl, had asked directly and several team members were instantly petrified. At first, they had been deeply worried and sick at heart at the identity of the consultant, but as a result, he wasn't interested in the position. Qu Ming lowered his head even more.

Xia Mingxi reacted quickly and bravely, determined to hold Teacher Su's thigh,"But we still lack a consultant in our team, Teacher Su, your help can save us from death……"

"I..." Su Hui wanted to say something. 

Lu Junchi, fearing that he would directly turn them down, hastily said: "We will talk about these matters later, we should first seize the time to solve the case."

After making some arrangements, he sent Su Hui back downstairs. Lu Junchi took the initiative to say: "Let me take you back, Teacher Su. Are you going to school or returning home?"

Su Hui shook his head and said firmly, "No need, you are very busy with your work. It is more important to find the "Butcher". Normally, I am very skilled at hiring a car."

Su Hui walked forward for two steps, and suddenly remembered something. Then he turned around and asked Lu Junchi, "Captain Lu, I also have a question to ask you. I have had a problem recently, and I can only get information from one person, but the other person doesn't want to cooperate. If this happens to the case investigation team, what will they usually do?"

He knows and is familiar with the criminals, but when he meets the victims, he couldn't tell what the other party was thinking. It suddenly occurred to him that Lu Junchi should have more experience in this field.

Lu Junchi asked, "Is it the victim?"

Su Hui thought back and said, "It's a potential victim." He judged that Tao Li was only mentally traumatized, not necessarily seriously injured.

Then he added: "It is not a formal inquiry, but just to get the other party to cooperate as much as possible."

Lu Junchi heard that it would be a little difficult to use coercive means. He thought a little: "If you want such a person to speak, you must pay attention to the environment and tone of the inquiry, and try not to go to the other person's home, which will make them feel that have invaded their private territory, so they will be even more reluctant to speak."

When Su Hui heard this, he immediately realized that he had been too bold the previous time.

Lu Junchi continued: "If it is an informal investigation, you can consider the feelings of the other party and choose a place where they feel familiar and comfortable and safe, such as a crowded public place, which will increase their sense of security."

Su Hui felt that he had asked the right person, and continued to ask, "What about when asking questions? What else should I pay attention to?"

Lu Junchi said, "Don't threaten or plead. You can't get the answer you want either way. You can try to understand the person in front of you."

Su Hui felt as if he had found the answer he wanted. He held his chin with his hand and said, "Do you mean I should know her as well as I know the murderer?"

Lu Junchi nodded and patiently interpreted: "As long as they are a person, they must have their emotional points, favorite things, weak points, and people they care about. Starting from those related things will make communication easier. Also, recalling the past is a recurring trauma for the person. You should constantly encourage them, comfort them, and give them a little time. Don't push too hard. When they want to speak, they will tell you. "

Su Hui thought for a moment, then blinked: "Thank you, I know what to do."

When he turned around, Lu Junchi looked at Su Hui's back.

In Su Hui's body, Lu Junchi found that he was naturally sensitive to those who committed crimes, and he could easily penetrate the minds of those demons. But at the same time, Su Hui also gave him a feeling that he was not worldly and despised the world.

In addition, there is a sense of deja vu.

Lu Junchi felt that the person in front of him should not be the Poet.

Then who is he?

Is he Moonlight?

Lu Junchi led Su Hui out of the gate of the General Bureau and across the road and then turned back. Now that the case had reached the critical point, Su Hui helped them complete the reasoning part, and they must seize every minute to find the "Butcher".

As soon as Lu Junchi walked back to the office door of the Major Crimes Unit, he heard the phone on the desk ringing.

Qiao Ze went to answer the phone and said, "Hello..." Then his face changed, "What? A new missing person? Where are you?"

He covered the receiver and turned to Lu Junchi and said, "Miaode Coffee, 76 Xingwang Street, there was a waitress named Ning Ke who didn't come to work this morning. Just now the store manager went to her house to look for her and didn't find her. He then called the police."

Qu Ming looked back at the sign on the map left by Su Hui. He felt that his hair stood up and said, "Shit, that Teacher Su is really divine!"

This is exactly one of the five coffee shops that Su Hui mentioned before. Unfortunately, they had not had time to lay out the plan, and the murderer struck again

The confirmation came so fast that the whole Major Crimes Unit was immediately on edge.

After coming out of the General Bureau, Su Hui didn't hurry to take a taxi home but chose a fast food restaurant nearby. He thought over what Lu Junchi said.

He had to go find Tao Li again. The last meeting was too hasty.

But where was he going to see Tao Li?

He could go to Tan Ju, check Tao Li's relevant information, work unit, and mobile phone number, and even ask her to cooperate. But in that case, he felt that it would not only trouble Tan Ju, but also further invade Tao Li's privacy, and reduce the chances of her speaking to him.

Su Hui began to think hard about everything he saw at the door of Tao Li's house.

Since his injury, his vision had been greatly affected, especially in his left eye. Everything was blurred, like a thick layer of fog, but when he was close, he could still see clearly if he concentrated hard enough. This is the damage to the visual nerve. Wearing glasses was not an option he had.

Su Hui rummaged through those messy memories, and then remembered that Tao Li's home was not big. Looking through the door, he could see the table inside. There were some books on the table. The size and thickness of the books resembled hardcover poetry books. Obviously, till this day, she still retained the habit of reading books frequently.

Tao Li wore a T-shirt with words on it, like a corporate T-shirt

Su Hui concentrated and recalled the words above, which seemed to be Huaxin Investment

With Tao Li's family environment, she was unlikely to be one of the customers. It was likely to be the promotional materials issued by the company.

Su Hui searched the internet and found two companies with Huaxin and investment consulting in their names.

He considered it for a while, chose the one close to Tao Li's home, searched the company's official website, and soon found Tao Li's name in the list of investment advisers.

Then Su Hui used the map to check the environment around the company and did a simulation of Tao Li's route home.

The meeting place was soon confirmed, and then he needed to make a plan. Su Hui recalled Lu Junchi's suggestion to him before.

Just like those criminals, learn about ordinary people

Su Hui smiled bitterly. These things that ordinary people take for granted are a little difficult for him. Since the injury, those feelings, emotions, and the lives of ordinary people have become his blind spots.

But at the moment, he had to persuade Tao Li.

Only by persuading her could he understand Song Rongjiang.

At 6:10 p.m. on the weekend, the off-duty white-collar workers gradually gathered in the Good Time Book Bar. This book bar was not small, just next to an office building. After work, Tao Li often went to see if there were any new books.

At this time, she was standing in front of the shelf of a famous foreign novel, looking intently, when she felt someone approaching her.

Tao Li turned her head and saw a man standing beside her. She was trying to escape, but she felt that the man was familiar... that was the man who appeared outside her house a few days ago.

Su Hui saw that Tao Li stopped and knew that she had recognized him. He whispered beside her, "Miss Tao... I still hope you can talk with me."

"You... how did you know I would be here?" Tao Li frowned and warned, "Are you following me?!"

"No, I saw the T-shirt you wore before, so I know you work in an investment company. I also speculated that since you like books so much, you may come to the bookstore near your company but I didn't know when you would come. To be honest, I have been waiting for you here for three days." Su Hui had shown the boss here the photos on the official website of Tao Li's Company, confirming that Tao Li often visited the place.

He couldn't see clearly. He came here to sit in the evening these days, trying to identify every young woman who came in and observe whether they were Tao Li. Finally, he found her.

Su Hui came back and tried to ask, "Can we sit down and chat? I won't take up much of your time."

Tao Li's tense nerves relaxed a little, but she refused coldly: "I have nothing to say about Song Rongjiang. It was a nightmare in my past. I don't want to mention this man again..."

After saying this sentence, Tao Li didn't explain more and turned to leave the bookstore.

Su Hui, leaning on a staff, persevered in catching up.

As soon as Tao Li walked outside the bookstore, she heard a voice coming from behind. It was a woman's voice

"As a mother, I beg you, kind-hearted people, to help me find my Weiwei... I really want to hear her call me Mama again... Weiwei has been missing for a hundred days... I think that even if we merely find her corpse, it would be good to give her a proper burial..."

The voice in the video was heartbreaking, and Tao Li's footsteps stopped at once. She had heard the voice before. It was Pei Weiwei's mother, who had been on Weibo Hot Search for a long time.

She accidentally opened the video at that time, only heard of it, and then hurriedly closed it.

Not only because she once knew Song Rongjiang, but also because she was a woman and a mother.

Now, the person named Su Hui played the entire recording, leaving her nowhere to hide or escape.

Tao Li felt as if her heart was entangled by wire.

She can't imagine how her mother would feel if it was her who had gone missing.

She couldn't imagine how sad and helpless she would be if one day her daughter went missing after coming across a bad person.

The memory that she didn't want to touch was suddenly churned out of the back of her mind, drowning her like a tide.

Tao Li suddenly felt tears gather in the corners of her eyes, and some of them were not under her control. She seemed to have been cast an immobilization spell, she could not step forward anymore, and neither could she utter a word of rejection.

In the corner of the city at more than six o'clock in the evening, although the sky was not completely dark, it had begun to dim. She and Su Hui were standing on the roadside three meters apart.

There were always streams of people passing by on the road. Such an environment made Tao Li no longer repel Su Hui.

Su Hui knew that at this time, Tao Li was finally willing to listen to him.

He took a step forward and said in a low voice: "I have already been to Baihushan Prison and spoken to Song Rongjiang twice. I think it should be Song Rongjiang who killed Pei Weiwei. But he has not admitted it, and the police have not found relevant evidence. I can infer from the conversation with Song Rongjiang that something happened between you and him... I hope I can talk with you so that I can know more about Song Rongjiang, and maybe get him to admit to this crime."

Su Hui completely confided in Tao Li about the purpose of his trip.

Tao Li bowed her head and said nothing. Su Hui continued: "Before I did this, I saw a statement that Song Rongjiang had been sentenced to death for killing two women. It is not important to prove that Pei Weiwei was killed by him or to find her bones. Because even if Pei Weiwei is found, Song Rongjiang can't receive any additional punishment."

He looked down and said, "But I don't think this is the case. For Pei Weiwei's family, for her friends, even for this society, for us ordinary people, whether or not we can find Pei Weiwei or whether or not  Song Rongjiang will be convicted for this matter, the significance of the result is completely different."

Tao Li finally spoke. Her voice was a little hoarse, "Is this your job?"

Su Hui told the truth: "Not exactly. Although I have a police status, I am more entrusted by others. I want to find an answer to this matter. Now is not the process of police handling cases, so you have the right to refuse me. If you make a decision, you can leave now, and I will never try to find you again."

Tao Li hesitated when she heard Su Hui's reply. The night wind blew her hair.

Pei Weiwei's mother's words just now seem to have left a thorn in her heart, which is hurting her heart in real-time.

She could turn around and leave, but... what if?

After Song Rongjiang dies, she would be relieved. But does that mean that Pei Weiwei's disappearance would become an eternal mystery?

She bowed her head, her shoulders trembled, and explained to herself, "I don't want to recall Song Rongjiang, because I used to treat him as a friend, but he tried to do something bad to me."

Su Hui nodded back and tried to comfort her according to the method that Lu Junchi had taught him before: "I know, those things have passed, and you are safe now."

Tao Li summoned her courage and raised her head to ask Su Hui, her eyes flashed with tiny tears: "If I talked to you, would you be able to find... that female student?"

Su Hui held the scepter in his hand, and his beautiful eyebrows were full of firmness: "I will try my best."

TN:

This was supposed to be released last week according to my schedule of Tuesdays and Thursdays but while I was pretending to be Snowden after I crashed my laptop. So I'm using my phone with its tiny ass screen and inability to use a split screen to work on this and my other project as I scrape the money needed to repair it. I'm 2 updates behind and currently feeling frustrated so if the translation is not up to par, please have mercy on me, I'm a puppet on your street... Uhm got a little side-tracked but ENJOY this chapter and have a beautiful day. See you when you see me, which could be tomorrow or next month who knows.




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