Chapter 10

“You aren’t even as good as an intern who just joined the Special Crimes Bureau; it took her less than twenty-four hours to defeat you.”

The suspect’s words pierced Si Kang’s sensitive nerves like needles. He stared at the suspect, lunged forward to grab the man’s handcuffs, and slammed him down onto the table. “What did you say?”

The suspect, pinned to the interrogation table, shuddered in pain as his shoulder wound began to seep blood again.

“Si Kang.” Bai Shizhou reached out to press down on Si Kang’s shoulder, puzzled by his loss of control. It was just a single sentence; why was Si Kang so easily provoked? That wasn't his usual temperament.

Si Kang, realizing his lack of composure, loosened his grip, though his body and emotions remained restless.

It was all because of Shen Yulan! Damn her! She had disrupted him, and now even the suspect was using her to humiliate him!

He had been tracking the killer since the start of the case, and after a week, he had found nothing. Yet, Shen Yulan had apprehended the suspect in less than twenty-four hours... He loathed her.

“Do you think you can escape conviction just by refusing to confess?” Si Kang asked, struggling to suppress his agitation.

The suspect replied, “I only almost killed my sister. Where is the evidence that I’m a serial killer? Are there my fingerprints at the scene? Footprints? Or did an eyewitness see it with their own eyes?”

“The times the four victims were killed match the times you provided door-to-door laundry service,” Bai Shizhou stated. “The surveillance footage from your father’s dry cleaner has been recovered. It shows you swapping the employee schedule to deliver the clothes in their place.”

He opened a virtual screen and played the footage before the suspect.

The timestamp on the video showed that on the very days the victims were killed, the suspect, Gao Jiajia, had taken over the shifts for those employees, put on their uniforms, and delivered the clothes himself.

Gao Jiajia remained slumped over the interrogation table, barely glancing at the video. “I did deliver clothes for the sick employees on those days, but I left as soon as I handed them over. The customers were fine when I left. I didn't even enter their rooms. Who knows if someone else killed them after I left?”

He still refused to admit to killing the four victims, acting as if he were certain the Special Crimes Bureau lacked the direct evidence needed to convict him.

There were no footprints, fingerprints, or any direct information linking him to the crime scenes.

He sat motionless, looking down at his hands, ignoring everyone else, and finally uttered, “Isn’t that intern very capable?”

Bai Shizhou saw him smiling—a provocative, taunting smile.

Bai Shizhou understood. The suspect wouldn't answer any more questions from the Bureau. He wasn't provoking the Special Crimes Bureau; he was provoking Agent Shen.

Bai Shizhou led Si Kang out of the interrogation room, telling him there was no point in wasting more time with the suspect.

He then turned to Bao Xiao, who had just finished taking statements from the suspect’s parents. “If Agent Shen’s injuries are treated, have her return to the Bureau.”

Bao Xiao was delighted; this meant they truly weren't going to pursue the matter of the stolen gun. “Yes! I’ll call her right now!”

Si Kang, however, was vehemently opposed. “Does the Chief think that having Agent Shen return will make the suspect confess? Do you think my skills are insufficient?”

Bai Shizhou frowned at him. “What is wrong with you today?”

Si Kang’s emotions were unusually sensitive today, easily triggered, especially regarding Agent Shen. He wasn't usually the type to seek credit, nor was he easily swayed by anyone.

Bai Shizhou also caught a strong scent of perfume on him. He had never seen him wear it, and his sudden use of it seemed intended to mask some other odor.

“I’m fine.” Si Kang didn't want anyone to know about the humiliation of being forced into heat by Shen Yulan’s tail. “I just disagree with the Chief’s approach. The suspect, Gao Jiajia, is clearly provoking the Bureau. His motive has always been to challenge authority to prove himself to his biological mother.”

“I’ve been following this case from the beginning,” Si Kang said, his brows locked tight as he looked at Bai Shizhou. “I haven't left the Bureau for a week. I wake up and go to sleep thinking about this suspect. Does the Chief really think Shen Yulan understands him better than I do?”

Aside from the few hours he had taken leave today due to his forced heat, he had been living at the station all week. He couldn't lose to her. “I will work on convincing his biological mother to come here. I’ll be able to crack Gao Jiajia’s mouth open soon.”

Bao Xiao looked at Si Kang with sympathy, understanding his state of obsession. He had poured his heart and soul into the investigation, sometimes forgetting to eat, while Agent Shen had identified the suspect on her first day. The comparison between geniuses was truly cruel.

“Si Kang, I am not denying your hard work or your excellence,” Bai Shizhou said, his tone softening. “But you also understand that Gao Jiajia’s motive is to challenge authority to prove himself, and the authority he values isn't the Special Crimes Bureau.”

Bai Shizhou told him, “The authority Gao Jiajia was challenging was originally Professor Zhang, and now, it is Agent Shen.”

Si Kang’s face turned ghastly. How could Shen Yulan replace Professor Zhang as the “authority”? This was even harder to accept than losing to her himself!

She was just an intern who had barely touched the case! She wasn't even qualified to be a substitute for Professor Zhang, let alone surpass him!

Yet, Bai Shizhou patted him on the back and didn't change his decision, continuing to let Bao Xiao call Shen Yulan.

***

The call connected quickly, but Agent Shen insisted on speaking to Chief Bai directly.

Bao Xiao put it on speaker.

Bai Shizhou heard Agent Shen’s haughty voice: “I was injured quite seriously, almost had to have an amputation. But since Chief Bai and the Bureau need me so much, I will naturally return to the front lines despite my wounds. It can't be helped—with great power comes great responsibility.”

Bao Xiao really wanted to laugh, but Agent Shen pushed her luck: “I’ve already learned some urgent information at the suspect’s home with Officer An Jiashu, but he seems to be suspended. As an intern without an officer’s badge, entering the home for an investigation isn't exactly regulation. I wonder if Chief Bai needs to come in person to assist me?”

Si Kang gritted his teeth in frustration. Wasn't she acting first and reporting later, taking the opportunity to blackmail them?

Yet Bai Shizhou was surprisingly accommodating. “An Jiashu’s suspension ends at 6:00 PM today. It is now 9:00 PM.”

Shen Yulan’s triumphant laughter came through the wristband: “Oh, so suspensions can be calculated by the hour, then.”

So arrogant!

Si Kang didn't understand why the Chief was so lenient and indulgent toward her.

After indulging her, Bai Shizhou asked in a gentle tone, “What urgent situation? What did you find?”

Agent Shen replied, “Still looking into it.”

“Still looking into it”—Si Kang didn't believe she could find anything in the suspect’s home that he hadn't already discovered. He and the Bureau had combed through everything; even the suspect’s parents had only been released half an hour ago.

Si Kang didn't wait to hear more and turned to leave. He was going to find the direct evidence and crack the case before Shen Yulan did.

He contacted the suspect’s biological mother again, but this time, her lawyer answered.

After Gao Jiajia was arrested, the Bureau had contacted his biological mother. She had cooperated with some questions but refused to come to the Bureau to see him.

Everything after that was handled by her lawyer.

Unable to get useful leads from her, Si Kang dove back into the profiling room, staring at all the information on the virtual screen, integrating and filtering it piece by piece.

Gao Jiajia’s biological mother had divorced and moved to another city when he was eight. His father remarried shortly after, and the stepmother was very cold toward him. When Gao Jiajia was thirteen, his father and stepmother had a daughter via IVF.

That was the younger sister, Gao Youyou, whom he had nearly killed.

After that, his father focused entirely on Gao Youyou, because Gao Jiajia was born with [Ability Disability Syndrome]—he had no ability body, and his physical development was much slower than a normal person’s.

Before Gao Jiajia was ten, his father would take him for treatment, injecting hormones annually to stimulate the development of his abilities.

But after marrying his stepmother, the treatments stopped.

His father had already given up on him, while his sister, Gao Youyou, had successfully developed an ability body a month before the incident. She was a normal ability user.

—[This was the breaking point that triggered Gao Jiajia’s decision to kill and challenge authority to prove himself.]

Si Kang wrote this sentence heavily on the virtual screen.

In Gao Jiajia’s bedroom, they had found a large collection of Professor Zhang’s case records, interviews, and reports on major Bureau cases.

Gao Jiajia had clearly studied and analyzed every one of Professor Zhang’s cases. Judging by the download dates, he had started researching them years ago. He had even attended one of the Professor's lectures and taken a photo with him.

But later, he had anonymously posted an article online titled, “Professor Zhang’s Solving of Serial Murder Cases Has Elements of Luck,” arguing that the serial killers were not cautious enough.

He believed he could defeat the crime-fighter Zhang Dian.

Si Kang stared at the files and videos of Professor Zhang in Gao Jiajia’s archives, completely understanding the suspect’s psychology—weak insects are always drawn to the flame. In the mind of an “inferior” like Gao Jiajia, defeating Zhang Dian was the ultimate proof of ability; he worshipped Zhang Dian yet wanted to defeat him.

He completely agreed with this, which was why he couldn't accept Gao Jiajia “transferring his affection” to Shen Yulan. It meant admitting she was stronger than Zhang Dian.

Impossible.

The back of Si Kang’s neck twitched with restlessness. Damn it, the inhibitor’s effects were too weak.

He grabbed an inhibitor patch, stuck it on his neck, and called Professor Zhang.

***

After a long while, the call connected.

“Professor Zhang, are you busy?” Si Kang’s voice came through the wristband.

Zhang Dian sat at his desk, facing a massive virtual screen. “What is it?”

“Do you know about the suspect we caught today, Gao Jiajia?” Si Kang didn't beat around the bush. “We found many of your case records in his room. He once took a photo with you at a lecture. I’ll send you the picture; do you have any impression of him?”

“No impression,” Zhang Dian said impatiently. “I have no interest in mediocre people or this kind of unoriginal copycat crime.”

“Professor Zhang, the authority he wanted to challenge was you,” Si Kang couldn't help but say. “He studied your cases and refined his methods just to challenge you. But now, because an intern stumbled upon him by using shoe covers and the dry cleaner, he thinks…”

“Shoe covers?” Zhang Dian’s fingers, which were about to hang up, paused. Before Si Kang could continue, he heard the sound of a door opening on the other end.

Immediately after, he heard another young woman’s voice—a voice he had heard on Bai Shizhou’s wristband. It was the intern, Shen Yulan.

She said in a light, mocking tone, “Over with the heat so soon, Officer Rabbit?”

“Shut up!” Si Kang hissed through gritted teeth.

Before Si Kang could hurriedly hang up, Zhang Dian heard the intern say triumphantly, “Shutting up won't do. Next, I’m going to talk about the discrepancies I found in the case. You’ll be so amazed your legs will go weak…”

The call cut off with a beep.

Zhang Dian’s gaze fixed back on the massive virtual screen, a look of confusion appearing on his face for the first time.

On the blue screen was a list of names, all sourced from a certain [Terminal Wristband Agent].

After his call with the “Goat Lady” last night, he had tracked her terminal. Unsurprisingly, it was an account without a registered identity—a “black household.”

Many marginalized individuals who couldn't register their own terminal accounts due to criminal records or lack of identity would use [Terminal Wristband Agents]. These agents provided them with fake accounts or registered “zombie accounts” via the dark web to allow them to use their wristbands normally.

Zhang Dian had quickly located the agent used by the Goat Lady and, by infiltrating the agent’s dark web database, found a list of all their customers. He then filtered for customers who were female, around twenty years old, and possessed a goat-type ability.

There were nearly one hundred thousand customers who fit the criteria.

He had spent time searching through them and was surprised to find a girl named [Shen Yi].

She was the only one among the hundred thousand who had a connection to him—she had been caught by Bai Shizhou five years ago and imprisoned for gambling.

Zhang Dian never believed in coincidences; he believed everything had a motive.

She was the only one with a connection to Bai Shizhou, and Zhang Dian also knew Bai Shizhou. How could a connection between him and Shen Yi be a coincidence?

He had thought he was close to finding her, but Shen Yi had died and had her records canceled five years ago. She had died in an accident shortly after her release from prison, supported by a death certificate and official police verification.

Since then, there had been no trace of [Shen Yi]. The lead had gone cold.

This only made him more curious. He liked difficult puzzles.

So, he had tried contacting the Goat Lady again, hoping to triangulate her terminal during a second call to see what region she was in.

He hadn't received a reply.

It was nearly 10:00 PM. As he was re-searching through the list of one hundred thousand names, he had suddenly heard the keyword [shoe covers] from Si Kang.

If that word appeared here, there had to be a motive.

In the dim light, Zhang Dian waved his hand to close the list of names and entered the internal network of the Giant Deer Academy to look up the student information for someone named [Shen Yulan].