Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After I got home, Jiang Ning came downstairs to bring me dinner.

Having heard that I went to see my brother, she asked if there had been any progress on the case.

“It’s tough,” I said.

Judging by my brother’s expression earlier, although my theories proved I was on the right track, they also proved the police had already discovered those leads long ago.

In fact, they had likely already cross-referenced the cold cases and identified several suspects.

However, the killer was clearly a master at cleaning up crime scenes. Since the game had already begun, he was destined not to leave any evidence behind easily.

Not to mention, he seemed intimately familiar with police procedures.

My brother and his team were being kept entirely on the defensive.

Jiang Ning seemed optimistic. “I have faith in Officer Xue.”

I smiled. “I do too. Catching him is just a matter of time. By the way, I have a big project to rush lately, so I’ll need you to keep bringing me meals.”

“Okay…” Jiang Ning agreed.

I turned my attention to a very niche corner of the internet: the Reasoning Enthusiasts Forum.

If this was a serial murder case and the killer had such a performative streak, he would definitely attract the attention of true crime buffs.

I used the victim’s characteristics as keywords to fish for information, and sure enough, I caught something.

Someone had pointed out that this case bore a striking resemblance to one from ten years ago.

The original poster had been following the case for a long time and revealed many details.

For instance, the killer chose young, relatively marginalized girls as targets.

He had specific preferences: the victims were all students with long, straight black hair, petite statures, and youthful features, often possessing somewhat “rebellious” personalities.

After capturing a victim, he would imprison and torture them, presumably for seven days.

Those crisscrossing, chessboard-like wounds I had seen were caused by thin wire; usually, the victims’ own struggling would cause the wire to tear their flesh apart.

He definitely had a medical background.

He had cut out the deceased’s tongue, precisely severed several veins, and even administered small doses of painkillers to the victim.

This unique method of body disposal was extremely difficult to execute.

He had to perform precise calculations to ensure the victim died exactly where he wanted them to.

Therefore, the possibility of a copycat was essentially ruled out.

[Last time, three people died. The frequency was once every six months to a year.]

[Furthermore, he operated across different cities. The three victims were found in T City, Q City, and J City respectively.]

[It seems he chooses cities and targets at random, which makes the case incredibly difficult to solve.]

[To strike again after ten years…]

I fell into deep thought.

Ten years…

Most serial killers of this type lack self-control; it was impossible for him to have held back for a decade.

In that moment, I had a powerful premonition.

The killer might be looking at this very same post.

He watched as others paid attention to him and analyzed him, perhaps even imagining they admired him.

He was right there with me, staring at the screen.