Yan Junxun was still studying the photos.

This case had a long timeline. The earliest incident occurred in May 2160. The victim was a 43-year-old prostitute. The war had just begun at the time, and she was discovered two weeks after her death. The second case happened in December 2160. The victim was a 38-year-old prostitute, discovered a month after her death.

In 2161, the killer didn't commit any crimes, and the Supervisory Bureau didn't catch him. It was as if he had disappeared. It wasn't until 2163 that he reappeared and committed the third murder. The third case was in April 2163. The victim was still a prostitute, 24 years old, and was discovered half a month after her death. The killer then disappeared again. This time, his disappearance was even longer, and he only reappeared this year to commit the fourth case.

The latest victim was only 16 years old, a female high school student, discovered eight hours after her death.

All the victims were found in their homes. These crime scene photos were grotesque; they were all covered in bloodstains. Yan Junxun had to enlarge the pictures to make out the furniture amidst the red.

The killer had a habit. He liked to put a plastic bag over the victim's head and arrange them in a kneeling position.

“The high school student's cause of death was drowning,” Yan Junxun arranged the photos in chronological order before him. “There was hemorrhage in the conjunctiva. But like the previous victims, she not only suffered violent treatment from the killer but was also penetrated with a foreign object.”

The killer did not engage in sexual intercourse, but he did commit sexual violence.

The first two cases occurred in the old commercial district of the Docking Area, which was the Docking Area's famous red-light district. Hair salons and massage parlors lined up in rows, with girls in garter stockings sitting behind glass doors, waiting to be chosen.

The first victim was named Wu Qionghua. She called herself Ah Qiong and worked at a salon called "Pink Dream". Initially, she was called 'second-rate goods' by her boss and clients. In 2155, she became the mistress of a boss who came to the Docking Area to speculate on real estate. She was with him for four years until the boss went bankrupt due to the situation between the North and South Alliances. He left her in the Docking Area and ran off. She was pregnant at the time. She went back to her hometown, gave birth, left the child with her parents, and then returned to the Docking Area to continue making money at the salon.

Wu Qionghua rented a room in an Urban Village in the old commercial district and would also see clients there. Her body was discovered by the salon owner. When she hadn't shown up for work for two consecutive weeks, the salon owner went to her home, only to find that she was already dead.

The crime scene photos were well-preserved. Yan Junxun could still clearly see all the furnishings inside Wu Qionghua's room. Her room was dilapidated; the bedroom was also the living room. The bed was messy, the blanket kicked under the bed. The table was an old, wooden style. The killer had slammed her head against the corner of the table, where traces of blood remained. But the killer's main area of activity was the bathroom. He dragged Wu Qionghua in, and she had struggled. The Supervisory Bureau found her fingerprints on the bathroom doorframe, along with her broken fingernails.

“He has a specific weapon for his crimes,” the thoughts in Yan Junxun's head began to stir. They spread across the photos like a pack of well-trained police dogs, meticulously searching for details. “He likes to... enjoy the process.”

The killer didn't kill the victims immediately. He always made a mess of the scene; this was his way of making a statement.

“Yes,” Shi Shanyan said, holding his water glass. “He walked into someone else's home, dragged the owner out of bed, and then left a floor full of blood for the Supervisory Bureau.”

The patterns of the bloodstains were unnatural; they were deliberately smeared by the killer. He did a lot of things in the bathroom. Torturing the victim seemed to make him feel good. The Supervisory Bureau's forensic report showed that he had inserted a toothbrush from the bathroom into Wu Qionghua's body, but he didn't strip off her clothes—he didn't strip off any of the victims' clothes.

“After the victim was dead, he put a plastic bag over her head,” Yan Junxun stared at the photo, “and then positioned her by the door, making her watch the doorway, watch how he left.”

This person desperately needed to be noticed. He was always emphasizing this fact, as if people wouldn't see him if he didn't do something. It's worth noting that the killer slashed Wu Qionghua's photo. It was a photo of Wu Qionghua and the real estate boss. Wu Qionghua had hung it on the wall, pretending she had been married and had a family. The killer was furious about this; he slashed it to pieces.

The killer also left a note for the Supervisory Bureau. He stuffed a piece of paper into Wu Qionghua's plastic bag with the words 'Goodbye' written on it.

Goodbye.

Yan Junxun examined the close-up of the note. It had been torn from a magazine in Wu Qionghua's room. The writing was very neat, like a primary school student turning in homework. The killer had a plan. He wanted the Supervisory Bureau's attention, but unfortunately, the North and South Alliances were at war at the time. This case was like a small pebble dropped into a deep pool, only making a tiny splash.

So, the killer struck again in December of the same year. The second victim was named Li Si. She worked at a massage parlor in the Docking Area's old commercial district. Like Wu Qionghua, she wasn't a top name at her establishment. She had worked at the massage parlor for nearly seven years before leaving to work independently in 2160. She rented a room in the red-light district's Urban Village, relying on old clients to bring in business. But that year, the Northern Front Alliance's overall economy declined. Many people were unemployed or bankrupt, and in the end, she had to solicit customers on the street.

Because Li Si lived alone, with no relatives or boss, it wasn't until a month later, when her landlord came to collect rent, that she was found dead in her home.

The photos on the light screen changed. The red made Yan Junxun feel as if his mouth was filled with the taste of blood. He reached for his pocket, but Shi Shanyan had already handed him a lollipop.

'This feeling of having my every intention discovered is really not good.'

Yan Junxun took the lollipop before Shi Shanyan could speak, quickly unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. He knew it was best not to give Shi Shanyan a chance to speak; otherwise, he would be the one in trouble.

There were more photos of Li Si's room than Wu Qionghua's because she lived in a two-bedroom apartment. The style of her room was completely different from Wu Qionghua's. She loved to shop. Cheap clothes racks crowded the living room, and her clothes were piled up everywhere. She wasn't asleep when she was attacked. She had probably just finished with a client; her makeup was still on, and she was wearing sequined lingerie.

“He might have OCD,” Yan Junxun said, his brow gradually furrowing as he looked. “He dragged the victim into the bathroom to kill her, then dragged her back to the living room and placed her by the wall.”

The killer had a pathological need for the victims' gaze. He always made them kneel and watch him leave.

'What kind of trauma did this bastard go through? Was he kicked out of a house before? This feels like a child's revenge, taking out all their dissatisfaction on people who have nothing to do with them.'

“Perhaps he wants to triumph over the gaze of others,” Shi Shanyan said, tapping the screen with his finger. “He doesn't speak fluently, has a bit of a stutter, and his language organization skills are poor. He has a retaliatory desire to perform in public, making himself appear very cruel.”

Antisocial personalities have a characteristic of omnipotent control. Indulgence in it often leads to amorality, finding pleasure in defeating those who deny them or might potentially deny them. They often have no moral bottom line, disregard social ethics, and persistently pursue their own pleasure to feel alive.

This killer's MO is very simple. Torturing the victim and arranging the victim's body could be one of his motives for killing. During the call, he displayed a forced confidence that betrayed his lack of it. Those silences were him thinking; he didn't want to ruin his image with a poor answer.

He's actually very timid, not even daring to take off the victims' clothes. He's also imitating sex, inserting those objects into the victims' bodies to prove he understands 'sex'.

“He's watched Chen Xiulian's livestream,” Yan Junxun recalled the killer's performance during the call. “He's a pathetic copycat. He wants to imitate Chen Xiulian's livestream to get everyone's attention.”

Liu Chen, Liu Chen is really a good choice. His need is also to gain attention, which coincides perfectly with the killer's. The fact that Liu Chen could get the killer's contact information means they've had private contact.

Yan Junxun looked out the window. It was too late. He said, “We have to find Liu Chen tomorrow.”

“I thought you wouldn't take this case,” Shi Shanyan leaned back in his chair. “If it were me, I would have returned the files to Jiang Lian and told him I was on vacation.”

'I want to be on vacation too.'

Yan Junxun thought as he stood up.

'But I can't stop.'

“You actually have a strong sense of justice,” Shi Shanyan watched Yan Junxun walk to the bathroom and smiled. “That's not something Artemis could have taught you.”

Yan Junxun closed the bathroom door, then opened it again and said to him, “You can go home now.”

“Oh,” Shi Shanyan glanced at the time and asked, “It's so late. Are you going to see me out?”

“I don't have a car.”

“I'm scared to walk alone at night,” Shi Shanyan's expression was somewhat serious. “The streetlights in front of your house are all broken.”

Yan Junxun asked warily, “Did you shoot them out?”

“Don't think of me like that,” Shi Shanyan's hands were placed properly on his lap. He sat there and said innocently, “I came back with you.”

Yan Junxun was very suspicious. He always felt—he couldn't quite describe the feeling, but in short, it was dangerous.

“We are...” Shi Shanyan coaxed, “partners who can trust each other. Junxun, think about it, I have nowhere else to go. I could sleep on the street, but I just chatted with a few perverts in Liu Chen's livestream room,” he slowly slumped his shoulders a little. “I need to stay with you right now. You know, a Zone 01 prisoner like me needs to interact with normal people to maintain emotional stability. You'll help me, right?” He raised his gaze slightly and said softly, “Only you can help me.”

Yan Junxun gripped the doorknob. Under Shi Shanyan's gaze, he was successfully pleased by the phrase 'normal people.' He knew Shi Shanyan was dangerous, but he still wanted to happily reply, 'You're right, I'm a fucking normal person.'

“I'll make the bed for Mr. Shi,” Panda poked its head out from the kitchen. It cupped its paws and said happily, “I just bought new bedding! Mr. Shi, you don't have to sleep on the sofa this time. It's too small for you.”

'No.'

Yan Junxun wanted to say.

'Sleeping in the bed is not okay!'

But Shi Shanyan reacted faster. Before Yan Junxun could open his mouth, he interjected, “Is that so? That's great.” He picked up his water glass again and, before refilling it, looked at Yan Junxun. “You go wash up first. I'm not in a hurry.”

“I know,” Yan Junxun replied, closing the door. “This is my house!”

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For information related to antisocial personality, please refer to 'A History of Sexual Violence'.