Circle

The Supervisory Bureau didn't issue an arrest notice for the Profiler. Everyone thought the Profiler was still working for the Supervisory Bureau, especially the killer.

Liu Chen lowered his hand. "The killer said in the recording that he was going to make a move on the hostage this week. Profiler, if you're watching this program, please act quickly. Don't let a tragedy happen."

Yan Junxun's brows were tightly knitted as he turned off the television.

Everything was cleverly converging at a single point in time, like a timer telling Yan Junxun that this week was the final deadline. Next week, the members dispatched by Black Panther would arrive in the Docking Area, and the killer would also kill again.

"You can give up this Profiler identity," Shi Shanyan was already awake, raising a hand to rub the spot between his eyebrows. "Let the Supervisory Bureau deal with this mess themselves."

"The Profiler identity isn't important," Yan Junxun turned back. "But I have to be the one to solve this problem."

Shi Shanyan looked at him and retorted, "Are you some kind of champion of justice?"

The Supervisory Bureau was in the process of arresting Yan Junxun, and this case was the bait. The Supervisory Bureau was exploiting the killer's desire for attention to make him move up the time of the murder. If Yan Junxun wanted to save the hostage, he had to take the bait. It was a clear line.

"We can't avoid this case," Yan Junxun threw off the blanket. "It's no coincidence that the killer is striking again after so many years. I think that he, like Chen Xiulian, was influenced and instigated by The Clown. And the reason we infiltrated Lixing was also this case. Everything that's happening now is fundamentally one and the same thing."

The timing of their collision was too much of a coincidence, so perfect it seemed calculated.

Yan Junxun had a clear timeline in his head.

The Clown influenced Chen Xiulian. Chen Xiulian's livestream then influenced the current killer. The current killer, in turn, influenced Yan Junxun and Shi Shanyan—if they hadn't encountered Bai Jingqing's case, they wouldn't have infiltrated the Lixing Building. The Lixing Building was the superficial start of everything spiraling out of control, but at this moment, Yan Junxun believed the true beginning of it all was Artemis.

He was Artemis's student, The Clown was a flawed system incubated by Artemis, Black Panther was Artemis's wellspring, and the Docking Area was where Artemis's data was being reused.

What a coincidence.

"Artemis likes games with a circular structure," Yan Junxun said, his bare feet on the floor, the cold sensation grounding him. "The Clown likes them too. There must be a specific purpose behind its organization of these cases." Yan Junxun looked towards the window. "Circles... I hate circles the most."

Because the end of a circle means a new beginning.

Shi Shanyan watched Yan Junxun pace around unconsciously.

"We have to solve this case to find out what comes after it ends," Yan Junxun said, pulling his gaze back to Shi Shanyan. "Otherwise, you and I will be trapped in a vicious cycle until we're completely exhausted."

Shi Shanyan said earnestly, "I hope you won't be led astray by this so-called 'circle'."

"I definitely will be," Yan Junxun looked at him frankly. "That's why I need you."

Yan Junxun was being honest; he didn't trust himself. Like The Clown, he had been influenced by Artemis. If one were to truly call all of this a 'game,' then only Shi Shanyan could completely break free from Artemis's influence. Fortunately, Shi Shanyan was indeed capable of doing so.

"Take the stars you gave me last night," Yan Junxun bent down to pick up his jacket. "And be my compass."

Shi Shanyan didn't speak. After a long moment, he finally said, "You're so dramatic."

Lin Bobo loitered at the entrance of the coffee shop. When he finally walked in, the person at the front counter couldn't help but frown at him.

"Can I help you?" The girl at the counter efficiently checked out a customer, glancing at him a few times. "If not, please don't block the doorway."

Lin Bobo clutched a crumpled piece of paper, forcing a smile under the girl's gaze. "I want to work here."

His practice had paid off; he didn't stutter on that sentence.

The girl glanced at the recruitment blackboard by the door, not particularly keen on having this greasy-haired guy as a colleague. But she had basic manners, so she told Lin Bobo, "Wait a moment," then turned and ducked into the back room to call the boss.

Lin Bobo saw a pair of hot pants under the half-curtain, and the boss's straight legs. He felt a pang of thirst, a hot need spreading through his abdomen.

The boss lifted the curtain, smiled at Lin Bobo, and said forthrightly, "How long are you planning to work?"

Her determined, serious expression made her seem very confident, but this confidence shattered Lin Bobo's courage. He immediately deflated, not even managing to clutch the paper with his self-introduction before fleeing in disarray under the boss's gaze.

"That guy's so weird," the girl at the counter poked her head out from behind the curtain, watching Lin Bobo's pathetic retreating figure. "The way he stares at people is so slimy. It's disgusting."

The boss picked up the note from the floor, soaked with sweat, but the writing on it was illegible. She threw it into the trash can and reminded the girl, "Be careful when you get off work lately."

The light screen in the coffee shop was broadcasting recent news.

"The killer's diary is stored in Jue's database," Yan Junxun said, turning sideways inside the phone booth. "But they've shut Jue down."

"You're hacking into Jue's..." Shi Shanyan's fingers traced two circles in the air. "'Brain?'"

"I'm not," said Yan Junxun. "You can think of us as siblings with some blood relation. Its basic configuration is still Ares's data, just with Artemis's tracking data added in certain aspects."

"It seems the Supervisory Bureau wants it to become a tracking system in the future," Shi Shanyan's body blocked Yan Junxun from view. "They even carefully selected a partner for it."

Shi Shanyan was very perceptive. He didn't have Yan Junxun's 'eyes,' but he could find the optimal solution amidst fragmented information.

Piao Lin's exceptional memory overlapped with Jue's storage function, yet the Supervisory Bureau made them partners. This could only mean that one of them was slated for a different specialization in the future. Otherwise, partners' abilities should be complementary; only then could it be called collaboration.

"However, different kinds of sparks flew between them," Shi Shanyan watched the patrol car outside the phone booth. "Piao Lin has been tossing and turning over the issue of wooing Jue."

Yan Junxun, who was in the middle of dialing a number, stopped. Due to the cramped space, he struggled to turn his head and ask, "Really?"

Shi Shanyan watched the car drive away but didn't move. "They've already been on a date."

Yan Junxun was completely unaware of this. Even though he had seen Piao Lin's concerned expression towards Jue, wasn't that just a colleague's concern? Yan Junxun thought Piao Lin was like that with all his colleagues.

"Alright," Shi Shanyan leaned down slightly, nearly pressing down on Yan Junxun's head. "Who are you calling now?"

"An old friend." Yan Junxun used the old-fashioned rotary phone and dialed.

A few seconds later, Shi Shanyan witnessed a spectacular scene.

Yan Junxun half-covered the receiver, speaking anxiously in a boyish voice.

"Hello, Supervisory Bureau," the little liar said without even blinking. "A burglar broke into my house, my mom and dad aren't home, can you save me?" He made a choking sound. "I'm begging you."

"Where do you live?"

"I live at," the little liar's voice trembled, perfectly mimicking the sound of swallowing and being unable to speak clearly, "at Number 89, Old District Changming Street."

The person on the other end of the line tried to comfort Yan Junxun, but Yan Junxun hung up in a frightened tone. He said to Shi Shanyan, "The Supervisory Bureau's call-receiving system only has basic identification capabilities. It first has to verify if the reported address is real, then confirm if the caller's address matches. Half of Old District Changming Street has been demolished, and its database hasn't been updated yet."

"So it has to consult Jue," said Shi Shanyan. "Won't the Main Management System reject the request?"

Yan Junxun was still holding the phone. This type of old-fashioned receiver had long been phased out in the Light Rail District. He said, "The Main Management System's approval takes time, which contradicts the urgency of the caller's safety. Time is life, so the call-receiving system has the authority to act first and report later when verifying a reported address." Yan Junxun felt a bit cramped, which made him feel hot, but the phone booth was only so big. "This call has only two possible outcomes. One, the call-receiving system wakes Jue up for this, and even if it's only for two seconds, I can talk to it. This would indicate that the Docking Area's system hasn't changed, and everything is still within normal parameters. Two, the call-receiving system can't wake Jue, and Jue remains forcibly shut down by the Main Management System."

If Jue remained forcibly shut down by the Main Management System, it would mean the Main Management System's function had already changed—it was no longer the Docking Area's Supervisory Bureau system, because it had lost its core setting to 'prioritize saving lives'.

The former would prove the Docking Area's system was still operating according to its basic settings; the latter would prove it had deviated from them.

"Can't Black Panther change the basic settings of the Docking Area's Main Management System?" Shi Shanyan considered it. "They were able to remove even Jiang Lian."

"Removing Jiang Lian was an order, but this kind of small 'BUG' between system functions can't be eliminated by an order." The minutes ticked by. Yan Junxun said, "...Unless the Main Management System has evolved."

Traditional systems don't possess the ability to 'think'; every move they make is based on data calculations. Only when they begin to think can they make decisions that contradict their original settings.

Yan Junxun waited for five minutes, but Jue didn't wake up. He put the phone back and said, "Things just got tricky."

He thought back to the Main Management System's reaction yesterday, searching for clues.

But just then, the phone rang.

The narrow phone booth was like a potato chip can, and the phone's jarring ring ricocheted inside it, making Yan Junxun's nerves tense. His hand reached for the receiver, but Shi Shanyan intercepted it.

Shi Shanyan grabbed Yan Junxun's hand to pick up the phone. He said, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The other end beeped twice, and the Main Management System replied in its electronic voice, "Don't try any funny business. I'm watching you."

Through the glass, Shi Shanyan saw the flashing lights of a Supervisory Bureau car in the congested traffic. He put an arm around Yan Junxun and said, "Enough chatting. Go on and catch us."

The Main Management System was about to reply, but Shi Shanyan had already hung up.

He just loved hanging up on people.

"It doesn't sound very smart," Shi Shanyan said, dragging Yan Junxun out of the phone booth like that, his tone teasing. "Why don't you use that choked-up voice to beg me, and I'll see where we should go next."

"To the left," Yan Junxun grabbed Shi Shanyan with a reverse grip. "Run!"