Breaking Through the Clouds

Although the leaders of the detention center were obviously very dissatisfied, it was not easy to turn against Deputy Yan's detachment, so they led the city bureau team to the infirmary - the one dedicated to administration and staff, which was on a different floor from Li Yuxin.

"The prisoner suffered serious head injuries. We have sent an emergency report and transferred her to the hospital..."

"Don't tell me this, I'm sure she is related to a kidnapping case that is happening now, I have to ask!"

"We have our rules and regulations! Especially the underage prisoners! It's really embarrassing for you to mess with our detention center like this!..."

……

There was a quiet but fierce dispute from outside, through the half-hidden wooden door, faintly passed into the infirmary filled with the smell of disinfectant.

Jiang Ting was expressionless, watching his hands being repeatedly disinfected and wrapped in layers of white gauze.

"Be careful not to get wet before healing, and change the dressing in time to prevent inflammation—and," the middle-aged female prison doctor hesitated before saying, "Pay attention to rest and supplement nutrition."

Jiang Ting only nodded.

Yan Xie pushed the door in with evil spirits all over his body: "How is it? Is it serious?"

The female doctor wanted to say something, but Jiang Ting interrupted before she could speak: "It's okay, the bones are not broken. —— Li Yuxin was sent to the hospital?"

"Fuck," Yan Yan cursed coldly, "that girl is avoiding interrogation, on purpose. I have already called Bureau Lu and asked Liu Department of the Provincial Party Committee to come forward to put pressure on her. Within two hours, I must arrest her again. Press back into the interrogation room!"

Yan Xie picked up Jiang Ting's left hand, grabbed the fingertips, put the gauze on the joint in front of his nose and smelled the medicine.

"Smell what?" Jiang Ting withdrew his hand.

Yan Yan said: "Oh, I just smell it casually. How did you sterilize it? The blood hasn't been washed off."

The female doctor immediately became unhappy: "I obviously..."

Jiang Ting did not let this inexplicable dispute continue.

"Li Yuxin's evasion of the 712 kidnapping case does not seem to be a purely psychological problem, but it does feel a bit self-defeating. Her head bumps are not a show, self-mutilation is real, and panic and fear are also real. It's a bit like a catastrophe. It means self-destruction."

Jiang Ting took a breath and said, "Her performance makes me a little suspicious."

"What do you suspect?" Yan Yan sat on the table with his long legs, "I am not surprised by the perverted things this kidnapper did. Maybe Li Yuxin was not just a 'notary', but was even coerced to participate in the execution process, so Why are you so afraid of the police?"

"If the kidnappers coerced Li Yuxin into participating in the killing of He Liang in order to prevent the possibility of calling the police, or printed her fingerprints and blood on the murder weapon, she would have a feeling of 'If He Liang's body is found, I will never know. ’, then this is very possible.” Jiang paused and said, “But it still can’t explain our paradox: why the kidnappers didn’t just kill her.”

"The kidnapper has some kind of emotional connection with Li Yuxin?" Yan Xie interjected, "I just called the Jiangyang County Police Station to ask to check whether the Li family has any relatives with criminal records."

Jiang Ting said: "It is certain that there is an emotional connection, but not necessarily relatives, otherwise the kidnapper should also be a relative of Buwei..."

"No," Yan Yan interrupted him somewhat complacently.

"...?"

"The case of Shen Xiaoqi and Buwei is already the second case. It is very common for serial criminals to deliberately imitate or even sublimate the details of the first crime in subsequent crimes—even if the kidnapper has no relationship with Buwei. Buwei may also get the same treatment as Li Yuxin."

Jiang Ting raised his head and glanced at Yan Xie.

"Why," Yan Yan spread his hands, "Are you the only one who understands criminal psychology analysis? I am also the person who has hosted more than a dozen serial murder cases."

Jiang Ting waved his hand to indicate that he didn't think so, and then said to the female doctor:

"I'm really sorry, please avoid it."

When he spoke, his tone was light, but there was always a sense of politeness, commandment and irreversibility.The female doctor was fascinated by what she heard, so she had no choice but to respond and went out awkwardly.

It wasn't until the two of them were left in the infirmary that Jiang Ting explained, "I didn't mean to doubt your ability. On the contrary, your speculation just now made sense. But as to why the kidnappers extorted 100 million cash in the He Liang case, In Shen Xiaoqi's case, the price was [-] million yuan, I have a suspicion now, which is exactly contrary to your speculation."

"Ok?"

Jiang Ting sat opposite Yan Yan, with his elbows spread out on the armrests on both sides, and his body gently leaned back against the back of the chair.This action made him raise his chin slightly, with a quiet and contemplative posture, and said for a long while:

"Maybe the ransom was not based on the family background of the boy, but on the basis of the girl."

"what?"

"..."

"Girl?" Yan Yan was really surprised: "Based on the girl's appearance?"

——Buwei's stunning face is indeed unforgettable.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ting did not answer immediately, but remained silent for a long time.

The surrounding area was unusually quiet. In the early morning in the infirmary, the pale walls and hospital beds, as well as the iron frames and medical equipment glowing blue, smeared large blocks of cool-toned light and shadow in the morning light.

"...I have been a policeman for more than ten years. Many cases have been solved by thinking, imagining or even substituting from the perspective of the criminal. But at the same time, as a law enforcement officer, I have always avoided understanding the criminal too much. role, so as not to cause deviations in one's own emotions and behaviors due to empathy."

Jiang Ting took a breath and shook his head lightly:

"It's just that this case seems to be inducing me to explore the inner world of the criminal. I have to think about what he wants to do, why he wants to do it, or what kind of inner expression he wants to achieve? This constant The groping was like being pulled into a whirlpool, which made me very uncomfortable."

What he said seemed to be some kind of confession, but at the same time, it gave Yan Mao a weird feeling that he was being hinted at something.

"...No way, Jiang Ting." After hesitating for a while, he finally said, "Investigators often overthink. This kind of crime is too advanced..."

Jiang Ting said, "No, you don't understand."

He didn't explain what Yan Yan didn't understand, he just looked at the fine dust in the air, his eyes were black and white, his eyes were cold, and suddenly said:

"Based on looks alone, they are all fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls. Buwei is unlikely to surpass Li Yuxin hundreds of times. Unless the two girls have other distinguishing characteristics besides looks, the chicken blood and eagle blood stained on the top The blood also seems to express this imagery."

Yan Yan frowned.

"But," Jiang Ting murmured, "what is the distinguishing quality?"

·

In the morning, mountains and forests.

There were birds chirping and intermittent cicadas singing from all directions. The first ray of morning light penetrated through the dense canopy and reflected on the delicate and beautiful eyelashes of a girl's meticulous painting, making the black feather tremble for a moment, and finally struggled to open it slowly. .

"...Shen Xiaoqi..."

Buwei's lips moved, and blood oozes from the corners of her chapped mouth due to lack of water, but she didn't care about the pain, and staggered up from under the tree: "Shen Xiaoqi!"

Not far away, Shen Xiaoqi was curled up in a haystack made of fallen leaves. His right arm was bloody and at a strange angle. It was obviously broken, and was only barely tied by two branches.

"Wake up, wake up..." Bu Wei shook him weakly, even though she was also extremely weak and weak.After a long time, Shen Xiaoqi woke up from the semi-consciousness, coughed a few times, and barely opened his eyes: "Buwei..."

There were countless grass leaves on the girl's hair, and several bloodstains were drawn on her fair face and hands by the branches, because she couldn't even shed tears due to lack of water.

"I dreamed that I was dead..." Shen Xiaoqi hoarsely said, his eyes stared blankly at the top of his head—even though in the depths of the mountain forest, the top of his head covered by countless towering ancient trees, the criss-crossing branches and aerial roots made it impossible for them to see Any ray of sky: "I dreamed that I killed you too, if it wasn't for saving me...if it wasn't for your desperate efforts to protect me..."

Buwei gasped: "You won't die, I won't let you die!"

The thin girl gritted her teeth and exerted all her strength. She almost used all her breastfeeding strength. She suddenly helped Shen Xiaoqi, who was much taller and heavier than herself, and walked forward staggeringly:

"We must be able to live, we must be able to go out, we must..."

Eight in the morning.

The boundless primeval forest, like a huge black hole between heaven and earth, quickly engulfed their ant-like backs.

·

Jiangyang County People's Hospital, the elevator in the inpatient department opened, and Yan Xie walked through the corridor first, took out his mobile phone as he walked forward, and waved to the director of the detention center with an ugly face outside the ward. Approvals.

Yan Yan pointed to Li Yuxin inside the glass window of the ward: "Can I go in?"

"Ha, it's still your city bureau that is domineering!" The director snorted heavily from his nasal cavity: "I have only experienced this small and remote place in the backcountry today. It turns out that this is called 'official high-ranking crushes people to death'!  … ..."

Yan Xie interrupted him unceremoniously: "Our entire detachment has been working continuously for [-] hours. If your prisoner doesn't confess, he will really die at [-]:[-] tonight." , Lifted his foot and entered the ward.

Jiang Ting was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, and followed behind Yan Mao in a low-key manner. Suddenly, the director called out: "What's the matter, didn't the approval note say that only the deputy detachment is allowed in? You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you." You are—”

Yan Xie pulled Jiang Ting's arm, and said to the director, "What are you, what are you, this is a criminal investigation expert we specially invited from the OUHK, and the appearance fee is [-] per hour, and I will delay his time." The money or you pay?"

"..." The director immediately faltered, turned away half of his face and muttered, "You Jianning Municipal Bureau has money, bah."

The wound on Li Yuxin's head had been treated, and it was covered with a thick layer of bandages, and the blood stains could be clearly seen on the edge, making her face extraordinarily pale.

Probably frightened by the madness, the police from the detention center handcuffed her both hands to the iron frame on the edge of the hospital bed, and took away all the sharp objects beside the bed, not even a ballpoint pen, only the The bare countertop complements her lifeless face, which makes people feel embarrassed.

Yan Yan motioned for the round nurse to go out, and only after the three of them were left in the room did she click the door shut: "Li Yuxin."

The girl's eyes were slack, staring straight at the air.

"Do you think that our police are as useless as those shown on TV, and we can only solve the case if we are fired?"

"..."

"Let me tell you a story." Yan Yan pulled a chair for Jiang Ting to sit down, and then sat down beside the adjacent empty hospital bed, with his thighs crossed, and said, "The real case may be related to yours. There are some similarities in the case. A few years ago, a rich businessman was kidnapped together with his driver. The kidnapper killed the useless driver, but in order to completely control the rich businessman, he was forced to use a murder weapon to cut off the driver's head, and then the rich businessman Let him go home to get the money. The kidnappers thought that the wealthy businessman who became a co-murderer would not have the courage to call the police, but to their surprise, the wealthy businessman surrendered immediately after he left. Guess how this case was finally judged? "

Li Yuxin's mouth was still tightly shut, but anyone with eyes could easily see that her expression had undergone a subtle and complex change that could be called fear.

"The rich businessman was not guilty, and he paid a sum of money to the victim's family out of humanitarianism. Do you know why he was sentenced like this?"

"..."

The girl's teeth were still clenched tightly, but Yan Mao didn't care.

"The police investigation requires a complete chain of evidence in addition to confessions. A murder case must have a complete chain of motives, physical evidence, documentary evidence, inspection, identification, etc., which are logically interlocking and cannot be overthrown. Accepted by the procuratorate. In the case of the murder of a wealthy businessman driver, the forensic doctor could clearly identify that there were many hesitant wounds on the neck of the corpse, which did not conform to the characteristics of ordinary murderers. It proves that the wealthy businessman was indeed coerced; The wound did not reflect life, indicating that the victim was already a corpse when he was beheaded. I was one of the criminal police who undertook the case at the time. We fought for several months to obtain evidence for this case, using various criminal investigation methods that you can't imagine , and finally rescued the innocent from the dock."

Yan Yan leaned forward, his hoarse voice from staying up late: "We can save him, and we can save you too. No matter what you have done, at the crime scene, as long as it happened, it will leave traces." evidence, and what our police have to do is to use these traces of evidence to fully restore every detail of the incident, so that the guilty will be punished and the wronged will be avenged."

He paused, and asked: "——Do you want to get revenge?"

After an unknown amount of time, Li Yuxin's eyeballs moved, like a stiff mechanical doll suddenly being injected with a little life, and she turned her head creakingly.

"... guilty people..." she said softly.

"Why do you want to steal something?" Yan Yan asked, staring into her blank eyes.

"I don't know," Li Yuxin said in a low voice, "I don't know, I can't control..."

"You can't control yourself because kleptomania is actually a will-control disorder triggered by intense mental stimulation and constant stress. It's treatable with medication, which means you shouldn't be in Prison, you should go to the hospital."

Yan Yan reached out to touch her hair, this action was very natural, not like a policeman treating a prisoner, but a bit like a brother facing a poor little girl, making Li Yuxin wince visibly.

"Tell us who he is," Yan Yan whispered, "Major meritorious service can get you out of prison immediately, and you can even apply for commendation for you. Believe me, the police will make the person who coerced you pay the price."

Time passed by every minute and every second, but no one made a sound. Li Yuxin seemed to have fallen asleep with her eyes open, and her thin body was immersed in a secret nightmare.

Yan Yan waited patiently, and glanced at Jiang Ting out of the corner of his eye. Unexpectedly, the latter caught his line of sight, and somehow avoided it lightly.

"?"

A suspicious cloud rose in Yan Mo's heart, but before she could see it clearly, she suddenly heard Li Yuxin's hazy voice: "...I don't need anything..."

Yan Xie and Jiang Ting glanced at her suddenly at the same time.

"I just want to be alone." Li Yuxin's face paler than paper was numb, her lips were slightly parted, and there was hardly any mouth shape when she spoke, and there was not even the slightest ups and downs in her voice: "As long as I stay alone... Leave me alone."

She slowly bent her feet, buried her head in her knees, and did not move.

As if this posture was enough for her to resist the whole world with her thin body.

Yan Mao was stunned, and didn't know how to react for a moment.

"Li Yuxin?" He frowned, "What are you thinking?"

The girl is like an egg—fragile, helpless, vainly and firmly clinging to those few inches of small space, maintaining a stupid but helpless silence.

Yan Yan's mouth was filled with the sweet smell of anger, and when he looked at his watch, at 09:30 in the morning, the blood all over his body rushed to the top of his head: "Girl, you should think about those two innocent children who were tied up..."

"I'll do it," he was suddenly interrupted by Jiang Ting.

When Yan Yan looked up, he saw Jiang Ting standing up.

"you……"

"Let's stay alone for a while, Yan Yan." Jiang Ting's voice was very soft, with a strangely calming power: "I'll talk to her."

At this time, there were only more than ten hours left before the execution time announced by the kidnappers. Yan Xie took a deep breath, his nose was full of hot air, barely kept calm and stood up, suddenly hooked Jiang Ting's shoulders and pulled him into his arms, hugging him hard hug:

"Be careful, call at any time if there is a situation, I'm outside."

Immediately without waiting for Jiang Ting to react, Yan Xie turned around and strode out of the ward.

"..." Jiang Ting involuntarily watched Yan Yan leave, and only turned to look at the hospital bed until his figure disappeared outside the door.

Li Yuxin seemed to have no sense of what was happening around her. She neither listened nor looked at it, and stubbornly resisted the outside world by closing her own senses and thoughts, erecting a transparent wall in front of everyone.

But Jiang Ting looked down at her sympathetically, and with just one sentence, the invisible barrier instantly disappeared:

"—What does it feel like to kill someone?"

Li Yuxin froze as if struck by thunder!

Jiang Ding used his fingertips to hold up her cold face inch by inch, so that the girl's violently trembling pupils had nothing to hide.

He asked softly word by word: "How did he convince you to kill He Liang?"