My First Love is a Genius Profiler - Chapter 6

Shen Anyan’s gaze constantly swept back and forth across the first crime scene, which was virtually indistinguishable from the records kept at the police station.

There were two sets of footprints at the scene: one belonging to the victim, Ma Ming, and the other, most likely, to the killer. Fortunately, Ma Ming’s house was messy, filled with garbage and dust, which allowed the faint, slender size 42 footprints to be clearly preserved.

At the time of the incident, the deceased had no intention of leaving his home, as the online game he was playing was still logged in on his computer when the police arrived.

Based on forensic doctor Xu Ziying’s deduction, Ma Ming had first opened the door for the perpetrator, was then stabbed to death from the front with a fruit knife or similar weapon, and subsequently dragged inside for desecration. The residual white fibers found at the scene were confirmed to belong to industrial gloves, but unfortunately, that type of glove is very common.

The second victim, Yang Bifang, also died at home, with the killer employing nearly identical methods. Only the third victim, Li Mei, died in a secluded alley, indicating the killer had at least stalked her. At the moment, Song Zhe remains the prime suspect.

Shen Anyan put on gloves and a mask and cautiously began to meticulously inspect the room. Ma Ming’s house, it must be said, was truly putrid. Even though the police had already cleared away the trash, Shen Anyan could still feel a sensory assault on her nasal cavity. But she endured it for the sake of the investigation; after all, facing any crime scene with composure is a fundamental quality of a police officer.

She continuously felt around, and suddenly, a white router in the corner caught her attention. As she slowly approached, she noticed the China Unicom logo printed on it and several impact scuff marks on its sides.

“Bingyu, did any of you move this router?” Shen Anyan asked quietly.

“No, why? Is there something wrong with this router?” Hu Bingyu looked at Shen Anyan, and seeing the woman’s solemn expression, her own heart involuntarily tensed up.

“This router has no dust on it; it seems to have been recently cleaned, and it has many scuff marks. The scene environment is chaotic, so if the router hadn’t been touched, it should logically be covered in a thin layer of dust. But it’s not. Ma Ming is an internet addict who basically never cleans his room. Logically, he shouldn’t be frequently moving or cleaning the router.”

“You mean the killer moved the router? That can’t be, can it?” Hu Bingyu exclaimed, bewildered as to why a killer would be interested in a router.

“No, I didn’t say the killer moved it. According to the data, when you arrived, the game was still logged in after the computer screen was lit up, indicating there was no interruption in the internet connection.” Shen Anyan’s gaze grew deeper as she closely examined the scuff marks. “These marks should have been there for some time, as the color is somewhat gray. I’m thinking the deceased might have been frequently throwing the router because he felt the home network was poor.”

“That’s possible. According to the victim’s neighbors, Ma Ming was volatile. When he lost a game, he would furiously smash his keyboard, mouse, and even blame the network provider for bad service. A technician from Unicom came to service it multiple times a month ago, but the official test results were all normal. According to data from Meituan, this man also filed multiple complaints against delivery drivers in a month, and many delivery drivers had conflicts with him. Someone with his temper would have offended a lot of people…”

Suddenly, Hu Bingyu seemed to remember something and lightly tapped her own forehead. “Anyan, there’s an important clue that we all overlooked in our initial investigation. Besides Song Zhe being a common link between the three, there is actually another intersection point.”

“What is it?” Shen Anyan asked, puzzled.

“All three of them were China Unicom users. When Chen Xi first cross-referenced the data, he found that Ma Ming and Yang Bifang frequently called the service provider to complain. We contacted China Unicom about this. They said both users were on the ‘Red List’—one frequently complained about poor broadband, and the other complained about issues with mobile data. They provided us with the contact information for the employees who interacted with the deceased. However, those network engineers all had alibis when the crimes occurred, so that line of inquiry was dismissed. But the third victim, Li Mei, was also a Unicom user, and she also had poor signal quality. I wonder if there’s a connection…”

“Were the customer service representatives who handled the complaints excluded?” Shen Anyan asked softly.

“Of course, we checked them too. They were all female customer service reps, and there was nothing suspicious about their whereabouts. This case is really strange.”

Just as Hu Bingyu was lost in thought, her phone suddenly rang. It was Wang Li informing them to quickly rendezvous, as they had spotted Song Zhe at a nearby convenience store.

Shen Anyan and Hu Bingyu exchanged a look and quickly rushed out of Ma Ming’s room. The two hurried downstairs toward the convenience store, and soon they saw Wang Li waiting beside a police car. Upon seeing them, he immediately waved them over.

“Song Zhe is inside the convenience store. We have surrounded the entire area,” Wang Li whispered.

Shen Anyan narrowed her eyes, her gaze firmly locked on the man buying cigarettes. Three minutes later, she quietly stated, “It’s not him.”

Wang Li frowned upon hearing this and lowered his voice, asking, “Anyan, how can you be so certain?”

Shen Anyan didn’t answer immediately but continued to observe Song Zhe’s every move. The scruffy middle-aged man finished buying his cigarettes, walked out of the store unhurriedly, and calmly lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag.

“Look at his gait,” Shen Anyan said softly. “Although Song Zhe is wearing sneakers, you can tell from the way he walks that he has a slight limp uneven legs, whereas the killer’s footprints at the scene were perfectly level. Also, judging by the bend and expansion of the toe area of his shoe as he walks, his foot shape should be wide, while the footprints we found at the crime scene were slender.”

Wang Li nodded in sudden realization, filled with involuntary admiration. He hadn’t expected Shen Anyan to reach such a conclusion based on such a brief observation. It seemed their new colleague possessed powers of observation no less keen than the former brilliant profiler, Fang Qin.

“What should we do now?” Yang Fei asked. “Should we still bring him back for questioning?”

Wang Li pondered for a moment and said, “Bring him back. Even if he’s not the killer, as a common acquaintance of all three victims, he might know some information that we don’t.”

Yang Fei nodded and immediately led a few officers forward to restrain Song Zhe. Song Zhe clearly hadn’t anticipated this, and with a look of panic, he was escorted into the police car.

In the evening, after returning to the police station, Shen Anyan and Hu Bingyu immediately began interrogating Song Zhe.

“I honestly don’t know why they were killed!” Song Zhe shouted, distraught. “Ma Ming and that elderly woman merely visited our clinic for registration. I had no interaction with them whatsoever! Everyone avoided Ma Ming; he had a foul temper and constantly smelled of instant noodles and trash. It has nothing to do with me! I’m not the killer, Officer!”

“Then why were you following Li Mei?” Hu Bingyu demanded sternly.

“Li Mei… I was trying to find her recently because she borrowed 5,000 yuan from me. That woman has been avoiding me and refusing to pay me back! My wife found out about my connection with her and has been making a fuss, insisting that I get that 5,000 back, or she won’t let me into the house!”

“Why did you take a leave of absence?”

“Officer, taking a leave of absence isn’t against the law, is it? I just haven’t been sleeping well lately, constantly thinking about how to get the money back from Li Mei!”

After three hours of intensive questioning, they failed to obtain any valuable information from Song Zhe.

Hu Bingyu scrutinized Song Zhe for a moment, then reluctantly turned her attention to Shen Anyan, who was sitting with her head down, silent, her thoughts completely inscrutable.

“What’s wrong, Anyan?”

“Nothing, I’m just a little sleepy…” Shen Anyan couldn’t help but yawn.

Hu Bingyu looked at her watch. It was only eight in the evening. Sleepy so early?

Before she could voice her doubts, Shen Anyan rubbed her temples, stood up, and told her wearily, “He’s not the person I profiled. Continuing to question him won’t be very meaningful.”

“Alright then, I’ll take you home now. We don’t have any new leads for the time being anyway.”

So, after explaining the situation to Wang Li, the two headed to the parking lot behind the Criminal Investigation Building. Hu Bingyu took the driver’s seat and expertly started the car. Soon, they left the building and drove onto the main road.

“Hey, Profiler Shen, are you in a rush to get to my place?” While waiting at a traffic light, Hu Bingyu couldn’t resist teasing the drowsy person in the rearview mirror.

“How could that be?!” Shen Anyan retorted, blushing. She truly was tired, as her jet lag hadn’t fully adjusted yet.

Hu Bingyu chuckled and didn’t continue to tease Shen Anyan.

The night grew deeper, and the streetlights flickered on the car window, illuminating their silent profiles. Shen Anyan leaned against the window, her gaze hazy as she watched the rapidly passing streetscape, her thoughts drifting far away.

The details of the case constantly flashed through her mind, like fragmented images. She tried to piece them together but always felt a crucial link was missing. That router, those complaint calls, and the Unicom company… there should be some connection between these clues, but at the moment, she couldn’t unravel the thread.

“We’re here at your place,” Hu Bingyu suddenly said, stopping the car and opening the door for her. “You don’t have much luggage, right? Hurry up and put it in the car!”

Shen Anyan took out her keys and opened the door to her house. She quickly tidied up the room. As she dragged her suitcase, her gaze inadvertently swept over that terrifying bedroom, and the familiar feeling of dread once again crept into her heart, accompanied by a belated sense of guilt.

She knew very well that Shen Simiao’s current state was greatly related to their dysfunctional upbringing. She imagined that if she had been the one constantly enduring the beatings, she might have been the one to become twisted. The warm sunshine of her memory always smiled at her despite being covered in injuries. Yet, the moment she realized her sister had “broken,” all she felt was fear…

“Profiler Shen, are you ready? Why are you taking so long?” Hu Bingyu shouted into the house, impatiently pacing by the car.

Hearing her voice, Shen Anyan immediately closed the bedroom door. As soon as she locked it, Hu Bingyu eagerly placed her suitcase in the trunk.

The night deepened, and the streetlights cast dappled shadows on the car windows. Hu Bingyu focused on driving, occasionally glancing at Shen Anyan in the rearview mirror. She noticed that Shen Anyan’s eyes seemed unfocused; it didn’t look like sleepiness, but rather deep contemplation.

“Anyan, are you thinking about the case?” Hu Bingyu asked softly.

“No, I’m just wondering… if there’s any possibility of my sister ever becoming a normal person again.”

“How could that be? What are you thinking? Your sister has long since gone mad. The law won’t allow her to escape punishment.”

The night wind blew in through the half-open car window, lightly touching Shen Anyan’s cheek. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm her thoughts.

After what felt like a long time, the car stopped. Hu Bingyu gently nudged Shen Anyan, “We’re here. Wake up.”

Shen Anyan squinted her eyes open and found the car parked outside the entrance to a residential complex. She rubbed her slightly aching eyes and followed Hu Bingyu out of the car.

In the darkness, the streetlights below cast a soft glow. Hu Bingyu helped her pull her suitcase, and the two walked together toward the new home they would soon share.