Solving the case: Combining the police dog's olfactory genes at the beginning

"Li Ya knows nothing. She's just an innocent kindergarten teacher who wouldn't even step on an ant."

Luo Fei noticed a small scar on her right ring finger, a detail not mentioned in the forensic report.

"Since when?"

"three years ago."

Li Lin's gaze passed through Luo Fei and looked at a distant point.

"That day, Li Ya was walking home from get off work when she saw four men surrounding Zhang Weiwei in the alley. She wanted to help, but..."

Her voice suddenly choked, and her knuckles turned white from the force.

Luo Fei didn't urge him, but simply waited quietly.
The air vent emitted a slight hum, like some kind of ominous premonition.

"Zheng Hao just finished, so he didn't touch me."

Li Lin suddenly laughed, a laugh that made the hairs on the back of Luo Fei's neck stand on end.

"The other three... they didn't even notice that Zhang Weiwei and I had switched places."

The sound of rain hitting the window suddenly became louder.

Li Lin unbuttoned the top button of her shirt, revealing a hideous scar below her collarbone.

“Wang Qiang burned it with a cigarette butt. He said it would help him tell the two of us apart.”

Luo Fei opened the file folder, and there was a photo of Wang Qiang's body. His throat had been slit open with a sharp weapon, the wound so precise it looked like a surgical operation.

“I bought birth control pills at a 24-hour convenience store.”

Li Lin's voice returned to calm, as if she were telling someone else's story.

"The cashier looked at me like I was trash. When I got home, I took a two-hour shower, and Li Ya thought I was just tired from working overtime."

Luo Fei noticed the subtle difference between when she said "I" and "Li Ya," as if they were truly two independent individuals.

"Why kill them?"

"Because they will ruin Liya."

Li Lin's eyes suddenly sharpened.

"Jiang Xia loves her so much, and their child is only two years old. If he knew about this..."

The lights in the interrogation room flickered suddenly.

Li Lin took the opportunity to adjust her sitting posture, a movement that made Luo Fei realize that she was controlling the rhythm.

"Adding the wrong person on WeChat is a good method."

She continued, drawing invisible patterns on the table with her fingertips.

“Wang Qiang was the first to take the bait. I arranged to meet him at the abandoned factory, saying I wanted to try something exciting.”

Luo Fei opened the autopsy report.

"The time of death was between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., but Li Ya was at home that night."

"Jiang Xia helped me with my alibi."

Li Lin's fingernail left a shallow mark on the metal tabletop.

"He thought I was just going to teach those people a lesson, he didn't know I would..."

She made a throat-slitting gesture.

Luo Fei suddenly remembered that the body in the photos of the scene had been moved, and that wasn't done by Li Lin.

"I understood when I saw the news the next day."

Li Lin's voice lowered.

“Jiang Xia found the body and cleaned up the scene. He even put a GPS tracker in my coat after Li Ya fell asleep.”

Luo Fei recalled the sophisticated electronic device in the evidence bag.

Jiang Xia never mentioned this matter.

"Zhang Ming is the second one."

Li Lin suddenly changed the subject, her eyes becoming unfocused.

“I used Wang Qiang’s phone to ask him to go to the river. It was raining that night, and the bloodstains were quickly washed away.”

Luo Fei looked through the photos of the scene; the body was positioned in a kneeling position with its hands tied behind its back.

This sense of ritual is completely different from that in the Wang Qiang case.

"I originally wanted to take it slow."

Li Lin's fingernails dug into her palm.

"But your appearance has disrupted the plans."

Luo Fei raised an eyebrow.

"Because I found Zheng Hao?"

"Jiang Xia said you are a criminal investigation expert."

Li Lin finally looked Luo Fei in the eye.

“We had to speed things up. That day I wore shoes a size too big for Li Ya and left through the fire escape with dumbbells.”

Surveillance footage shows that "Li Ya" did indeed return to the residential area at 2:17 a.m., but her walking posture was somewhat strange.

Luo Fei now understood the reason.

"Zheng Hao is more cautious than I imagined."

Li Lin sneered.

“I had to use Zhang Weiwei’s name to ask him out. You know what’s the most ironic thing? The first thing he said to me when he saw me was, ‘You’ve become so beautiful.’”

The temperature in the interrogation room seemed to drop sharply.

Luo Fei noticed a red glow in Li Lin's eyes, a detail that the surveillance cameras couldn't capture.

“When Jiang Xia came to pick me up, there was blood in the glove box.”

She said it suddenly.

He didn't ask anything, he just handed me a wet wipe. There's no need for explanations between us.

Luo Fei recalled Jiang Xia's behavior during the interrogation; the man was eerily calm throughout, indicating that he had known all along.

"now what?"

Luo Fei closed the file.

Why did you turn yourself in?

For the first time, a crack appeared in Li Lin's defenses.

Her fingers trembled as she touched her abdomen, where there was a scar from a cesarean section.

"The child needs the mother."

Her voice broke.

“But it’s not a monster like me that Li Ya is his mother.”

Rainwater streamed down the glass.

Luo Fei noticed that the difference in tone was even more pronounced when Li Lin said "I" and "Li Ya".

Legally you are the same person.

Luo Fei said cautiously.

"But psychological assessment"

Lock me up.

Li Lin suddenly grabbed Luo Fei's hand; her skin was as cold as a corpse.

"Please. When the child grows up, Li Ya can tell him that his mother went to work abroad."

There was a sudden knock on the interrogation room door.

As Luo Fei stood up, Li Lin spoke softly.

"One last question, Officer Luo. What if it had been your sister that day?"

Luo Fei did not answer.

However, while organizing the files, he quietly removed the description of the scar on Li Lin's ring finger from the report.

In the corridor, an intern jogged over to hand over the latest report.

"Captain Luo, Jiang Xia just provided the complete surveillance footage from the night of the incident, proving that Li Ya was indeed..."

"I know."

Luo Fei interrupted him, looking out the window at the gradually stopping rain.

"I'll write the case closure report."

He glanced one last time at the woman in the interrogation room. At that moment, her expression suddenly became innocent and blank, as if she had become a different person.

Luo Fei wrote it down in his notebook.

"The determination of criminal responsibility for individuals with multiple personality disorder needs to be considered."

The office lights were blindingly white. Li Ya rubbed her temples and looked around blankly.

Her last memory was of putting her child to sleep at home. How did she end up at the police station the moment she opened her eyes?

"woke up?"

Luo Fei's voice came from the other side. He placed his hands on the table with his knuckles white.

"Officer Luo? How did I get here?"

Li Ya's voice was filled with confusion and unease, and she subconsciously gripped the armrest of the chair.

Luo Fei looked at the frail woman in front of him with a complicated expression.

He knew that what he was about to say would completely destroy her world, but he had no other choice.

"Li Ya, what I'm about to say is very important and also very cruel, but you must listen to it."

Luo Fei's voice was deep and firm.

"You have dissociative identity disorder."

Li Ya's expression froze, and she forced a stiff smile.

"What? Officer Luo, are you kidding me?"

Luo Fei didn't laugh; he pushed Li Ya's phone towards him.

“Unlock it.” Li Ya entered the password, puzzled, and the phone screen lit up. Luo Fei gestured for her to open the settings.

"Find the 'Dual Apps' feature and switch to another system."

"I never use this feature."

Li Ya muttered to herself, but still followed the instructions.

When the system switched, her fingers suddenly froze, and a completely unfamiliar interface appeared on the screen.

"This isn't my phone."

Her voice began to tremble.

Luo Fei calmly guided her.

"Open WeChat."

Li Ya opened WeChat, and an account with only five contacts appeared before her eyes.

Her breathing became rapid, and her fingers trembled as she tapped on the most recent voice message.

"Jiang Xia, you promised me..."

A familiar yet unfamiliar female voice came from the speaker. The voice was clearly Li Ya's own, but it carried a coldness and ruthlessness that she had never experienced before.

Li Ya dropped her phone as if she'd been electrocuted, her face turning deathly pale.

"This isn't me! I've never sent such a message!"

Luo Fei took another cell phone out of his briefcase.

"This is Chen Xuanran's phone. There's a video on it that I think you should take a look at."

The video started playing, and in the video, "Li Ya" was wearing a sexy black dress and bright red lipstick, talking to Chen Xuanran.

Her demeanor, tone of voice, and even the way she walks are completely different from the real Li Ya.

"Call me Li Lin."

The woman in the video said.

"I am Li Ya's older sister."

Li Ya's pupils suddenly contracted, and she stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

"This is impossible! My sister died ten years ago! This is a fabricated video!"

Luo Fei pressed down on her shoulders, forcing her to sit down.

"Calm down, keep watching."

In the video, Li Lin described in detail how she controlled Li Ya's body while she was "asleep," how she fell in love with Jiang Xia, and even became pregnant.

When she heard "Your son is actually my child with Jiang Xia," Li Ya let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!"

She waved her hands frantically, tears streaming down her face.

Luo Fei paused the video, but didn't turn it off.

He had to make Li Ya face this fact.

“Li Ya, the Li Lin inside you isn’t the real one; she’s a substitute personality created by your subconscious. You couldn’t accept the fact that your sister died, so…”

"You bullshit!"

Li Ya interrupted him hysterically.

"My sister is alive! She's right here!"

She frantically pounded her chest.

"I can feel her!"

Luo Fei watched her break down in silence until her cries turned into sobs, then he continued playing the last segment of the video.

In the video, Li Lin suddenly lost all her sharpness, and her eyes became gentle and sad.

"Xiaoya, if you see this, I'm so sorry. I only wanted to protect you silently, but I woke up unexpectedly and hurt you."

Her voice choked.

"Please forgive me for what happened in Jiangxia and with the children."

Li Ya's crying stopped abruptly. She stared intently at the screen, her lips trembling.

"Sister?"

The video ended, and only Li Ya's suppressed sobs remained in the office.

Luo Fei offered her a tissue, but she didn't take it. She just curled up in the chair, as if her soul had been taken away.

"She killed those people?"

After a long silence, Li Ya asked in a hoarse voice.

Luo Fei nodded.

"All four of them were involved in school violence that indirectly led to your sister's suicide."

Li Ya covered her face, tears seeping through her fingers.

"I know nothing. I don't even remember those nights."

Luo Fei sighed.

"That's the problem. According to the laws of Great Xia, it's difficult to use a split personality as a reason for exemption from liability."

He stood up, walked to the window, and dialed a number.

After the call connected, Luo Fei's voice became formal.

"Director Lei, this is Luo Fei. I have important information to report regarding the Jiangcheng serial murder case."

On the other end of the phone, Lei Wanting, the director of the National Security Department, exclaimed in surprise after listening to Luo Fei's brief report.

"It broke so quickly? You've got some skills, kid."

Luo Fei gave a wry smile.

“Director Lei, I want to help Li Ya. She is a true victim, completely unaware of what the other personality did. If she goes to jail for this, I won’t feel at ease accepting this award.”

"How do you want to help?"

Lei Wanting's voice turned serious.

Luo Fei.

"If the National Security Bureau gets involved, the conclusion of dissociative identity disorder on the case file will carry much more weight. The court may have renowned domestic experts re-evaluate the case, which would increase the likelihood of Li Ya's acquittal."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds.

"You know that the National Security Bureau doesn't easily get involved in local cases."

"I see."

Luo Fei looked out the window at the darkening sky.

"I am willing to leave the Jiangcheng Criminal Investigation Team within six months and join the National Security Bureau."

This condition was clearly unexpected for Lei Wanting, who chuckled softly.

Is it worth it for a complete stranger?

Luo Fei turned and glanced at Li Ya, who was still sobbing, his voice firm.

"worth."

"Okay, deal."

Lei Wanting said it simply.

"I will send someone to take over the case tomorrow."

As the black van belonging to the National Security Task Force silently glided into the compound of the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment, Meng Haonan was standing by the office window smoking.

He squinted as he watched the door of the car with the special license plate open, and three men in sharp suits stepped out.

"It came so quickly."

Meng Haonan stubbed out his cigarette and turned to Wan Qiang, who was sitting on the sofa.

"It seems that the higher-ups are taking this case very seriously."

Wan Qiang rubbed his temples; the dark circles under his eyes showed that he hadn't slept well for several days.

"The three teams spent half a month searching, but they didn't even have a decent lead. With the Chinese New Year just around the corner, I was relieved that Beijing Guoan was willing to take over."

There was a knock on the office door, and a police officer poked his head in.

"Captain Meng, the people from Guoan have arrived in the conference room and would like to see you there."

Inside the conference room, three men in suits were already seated.

The leader was a man in his early forties with a stern face. The nameplate on the table in front of him read "Lin Zhiming, Seventh Bureau of State Security".

"Captain Meng, Captain Wan."

Lin Zhiming stood up, his voice deep and powerful.

"This serial murder case has attracted the attention of the higher authorities, and from now on, our National Security Bureau will take over the case."

Meng Haonan nodded.

"We will fully cooperate."

"but."

Lin Zhiming then changed the subject.

"We need someone to join the task force. Luo Fei."

Wan Qiang's fingers paused slightly on the table. Meng Haonan's expression also froze for a moment.

"Luo Fei is a key member of our second team."

Meng Haonan said cautiously.

"If the task force needs technical support, we can provide it."

"Do not."

Lin Zhiming interrupted him.

"We need Luo Fei to serve as the head of the task force."

The air in the conference room seemed to freeze.

Meng Haonan and Wan Qiang exchanged a glance. Their worst fears had come true. (End of Chapter)