American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others.

Chapter 221 Solve the case as soon as possible
Lisa's body trembled, and tears welled up again. She held her head, her voice hoarse and painful, "I know... I know, but I can't help it. The money I owe is my fault, and I have to take responsibility. I can't let you bear this for me."

"Taking responsibility doesn't mean destroying yourself." Lin En spoke in a low but powerful voice. "You made a mistake, but you still have a chance to correct it. Those people won't bother you anymore, but if you continue to choose the same path, the consequences will only get worse."

Lisa raised her head and looked at Lin En, her eyes full of contradiction and pain. "What else can I do? I even lost my previous job. I have nothing. I feel like a useless person. I am good for nothing."

"You're not useless." Kate grabbed her hand, her tone firm and almost commanding. "You are Lisa James, my friend, a talented designer. You just took the wrong path, but you can turn back. You have to stand up again and find yourself again."

"Find myself again..." Lisa muttered again, her eyes confused, "But where do I start?"

Lynn stood aside, her eyes calm, but her voice was filled with rare warmth. "Start by finding a proper job. Even if it's just a little bit of effort, as long as you're willing to start, there will always be a way. Kate will help you, and I will help you too."

Lisa looked at Lynn, her eyes filled with confusion and hesitation. "Why are you doing this? I've already made a mess of myself, why are you still willing to help me?"

"Because you're my friend." Kate's voice was thick with emotion, her eyes filling with tears but she refused to let them fall. "I won't watch you destroy yourself. I may not have noticed your problem sooner, but now, I will never let you face this alone again."

Lisa's tears finally burst out, and she threw herself into Kate's arms, sobbing like a helpless child, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I really don't know what to do..."

Kate patted her back gently, her tone softening, "It's okay, Lisa. We'll get through this together. You're not alone."

Lin En watched this scene, his eyes gradually softening. He didn't say much, but just walked to the window silently and looked at the lights in the distance. He knew that Lisa still had a long way to go, but at least she had taken the first step.

After a long while, Lisa finally calmed down. She wiped the tears from her face and looked at Lynn and Kate with a long-lost determination, "I'll try. I don't know if I can succeed, but I will try."

Kate smiled, her eyes twinkling. "That's all. You just have to get started, and we'll figure out the rest together."

Lynn nodded. "This is a new beginning, Lisa. But you have to remember, change doesn't happen overnight. Every step counts."

Lisa took a deep breath and nodded, "Thank you...really, thank you."

Lynn and Kate looked at each other and saw a hint of relief in each other's eyes.

a few days later.

The plane slowly glided onto the tarmac. Lynn leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath, and tried to calm the fatigue of the journey. Kate sat next to him, flipping through a travel magazine, her eyes unfocused. Outside, the Manhattan skyline was blurred in the cabin window, like a restless painting.

"Do you think our trip was worth it?" Kate asked with a smile, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Of course, if you don't count your shopping spree." Lynn raised an eyebrow and curled the corners of his mouth.

Kate snorted in mock disdain: "You don't understand fashion investing at all."

The two packed their carry-on luggage and followed the crowd off the plane. As they exited the terminal, a gust of cold wind blew in their faces, instantly sobering them up. Lin En rummaged through his coat pocket and, as usual, pulled out his phone, ready to call a taxi. Just then, the screen lit up—a missed call and several text messages.

"Work again?" Kate noticed the change in Lynn's expression.

Lynn nodded and opened the message, his brow furrowing slightly. The sender was his partner, Carter. The message was short but meaningful: "Serial murder, five deaths, horrifying details. Location: Downtown Manhattan. Your immediate presence is required."

Kate saw the clue and said in a cheerful but worried tone: "It seems that our vacation really is over."

"Sorry." Lynn said softly, but dialed Carter's number without hesitation.

"You finally answered!" Carter's voice was filled with anxiety. "In these five cases, the victims are unrelated, but the methods used are extremely cruel. The murderer's signature is left at each crime scene—a red rose painted on the wall."

Lin En frowned: "Did the murderer leave any traces?"

"We're still investigating, but there's a survivor who claims to have seen the killer's face." Carter paused. "She's in the hospital, but her condition is very unstable."

"Send me the location of the crime." After hanging up the phone, Lynn turned to Kate and said in a serious tone, "I have to go to the scene and may be back very late."

Kate raised her eyebrows, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes. "You don't expect me to stay home obediently, do you? Serial murders, this is the biggest news in my career!"

Lin En knew that he couldn't persuade her, so he could only sigh and say, "Okay, but you have to promise not to interfere with the investigation."

Kate raised her eyebrows, neither agreeing nor refusing, but quickly stopped a taxi: "Let's go, my detective."

As night fell, Manhattan's neon lights adorned the streets with a vibrant riot of color. The taxi sped along, quickly stopping just outside the cordon. Police cars flashed their glaring lights, and several officers stood guard to maintain order. Lynn and Kate walked straight through the crowd toward Carter.

"Finally," Carter stepped forward and handed Lynn a document with a weary look on his face. "This is the preliminary report on the case. The victims were five citizens with no apparent connection, including a lawyer, a housewife, a bartender, a homeless person, and a college student. Each was killed individually, but the methods were identical—fatal knife wounds, with the carotid artery cut. Even stranger, each victim's body was placed in what appeared to be a carefully choreographed posture."

Lin En flipped through the report and asked in a deep voice, "Where is the witness? How is she doing now?"

"She's still in the hospital. She's suffered severe psychological trauma and can hardly speak. The doctor said her nerves are on the verge of collapse." Carter rubbed his brow.

"Where's the surveillance footage from the crime scene?" Lynn asked.

"Everything has been destroyed. There's no video record." Carter laughed bitterly. "We don't even know how the murderer managed to avoid the patrol team."

Lynn paused for a moment, then looked up at Kate. "You'd better stay here and stay away from the crime scene." Kate nodded, then quickly took out her recorder and notebook and walked straight towards a young police officer standing outside, apparently already beginning her "interview." Lynn shook his head helplessly and led Carter into the cordon.

The crime scene was located on the top floor of an abandoned apartment building. The air was filled with a sickening smell of decay and blood. On the wall, a bright red rose pattern appeared eerily vivid in the dim light. The deceased's body was placed in a strange position—arms crossed, legs straight—as if performing an absurd ritual.

Lin En squatted down and carefully observed the wound on the body. He noticed that the knife marks were clean and neat, showing a high level of skill. He touched the ground around the body with his gloves and found a tiny shoe print.

"The shoe size is not big, the murderer might be a woman." Lin En analyzed in a low voice.

"Female?" Carter was visibly surprised. "Are you sure?"

Lin En nodded. "Precise knife skills and agile movements usually indicate professional training. Also, the size and depth of the shoe prints are not consistent with those of an adult male."

At this moment, a technician came over and handed Lin En a sampling result: "We found a small amount of blood near the body, but preliminary analysis shows that it does not belong to the victim."

"Maybe the murderer was injured." Lin En stood up. "Let the forensic doctor confirm the DNA as soon as possible and see if there is any matching record."

Carter nodded and was about to leave when Lynn's phone rang again. This time, the caller was a doctor from the hospital.

"Inspector, there's something you must know." The doctor's tone was rapid and low. "The survivor just woke up, but her description is very bizarre... She insists that the murderer's eyes were red, and she saw the murderer wearing a coat embroidered with roses."

"Red eyes?" Lynn frowned. "Did she mention any other details?"

"She also said that the murderer had a strange smile on his face when he was killing people, as if... as if he was enjoying it all."

After hanging up the phone, Lynn fell into a brief moment of contemplation, then turned to Carter and said, "We have to go to the hospital, immediately."

Seeing Lynn and Carter hurried away, Kate quickly put away her notebook and chased after them: "Any more clues?"

"A witness just woke up and might be able to provide us with a breakthrough." Lynn quickened his pace as he answered.

The atmosphere in the car was unusually heavy. Kate secretly observed Lin En's expression and noticed that the veins on his forehead were throbbing slightly. This was Lin En's unique expression when he was thinking, usually meaning that he had some guesses, but these guesses were not easy.

In the hospital ward, the witness huddled in a corner, her hands clenched tightly, her body trembling. When she looked up and saw Lynn, a glimmer of hope flashed across her eyes, but was quickly replaced by fear.

"Don't be afraid, we're here to help you." Lin En tried to keep her voice calm. "Can you tell me what the murderer looks like?"

The woman swallowed, her voice trembling. "Her...her eyes were as red as blood. Her coat was covered in roses...and she was smiling horribly, as if...as if she was enjoying it all."

Kate listened carefully, countless questions swirling in her mind. Red eyes? Rose patterns? These descriptions were too bizarre, almost unreal. However, Lin En's expression grew even more serious.

He stood up and whispered to Carter, "This isn't an ordinary serial murder case. The killer's behavior and motives reveal a sense of ritual."

"You mean..." Carter hesitated, "this might be some kind of faith killing?"

"We can't be sure yet," Lynn said solemnly, "but we need to find out the identity of the murderer as soon as possible. Time is running out."

Kate stood on the street corner outside the crime scene, looking at the busy figures inside the cordon, and took a deep breath of cold air. She knew that she could not get first-hand investigative information like Lin En, but she could use the reporter's method to dig out clues hidden in the case.

Kate pulled out the small notebook and recorder she carried with her and quickly walked over to a middle-aged man standing on the street smoking. His coat was open, his fingers trembling slightly, and it looked like he had been standing in the cold wind for a long time.

"Sir, could you spare me a few minutes?" Kate asked politely, her voice soft but firm. "I'm a reporter from the Manhattan News. I'd like to hear your opinion on this case."

The man was stunned and hesitated for a moment before he whispered, "I don't know what I can tell you...but I did hear some strange noises that night."

Kate immediately turned on the recorder and nodded to encourage him to continue: "Can you describe it in detail?"

The man took a drag on his cigarette, his gaze drifting off into the distance. "It was around midnight, and I had just gotten back from get off work at the bar. As I was walking down this street, I suddenly heard a woman screaming from upstairs. The sound was sharp and short, as if it had been strangled. I was terrified, but I didn't dare get close. I just watched from a distance... I saw a blurry shadow, it looked like a woman, but she moved incredibly quickly and disappeared in the blink of an eye."

"Are you sure it's a woman?" Kate asked, trying to grasp something from it.

"It's not very clear, but her outline doesn't look like a man's." The man took a deep drag on his cigarette and stubbed it out. "Also, the coat she's wearing is faintly reflecting some light... It looks like it has embroidered patterns on it."

Kate's heart tightened, and the image of the "rose coat" Lynn had mentioned surfaced before her eyes. She suppressed her excitement and continued, "Do you remember any other details? Like her height, build, or... her face?"

The man shook his head: "I can't see clearly, but when she walked, her back was thin and tall, and her movements were very agile."

Kate thanked him earnestly, quickly jotted down the information, and headed to another small convenience store nearby. The owner, a woman in her sixties, was behind the counter, fiddling with the cash register. Kate smiled as she handed over her press pass and said, "Hello, I'm investigating a case nearby. Have you heard about what happened that night?"

The old lady frowned and gave her a wary look: "The police have already asked, and I have nothing to say."

Kate nodded in understanding, but didn't give up: "I just hope to record the voice of the community, tell everyone what happened here, and maybe help solve the case sooner."

These words seemed to touch the old lady. She hesitated for a moment and whispered, "That night, I was resting upstairs. Around one in the morning, I heard hurried footsteps outside the door, as if someone was running. I looked out the window and saw only a dark shadow flash by. Its movements were too fast to be an ordinary person."

(End of this chapter)