Starting with dissecting ghost stories

5:30 PM, Fushun Restaurant, Room 666.

Although the name is a restaurant, it mainly serves morning and afternoon tea, so it can be considered a teahouse.

Shen Xing stood at the door of the private room. The waiter who was leading the way knocked on the door for him, opened it, and led him inside.

As soon as he entered, Shen Xing made eye contact with someone inside. The glass turntable on the dining table in front of him was already full of tea and snacks.

The middle-aged man with a full head of gray-black hair in the main seat smiled, stood up, pulled out a chair, and looked at Shen Xing, saying, "Come, Xing, right? Sit down."

"Hello." Shen Xing nodded and sat down in the chair that the other person had pulled out.

The door to the private room closed, and Wen Yan sat down with a smile, saying, "I've heard for a long time that the chicken feet and shrimp dumplings here are delicious, even more authentic than those in the provincial capital. I've been wanting to try them for ages... Eat whatever you like, don't be shy, it's Lao Lu's treat."

Instead of getting down to business, Wen Yan started chatting casually. Even though Shen Xing didn't say anything, he continued eating and talking on his own. He started by talking about how he met Lu Lingyun, then moved on to some interesting experiences while pursuing his doctorate abroad. Finally, he smoothly transitioned the topic to criminal psychology and some unusual cases from abroad that Shen Xing might be interested in.

Shen Xing didn't eat much and seemed uninterested throughout, but when Wen Yan talked about some strange cases, he couldn't help but ask for some details.

During this casual conversation, Shen Xing was secretly amazed by Wen Yan's level of "casual conversation".

Wen Yan started by talking about other topics, such as how she met Lu Lingyun and how she became an external expert to help solve several cases. When she found that Shen Xing was not interested, she immediately changed the subject.

Shen Xing had to admit that the serial murder cases abroad that Wen Yan mentioned were indeed very intriguing. Even Shen Xing couldn't help but want to know more about them, because Wen Yan seemed to know a lot of inside information beyond what was reported.

Thus, the pace of the entire conversation was almost entirely under Wen Yan's control.

Shen Xing himself did not intend to seize the initiative in the conversation; he simply followed the other party's topics, occasionally asking questions, pretending that his enthusiasm for the conversation had been aroused—although it had indeed been aroused.

Throughout the entire conversation, Wen Yan did not mention what happened yesterday or what happened to Wang Xinran, which made Shen Xing somewhat suspicious.

What exactly is he here for? Just to have a chat?

Meanwhile, Wen Yan was also trying to gauge Shen Xing's emotions and state of mind through their conversation.

When this young man first came in, he could clearly sense that the other person was in a negative state, and both his complexion and appearance were very different from the ID photo he had taken when he first joined the company.

Anyone would come to this conclusion: "Young people troubled by love".

If they just keep talking like this, they won't be able to resolve the other person's inner conflict. Wen Yan believes that this is not an important matter at all. Even if he doesn't interfere, the young man in front of him will adjust on his own in a few weeks at the fastest and a few months at the slowest.

The other person is not the kind of person who would commit suicide over a relationship. You can tell from his interest in other strange cases that someone who has been a forensic doctor for so many years would not have such a weak psychological resilience.

Wen Yan wanted it to end there.

However, Lu Lingyun specifically called to instruct him to persuade Shen Xing to join the Ninth Detachment as much as possible. Even if he didn't want to continue to deal with Shen Xing's love life, Wen Yan had to try to fulfill his old friend's request.

Perfect timing! There's a case I have on hand that Shen Xing should be interested in.

Since the young man in front of us has no intention of joining the Ninth Division, let's start with the cases that interest him.

"Compared to cases abroad, a recent case in this city is actually quite interesting." Wen Yan smiled, took out a document, and handed it to Shen Xing.

Shen Xing took the documents and looked at them, but there was no surprise on his face.

"You already know this?" Wen Yan asked.

"Yes, someone from the Municipal Bureau asked me about it." Shen Xing nodded slightly, answering truthfully, but concealing who had asked him.

"Oh? Do you have any judgment?" Wen Yan became somewhat interested. He knew how Old Lu had praised the young man in front of him, but in his opinion, this young man could only be considered talented, and there was still a long way to go before he became a genius.

"I think this is just a copycat crime," Shen Xing shook his head and said. "It's not something strange. The wounds don't match up, and the scene is just a copy of a news report."

A very...mediocre answer.

Even city police officers, after reviewing the scene and autopsy report, would generally arrive at the same conclusion; they couldn't see anything more. What Wen Yan didn't know was that the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, that mocking smirk, had already caught Shen Xing's attention. "I have a suggestion," Wen Yan shifted his posture, facing Shen Xing directly, and said with a smile, "I know you don't want to join the Ninth Squad, but if you're interested in these cases, you can join the external investigation team like I did, as an external investigator." "As an external expert for the Ninth Squad, you'll basically enjoy most of the Ninth Squad's privileges, and you can participate in any murder investigation you want to be involved in—as long as you think it might be related to the supernatural."

"So? Interested?"

Wen Yan was basically certain that the other party would not reject the proposal.

Not every external expert receives such treatment. This was the price Lu Lingyun offered Shen Xing, hoping to first win Shen Xing over to the periphery of the Ninth Detachment.

As for whether Shen Xing is willing to join the Ninth Detachment, that depends on Shen Xing's own thoughts.

"Hands...can I go back and think about it?" Shen Xing hesitated, which was in line with his indecisive persona. "Of course, no problem. It's okay if you don't join. If you're interested in this case, we can go check out the site together another day," Wen Yan said with a chuckle, ending the conversation.

After chatting for a while, the two asked the waiter to pack up the food before it got completely cold, and then Shen Xing took it with him as they left.

After watching Shen Xing's figure disappear, Wen Yan's smile vanished.

Shen Xing is a talented person and values ​​relationships, so it's no wonder that Lu Lingyun truly treats him as a disciple or even a son.

It's a pity he's just an ordinary, good person. Wen Yan had hoped to see some kind of desire to take revenge on society in him... but he didn't. His assessment was exactly as he had when he reviewed the information.

Adding such mediocre talent to the external hiring team will not have any impact on me.

There is a fundamental difference between talent and genius... and he himself had already found the perpetrator who copied the crime before he came to see Shen Xing. Moreover, he was able to deduce that the possibility of Li Ya committing suicide was very low.

However, these mediocre people will not notice this point. They will only think that it is normal for a desperate person to do whatever he wants, and that his mind is disordered and different from ordinary people.

But in reality, the emotions of criminals are always traceable and will be left on every trace at the scene.

Wen Yan went downstairs, paid the bill, and took a pleasant stroll in the cool evening breeze. When he passed a phone booth, he stopped, went inside, and closed the door.

He inserted an anonymous card and took out a slip of paper with a phone number written on it.

Wen Yan dialed the number, and after a long busy signal, the call was finally answered.

He took out a handkerchief and wrapped it around the receiver.

"A wood saw cannot create the same wound. In the case of the massacre, Li Ya did not use a saw," Wen Yan said directly.

"Who are you?" a frantic voice came through the receiver. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Wen Yan revealed a faint smile.

If the other party didn't hang up immediately, then your first sentence was successful.

"You're very clever. You were able to recreate the scene so well just from the news report. Apart from a few minor flaws, it's perfect." Wen Yan didn't hold back in praising the person opposite him.

There was no sound coming from the receiver, and I didn't even know if the other person was still listening.

"You're a genius. You can't stand that criminals like Li Ya can live freely in this world, constantly letting them commit crimes. It's truly a sign of police incompetence," Wen Yan said with a smile. "People who think like this are lonely. I understand you." "Besides, it's not just us who think this way. Do you know how Li Ya died? Suicide?"

"No. He was murdered. That person, like you, discovered Li Ya's heinous acts and was furious about it... But he was calmer than you. He staged the scene, killed Li Ya, and fooled all the police. He was a genius, a true genius. There wasn't even any evidence of his presence at the scene."

"The person you should really learn from is him."

Sure enough, after Wen Yan finished speaking, a voice finally came through the receiver.

"Li Ya... was he murdered? By whom?"

"A genius like you is impossible, because he has already fooled everyone," Wen Yan said with a smile.

"But I... I didn't do a good job. If this person really exists, wouldn't I be just like the clown?! Everything I did was fake!" The person on the other end of the phone became agitated. He seemed unable to bear the fact that all his efforts had only resulted in a "fake." "No, no, no, you did nothing wrong. Your punishment was successful. You ended the criminal's life in the way a criminal would... But now, you need to learn from your true idol, the real hero."

"Then... what should I do?"

Hearing the question coming from the receiver, Wen Yan made no attempt to hide the smirk on his face. He spoke up and gave a name and the person's address.

"This is a rapist who has been to prison once and continued to commit crimes after his release. There are no reports to the police because the victims are under death threats from him... Let's pay tribute to this hero and let him commit suicide."

"You can do it, because you are a genius, you are a hero, even if you are eventually caught, there will be flowers and applause outside the prison... I believe in you."

After Wen Yan finished speaking, the smile on his face gradually turned cold, and he hung up the phone directly.

He didn't really believe there was a real culprit in the family annihilation case; he simply used sweet talk and his own conjectures to paint a picture of a non-existent hero that copycats could aspire to.

The family annihilation case likely didn't involve a second person; it was merely a case of mental derangement caused by some strange entity. If a second person truly existed, it would prove that they were far more capable than the perpetrator...

This is unacceptable to Wen Yan.

The scum of society should fight alongside other scum in the dark sewers, tearing each other apart like wild beasts, and then die together in the gutter.

A prison sentence handed down by a just law cannot reform some scoundrels. Humans can accept arrest and judicial judgment, but animals cannot.

At this point, a force is needed to replace procedural justice in the judiciary, allowing chaos to clash with chaos, and rats to strangle each other, until these evils are completely eradicated.

Wen Yan wiped away his fingerprints, used his shoulder to push open the door of the phone booth, and stepped into the crowded throng.

And I am that sole force.