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墨書 Inktalez
Director Wang informed me that this passageway would cut through a small mountain, allowing us to reach the other side in about half an hour. However, if we took the longer route, it could take an entire afternoon. It appeared to be a naturally formed tunnel, which Chen Zhen and Fangfang had modified. The police were stationed at the entrance of the passageway, indicating that the Killer was still somewhere in these mountains and had not escaped.
The officers from the Police Department and the armed police were divided into two teams. The police entered directly through the passageway to conduct their search, while the armed police took a detour around the mountain to look for traces of the Killer. I wasn't clear on what the Killer looked like; all I knew was that she was a woman, so I instructed the armed police to detain any woman they encountered. However, a vague thought lingered in my mind.
I assigned Mary a task to help me verify whether my suspicion was correct. The search for criminals is often the most challenging phase of an investigation, especially when they have fled into deep mountains. Some criminals, knowing there is no way out, choose to end their lives in isolation, leaving their bodies to be discovered many years later.
Juan Juan had been poring over the materials beside me for over an hour now. Her expression fluctuated between concern and contemplation; she furrowed her brow at times and let out a light sigh at others. I couldn't quite grasp what she was thinking, but one thing was clear: the academic value of this material was undoubtedly significant.
Eventually, Juan Juan sighed and said, "If this document could be used for its intended purpose, it could truly help many people with psychological disorders. For years, psychological issues have proven more difficult to treat than physical ones. Who would have thought that this research was actually used for murder?"
I sighed as well and continued from Juan Juan's lead: "As the old saying goes, it's easy to paint a dragon or tiger but hard to depict its bones; you can know a person's face but not their heart. Many things ultimately betray their inventors' intentions, yet we can always extract the essence while discarding the dross. Only in this way can humanity continue to progress."
"By the way," I added after my reflection, "is there anything we can glean from here? From Fangfang's letter left for us, it seems this murder case spanning twenty years still points back to Chen Zhen as the mastermind who has long since passed away. But how exactly did Chen Zhen manage this?"
Although I had skimmed through the documents myself, most of it was filled with professional jargon and diagrams that were difficult to understand—even though they were in Chinese—leaving me in awe of the depth of Chinese culture. I had no choice but to consult Juan Juan.
After some contemplation, Juan Juan flipped through the documents and said, "In the final documents, Chen Zhen indeed mentioned that in his last few years, his stomach illness worsened. Although he could no longer seek revenge directly, he devised a method—Hypnosis."
"He mentioned using long-term Hypnosis on someone to achieve deep Hypnosis effects," Juan Juan continued with a frown. "Through such Hypnosis, one could forget their identity and who they are entirely, fabricating a persona that does not belong to them. This fabricated personality would have altered memories and traits."
"Split personality?" I attempted to grasp what Juan Juan was saying.
Juan Juan shook her head and clarified, "Split personality involves one primary personality and one or more secondary personalities; treating such mental illnesses requires integrating these personalities into one. What Chen Zhen documented is about putting someone's personality into a deep sleep through Hypnosis and then creating another one."
"That means this Killer doesn't even know what she's doing," Juan Juan remarked. "This isn't what she intended; can she still be called a Killer? She's merely a tool."
I shrugged; such philosophical questions were beyond my understanding. My responsibility was to capture her; how she would be judged was up to the prosecution. I said, "From Fangfang's letter, it appears Chen Zhen targeted individuals who were present twenty years ago. From Chen Zhen's perspective, he believed those he killed deserved it. Therefore, this Killer must have been an eyewitness to those events—not just an ordinary innocent person."
"Does it mention who this person is?" I asked.
Juan Juan shook her head again and replied, "It seems Chen Zhen still considered Fangfang's feelings and did not record who this person was. It looks like he wanted Fangfang to live well; as for revenge, he preferred to handle it himself."
At that moment, Director Wang approached me and said, "Although our search area is gradually narrowing down, we still haven't found any sign of the Killer. These mountains connect with others, making it quite difficult to locate her. However, now that we've reached this point in our investigation, we can consider it a temporary conclusion. No matter how long it takes, we will find this Killer."
The phone rang; it was Mary. "Brother Shao, I found what you asked me to look into. Just as you said." After hanging up, I knew this case had been completely unraveled. I turned to Director Wang and said, "No need for further investigation; I now know where the Killer is."
"Oh? You know where the Killer went?" Director Wang asked.
"Baili Village," I replied firmly.
When we arrived at Baili Village, the villagers were gathered together dancing. Director Wang informed us that this was originally a traditional festival for the locals. Although the current residents were not from a minority ethnic group, the tradition had continued. On this day, people would sing and dance, symbolizing the beauty of spring.
We nodded and continued toward White Mountain. Director Wang still seemed puzzled and did not believe I could know the Killer's whereabouts. However, as we ventured deeper, he had no choice but to accept my words. In the distance, a woman sat on the ground, staring blankly at the earth beneath her, lost in thought.
I said, "That’s the Killer. Fangfang's dagger should have her fingerprints on it; we can confirm it when we get back."
In the depths of the mountains, silence enveloped us, occasionally interrupted by the distant sounds of villagers singing. Compared to this place, it felt hollow. The woman did not flee upon seeing us; she showed no intention of escaping. Director Wang seemed incredulous and asked, "Is she really the Killer?"
Back at the Police Department, after comparing the woman's fingerprints with those on the dagger, it was confirmed without a doubt that she was indeed the Killer. Director Wang personally participated in the interrogation, and the woman's responses took him by surprise. Later on, he told me that this case would remain etched in his memory for a lifetime.
Director Wang asked, "What is your name?"
"Fangfang," the woman replied.
Director Wang then asked, "Why did you kill?"
"Because they stood by and did nothing while I was buried alive!" she answered calmly.
Director Wang broke out in a cold sweat and looked at me with a pleading expression. Indeed, this person before us had been hypnotized by Chen Zhen. Chen Zhen had put her primary persona to sleep and fabricated another personality—this personality was Fangfang. From her perspective, she was Fangfang; her sole purpose for living was revenge—murder—and Chen Zhen had imparted all his hypnosis skills to this fabricated Fangfang.
Everyone who knew about Baili Village was dead; the woman had lost her motivation for living. She did not know what path lay ahead or what her existence meant anymore. Now she was merely a walking corpse; being alive felt no different from being dead.
The woman confessed openly to her crimes. Director Wang worried that she might use hypnosis again; it was dangerous. Juan Juan shook his head and said to Director Wang, "Her targets are those people from Baili Village; others will be safe. But who exactly was she before?"
I snapped my fingers and addressed everyone: "I know this person's identity. Earlier, I assigned Mary a task, which she completed well, confirming my deductions were correct. To be precise, she was once a man—a man named Ma Hengdong."
As soon as I finished speaking, everyone gasped in shock and looked at me with disbelief. I continued, "Indeed, from Fangfang's letter, I can deduce that Chen Zhen aimed to hypnotize someone who was definitely one of the four participants involved in ** at that time; otherwise, Chen Zhen's resentment could not have been quelled. Moreover, only these four individuals would clearly remember who was present back then."
I continued, "This is evident from what Chen Zhen said about wanting the other party to experience this feeling as well. So, I had Mary check if anyone had visited the four in prison multiple times, and sure enough, a person named Zheng Cheng appeared in my findings. Zheng Cheng is, in fact, Chen Zhen."
Everyone nodded in agreement. I said, "Chen Zhen used his connections as a fellow townsman and a doctor to visit the four multiple times and began attempting hypnosis on them. However, among the four, only Ma Hengdong was successfully hypnotized. Therefore, after his release from prison, Ma Hengdong has not been normal; in Ma Weishan's words, he has become like a girl."
"And among the four that Chen Zhen hypnotized, one person could not withstand the pressure and died in prison," I added.
Mary nodded and said, "The prison records state it was a sudden death, meaning the cause of death could not be determined."
"This indirectly confirms my thoughts," I extended four fingers and gestured as I spoke. "Of the four back then, one died in prison, one died of illness outside, and Lin Minyou committed suicide under mysterious circumstances. These three are indeed confirmed dead; there are photos of their bodies and proof. However, there is one person whom everyone claims is dead, yet he has neither of those two things."
I retracted three fingers, leaving only one raised as I continued, "That one person is Ma Hengdong. Two years ago, when Ma Hengdong was at the seaside, he didn't actually die; he simply disappeared. It should have been from that moment that the seed of revenge planted in Ma Hengdong's heart by Chen Zhen began to bloom."
"After that, Ma Hengdong's original personality completely vanished and was entirely overtaken by the false persona known as Fangfang." I looked at the figure of Fangfang in the interrogation room and said, "The first thing she did was undergo gender reassignment. From then on, both psychologically and physiologically, she became a woman. Next, she initiated her revenge plan; she was no longer Ma Hengdong. When she hypnotized her father, she absolutely did not realize..."
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