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墨書 Inktalez
"Grandpa Shao, what are the basic requirements to be an outstanding detective?" Shui Xinlan asked, looking at Old Shao, who was sitting in a rattan chair.
Two hours earlier.
The members of the task force had gathered at Jiang He's home. As Old Shao put it, they had just gone through a suffocating case and needed to throw a party to unwind. However, the party was not going very well; the cold atmosphere reminded Old Shao of an academic conference he had attended before.
Guan Deng had taken over Jiang He's computer, wearing headphones and playing a text-based game that Old Shao had never seen before. When Old Shao inquired about it, Guan Deng shyly typed out that he was playing League of Legends, and it was a script he had written himself to represent all actions through text.
Yuan Jun had been running on the treadmill since the beginning and had lost track of time. According to Yuan Jun, during his time in the military, he used to run five kilometers with a load. Since joining the task force, he hadn’t had time to run. Now that he finally had a break, he wanted to run as much as possible.
Xu Yiman was tucked away in the kitchen. After failing to make Braised Eggplant for the fifth time, she announced that she would make a delicious Braised Eggplant tonight; otherwise, no one would be allowed to sleep. Old Shao, being older, managed to escape this fate to avoid eating what looked like anything but food. The others were not so lucky.
The most interesting part was Jiang He. Ever since joining the task force, he rarely needed to use pigs for victim simulations anymore. Jiang He was pleased with this change, but the pig farm owner was not happy. They had verbally agreed that every month a pig would be sent directly to Jiang He’s place, but now there were four or five large sows piling up. Throughout the night, calls from the pig farm owner could be heard.
After being checked out at the hospital, Wang Chao had recently been discharged. However, he did not attend this gathering as Old Shao hadn’t informed him. Wang Chao's abilities were not outstanding; he was older and had his own family and children. Plus, with his wife pleading on her knees, there was no longer any reason for the task force to call him back.
Perhaps this profession requires people like him—oddities.
As Old Shao pondered this, Shui Xinlan spoke up.
As an author of mysteries, having the opportunity to interview an experienced detective on the front lines was a rare chance. At that moment, Shui Xinlan sat beside Old Shao with a notebook and pen in hand, ready to jot down whatever he said.
Old Shao set his tea mug aside and slowly began, "To become a detective, you just need to seriously study what is taught at the police academy. But if you want to be that kind of impressive detective you mentioned, you probably need to meet two out of three conditions or excel particularly in one area to become an excellent detective."
Shui Xinlan nodded earnestly and tightened her grip on her pen as she asked, "So what are those three conditions?"
"Outstanding logical thinking ability. No matter the situation, this person can think calmly and use meticulous reasoning skills to deduce what happened at the crime scene from the clues gathered. They can simulate how the murderer committed the crime—their height, what they were wearing, even their physical characteristics. Those who master this method are called criminal profilers. Such individuals are rare in this world but do exist; twenty years ago, I had such a team member—though that's another story."
Old Shao let out a faint sigh.
"Excellent reasoning skills," Shui Xinlan quickly noted this down in her notebook. "What else?"
Old Shao patiently waited for Shui Xinlan to finish writing the first point before continuing, "The second point is keen observation skills. According to Locard's Exchange Principle, a criminal inevitably comes into contact with various physical substances at the crime scene, resulting in material exchange through actions like collision and friction."
"When the items at a crime scene are chaotic and numerous, we often find ourselves confused by the sheer volume of objects. This is where a detective's keen observation skills come into play, allowing them to discern which items have been touched by the perpetrator. If the crime scene has been cleaned up by the criminal, leaving almost no physical evidence, it requires meticulous observation from the detective to notice details that others might overlook."
"And this point..."
Before Old Shao could finish, Shui Xinlan glanced at Jiang He, who was inexplicably lost in thought by the bedside. He must be conducting one of his peculiar experiments again.
"Jiang He is just that kind of person," Shui Xinlan remarked, shifting her gaze away from him as she wrote. "That uncle can tell someone's job and where they come from with just a glance. Sometimes he even knows things about a person that their closest friends don't. Standing in front of him feels like being completely exposed, with no privacy left at all."
As she wrote, Shui Xinlan couldn't help but steal glances at Jiang He.
You can't hide the gaze of someone who likes you, nor can you conceal the gaze of someone who hates you; it all depends on how observant you are. When Shui Xinlan looked at Jiang He, her gaze was gentle, and it seemed to sparkle with a soft light that enveloped him. In her clear eyes, ripples appeared as if stirred by an unseen breeze.
Old Shao observed the others busy with their tasks before gently asking, "Do you like Jiang He?"
Shui Xinlan was taken aback by Old Shao's sudden question; a blush crept onto her cheeks. She tightened her grip on her pen and glanced around to ensure no one was paying attention before replying, "Not really. I already have a boyfriend; he's my classmate."
Old Shao shrugged and lifted his teacup again. "In this world, aside from life and death, nothing else is that important. If you like someone, you should tell them. Even if you're rejected, it's okay; at least you won't have regrets."
"Have you ever regretted anything? I heard from Sister Xu Yiman that you've never been married and are still single. Didn't you ever like a girl?" Shui Xinlan set her notebook aside and pressed Old Shao for more details.
Old Shao's mind flashed back to the image of that woman from thirty years ago.
"That's a story from long ago," Old Shao said, looking at Jiang He.
Shui Xinlan followed Old Shao's gaze to Jiang He.
"Do you really not like him?" Old Shao asked with a grin.
Shui Xinlan lowered her head and replied, "That person is too strange. I think he doesn't need a girlfriend because no one can be as eccentric as he is, and no one can be as interesting... Wait, how did we get here? You just mentioned the second point; there's still one more to go."
Old Shao took a sip of tea, making a pleased sound. "The third point is the wisdom of understanding human nature. People have seven emotions and six desires. Regardless of what motives the Criminal has, in the end, you can always find something in these emotions. And what criminal investigators must first understand is that human nature is inherently evil. In certain situations, people are likely to act in crazy ways."
"This is an instinct shared by all animals; the genes of animals are inherently selfish. Everyone has dark thoughts at times; some people express those thoughts while others can control themselves. Our lives are a process of self-cultivation, gradually scraping away the malice within us."
"As long as you can see through this, you'll understand why the murderer acts this way, and you'll realize that anyone could potentially be the killer."
Shui Xinlan could grasp the first two points, but she found herself somewhat bewildered by the third, unable to fully comprehend Old Shao's thoughts.
Old Shao continued, "That's why we establish detailed laws and control our desires. However, for an ordinary person, many times we can't truly sit in judgment between good and evil. This is inherently a gray area, and humans are indeed such complicated beings."
Shui Xinlan looked intently into Old Shao's eyes, but in those dark pupils, she couldn't discern anything.
She diligently recorded Old Shao's words in her notebook.
"Ding dong."
The doorbell rang abruptly.
"Eh?" Shui Xinlan muttered in confusion.
Jiang He was not the type of person to have many friends. Since Shui Xinlan moved in, she had never seen anyone come to visit him. The doorbell on the second floor had always been a mere decoration, never once pressed by anyone.
However, with no one else willing to answer the door, Shui Xinlan reluctantly went over to open it.
She swung the door open, but there was no one outside. Peering down the stairs, she saw a figure darting away into the alley, likely just a child's prank. Just as Shui Xinlan was about to close the door, she noticed a square box on the ground.
Scratching her head, she picked up the box. There were no markings on it, and she had no idea what was inside. It felt quite heavy; whatever was inside seemed substantial. She intended to shake it a little to see what it contained.
But just as Shui Xinlan was about to do so, two hands wrapped around her from behind, gently holding the box.
Turning around, she found it was Jiang He. She had never been this close to him before; his gesture felt almost intimate, like something between lovers. She could feel his warmth and the faint odor of sweat from his body, which he hadn't washed for several days.
"What are you doing..." Shui Xinlan said shyly.
"Don't move," Jiang He said, his eyes fixed intently on the box.
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