Chapter 248: The Upper Limit of Human Intelligence

"Can you go into detail on that..." Yu Dazhang gave a small cough, and when he saw Ye Zhiyu looking over, shot him a fierce glare.

Although he was also curious about the details, the occasion wasn't right—how could one bring this up in a meeting?

Ye Zhiyu knew he had misspoken, and quickly corrected himself:

"Then that middle-aged woman homeroom teacher just told you to call your parents in?"

"Not exactly." The officer grew more fluent as he spoke:

"She first had me brought to the office, questioned me about the whole thing, and only after I admitted it did she decide to call my parents."

He seemed to recall the entire incident, and his answers grew more and more detailed.

The homeroom teacher was actually quite reasonable... Yu Dazhang silently made his assessment.

At least she didn't take the female classmate's one-sided story at face value, and knew to verify the truth of the matter.

Before he realized it, he too was absorbed in that officer's "calling the parents" incident.

Just then, Ye Zhiyu suddenly asked:

"Now, going back to the original question—what was the name of your elementary school homeroom teacher?"

"She..." The officer paused for a moment, then answered:

"Chen... her surname was Chen, Teacher Chen, I remember now... Teacher Chen Yahong!"

At that moment, everyone in the meeting room wore stunned expressions.

Just now he couldn't remember a thing.

After being asked a few questions, he actually recalled the full name of his elementary school homeroom teacher.

It didn't feel like any earth-shattering question had been asked—just a trivial matter—so why would it have this effect?!

Anyone who can become a criminal investigator must have stronger logical thinking than ordinary people.

They caught on quickly.

He's giving us an example.

Using a real case to show us that human memory can be extracted.

This guy is a professional!

"Don't look at me like that, this is just the most basic memory guidance."

Ye Zhiyu seemed to be enjoying the feeling of being the center of attention.

He even deliberately lit a cigarette and took a slow, leisurely drag.

Only after a warning look from Yu Dazhang did he explain in detail:

"If some piece of information is buried deep in memory, you need some event associated with it to awaken it."

"Like what just happened—can't remember the teacher's name, so find an event related to the teacher."

"Then use questioning to fully reconstruct the event; since the teacher is part of the event, naturally you'll remember."

That's all there is to it? The others cast doubtful looks at Ye Zhiyu.

They wanted to raise objections, but the facts were right before their eyes, leaving no room for doubt.

"Specific situations require specific analysis," Ye Zhiyu added:

"You don't have to copy me—I was only offering one approach just now."

That sentence was key... Yu Dazhang caught the hidden meaning in his words.

The correct path has been pointed out; whether you run or walk it depends on individual ability.

In any case, this path is the right one.

The meeting room fell silent once more.

Yu Dazhang wasn't in a hurry either. He stood up, poured himself a glass of water, took two unhurried sips, and continued waiting for their questions.

This was the first day the task force was established, and also the first time tasks were being assigned.

So everything had to be clearly explained in person.

Seeing that someone's cigarette pack was already empty, Yu Dazhang took out his car keys and handed them to Ye Zhiyu:

"Go get cigarettes from my car."

"Got it." Ye Zhiyu replied, took the car keys, turned, and left.

By the time he came back, he had an entire carton of Hua Zi in his hand.

After opening it, he gave each team a pack, and split the rest with Ma Jian and the others.

After a while, the officer in Captain Xu's group spoke up:

"The nine victims in the severed-finger case all had homicide cases attached to them, and for so many years none of it was discovered—the very fact is worth questioning."

Playing devil's advocate, aren't we... Yu Dazhang looked at him:

"That's not your concern. Those nine cases already have specialists assigned to reopen the investigation. Our energy should be focused on the severed-finger case—get the investigation direction straight."

Actually, it was good that the officer brought it up—Yu Dazhang had been meaning to remind them of that.

When investigating complex cases, it's easy to veer off course during the process; giving an early reminder can also prevent them from taking detours.

There was another layer to that officer's words: those nine wrongful cases were somewhat bizarre.

The fact that he could think this way showed he had handled too few cases. First, insufficient experience.

Second, too little exposure.

An old criminal investigator like Captain Xu would definitely not think that way.

Reality is always crueler than what you see before you.

What seems impossible is not the same as what cannot happen.

Let me tell you something interesting.

I believe everyone's seen "A Date with Luyu."

In one episode in 2013, a top domestic criminal-investigation expert went on as a guest, along with a well-known major director.

The director's surname was Xu, and his full name was two characters.

That criminal-investigation expert asked Director Xu: "Have you ever killed anyone?"

Director Xu froze on the spot, and visibly showed emotions like fear and panic.

!

Judging from his facial expression, he probably peed his pants.

His expression had already betrayed him; any explanation afterward looked pale and weak.

As the saying goes, there is no perfect crime in this world, because perfect crimes are simply never discovered.

But even if you can fool everyone else, you can't fool yourself.

Seeing that no one had any more questions, Yu Dazhang repeated the direction of the investigation once more.

After the meeting ended, the six groups each went their separate ways to act.

Yu Dazhang and his three companions, meanwhile, returned to the office.

No sooner had they entered the room than Yu Dazhang closed the door, then looked at Ye Zhiyu and asked:

"If that police officer just now had answered with the class teacher's name, what would you have done?"

He believed such a possibility existed.

Many people, even into middle age, still keep in touch with their elementary school classmates, and naturally remember the class teacher's name.

"Basically impossible."

Ye Zhiyu immediately asked back:

"Have you heard of the Rule of 150?"

Damn, showing off his knowledge at me again… Yu Dazhang looked at Ma Jian and Xia Bin, hoping to call for outside help.

But neither of them knew either, and could only shake their heads helplessly.

He let him show off again.

Yu Dazhang sighed:

"I don't know."

Ye Zhiyu, ever fond of playing teacher, looked at him with a smile in his eyes and patiently explained:

"The human brain can only remember the names of 150 people."

"Whether in real life or in the media, the number of people whose names you can truly remember will not exceed 150."

So that's the Rule of 150… It was the first time Yu Dazhang had heard such a saying.

Whether true or false, he had no way to verify it — he couldn't exactly take a pen and write down every person's name in his head.

"Then what's that got to do with the question just now?" Yu Dazhang asked again.

He knew Ye Zhiyu was waiting for him to ask.

He might as well see it through and play the straight man for once.

"Listen, let me work it out for you."

Ye Zhiyu said with a perfectly serious face:

"The closest, core relationships — about 5 people, mainly family members."

"Close friends — about 15 people, the kind you can turn to for support and help."

"Good friends — 50 people, the ones you occasionally keep in touch with and interact with."

"The rest are acquaintances — people whose names you remember and with whom you have a certain social connection."

Hearing this much, even Ma Jian and Xia Bin understood.

An elementary school teacher is not within those 150 people.

PS: Taking a day off, resting for one day.

(End of this chapter)