Chapter 268

"Look at this case—the scene had lots of footprints, though there wasn't much blood, but since it happened outdoors, the traces were abundant." Liu Jinghui handed Jiang Yuan a case file.

Jiang Yuan glanced at it twice, confirmed he'd seen it before, and said, "Seventy." "I'd give it eighty, so that's 150 total—currently third place." Liu Jinghui made a note beside it and carefully returned the file.

Over here, Jiang Yuan passed a file to Liu Jinghui and said, "I'd give this one seventy-five."

"I'd give it sixty. Another mountain-area case—suspects run until they drop, and there are no eyewitnesses; evidence collection was probably poorly done." Liu Jinghui jotted down notes as he spoke. "135 total—that's sixth. Our scores are getting too clustered."

"Most cases can actually be solved," Jiang Yuan said. "Let's look at two more, then get started."

"Fine."

…

When Yu Wenshu arrived, he saw Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui whispering together on the other side of the conference room.

Meanwhile, the rest of the self-proclaimed elite officers sat at the far end of the room, staring longingly over.

"What are those two doing?" Yu Wenshu asked. "Screening cases," Wan Baoming replied. "I heard them scoring them."

"Yeah, they're assigning scores based on personal judgment of case difficulty, then combining scores to pick the highest-ranked case."

Yu Wenshu nodded, then looked around and said, "Anyone with a phone—place it on the table. No recording or video in this room. You all know the confidentiality rules."

"Of course we do. No one would be so stupid," Wan Baoming said, standing up. "Let me check."

He inspected every phone on the table, then smiled. "If you've got nothing to do, read case files. Don't mess with your phones."

Everyone obediently settled into their chairs and watched Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui score cases.

Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui had already reviewed a stack of files; now they paused and pulled out the top-ranked file to confirm.

Liu Jinghui called out, "Comrade Yu, let's start with this one—the 7. Qiang Hui rape-murder case, under Shengli Bridge, from two years ago."

The two-year-old murder was still an unsolved case, but compared to older ones, its chances of resolution were higher.

Yu Wenshu was only too happy to have help solving cases—he'd support whichever case Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui picked.

He came over, glanced at the file, and said, "This pervert—we chased him for three months… Any ideas?"

In a provincial capital like Changyang City, solving every murder was theoretically possible—but practically impossible.

Yu Wenshu was also curious why Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui had both given this case such high scores.

In his memory, this case resembled a random attack—no fingerprints or key DNA evidence left at the scene. After the victim was brutally killed, very few leads were recovered.

Of course, all unsolved cases were inherently complex; in a place like Changyang, resources were only scaled back once all leads were exhausted.

Liu Jinghui and Jiang Yuan exchanged glances. Liu Jinghui said, "I'll go first."

"Alright." Jiang Yuan moved the other files aside and placed the 7. case file in the center.

A sharp young officer had already come over to help clear space.

Liu Jinghui opened his notebook, glanced at it, and said: "The crime occurred around 1: 0 a. . on July 2. The victim, Liu Juan, a woman, was robbed, raped, and murdered on her way home. According to the forensic report, she suffered multiple wounds to her chest and back, and there were clear bite marks—or suction marks—on her chest, perineum, and inner thighs…"

After briefly summarizing, Liu Jinghui paused. "Based on the offender's behavior, I believe his primary motive was rape—essentially a sexual crime. He also exhibits clear sexual psychological disorders. We should pursue this angle."

Liu Jinghui tapped the file. "First, the victim had thirty-two stab wounds, eleven of them fatal. This isn't a typical killing method—it aligns more with sexual sadism. The multiple bite marks are also classic 'lover-biter' patterns."

Yu Wenshu nodded. "That matches the task force's original assessment. I still vaguely remember—they concluded the killer used sexual sadism as his primary means of arousal: stabbing and humiliating women until they were maimed or killed…"

Yu Wenshu nodded and said, "This line of thinking aligns with the task force's original assessment. I still vaguely remember the conclusion they reached—that sexual sadism was the killer's primary method of achieving sexual arousal through abusing and assaulting female victims, stabbing women and humiliating them, often leading to disability or death..."

Everyone knew the brigade commander had a photographic memory—but he conveniently forgot this exact case.

Liu Jinghui cleared his throat. "I think we can profile the offender based on this pattern of behavior—it might help solve the case. Jiang Yuan?"

Criminal behavioral profiling was similar to the criminal profiling in American crime dramas, but shorter—just key inferences about the offender's traits to aid in screening or investigation.

Liu Jinghui clearly needed time to develop this, but he already seemed confident.

Jiang Yuan took over. "I reviewed the crime scene photos. The footprints could provide useful clues."

Yu Wenshu's memory stirred immediately. "The killer wore slippers?"

"Yes. Cheap ones." Jiang Yuan laid out several photos in sequence on the table. "The shoe prints show block-pattern treads with tiny injection-molding holes. The soles are heavily worn, with chips and cracks—indicating PVC material, and that the slippers were worn for a long time."

"Suggests the offender has poor living conditions," Yu Wenshu added, making a simple inference.

Jiang Yuan nodded. "During the crime, the killer stepped into roadside flower beds. Combined with the bloody footprints, we can infer the offender was around twenty-five years old and relatively light in weight…"

Liu Jinghui, who had begun jotting notes beside him, looked up. "I agree. Sexual sadism often stems from family dynamics—commonly raised in a female-dominated household with poor mother-son relations or excessive protection. Such individuals typically develop sexual disorders around sixteen, and commit crimes about eight years later—around age twenty-four. Jiang Yuan's estimate is reasonable."

Liu Jinghui, who had already begun jotting down key points beside him, looked up and said, "I agree. The causes of sexual sadism are mostly tied to family factors—often arising from growing up in an environment dominated by females, with a matriarchal household atmosphere, poor mother-son relationships, or excessive protection. For such individuals, sexual psychological disorders typically develop around age 16, and crimes usually occur about eight years later—that is, around age 24. Jiang Yuan's timing estimate is very reasonable."

Jiang Yuan continued: "The footprints also suggest another valuable detail—I estimate the offender's height is under 160 centimeters, likely around 157."

Jiang Yuan said, "The footprints at the scene can still provide some valuable information. My preliminary judgment is that the killer's height is below 160 centimeters, likely around 157 centimeters..."

"That immediately eliminates a lot of suspects," Tang Jia whispered, then added, "But a lot of men wear lift shoes, right?"

"The killer was wearing slippers," Wang Chuan reminded.

Liu Jinghui suddenly stood, waving his hand. "I had another hypothesis—the crime occurred in Changyang's old district, a high-traffic area. The offender dared to wear slippers and strike in suboptimal conditions. I suspect he has a criminal record. Given his background, he's very likely a repeat offender—and probably released not long ago."

He looked at Jiang Yuan. "If the offender's height is truly under 160 cm, combining that with age and release timeframe, I suspect the suspect list won't be long."

Yu Wenshu nodded repeatedly. When Liu Jinghui finished, he clapped his hands. "Why think anymore? Assign each province a section—start compiling the list. Age: 23 to 28. Height: under 160 cm. Released within the past year."

The combined provincial lists might be long, but Yu Wenshu believed the actual number of matches would be small—and the killer likely came from Shannan Province or nearby regions.

Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui exchanged glances. Neither had expected their mutual confirmation to yield such a powerful result.

They hadn't even begun to push yet.

They haven't even started exerting themselves yet.