Memory Lost

Han Chen is standing with his arms crossed looking far away before retrieving his gaze and looking at them again, “On the other hand, the fancier they are and the more stuff they do, the more traces of evidence they will leave behind. So tell me, what have you found.” His eyes land on Su Mian.

Su Mian answers, “Okay. Based on the profile I drafted for A, there are two preliminary conclusions that we can make. Number one, he must have been at the scene during the incident. I’ve already asked a couple of officers to gather as many images of the scene as they can. I will review them one by one and hopefully, I’ll be able to spot him. However, I still need more time.”

Everybody nods.

Su Mian continues, “Number two, his victim was a chosen target. He made his choice similar to T’s criterion, but there were differences. It wasn’t a big bad evil guilty person, but it was someone who betrayed his ‘senses.’ Someone who was selfish and greedy. This matches with what I inferred before: he has experienced betrayal in the past. Therefore, he is unable to accept someone who is like this. If he commits another crime, I believe that he will continue to choose a victim who is like this.”

There is still too little evidence right now, so she can only do some simple inferences. But she hears Han Chen speak, “Who do you think did the makeup for Liu Yao Hua?”

Su Mian is a bit stunned and blurts out, “It was L.”

Now that Han Chen mentions it, she recalls how intricate Liu Yao Hua’s makeup was. It definitely must have been done by L; A can’t possibly have been able to do makeup

like that.

She thinks for a second before saying, “Including the capital letter ‘A’ at the square. Although the font style is different from the calligraphy L at the wax figure incident, it was written very neatly. It must have been from L. A’s writing is very ugly, so he couldn’t have written it.”

“Therefore, when A was committing his crime, L was there accompanying him,” Han Chen concludes.

Everybody is quiet. In their minds, the possible image of how they committed the crime last night floats across.

_____

After Liu Yao Hua left home, in some hidden and quiet area, A must have attacked him or used the usual method of the seven-member organization——using some kind of medicine to make him unconscious.

And then A changed his clothes, tied a bomb to him, and L put the makeup on him.

When Liu Yao Hua woke up, he was given a set of orders. It could have been via a cell phone, a piece of paper, or a mysterious audio transmitting device. A creepy and scary voice threatening him——

You must get to the square at this time;

You must dance, concentrate on dancing;

You must wait for the police to come, and they’ll be able to rescue you.

……

Oh right, we will be watching you all the way. If you don’t do as we say, the bomb will……”Boom!”

_____

The second victim is completely different from the first.

His name is Chen De Yuan, 35 years-old, an ordinary white collar, and a good dad and husband. In everyone’s eyes, he’s a dependable and kind person. At 9 pm last night, he went down to throw out the garbage and never returned. The surveillance camera in the area had already been destroyed by someone. After he disappeared, his family searched for him the whole

whole night. Even his relatives, friends, co-workers, and neighbors helped to look for him.

Hearing the news of his death, his wife faints on the spot. His friends weep, “Who killed him? He’s just a nice person and his kid is only eight years old. What are we going to do now?”

The police stay quiet. The son is being carried by his grandparents standing afar and looking this way. Seeing his childish yet pitch black pupils, it seems as if he already understands what’s going on, yet a little confused at the same time.

At the scene of the crime——the surveillance camera at the pedestrian street crossing has also been destroyed by someone. There are no traces of evidence left behind and no witnesses. The worker who was responsible for delivering the wax figures claims: Early this morning, that wax figure was already standing on the stage, so he thought it belonged to the museum until its eyes started shedding blood.

“L killed a kind person,” Su Mian says, “Especially someone who was a good father. During L’s childhood, he lived in a very repressed and strict family. He chose a man like this and made him into a wax figure, could this connote that he wants to keep such a good father forever? And when he committed the crime, he probably took himself as an eight-year-old child.”

_____

The third victim’s name is Bai An An. She also went missing during her way home after work last night. According to her friends, she is a very outgoing and cute girl. She doesn’t have a boyfriend, lives a simple life, and doesn’t have any specialized skills.

They’ve already examined the water tank from the oceanarium. It turns out that someone had installed a very small device near the oxygen pump. There are

There are some very sharp and strong metal wires looped around it and also a timer.

After Bai An An died from poison, she was buried at the bottom of the tank and was connected to the device. Examining the body found that she had also been sexually assaulted. When the time was right, she was pulled up with her eyes opened. Based on Xu Si Bai’s report, her heart was extracted long ago but was sealed back inside of her body with some waterproof glue. In the end, it was shot out from the inside.

The camera at the oceanarium is also destroyed. It has been destroyed the same way. A colleague from the forensic department expresses: the installation of this device and the way it’s made most likely came from the same skillful person who snuck into Han Chen’s home and destroyed his alarm system. It’s A’s creation.

“R choosing her matches with his usual method,” Xiao Zhuan flips through the documents and says. It’s because R’s victims in the past have all been young people.

Su Mian nods, “Rape, poison, extracting the heart. He wants to possess these young girls entirely.”

_____

The Black Shield Team returns to their office at night. It’s already past 11 pm.

It’s late autumn, so it’s getting colder during nighttime. Su Mian comes out from the washroom and sees Han Chen standing in the hallway leaning against the railing and looking into the distance. 𝒇𝑟e𝙚𝑤𝙚𝐛𝗻𝐨ν𝚎𝘭.c𝐨m

Looking through the office window, Cold Face and Chatterbox are flipping through the documents from today while smoking. Xiao Zhuan is tidying up the mess left behind from their late dinner just now.

Su Mian walks to Han Chen’s side and leans on his shoulder.

Han Chen glances at her, unzips his jacket and wraps her into his embrace.

center style="margin-top:25px"> into his embrace.

They snuggle together quietly like this for a while.

Su Mian asks, “What are you thinking about?”

Han Chen taps his fingers on her shoulder.

“Su Mian, I want to smoke a cigarette.”

Su Mian glares at him with her eyes wide, “Hah?”

Han Chen stares back at her, “Can I?”

Su Mian keeps quiet for a second. She leaves his embrace, turns around and enters the office. She walks to Chatterbox and snatches his box of cigarettes without a word and then comes back out.

She takes one out and hands it to Han Chen.

Han Chen takes it, tilts his head and lights it up, “Just this one.”

Su Mian hums lightly.

The night is still and quiet like the abyss surrounding them. Han Chen waves the matchstick, tosses it onto the ground, and steps on it. He lowers his head with his eyelids half closed. The light from the tip of the cigarette dances between his fingers. His figure is tall and unapproachable. His face is calm and impassive.

She can’t understand why, but even when this man is just smoking a cigarette, it makes her heart ache.

He finishes it quickly and presses down on the tip to put it out. There is a hint of a smile in his eyes as he stares at her.

“Besides you, cigarettes are the best for re-energizing my brain. They’ve left behind too many evidence. We can find their hiding place.”

Su Mian is stunned, “What?”

He holds her shoulders and twists her around guiding her back into the office, “But it’s just their hiding place from last night. With their level of carefulness, they’ve probably moved to a different place now. But let’s go take a look.”