Memory Lost

He wants to draw a profile as well?

Su Mian finds a chair and sits down, staring at Han Chen. The others are also staring at him with excitement. Han Chen isn’t as serious as Su Mian, the criminal psychologist; she stands, holds her chest high, and writes on the whiteboard during her summary. He lowers his eyes humming for a split second before turning his chair to face everyone.

“Remember the incidents that T planned?” he asks.

Everybody is stunned slightly.

“T’s crimes have four distinct characteristics:

Number one, bait. He first sniped the people on the list, letting the police to think that his goal was to punish these people. Of course, it was one of his goals, but it wasn’t his main one;

Number two, utilize public opinion. Due to the bait he threw out previously, his crimes were put into the spotlight by the media. This caused a great impact on society when he started to carry out his real punishments later;

Number three, accuracy in controlling time. Just like Su Mian said, this is due to their knowledge of the police system, as well as knowing me and Su Mian well. Before participating in the CS competition, we had already found his place, car, and was going to find his real identity soon. But he used this short time frame, within two-days time, to focus and complete his crimes. He was able to do this because he spent an extensive amount of time in planning.”

Everybody nods at this point. Thinking back now, T’s series of actions are still vivid in their memories. But Han Chen’s expression turns indifferent as he speaks, “Number four, his real goal was hidden very deeply and never showed any hints. It wasn’t until the very last moment that it was revealed. And at that time, his goal was already achieved and there was no turning back.”

Everybody is a bit shocked. Su Mian is also struck dumb. She stares at Han Chen’s serious and black pupils. It’s as if her mind has captured something blurry, her heart starts to beat quickly.

Han Chen changes the subject, “And then if we look at Xin Jia, although her planning cannot compare to T, they resonate with each other. She used Su Mian as bait that day to lure me to the deep part of the mountains. She constantly created fake images, wanting me to believe that she lost all hopes and was going crazy. But she hid her real motive very well, which was to lure me to enter the poisonous room so that I would become somebody in a vegetative state,” he lifts his eyes and looks at everyone, “Based on T’s background info, his whereabouts were unknown after he ran away from home at a young age. He must have joined S’s organization at the time. Therefore, his ability to commit crimes may have been just like what Su Mian said. He was trained and influenced by S. The same goes for Xin Jia. Therefore……”

He pauses, and Su Mian takes over, “……Therefore, A, L, and R probably have the same style as well.”

Han Chen looks at her with his pitch black ink-like pupils and nods.

Chatterbox sitting on the side says pensively, “This means that everything that the three of them are doing: explosions, wax figures, and kidnapping Xiao Zhuan and Forensic Investigator are all just bait. Because of the provocative letter from before, we all thought that their goal was to fight against the Black Shield Team and avenge their past deceased members. This is one of their goals, but it’s not their real main goal?!”

Cold Face thinks for a moment and lifts his head, “Using public opinion and time control.” Although his words are short and concise, everybody understands it. These two points are what T used and what they are using. The three of them have become the topic of public discussions, the media, and online right now. No matter what they will do next, it will capture everyone’s attention. Although there is a bit more information about their identities now, a bit more time is still needed to investigate, which is the exact same situation that they were in during T’s case a couple of months ago!

“Therefore……” Han Chen looks around at everyone and concludes, “They still have the main goal that is hidden deeply and has not been revealed. It’s definitely not what we think it is. It is what caused them to perform these series of crimes. And their main motive will soon begin.”

It’s already 8 to 9 am. The sun in the winter has finally peeked through the clouds. The conference room is a bit cold. No one has anything to say at the moment. Han Chen picks up his tea and takes a sip. Su Mian stares at his cold and imposing face. She recalls the words he said just now and feels chills in her heart.

Xiao Zhuan ruffles his hair and asks, “Leader, what should we do then? How can we find out what their main goal is?”

Everybody looks toward Han Chen while Su Mian lowers her head and falls into a daze.

Han Chen glances at her and answers, “T’s punishments, in the beginning, was a setup to carry out even harsher punishments later. Similarly, what the three of them have been doing, even though it’s bait, it must somehow be linked to the main crime that they want to carry out later. What we need to do is to find the link. Xiao Zhuan, summarize all of the crimes that they have performed up until now.”

“Yes, Sir!” Xiao Zhuan nods, gets up, and goes to the whiteboard. He knows them so well that he can recite them backward. He writes and says at the same time:

“Yes, Sir!” Xiao Zhuan nods, gets up, and goes to the whiteboard. He knows them so well that he can recite them backward. He writes and says at the same time:

“On the 6th between 11 to 12 pm, A broke into Leader’s and Xiao Bai’s home, calling Xiao Bai ‘Big Sister’ and left an invitation letter to the Black Shield Team;

On the 7th at the 7th hour and 7th minute, first crime. An explosion, wax figure, and mermaid case appeared in the city at the same time. The three of them officially appeared;

On the 9th at the 7th hour and 7th minute, second crime. A civilian died from the explosion, and solved the ‘boy’s rhyme’ which Lhelped A write;

On the 9th day at 3 pm, Xiao Bai received a video. L danced, while A and R appeared in the background;

11th day, Leader found clues from the video, chased after L, who was wounded by a gunshot;

11th day at night, Xiao Bai received another message from A saying that he wants to kill two people to take revenge;

12th day morning, two civilians had a bomb tied to them and were dressed up as clowns. Solved R’s ‘Number Rhyme,’ Xiao Bai was able to guess that A’s second password was Su Mian’s birthday. The police saved the two civilians successfully;

On the 12th day at the same time, Zhou Xiao Zhuan and Forensic Investigator Xu were abducted. Xiao Bai made a decision. The two of them were saved in the end.

A, L, R disappeared since then and have not appeared for a week.”

Everybody is reading the words on the whiteboard. Han Chen remains quiet for a moment before saying, “Call the Beijing police department immediately. Ask them to search for S based on the profile Su Mian completed. And based on the clues from the 7th onwards, investigate thoroughly on all of the victims again and see if there are any connections between them. And see if there are any links between the locations of the incidents. Investigate all of the civil police officers, criminal investigators, and related police personnel who took part in the cases.

The meeting adjourns. The Black Shield Team starts to get back to work. Zhou Xiao Zhuan’s task is to investigate the victims thoroughly to see if there are any connections between them. This is also his forte. So he finds a quiet small meeting room and carries all of the files and folders into the room full of energy as he prepares to dive into work.

There is quite a lot of information; he has to run a few times between the office and the meeting room. As a result, when he passes by the hallway, he spots Su Mian entering the storage room by herself from afar. He has sharp eyes; he actually sees a box of cigarettes in Su Mian’s hand.

This is going to be big! Leader has forbidden her to smoke! Xiao Zhuan puts down the files in the meeting quickly and goes to the storage room entrance sneakily.

The door is half closed, the lights have not been turned on so it’s dark inside with many items stacked on top of each other. There’s also a moldy smell to it. Xiao Zhuan frowns: why doesn’t she find a better spot to smoke.

He pokes his head inside and sees Su Mian sitting on top of a stack of boxes in front of the window.

Xiao Zhuan is stunned slightly.

The curtains are half opened; a bit of light is shining through. Su Mian is sitting on the boxes with her legs crossed and a cigarette between her fingers. She has her head down as she smokes. Her hair is in a mess after being ruffled. Her face seems a bit pale and red at the same time.

Xiao Zhuan pushes the door open carefully, “Xiao Bai……”

Su Mian looks up at him. Her hand with the cigarette doesn’t budge.

Within the Black Shield Team, the person who knows Su Mian best might not be Han Chen. It’s Zhou Xiao Zhuan.

“You’re afraid? What are you afraid of?”

“You’re afraid? What are you afraid of?”

Otherwise, why would she hide and smoke here alone?

After all, the Xiao Bai in his mind has never been afraid of anything. Even though at times she would be anxious, throw a temper, and would be worried for Han Chen, Xiao Zhuan has never seen her be afraid of anything. Although she’s scared of heights, for the sake of catching a criminal, she would throw herself down no matter how tall the building is. She’s not afraid of dying. Regardless of how ruthless the seven-member organization is, she has never been afraid of them either.

Zhou Xiao Zhuan closes the door behind him quickly and dashes to her side. He squeezes her over to sit beside her, “What’s wrong? Should I call Leader Han to come over?”

“No!” Su Mian refuses immediately. She keeps quiet for a second, inhales from the cigarette and raises her head to look at the scenery outside of the window.

How should she explain her emotions right now? Originally, the seventh member, S, was no more than a blurry existence. After having inspiration from yesterday and completing his profile today, the blurry contours of the person seem to become clearer in her heart now.

He’s incredibly intelligent yet cruel. He’s knowledgeable and likes to learn. He knows the police very well and knows her very well. He’s able to have all of the psychopathic killers bow down to him. He was once high-spirited but now he hasn’t made any move.

She lost her memory and was hidden in Jiangcheng for many years by his organization. If it wasn’t for Han Chen’s persistence, she would probably never regain her identity as Su Mian and will live as Bai Jin Xi forever. And many people have died as a result: Bai Jin Xi and her parents, Su Mian’s mom, Xu Mu Hua…… f𝓇𝘦𝒆𝘄𝑒𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵ𝙚l.𝒄𝘰𝓶

Right now, Han Chen is able to infer based on the crimes committed by his subordinates: A, L, and R, that their main motive is hidden among them.

Su Mian inhales from the cigarette again and says slowly, “Xiao Zhuan, I’ve never told you this before, but I’ve dreamed before that another person kissed me.”

Xiao Zhuan is struck dumb. He then hears her say faintly, “I’m afraid that it was S.”