Coming to Myself

The night was deep, nearing midnight.

When You Mingxu and the others arrived at the location indicated by the IP address, they were somewhat surprised. It was an ordinary-looking residential community, complete with security and enveloped in tranquility.

They had expected to find something like an isolated house in the mountains or an abandoned warehouse.

It seemed there was truth to the saying that true concealment lies in plain sight.

The group took the elevator upstairs and arrived at the target apartment's door.

With no concrete evidence, no one drew their firearms. Xu Mengshan stepped forward and, finding no doorbell installed, knocked several times.

There was no response.

Was no one home, or were they simply not answering?

Given the severity of the case and Yin Feng's earlier "one hundred percent" certainty, You Mingxu also found the occupant highly suspicious. She made a quick decision, glanced at Yin Feng, and signaled him with her eyes.

Yin Feng smiled, pulled a palm-sized metal round box from his pocket, and opened it. Inside was a small roll of wire, along with metal picks, a lockpick set, tape, and other tools.

Apart from You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan, the other detectives stared dumbfounded as Yin Feng crouched down to pick the lock. They couldn't reconcile this image with the Teacher Yin who had been guiding their reasoning back in the office.

In no time, the lock clicked open.

Since they had already broken into an empty apartment, You Mingxu decided to proceed and led the team inside one by one. It turned out to be an unfurnished unit, with bare walls and a single wire running overhead, from which a few light bulbs dangled from the ceiling.

Xu Mengshan flipped the light switch on the wall, illuminating the entire room.

But when everyone took in the scene in the living room, they were stunned!

The walls and cement floor remained bare, devoid of any decoration or furniture. The wall directly facing them was densely covered in photos, and even a quick glance revealed they belonged to two women.

One was Luo Ting, the other Zhou Dan.

Judging by the angles, all the photos had been taken covertly or snatched—shots of them walking on the street, eating in restaurants, leaving bathhouses, arriving at their apartment buildings…

A chill ran through You Mingxu.

Beside the photo-covered wall hung a blackboard, covered in numerous route maps marked with times and locations.

Yin Feng, still beside her, remarked, "Look how meticulous he is. It could serve as a textbook example."

You Mingxu didn't know what frame of mind Yin Feng was in to say such a thing. Her expression grew colder as she continued surveying the room.

Black, thick curtains hung over the windows, drawn tightly shut, blocking all outside view and sealing the room off completely.

In the center of the room, under the light bulb, stood a small square table. The wire suspending the bulb cast a circle of light around the table, creating an eerie atmosphere for some reason.

On the table sat a water cup, an external keyboard, a mouse, and a mousepad, but no computer was in sight. The network cable connector lay discarded on the table. The computer had been taken away.

This was likely the source of the IP address.

You Mingxu looked up again and noticed a pile of items on the floor—a duffel bag. Xu Mengshan opened it and said, "Just some clothes." Next to it was a large black plastic bag. When Xu Mengshan crouched to open it, he froze and immediately called You Mingxu over.

Inside were a bundle of rope stained with traces of blood, along with unused masks, hoods, foot covers, and gloves, all neatly bundled."Damn it, it's him!" Xu Mengshan shouted excitedly, "It's set in stone!"

The other detectives were also thrilled. They hadn't expected that just a few analyses from Yin Feng would lead them straight to the killer's lair. Although they had no evidence before, now the entire room was filled with evidence.

You Mingxu also smiled and immediately called Ding Xiongwei to report, requesting forensic support and police backup.

After hanging up, however, You Mingxu noticed Xu Mengshan's grave expression: "Sister You, there's something else here." In the corner behind the bag containing the rope and gloves.

You Mingxu and Yin Feng walked over and were both taken aback.

Leaning against the wall were five exquisite glass bottles. Two contained objects, with small photos of the victims pasted on them. Three were empty.

You Mingxu suddenly felt nauseous, overwhelmed by indescribable disgust and anger. She turned away, refusing to look further. Yin Feng also stared at the bottles, his expression unreadable: "He really did prepare pretty glass bottles..." Noticing You Mingxu's distress, he pressed her head against his chest and said, "A Xu, forget this." Then he shot a glare at Xu Mengshan.

Xu Mengshan also felt sickened by the sight, but being glared at by Yin Feng made him feel wronged—this was crucial evidence, and Sister You would have seen it eventually. Isn't this what a detective's life is like? They've witnessed too many scenes they'd rather not see, but they have to keep looking.

You Mingxu pushed Yin Feng's hand away and said, "I'm fine."

Xu Mengshan thought for a moment and said, "With the evidence solid and the suspect not back yet, should we..." A glint flashed in his eyes: "Wait here to catch him like a sitting duck?"

You Mingxu pondered briefly, then looked up toward a corner of the ceiling. Xu Mengshan and Yin Feng followed her gaze.

In the corner, a surveillance camera was installed, aimed directly at the living room door. That meant the moment they stepped into the room, the other party might have already noticed.

You Mingxu said, "I'm afraid we've already alerted the snake. If he sees the footage, he won't return. We need to verify his identity quickly and take the initiative to arrest him!"

The expressions of all three turned serious. Verifying the killer's identity wasn't difficult—this was his lair, and fingerprints and DNA could confirm it. But it would take time. If the killer had already been alerted and fled, it would likely complicate matters.

Still, they had already achieved twice the result with half the effort.

Just then, You Mingxu's phone rang, and her heart leaped with joy—it was the IT specialist she had asked for help earlier.

She recalled how Yin Feng had invited her for a massage but was rejected and even received a cold shoulder from her. Yet, something Yin Feng said had struck a chord with You Mingxu—

"Look at what kind of process they went through from the day they joined the company and who they came into contact with."

You Mingxu suddenly realized that the company's personnel system contained all employees' basic information, photos, addresses, and even quarterly evaluation results.

If the killer could access this system, wouldn't he be able to accurately select targets that met his requirements without risking direct contact with the victims?

However, she had interrogated all employees at the two bathhouses, including those with access to the system, and no one seemed suspicious. This was why she hadn't considered investigating from this angle before.Yin Feng's words reminded her of a saying: Eliminate all impossible answers, and the remaining result, no matter how incredible, is the answer to the problem.