Chapter 123 - 113: Dissecting the Case! The Situation is Clear

As it stands, the police investigation is based on finding a killer who connects the incidents at the public and private schools.

The suspect profile is also being built around this key point.

Shen Miao, for example, perfectly fits the profile. However...

"Let’s assume Shen Miao was involved in the public school incident. But she’s dead—she’s definitely dead—which means the private school case can’t have anything to do with her."

"It’s impossible to use her to connect all the information and link the clues from both parts."

"Unless... she wasn’t the killer. Or, to put it another way, there’s a second killer!"

Xu Huo’s gaze was piercing as his thoughts began to crystallize.

He scribbled furiously on the blackboard, splitting the jumble of information into two distinct sections.

"So that means... the events at the public school, the ones Cheng Yu started, festered over time and gave rise to the second part—our current case."

"But the second part seems to have its own internal logic, and the details from the first part don’t seem to apply?"

Inspiration struck Qian Hua, and he suddenly understood what Xu Huo meant.

"So the information leak was his doing too!?"

Li Jianye was more concerned about this particular detail, his brow deeply furrowed.

If there was a mole... then this case was far more serious than a simple murder.

"It’s very likely. Because even if the logic that created the problems is different, the desired outcome is the same."

"Therefore, with shared interests, the two killers might have helped each other."

Xu Huo nodded.

He had just theorized that someone leaked information, which led him to deduce a second killer.

And this new conclusion created a perfect logical loop for that theory.

"Same problem, same interests."

"Assuming Shen Miao was the first person facing this ’problem,’ what was the second killer’s problem?"

Before anyone could fully process that, Xu Huo posed another question.

The others were snapped out of their deductions and back to the present, their minds racing to keep up.

Many people can end up with the same problem.

For example, school has started and the teacher is checking homework. Two students are standing in front of her.

The first one didn’t do the homework at all. His problem is how to get out of this inspection.

The second one did the homework but can’t find it. His problem is also how to get out of the inspection.

The logic that led to the problem is different, but they both face the same problem. And when the problem is the same, so are the interests.

So, given our assumption that Shen Miao was one of the killers... what was the second problem?

"Bullying, too?"

"The bullying incident that led to a death... wasn’t a one-time thing!?"

Qian Hua paused, a look of astonishment spreading across his face.

"The victim, Cheng Yu... after the incident with Shen Miao was ’resolved,’ she didn’t change her ways? She even did it again!?"

When a person does something wrong, do they change?

It depends. If they pay the price they deserve, they most likely will.

That’s because the price of most crimes far exceeds any value gained from committing them.

Only by forcing someone to bear the consequences of their crime will they ever change!

Otherwise, it just creates the thrill of dancing on the edge of a knife, a restless urge to do it again.

Put it this way. If robbing a bank, murder, rape... if none of these crimes had consequences, what kind of chaos would the world descend into?

Conscience? Morality? Personal limits? They’re all maintained by consequences!

It’s like teaching a child that hot water burns. You can’t just tell them with words; they’ll eventually touch it anyway.

But once they get burned, they learn their lesson. Even if you don’t say a word, the next time that child sees a kettle, they’ll know not to touch it.

"So, let me ask everyone here."

"Did Cheng Yu... ever pay a price?"

The simple, yet heavy question hung in the air.

Xu Huo’s gaze swept over the others in the room.

No one spoke. The cheeks of the Zhaozhou City captain flushed red as a wave of shame washed over him.

Li Jianye took a deep breath and said sullenly, "No."

"That’s right. She did something wrong and paid no price."

"She just walked away scot-free. That’s what happened after she did wrong!"

"So, under those circumstances... do you think she would have changed?"

Cheng Yu paid no price whatsoever.

If you really had to stretch for something... a little bit of money?

First, you have to understand Cheng Yu’s family background.

Cheng Yang wasn’t a board member who conveniently used his power to move his delinquent daughter, Cheng Yu, into a private school.

No, it was because Cheng Yu made a mistake that Cheng Yang spent some money to *become* a board member, just so he could arrange a spot for her.

When she did something wrong, Cheng Yu wasn’t the one who bore the responsibility.

In fact, she even ended up with better treatment!

Do bad things, do wrong things, and not only do you escape punishment, you get rewarded with a better environment. Does that make any sense?

It doesn’t. But that’s exactly what happened to Cheng Yu.

"If I’m not mistaken, Cheng Yu did something else at the private school."

"And that incident directly led to the emergence of the second killer."

"That’s why the killer tortured and killed the three from the private school with such rage. But when he killed the participants from the first incident, he felt nothing at all."

A silence fell over the room.

In just a few short minutes, the rough outlines of the case had been filled in with sharp detail.

Two killers, two separate incidents, the reason for the different treatment of the victims...

Everything was suddenly clear, but... no one felt any sense of satisfaction.

The first victim had been bullied to death, as the clues indicated.

But Cheng Yu just turned around, walked away scot-free, and found her next target.

And if the killer hadn’t appeared, Cheng Yu’s future plans were...