Chapter 432 - 284: Silence of the Lambs (Part 2)

Chapter 432: Chapter 284: Silence of the Lambs (Part 2)

The first thing he did when he arrived on the scene was to see Starling as dangerous.

And Miss Starling had even helped him out.

’It was all because of my prejudice against Devils.’

The captain recalled that the war with the Devils had, in fact, ended over a hundred years ago. The last recorded direct conflict was decades ago.

To be honest, in the past decade, fewer people had been genuinely corrupted by Devils than the number of poor old folks scammed into buying useless health supplements in a single month.

Why did he have to specify "genuinely" corrupted?

Because many people he’d arrested claimed they had only committed their crimes because they were corrupted by a Devil.

He could understand it if someone used that excuse after committing a serious crime.

But why did a thief who stole underwear and socks also have to blame it on a Devil?

’What would a Devil want with that stuff?’

’And they were used, no less!’

Of course, upon further investigation, the vast majority of these people would admit the so-called Devil was just an excuse they’d invented to lessen their sentence.

’Maybe I should give Devils a chance,’ the captain thought.

During the war, it was completely understandable to paint Devils as irredeemably evil.

But the war was over now. It wasn’t right to apply impressions from that unique period to the Devils of today.

Or rather, he shouldn’t superimpose his impression of the group onto every individual.

He should get to know them as individuals before making a judgment.

It was just that over ninety percent of the people in Feilin knew nothing about Devils, much less had the chance to.

Speaking of which, the top fighter in his *Path of Conquest* guild was a Devil. He played a Thief, his name was "Ah Meng Not Too Fat," and he called himself the Lord of Hell.

Of course, everyone assumed he was joking, but they all called him "Lord of Hell" anyway.

He had a pretty good personality. He was generous, had a snarky way of talking, and loved to tell bad jokes.

’I always thought he just said he was a Devil to be different, but now that I think about it, maybe he really is one.’

Because that Ah Meng knew a little *too* much about all kinds of Devils.

’If a Devil can star in a Shadow of Evil, then it’s perfectly reasonable for a Devil to play video games too.’

’If most Devils are like Ah Meng from the guild, then maybe the race isn’t as bad as the rumors make them out to be.’

Putting aside his prejudice against the Devil race for the moment, the captain began to fully immerse himself in the story of *Silence of the Lambs*.

In the film, Starling entered her superior’s office. One wall was covered in thumbtacked newspaper clippings and crime scene photos.

Most of the content was related to a single character.

"Buffalo Bill Strikes for the Fifth Time."

"Bill Strikes Again, Missing Woman’s Shirt Left Behind."

"Bill: The Cruel Skinner Killer."

...

The camera moved too fast for the captain to see everything clearly.

But based on his years of experience, he could already deduce that this Buffalo Bill was most likely mentally unstable.

Not all serial killers were unhinged, but one who targeted women and enjoyed skinning them was definitely not normal.

A killer whose mind didn’t work like an Ordinary person’s was the hardest to catch.

He’d never personally caught a criminal of this caliber—if he had, he wouldn’t be stuck in his current position—but he had participated in similar cases alongside his seniors in the Guard Corps.

Let’s see... in the end, he and his senior had worked together to successfully arrest the culprit.

As for how much he contributed to their joint effort... it was at least three points.

Out of a hundred.

The biggest hurdle back then had been figuring out what the criminal was thinking. You had to get on the same wavelength as the perpetrator to catch them.

Sometimes he just didn’t get it. How could the Human species produce so many deviants?

"I need you to go to the mental hospital to find someone. He’s refused to cooperate with me in the past," the superior said.

"Who is it?"

"A psychiatrist, Hannibal."

"Ogre Hannibal..." Starling murmured.

"I don’t expect him to talk to you, but you have to at least try. You must be fully focused."

Her superior stared at Starling, admonishing her word by word.

"Follow the asylum’s visitation procedures. Do not deviate from them in any way. Don’t let Hannibal know what you’re thinking. Don’t reveal anything personal to him. Trust me."

Her superior’s expression was extremely serious.

"Trust me, you do not want Hannibal inside your head. Just do your job, and don’t forget what he is."

"And what is he?" Starling asked.

The scene cut to the mental hospital, where the warden answered in a flippant tone, "A monster. A Devil. A pure psychopath..."

But the excited look on the warden’s face made it seem like he was describing a piece from his personal collection.

The captain almost laughed. Describing a psychopath as a "Devil" to a Devil Detective.

’If I were Starling, I’d be absolutely furious right now.’

Still, from the looks of it, the plot involved having this psychopath, Hannibal, figure out the thoughts of the other psychopath who was still on the loose, Buffalo Bill.

Using a psycho to deal with a psycho. Setting a madman to catch a madman.

’A brilliant idea.’

The captain was inspired.

’Since the minds of deviant criminals are so hard to fathom, why not have other deviant criminals study them? They might have more of a common language.’

The more the captain thought about it, the more sense the idea made. It could potentially solve a lot of cold cases.

It wasn’t just Twin Tower City; the crime clearance rate for all of Feilin was nothing to be proud of. If they solved even half of the major cases in a given year, it was cause for celebration.

As for petty crimes, solving them was mostly a matter of luck.

They didn’t invest too much energy into minor cases. They were a hassle, and there was no real reward for solving them anyway.

The main reason the Seventh Squad had a better public reputation than most in the Guard Corps was that they actually bothered with those small matters.

The captain wanted big cases, too. Unfortunately, there weren’t any.

’No, how can I think like that?’

The captain quickly realized the problem with his thinking. Every major case meant the loss of innocent lives. How could he wish for something like that to happen?

’It’s better if there are none. Better for everyone to be safe. If that means no chance to get a commendation and a promotion, so be it. It’s not like I had much of a chance anyway.’

Those extreme cases were difficult to solve. Limited technology was one reason. Although they had Magic to help, many criminals also knew Magic, and a fair number were more skilled with it than the Guard Corps.

The brutes capable of committing such inhuman acts were usually quite clever.

’If I proposed a system where captured criminals assist in solving cases, would it be my chance to finally make a name for myself?’

The captain considered it seriously.

’Wait, why has no one ever thought of this before? Why did it take a Shadow of Evil to bring it up?’

’Oh, right. I get it now.’

The captain slapped his thigh.

Feilin didn’t have any mental patients you could actually hold a conversation with. Every last one of them in the asylums had their brains scrambled, turning them into drooling imbeciles. How the hell could they analyze a case?

Even if there were, getting them to cooperate would be another problem.

What could you possibly offer to entice a criminal?

’Reduce their sentence? Let them go once they’ve served enough time?’

’That’s ridiculous.’

’It’s not worth it to release one madman just to catch another.’

At that, the captain dismissed the idea.

Still, he was very curious why the Hannibal in the Shadow of Evil would decide to help Starling.

Onscreen, Starling followed the warden down flight after flight of stairs, passing through one security gate after another and past rows of heavily armed Guards.

’What kind of person warrants this level of security?’

And was it really reasonable to keep a criminal of this level alive for the sake of so-called "psychological research" instead of just executing him?

’There’s no such thing as a perfectly secure defense.’

It was one of the Guard Corps’ maxims.

’There’s always a way out. Maybe this arrogant warden will pay the price for his hubris,’ the captain speculated.

On the way to Hannibal’s cell, the warden recited the visitation procedures.

"Do not approach or touch the door. Nothing is to be passed to him except soft paper. Only paper, no pens. No staples or paper clips on the paper. If food must be delivered, it can only be sent through the designated chute..."

The rules sounded incredibly exaggerated, one after another.

As if he could escape with just a pen.

The superior’s warning and the warden’s description filled the captain with immense anticipation.

’What kind of character is this monstrous Hannibal, really?’

’Ah, he must look incredibly evil, and powerful.’

Starling walked past other cells.

They held madmen with bizarre behaviors. The deeper she went, the more deranged they became.

The captain’s anticipation grew.

Finally, Starling stopped before a glass door.

The legendary Hannibal finally made his much-anticipated appearance.

The captain couldn’t help but sit up straight. He was going to get a good look...

Huh?

’That’s it?’