Due to Chen Zhaoci being classified as a dangerous criminal, You Mingxu and several police officers were armed with guns this time. She rode in the same car with Xu Mengshan and Yin Feng, with Xu Mengshan driving as usual and the front passenger seat empty.

“How credible is Deng Yao’s statement?” Xu Mengshan asked.

“Very,” You Mingxu replied.

Xu Mengshan let out a cold snort. “This time we must catch that bastard.”

You Mingxu studied Xu Mengshan’s expression in the rearview mirror. After not seeing each other for several days, her partner seemed unchanged, just like before. Still the same deep-thinking Fox Xu. It was as if he had already sorted through everything that had happened as if nothing had ever occurred.

You Mingxu felt a twinge of melancholy.

When Yin Feng held her hand, she didn’t pull away since Xu Mengshan probably couldn’t see it. She looked at him and said softly, “You were quite impressive interrogating Deng Yao earlier.” His deduction today was notably more brilliant and accurate than before.

Yin Feng also felt that this time, his thoughts were faster and clearer than before. During Deng Yao’s interrogation, those deductions had come to him smoothly. He suddenly remembered Chen Feng saying there were signs of his brain hemorrhage dissipating, and his heart skipped a beat.

He squeezed her hand and said softly, “That deserves a reward.”

You Mingxu replied, “We’ll discuss it at home.”

He squeezed her hand again and asked, “Don’t you think we worked especially well together just now?”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t we more compatible now?”

You Mingxu thought he was still dwelling on the previous time when she had refused to acknowledge their compatibility, so she just smiled faintly without answering.

But he reached his conclusion: “We’re like a perfectly harmonious couple.”

She gave him a sidelong glance. “You’ve got it backward.”

He said, “No, I don’t. After all, I’m the one on top.”

Even You Mingxu, tough as she was, took a moment to understand his meaning, and her heart skipped a beat. Now he was acting like a man who owned up to his actions. He draped his arm over her seat back and said softly, “Not happy about it? Want to bite me again?”

That was referring to when she had bitten his back last night.

You Mingxu was silent for a moment, then smiled, her voice even more languid than his: “Forgot to tell you, I’m healed now. Later I’ll show you who’s really on top.”

Yin Feng stared at her with a smile, and You Mingxu found her heart fluttering under his gaze. She thought to herself, sure enough, even the purest man changes after sharing a bed.

They arrived at Yuefeng Mountain.

It was already afternoon, and it would be dark in the mountains in a few hours. A group of criminal investigators spread out along the mountain path to search. The mountain foothills were quite vast, with endless forests as far as the eye could see. The rumored air-raid shelter at the city-county border wasn’t marked on any map, so they could only search area by area.

You Mingxu led Yin Feng into the forest, pushing through the undergrowth and advancing quickly. The sky was somewhat cloudy, making the forest even darker, and the search lines were gradually spreading wider apart. You Mingxu suddenly remembered the youth case, when she and Yin Feng had shared their first kiss in a forest just like this.

The man beside her, who had complained about his sore feet the last time, was now silent and staying close to her. When they needed to climb, he used his long legs to his advantage, climbing up first and pulling her up—though You Mingxu didn’t need the help, she still gave him the face of playing the gentleman.

You Mingxu thought that Yin Feng had been right in the car—after all this time, their rapport was far beyond what it had been initially. That feeling of being able to trust each other completely, of being almost one entity, had developed without them noticing.

It was after crossing a wild hillside that You Mingxu noticed something unusual. Ahead was a vertical cliff face with thick vegetation at its base. Among it stood a small wooden cabin that looked very old, with a faint light inside that would have been impossible to spot from afar through the trees.

You Mingxu pulled Yin Feng into the undergrowth while taking out her radio to report in quietly. The others would be able to surround the area in ten minutes at most.

“Stay here, don’t move,” You Mingxu said. “I’ll go check it out.”

He held her hand. “Let’s go together.”

You Mingxu shook her head.

Yin Feng understood that he might hinder rather than help her mobility. He squeezed her hand. “Be careful. I’ll watch you.”

You Mingxu smiled, then crouched low and crept forward.

Outside the cabin, the door was ajar. You Mingxu hid in the dark undergrowth and peered through the gap. She saw someone sitting at a small table—who else but Chen Zhaoci?

After several days without seeing him, he had grown thin and dark, with stubble around his chin and filthy, torn clothes. He’d been living roughly while evading the police. Behind him on the ground was what appeared to be a stove with rice and oil supplies.

You Mingxu felt anger rising as she looked at him, thinking of how Fan Jia had believed in his repentance right until the end, only for him to deliver her to a murderer. She gripped her gun tighter.

Just then.

Chen Zhaoci, who had been looking down, suddenly raised his eyes, and their gazes met abruptly.

Chen Zhaoci curved his lips in a smile.

You Mingxu felt her entire heart wrapped in ice, knowing it was a trap but refusing to let him gain the upper hand. Quick as lightning, she leaped from the undergrowth and burst through the door, drawing her gun: “Don’t move!”

Chen Zhaoci had indeed been reaching for the knife in his boot, but You Mingxu’s reaction was too fast. His hand had barely touched the knife when the gun was aimed at his forehead, so he froze completely.

You Mingxu barked, “Hands up!”

He sat back, with an ambiguous smile, slowly raising his hands. Seeing his unperturbed expression, You Mingxu’s eyes nearly blazed with fury as she quickly scanned the surroundings. The cabin was tiny, with just a folding bed and a curtain in the back, behind which was darkness—presumably the air-raid shelter.

You Mingxu’s gaze returned to Chen Zhaoci. “Deng Yao has confessed everything about what you did.”

Chen Zhaoci’s expression darkened.

“Stand up,” You Mingxu said. “Hands behind your head, walk out.”

He slowly stood.

You Mingxu’s hatred surged as she looked at him. Seeing that backup hadn’t arrived yet and only Yin Feng was outside, she struck him hard on the head with her gun butt. Chen Zhaoci cried out in pain and collapsed onto the table, blood flowing. You Mingxu wasn’t satisfied and grabbed his head to slam it down several more times, saying coldly, “Are you even human? Fan Jia trusted you and believed in your repentance. Now she’s gone! She was only 24! Are you even human, you beast!”

Chen Zhaoci lay on the table, motionless and unresisting. You Mingxu kept her gun trained on him and then heard what sounded like a mix of crying and laughter. After a few “hehe” sounds, he said, “I had already led her on a detour, but that mad dog still caught up. I didn’t want to kill her. In all these years, the only woman I didn’t want to kill still died by my hands.”

You Mingxu was startled, but the hatred in her heart remained undiminished. She said coldly, “Let’s go. The law’s punishment awaits you.”

He was quiet for a moment, then said, “You might not believe this, but these past few days I’ve been thinking, if I had met her earlier, if she had said those things to me earlier, maybe… I wouldn’t have become a killer.”

You Mingxu’s heart grew heavier.

But there were no “what ifs.”

For the guilty, there were no “what ifs.”

For those who died by crime, there were no “what ifs” either.

Chen Zhaoci stood up straight and laughed to himself: “But, I’ve already been judged, you can’t take me away. I’ve been granted a new life.”

You Mingxu was bewildered, wondering if he had lost his mind.

Just then.

Chen Zhaoci suddenly turned and lunged toward her gun. You Mingxu startled, quickly dodging while reaching for his collar with her other hand.

The curtain behind rustled as someone rushed out. You Mingxu’s entire back went cold, and she hurried to turn around.

Too late.

Something heavy struck her head, sending her crashing into the table before falling to the ground. Chen Zhaoci stepped back with his knife, but another gun was now aimed at her forehead.

The newcomer was dressed entirely in black and very tall. Black tactical jacket, black pants, short boots, and a baseball cap pulled low, showing only the chin.

An overwhelming sense of familiarity washed over her. You Mingxu’s body felt as if it was being slowly encased in ice. He raised his head.

Those were very striking eyes. His face was much thinner than it had been several months ago. But one look was enough to flood You Mingxu’s mind with memories she thought had long since faded.

The endless wilderness, the gloomy rainy night, the man watching her through the car window; sitting with her by the tent, together looking up at the starry sky; lighting a cigarette and sitting on a dead log, saying: I’ve decided to become a serial killer, to kill five, or more.

Gu Tiancheng was watching her, his gaze neither sad nor happy.

After a while, You Mingxu smiled.

He smiled too.

Chen Zhaoci watched this scene in confusion. But he clearly understood the current predicament—this female officer was a major problem. Seeing her knocked down by Gu Tiancheng, Chen Zhaoci quietly gripped his knife and tried to approach, only to hear Gu Tiancheng speak: “Stop right there. What kind of creature are you to dare touch her?”

You Mingxu looked back once.

Chen Zhaoci was startled, feeling both hatred and anger, but meeting Gu Tiancheng’s icy gaze, he slowly lowered his knife and retreated to the side.

You Mingxu’s hand was still on her gun. If she were facing anyone else, she would have confidence in risking a counter-attack. But with Gu Tiancheng, she couldn’t risk it.

Gu Tiancheng stared into her eyes, as if she were all he could see, and said softly, “Finally, some peace. Mingxu, at last, we can talk properly.”