Gu Tiancheng had been knocked unconscious.

You Mingxu had shown restraint, knowing she’d only given him a mild concussion at most. Still keeping him pinned with one hand, she reached into his pocket, pulled out cigarettes, put one between her lips, lit it, and let out a long sigh. She squinted, looking up.

The simpleton stood several meters away from them, one hand gripping the dagger, the other holding a stone he’d picked up from somewhere, looking ready to pounce if things went wrong. Their eyes met, and despite his disheveled appearance, blood-stained clothes, and teary eyes, he broke into a wide grin.

You Mingxu chuckled softly, “Silly.”

He understood this word, paused for a moment, then looked at the ground, glanced at her, and looked back at the ground again, actually appearing to sulk and ignore her.

You Mingxu said, “Hey, give me two zip ties, the kind you used to bind me earlier. And you still deny being silly—wanting to save me, yet why did you tie me up? I almost thought you were another mindless criminal.”

He shuffled reluctantly, pulled several zip ties from his pocket, and walked over to hand them to her. While binding Gu Tiancheng, You Mingxu asked, “Why do you carry these around?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “They were just in my pocket.”

“But you know how to use them?” You Mingxu said quickly.

He stared at her blankly, then nodded. You Mingxu thought to herself, something wasn’t right—police officers always carried handcuffs, but she hadn’t seen any on the police car, on Gu Tiancheng, or the simpleton. Instead, he had these simple, convenient tools commonly used by criminals.

“Should I put a couple on you?” You Mingxu asked gently. “That way you can stay with me and won’t wander off.”

This time he showed his cleverness, glaring at her and shaking his head, his lips pushed out in an exaggerated pout.

You Mingxu smiled again, not rushing. Whether he was a dragon or a worm, he was in her grasp now and couldn’t escape.

Just then, police sirens finally sounded from the distant woods, accompanied by flashing lights. By the sound, at least four or five vehicles had arrived.

You Mingxu glanced at the simpleton; he showed no reaction, apparently having no instinctive fear of the police.

She turned on her flashlight and waved it in their direction. There was soon movement as a group of people approached with flashlights, accompanied by distant sounds of crying, talking, and shouting. You Mingxu knew it was probably the three hostages who had escaped earlier and been found by the police. After being tormented by fear all night, they could finally cry with relief.

“You look strange,” the simpleton suddenly said beside her.

“How so?”

Looking up, she met his pitch-black eyes staring at her intently.

He said, “You’re smiling, but why do I feel like you look a bit sad?”

You Mingxu paused, then said lightly, “What nonsense. You don’t understand adult matters.”

He fell silent, but his grape-black eyes still stared at her steadily. You Mingxu felt an inexplicable awkwardness under the naive simpleton’s gaze, and simply flashed a sweet smile, saying, “Come here, I have something to tell you.”

The simpleton approached without suspicion, bending down close. You Mingxu grabbed his collar, bringing their faces very close, and blew a large puff of smoke directly at him. Completely caught off guard, he inhaled a big mouthful, his eyes widening as his whole face scrunched up unpleasantly. He stumbled back a step, covering his mouth and coughing with tears in his eyes.

You Mingxu burst out laughing, stubbed out her cigarette, and stood up.

The people had arrived.

At least a dozen people came, with two unfamiliar officers in the lead—likely local police—followed by her people. You Mingxu called out, “Captain Ding.”

It was indeed Ding Xiongwei, captain of the Xiangcheng Yueshan District Criminal Police Brigade and You Mingxu’s direct superior. Ding Xiongwei was about forty-something, of average build with a slight beer belly, unremarkable in appearance. Under his thick eyebrows were a pair of calm, stern eyes. He glanced at the unconscious Gu Tiancheng at You Mingxu’s feet and asked, “Is this him?”

You Mingxu nodded: “Yes. He’s confessed to me. It wasn’t just four murders—it was six. And he was just about to kill three more hostages. I strongly suspect he’s the serial killer.”

Ding Xiongwei looked behind her: “Who’s that?”

You Mingxu answered, “The suspect stole his car and injured him here.” She pointed to her head. “Identity unknown.”

Ding Xiongwei stared at the simpleton for a few moments. You Mingxu added, “We should check if he’s one of our own from Tibet. He was driving on this road before the incident and seems to know some details about the case. The suspect believed he was a police officer.”

The two unfamiliar officers beside Ding Xiongwei said, “We haven’t seen him before. We’ll verify immediately.”

Everyone stared at the simpleton.

You Mingxu sensed trouble coming, and sure enough, immediately felt someone gently tugging at her hand. She turned to see the simpleton’s face had fallen, head lowered, teeth biting his lower lip as he tugged her hand again.

“What’s wrong?” she asked in a voice only the two of them could hear.

“Can we leave?” he asked, his voice very soft and weak.

You Mingxu said, “Listen, we’re not leaving. These aren’t bad people—they’re police officers, good people, here to help you. I’m also a police officer, and they’re all my brothers. Someone will ask you some questions soon, and you need to answer everything truthfully. We’ll help you find your family and friends… your mom and dad, and take you somewhere safe, okay?”

He thought for a moment: “Okay.” But he still kept his head down, two fingers clutching her pinky and refusing to let go. You Mingxu tried to pull away but couldn’t: “…”

Fine, she’d deal with him later—there were more pressing matters. But when You Mingxu looked up, she caught a glimpse of amusement flickering in that old fox Ding Xiongwei’s eyes. You Mingxu shot him a big glare, her expression saying: He’s mentally impaired!

Ding Xiongwei waved his hand, and two officers came forward to lift Gu Tiancheng from the ground and handcuff him. Still unconscious, Gu Tiancheng was carried away. Ding Xiongwei asked, “Does he have any other accomplices?”

You Mingxu said, “None discovered so far.”

“How much do you know about his situation now?”

“He calls himself Gu Tiancheng, 28, from Xiangcheng. Former IT entrepreneur who failed in business and has a terminal illness. Also, according to him, his missing girlfriend was another of his victims.”

Ding Xiongwei nodded, looked her over, and said, “So yesterday after you left the uninhabited zone and received the news, you immediately ended your vacation and headed this way to join us, but ran into the suspect instead?”

“That’s right.”

Ding Xiongwei finally showed a slight smile and gave her head a hard pat: “Lucky you! We were closing the net, and you stumbled right into him.”

You Mingxu gave a faint smile, but after Ding Xiongwei’s pat, she noticed the unidentified young man behind her glaring at him.

Ding Xiongwei said to him, “What are you glaring at?”

The simpleton didn’t speak, probably sensing this man wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Then he let out a light snort, stared at You Mingxu’s head, raised one hand, and gently stroked it, then patted it, as if brushing something away. After patting, he ignored Ding Xiongwei and looked up at the sky.

Ding Xiongwei: “…”