You Mingxu continued: “If the second personality doesn’t exist, and someone else created the Punisher, then how did they achieve the current situation? Whether it’s what Chen Feng saw or your memory fragments, if they’re fabricated, there must be holes. When exactly did they manipulate you all?”

Yin Feng had certainly pondered this question repeatedly.

The first possibility was that the memories in his mind were implanted beforehand. But with current neurotechnology, that was impossible. Besides, he’d undergone so many brain examinations without any abnormalities being found.

The second possibility was hypnosis. But real psychological hypnosis was completely different from the nonsense in TV shows and novels. No one could make him respond to a snap of fingers—that was magic. Of course, there were real hypnosis masters, but even if the Punisher brought one in, they couldn’t succeed without getting close to him and gaining his trust. So logically, this was also impossible.

The third possibility was what he’d just told You Mingxu—those events happened, and what he and Chen Feng saw was real, but there were hidden circumstances. However, honestly, he couldn’t think of any reason why he would stand beside Yin Chen and collude with that woman Su Ziyi. Unless he had a second personality, there was no other reasonable explanation.

This was why today, as soon as he started talking, he told You Mingxu straight out that having a second personality was the most likely possibility.

The logic had already failed; he just refused to give up.

However, You Mingxu’s other question stirred something in Yin Feng’s mind.

She asked: When exactly did they manipulate you all?

“What do you mean?” Yin Feng asked.

You Mingxu replied: “I don’t know, and I don’t understand if it’s possible in psychology or neurology to make people believe false things are true. But since we’re sticking to the hypothesis of ‘no second personality,’ we must correspondingly assume they managed to do this.

No one can truly achieve perfection. In our eyes as criminal investigators, if something was done, traces and clues must remain. Think carefully—recently, and that night three years ago when Chen Feng saw you with Su Ziyi, did anything unusual happen? Maybe just an inconspicuous detail—truth often hides in details. You must think back carefully. Maybe only you can discover it, only you can overthrow them.”

In our eyes as criminal investigators, if something was done, traces and clues must remain.

If it’s fabricated, there must be holes.

Did anything unusual happen?

Just inconspicuous details.

…

Yin Feng had always been detail-oriented.

But more often, he focused on behavioral details, not the physical evidence and conventional logic that criminal investigators cared about.

So when hunting the Apprentice Killer, he could derive the “behavioral prediction” that the killer enjoyed commenting on crimes online—almost fantastical, without caring much about conventional logic. Conventional logic couldn’t reach that conclusion.

Moreover, that night’s events had shocked him too deeply mentally. When he thought about it, his emotions became unstable, immediately drawn into the scene Chen Feng described or what he saw.

Now You Mingxu’s words, pure criminal investigator thinking yet similar but different from his thought process, sparked something in his mind like a small match lighting up with a “whoosh.” While he had been surrounded by fog, he seemed to faintly see some black, fine veins hidden within, flashing past.

Instinct told him he was missing something.

One cannot see Mount Lu’s true face when standing upon it.

They couldn’t have manipulated him without leaving traces.

Details.

Unusual details.

…

When had he become singlemindedly convinced that the Punisher had another creator and that it was a man who felt very familiar?

Chen Feng’s eyewitness account was from three years ago. How did he describe it then? What other details did he mention?

The police station office… thick case files… wall clock… someone looking up, eyes betraying a hint of a smile… footsteps and voices in the corridor…

Hospital… corner… that familiar black shadow… empty storage room… vanishing into thin air…

After the banquet… snowy lakeside… he entered the secret room… Chen Feng’s pursuit… Li Mingdi on the ground… familiar whip… Chen Feng at the stairs… Su Ziyi turning… white shirt, glasses… black silk short skirt…

Those scenes flashed through Yin Feng’s mind one by one in detail. Gradually, the fog dispersed. Those black, narrow patterns became increasingly clear. And that match’s light grew brighter and brighter, connecting all the unreasonable details in each scene. Finally, those patterns intertwined into prominent, protruding veins right before his eyes!

Yin Feng sat at the computer but felt as if he’d suddenly fallen into an ice cellar, his heart beginning to beat violently.

If he insisted on maintaining the hypothesis of no second personality.

Then, eliminating all impossible answers.

The remaining person, however incredible, was the Punisher—the true creator and soul.

He had been silent too long, and You Mingxu’s heart also began beating uncontrollably faster.

She asked: “Did you… think of something?”

More than just thinking of something. The more unreasonable things were the narrower the path—almost like a crack—once crossed, would yield the most incredible yet precise answer.

Yin Feng’s throat began to feel dry as he slowly typed: “A Xu, thank you. I don’t think I need to go die anymore.”

You Mingxu: “What?”

“I know who created the Punisher organization.”

You Mingxu’s whole body jolted. Today felt like riding a roller coaster—just as it seemed to be slowing down toward a gentle but endless descent, he suddenly threw her high into the sky again.

“Who?”

“I also know how that person accomplished all this.”

He typed a name on the screen.

You Mingxu’s eyes suddenly widened.

Frost covered Yin Feng’s face. After typing that name, he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and calling out: “Champion!”

Champion pushed open the door, glanced at the dense text on the screen, and could barely breathe: “Teacher Yin, I’m not criticizing, but are you having an online romance? Not finished yet? The police aren’t idiots, I can barely hide it anymore.”

But he met Yin Feng’s ice-cold gaze, as if submerged in freezing water, making Champion’s heart flutter. He thought: damn, couples are couples—Teacher Yin was half-dead just now, but after chatting with You Mingxu for a bit, how is he fully revived? Are they going to overcome such a huge obstacle together?

However, he heard Yin Feng say: “Watch someone for me. From now on, I want to know every word that person says, everyone they meet, everything they do, everywhere they go. That person is completely unaware now and trying to hide their identity, so they won’t be on guard.

This person is about to lead the Punishers in carrying out their final criminal plan. Watching this person is like having our hands around the Punishers’ throat. It’s my turn for revenge—this time, I’ll make sure they never return, and uproot the entire Punisher organization!”