It was already midnight. The streetlights were far away, leaving this narrow, dim path in darkness. The Yuelu Mountain range loomed nearby. Weeds grew wild along the path, nearly as tall as a person. Now, those leaves were splattered with blood.

Even from a distance, You Mingxu could smell the metallic scent of blood, making her stomach churn. Yin Feng, walking beside her, maintained a serene expression like a wildflower by the roadside.

You Mingxu suddenly thought that perhaps his current state wasn’t so bad—this innocence and fearlessness, maintaining childlike wonder even in the face of bloodshed. He had been so certain that his previous self lived an unhappy life; maybe he truly was happier now. What harm was there in keeping him this way?

So You Mingxu beckoned to him, “Stay close to me.” The crime scene was no place for him to wander off.

He nodded quickly and stepped forward, practically pressing against her back like a human backpack. “Is this… close enough?”

You Mingxu’s temple twitched, her previous sympathetic feelings completely vanishing. “Back off! I didn’t tell you to stick to me!”

The body had been discovered by a worker taking a shortcut to his night shift, who was still shakily giving his statement. Xu Mengshan and Fan Jia had arrived earlier, and both were startled to see You Mingxu appear with Yin Feng. However, You Mingxu had no intention of explaining anything. She simply put on her gloves and walked straight toward the body.

Yin Feng smiled at Xu Mengshan and the others. The police officers stared at the Provincial Bureau Expert badge hanging prominently on his bright yellow Superman T-shirt but said nothing. In truth, they had no time to deal with this seemingly idle person.

The victim lay face-down, with multiple stab wounds in his back. From his build and appearance, he appeared to be a young man. Blood covered the ground, and the chaotic pattern of wounds made the scene even more gruesome. He had been reduced to little more than a bloody mess.

More brutally, the victim’s face had been hacked several times, rendering it unrecognizable—more like a pile of mud than a human face.

You Mingxu crouched by the body, examining it for a while as she suppressed her nausea. She said, “The killer attacked from behind, with the first strike being deep enough to immediately incapacitate the victim. Then they continued stabbing multiple times. The victim couldn’t even turn around—there were no wounds on the front of the body. He fell forward immediately.”

Her gaze swept the scene, landing on a man’s wallet near the body. It was slightly worn, blood-stained, and made of cheap imitation leather. Opening it revealed an empty interior with traces of blood.

“The killer took everything from the wallet,” You Mingxu said. “No phone was found at the scene—that was probably taken too. They also struck the victim’s face several times to prevent identification. Then fled.”

After this self-directed analysis, she looked at Yin Feng, who was crouching on the other side of the body. She wondered why she was instinctively sharing her thoughts with him, treating him like a partner. Where was Xu Mengshan when you needed him?

Yin Feng had been listening intently and nodded, flashing a bright smile next to the mutilated corpse. “A-Xu spoke exactly what was in my head.”

You Mingxu turned away, not interested in this moment of synchronicity.

But he continued, “Though, I have one more thing to add.”

“What?”

“Destroying the victim’s face either serves to delay identification… or the killer wanted to steal the victim’s identity and personhood. I believe it’s the latter.”

You Mingxu looked at the victim’s face again but remained silent.

The victim’s identity was quickly confirmed.

He had a work ID in his shirt pocket. The police had relevant factory personnel verify the information, and they were almost certain the victim was a technician from the factory. Accurate DNA and fingerprint results will be available in a few hours.

According to his work ID, his name was Xu Jiayuan, 25 years old, from Yuanling County in Hunan Province. He had been working at this factory for over two years. Based on information from the factory, he wasn’t scheduled for the night shift, and people had seen him playing cards with several coworkers in one of the dormitories. He didn’t live at the factory but rented a place in the nearby town with some other workers, as it was more convenient. This path was a shortcut from the factory to his rental home.

Xu Mengshan, responsible for liaising with the factory, quickly confirmed: that Xu Jiayuan had played cards with five others until after 10 PM. After losing several hundred yuan, he lost interest and left the factory to go home. This matched the medical examiner’s preliminary time of death estimate, confirming he was killed while taking the shortcut home.

As the team leader, You Mingxu summarized after hearing these details: “The killer likely knew the victim’s habits well and knew he was playing cards at the factory tonight. They either followed him or waited here to ambush him—this was premeditated murder.”

Everyone nodded. With their years of experience, they immediately understood this crucial assessment. They felt this case was like many others they’d handled—once they pierced through that thin veil, the killer would be right under their noses.

The team split into two groups: one to investigate the people who had been playing cards with the victim, and the other to look into his three roommates.

You Mingxu took Yin Feng with her to join the group investigating the card players, as they were the last to see the victim alive.

With a murder case on their hands, the factory was very cooperative, providing an interrogation room and calling in all the card players overnight. However, when others noticed the cartoon design on this expert’s clothes, they couldn’t help but stare.

You Mingxu thought to herself that tomorrow she’d have to strip him of his beloved T-shirt and make him wear something normal. Now that he was following her, she couldn’t let him embarrass himself anymore.

Yin Feng was quite perceptive and noticed people looking at him. He smiled slightly and puffed out his chest. He now knew he was handsome and people liked looking at him. But he couldn’t care less about others.

While You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan conducted the interviews, Yin Feng sat quietly to the side, not speaking but staring unblinkingly at each person. You Mingxu was focused on her work and only noticed his silence when she paused to drink some water. She felt that even in his current state, he was quite well-behaved and understood protocol.

During a break when Xu Mengshan went out to coordinate arrangements, leaving just the two of them, You Mingxu flipped through her notebook and said, “You’ve been good today.”

Yin Feng replied, “I’m always good.”

You Mingxu laughed and said, “Wasn’t it just recently that someone would get moody, stop talking, and sulk until someone comforted them?”

His face slowly reddened as he defended himself: “But whenever A-Xu comforts me, don’t I always listen right away?”

You Mingxu gave him a look, then went back to reviewing her notes.

Xu Mengshan soon returned with more people.

There had been five people playing cards that night. Their statements were consistent: Xu Jiayuan played until after 10 PM, lost over 800 yuan, and had only about 100 yuan left, which was supposed to be his living expenses for the next few days. He was upset and left early. One person had won over 1,000 yuan, another won 300, and the other three had all lost various amounts. The remaining players continued until just now.

Although there were no cameras in the dormitory room where they played cards, there were cameras in the hallways and at the entrances, plus several eyewitnesses. Their statements could be quickly verified.

As Xu Mengshan led these people out, You Mingxu was organizing her notes when she felt a warm presence lean in close to her face. She didn’t even raise an eyebrow, continuing her work. Yin Feng spoke: “This handsome one thinks…”

You Mingxu nearly choked on her breath.

Yet while speaking such ridiculous words, his expression was clear and certain: “This handsome one thinks they’re all telling the truth. I observed their micro-expressions and behavioral logic—all authentic and reasonable. Plus, the details in their stories all match up.”

You Mingxu didn’t respond.

Indeed, this proved to be the case. Soon Xu Mengshan brought fresh surveillance footage from the factory security office that corroborated their statements.

These five people were temporarily cleared of direct suspicion.