Yin Feng’s words made You Mingxu feel somewhat uncomfortable. He had jumped straight to conclusions, too quickly. As a criminal investigator, she believed in evidence and had only limited knowledge of criminal psychology.

However, her face revealed nothing.

She simply crossed her legs differently and spoke arrogantly, “Explain why.”

Yin Feng became slightly distracted. His gaze was drawn to those two slender, fair legs. He hadn’t paid much attention before, since You Mingxu was beautiful every day. But now, with her small movement, he noticed she was wearing sleepwear.

The sleepwear was just an oversized cotton T-shirt with shorts. But Yin Feng could tell at a glance (though he didn’t know how he knew) that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. The T-shirt’s curves swayed gently, occasionally revealing certain outlines. The shorts were outerwear, essentially hot pants that reached the top of her thighs. Under the light, her legs had a luminous white complexion that spoke of delicate skin. Unlike those fragile-looking women, though she was slim, her legs showed balanced, powerful lines from exercise. Yin Feng thought these were the most beautiful kind of lines.

After Yin Feng had been mentally appraising for a while, his head suddenly received a sharp knock. He looked up to see You Mingxu’s fierce expression: “Where are you looking? I asked you a question!”

Yin Feng finally snapped back to reality, rubbing his head, feeling somewhat sheepish yet secretly pleased.

You Mingxu wasn’t blind; she had caught this kid staring at her legs with an intense gaze.

Hmph, at least he had good taste. But what did he know about women? He probably just thought her legs looked like sweet cotton candy. Looking was pointless!

Yin Feng looked at his written deductions, and his mind returned to the task. When he made his reasoning, it was as if many rivers flowed through his mind simultaneously, distinct and crystal clear. This feeling was truly wonderful, sweeping away the usual foggy, heavy sensation in his brain.

“Whether or not Xie Huifang was his specific target, she was carefully chosen. The crime shows he’s meticulous and highly planned, so the possibility of him randomly choosing someone and a time to kill is very small. He must have followed and surveilled her multiple times beforehand, learning Xie Huifang’s routine, finally choosing to kill when she was alone at noon. He just hadn’t anticipated the children would be home that day.

Currently, no security guards or community residents have reported seeing anyone suspicious. This means his disguise was very good—even after multiple surveillance trips and leaving the community carrying a bag with bloody clothes, he didn’t draw attention. The most common people entering and leaving the community at noon are students and parents. He blended in with them.

Looking at the crime, the buildings are close together—if Xie Huifang had called for help, someone would have heard. But she didn’t. There’s only one possibility: the killer first controlled the children after entering. Perhaps one child even opened the door for him. And the least suspicious, most trustworthy visitor would be a minor.

After controlling the children, he threatened Xie Huifang so she wouldn’t call for help, then controlled and killed her. Very few people could kill a mother in front of two children and then kill the children too. So I deduce he fundamentally lacks family and ethical concepts, meaning he rarely experienced parental or elder care growing up. That’s why he lacks empathy and sympathy for maternal love.

After killing, he did something meaningless—dragging the bodies to the kitchen and piling them under the table. This behavior is just a cover-up. It’s a very simple concealment mentality; an adult wouldn’t do this, even if full of fear and guilt. Because they know it’s meaningless. Only a child who lacks complete social awareness and is very self-centered would make such a formalistic gesture.

Moreover, although he showed composure and decisiveness, the messy blood stains and footprints at the scene, plus the attempt to hide the bodies, all suggest this was his first crime.

Last time we reasoned that if no acquaintance had the conditions to commit the crime, the killer might be a stranger. A stranger who showed intense hatred during the crime, killed without mercy, treating Xie Huifang as a substitute for his real enemy, combined with family reasons making him lack empathy and sympathy—such a person must be emotionally volatile and psychologically twisted.”

You Mingxu looked at the man speaking confidently before her, feeling both familiar and strange. His conclusions were spinning in her mind, and she actually found them quite reasonable.

After Yin Feng finished speaking, he was dazed as usual, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with this version of himself. Those thoughts and reasoning were uncontrolled as if completed by a brain that had undergone extensive training and polishing. He felt this division, while also feeling his familiarity and adaptation to it.

You Mingxu said, “In Xu Jiayuan’s case, all acquaintances have been cleared of suspicion, and we’re also investigating the stranger angle. What are the odds of two stranger homicides occurring in the same period and area?”

Yin Feng’s eyes suddenly flickered with excitement as he said, “There are precedents—have you heard of the Manson Family in America? A leader named Manson, almost like a cult, controlled many teenagers, committing crimes and murders at will. Domestically, we had something similar years ago—the Seven Group that made police tremble, similar to the Manson Family, also controlled by one leader. When they first formed over ten years ago, they weren’t very old, with several core killers being teenagers…”

You Mingxu’s ears seemed to catch on a word: “…teenagers?”

Two cases, two troubled teenagers. Was it a coincidence?

But Yin Feng seemed to have completely entered his world: “Teenagers’ psychology is the most chaotic—they’re full of curiosity and identity-seeking regarding sex, work, religion, and relationships. So they’re also the easiest to mold and control; they’re the most typical crowd mentality! Wow, this story setting is exciting—a stranger controlling some teenagers under long-term pressure, making them hunt strangers for trivial reasons. They’re all his shadows, and he’s their godfather…”

You Mingxu had been listening intently at first but gradually sensed something odd. Looking up, she saw Yin Feng’s eyes gleaming with excitement, seemingly lost in his world.

Story setting? Did he think he was writing a novel?

You Mingxu smacked his head: “Come back! We’re discussing serious business.”