Fan Jia’s face contorted in anguish as she shook her head desperately. “No… I really can’t… Not…”

Chen Zhaoci hadn’t expected her to be so resolute, refusing to take this more poisonous bait. Once they had the nude loan video in hand, this woman would be at their mercy. His expression gradually darkened as he pushed her hand away. “You chose this path yourself, Lin Lin. I’ve already done my best. I want to help you get through this difficult time, but your hesitation makes me wonder if you’re suspicious of our company having other motives. To be honest, we have hundreds of thousands of clients nationwide. We don’t have the energy to scheme against you. Think it through carefully.”

When Fan Jia heard his tone growing cold, she quickly grabbed his arm again. As he made to pull away, she held on tightly with tear-filled eyes. Steeling herself, she rested her head on his shoulder. “Brother Zhaoci, I really can’t… I… I… I feel for you… Isn’t there another way? Can’t I do something else to repay the loan? Anything but this – whatever else you want me to do, I’ll do it. I… I’m willing.”

Chen Zhaoci looked at her with surprise, his lips pressed tight, his handsome face showing signs of embarrassment.

Fan Jia silently thought to herself: The fox’s tail is showing – take the bait, take the bait. See how perfectly I’ll wrap this up!

To her surprise, he hurriedly stood up and pushed her away, saying, “What are you thinking, young lady? Even if I… The video is company policy. I absolutely won’t take advantage of your difficulties to do anything to you! I’m leaving! You… think it through! If you owe even more, even the video won’t help!”

Fan Jia tried to grab him again, but Chen Zhaoci practically tumbled away in his haste to escape. Fan Jia stood in the wind with tears in her eyes, watching his car drive away. After cursing under her breath, she spoke into her communicator: “Report: Seduction attempt failed. Could it be they just want money? No interest in the person? And no connection to Liu Yisha’s death?”

—

The current special investigation team found themselves in an awkward position.

Two weeks had passed, but the perpetrator who had left a fingerprint in the Golden Cup van had vanished without a trace, like a drop of water in the ocean. The two victims shared similarities in identity, age, and residence, with only one unusual common point: they both owed huge debts to the Fenjin Bao Company before their deaths. But looking at motives, this company had no reason to want them dead. Unless hidden within this company was a sex offender and serial killer.

Using Fan Jia as bait – who resembled the two victims in appearance and build, perhaps even surpassing them – they had borrowed over 30,000 yuan so far but had only managed to make contact with Apple Brother, their external agent. Although their debt collection seemed to start earlier than usual, as if they had designs on Fan Jia, they still behaved like a professional high-interest loan company, merely continuing to collect debt, hurl abuse, make threats, and demand nude loan videos. Even when Fan Jia attempted to seduce Apple Brother, he remained unmoved.

When facing difficult cases, choosing an investigation direction carries risks for criminal investigators. If it turned out in the end that the two victims’ debts were merely coincidental and the company had no connection to the serial killer, it would mean wasted police resources and time, making it harder to find the real killer.

So now, in the conference room at Huaicheng Police Department, the atmosphere was tense.

Han Feng leaned toward the theory that the Fenjin Bao Company had nothing to do with the murders. He had investigated them secretly last year, and most importantly, during the first victim Zhao Feier’s disappearance and death, the company had been abroad for an annual meeting – a solid alibi.

“We’re checking Golden Cup van owners one by one,” Han Feng said. “It’s a lot of work, but as long as there’s hope, we won’t give up. I suggest we transfer all personnel to this effort.”

You Mingxu glanced to the side, only to see Yin Feng looking down, playing with his fingers, seemingly not listening at all.

She said, “No. We can’t abandon such an obvious suspicious lead halfway. As Yin Feng mentioned before, their early debt collection likely means they have other intentions toward Fan Jia. And if nude loans are their usual practice, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone progressed to sex crimes when faced with college girls stripped of both clothes and dignity. If we reach a complete standstill, I suggest we bring Chen Zhaoci in for questioning secretly.”

Old Tan and the Huaicheng Deputy Bureau Chief, as case leaders, consulted briefly before making a decision: “It’s been two weeks, and there’s heavy pressure from above. We can’t wait any longer. We’ll proceed according to Han Feng’s suggestion, with all remaining police forces supporting the vehicle and fingerprint investigation. You Mingxu will be responsible for bringing Chen Zhaoci to the police station for questioning immediately. If there’s no obvious suspicion, release him, and this lead will be temporarily shelved, leaving the Economic Investigation Department to handle Fenjin Bao Company’s illegal activities.”