Sang Tong glanced over—a man in his thirties, likely just woken up. His hair was messy, clothes half on, and his face was still puffy with sleep.

“Ye Jinchen, Special Investigation Unit Team 8,” Ye Jinchen presented his ID. “We’re here today to ask about some details regarding your wife’s case.”

The man only gave him a quick glance. Though he’d initially looked annoyed, his attitude slightly eased up, though the unwelcome look on his face was still apparent.

Sang Tong had reviewed the case files and had already guessed the identity of the man before them, most likely a family member of one of the previous victims.

“Didn’t someone already come by to ask? Why are you here again today? I’ve already said everything I needed to…” The man spoke irritably.

“Aren’t you even the slightest bit concerned about the progress of the case? The deceased was your relative,” Sang Tong stared straight at him with clear, bright eyes.

Perhaps her gaze was too direct, because the man’s expression stiffened slightly, and his pale fingertips twitched. In the end, he still opened the door.

“So that’s what this is about. Come in, then.”

Sang Tong remained silent. She put her ID back into her pocket, slipped on shoe covers at the doorway, and followed Ye Jinchen into the living room.

She scanned the room, the apartment was nicely furnished. The chandelier above her head alone would cost several thousand yuan. The rest of the appliances were also expensive brands.

While listening to Ye Jinchen talk with the man, Sang Tong examined the house.

“Why didn’t you report her missing at the time?” Ye Jinchen suddenly asked. Sang Tong pulled back her gaze and looked toward the man.

“I work night shifts at the factory. My wife works days at the store. We often don’t even see each other for days. How would I know if she’s home or not…” the man explained.

Sang Tong’s eyes lingered on him. His pants were the uniform of some mechanical factory, probably a lower-level worker. Executives wouldn’t have to endure such late hours. Plus, the work uniform hanging by the door was heavily stained, likely a production line worker.

This was a two-bedroom apartment, and the couple likely slept in separate rooms. The differences between the two bedrooms were apparent—the man and woman had very distinct styles.

The man’s room was messy, with clothes tossed everywhere and a strong smell of cigarette smoke mixed with something else. Sang Tong frowned.

She decided to check the other room. The woman’s bedroom was much neater. On the vanity were neatly arranged skincare and makeup products.

There weren’t many photos in the room—only one, tucked in a drawer. It showed a woman in her twenties, clearly attractive, with a sweet smile.

She was wearing a uniform and participating in some event. Behind her was a dragon dance troupe, and she was holding a promotional sign.

It looked like a photo issued by her workplace, even with a watermark on it.

There were dark stains at the corner of the desk—probably nail polish residue. Sang Tong glanced at it, then shifted her gaze away, but something made her look back. She rubbed the stain with her fingertip.

In the next second, a dense fog clouded her vision—that familiar feeling returned…

Before she could react, it felt like someone had slapped her across the face. Her cheek suddenly tightened, and she instinctively reached out to cover it. A metallic taste filled her mouth, the scent of blood.

In just an instant, sharp pain throbbed in the back of her head—no, her entire body ached violently.

Good grief. Was she just used as a punching bag or what…?

“Not feeling well?” A sudden voice pulled her back. She looked toward the door, it was Ye Jinchen.

He was staring at her, and the young girl’s eyes were misted, like she was about to cry —looking truly pitiful.

“No, I bit my cheek,” Sang Tong said, frowning in pain.

Ye Jinchen: …

“You finished questioning him?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded. He’d just wanted to see if there were any new leads.

They left the apartment a few minutes later. The man had gone back to playing competitive online games in the study, telling them to just shut the door on their way out.

Inside the elevator, Sang Tong licked the inside of her cheek with her tongue, it still hurt. She’d bitten down completely by reflex. It really hurt. Hopefully it wouldn’t ulcerate, she hated that. Ulcers lasted days and made eating a nightmare.

“Did you notice anything back in the room?” Ye Jinchen asked, seeing her keep pressing on her cheek. He added, “Stop pressing it. It’ll hurt more.”

“Oh,” Sang Tong obediently put her hand down and continued, “This couple doesn’t seem to have high salaries, but… everything in that apartment is expensive. Take the guy’s computer, for instance—it’s worth over ¥20,000 yuan, and the monitor alone costs several thousand. The woman’s vanity is filled with luxury cosmetics, including skincare that costs tens of thousands. And those appliances, you saw them too. In my opinion, there’s no way they could afford all that on their income.”

It’s not unusual to buy a few pricey things even on a tight budget, but… there were too many. Suspiciously so.

“And I think the couple used to have a good relationship. But now… not so much.”

She had just experienced what it felt like to be a domestic violence victim. Though the pain had faded, she had felt it vividly.

“You’re right, their financial situation doesn’t support that level of spending. So there must be something wrong between them,” Ye Jinchen agreed. He had noticed it too.

They left the building, and just as Sang Tong was about to get into the car, Ye Jinchen told her to wait a moment. She didn’t question it, just nodded and waited.

Ye Jinchen walked out of the residential complex, and a few minutes later, he returned —this time holding a clear plastic bag.

Sang Tong watched as he walked up to her and handed the bag over.

“What is it?” she asked, confused.

“Oral spray,” Ye Jinchen said plainly.

Sang Tong: !!!

Shocked! The new boss is such a good guy! So touching…

“Thank you, Captain. How much was it? I’ll transfer the money on WeChat—” She had just taken the bag and hadn’t even finished speaking when Ye Jinchen had already opened the driver’s side door.

“No need,” he replied, got into the car, shut the door, and gave her a look through the window.

Sang Tong immediately understood, walked around the front of the car, and got into the passenger seat.

The car started, and Sang Tong took out the medicine from the bag. Although she couldn’t see, for something like a spray, as long as the direction was right, it would hit the wound.

She licked her cheek and put the medicine back into her bag, then took out the case files again.

“If the couple didn’t have the financial means themselves, could it be a financial dispute of some kind?” Sang Tong suddenly looked up and asked the person beside her.

These days, with the development of technology and convenient communication, many loan ads have popped up online. Borrowing is easy, but repaying is hard. Many young people fall into scams, juggling high-interest debts and borrowing from one place to repay another. Some shady companies even come knocking with threats. Violent debt collection? Killing for money? It’s not impossible...

“The local police have already investigated. The couple didn’t have any outstanding debts,” Ye Jinchen replied as he drove the car out of the neighborhood.

“Then it makes even less sense. Their financial condition really didn’t match that level of spending.” Sang Tong’s index finger lightly tapped the file, again and again—her habit whenever she fell deep into thought.

And the husband's attitude was odd too. At the very least, she hadn’t seen any grief on his face from losing a loved one. Not to mention—it was his wife, his closest person.

Ye Jinchen then took Sang Tong to the place where the victim had worked when she was alive. It was a branded men's clothing store on the busiest street in the county. The victim had worked there for two years before suddenly resigning a few months ago. She hadn’t been particularly close with any colleagues.

What they learned matched the previous information. Around the beginning of this year, the victim suddenly started acting like she’d come into money. Her work became careless, she was always on her phone or coming in late and leaving early. After the manager spoke to her a few times, she simply quit. No one knew where she went after that.

“Maybe her partner got rich or something!” one of the coworkers sneered. “He never gave her anything before, but suddenly there were flowers and gifts all the time, like they were dying to let everyone know they struck it rich.”

“Was it him who gave the flowers and gifts?” Ye Jinchen pulled out a photo from somewhere and handed it over.

The other person only glanced at it before looking away. “It’s been so long, I don’t remember clearly. I think it was delivered by a courier or something…”

They chatted a bit more, but since there were other customers in the store, Ye Jinchen and Sang Tong didn’t stay too long.

Everything matched what was in the files. The victim suddenly became wealthy earlier this year. The house the couple bought before their marriage wasn’t renovated until this year.

Surveillance systems nowadays are quite advanced, but reality is often crueler than ideal. For example, in the victim’s community, everything looked fine on the surface, but in fact it was full of problems—of the ten cameras installed, nine were broken. To save costs, the property management just turned a blind eye.

Even if the cameras worked, there was no guarantee they were recording all the time. There were pitfalls everywhere. Once something dangerous happened, the surveillance offered no help at all.

Traffic camera footage is usually stored for 3–6 months, but the report for the first case had been submitted too late, and the best window for checking had already passed.

Now that the identity of the victim in the second case had just been confirmed, the other team members were in charge of that part. There should be some updates soon.

“It feels like the murderer is becoming more and more experienced,” Sang Tong murmured from her seat in the car.

In fact… the killer might already be enjoying the act of killing. When she closed her eyes, the image from that day surfaced in her mind again. She vaguely remembered seeing half of the person’s face. Faced with someone engulfed in flames, the corners of his lips curled in a cruel smile…

“Yes. If we don’t solve the case soon, there might be a fourth victim.” Ye Jinchen gave her a dose of pressure at just the right moment.

“Captain, I’ll do my best!” Sang Tong seized the chance to declare her loyalty.

A good employee should always solve problems for their superior.

Ye Jinchen glanced at her from the corner of his eye and saw the sincere expression on her face. Then he quietly turned his gaze away again.

This young woman knew how to climb the ladder, alright. She was full of energy now, but give it a few days and she’d probably be crying from exhaustion…

“What did the captain gain from today?” Sang Tong licked her slightly dry lips and asked.

Taking initiative before a performance evaluation, also one of her little tricks.

“What do you mean by that?” Ye Jinchen turned the wheel and entered the national highway.

“The report already explained things clearly. For the captain to come all the way here personally, I doubt it’s just to verify the situation…” Sang Tong said with a smile on her face.

“You’re quite sharp,” Ye Jinchen raised an eyebrow.

This is called being clever, okay! If she didn’t take the initiative, the captain would probably start quizzing her again soon...