"The woman likely has other pursuers. If we can find him, we might be one step closer to the truth," Ye Jinchen said.

Everyone around the victim believed the person sending her things was her boyfriend, but the victim’s husband... remained tight-lipped, which was already quite suspicious.

"That’s exactly what I was thinking," Sang Tong said thoughtfully.

A previously loving couple falling apart could be due to many factors, but… being cheated on? No wonder he didn’t want to talk about it.

It was probably a relationship kept in the dark, which is why even the victim’s other friends weren’t aware of the truth, but you could faintly sense their suspicions.

If this idea proves true, and is supported by the second and third cases, it could solidify the investigation’s direction.

At 1 PM, Sang Tong and Ye Jinchen returned to the City. Thankfully, she had the foresight to plan ahead in the morning—otherwise, with meals uncertain, the day would have been rough!

When they arrived at the restaurant, Xu Ran was already waiting.

"Any updates?" Ye Jinchen asked, passing the menu to the waiter after ordering a few dishes.

"There’s a bit of news. Old Zhang is still digging. Pack me two takeout meals later, I’ll bring them over," Xu Ran said, rubbing his hands.

That’s just how this job is, missing mealtimes is common. If you’re lucky enough to be near a shop, you can still grab a bite, but if you’re out in some rural village investigating a case, you’re left drinking nothing but tea with an empty stomach. Everyone was used to it.

"Team Two has some news—the victim did have a wealthy boyfriend. They’d been seeing each other for a while, but her best friend never met him in person." Xu Ran opened the utensils, initially planning to use them directly, but remembering Ye Jinchen’s strange habits, he rinsed a bowl for him, and did the same for Sang Tong.

"Thank you," Sang Tong said obediently.

"But from the tone of her best friend, this guy is most likely a scumbag—possibly juggling multiple women. The victim even told her friend that he had several phones. Talk about a master of time management..." Xu Ran poured tea for the three of them, he hadn’t had a sip of water all morning and was parched.

Ye Jinchen listened seriously, not interrupting, while Sang Tong also silently paid attention. There were bits that overlapped with their earlier suspicions.

That’s how solving cases works—sifting through all kinds of clues to find the useful ones. Sometimes, there isn’t even a single usable lead...

This wealthy "boyfriend" was likely the "pursuer" they’d suspected. If it turned out to be the same person, then they were indeed one step closer to the truth.

"Let’s eat first," Ye Jinchen said as the waiter came in, and Xu Ran didn’t continue.

"Ah, in this heat, cold noodles really hit the spot..." Xu Ran glanced at the bowl the waiter brought in and commented with satisfaction.

"Not for you," Ye Jinchen said as he took the bowl and placed it in front of Sang Tong.

Sang Tong was caught off guard and quickly thanked him. She had thought they’d all get the same thing, but the others were served stir-fried dishes instead.

"Hey, these dishes look great with rice. Who wants noodles now..." Xu Ran chuckled and went to ask the waiter for some rice.

Looking at the dishes on the table, Sang Tong did start feeling like her noodles weren't quite as appealing anymore. Didn’t this call for a nice bowl of rice?

"I ordered you some cold appetizers, they should be out soon. You have a wound in your mouth, so it’s not suitable for you to eat anything too spicy or strongly flavored," Ye Jinchen said, stopping her from picking up her chopsticks.

Sang Tong: …

Bitter inside…

"Aren’t you still injured too…" Sang Tong muttered without much confidence. Although she was touched, she still had to act tough...

Ye Jinchen glanced at her, expressionless, and Sang Tong’s heart skipped a beat. She knew she was in the wrong.

"Captain, you were injured because of me. Thank you," Sang Tong took the chance to show some humility.

"Being taken hostage by a suspect on the day before starting the job, someone like you would usually have to write a 10,000-word self-criticism in the team. That’s not a small matter," Ye Jinchen said lightly.

"My bad, I’ll write it tonight," Sang Tong immediately expressed her sincere attitude.

"Good." With that, Ye Jinchen said no more.

Sang Tong: …

She was pretty sure Ye Jinchen did that on purpose. Xu Ran had just said yesterday they were only given a 3,000-word reflection after a barbecue incident. Why did she have to write 10,000!?

So unfair!

Still, Ye Jinchen did end up eating the same light cold noodles as her, which made her feel slightly better.

Ye Jinchen naturally didn’t miss that tiny satisfied expression on Sang Tong’s face. He raised an eyebrow slightly. This little one sure is serious about things, huh?

"When I left the house today, I ran into Deputy Director Chen. He asked me to remind you not to forget to go to the hospital for a dressing change," Xu Ran said as he was about to leave.

"Got it," Ye Jinchen replied.

Upon hearing that, Sang Tong’s gaze fell on Ye Jinchen’s shoulder. With his clothes on, the injury was not visible now.

The other party was injured because of her, after all. Deep down, Sang Tong still felt a bit guilty.

“What are you thinking about? Let’s go.” Seeing Sang Tong lost in thought, Ye Jinchen called out to her.

“Oh! Coming, coming…” Sang Tong quickly responded and followed behind Ye Jinchen.

They still had to run around outside that afternoon. Ye Jinchen didn’t say where they were going, and Sang Tong just silently followed him. As a newcomer, as long as she wasn’t causing trouble, it was enough…

Sitting in the car, Sang Tong couldn’t help but recall the crime scene she had seen earlier. As night deepened, the murderer and the victim had appeared together at the scene, and then one of them was burned alive.

The locations where the killer chose to commit the crimes were similar in style, but they were separated by dozens of kilometers—from the outskirts of the city to the county, and even to small towns…

If this was a serial murder case, were the locations chosen by the killer truly random?

Under what circumstances would a woman go with a man to such remote places? Was she drugged? But the forensic report didn’t support that theory…

Sang Tong closed her eyes, mentally replaying the scenes she had seen that morning, over and over. Each time it reached the moment where that sinister smile appeared, the scene would cut off abruptly.

She even felt her whole body go numb, a cold sweat breaking out faintly on her back—not only because of the fear from seeing the murder scene, but also because of the killer’s complete lack of humanity.

She tried recalling again, there had to be some detail she had missed…

By the water? Why did it start by the water? What were they doing there?

In the dim light, the faint moonlight spilled down. She could vaguely make out something on the water’s surface—long, with a purple and blue sheen. It was too dark to see clearly…

“What exactly did the killer say to lure the victim to the crime scene?” Sang Tong couldn’t understand. The location was so remote, most women wouldn’t go to such places willingly.

“What kind of trust level must have been reached for the victim to lower their guard like that?” Sang Tong frowned. To her, if the victim consciously followed the killer to the crime scene while alive, that was already highly unreasonable.

“Then what kind of person would make you trust them like that?” At a crossroads, Ye Jinchen turned his head to look at Sang Tong, his deep gaze falling on her with utter seriousness.

Sang Tong pressed her lips together. It wasn’t a hard question for her. Whether it was her current investigation team or the county team she used to be part of, she had always unconditionally trusted her teammates…

But the victim was different.

“Only when someone treats you well enough will you let down all your defenses,” Ye Jinchen said, seeing that Sang Tong didn’t answer.

“Someone who gives you a few hundred or a few thousand yuan might not be worth trusting. But tens or hundreds of thousands might be enough to dull your judgment.”

“The killer used a large sum of money to lure the victim into letting her guard down?” Sang Tong began to speculate.

In the previous two cases, both victims had someone around them who was a ‘wealthy’ member of the opposite sex. Regardless of emotional connection, at least financially, they seemed to have been quite satisfied.

A skilled hunter often appears in the guise of prey…

“Le Qiwen has already traced the account that transferred money to the victim,” Ye Jinchen nodded. “But don’t get your hopes up too much. Things might be more complicated than they seem.”

If it were that easy to trace, he would have overestimated the killer.

In the old town area, since demolition hadn’t yet started, the environment was more complex, and the population more dense—it was hard to find parking. Ye Jinchen eventually found a suitable spot and parked the car.

As they walked through the winding alleys, Ye Jinchen moved with ease. Sang Tong silently followed him the entire time.

When they reached a bungalow at the mouth of an alley, Ye Jinchen gestured to Sang Tong, and she immediately understood, running to stand by the window on the other side.

Ye Jinchen glanced at her, their eyes meeting, and they nodded at each other. Then Ye Jinchen circled to the front and rang the old-fashioned doorbell.

Sang Tong stood by the window. The glass was tightly shut, and white curtains were drawn inside. She couldn’t see what was going on.

She didn’t speak, just waited quietly. There seemed to be movement from inside. Sang Tong stood close to the wall, keeping a close eye on the window.

After a while, she heard noises coming from inside the house—the sound of the door slamming, followed by furniture crashing to the ground. She was close enough to hear it all clearly.

The moment the window opened, Sang Tong saw a man with one leg already over the window frame. The person inside clearly hadn’t expected someone to be standing outside.

But seeing Sang Tong’s appearance, the man simply assumed she was a passerby and didn’t feel threatened. The sound of someone banging on the door came from inside the room, but he didn’t think much of it—he quickly swung both legs up onto the windowsill.

The next second, a sharp, piercing pain shot through him—Sang Tong had slammed the window shut, trapping him painfully in the middle.

Before he could react, Sang Tong landed a heavy punch squarely on his face, right on the nose.

He was likely bleeding now, the pain so intense it nearly brought tears to his eyes. The grip he had on the window loosened from the shock, and he tumbled backward into the room.

Sang Tong pulled back, her strength controlled now. As she looked at the man glaring at her furiously, she casually flicked the blood from her hand.