Su Hui made an effort to concentrate his energy.
The profiling of criminals is not occultism; it is based on the facts of the case and a meticulous analysis and reasoning of the criminal’s characteristics.
He overturned various conclusions from the past Fine Sand cases and started afresh, deducing based on the latest clues and ideas.
Bombs are completely different from conventional methods of violence.
Since Nobel invented yellow explosives, they have been used not only for blasting but also increasingly in warfare.
Subsequently, the “bomb experts” emerged.
They are the most dangerous criminals in the world.
The production cost of the weapon is high, and ordinary people wouldn’t know how to make one. But they possess tremendous destructive power and are relatively simple to operate, making them unpredictable and hard to guard against.
In Su Hui’s view, bomb experts are rational maniacs.
Their madness has a certain logic, but they have no moral boundaries.
Compared to ordinary criminals, bomb experts are more difficult to predict.
Such individuals are even more terrifying than those who carry knives and guns.
Among the bomb experts, many are well-known figures, such as the highly intelligent Hilldow, whom the police spent seventeen years capturing. He threatened The New York Times with a manifesto titled “Industrial Society and Its Future,” where he believed that “in the industrial era, humans will eventually be replaced by highly intelligent robots, or they will be ruled by the elites controlling the robotic workforce, and humanity might perish because of it.”
There was also McVeigh, who caused 168 deaths in the Oklahoma City bombing. He fantasized about being a hero, fighting ferocious beasts, and believed that some humans served as beasts and should be reduced to ashes. He showed no remorse for his actions until his execution.
Most of these killers have a God Complex; they believe themselves to be all-powerful, godlike beings.
They are indifferent and contemptuous of ordinary people, believing they can freely control others’ lives. They are arrogant, power-hungry, manipulative, and often narcissistic.
These profiles match the information about Song Lan’en.
Two years ago, the Fine Sand case lasted for over five months, with a total of 15 explosions. Though not every explosion resulted in casualties, it left everyone on edge, constantly anxious and afraid.
It was a nightmare that lasted for 150 days, and the Hua Du police had been under immense pressure throughout.
Su Hui sorted and screened all the Fine Sand cases, excluding those that were undoubtedly the work of Jie Qiu, and then categorized them with numbers.
Apart from the six cases committed by Jie Qiu, there were nine others.
He remembered one other person who had been targeted by Moonlight back then. The point of contention between him and Moonlight was that Jie Qiu and this perpetrator exhibited different criminal patterns.
Compared to Jie Qiu, this person is more ferocious and filled with more variables. The bombings he orchestrates usually occur earlier in crowded places, mostly in open areas.
He chooses prominent landmarks in Huadu, and the first bomb he planted was next to a famous fountain in a square, causing damage to the fountain and casualties.
The second time, he caused the collapse of a sculpture, resulting in several deaths and injuries.
The third time, it was at the intersection of Huadu’s busiest commercial street, below an electronic screen.
This person is like a spectator. When the explosion occurs, he may be hiding among the crowd, watching everything indifferently while feeling an immense thrill inside.
Among the individuals involved, he has the strongest desire to perform and manipulate.
Before these incidents, he had committed crimes only three times.
He has a strong penchant for killing and is the most brutal among the individuals, alongside the happiness-destroying Jie Qiu, establishing a distinctive style for the Fine Sand case.
The second perpetrator, among several bombings, took longer to prepare, and his chosen targets were mostly indoor locations.
He would carefully place the bombs, hide them, and detonate them only after he had completely left the area.
Once, he placed a bomb in an unmonitored locker, and another time in a function room at a community center.
He enjoys destruction more than killing, targeting buildings to cause panic, chaos, and a chain reaction.
Compared to the previous perpetrator, he is more cautious and apprehensive, constantly looking over his shoulder.
He may face some limitations in his actions, which is why he detonates the bomb later while holding it.
He has opened storage lockers before, possibly possessing some skills related to theft. In a setting with empty boxes around, he chose one in the middle, indicating that he might not be tall.
Su Hui deduces that this person is male and likely has a criminal record. He harbors resentment toward the wealthy, as his chosen areas are considered affluent neighborhoods.
Among the individuals, he is probably the oldest. In previous cases, he has committed crimes only twice.
The third perpetrator, Su Hui remembers that Lan An once mentioned that among the people Song Lan’en knew, there were both men and women. Su Hui suspects this person might be a female suspect.
This perpetrator may have committed four crimes, but there were two instances where the bombs were empty. One explosion occurred at a garbage dump, and the other outside a botanical garden.
During the botanical garden incident, it was drizzling, and she might have been holding an umbrella, making it inconvenient for her to move.
When the bomb detonated, she intentionally avoided infants and pregnant women.
Compared to others, this perpetrator had the least impact. No one died due to her actions, and only a few people were injured. It seems that she hasn’t completely lost her humanity.
Su Hui can sense that this woman is not a young girl who just entered society. She should be over thirty years old, might have had children, and possibly experienced the pain of losing a child. She inflicts her own suffering upon others.
She is not attractive and rather plain, making it difficult for her to draw attention in a crowd.
All these people obtained dangerous items from Song Lan’en. Under what circumstances and where would they meet?
Will it be on the street or under a bridge? Will Song Lan’en hand the package to them or leave it somewhere for them to retrieve?
Have they met before, or is this their first encounter?
What mode of transportation will they use?
The subway has strict security checks, so it can be ruled out.
He focuses his attention on bicycles, walking, private cars, and taxis.
He can roughly calculate that these people obtained those items in the afternoon.
Two years ago, these people committed multiple crimes.
As time passed, they evolved and gradually realized that the game could become even more thrilling and exciting.
“I can easily escape legal sanctions without being discovered.
I anticipate a more brutal slaughter.”
They have developed a taste for it, and under such psychological conditions, the repeated chain bombings might have occurred.
With the additional information available now, Su Hui thoroughly analyzed the Xisha case. At 3:30 in the morning, he finally put his pen down and let out a sigh of relief.
These three individuals are likely the mastermind perpetrators they will face.
However, there are still some things that Su Hui can’t understand. How did these three people come together with Song Lan’en?
What do they have in common?
How do they communicate, and why are they doing this?
Do they do it for pleasure or as a belief?
During the past two years when Song Lan’en was imprisoned, what were these three people doing?
Were they living among ordinary people, hiding in plain sight?
Is Song Lan’en’s escape related to them?
There are too many questions that need answers, but Su Hui feels a chill. His hands are trembling, and the wound on his chest is throbbing. The pain is within his tolerance level, but it prevents him from focusing on his thoughts.
As he stood up, holding the printed profile, he suddenly felt dizzy.
It seemed that he had reached his limit. His legs went weak, and his vision darkened.
Lu Junchi had been watching the computer at the dining table and hurried over to support him just as he stood up.
Su Hui stabilized himself and handed him the profile. “There might be inaccuracies. For now… this is the best I can do. I’ll continue the deduction tomorrow. Consider this as a reference for now, and don’t show it to anyone else.”
Lu Junchi took the stack of printed profiles, thick with words that reflected Su Hui’s efforts.
Su Hui summarized the information for Lu Junchi in a low voice, then added, “These profiles are based on information from two years ago. These individuals should be at the core of the current crimes. However, I suspect that if they have collected enough materials, Song Lan’en might expand the game.”
Frowning, Lu Junchi asked, “How would it expand?”
Su Hui replied, “The simplest way is to contact potential perpetrators and recruit more people to join.”
Now they have deduced that many serial killers are interconnected, so they might find more people to participate in this frenzy.
Lu Junchi asked, “How does he confirm that the newly recruited individuals will carry out the deliveries? And how does he ensure that those people won’t report him to the police?”
With newcomers entering, the level of uncertainty increases, and for those criminals, the level of danger also rises.
Su Hui shook his head. “He doesn’t need confirmation. He only needs those people to join, and the information he provides is one-sided. The other party won’t know much. The more people join this game, the more the police force will be divided, and their chances of success will be greater.”
The current situation is not so easily resolved.
As he said this, Su Hui coughed repeatedly.
Lu Junchi reached out and touched his forehead. “You have a bit of a fever.” Seeing Su Hui like this, he felt that he was working too hard and felt aching in his heart.
“It’s not that serious…” Su Hui’s cold sweat kept coming out. His heartbeat accelerated, he felt drowsy and couldn’t open his eyes, but he pulled away Lu Junchi’s hand and murmured, “Get me some hot water, please.”
Lu Junchi tried to hug Su Hui, but Su Hui didn’t let him. He supported himself against the wall and slowly walked into the bedroom, sitting on the bed.
When Lu Junchi left, Su Hui opened the cabinet and took out a few pills, pouring them into his palm and then into his mouth.
There were various medications, including fever reducers, pain relievers, and hemostatics.
He couldn’t distinguish the symptoms and didn’t have time to examine them closely. He just hoped that his body wouldn’t hinder him from taking action at this time.
This case was too critical. He didn’t want to miss any details, and he certainly couldn’t collapse.
When Lu Junchi brought the hot water, Su Hui took a few sips and swallowed the pills. He lay down on the bed and said to Lu Junchi, “I’m a bit tired.”
“Go to sleep, I’ll also rest for a while.” Lu Junchi lay beside him and dimmed the lights. “I’ll stay with you.”
Su Hui’s head was still spinning. He curled up his body and managed to hold on until the effects of the medication finally kicked in. His consciousness became hazy, and he entered a state of semi-consciousness.
Lu Junchi didn’t sleep right away. He looked at the profile written by Su Hui, and after a while, Su Hui’s breathing became steady. He reached out and touched his forehead.
There was a thin layer of sweat, but the temperature seemed to have dropped a bit. Only then did Lu Junchi feel a little relieved.
Su Hui seemed to sense something. He closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly. He turned on his side and curled up towards Lu Junchi.
Like soothing a child, Lu Junchi reached out and patted his back.
The city at four o’clock in the morning was extremely quiet. After reading the profile written by Su Hui, the appearances of these individuals gradually became clear in Lu Junchi’s mind.
Those murderers lived among ordinary people in this city, just like everyone else.
Lu Junchi considered that these three individuals, along with the recently escaped Song Lan’en, would be very conspicuous.
They were not discreet or secretive people who acted in the shadows.
With this in mind, Lu Junchi opened his eyes, took out his phone, and left a message for the other members of the task force, instructing them to send Song Lan’en’s photos and wanted information to various substations as soon as they start work tomorrow. They were to search for any public places he might have gone to.
After some thought, he added a few filtering criteria. According to Lan’an’s confession, Song Lan’en has long hair, so he might have cut his hair or worn a hat.
After completing these tasks, Lu Junchi turned around and went to sleep.
Su Hui didn’t sleep very well that night. He always felt that the time had come, but his eyes couldn’t open at all.
There seemed to be someone speaking near his ear, but it was a strange sound that he couldn’t make out clearly.
As he furrowed his brow and opened his eyes, it was already broad daylight.
Su Hui glanced at his watch; it was already past eight o’clock.
He wondered if Lu Junchi thought he was sleeping too soundly and didn’t wake him up…
Then he saw Lu Junchi walking in, “I’ve already made arrangements for them this morning. They have all gone out to conduct field investigations. Director Zou said there would be a mid-level meeting at nine. I thought we still had time, so I didn’t wake you up.”
Su Hui got up. He still felt a bit heavy-headed, with a dull pain and discomfort in his chest, but it was much better than earlier this morning. He coughed a few times and hurriedly went to freshen up.
While Lu Junchi was in the car, he received a phone call. After hanging up, he said, “The substations have already started their investigations this morning. They have found a barbecue restaurant where Song Lan’en and a few others had dinner last night. Lao Qu and the others are currently taking statements from the restaurant owner and retrieving surveillance footage.”
Lu Junchi paused for a moment and continued, “The restaurant owner’s description of those individuals matches your profile.”
With eyewitnesses and video evidence, it shouldn’t take long to find the people who were with Song Lan’en, and they would be able to gather more information quickly.
Su Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief. This time, they had to stay ahead of the other side.
As they were nearing the police station, Lu Junchi received another phone call. After a few murmurs, his expression turned serious.
After hanging up, Su Hui asked, “What’s the matter?”
Lu Junchi furrowed his brows and said, “It was Secretary Wang from the central bureau. He said Director Zou wants him to inform you to attend the mid-level meeting this morning.”
Su Hui had met Director Zou before; he was a difficult person to deal with. Now that the case had reached its crucial moment, he didn’t understand why Director Zou suddenly requested Su Hui’s presence at the meeting. Lu Junchi had a strange feeling and a sense of foreboding, as if this mid-level meeting today would be a banquet at Hongmen.
However, Su Hui remained calm and placed his hand over Lu Junchi’s, saying, “Maybe it’s just about the case. Nothing to worry about.”
TN:
McVeigh, referring to Timothy McVeigh, was an American domestic terrorist who orchestrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing targeted the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and resulted in the deaths of 168 people, including 19 children, and injured over 500 others. McVeigh used a truck loaded with a homemade fertilizer bomb as the weapon for the attack. He held anti-government and anti-establishment beliefs and carried out the bombing as an act of retaliation against perceived government abuses, particularly the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992 and the Waco siege in 1993. McVeigh was apprehended shortly after the bombing and was convicted and executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001.
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