Jiang Lian entered the office carrying a paper bag. Inside the office were Yan Junxun and Shi Shanyan. He greeted Yan Junxun and saw Shi Shanyan admiring the virtual roses he kept behind the glass wall.

“They say it's a new variety from the Guangtong District,” Jiang Lian turned his chair and sat down. “If you like it too, I can ask them for another pot for you.”

Shi Shanyan tapped boredly on the glass wall and said, “Am I supposed to grow it in the toilet?”

“That could… work.” Jiang Lian coughed twice, proactively skipping over the topic. He looked at Yan Junxun. “There's good news and bad news.”

Yan Junxun, chewing on the stick of his lollipop, said, “You didn't find the person.”

“That's right,” Jiang Lian placed the family photo, which was inside a sealed bag to prevent contact, from the paper bag onto the desk. “This photo does have fingerprints other than Huo Qingjun's, but after searching the regional database, no corresponding match was found. We then compared the entry and exit records of the Puli Residential Community, as well as the employee data of related companies, but still couldn't find anyone who matched. In fact, there's currently no evidence to prove that these are the killer's fingerprints.”

The residential database of the Docking Area was only established in recent years under the initiative of the Supervisory Bureau. In the past, the area had many small hidden steel processing factories that would deliberately avoid information registration to evade detection, so the data collection has always been incomplete.

“But since she has a car, she must have left traces somewhere.” Jiang Lian pushed up his glasses. “Where do you think she dismembered the body?”

“Near her home,” Yan Junxun threw the lollipop stick into the trash can, “or right in her home.”

“Then she must have a house,” Jiang Lian thought for a moment, “and live alone.”

“What counts as living alone?” Shi Shanyan observed the roses up close without turning to look at them, and pointed to his temple with two fingers. “Does having someone in here count as cohabiting?”

“Living by oneself.” Jiang Lian wanted to use Yan Junxun as an example, but then he remembered Panda and swallowed his words. He continued, “Did you find anything at Huo Qingjun's place?”

“A math teacher who was preparing to self-study law.” Yan Junxun didn't want to recall that room, but he saw the photo on the desk.

The photo was very old, its four corners yellowed. The Huo Qingjun in the photo wasn't as gaunt as in his file. He was holding his few-year-old son, his arm around his wife's shoulder, sitting on a lawn and smiling contentedly at the camera.

They were having a picnic, perhaps for some anniversary; Huo Qingjun had specifically hired a photographer to take the picture. The photographer did a good job. They looked happy and blissful, so much so that it could have been a promotional photo for a beautiful family.

“Have you notified his wife?”

“Huo Qingjun's?” Jiang Lian shifted his gaze to the family photo. “...Couldn't reach her.”

Yan Junxun stared at the family photo, his mind wandering. He didn't want to pay too much attention to this picture, yet he couldn't help but let it trigger his imagination.

The killer had looked at the photo when she struck up a conversation with Huo Qingjun. She took off her gloves and held the photo up to her eyes. Huo Qingjun must have been very happy; someone was finally willing to chat with him, even if it was a stranger.

Did she sense something? The appeal of a pitiful man. Huo Qingjun looked so down and out. Even though he was trying hard to get his life in order, he exuded a musty smell from within, a vicissitude that couldn't be concealed.

The killer returned the photo to Huo Qingjun. She sized him up again with a probing gaze. She couldn't see happiness in the photo; she only knew the Huo Qingjun described in Liu Chen's news.

She must have enjoyed the process immensely. It made her feel as if she were ruling over a mysterious and tiny kingdom. She freely selected her execution targets and then carried out the punishment. Liu Chen's news was her list of candidates.

“...Are you listening to me?” Jiang Lian observed Yan Junxun's expression. In a pause, he glanced at Shi Shanyan, who was also watching Yan Junxun. Jiang Lian softened his voice, trying to sound as non-aggressive as possible. “Do you want to take a break?”

“She plans her crimes. From locking onto a target to approaching the target, she has a plan. The remaining parts of the victim's body are difficult to dispose of, especially now. If she just leaves them, maggots will hatch after twenty-four hours. She also has to work on weekdays, which is why she always makes her move on a Friday. That way, she has time to deal with the body. I suspect Liu Xincheng wasn't the first person she killed.”

Yan Junxun moved closer to the table, his eyes shining brightly.

“She disposed of Liu Xincheng very cleanly, didn't she? You still haven't found the rest of his body, which shows she's experienced. She's stubborn, insisting on using the same method to execute her victims. She believes Liu Chen's reports are the truth; that's what she's decided. What has Liu Chen been saying on his personal page these past few days? He said it's a revenge killing, that it's retribution. His words gave the killer a response, and that's exactly what the killer was hoping for. Do you understand? Liu Chen's follow-up reports on these victims made her dissatisfied. She has been sexually assaulted; she doesn't want these people to live. She wants them dead. That is the only ending she accepts. If we don't find her this month, she'll continue next month.”

“If she has already killed the person who assaulted her,” Jiang Lian asked, “then why does she continue?”

“Because the pain hasn't stopped,” Yan Junxun stared at Jiang Lian, “she hasn't been freed from it. Didn't you see? She only dares to assert her presence in other people's homes.”

Shi Shanyan tapped lightly on the glass, as if applauding. His keen sense of smell allowed him to always be one step ahead in everything, but Yan Junxun was also very quick, wasn't he? Artemis was a remarkable system teacher; it had taught the most interesting student.

Yan Junxun was a beautiful child, inside and out.

However, Shi Shanyan disliked other people's systems, just as he disliked this pot of roses behind the glass wall that had been pruned by Jiang Lian. He was passionate about training them himself, even if it meant getting his fingers pricked.

Fu Chenghui had picked a good partner for Shi Shanyan. Compared to the case, Shi Shanyan was more interested in Yan Junxun. As long as Shi Shanyan was interested, he wouldn't go looking for trouble with other people just for the thrill of it.

How wonderful.

Shi Shanyan thought.

I'm so well-behaved.