Panda saw Yan Junxun as a child. Even though Yan Junxun was supporting the family, most of the time, he just curled up in a corner reading comics. When Panda was making the bed for Shi Shanyan, a line of text kept flashing in the task box in its head.

I found him a friend!

Panda patted the soft pillow with satisfaction.

Yan Junxun showered quickly. When Shi Shanyan went in, he discovered that Yan Junxun had hidden all the little yellow ducks. But it didn't matter. Shi Shanyan took off his shirt, bent down, and pulled out a waterproof box from under the bath towel rack. After opening it, he found the little yellow ducks lined up neatly as expected.

How should I put it.

Shi Shanyan tossed the little yellow ducks into the bathtub one by one.

Yan Junxun was always easy to figure out in some ways. His skill at hiding things was inversely proportional to his speed in assessing information.

The bathtub was too small for Shi Shanyan. When he soaked in it, the water only reached his waist. His broad, straight shoulders would hit the shelf above the tub, forcing him to tilt his head a bit to avoid knocking things over.

The little yellow ducks surrounded him. He saw newly opened toiletries on the shelf. But Shi Shanyan didn't use them. He pulled over the half-used bottle of shower gel that Yan Junxun had pushed to the very back and poured it into his palm.

......

Yan Junxun, with a towel on his head, stood at the door of his room, not knowing whether to advance or retreat. He said to Panda, "I'm sleeping on the floor."

"We don't have a floor," Panda patted the soft mattress with its paw. "We have tatami mats. You can sleep side by side, and maybe chat a little before bed."

"What do you think we could talk about?" Yan Junxun pulled off the towel. "I don't want to chat before bed, it will interfere with my work tomorrow."

"Then you can just go to sleep," Panda was a little sentimental. "Don't be so resistant, you've never slept with anyone before." It thought of the videos it had watched, lit up the light screen to the side, and pointed at it for Yan Junxun with its paw. "Like this. Human boys all like this."

On the light screen was a screenshot from a TV drama. A group of high school students were having a sleepover, and their expressions were all lively and spirited.

'You don't understand, Shi Shanyan is different! He's not a high school student. His danger index is higher than the total number of high school students in several schools combined!'

Yan Junxun didn't say it out loud. He knew Panda's programmed personality was very fragile; he couldn't hurt it.

"I'll be right here in the house," Panda approached Yan Junxun, holding its paws and looking at him cautiously. "...Don't be afraid, Mr. Yan."

Yan Junxun moved his foot aside, picked up the turtle that had crawled over, and placed it in Panda's arms. He said helplessly, "It's not about being afraid."

'It's vigilance.'

"I'm not scared at all."

'Shi Shanyan is just very dangerous.'

"I'm not scared in the slightest."

"I know," Panda waved its paw slightly in a soothing manner. "Anyway, you two will get along great. I'll go heat up some milk, one glass for each of you before bed." It entered the kitchen holding the turtle, sighing with emotion, "This home can't function without me."

Yan Junxun clutched the towel, sensing the perfunctory nature of Panda's reassurance. He watched Panda's back, wanting to say something, but Panda had already gone into the kitchen. He glanced helplessly around his room, then at the closed bathroom door, and consoled himself unhappily, "...Alright."

......

Shi Shanyan whistled, lathering foam on his face in front of the mirror, and heard the sound of Yan Junxun taking off his slippers.

Yan Junxun stepped onto the tatami mats, intentionally walking very lightly. He was trying to figure out how to drag his comforter to the corner of the wall.

Shi Shanyan picked up his razor and carefully tended to his chin. He listened as Yan Junxun's footsteps paused for a few seconds, then moved again. He wanted to advise Yan Junxun not to do that.

'Hugging the corner of the wall will only leave you with no escape route.'

But Shi Shanyan said nothing. He kept whistling, rinsed the white foam off under the tap, and then bent over to wash his face.

Yan Junxun placed his pillow, adjusting it to his usual position. He was mentally preparing himself; sleeping with someone was a challenge.

Shi Shanyan turned off the tap, raised his eyes, and just looked at himself in the mirror. When he wasn't smiling, he seemed somewhat indifferent, like a piece of cold, hard marble. He continued to listen to Yan Junxun's movements, as if playing some kind of game.

Yan Junxun turned on the light screen. Yan Junxun sat on the bedding. He was looking at the case; work was a good way to alleviate emotions he wasn't good at handling.

Shi Shanyan smiled. A drop of water from his eyebrow trickled down the bridge of his nose. He found Yan Junxun very interesting.

He should show a little more curiosity.

Thinking this, Shi Shanyan shook off the water droplets and stood up straight. He tied his bath towel and opened the door, feeling refreshed.

......

[This information was all compiled by Jue. I've already looked at it. If you have any questions, you can ask us anytime. We're working overtime.]

Yan Junxun thought for a moment and replied to Piao Lin.

[Okay. Do you have the statement file from the Supervisory Bureau on the first case in 2160?]

There was no reply from the other end. After two seconds, Piao Lin sent the file directly.

[We have it, but there's no useful information. You know, The Alliance had just started fighting back then, so no one paid attention to this kind of case.]

Yan Junxun quickly scanned the file. The investigator at the time was only responsible for questioning relevant personnel. The girls from Pink Dream all said Wu Qionghua was like a big sister. Her own financial situation was very poor, yet she helped out many young girls.

[Those girls can't be found now. They all used fake names back then.]

Piao Lin tapped on the keyboard and continued.

[Aside from that boss who speculated on real estate, she hadn't been with anyone else for that long.]

This was related to her age. Wu Qionghua was already 42 when she had her child, which was considered an advanced maternal age. On top of that, she didn't recover properly after childbirth and rushed back to work at the shop. Her health was poor, and she could no longer rely on her looks to make a living like she had a few years prior. Her clients were mostly people with special fetishes or special needs.

Yan Junxun thought of the body that the killer had manipulated.

Shi Shanyan was talking to Panda in the living room; they were also getting ready to play a game.

Yan Junxun swiped open the light screen, fell back onto his pillow, and stared blankly at the light on the ceiling. The light made him dizzy, and the scene gradually shifted, turning into Wu Qionghua's room.

Wu Qionghua was lying in bed, sleeping. She must have closed the window. Yan Junxun remembered the color of the curtains in that room.

The killer most likely pretended to be a client coming to her door; that way, Wu Qionghua would have opened it normally. But he had to prepare in advance. He had either cased the place or followed Wu Qionghua's clients. He must have said a few names Wu Qionghua was familiar with through the door, otherwise a worldly-wise big sister like her would have sensed the danger.

One shouldn't underestimate a woman like Wu Qionghua. She had to have her own way of survival to grow as tenaciously as a cattail. Then she opened the door and asked the other party for the price.

Yan Junxun was thinking.

The killer was very much like a power-assertive type of murderer; manipulating these victims made him feel happy. Not only that, hurting the victims also made him feel satisfied, something he lacked in his own life. By the same token, "the madman" was also this type.

The butterfly effect created by the madman driving Chen Xiulian insane influenced the killer in this case. He provided the killer with a new idea, causing him to strike again after a three-year hiatus. Looked at from another angle, this was the "next game" the madman had spoken of.

Yan Junxun began to wonder if Liu Chen really knew anything. Liu Chen seemed more like a contemptible buffoon with ulterior motives, thinking he could profit from these matters, but perhaps he was just the bait on the madman's hook, not even qualifying as a fish.

If this case was indeed related to the madman, then what did he—they—really want to do?

Yan Junxun couldn't tell if it was he who had attracted the madman, or if the name "Yan Junxun" had attracted the madman. He suspected the madman knew quite a bit of information about Artemis and understood him to some extent.

Shi Shanyan was playing a tennis game with Panda. They stood on the left and right, swinging their arms forcefully at the light screen that took up the wall. The "thump" of the impact triggered a wave of emotionless virtual cheers.

Yan Junxun turned off the light, put in his earphones, wrapped himself in his comforter, rolled into the corner, and faced the wall to sleep.

......

Shi Shanyan drank his milk and said to Panda, "You're the best tennis-playing panda I've ever seen."

"Thanks!" Panda put its paws on its hips happily. It glanced at the time. "You should go to bed. We can play again next time!"

"I'll leave saving the data to you," Shi Shanyan put the empty glass back on the tray and asked in a low voice before turning off the light, "Do you visit other rooms in the middle of the night?"

"No," Panda had a strong sense of professional ethics. "Once Mr. Yan is asleep, I will automatically enter sleep mode until tomorrow morning. During this period, I will not appear unless you call for me."

"See you tomorrow morning." Shi Shanyan turned off the light and, while he was at it, covered the small bookshelf on the desk with a lace-trimmed tablecloth.

Su Heting, who was passionately playing a rhythm game, took off his headphones and discovered that Yan Junxun's place had gone dark. He tapped the control keys a few times, but the camera was like an idiot that could only turn its head.

"What are you doing?" Su Heting called Shi Shanyan, wanting him to remove the damn tablecloth, but the call was hung up.

[Fuck you.]

Su Heting sent a message to Shi Shanyan.

[Yan Junxun cannot leave my surveillance!]

[Did you see my message???]

[Hey.]

[Fuck!!!]

[What the hell are you doing?]

Su Heting sent a string of "panic" and "sweat" emoji stickers, but they all vanished without a trace. Finally, he put his headphones back on, practically pressing his face against the light screen to listen for any sound.

"Do you want to listen to a song?" Panda asked Su Heting via message before going into sleep mode. "I can sing for you..."

"No, thank you," Su Heting interrupted it. "Just go to sleep!"

"Okay," Panda made the sound of covering itself with a blanket and patted its non-existent body. "Mr. Shi said that if you don't want to hear me sing, then I should play 'Rose of the Defense Alliance' on a loop for you."

The song began to play in Su Heting's headphones.

Panda said considerately, "Good night."

......

Yan Junxun wasn't asleep. His ears were filled with the songs of deep-sea whales. He wasn't consciously listening, but he just knew that Shi Shanyan had come in.

The two sets of bedding were some distance apart, but when Shi Shanyan lay down, Yan Junxun's eyes snapped open. He stared at the wall, smelling the same shower gel scent as his own.

'This guy!'

Yan Junxun whipped his head around.

Shi Shanyan sniffed his palm and looked at Yan Junxun. "You don't hate milk that much after all."

"I'm just being polite."

"Politely rubbing it all over your body?" Shi Shanyan said. "You smell like it from head to toe. If I hate something, I would never allow it anywhere near me."

Yan Junxun pulled the comforter up high, shrinking into a cocoon with only his eyes showing. He said in a muffled voice, "Oh, is that so? We're not the same."

"You said you weren't afraid of anyone," Shi Shanyan changed the subject.

Yan Junxun stared at him.

Shi Shanyan extended a finger, vaguely measuring the distance between the two of them, a mocking look in his eyes. "Doesn't look like it."

There was no room for negotiation. Shi Shanyan's gaze was just that direct, as if Yan Junxun hugging the wall was proof of his fear.

"Think whatever you want," unexpectedly, Yan Junxun didn't move. "It's best if you and I sleep just like this."

He stressed the last few words, as if he would bite if Shi Shanyan moved even a little closer.

However, Shi Shanyan was just asking to be bitten.