Criminal Investigation Notes

Extra Case: Lonely City (Starring Yu Yan)

In Huadu, an ordinary residential area, it was already 11 o’clock at night, and the night was gradually getting deeper, everything becoming quieter.

On the third floor, a family was preparing to go to sleep. The male head of the household got up, checked the bathroom and toilet, and locked the doors and windows.

The female head of the household, Zhuo Jing, had already finished washing up early and was lying in bed. She softly invited, “Are you coming tonight?”

“Forget it, I have to get up early tomorrow. Let’s just sleep.” Her husband lay beside her.

With the lights turned off, the entire room plunged into darkness.

With her eyes closed, Zhuo Jing faintly heard a faint sound, as if a drop of liquid was falling from a height.

It traversed a few meters and landed on the ground, splashing suddenly.

Drip.

After a while, another sound followed.

Drip.

The sound was not far away, separated by a door. It was soft but clear. Zhuo Jing felt a little scared, so she opened her eyes and nudged her husband. “Do you hear anything?”

“No…” Her husband was almost falling asleep when suddenly awakened by her. He was quite unhappy, “I don’t hear any sound. Don’t be so superstitious in the middle of the night.”

“But there really was a sound…” Zhuo Jing felt a bit aggrieved.

“What sound?”

“Water, the sound of water dripping. There’s water dripping.” After Zhuo Jing finished speaking, she widened her eyes. In the darkness, she heard the eerie sound again.

Drip.

She said to her husband, “It’s in the living room. Listen.”

Drip.

“I didn’t hear anything. Maybe it’s the neighbor’s water pipe not being tightened, or the air conditioner dripping.” Her husband dismissed it. “In any case, it’s not in our house. I just checked the bathroom. Go to sleep!”

“But…”

“Even if there is a problem, we can deal with it tomorrow. I need to wake up early.” Her husband was getting a bit impatient.

Zhuo Jing didn’t have the courage to go out and investigate herself, so she adjusted her posture and lay down. Yet, she could still hear that eerie, slightly rhythmic sound.

Drip.

Where was that sound coming from? It sounded like it was coming from the living room, but there was nothing in the living room, right?

Drip.

Could there be a leak somewhere?

Drip.

Was it coming from upstairs? Tomorrow she had to go ask the old lady upstairs to find out.

Zhuo Jing tried to keep herself from thinking about this matter and drifted into sleep.

In her dream, she dreamt of something. It was a puddle of water, on the ceiling, gradually spreading…

And then, it seemed as if a pair of eyes were watching her.

At five in the morning, Zhuo Jing suddenly woke up. She had a nightmare and felt very uncomfortable sleeping.

She wanted to go to the bathroom, opened the bedroom door, walked out in a daze, and stepped on something sticky with her slippers. Her body suddenly lost balance and with a thud, she fell to the ground.

Zhuo Jing was completely stunned. She felt that her hands were also stained with something.

Pulling the thick curtains in the room, blocking out the sunlight, she couldn’t see clearly.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Her husband heard the noise, got up, and turned on the light.

By the light shining from the bedroom, Zhuo Jing saw that she was sitting in a small pool of dark red bloodstains. Then she looked up at the ceiling. The white roof had been stained with a large patch of red…

Even someone half asleep, seeing such a scene, would be frightened and break out in cold sweat.

Zhuo Jing let out a piercing scream.

It wasn’t an illusion, it never was her illusion.

The blood drops were still dripping from the ceiling.

Drip.

Drip.

How simple can a person’s social connections be?

All alone, she lived without being known, and when she died, not many people knew either.

Just like a flower that wasn’t pollinated and had withered after its bloom. No one noticed which moment it fell into the soil, and then it was gone, as if there were no traces of its existence in the world.

Yao Fei’s eyelashes flickered as he looked through a dossier in his hands.

The victim of this case was such an old woman. Her name was Zhou Bingyi, female, 69 years old.

Most of her close relatives had left her many years ago. Her husband passed away, her parents were deceased, and she had no children.

She worked as a nurse when she was young, retired after the age of 60, lived alone on her pension until now.

Now only a few distant relatives occasionally came to visit her, and she had only a handful of friends, barely enough to count on one hand.

Separated by the case file, Yao Fei could feel a sense of loneliness.

Yet, it was such an old woman who died in the living room of her own home.

It wasn’t until blood seeped downstairs that the neighbors downstairs called the police.

Now, after finding the body for over half a day, the autopsy had already been conducted, and the preliminary estimate for the time of death was a day ago.

The elderly person suffered trauma before death, with a wound stabbing into the abdomen, causing significant bleeding.

From the photos at the scene, Zhou Bingyi lay in the living room, on her side. Blood flowed from the wound, pooling on the floor, forming a large stain.

The house was very clean, with no footprints or fingerprints left behind.

In the old residential area, there were no abnormal comings and goings caught on camera.

After receiving the report, the local police department initially started with social connections. They discovered that this elderly person had almost no social connections…

She received her pension, which was deposited into her account on time. Her medical expenses and daily life should have been manageable. She had a small amount of savings, but other than this house that couldn’t be moved, it wasn’t enough to incite ill intentions from criminals.

She didn’t purchase insurance or health products, and except for grocery shopping, she rarely interacted with outsiders.

From her clothing, her financial situation seemed tight. She wore old clothes, and a pair of pants had already turned pale from repeated washing.

She didn’t have any ambiguous romantic affairs, living alone all along.

Who could it be, and why did they kill her?

A financial motive, a crime of passion? Neither seemed entirely likely.

After the case was accepted by the local police department, due to the limited information available, it was challenging to solve. Therefore, the case was handed over to the central bureau and assigned to the Fourth Criminal Investigation Division.

After an on-site investigation by the criminal investigation team, they filed a request, hoping that the Behavioral Analysis Unit could get involved.

Yu Yan received the notice, picked up the case file, and quickly browsed through the information.

Just as he returned to his office, he saw Yao Fei and Captain Chang standing outside.

Looking at these two people, Yu Yan knew that Captain Chang was someone who wouldn’t come to him without a good reason. He guessed that Yao Fei had probably caused trouble again.

This little disciple was someone he had been supporting throughout college. While his family wasn’t wealthy, he was intelligent and spirited. He had courage and was very clever, but he only listened when he was in front of him. Once turned around, he was like a porcupine, resisting everyone’s advice and authority.

Yu Yan’s steps paused, his gaze shifting. “Captain Chang, what’s going on?”

Chang Yu gave Yao Fei a little push forward. “This brat here, he almost got into a fight with Xiao Wu from our team in the smoking area downstairs just now. I caught him in the act.”

“Is it serious?” Yu Yan looked at Yao Fei and wasn’t surprised by such a result.

Criminal detectives fighting, it would result in disciplinary measures if it was mild, and dismissal if it was severe.

Yao Fei probably realized he was in the wrong, his formerly raised corners of his eyes drooping down. His mouth was also pouting, appearing somewhat dissatisfied.

Chang Yu waved his hand. “It’s not a big deal. The young lad’s got a hot temper, he didn’t actually throw a punch. The higher-ups weren’t alarmed.”

Yu Yan said in a soft voice, “It’s probably all his fault.”

Hearing him say this, Chang Yu’s tone eased. “I suppose Xiao Wu had a sharp tongue too. This time I saw it, but if I’m not around next time, don’t stir up trouble. You and him, emphasize discipline.”

“I’m sorry for the trouble, Captain Chang. I’ll talk to him later.” Yu Yan thanked him again, finally managing to get Chang Yu to leave.

He turned around and sighed, looking at the head-bowed Yao Fei. He felt like a class teacher dealing with a child. “What’s written in the police department’s rules and regulations? Don’t you want to wear this police uniform anymore?”

Yao Fei remained silent, the collar of his uniform was upturned, carrying a hint of stubbornness.

Yu Yan had a bit of an obsession with cleanliness. He reached out and flattened Yao Fei’s collar. “You’re an adult, aren’t you? Is it childish or not to act like a child and start a fight? Look at you, you’ve been here for half a year, and how many people have you irritated? If you have energy, go catch those criminals. Being cocky inside the squad doesn’t mean much.”

He looked up at Yao Fei, who was half a head taller than him, but still seemed like a child.

That young lad had a pair of charming eyes. His parents gave him good looks. If it weren’t for him being a bit aloof and arrogant, I don’t know how many young girls would be thinking about him.

His own disciple brought about trouble, and he had to clean up the mess himself.

Initially, Yu Yan made him write reflections a few times, but later found it was completely useless.

The check Yao Fei handed over was exceptionally well-written, with a flourish in his handwriting, like a piece of calligraphy. The word count was also sufficient.

But he had a great attitude, and he dared to do it again next time.

Yu Yan pondered this. He needed to change his approach.

“If you cause trouble again next time, go to the archives room in the back.” Yu Yan said lightly when he saw Yao Fei not saying anything.

He thought Yao Fei wouldn’t budge, but unexpectedly, when he heard this, Yao Fei suddenly looked up. His peach blossom eyes widened, but the corners of his eyes turned red. “Today, they said our Behavioral Analysis Unit is just here for a free meal. They also said that you, Teacher Yu, solving cases was just luck and not real capability… and they even said…”

Yao Fei paused here, pursing his lips and not continuing. There should be more offensive words.

Yu Yan’s hand paused. He didn’t expect Yao Fei would want to fight those people because of these things.

Since the establishment of his Behavioral Analysis Unit, he had solved several major cases, and jealousy had risen to an extreme level. Rumors had spread. Yu Yan had heard some of these words, but he didn’t expect Yao Fei would encounter them today.

Yu Yan asked him, “If they say that, do you think you’re here for a free meal?”

Yao Fei said, “Of course not!” Their existence had meaning and value.

“Fighting won’t solve the problem, and it won’t shut their mouths either.” Yu Yan extended his hand and ruffled Yao Fei’s hair. “The next time we collaborate, show them. If they can’t solve a case, we can handle it. Naturally, they won’t talk like that anymore.”

“But he said you, Teacher,…” Yao Fei wanted to say something else.

Yu Yan waved his hand good-naturedly. “I don’t mind.”

Yao Fei murmured in a low voice, not knowing how much of his words Yu Yan had taken in.

He looked outside, distracted, seeming like he wanted to go out.

Yu Yan asked, “Do you have something to do later?”

Yao Fei said, “I want to go smoke a cigarette.”

He had just gone to the smoking area, but hadn’t lit up yet. He got into a conflict with Xiao Wu. Now he was craving a cigarette.

“Don’t go there. Hold on for a bit and go smoke later.” There were many detectives in the yard, and they would go smoke in groups. Yu Yan was afraid Yao Fei would get into trouble. After thinking for a moment, he added, “Try to quit smoking. You’re still young. Your addiction isn’t small.”

Yao Fei hesitated, then looked at Yu Yan. He earnestly promised, “Alright, I won’t smoke anymore.”

Yu Yan thought he was just saying it casually. He didn’t expect him to quit right away. But if he could smoke one less, that was progress.

He handed the documents to Yao Fei. “There’s a new case from the Fourth Division. Take a look at this information and then come with me to the forensic department.”

TN:

We finally get a glimpse into the OG profiler!