Chapter 222. Lin Nianci, Who Rescued People Without Authorization

---

---

!!!WARNING:- Animal Cruelty!!!

---

Meng Zhong led a team to investigate the earliest two elevator entrapment cases. In the car traveling at high speed, Song Rui briefly profiled the suspect, “The victims were all women, so the most likely suspect is male. Since the murder was committed by trapping the victim, the suspect is probably introverted in real life, doesn’t like to talk, and is not very strong. To be more precise, he would be a bit weak.”

Song Rui opened the notebook with frayed edges, his voice hoarse, “Every serial killer fantasizes about their methods of murder from a very young age, and immerses themselves in these fantasies every day until they are strongly stimulated and can no longer suppress their inner desires, ultimately turning their fantasies into reality. Therefore, the killer’s age should be between twenty-five and thirty, which is the age when fantasies mature, desires are most intense, and execution ability reaches its peak.”

He coughed, his throat so dry he couldn’t speak. Fan Jialuo immediately unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and handed it to him, looking at him with a hint of encouragement in his eyes.

Song Rui drank most of the water from the young man’s hand. Not only did his voice become gentler, but even his tired eyes seemed to regain some luster. He turned to the next page of his notebook and continued, “As I just said, the murderer would have fantasies about a certain method of killing very early on. Do you know how early that is?”

“Some children’s abnormalities will become apparent when they are five or six years old.” Meng Zhong gave Song Rui a meaningful look.

Song Rui calmly said, “That’s right. Around the age of five or six, individuals with these specific psychological anomalies begin to exhibit certain warning signs. These individuals exhibit the classic triad of fire-setting, persistent enuresis, and animal abuse. The suspect in our case found the greatest pleasure in trapping and killing, so he must have experienced this pleasure in his childhood, otherwise he wouldn’t have been so obsessed with it. What would be the object of a young child’s abuse?”

Hu Wenwen quickly raised her hand, “It’s a small animal!”

Song Rui nodded, “That’s right, it’s small animals, so I guess the suspect in this case has a habit of abusing small animals since childhood, and his main targets should be stray cats or stray dogs. You can focus on this aspect during the search for him.”

Everyone nodded and took notes.

Song Rui summarized the key words, “So, the person you are looking for is a man, around 27 or 28 years old, introverted, not good at socializing, physically weak, and has a habit of abusing cats and dogs. People with this kind of personality generally do not take on jobs that are too technical or require a lot of interpersonal communication. Judging from his methods of killing, observing from the shadows is probably his source of pleasure. When looking for a job, he will try to align it with his interests.”

“Hiding in the shadows and observing?” Zhuang Zhen frowned and blurted out, “Could he be a security guard? Security guards need to observe the people coming and going at all times, and they can also monitor the entire community or building through surveillance cameras.”

“It’s highly likely.” Song Rui closed his notebook and waved his hand, saying, “Follow up on these leads.”

Everyone responded in unison and split up to carry out their tasks. Although the case had long since passed, the individuals involved still remembered it vividly and provided numerous leads. The developer of the apartment complex——which was still under construction——summoned all the security guards and asked them to recount the details of the case.

One of them quickly distanced himself from the situation, “None of us were on duty that day, so we really don’t know how it happened. Logically, there should be someone guarding the monitoring room, but no one went to check it that day, they were all hiding outside playing cards.”

“No, I heard Old He say it’s not that they weren’t on duty, it’s that the computer in the monitoring room was broken, the screen was completely black, and we couldn’t see anything.” Another person explained, “Old He is the security team leader who was fired before. He was unlucky and happened to be assigned to be on duty that day.”

“Could you give us a copy of the information on the dismissed security guards?” Meng Zhong asked the person in charge.

“Okay, I’ll have the personnel department send it over right away.”

A few minutes later, Meng Zhong received a stack of employee information and photos provided by several security guards who came to take his statement.

Song Rui took the information and instructed, “Send a copy of these people’s photos to Zhuang Zhen and ask him to see if there are any familiar faces at the senior living facility.”

Meng Zhong did as instructed, while Song Rui carefully examined the photos. After a few minutes, he pointed to a young man with fair skin, effeminate features, and a thin build and asked, “Are you familiar with this person?”

Several security guards shook their heads repeatedly, “We don’t know him. We only know that his name is Ma You, and he is from the same hometown as Old He. He doesn’t talk much and doesn’t hang out with us.”

A security guard, as if recalling something, said with disgust, “That guy’s no good! Once, I was on duty with him, and a stray cat wandered into the construction site. It was quite cute, so I wanted to take it home and keep it. He said he wanted to keep it too and asked me to give it to him. I thought he looked clean and gentle, like a considerate person, so I agreed. But the next day, I found the kitten’s body in a section of cement pipe. All four paws had been chopped off, and it was wrapped in rope all over. It died a horrible death! I immediately took the kitten’s body to confront him, but he firmly denied it, constantly arguing that this cat wasn’t the same one as before. I asked him to bring over the previous one, but he kept whining and refusing, which infuriated me.”

The security guard gritted his teeth and said, “I know that the dead kitten was the one I wanted to keep. That bastard Ma You is ruthless!”

Song Rui and Meng Zhong exchanged a glance, and a suspicion began to form in their minds. Tying a cat with a rope was a way of restricting its freedom, and chopping off its claws and removing its nails had something in common. This Ma You is very suspicious.

Fan Jialuo held Ma You’s photo in his palm and sensed it, then slowly said, “I see a dark heart and endless killings, it must be him.”

Meng Zhong’s spirits lifted, and he immediately picked up the employee files to look up Ma You’s address. Just as he was getting some leads, Zhuang Zhen called to report some exciting news, “Director Meng, there’s a former security guard at the senior living facility who has left. He used to work as a security guard at the Jinshawan development, called Ma You. Guess how he was fired?”

Meng Zhong bolted upright and cried out, “What else? Residents trapped in the elevator as usual!”

Zhuang Zhen’s tone was very excited, “That’s right, every time he was fired it was because someone was trapped in the elevator. This time and twice, it can’t be a coincidence, right? I guess he is the murderer we are looking for. I have his address, let’s go and arrest him now.”

Meng Zhong, “I also have his address. Let’s check and see if he has moved out.”

The two immediately checked and discovered that despite the two serious accidents, Ma You was still living in the same place. He was truly skilled and daring! Was he relying on the folding space to avoid being bothered by the police?

“Catch the hell out of him!” The two said in unison.

Fan Jialuo warned, “Catching him won’t be easy. Once he’s startled, he’ll immediately hide in his spatial dimension, and none of us will be able to do anything about him.”

“What should we do then?” Meng Zhong suddenly felt a headache coming on.

“I will first set up a magnetic field trap. You will have to figure out a way to lure him into my trap. My magnetic field has the power of isolation, which can prevent him from escaping into space.” Fan Jialuo conceived a rough plan.

Song Rui immediately helped him refine the suggestion, “We can buy a kitten on the way and put it in front of his house. He’ll come out when he hears the cat meowing. People like him can’t change their ways.”

Meng Zhong clapped his hands and said, “That’s the plan!” Then he shouted into the still-connected phone, “Captain Zhuang, did you hear that? It’s a bit far from here. Go buy the cat first, then lie in wait for us downstairs.”

Zhuang Zhen agreed, panting heavily, and sounded like he was running. He could vaguely hear excited shouts all around him, such as ‘hurry, hurry, go buy a cat, the murderer is Ma You!’ Meng Zhong had made a major breakthrough, and Chang Sheng and Chang Zhen had already finished drawing the formation. They had only waited for half an hour at Senior Officer’s request.

When Wang Wan’s parents saw that they were not doing anything, they became anxious and cried out, “Master, please save her quickly!”

Senior Officer reassured them, “Wait a little longer, we’ve already sent people to catch the murderer.”

“How long will it take?”

“Just wait two more hours, I promise the master will rescue the person in two hours.” Senior Officer also felt that this request was a bit excessive, and his expression was naturally very awkward.

Wang Wan’s parents quickly estimated the situation in their minds, and then their vision blurred, “Why do we have to wait another two hours? Our Xiao Wan has been locked up for almost two days! Without water to drink, a person will die if they’re locked up for just three days——do you people even realize that?!”

Cold sweat broke out on Senior Officer’s forehead. This was, after all, a matter of life and death, he couldn’t afford to be careless. No one knew what would happen to Wang Wan within two hours. He was gambling with a life——was such a gamble really worthwhile? Wouldn’t something terrible happen?

Senior Officer pondered the situation repeatedly, unable to make a decision, so he took out his phone and said, “Let me make a call and ask. Please wait a moment. It’s not that we police officers are unwilling to rescue people, but the situation is quite complicated. You need to understand that if we rescue Wang Wan without catching the murderer, the murderer might go berserk and kill even more people. We are doing this for the sake of the public……”

Before Senior Officer could finish speaking, Wang Wan’s parents began wailing and shouting, “We can’t care about others, we just want our daughter to live! If we wait until the murderer is caught before our daughter is released, how long will that take? Are you prepared to sacrifice our daughter’s life? How can you be worthy of being police officers? Look, look carefully, a life is slipping away before your eyes, can you bear it? If our daughter dies, you are the murderers! Master, please rescue our daughter immediately, we beg you!”

Both of them grabbed hold of the police officer and engaged in a violent scuffle, but then turned around and knelt down at Chang Sheng and Chang Zhen’s feet, begging for mercy.

Senior Officer was torn and battered, but he didn’t get angry. He had children too, and he understood the anxiety of parents. However, as a police officer, protecting the lives of the public was his inescapable duty. He couldn’t bring himself to save only the person in front of him and ignore the lives of others. If everyone could be saved, that would be the best outcome.

He waved to the two policewomen, signaling them to calm Wang Wan’s parents down, and then went outside to make a phone call.

Wang Wan’s mother clung to Chang Sheng’s legs, wailing, “Master, my daughter has always been weak, easily catching colds and fevers. Others can last three days, but she might not! What if she’s been starving for days before getting into the elevator? She’s been on a diet and hasn’t eaten her fill at all, she can’t last three days! Master, I beg you, please get her out of here quickly!”

These days, losing weight has become a trend. No matter how thin a girl is, she talks about losing weight all the time. She eats less than a kitten. If she were really locked up, her life might be in danger in a day or two. It’s been almost two days now, and Wang Wan’s condition is definitely not optimistic.

Thinking of this, Chang Sheng and Chang Zhen’s already wavering resolve became even more shaky.

Lin Nianci looked at the kneeling parents, their eyes red with tears, and then, thinking of her own background, she made a decision. She walked to the formation, placed her right hand on the key point of the array, and slowly channeled spiritual power into it. Lin Nian’en, who always supported her unconditionally, immediately put his hand on her shoulder and transferred his own cultivation power to her.

Sensing the fluctuations of spiritual energy behind them, Chang Sheng and Chang Zhen immediately went over and placed their hands on Lin Nianci’s shoulders, transferring all their cultivation to her. The formation had already been activated and was irreversible, they had wanted to save her anyway, so what was there to hesitate about now!

Meanwhile, after learning about the case from Meng Zhong and that the murderer would soon be caught, Senior Officer walked in excitedly, only to be shocked to find that the Taoist priests he had invited had taken it upon themselves to start saving people.

“Hey, what are you doing? Stop right now!” Senior Officer rushed over and shouted repeatedly, “Our comrades are already on their way to arrest him! Stop right now, don’t alert him! If you scare him away and cause more deaths, can you bear that responsibility?”

Lin Nianci and the others completely ignored him, instead increasing their input of spiritual energy. The blood-red lines that originally formed the formation began to glow with white light, eventually merging into one and manifesting the phantom of a door. The phantom slowly solidified, as if it would open with a gentle push.

Seeing this, Senior Officer knew it was all over, the police’s plan had been ruined!

Lin Nianci’s spiritual energy was completely drained, and even with the support of the three people behind her, she felt increasingly strained. Her jet-black hair gradually turned frost-white, and the color drained from her face. Just as her soul power began to become unstable, the formation finally absorbed enough spiritual energy, opened its door, and revealed a rusty space filled with eerie green light.

Wang Wan lay in this space, licking the blood from her hands. In her desperate situation, she had actually come up with this extremely painful way to survive, barely managing to endure the previous dozens of hours. Seeing the wide-open door and her parents outside, she immediately got up, staggered out, and then collapsed into Lin Nianci’s arms.

Contrary to what her parents had imagined, she was still conscious and had the strength to save herself. After running out, she kept calling for water. Her parents rushed over, hugged her, and fed her water, tears of joy streaming down their faces.

As the family of three reunited, a kitten, still nursing, was curled up in a dimly lit stairwell, meowing incessantly, but it couldn’t lure the neighbor across the hall out. Fan Jialuo silently approached the door, placed his hands on it to sense its movement, then shook his head and sighed, “No one’s inside. He’s already escaped.”

“How could that be?” Meng Zhong questioned this judgment, because they had checked the surveillance footage when they entered the community and confirmed that Ma You had already gone home from work and had not gone out again.

“The building across the street can see what’s happening here. I’ll go take a look.” Zhuang Zhen took a pair of binoculars and ran to the building across the street to scout. After a while, he ran back and kicked open Ma You’s door without saying a word.

Sure enough, no one was in the house. A bowl of steaming instant noodles had been spilled on the floor, the soup and noodles spilled everywhere, making it filthy. The television had a hole smashed in it by an ashtray and was sparking with electricity, which showed how angry Ma You was when he ran away.

The worst-case scenario that the police had anticipated still happened.

---

---

---

---