“Brother, this is what you asked me to check.” Shen Qi handed Ji Chenjiao his tablet. The entire document contained Wei Xuyan’s Browse history for the past year.

This seemingly respectable businessman, who used the most earnest words to trick authors into signing “indentured servant contracts” with him, most liked to read social news headlines such as “Woman Killed During Night Run,” “Wife Dismembered by Husband,” and “Young Woman Missing, Suspected Murdered by Male Companion…”

He not only read them but also often commented in the comment section—

[Good kill! Awesome! Why keep women like this alive for the New Year?]

[Damn, it makes my heart race.]

[Doesn’t necessarily have to be murder, the feeling of being a Ling Lie is just too good!]

“Damn, is this jerk a sociopath?” Shen Qi was even more enraged than Xi Wan. He had many close female friends, and the thought of his friends and family potentially being targeted by such scum made him furious.

Ji Chenjiao calmly finished reading and objectively stated, “He doesn’t meet the criteria for being a sociopath yet. However, long-term Browse of news about killing women and repeatedly intimidating women gave him the courage to commit murder. The logical chain is basically complete now.”

Liang Wenxian wrote on the whiteboard. Several authors whose copyrights were swindled by Wei Xuyan, and several women who had been intimidated on Sheng Gui Bridge – drawing lines and circles, the focus still fell on Zhong Cheng.

Wei Xuyan’s other side could currently only make his attempt to kill Zhong Cheng seem reasonable, but it couldn’t disprove that Zhong Cheng was not the murderer.

Liang Wenxian put down his pen, “The idea of female revenge is still quite far-fetched. Not to mention that our only confirmed victim, Ms. Quan, had no alibi. Even if she did, she wouldn’t have the capacity for revenge.”

Xi Wan agreed, “If we categorize female victims, Ms. Quan is in the middle. Those more deeply hurt than her, and those like Xiao Li who dared to fight back on the spot, are few. Even Xiao Li wouldn’t resort to murder for revenge.”

After a moment of silence, Ji Chenjiao suddenly asked, “Why are we limiting the avenger to female victims?”

No one immediately grasped his meaning and looked at him in confusion.

Ji Chenjiao said, “Past victims becoming current perpetrators is a common development, but it’s easy to overlook—the vast majority of victims do not actually become perpetrators.”

Liang Wenxian pondered, “I understand what you mean, similar to the unseen majority.”

Ji Chenjiao nodded, “More likely than victims becoming perpetrators is that the ‘Ling Lie’ is ‘hunted’.”

Xi Wan: “‘Hunted’?”

“From Ms. Quan’s and Xiao Li’s descriptions, I found that ‘hunting’ can summarize the behavior of people like Wei Xuyan.” Ji Chenjiao stopped in front of the whiteboard, his gaze sharp. “He doesn’t dare to truly harm them, but intimidating them gives him a thrill, releasing long-suppressed emotions in a short time. He thinks he’s the ‘Ling Lie,’ and women are animals that can only crawl before him.”

Xi Wan, uncharacteristically, trembled with anger at work and blurted out a curse word.

Shen Qi: “Sister Wan, calm down. Sister Wan, don’t get angry at scum.”

Ji Chenjiao said, “People like him, in the natural world, cannot be at the top of the food chain. When he ‘hunts’ others, he might also be becoming a target for another kind of person.”

Liang Wenxian said, “A punisher?”

“Wait, wait!” Shen Qi jumped out, “Why are you two getting more and more outlandish? This Wei Xuyan is scum, but there’s no evidence whatsoever proving his death is related to his past intimidation of women! Zhong Cheng, whom we’re holding, can’t clear his name of suspicion!”

Ji Chenjiao said, “Zhong Cheng refuses to confess.”

Shen Qi, for once, argued with his brother, “In this situation, a zero-confession is fine!”

“You don’t understand,” Liang Wenxian explained to Shen Qi, “This isn’t about zero confession or not. It’s that since he firmly denies the crime, there’s a possibility that the murderer is someone else. We’ve now found another lead, and while it seems a bit absurd, sometimes the truth is hidden within absurdity.”

Shen Qi puffed out his cheeks, deep in thought.

Ji Chenjiao had already pushed the line of thought deeper, “The punisher might be related to the victim, or they might be a complete stranger. If it’s the latter, then Wei Xuyan isn’t the only victim.”

Ji Chenjiao narrowed his eyes, “Just as Wei Xuyan’s ‘hunting’ game becomes addictive once it starts, the punisher’s ‘hunting’ game won’t have just one ‘prey.'”

Shen Qi asked, “What should we do now?”

“You continue to investigate Wei Xuyan’s network and communications; he might have accomplices.” Ji Chenjiao began assigning tasks. “Brother Liang, check missing person records with all the sub-bureaus and police stations, focusing on men aged 25 to 45 with similar characteristics to Wei Xuyan—high work pressure, no outlet for stress, and estranged relationships with family. Xi Wan, find as many ‘hunting’ victims as possible and listen to their stories.”

“Yes!”

The direction of the case took an unexpected turn. With ample physical evidence and sufficient motive, Zhong Cheng seemed to be the ironclad suspect, but Ji Chenjiao overturned this most easily accepted conclusion, insisting on taking the “wrong path.”

Although the major case team’s investigation was conducted in secret, Xi Wan had too many interviews to conduct, and the police couldn’t force every interviewed citizen to keep quiet. Gradually, rumors spread in society that “Wei so-and-so is a scumbag who intimidates women” and “women are prone to encountering scumbags when out alone at night.” The internet was filled with women from all walks of life speaking out, recounting their experiences with harassment and the seemingly insurmountable dilemma of walking alone.

As public opinion progressed, Jaco was once again mentioned by more and more people. Netizens expressed their nostalgia for Jaco in the comments of many influential streamers, feeling that even the outspoken streamers couldn’t be as comprehensive, rational, and profound as Jaco.

[Has Jaco really been killed? I really want to see what Jaco would say.]

[If Jaco were still here, he would definitely make a video. I love listening to him interpret these social hot topics. What are these other streamers even interpreting?]

[Missing Jaco]

[Missing Jaco +10086]

Although netizens missed Jaco, reality showed that the world would still turn without anyone. Without him, other streamers still produced videos, and their viewership even surpassed Jaco’s most popular episode.

The widespread social discussion objectively facilitated Shen Qi’s work. He collected massive amounts of information, dragging them into charts for compilation and analysis. Data doesn’t lie—as Ji Chenjiao expected, the vast majority of women who had experienced intimidation had not suffered physical harm, and the men who intimidated them almost all did so out of a need for “hunting,” seeking thrills, displaying “masculinity,” and releasing real-life pressure.

These psychologically twisted men even had various organizations online. They created groups or gathered in the casual chat sections of professional forums for sports and outdoor activities, sharing and exchanging experiences of “hunting” women, finding like-minded individuals in the same city, and arranging to “surround” women.

Wei Xuyan had not joined any related groups, which was why the major case team did not discover the “hunting” lead in the early stages of the investigation.

He was more cautious than other men who enjoyed this practice, only communicating with like-minded individuals in a senior member area of an outdoor forum, and he had multiple burner accounts.

The so-called senior member area was a section hidden from tourists and low-points members. One could only enter it after accumulating a certain amount of points on the forum and having a high level of loyalty.

“Hiss…” Shen Qi, as a young male with rampant hormones, couldn’t help but curse repeatedly when he saw the explicit and vulgar posts in the hidden section.

The men, relying on the fact that it was their territory and hidden behind the cloak of the internet, shamelessly fantasized and boasted. There were countless pictures of secretly taken upskirt photos of colleagues and classmates, with a single picture leading to dozens of layers of disgusting fantasies.

Posts about “hunting” women always floated on the first page of the section, and there were many replies. Even if men didn’t personally intimidate, they were full of passion for such posts.

Their inferiority complex seemed to only dissipate in moments like these, washed away by women’s fear.

Wei Xuyan’s three accounts had a total of eleven threads, with hundreds of replies, all focused on “hunting.” One of these threads was posted on March 10th of this year, the day after Ms. Quan was harassed.

The post described how, after half a month of observation, he had targeted a woman who returned home from work around 1 AM every day. Before staking out, he ordered a cocktail at a bar, and while hiding in the bushes, he felt so excited, like a king of the jungle.

The woman was completely unaware of anyone ahead. When he suddenly rushed out, she was scared out of her wits, like a poor little white rabbit under an eagle’s claws.

At that moment, his confidence and satisfaction soared to a peak. When he “escorted” the woman to the other side of the road, he even bowed gallantly.

The post contained three blurry photos, which were identified as Ms. Quan after examination and her own recognition. The scene was by the river at Sheng Gui Bridge.

Ji Chenjiao read the entire description and then, accompanied by Xi Wan, personally spoke with Ms. Quan again, discovering that the post was largely exaggerated. This generally reflected the psychology of such men who were not satisfied with real-life intimidation and wanted to wildly dramatize it online.

Wei Xuyan first posted a related thread in June last year. Earlier, in April of the year before last, he began extensively Browse and learning, and most of his forum friends were from Xiarong City.

They shared easy places for “hunting”, and several of them had even met in person, but Wei Xuyan had not.

Ji Chenjiao’s gaze fell on the hundreds of usernames. Just in a hidden section of one forum, and just in the city of Xiarong, there were actually hundreds of men like Wei Xuyan, preying on women walking alone.

Ji Chenjiao asked, “Can the real identities corresponding to these usernames be confirmed? If we can lock them down, others can also list their names.”

Shen Qi pouted unhappily, “Brother, I don’t want to protect them. These men are trash, they disgrace us men.”

Ji Chenjiao glanced at him, “What did you swear when you put on your police uniform?”

Shen Qi pouted and didn’t speak.

“Does solving this case only protect these men?” Ji Chenjiao frowned, “Think about your friends and sisters you care about.”

Xi Wan walked over, “Xiao Shen is still too young and prone to acting on impulse. Catching the murderer and restoring the truth is our duty. And for some filthy scumbags, if the current law cannot punish them, there will be a day when they pay the price. This case has already brought the topic of women being ‘hunted’ into the open, and strong public attention is also a form of progress and protection.”

Shen Qi thought for a while, “Okay.”

The hundreds of usernames were matched one by one, and a familiar name appeared prominently. The missing Jaco.

It turned out that Xu Jiajia was of the same ilk as Wei Xuyan. For the major case team, this was undoubtedly an extremely significant clue.

He was active on the forum earlier than Wei Xuyan; by the time Wei Xuyan posted his first thread last year, he had already stopped logging in.

His last thread was posted in May two years ago, the content being his intimidation of a girl returning home late near a demolition road in the North City District. Because his expression wasn’t exaggerated enough, there were few replies.

In August of the same year, he signed with his current platform and never again posted or replied to “hunting” threads.

In this vast group, if one ignores his current internet celebrity status, Xu Jiajia was the least conspicuous. The harm he caused to women was far less than that of Wei Xuyan and others.

However, he disappeared right after completing his revenge, leaving only a video through “Fu Guang.”

The major case team had long anticipated the possibility of his death, but before this, even Ji Chenjiao had not thought that the reason for his death might be the same as Wei Xuyan’s.

The most dumbfounded was Shen Qi. He had found this clue, but he found it hard to believe. He rubbed his head and said, “No way? Is this a coincidence? If there are so many trashy people on this forum, and even someone of Xu Jiajia’s level was killed, wouldn’t everyone else be dead?”

There were far more extreme individuals on the forum than Wei Xuyan. And Xu Jiajia was an internet celebrity, half a public figure. For the murderer, was this a point to avoid, or a point to exploit?

Xi Wan said, “I’m a bit surprised that Xu Jiajia actually… Did he forget that his mother, Xu Yinyue, was a woman who lived a difficult life but was particularly strong? He was raised by her, and yet he still found joy in tormenting women?”

“His degree was lighter.” Liang Wenxian raised both hands. “First, let me say, I’m not trying to excuse him. But pay attention to the time. He had just returned to the country then and was struggling to find a way to get revenge. The pressure was imaginable. He needed to release pressure, and women were a very special symbol in his life—on one hand, ultimate good, like his mother Xu Yinyue; on the other hand, ultimate evil, like the one he wanted to retaliate against.”

As he spoke, Liang Wenxian glanced at Ji Chenjiao. Ji Chenjiao signaled that he was fine.

Liang Wenxian continued, “So he targeted those women walking alone. But after a few attempts, perhaps signing with the platform put his revenge plan on track, or perhaps he felt it didn’t relieve his pressure, so he gave up. Overall, he was indeed the least severe. It’s a bit far-fetched to link him to the deaths of Wei Xuyan.”

Ji Chenjiao highlighted the most egregious and severe individuals on the list. Soon, when this list was compared with the missing persons list found by Liang Wenxian, two duplicate names appeared.

Wang Hongqiang, thirty-nine years old, a security guard and locksmith from Huazai County, Xiarong City. Divorced five years ago due to domestic violence against his wife, with his child being raised by his wife. He lived with his elderly parents.

On March 12th of this year, Wang Hongqiang’s parents reported him missing, stating that their son hadn’t returned home for three days.

Huazai County wasn’t large. Wang Hongqiang was notorious and fond of gambling. The police couldn’t find his whereabouts, and many speculated he had run away to avoid gambling debts.

Deng Zian, twenty-seven years old, lived in Xicheng District, Xiarong City, and worked as a school handyman at Xiarong Translation Institute. Both his parents were teachers at the same school. He had a girlfriend and was planning to marry by the end of this year.

On April 15th, his girlfriend reported him missing, stating she couldn’t contact Deng Zian. The police station filed the case according to standard procedures but had not yet found any significant clues.

Wei Xuyan’s death suddenly linked the two missing person cases, and Ji Chenjiao decisively decided to transfer the missing person cases to the major case team.

Wang Hongqiang’s disappearance case was handled by the Huazai County Public Security Bureau. According to the report obtained by the major case team, the investigation was not thorough. The major case team had to go there in person to obtain more clues.

The police officers in Huazai County also didn’t expect a missing person case, rumored to be a debt escape, to attract the major case team. They were a bit flustered when facing Ji Chenjiao.

One officer said, “It’s not that we didn’t investigate diligently because he was a bad person. It’s just that there were really no clues, and even his old man said he might have run away due to debt.”

Ji Chenjiao simply chatted with everyone and quickly and accurately described Wang Hongqiang.

If Wei Xuyan would still hide his evil desires and only dared to show off online, Wang Hongqiang treated reality as his stage for showing off.

He never hid his malice towards women, which was evident from his beating his wife. The reason he got divorced wasn’t because he had a change of heart, but because his wife’s family had a higher status in the county than he did, and her brothers beat him up, forcing him to divorce.

Before the divorce, he was keen on harassing women and intimidating them at night. After the divorce, he became even worse and even ended up in the police station for it.

However, the things he did at most led to him being detained for ten days to half a month, after which he became even worse.

After his disappearance, there was even a saying in Huazai County that “it’s best if he’s dead,” but none of the women he had harassed, or their family members, had an alibi. The local police hit a wall here and had left the case untouched until now.

The clues obtained from the on-site visits matched Wang Hongqiang’s online behavior. His remarks were more malicious than Wei Xuyan’s, and he received more likes and replies, being hailed as Xiarong’s chief “Ling Lie.” He was also the first person on the list to go missing.

Ji Chenjiao left the county bureau, pondering where Wang Hongqiang’s body might be if he had been killed. As he walked and thought, he arrived at the place where Wang Hongqiang worked as a security guard. Just as he was about to enter, his peripheral vision automatically caught sight of someone.

Ling Lie was still carrying that rustic basket, pretending to walk past the Garden Community. When his gaze met Ji Chenjiao’s, he quickly said, “Ah, isn’t this our honest Xia? What a coincidence, are you here to buy flowers too?”

Ji Chenjiao snorted and grabbed Ling Lie’s basket, “You call this a coincidence?”

“Why not?” Ling Lie had an innocent look on his face. His appearance was indeed very suitable for such an expression, easily deceiving anyone who looked him in the eye.

Ji Chenjiao glanced at the flowers in Ling Lie’s basket, “Don’t tell me you’re here to stock up?”

Huazai County is one of the most famous flower production areas in the country. Almost all fresh flowers in Xiarong City and surrounding provinces and cities come from Huazai County. It’s very cheap to buy goods here, and the price can double when sold in the main city.

Ling Lie pulled out a rose and tucked it into Ji Chenjiao’s coat pocket, “Of course, I’m here to stock up. This one’s for you.”

Ji Chenjiao: “…”

Never mind, don’t hit the person who gives flowers. And this person not only gives flowers but also clues.

Ji Chenjiao strode towards the community guard post, knowing Ling Lie would follow. At the entrance, Ji Chenjiao stopped, turned around, and Ling Lie also stopped, making a “please” gesture, “I’m not in a hurry, I’m just selling flowers along the way. Your business is more important.”

Ji Chenjiao directly pulled him closer and whispered in Ling Lie’s ear, “A teammate should act like a teammate.”

Ling Lie shook his head, pretending the wind was too strong to hear clearly.

The clues the local police had were that Wang Hongqiang was last seen in the Garden Community. At 2 AM on March 10th, he left privately and disappeared. Normally, he should have been on duty until 6 AM. But this situation wasn’t unusual, as he often ran off to play cards, eat barbecue, or intimidate women during his night shifts.

That night, he didn’t appear at his usual mahjong parlor or barbecue stall, and there were no suspicious communication records. Most likely, he was hiding somewhere intimidating women again, but something happened in the interim.

Ji Chenjiao found the head of the guard team at Garden Community. When speaking of Wang Hongqiang, the team leader also complained bitterly, saying that Wang Hongqiang had a long history of bad behavior and wouldn’t normally be hired as a security guard. However, Wang Hongqiang’s ex-wife’s second elder brother found him idle and an eyesore, and also worried that without a stable income, he might go rogue one day and harm his sister again. So, he pulled various strings and forced him to work as a security guard there.

It was as if the job wasn’t for Wang Hongqiang to do, but for the job to support Wang Hongqiang. So, when Wang Hongqiang was absent from his night shift, the guard team leader simply turned a blind eye. Wang Hongqiang even bragged to them about the best places to scare women, which they secretly disdained but outwardly humored.

Ji Chenjiao asked, “What places did he mention? No rush, just take your time and think.”

The guard team leader wrote down everything he could remember and even drew a simple map.

But the map was too crude. Ji Chenjiao looked at it for a while and had to open his phone’s map to compare.

“I know this road,” Ling Lie suddenly popped up. “Xiao Ji, I’ll take you.”

Ji Chenjiao had experienced Ling Lie’s familiarity with streets and buildings during the case of rescuing the kindergarten children. This time, Ling Lie was like a local who grew up in Huazai County, easily finding all the locations on the map. The sun hadn’t set yet, and some of the places were already sparsely populated. It wasn’t hard to imagine that at night, besides those who had to pass through, no one else would be there.

“When did you arrive?” Ji Chenjiao asked as they walked. Although he and Ling Lie lived together, he had slept at the major case team headquarters last night. Ling Lie’s familiarity with Huazai County suggested he had probably already wandered around the entire county.

“To get fresh and cheap flowers, of course, you have to go early,” Ling Lie said.

“Before dawn?”

“Yeah!”

Ling Lie’s bicycle definitely couldn’t make it to the county, so Ji Chenjiao asked again, “What kind of car did you take?”

Ling Lie said, “A bus.”

Ji Chenjiao thought about Ling Lie getting up before dawn, rushing to the bus station, and squeezing onto the first bus with a group of old farmers, and felt a bit of a stomach ache. He suddenly stopped. Ling Lie turned to look at him, “Huh?”

Ji Chenjiao took off his car keys and tossed them to Ling Lie. Ling Lie caught them and looked, “Captain Ji, what do you mean?”

Ji Chenjiao felt a bit silly. The moment he tossed the keys, he regretted it, just like inviting Ling Lie to live at his house was also an impulse. But since he’d given them, it would be embarrassing to ask for them back.

“If you need to use the car in the future, just drive it yourself. If you break it, you’ll compensate me.” Ji Chenjiao had a car for personal use, but he rarely used it except for investigating cases. However, the bureau also provided him with a car, and sometimes he was too lazy to drive the bureau’s car, so he used his own. Now, by giving Ling Lie the keys to his private car, Ling Lie wouldn’t have to ride that broken bicycle all over town.

Ling Lie grinned and pocketed the keys, “Then I won’t be polite.”

Ji Chenjiao: “Show me you being polite?”

Ling Lie blinked. Before he could speak, Ji Chenjiao’s eyelids twitched as if with a premonition. Sure enough, Ling Lie clasped his hands together in front of his chest, feigning a pitiful look, “Brother Xia Chenshi, I’m shy~”

Ji Chenjiao desperately held back from gagging on the spot.

Ling Lie even patted his back to calm him down, pulling the conversation back to the case. Ji Chenjiao took a deep breath, mentally mapping out the areas they had just walked through.