Lan Jinxuan immediately turned away when she saw my state. Looking at her back, it finally dawned on me, and I quickly stepped forward a couple of paces, snatched the clothes off the sofa, and hastily dressed myself.

"Are you done?" Lan Jinxuan’s voice was soft, carrying an inexplicable sense of intimacy.

"Yes, done," although I was fully dressed, I was momentarily at a loss, or rather, unsure how to handle such an awkward situation.

"Bao Qiang told me you were here, so I came looking for you right away," Lan Jinxuan said, turning around with a tentative tone as she explained.

"It's nothing, just had some rotten luck today and ruined all my clothes, so I came here to change. Wasn't I supposed to have Bao Qiang bring me a jacket? Where is he?" The zipper on my pants was stiff, and I had to yank it hard to get it closed, not forgetting to change the subject verbally.

"He’s currently discussing your situation with Gao Jianning, so I brought your jacket over for you," said Sister Lan, walking over and handing me the jacket in her hands.

"Discussing me? If those two are talking about me together, it’s definitely not good news. You didn't actually listen to their nonsense, did you?" I joked casually, not daring to meet Sister Lan's eyes. I didn't even know what was going on myself.

"If I wanted to listen to them, I wouldn't be here now. However, when Bao Qiang came back, he did mention..." Sister Lan smiled mischievously, and a sense of foreboding washed over me.

"Mentioned what?" My nerves immediately tensed again.

"He mentioned that you were assaulted by a corpse," Sister Lan said with a smile, and my mind instantly went blank.

"Don't believe his nonsense; he’s just like that," I replied nonchalantly, but in my heart, I wanted to subject that little brat to a thousand cuts—no, I wanted that kind of corpse to assault him a hundred times!

"Of course I don't believe it, but I am quite curious how you ended up like this," Sister Lan said, pointing with interest at the bloody clothes I had tossed on the floor.

"How else? Didn't they discover a strange headless corpse in the park this afternoon? I went to examine it upon Xiao Cui’s notification. After analysis, the conclusion was that the perpetrator of this murder and the one who killed and dismembered the previous victim are very likely the same person. But that body was incredibly strange. It was originally just wrapped tightly in thick plastic wrap, pink in color, but shortly after we brought the body into the car, problems started to arise, and it even exploded right before our eyes. What’s even more unbelievable is that the so-called corpse was nothing more than a balloon-like object made by the killer from blood plasma and scraps of flesh. It just goes to show the extent of the killer’s cruelty and bloodlust is beyond our imagination." Today’s findings weren’t extensive, but not insignificant either; I could only give Sister Lan a rough rundown of the events. As for the details, it wouldn't be too late to discuss them if they came up later or if she asked.

"Truly unimaginable. No wonder you smell so strongly of blood. But now that another victim has been found, we should gather more clues," Sister Lan’s eyes sparkled with a hint of expectation.

Indeed, from the first victim who perfectly mimicked the Black Dahlia case, to the second victim completely wrapped in plastic wrap but bearing the same black dahlia mark, we should logically have more clues. At the same time, this was also my greatest frustration: every clue we gained was built upon the premise of a victim’s death, especially when the killer remained mysterious and at large.

"If we look on the bright side, it should be like that," regarding this incident, I harbored a slight worry about the intelligence of that crazed killer. Would he really leave us clues?

"Of course, we have to think optimistically. The net of heaven is vast and lets nothing escape. No matter how smart the killer is, there will always be a lapse in vigilance," Lan Jinxuan comforted me.

"Yes, there will always be that time," the speaker was You Qiaolin, who walked in holding some files, likely having overheard part of my conversation with Lan Jinxuan.

"You’re finally back. Where did you go just now, leaving me here alone?" I joked, slightly accusingly.

"Oh, Senior Brother, don't sound like a jealous wife! You were really giving Bao Qiang a run for his money just now," Lan Jinxuan teased me from the side. Even the usually composed You Qiaolin chuckled at her teasing.

"Hey! You're getting bolder and bolder!" I playfully tapped Lan Jinxuan’s head, not even realizing how indulgent I had become toward her.

"Alright, let's get down to business." You Qiaolin shook his head at Lan Jinxuan and me with a look of resignation, then handed me the file bag he was holding, continuing, "These are photos taken during the scene investigation; there are quite a few details in here that I think you need to pay attention to. As for the victim's identity, I trust that with your team's capabilities, figuring that out shouldn't be difficult. The more pressing issue right now is the killer's frequency of murder. With two victims found in quick succession, I think you understand what I mean."

"You mean the time interval between murders is too short? You’re worried that if we don’t solve this quickly, his killing pace will accelerate until it’s beyond our control?" To be honest, this was also my biggest concern. A criminal's frequency of offending is usually directly related to their psychological state, and from the current situation, the killer’s psychology seems to be beyond our comprehension.

"Furthermore, the condition of these two bodies—or rather, what the killer did to them—shows that his capability and viciousness cannot be underestimated. Naturally, both victims likely suffered some degree of confinement and abuse before death," You Qiaolin continued.

"Then we can only hope that after he kills the two people he has confined, he won't have anyone else, and the time it takes him to find the next victim, abuse them, and kill them is the window we must seize." The thought of potentially more victims meeting such a devil sent a spasm through my heart.

"Do your best," You Qiaolin nodded at me with a complex expression.

After saying goodbye to You Qiaolin with Sister Lan, we hurried back to the office. The first priority was to confirm the identity of the second victim, while we needed to delve deeper into the first.

As Sister Lan and I walked into the office, Gao Jianning and Xiao Cui, who had been huddled together, immediately separated, sporting knowing, idiotic grins as they looked at us. As for Zhang Jiewei, he was still sorting through some photos on his desk, showing no sign of looking up.

"Hey, you two seem to be living quite the sweet life. When are you planning to register?" I said to Gao Jianning as I walked toward his area.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that?" Gao Jianning muttered under his breath, his voice not too loud, not too soft, just loud enough for me and Lan Jinxuan behind me to hear clearly. Sister Lan immediately stopped paying attention to us and walked straight to her own spot.

"You little punk, watch out, or I’ll have Xiao Cui rough you up," I warned Gao Jianning with a slight threat, then quickly returned to the main topic: "You must have gotten a lot of details about the second victim from Xiao Cui. We’re pressed for time, so hurry up and check the list of missing persons in Anyang City recently. Compare their DNA with the victim's one by one—I refuse to believe we still won't find a match."

"My brother, you’re trying to work me to death! Anyang City is huge, who knows how many people have gone missing recently? Maybe this second victim is an out-of-town visitor!" Gao Jianning exclaimed, his eyes wide.

I knew the task was substantial, but we had no other recourse right now. I patted Gao Jianning's shoulder and said, "We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate now. Oh, and narrow the search down to females."

Since the killer is a devotee of the Black Dahlia case, the second body was also "made" into a female physique when discovered. Although it might be the killer trying to mislead us, my intuition told me he had a particular penchant for women.

"You’re the boss, so I’ll listen to whatever you say," Gao Jianning grumbled with dissatisfaction, but he still started working.

"Hehe, don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly," I replied with a smile. I knew in my heart that even though Gao Jianning often argued with me and frequently exposed my shortcomings in front of others, he genuinely helped me. I had known this a long time ago, so even though we always bickered on the surface, our relationship was actually quite good.

"Who cares about that! Unless you can find me a girl to keep me company!" Gao Jianning retorted out of spite.

"Sure, how about an ogre girl or a frog girl?" As soon as I finished speaking, Xiao Cui and Lan Jinxuan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

At this point, Xiao Cui didn't forget to chime in mockingly: "Oh my, Young Master Gao is feeling lovesick!"

"Get lost, you’re feeling autumnal!" Gao Jianning was already furious, eyes wide, almost sputtering steam.

"Xiao Cui, don’t just stand there watching the show; get back to work. What’s the status on the first victim, Ou Jinglan? I mean, what did you and Zhang Jiewei find after checking the western hills?" I remembered Xiao Cui and the others' original task for the day and inquired.

"Over there... well... let Zhang Jiewei tell you about it," Xiao Cui stammered for a long time before finally bolting away.

"Not many people live near the western hills, just a few villagers, and none of them reside in the woods. Almost no one knows what has been happening in the woods lately," Zhang Jiewei said coolly from his spot, still not looking up at me as he organized the pile of items on his desk. "The body was only discovered because a villager's dog carried a severed human hand down from the mountain. That’s when the villagers reported it, and the police were dispatched to search the mountain and found the body."

"So, the gnawed wounds on the body must have been caused by animals. But if they sent people to search the mountain, the scene is probably pretty much ruined by now," I sighed. We already had few clues, and I had hoped for some breakthrough there, but now it seemed like all my effort was for naught.

"There’s one point I just can't reconcile," just as I was feeling down, Zhang Jiewei continued.

"What is it?" I moved closer to Zhang Jiewei and finally got a clear look at the table: it was covered entirely with gruesome photos of the dismembered body of the first victim, Ou Jinglan.

"Sky burial is a ritual passed down in Tibetan regions. Since the killer admires the methods of the Black Dahlia case, why combine these two completely incongruous methods?" Zhang Jiewei finally looked up, staring intently at me, hoping I could provide an answer.

"Is the killer trying for a Chinese-Western fusion?" Xiao Cui interjected from the side, but after I glared at him, he reluctantly fell silent.

"The killer’s methods are directly related to his thinking. If he chose to do this, he naturally has his reasons. Since we discovered this point of doubt, we certainly cannot ignore it, but we also shouldn't dwell on it excessively," I glanced again at the horrific photos on Zhang Jiewei’s desk and continued unhurriedly, "We need to figure out why the killer did this because any clue we gain from that might help us successfully apprehend him. But at the same time, we can't forget the other point: the killer might very well be using this method to confuse us and disrupt our normal line of thought. Look at the second victim; when she was found, there was nothing related to sky burial, no so-called ritual. So, don't spend too much mental energy on this aspect, lest you become so focused on a single leaf that you miss the entire forest."

I solemnly patted Zhang Jiewei’s shoulder, then turned to address everyone: "That’s all for today. Do what you need to do. You’ve all had a long day, so you can disperse."

"Brother, you said that, right? Then I’m packing up and leaving," Gao Jianning’s head popped up from behind a pile of computers as soon as he heard the word 'dismissal.'

"Yes, it’s almost quitting time, who has time to dawdle here with you! But you, make sure you don't completely forget the things I assigned you when you go home!" I reminded him. If I didn't keep reminding this guy, he’d probably misplace whatever task I gave him.

"Ah, rest assured, am I that kind of person?" While speaking, Gao Jianning was already packing up, which undoubtedly included all the trash he had generated here throughout the day.

"Senior Brother, are you busy tonight?" As everyone packed up, Lan Jinxuan suddenly approached me and asked in a low voice.

"No, why?" I replied with a deliberately confused expression, my heart already soaring. Could my dear Sister Lan want to ask me out on a date to spend the night together?

However, reality proved my romantic flights of fancy were unfounded.

Sister Lan glanced around. Gao Jianning and Xiao Cui had long since vanished, and Zhang Jiewei was also heading toward the door after tidying up.

"Senior Brother, I wanted to treat you to a meal. What do you think?" Only after most people had left did Sister Lan ask me somewhat shyly, a faint blush on her face only adding to her allure.

My entire focus was concentrated on Sister Lan, and I completely failed to notice Zhang Jiewei, who was about to reach the door, stiffen slightly.

"Of course... that's no problem!" My ecstatic expression must have been plain for Sister Lan to see, but in my heart, I was even more anticipating what might develop after dinner. I had never denied that I was a slightly perverted person, just a bit better than Xiao Cui.

Everyone appreciates beauty; you can't blame me entirely, right?

"That’s good then." Sister Lan nodded and continued, "Then let's go now."

"Where to?" Sister Lan offered dinner, had she already booked a place?

"My place."

"What?" I didn't process it immediately and froze on the spot. After a long pause, I managed to stammer out with an embarrassed smile, "Um, well, isn't this developing a little too fast between us?"

I swear, I didn't mean what I said out loud!

"What are you thinking about!" Sister Lan burst into unrestrained laughter. "I just want to invite you over for dinner! My parents have been pushing me hard about blind dates lately, and I need you to cover for me. That's all. Do you seriously have other ideas, Senior Brother?"

"Other ideas? What other ideas? How could I? How could I be that kind of person? What are you waiting for, hurry up and let's go! Meeting the parents is a big deal, we can’t be late!" Hearing Sister Lan say that, I realized I had fallen into her trap again without realizing it, so I quickly pretended to be naive and said so.

"Haha, who said anything about parents-in-law? It’s just one dinner tonight. Don't you dare cling to me after it’s over," Lan Jinxuan teased me as we walked.

"My lady, you have to take responsibility for this little one!"

"Senior Brother, stop teasing!"

"By the way, why are your parents forcing you into blind dates? For a girl like you, finding a boyfriend should be effortless," I expressed my confusion about the actions of Lan's parents.

"Ahem... Do you think this young lady has low standards? I can't control these things. My parents now suspect I might be a lily," she confessed.

"A lily?"

"A lesbian!"

"Then I’d rather be a woman!"

"You’re asking for death!"

Following Lan Jinxuan, chatting and laughing, I paid no mind to anything around us; my eyes and heart were filled only with smiles. I was completely oblivious to the figure standing behind us.

A black robe, a black veil, a dense field of darkness enveloped Lan Jinxuan and me, yet we were utterly unaware…