The skeleton shuddered slightly. "See me?" "Yes, see you.

I want to know, how many 'me's' like you exist?" "You are too suspicious. I am not you at all.

Every person is unique; there cannot be another you in this world." "Then who are you?" "I am merely a shadow of you, the shadow in the mirror. When you stand before the mirror, I appear; when you step away, I vanish." I let out a cold laugh.

"Stop playing these ghostly tricks. Shadows don't talk; not even a ghost would believe that." "Believe it or not, it's beyond my power to interfere with the Master's will." The skeleton paused, then added, "But I am curious, why haven't you died?" "Why should I die?" "I am your shadow.

I know everything about you, including what you did." A tremor ran through me, and I asked in terror, "You know him?" "Of course. He is my master too, just like you.

Because you are, fundamentally, the same person." I immediately plunged into despair. My shadow would not lie to me; what it said was the truth.

I had killed everyone; my sin was unforgivable! I clutched my head and screamed in agony, "I didn't kill anyone!

I didn't kill anyone!" The skeleton watched me impassively, its two hollow eyes devoid of any light. Suddenly, it spoke.

"Dying here means you die, at least free from pain." At that moment, a sharp little knife suddenly materialized beside me. I snatched it up and slashed it across my throat.

A flash of light suddenly sparked in the skeleton's eyes—it was excitement and longing. It wanted me to die!

The blade carved a line of blood across my neck, but I did not die. Instead, I quickly touched the wound with my finger, then swiftly drew a strange symbol on the mirror, spitting out a sound: "Red blood is the beginning of life, and also its end.

Forget the pain and the guilt, and dissolve into the boundless sea of blood." The skeleton in the mirror paused, then, as if bewitched, began drilling into the symbol. The instant it plunged into the symbol, light erupted, and the entire room became startlingly clear, every detail visible.

I dissolved the symbol, and a person appeared beside me. I said calmly, "I'm very pleased to see you." Chen Yujia's expression was somewhat flustered, yet he managed to maintain the composure of a scholar—though now, a down-on-his-luck scholar.

"You... how did you manage that?" "Because I apprenticed myself to a world-class expert in psychology.

He taught me this method, which allowed me to find the person trying to harm me." "Michel, it has to be Michel, right? It must be him!" Chen Yujia's expression suddenly turned ferocious, and a torrent of demonic energy erupted from him.

In that moment, he was a complete and utter fiend. "Why do you hate him so much?

Is it just because you want to prove you are stronger and smarter than him, but you can't, and that's all?" "Do you think that isn't enough?" Chen Yujia glared at me fiercely, like a cornered, enraged wolf. I shook my head and continued, "The video you recorded was indeed real, but the protagonist wasn't me; it was yourself.

You used hypnosis and drugs to control me, making me see myself." Chen Yujia let out a cold snort. "Correct.

Everything you said is fact." "You didn't take a position at a major hospital because you didn't want people to know your patients. You fully exploited your platform as a popular psychological doctor to gain access to numerous patients, extracting countless secrets from their minds and learning things beyond others' imagination.

Among these people, Li Shaojing, the assistant to You Qiaolin, happened to be one of your patients. Through him, you learned about Qi Wan's past and discovered her abilities, leading you to control her and turn her into your killing tool.

After Qi Wan, you approached You Qiaolin, as you had already obtained some of his secrets from Li Shaojing. Then, utilizing your powerful analytical and computational skills, you naturally learned that You Qiaolin had murdered his own wife.

So, you had another patient, Zhang Hemei, come forward to assist You Qiaolin in executing a series of murders. And just as You Qiaolin was about to be exposed, you had Zhang Hemei find me." The arrogance on Chen Yujia's face began to crack.

Everything was exactly as I had stated. A person is arrogant because they believe they are smarter than others; once that perceived advantage is lost, their hubris shatters instantly.

"Qi Wan told me before the end that Sun Xiaomeng, who attacked me from behind, was not sent by her. I didn't believe it then, but now I know: Sun Xiaomeng was just one of your many patients." Chen Yujia’s facial muscles twitched violently, like a wild animal struck by a bullet.

"The Dahlia case caused a sensation in America. As a student studying abroad, you were certainly familiar with it.

After gaining control of You Qiaolin, you used that case as a blueprint to manufacture a series of body-dismemberment crimes. Perhaps You Qiaolin was your most triumphant masterpiece, because you even mentioned this meticulously staged case to Professor Michel." The moment Michel was mentioned, Chen Yujia's fierce expression returned in full force.

It was evident he harbored a deep-seated hatred for Michel. I continued, "In the Changqing Street murder, the victim Ji Chenglin’s wife suffered from moderate panic disorder.

The woman murdered in the rented room, He Shuhua, had a boyfriend, Jiang Bo, who suffered from paranoia due to long-term drug abuse. They had both sought treatment from you, and you seized the opportunity to control them with hypnosis and drugs, implementing a sequence of murders.

When you heard about the 'Death God' case from forty years ago from Fatty Old Demon, you murdered Ji Chenglin using the same methodology. But why did you kill the priest?

He hadn't obstructed you in any way?" Chen Yujia replied coldly, "I was merely presiding over life and death. Such trivial matters hold no interest for me!" "Trivial?" I exploded in anger.

"What wrong did Xiao Cuo and Gao Jianning do that you had to kill them?" Chen Yujia stared at me expressionlessly, his eyes utterly devoid of human spirit. He considered himself a son of God, someone who could toy with the world, someone who could arbitrarily control the lives of others.

All these absurd notions stemmed entirely from his intelligence. Michel told me that Chen Yujia’s natural talent was unlike anything he had ever seen; even Michel himself felt ashamed by comparison.

While it should have been an honor for a teacher to find such a student, during their first lesson in hypnosis, Michel accidentally glimpsed the dark depths within Chen Yujia, and the sheer degree of that darkness shocked him profoundly. "It was a knot of bloodlust and cruelty impossible to unravel for eternity." That was Professor Michel’s exact quote.

At that moment, he stopped teaching Chen Yujia hypnosis. However, Chen Yujia became self-taught and, in certain aspects, surpassed Michel.

Yet, Chen Yujia possessed immense self-control. During his studies in America, he behaved like any ordinary student, diligently absorbing knowledge and adhering to every regulation, never making a single mistake.

Gradually, Michel lowered his guard, reasoning that everyone harbors darkness internally, but it remains sealed unless a powerful trigger releases it. Chen Yujia's self-discipline led Michel to believe he would keep that terrifying demon perpetually locked away.

But Professor Michel never anticipated that the very act of him refusing to teach Chen Yujia hypnosis would be permanently imprinted on Chen Yujia’s mind—a vow to prove himself superior to Michel. And I, unfortunately, became the tool he used for this demonstration.

Initially, he targeted Qi Wan and You Qiaolin one after another, but I managed to unravel both plots. Thus, during my first visit seeking treatment, he planted suggestive hypnotic commands into my mind to achieve control, and he laced my medication with hallucinogens, forcing me to perpetually drift between reality and illusion, enabling him to manipulate me more thoroughly.

His ultimate goal in controlling us was to orchestrate a series of sensational murders and then present us to Michel, using us as a platform to confront and torment the professor. Furthermore, Xiao Xuan was also manipulated.

I recall Xiao Xuan showing extreme resistance while under hypnosis—that was her subconscious fighting against Chen Yujia’s control. On the last entry of her diary, she wrote: "Lately, I constantly feel like someone is watching me from behind, but when I turn around, there's nothing there.

It’s so strange. Why do I have this peculiar feeling?

Why have I never felt this way before?" This diary entry vividly depicts the state of being secretly controlled. Of course, most of this was deduced by Michel.

When he discovered the hallucinogen in my blood sample, he already suspected Chen Yujia. Later, upon learning that both Xiao Xuan and I had been hypnotized by him, his suspicions became certainty.

Consequently, he taught me a method of counter-hypnosis to resist Chen Yujia, aiming to bring the truth to light. He himself wasn't entirely confident at the time, as he didn't know the full extent of Chen Yujia's hypnotic skill, but I insisted on proceeding because I demanded blood for blood!

Chen Yujia once claimed that hypnosis requires the subject's willingness to proceed. That statement is entirely correct, but there is one other condition where it can be achieved: when the subject's entire attention is fixed solely on you.

At that moment, even without willingness, they are completely drawn in by your words and actions, allowing you to grasp them unconsciously. I finally understood that what Xiao Xuan whispered as "Yoga" during my near-death moments was actually "Yujia"—she was telling me the killer's name.

Now, Chen Yujia stands exposed, but there is no joy in my heart. Xiao Xuan is gone forever, never to return.

And Xiao Cuo, Gao Jianning, and all the other victims—their lives are lost; nothing can be redone. I looked at Chen Yujia, this man I once considered my closest friend, a man embodying the highest spirit of philanthropy, now transformed into a mass murderer in the blink of an eye.

I don't know if this is destiny! The truth is, I never wanted this.

I wish none of it had ever happened; I wish I had never known this man, and never lost anyone. I looked at Chen Yujia’s distorted, contorted face, feeling a strange sense of deflation, and said very coldly, "Perhaps some points were inaccurate, but you can explain the rest slowly down at the police station." Hearing my words, Chen Yujia suddenly burst into wild laughter.

He pointed at my nose and cursed, "You think you can interrogate me? What are you?

If that damned Michel hadn't helped you, you wouldn't even be fit to lick my boots!" Facing his verbal assault, I remained unruffled, replying faintly with four words: "The victor is king!" Chen Yujia laughed maniacally, shouting, "What right do you have to say that to me? Do you really think standing on the same platform as me gives you the right to contest victory with me?" "Oh?

Do you still think there's a chance to flip the script?" Chen Yujia continued his wild laughter. "The game has only just begun.

Michel has already lost a round." With that, his figure flickered, and he vanished from my world. I instantly sensed trouble, because if he returned to the real world, he could easily slaughter me while I was still under hypnosis.

However, Michel had anticipated this. He understood the terrifying nature of this student all too well; even Michel himself was not certain of complete control, so he had already taught me how to self-awaken from the hypnotic state.

Crack—one world collapsed, and another unfolded before my eyes. Chen Yujia was sitting opposite me, watching me quietly.

His expression was as impeccably scholarly and refined as ever, flawless. "What did you see?"