Under the Skin Season 2 Recap, Plot, Synopsis
Under the Skin Season 2 Synopsis
The second season will continue the core theme of the first season,*"Revealing the truth through colors, portraying the depths of the human heart." By sketching portraits, it delves into the complexities of human nature. The Beijiang task force, led by forensic sketch artist Shen Yi and police captain Du Cheng, will continue in the second season to unravel the mysteries of human nature and pursue the true culprits behind the cases.
Under the Skin Season 2 Recap
Episode 1 Recap
The performance center was rented by a reality show production team to record a music selection program. The team stipulated that contestants were not allowed to leave during the selection period. However, on the pre-recording stage for the third public performance, the group named "Sparkling Team" had only Chen Qin perform, while the other three members were missing.
The agent assistant went to the dormitory to look for the other three and found that all three were dead, their bodies lying on the sofa in different postures. Splattered bloodstains were visible everywhere on the sofa. Du Cheng, captain of the criminal police detachment of the Beijiang Branch, led his team to the crime scene.
After a brief understanding of the case, he immediately noticed that the life garbage in the dormitory had been collected, and he immediately told Jiang Feng to go after it. Team member Li Han was arranged by Du Cheng to re-examine the surveillance footage. The simulated portrait artist Shen Yi had arrived at the crime scene early.
He restored the portraits of the three deceased before their death and found that their facial expressions were calm, which did not conform to the characteristic wide-open eyes of extreme shock after experiencing something terrifying. Besides being deliberately done by the killer, there was another possibility: the three deceased died in a state of high mental relaxation. In addition, the faces of the three deceased were deliberately smeared.
This smearing allowed the killer to achieve a strong emotional release, indicating that the killer had strong emotional demands towards the three deceased. Afterward, Du Cheng and Shen Yi went to see the surveillance footage with Li Han. Although the entire dormitory was equipped with surveillance cameras, none of them captured the scene at the time of the crime, let alone the killer's face. Shen Yi is good at observing details.
The minute Chen Qin, the only survivor, stayed in the blind spot allowed Shen Yi to discover, through the surveillance footage, a shadow passing over the sofa. Shen Yi returned to the crime scene, and Li Han assisted from the surveillance room, thus discovering subtle features of the killer on a reflective surface. Meanwhile, Du Cheng questioned Chen Qin.
Chen Qin denied killing them and said that the other three were rich second-generation who would bully him when they drank too much. At first, Du Cheng didn't believe him, but when he saw the bruises on Chen Qin's body, Du Cheng was also speechless. Regarding the minute spent in the surveillance blind spot, Chen Qin gave a reasonable answer.
He was hesitating whether to withdraw at the time, but having worked so hard for so long, and with the public performance the next day, he ultimately decided to persist. According to the forensic examination, the three deceased had ingested a large amount of marijuana before death, which could also explain why their expressions were so calm before death.
When asked if Chen Qin used drugs, he immediately denied it, but he admitted that the three others had forced him to use them, and after he refused, they beat him even harder. After multiple attempts to adjust the lipstick color, Shen Yi finally determined the killer's lipstick color. Next, Li Han was responsible for matching the lipstick shade.
Jiang Feng found a bloody switchblade in the life garbage bag, which was confirmed to be the murder weapon after testing, but there were no Chen Qin's fingerprints on it, and the fingerprints found had no criminal record. Li Han found that the lipstick shade was a pre-sale model, and the manufacturer had only given samples to agent Fang Ling, with no other shipments made.
The police immediately found Fang Ling's car parked at the Lingpu Hotel, but the registration information showed it belonged to Fang Ling's sister, Fang Fei. Du Cheng led his team to the hotel and arrested Zhou Jimi, a top idol, and idol agent Fang Ling. Fang Ling had taken drugs at the time and fainted after only a few steps.
Fang Ling denied killing them and said that the three were victims of a backlash from something evil, and as for the lipstick, she had given it to them. Shen Yi suspected that a giraffe doll could hide a person. Following this clue, they found a Chen Qin fan named Yuan Zhaodi.
Episode 2 Recap
Yuan Zhaodi was small in stature. The moment Shen Yi saw her, he had a definite answer in his heart. Yuan Zhaodi admitted that she killed Li Muhe, Xiao Yuling, and Zhang Xiaowei. Just as Shen Yi had suspected, Yuan Zhaodi hid inside the giraffe doll beforehand. After the three had taken drugs and were powerless to resist, she crawled out and killed them one by one with a switchblade.
Yuan Zhaodi knew that killing people meant paying with her life. The reason she continued to hide back inside the giraffe and was carried out by the cleaner was that she wanted to watch Chen Qin's performance one more time. Shen Yi had been observing Yuan Zhaodi in the observation room and noticed she had two completely different yet integrated states about her.
These two states suggested that Yuan Zhaodi was trying hard to act as if she was the killer, leading Shen Yi to suspect she was hiding something. The police checked Yuan Zhaodi's social media accounts and found that Yuan Zhaodi and Chen Qin were WeChat contacts. Their chat history showed that Chen Qin often complained to Yuan Zhaodi, using agitated language.
Although not a single word mentioned killing throughout the conversations, every word indicated he desperately wanted to kill those three. The police refocused their attention on Chen Qin, but Chen Qin could justify himself, and the existing chat records were not sufficient evidence to prove that Chen Qin had instigated Yuan Zhaodi to kill. Du Cheng told Chen Qin that Yuan Zhaodi would be sentenced to death because she killed three people for him.
Chen Qin was silent for a long time, and a tear fell from the corner of his eye. Shen Yi told Du Cheng that Chen Qin's tear didn't seem faked. The case once again became confusing, and Shen Yi had not stopped his investigation. - By repeatedly reviewing the recording of Chen Qin's performance that day, Shen Yi discovered that a white diamond glove was missing.
Connecting this with what Yuan Zhaodi had said, Shen Yi and Du Cheng found this glove at Yuan Zhaodi's residence. At this time, Chen Qin's toxicology report results came out, showing positive. Chen Qin's lie that he didn't take drugs was self-defeating. The police also found a video recording on Li Muhe's phone, which was a video of the three of them forcing Chen Qin to take drugs.
However, this only proved that Chen Qin was forced to take drugs and could not prove that he killed anyone. The breakthrough point was still with Yuan Zhaodi. Shen Yi adopted Du Cheng's interrogation tactic, continuously provoking Yuan Zhaodi, finally getting her to say that Chen Qin had kissed her. At the time, her expression did not seem like she was lying. There was some kind of emotional connection between Chen Qin and Yuan Zhaodi.
If the two were accomplices, it could also explain why the killer knew exactly when the cameras were covered. Shen Yi took Du Cheng to the dormitory where the crime occurred and had him stay in the surveillance blind spot for one minute, replaying the scene in various postures, to deduce the reason Chen Qin stayed there. After finishing the drawing, Shen Yi understood. Chen Qin stayed there to kiss Yuan Zhaodi.
No wonder Yuan Zhaodi was so insistent that Chen Qin had kissed her. Shen Yi continued to question Yuan Zhaodi, but this time he changed his method. He used a painting to make her understand that there was nothing wrong with making sacrifices for love, but sacrificing her life for an illusory, vague kiss was not worth it. An inadvertent remark from Yuan Zhaodi made Du Cheng suddenly discover the turning point for a breakthrough.
Just as Du Cheng suspected, extremely trace amounts of blood were found in the footrest of the giraffe, and the results showed it was Chen Qin's blood. Faced with irrefutable evidence, Chen Qin could no longer deny being acquainted with Yuan Zhaodi. As for the time and location of the crime, it was indeed him who provided them to Yuan Zhaodi. At this point, the perpetrators were clear.
The murder was completed through a conspiracy between Chen Qin and Yuan Zhaodi. A criminal case involving the deaths of three people came to an end. The tragic outcome was lamentable.
Episode 3 Recap
Although he moved, Shen Yi's sleep still didn't improve, dreaming of the little red dress girl again last night. Facing Shen Yi's predicament, Du Cheng wanted to help but couldn't. He knew Shen Yi was filled with self-reproach for not being able to grasp the fleeting strange feeling in time, but Du Cheng was also powerless about it. It was an undeniable fact that Yuan Zhaodi killed three people for love.
Shen Yi always believed this was caused by a devil within Yuan Zhaodi's heart, and he insisted on painting this intangible, elusive devil. Du Cheng, however, felt that everyone has a devil in their heart, but not everyone would kill because of this devil. Shen Yi's painting was exhibited at a youth art exhibition. A person lingered in front of Shen Yi's painting, sighing that it was a pity.
Shen Yi happened to be nearby, so he asked him why he said that. That person said Shen Yi's painting relied increasingly on technique, lacking the sharp perception and surging passion it once had. Regarding Shen Yi being a genius, that person didn't doubt it in the slightest. If Shen Yi hadn't become a police officer, hadn't restrained his perception with boundaries and rationality, then Shen Yi might have been a criminal genius.
This person didn't know Shen Yi but could discern what kind of person Shen Yi was through his paintings. His words touched Shen Yi. Upon returning home, Shen Yi painted a picture based on feeling, then took this painting to the prison to find Yuan Zhaodi. Unexpectedly, Yuan Zhaodi's originally calm expression instantly became fearful and distorted upon seeing this painting, muttering terrifying words like "Auntie is coming to kill me," and "Kill all the useless ones.
" Shen Yi told Du Cheng that the devil and viciousness within Yuan Zhaodi came from her aunt. Du Cheng dismissed it, saying police work is about finding the truth, not conducting social investigations. Shen Yi, however, firmly believed that painting the skin and bones was not important; what he wanted to paint was the human heart. Soon after, another criminal case occurred.
A property manager named Liu Qiang was stabbed at five in the morning and fell unconscious due to severe blood loss. Liu Qiang had a blind son. Liu Qiang had previously published a missing person notice. Comparing the missing person notice, Du Cheng found that the seven-year-old child Li Han mentioned on the phone just now did not match the age of the child in the missing person notice's portrait.
There were surveillance cameras near the crime scene, but they were broken. Some early-rising citizens had seen the killer and had been brought back to the police station to provide assistance. Shen Yi drew a portrait based on the eyewitness descriptions, but he believed the eyewitnesses' memories were contaminated and their descriptions were overly detailed. The police found the person in the portrait, Li Bo, a middle-aged man who made a living selling illegal discs.
Shen Yi had no doubt that the eyewitnesses had seen Li Bo, had a deep negative impression of him, and therefore mistakenly transposed Li Bo's appearance onto the killer in their memories. The portrait was useless; all that remained was a blurry photo of a back view. Shen Yi and Du Cheng went to investigate in the urban village. In an iron cage, they found an injured young boy.
Later, Li Han's investigation confirmed that the young boy was Liu Qiang's son, Liu Xiaopeng. Liu Xiaopeng was covered in old injuries, with traces of new injuries added before old ones had healed. Du Cheng couldn't help but suspect he had been kidnapped and maimed. The five young men arrested at the scene colluded and refused to say anything useful. Xiaopeng was a blind boy, inclined to perceive everything around him with his hands.
Therefore, Shen Yi sculpted small figures of the five young men. When Xiaopeng touched Yun Lei's figure, his expression changed. Shen Yi and Du Cheng went to the hospital to ask Xiaopeng, but he denied that Yun Lei was a bad person. With Xiaopeng's help, Shen Yi drew a convex portrait of the person. After feeling it with his hand, Xiaopeng nodded and said that person was the bad guy.
Episode 4 Recap
Based on Xiaopeng's description, Shen Yi drew a middle-aged man. This person was clearly not Yun Lei. Currently, it can be confirmed that the intentional injury case and the child abuse case involve the same group of suspects. It is not ruled out that this group first kidnapped Liu Xiaopeng, and then stabbed Liu Qiang who came to rescue Xiaopeng. Du Cheng asked Jiang Feng to release Yun Lei and the others, and then have a few people follow them.
If someone was truly instigating, Yun Lei and the others would definitely go to see this person after they were released. As for Du Cheng himself, he took people with the portrait to inquire around the urban village. Shen Yi wasn't idle either. He touched Liu Xiaopeng's drawing book with his hand, trying to understand what Xiaopeng had drawn. Xiaopeng's drawing book had items like water bottles, microwave ovens, and also small dogs, which were colored differently.
Shen Yi took the drawing book to ask Xiaopeng, realizing that these colors represented Xiaopeng's emotional classification: red, yellow, and orange were colors Xiaopeng liked, while blue, green, and purple were colors Xiaopeng disliked. These six colors represented two kinds of positive and negative emotions. Xiaopeng was a blind child, and logically shouldn't be able to distinguish colors. So, who helped him draw? The place where the cage was put was a dead end.
Shen Yi discovered an entrance and followed it to a garbage dump. There were signs of life there, and it had been decorated by Yun Lei into a paradise. It should be where Yun Lei and Xiaopeng lived. Meanwhile, Jiang Feng took people to track Yun Lei and his group. Noticing signs of a physical altercation, he immediately called for backup. In the chaos, Yun Lei escaped at some point.
The police used technical means to track Yun Lei to a hospital. Du Cheng suspected Yun Lei wanted to attack Liu Qiang again. After obtaining Director Zhang's consent, Du Cheng took people to the hospital to prevent it. Shen Yi took paints to see Xiaopeng and asked him to color the portrait of Liu Qiang. Just as Shen Yi had expected, Xiaopeng used only negative colors like blue, purple, and green. By the end, Xiaopeng broke down and cried loudly.
Clearly, Xiaopeng's biological father, Liu Qiang, was not good to Xiaopeng. On the other side, the police interrogated Yun Lei's brothers and learned that when Yun Lei found Xiaopeng, Liu Qiang had already beaten him severely, leaving few parts of his body without injury. Yun Lei insisted on keeping Xiaopeng and injured Liu Qiang, who had come looking for Liu Xiaopeng, because of this. Now, for Xiaopeng's sake, he was going to the hospital to kill Liu Qiang.
The emotionally agitated Yun Lei held a nurse hostage in the hospital. The door's circuit was special and couldn't be easily cut off. Du Cheng called Shen Yi, hoping he could bring Xiaopeng. But Shen Yi didn't bring Xiaopeng; instead, he brought the portrait of Yun Lei colored by Xiaopeng. Shen Yi saw through Yun Lei and Xiaopeng's secret.
Yun Lei's psychological defense line collapsed, he lowered his guard, dropped the knife, and was brought under control by the police, ultimately preventing a major disaster. During the subsequent interrogation, Yun Lei confessed that he didn't want Xiaopeng to end up like him, whose daily life consisted of picking up trash and fighting. He wanted to save money for Xiaopeng to go to school so that when he grew up, he could participate in the Paralympic Games.
Yun Lei and Xiaopeng were each other's salvation, each other's concern. Before, Liu Qiang had found Xiaopeng and tried to take him home. Yun Lei arrived in time to stop him. Liu Qiang and Yun Lei got into a fight. Yun Lei was choked by the strong Liu Qiang. Xiaopeng tried to help but was pushed away by Liu Qiang, and his abdomen was pierced by a branch on the ground.
Yun Lei fought back, picked up the knife he had on him, and stabbed Liu Qiang in the abdomen, saving Xiaopeng and getting him away. This led to the events that followed. Liu Qiang will be severely punished by law. Liu Xiaopeng, the poor child, will be sent by Du Cheng and Shen Yi to a suitable place to live. Xiaopeng touched them, remembering what they looked like.
Episode 5 Recap
Girl Zhang Sijing has been missing for over a week. Her parents looked for her with rescue personnel using drones around the mountain village. They didn't find her, but they accidentally discovered a bone pit. Du Cheng brought the police team over and was led to the bone pit by the rescue personnel who discovered the bones. This place is rumored to be Suicide Valley, and unexpectedly, the rumor turned out to be true.
Without professional equipment, ordinary people cannot get to the bottom of the pit, and naturally, they wouldn't know there were so many human bones here. After a brief examination, He Rongyue determined that these deceased likely fell from the cliff above. Due to the large amount of rubble at the bottom of the pit, the condition of these shattered bones was far more gruesome than those from high-altitude falls in the city.
The environment at the bottom of the pit was humid, accelerating the decomposition rate of the bodies. She initially judged the time of death from three to ten years ago. Reconstructing the appearance of the deceased in this situation is not an easy task, but Shen Yi was willing to try. He pieced together several shattered skulls and unexpectedly found a crabapple tree not far away, with a skeleton that was clearly not an adult lying beside the crabapple tree.
After piecing it together and preliminary judgment, He Rongyue stated that this skeleton belonged to a girl of about eight years old, who died from a fall seven to ten years ago. The bones of the other adults were scattered, but this child's skeleton was relatively intact. She likely slowed down after being scraped by trees on the cliff face, and after falling, didn't die immediately but crawled a distance towards the crabapple tree.
The crabapple tree grew from the girl's hand. At that time, the girl must have been holding a crabapple fruit in her hand. This crabapple fruit was clearly very important to her, as she did not let go of it even in death. The local police told Jiang Feng that this mountain is called Fengdu Mountain, and a special spectacle can be seen from the mountaintop.
A few years ago, it was photographed by netizens and uploaded online, and netizens called it 'clouds steaming and mist glowing'. Many tourists came to check in, but because the terrain of Fengdu Mountain is relatively complex and it hasn't been developed, many people have gone missing or died from falls, making rescue difficult. A villager who is quite familiar with Fengdu Mountain is called Chang Feng. He is a young man.
His sister fell from the mountain years ago, and he has remained single ever since. At Du Cheng's request, Chang Feng took him up the mountain. During the ascent, Du Cheng nearly fell into a pit filled with tree thorns, but Chang Feng pulled him up in time.
Under Chang Feng's guidance, Du Cheng reached Fengdu Mountain safely after a scare and saw the so-called 'clouds steaming and mist glowing', but Chang Feng said there was actually a sea of flowers as well. Shen Yi and He Rongyue at the bottom of the pit finished their classification work for the day and were preparing to leave.
Shen Yi suddenly noticed that the layout at the bottom of the pit was somewhat strange and immediately drew the scene before him. The police team set up tents in an open area and conducted their investigation on the spot. Chang Feng came uninvited. Considering that the eight-year-old girl might be his sister, Shen Yi showed the portrait to Chang Feng for identification. Chang Feng confirmed that it was his sister Xiaojuan.
The crabapple fruit she was holding that year was given to her by a climbing team. Chang Feng bowed to the police officers to express his gratitude and took Du Cheng and Shen Yi to his home to see some belongings left by the suicide victims. Based on Chang Feng's description, Shen Yi drew portraits of the owners of those belongings and asked Du Cheng to take them back for comparison. Shen Yi was not in a hurry to leave.
He wanted to stay and, with Chang Feng's permission, visit his home. Shen Yi tried to get Chang Feng to imagine what his home would be like if his sister were still alive. Chang Feng used materials at hand, decorating with items like dried chili peppers and matchsticks. He quickly arranged them. After seeing this, Shen Yi couldn't help but look up and take a deep look at Chang Feng.
Episode 6 Recap
Shen Yi guided Chang Feng through a sandbox test and found something was off with him. Chang Feng's sister occupied an unreasonably large space in his home, almost becoming the absolute spiritual pillar of the entire household. His sister's death didn't allow Chang Feng to move on, even reaching a pathological state. Then, Shen Yi showed Du Cheng an aerial view of the bottom of the pit.
He speculated it was a sacrifice, centered around Chang Feng's sister, with the surrounding skeletons being offerings. Of course, all of this was based on speculation; currently, Shen Yi had no concrete evidence. Early in the morning, Du Cheng went to find Chang Feng and asked what the crosses drawn on the calendar meant. Chang Feng evasively said that it had been too many years and he had forgotten why he drew the crosses back then.
Du Cheng then requested to follow Chang Feng up the mountain to chop firewood. Chang Feng did not refuse. But Chang Feng walked very fast, and soon Du Cheng was left behind. His keen intuition made him notice that the surroundings were different. Chang Feng suddenly appeared behind him and threw a sickle at him. Du Cheng instinctively dodged. Chang Feng came over to pick up the sickle, and beneath the sickle was clearly the body of a venomous snake.
It turned out that Chang Feng saw a snake trying to ambush Du Cheng and quickly killed it first with quick reflexes. The two continued forward and saw two girls hiking, wanting to see the clouds steaming and mist glowing. Du Cheng persuaded them to turn back. The words spoken by Chang Feng nearby made Du Cheng suspicious. The skeleton of a girl suddenly fell from above, landing straight in front of Shen Yi.
The one who fell to her death was one of the two girls who were hiking to see the clouds steaming and mist glowing just now. According to the other girl, they both heard a survival whistle at the time. Aya didn't go towards where the whistle was sounding, and then her companion heard her cry for help, and after that, Aya fell off the cliff.
Du Cheng planned to go back and investigate the path the two girls took up the mountain. Shen Yi went with him, and Jiang Feng was responsible for keeping an eye on Chang Feng. Xiaoya's companion recognized the fork in the road at a glance. Following that fork, Du Cheng and Shen Yi went up the mountain and saw the clouds steaming and mist glowing surrounded by a sea of flowers.
Shen Yi was attracted by the beautiful scenery in front of him and involuntarily walked forward, but was pulled back by Du Cheng just as he was about to fall off the cliff. Shen Yi repeatedly moved forward and backward, drawing the scene before him, and his thoughts gradually became clear. There were two paths up the mountain to see the clouds steaming and mist glowing. One was steeper and shorter, but the cliff was clearly visible.
The other was gentler and longer. The cliff was covered by a sea of flowers, and it was easy for people to walk forward unknowingly and fall off the cliff when they lost their footing. It could be said that these two paths were a choice between life and death.
Chang Feng's earlier warning to the two girls that they would have to wait until next year if they missed it, as well as the signs he left on the mountain, all indicated that Chang Feng's intentions were not pure. He Rongyue discovered the skeleton of a male around sixty years old. There were severe cut wounds from a weapon on his left collarbone. He Rongyue speculated that he was first cut by someone and then fell off the cliff.
The time of death was estimated to be around ten years ago. There were traces of prying on one side of the cut bone, which should be the killer's personal habit of using a firewood knife. Combined with the labor-saving firewood chopping technique Chang Feng taught Jiang Feng, Du Cheng believed that Chang Feng was highly suspicious and immediately ordered him to be brought back to the station for investigation. Shen Yi restored the portrait through the skull.
The police found information about the deceased, Ma Huainan, and summoned his wife, Ke Ling, to cooperate with the investigation. Ke Ling stated that she went mountain climbing with her husband, Ma Huainan, that year to mend their marital relationship. Ke Ling was a math teacher and sensitive to numbers, which was why she clearly remembered the time. Chang Feng and Ke Ling's testimonies were consistent, so the possibility of collusion could not be ruled out.
The police then contacted the climbing team from that year and questioned them in detail about the circumstances of Chang Feng's sister's fall from the cliff. Shen Yi observed the four people from the side, constantly drawing.
Episode 7 Recap
Shen Yi showed Chang Feng the portrait of Themis, the goddess of justice, and told him her story, indicating that the cliff was Chang Feng's sword, and the signpost symbolized the scales of choice. That year, Chang Feng chose to save someone, but his sister fell off the cliff and died. This was the initial motive for Chang Feng to become a judge. When his innermost thoughts were exposed, Chang Feng began to confess everything.
Ma Huainan's death that year was indeed Chang Feng's doing, but Ma Huainan had intended to kill Ke Ling at the time, deliberately letting go and causing Ke Ling to fall. Chang Feng was enraged and pulled out his firewood knife, injuring Ma Huainan and letting him fall. Chang Feng went down to search and rescue, saved the injured Ke Ling, and called the 120 emergency number.
He was also willing to pay the price for killing someone, but Ke Ling believed that it was Ma Huainan getting his just deserts and ultimately concealed the truth. Later, Chang Feng dumped Ma Huainan's body into the sinkhole, not expecting that it would be discovered by the criminal police team years later. Li Han and the others found Zhang Sijing's mobile phone, ID card, and a suicide note at Chang Feng's home.
Du Cheng recalled previously showing Zhang Sijing's photo and asking Chang Feng if he had seen her, which Chang Feng denied. Du Cheng immediately went in with Zhang Sijing's ID card to question Chang Feng about why he lied, and Chang Feng confessed directly that he had killed Zhang Sijing.
According to Chang Feng, Zhang Sijing, unable to bear the pressure from her family to marry, developed suicidal thoughts and came alone to Fengdu Mountain, known as "Suicide Valley," but could not reach the summit to see the clouds steaming and mist glowing due to acrophobia. Chang Feng suggested she jump into the lake, which Zhang Sijing thought was a good idea. Du Cheng arranged for Jiang Feng to search the area Chang Feng provided.
Shen Yi felt that Chang Feng was not someone who would kill innocent people, but why did he admit to killing Zhang Sijing so easily? The police decrypted Zhang Sijing's phone and found that her last call was to a friend named Liu Xinyao. Du Cheng and Shen Yi went to the coffee shop owned by Liu Xinyao to learn about the situation.
They learned that Zhang Sijing's parents were very strict with her, controlling everything from what job to take and what friends to make, down to what clothes to wear. Shen Yi noticed two Gauguin paintings in the coffee shop, their content forming a dialogue. Afterwards, the two went to Zhang Sijing's parents to understand the situation. Shen Yi discovered that Zhang Sijing loved reading "The Moon and Sixpence," a novel whose protagonist was based on Gauguin.
Shen Yi deduced that Zhang Sijing did not truly want to die, but rather wanted to live a completely new life. As expected, Jiang Feng and his team retrieved a scarecrow from the lake. Although the scarecrow was wearing Zhang Sijing's clothes, it was not her. Through investigation, the police finally found Zhang Sijing.
Shen Yi even keenly noticed a photo in Liu Xinyao's coffee shop with a short-haired friend, and the short-haired friend in the photo should be Zhang Sijing. Shen Yi and Li Han found Zhang Sijing, who was safe and sound. She was surprised to hear that Chang Feng had been arrested and wondered what she could do for him.
The exhibition curator, Director Zhang, called Shen Yi and told him that the painting "Restless Still Life" had been bought by a Mr. Fang. Shen Yi wanted to retrieve the painting and scheduled a meeting with the buyer. Unexpectedly, the buyer was the same man who had accidentally bumped into him at the exhibition last time and commented on the painting.
The man bought the painting because he did not want it to be seen by others again, but he refused Shen Yi's request to buy it back. Then, in Shen Yi's shocked gaze, he used a knife to cut the painting from top to bottom. Shen Yi suspected that he had seen his dream, and the man said that it was his dream too.
Episode 8 Recap
In class, Shen Yi sliced the canvas, turning the two-dimensional canvas into a three-dimensional one, opening up its entirely new unknown world. Shen Yi began with Fontana's slash paintings, revealing the truth hidden beneath the surface. If Monet spent his life pursuing light and shadow, what Fontana sought was space. And on the slash paintings, every crack, every cut, could potentially lead to the truth.
Jiang Feng was interested in the sand painting test, so Shen Yi asked everyone to go to the office for individual sand painting tests. He provided the three elements: house, tree, and person, and asked everyone to draw freely. After everyone finished drawing, Shen Yi explained that the house projects one's relationship with family and attitude towards interpersonal relationships, the tree projects the state of growth, lifestyle, and career, and the person represents one's self-perception.
Du Cheng's house, tree, and person were square and symmetrical, indicating his uprightness and strong sense of justice. Besides using a pencil, Jiang Feng also used colored pens. Shen Yi said Jiang Feng had abundant emotions and a bit of childlike innocence, which Jiang Feng deeply agreed with. As for He Rongyue, when Shen Yi saw her house, tree, and person drawing, he was slightly surprised.
He politely asked if he could discuss it openly, and after getting He Rongyue's consent, Shen Yi said she had likely just gone through a breakup. He Rongyue frankly admitted that she was dating someone she met online, but the person ran off without a word as soon as they heard she was a forensic doctor. Li Han left her drawing and left without listening to Shen Yi's analysis.
Shen Yi picked up her house, tree, and person drawing and looked at it, his expression turning surprised. Li Han, who lived in Beijiang New City, carelessly left flour in the kitchen. When baking cookies, she wasn't careful and caused a fire, attracting firefighters and countless residents who came to watch. Some even held up their phones to livestream her home from the doorway.
Li Han rushed upstairs, wanting to chase away the group of elderly women who were enjoying the spectacle. Jiang Feng hurried over to help her. Li Han did not accept Jiang Feng's kind offer to help her deal with the aftermath of the firefighters' arrival. She seemed very resistant to others entering her home. Shen Yi wanted to understand criminal personalities through paintings and colors, thus predicting future cases in advance.
Du Cheng did not take his words seriously and advised Shen Yi not to push himself too hard. Li Han applied for a new QQ account to go undercover on a suicide website named "Butterfly. " Someone named "Da Vinci" added her QQ number. Du Cheng told her to chat with the person first. At that time, shortly after the fire at Li Han's home, someone uploaded a video of her messy house.
Someone even specifically came to ask her about it, which deeply bothered Li Han. Just then, Da Vinci mentioned her troubles, causing her to lose emotional control. Director Zhang noticed Li Han had something on her mind and reminded Du Cheng to pay more attention to his subordinates. Shen Yi also noticed Li Han had been acting strangely recently, possibly due to receiving too much negative information in the suicide group.
Li Han rushed in with her laptop and told Du Cheng that Da Vinci was acting strangely. Da Vinci claimed to be a psychologist, but she found that while he outwardly encouraged people to be positive, he was actually constantly giving her negative psychological hints, and intentionally or unintentionally mentioned suicide and "ending it all.
" Through technical means, Li Han discovered that Da Vinci had created a small group chat for two people and was encouraging them to meet today to commit suicide together. Based on the information, Du Cheng found a girl named Luo Yuchen who had suicidal tendencies. He sent her, who had cut her wrists, to the hospital. Her life was saved, but she was still in the ICU.
Luo Yuchen's wound was V-shaped, a very deep wound that is difficult to stitch, so someone must have guided her. On the other side, Jiang Feng was unable to find Xie Yang. Xie Yang also didn't give him a chance to save him and died instantly from falling from a height. Li Han was frightened and suffering from respiratory alkalosis, and was receiving an IV drip at the hospital.
Shen Yi felt Li Han had a knot in her heart, which completely erupted after the fire, causing her to be emotionally dazed recently. Through the information provided by Du Cheng, Shen Yi felt that Li Han had inherited her grandmother's hoarding habit, but this contradicted her desire to live a non-perfunctory life, thus externalizing as personal pain. To guide Li Han, Shen Yi went to her home.
Episode 9 Recap
--- Li Han lived with her grandmother since she was a child, in a four-bedroom apartment full of clutter. Even the white gauze princess dress she wore on stage as a child was made by her grandmother from old mosquito nets. Because of this, her classmates nicknamed her “Garbage Kid,” and Li Han felt inferior throughout her childhood.
Until she grew up, she finally mustered the courage to tell her grandmother everything that was on her mind, but her grandmother just left like that, lying on that old wooden bed, leaving this world forever. Li Han's grandmother left behind a pile of trash and cardboard for her family, but donated her life's savings to a Hope Primary School. How could Li Han complain about her grandmother after that?
Shen Yi could particularly understand her feelings, and after Li Han spoke all these things out, she felt much better. Shen Yi suggested they go out for a walk to clear their minds and eat something. Li Han readily agreed, and they went to eat pizza together, and Li Han showed a long-lost smile.
The technical team tracked Da Vinci and found he had added a new number, which belonged to a young mother suffering from a rare disease and had lost hope in life. Although the police had informed her family, they couldn't just let Da Vinci continue to harm people. Li Han volunteered to continue following up.
Now she has shaken off the shadow of childhood and can throw herself into work with a confident and brave attitude, so Du Cheng felt relieved and let her continue investigating this lead, and asked Shen Yi to face that Da Vinci with Li Han.
By analyzing Da Vinci's answers, Shen Yi inferred that this Da Vinci was discovering the interlocutor's weaknesses through the chat content, and thus Shen Yi believed that Da Vinci was not a real psychologist at all. Under Shen Yi's guidance, Li Han obtained the house-tree-person drawing sent by Da Vinci and found that this drawing could not reveal the painter's psychological information. Afterward, Shen Yi asked Li Han to use the golden ratio diagram to overlay it.
From this, they discovered that this Da Vinci was not a person at all, but artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is not human after all; it answers whatever the interlocutor asks. Therefore, Shen Yi asked Li Han to switch to various topics to elicit the preferences of the person behind the artificial intelligence. The technical team found that Da Vinci's server was set up overseas, making it very difficult to track the other party.
However, through the few words in Da Vinci's replies, Shen Yi speculated that the creator had worked at a certain game company around 2012 and was currently around 40 years old. But before Du Cheng and the others could find more information, Da Vinci deleted Li Han as a friend first, trying to conceal his identity. Du Cheng and Jiang Feng's pursuit also yielded no results. Li Han was not discouraged.
She invited Wang Pengfei, an expert from the city bureau's technical section, to use a Distributed Denial of Service attack. Because this artificial intelligence could not use existing interfaces, as they have ethical locks that restrict behaviors like inciting suicide, this person must have rented a cloud computing platform overseas. As long as a large amount of chat dialogue is poured into it, either it won't be able to handle it, or it will consume computing power.
If cloud computing is used, it will be restricted from computing too frequently, and computing power requires payment. Dealing with such a high frequency of conversations is expensive. The content of the conversations would be seen by the creator, so Shen Yi asked Li Han to deliver a message to Da Vinci for him. Da Vinci indeed accepted Shen Yi's challenge on the forum. One would use artificial intelligence to draw, and the other would draw by hand.
The drawing time was one hour, and the works would be uploaded anonymously for netizens to vote. The final result was obvious, Shen Yi won. The police also located Da Vinci's position and brought the creator, named Cheng Yinan, back to the station to truthfully confess his crime. After this case, the Beijiang Criminal Police team destroyed Da Vinci, implicitly saving many lives. Li Han was also finally able to say goodbye to her past self, and with Jiang Feng's help, sorted out a clean and tidy home.
Episode 10 Recap
Illegal private detective Dong Yidan was brutally killed in an air-raid shelter, and his body was discovered by a delivery person who came to deliver a package. The police examined the crime scene and found fifty thousand yuan in cash. There were originally two mainframes under the desk, one of which was taken.
Something finer than cement was also found on the desk; it could be construction material or pigment used for sculpture, and further examination is needed to know for sure. In addition, all the books in the air-raid shelter were about law. The body was examined by forensics, confirming his death time was approximately between 8 and 10 am yesterday, and the cause of death was multiple organ damage and massive blood loss.
The five stab wounds to his chest were all fatal, his lower body was completely mutilated by stabbing, and he had been brutally beaten by the killer before death. After investigation, Dong Yidan's identity was confirmed as an illegal private detective, who graduated from law school and had worked as a lawyer but had his license revoked due to multiple violations.
He possessed a certain degree of anti-surveillance capability, working and living entirely in the air-raid shelter, with virtually no surveillance cameras able to capture the entrance and exit of his office. There was still data transmission on the deceased's broadband yesterday, which doesn't rule out the possibility that the killer took the mainframe after the crime occurred. The deceased's semen stains and a woman's bodily fluid were extracted from the sofa cushion.
According to the investigation, a woman named Song Minjie had contacted Dong Yidan the day before the crime. The recording pen recorded the content from the week before the crime, but there was only one woman's voice, and not much information that could lead to a breakthrough.
The technical department used technical means to recover the deleted photos from the deceased's phone, but these photos were very blurry, the subject of the photo was completely unclear, and thus could not be restored. However, Shen Yi attempted to draw the photos and inferred the locations of Guanyou Pottery Studio, Script Murder, and Maili Auto Repair Shop based on the photos.
As the investigation deepened, the police found that these three places were the workplaces of Hao Ziqiang, Huang Tao, and Ruan Fangfang respectively, and these three were the culprits of the Haisu Internet Cafe arson case eight years ago.
Eight years ago, the owner of Haisu Internet Cafe locked the iron gate to escape a surprise inspection, and the three of them, as a prank to get revenge on the owner, set fire to miscellaneous items in the internet cafe, causing the deaths of fifteen people, including the internet cafe owner. Hao Ziqiang and Huang Tao were both sentenced, while Ruan Fangfang was not sentenced because she was under fourteen years old.
When the police found the three of them, they were being surrounded by the victims' families. The three were brought back to the station for investigation, and according to their confession, they were blackmailed by Dong Yidan, and Ruan Fangfang was also molested by Dong Yidan and threatened with naked photos.
In the telephone recording between Ruan Fangfang and Dong Yidan, a person named Wang Hao was mentioned, and his wife is Song Minjie, who had contacted Dong Yidan the day before the crime. Li Han and Jiang Feng went to find Song Minjie. At first, she wanted to conceal it, saying she went to Dong Yidan to ask for a refund. After listening to the recording with her voice, Song Minjie honestly confessed the truth.
Her husband Wang Hao was fixated on their son's death, forcing Song Minjie to do something, and Dong Yidan's repeated perfunctory attitude and insults actually made her feel a strange calmness. Song Minjie said that the last time she saw Wang Hao was last night.
Wang Hao discovered her abnormality, secretly put a wiretap in her bag which she later discovered, but when she went to see Dong Yidan, Wang Hao didn't rush in and kill her as she had imagined. Shen Yi went to Guanyou Pottery Studio to learn pottery from Ruan Fangfang. Ruan Fangfang knew that he didn't really want to learn pottery, but she still taught him attentively.
Episode 11 Recap
The little red dress still often appeared in Shen Yi's dreams, as if he could never get rid of it. Shen Yi wanted to know more details about the arson case eight years ago, so he filled out a form to apply to investigate the case files, but Du Cheng refused to sign it, citing that he hadn't written the reason for the request.
Shen Yi knew Du Cheng was worried he was getting too deeply involved in the case, which would affect his objective judgment and himself. However, this did not stop Shen Yi; he went directly to Director Zhang, explained his reasons for half an hour, and Director Zhang fully supported him, readily signing the form. Du Cheng was called to Director Zhang's office and reprimanded for obstructing Shen Yi's investigation by using the form. Du Cheng was a little angry.
After leaving Director Zhang's office, he went straight to find Shen Yi, lying that Director Zhang had called him over to praise him. Du Cheng did not object to Shen Yi doing the investigation, but he indeed wanted to hear Shen Yi's reasons clearly; even if he couldn't understand, Du Cheng would try to.
After DNA comparison, it was confirmed that the female bodily fluid on the sofa cushion belonged to Song Minjie, and the taxi driver also confirmed seeing Dong Yidan drop Song Minjie off in a car. The crime scene footprint comparison result came out, showing the footprints belonged to Wang Hao. Wang Hao had major suspicion of committing the crime, so the police took Song Minjie back to the station for questioning.
Song Minjie admitted knowing Wang Hao killed Dong Yidan and confessed Wang Hao's whereabouts. The police immediately rushed to the overpass and prevented Wang Hao's suicide. Wang Hao confessed the crime details and frankly admitted that cleaning the crime scene was to prevent others from knowing about his wife and Dong Yidan's affair. Wang Hao could not let go of the tragedy of his son being burned to death.
He believed that Hao Ziqiang, Huang Tao, and Ruan Fangfang should not be living normal lives as if nothing had happened. At the moment he killed Dong Yidan, Wang Hao realized that all his resentment and fixations were gone. Shen Yi reviewed the arson case files, found something strange, and then drew the chains and their locks.
He wanted to contact the internet cafe owner's wife, and Li Han reminded him that he had better ask Du Cheng for instructions first. Shen Yi did as told. This time, Du Cheng agreed to let him do it and reminded him not to handle it alone if he encountered difficulties while investigating the case. Shen Yi went to find Fang Kaiyi and saw Monotropa uniflora there.
Fang Kaiyi described the symbiotic relationship between Monotropa uniflora and fungi in biology as kidnapping, which instantly made Shen Yi think of Ruan Fangfang. Shen Yi had a strong hunch that although Ruan Fangfang appeared weak on the surface, she had actually always been manipulating something, yet she seemed to be trying hard to cover up a certain truth.
Fang Kaiyi said that exploring to find out the truth was Shen Yi's instinct, and instead of avoiding it, he should embrace it. Having received inspiration, Shen Yi immediately returned to the station and, together with Li Han, learned some details from the Haisu Internet Cafe owner's wife from back then.
The owner's wife saw the drawing of the chains and locks and explained that if there was someone inside the internet cafe, they usually wouldn't wrap the lock around the chains but would put the lock on the outside, which made it convenient to open the lock from both inside and outside. The owner's wife also said that among those three children, the worst was Ruan Fangfang.
She had seen Ruan Fangfang beat the simple and dull Hao Ziqiang and had also seen the way she changed her attitude. Back then, just because the internet cafe owner and his wife caught Ruan Fangfang stealing money, she immediately changed her attitude, pretended to be bullied, staged being molested by the internet cafe owner, and got Huang Tao to defend her. Thinking this way, the owner's wife suddenly got goosebumps.
If this lock was really intentionally placed this way by those three children, then the nature of this case would change; it would no longer be as simple as a prank. And Ruan Fangfang, who was not sentenced back then because she was under 14 years old, would have to bear the legal responsibility she is responsible for.
Episode 12 Recap
Shen Yi continued to use pottery to get closer to understanding the real Ruan Fangfang. Seeing that Ruan Fangfang was mentally tense, Shen Yi suggested she use clay to mold various shapes like people, houses, plants, and then imagine them as negative emotions, kneading them all together. During this process, Shen Yi was secretly observing Ruan Fangfang's demeanor.
Seeing a girl come to Ruan Fangfang to pick up a finished clay cup, she mentioned that the method Ruan Fangfang taught her was successful in getting rid of her cheating scumbag boyfriend. Shen Yi realized that the Ruan Fangfang talking to the girl was not the weak appearance she presented in front of him.
After the girl left, Ruan Fangfang again became that pitiful and weak appearance in front of Shen Yi, seemingly wanting to evoke Shen Yi's sympathy and get another man to help her. Shen Yi was very patient. Before exposing Ruan Fangfang's true face, he could still obtain more useful information, so he agreed to help Ruan Fangfang get rid of Huang Tao's pursuit, and the two went together to the murder mystery script game location where Huang Tao worked.
Du Cheng and Jiang Feng returned after buying gifts and received a message from Shen Yi. Although Du Cheng didn't know why Shen Yi asked to meet him at the "Vacuum Space Murder Mystery Script Game" location on the map, Du Cheng still went to that location. Meanwhile, Huang Tao was hosting a murder mystery script game. Suddenly, a woman revealed his past misdeeds as the arsonist in the Haisu Internet Cafe case from back then.
Afterwards, Huang Tao was questioned by the boss, and the surrounding people pointed fingers at him. Ruan Fangfang and Shen Yi rushed over. She immediately stepped forward to block in front of Huang Tao. Ruan Fangfang claimed that on the anniversary of the arson victims' deaths, the three of them would give an explanation to all the victims' families, and by then she could do anything they wanted. Du Cheng came over, showed his identification, and made the onlookers disperse.
On the way back, Shen Yi said that Ruan Fangfang's desire to perform in front of the public was stronger. She was using her performance of weakness to create trouble, incite others' emotions, and guide the development of events. Ruan Fangfang used her weak appearance and acting skills to get others to solve problems for her, and also to get herself out of trouble, even including crime.
Li Han helped Shen Yi investigate Ruan Fangfang's background and found that her average time spent in a middle school did not exceed one year. According to teachers and classmates, Ruan Fangfang liked to stir up trouble among classmates since she was a child. Although it was repeatedly proven that she was lying, she insisted that the school and classmates bullied her.
Du Cheng listened and thought for a moment, recalling that Ruan Fangfang had mentioned holding a family apology meeting today. He immediately arranged for Li Han to ask the victims' families if this was true, and at the same time instructed Jiang Feng to check the recent movements of Hao Ziqiang and Huang Tao. Shen Yi received a message from Ruan Fangfang that the pottery bottle he made was fired and he could go pick it up soon.
Shen Yi went over, but he didn't expect the finished bottle to be black. He also saw that the three small figures Ruan Fangfang had molded before were also black, and the cabinet was full of black small figures, like the people who were burned to death in the internet cafe.
Shen Yi suddenly realized that this was the gate of hell, and Ruan Fangfang placed it here because she felt the arson case was a work she was proud of! Ruan Fangfang finally revealed her true face. She threw Shen Yi's phone under the furnace and invited Shen Yi to the family apology meeting together. The police found that Hao Ziqiang and Huang Tao had purchased a large amount of hydrogen gas.
Du Cheng immediately requested instructions from Director Zhang to dispatch personnel to stop them. After all the family members entered the site of the fire, Hao Ziqiang locked the door with iron chains. Ruan Fangfang knelt down and kowtowed 108 times, and then started self-harming. The emotions of the family members and Huang Tao were stirred up by her. The scene was chaotic. Huang Tao overturned the table, revealing the hydrogen gas inside, and then pulled out a lighter to threaten them.
Episode 13 Recap
Seeing that Ruan Fangfang seemed forced with no options, Huang Tao became emotional, holding up the lighter and shouting angrily, as if ready to die with everyone. Shen Yi quickly calmed him down, saying that this was all a play directed and performed by Ruan Fangfang from beginning to end. Back then, the internet cafe boss did not molest her, but she lied and used Huang Tao to kill.
Huang Tao fell into confusion and recounted the scene he saw back then of Ruan Fangfang going back and locking the door. He suddenly realized, if it was just a prank, how could she really set the fire? Ruan Fangfang used her old trick again, crying and explaining it wasn't like that, trying her best to make Huang Tao continue to believe the weak appearance she was acting out. But Huang Tao wasn't stupid.
Seeing that Huang Tao had a tendency to break free from her control, Ruan Fangfang, catching him off guard, snatched the lighter from his hand. Du Cheng went in through another exit and saw Hao Ziqiang pouring gasoline on the ground. He immediately went over to stop him. After a struggle, he finally handcuffed Hao Ziqiang. The lighter fell to the ground and did not ignite the gasoline on the ground.
Ruan Fangfang indeed wanted to die with these victims' families. She dropped the lit lighter. At the critical moment, Du Cheng rushed over from behind and cupped the lighter, preventing another fire tragedy from happening. Firefighters then entered to evacuate the crowd. Fortunately, there were no casualties. Afterwards, Du Cheng lost his temper at Shen Yi, thinking that he did not contact the team immediately and his unauthorized action almost caused a catastrophe.
Shen Yi faced Du Cheng's anger calmly and was willing to accept any punishment. Shen Yi's judgment about Ruan Fangfang was correct. After a site inspection, a hidden back door was indeed found behind the internet cafe. Ruan Fangfang wanted to use Hao Ziqiang and Huang Tao to ignite the gasoline and hydrogen cylinders, and then escape the internet cafe in the chaos.
At the subsequent case summary meeting, the relevant leaders greatly appreciated Shen Yi's method of solving cases by analyzing criminal suspects using psychology and art, while Du Cheng consistently maintained an opposing attitude. Director Zhang interjected to ease the atmosphere. Old Yan's daughter, Yan Jingjing, was about to marry her boyfriend, Luo Yifan, but unexpectedly, a bloody chicken head was hung on the door. They reported to the police and found the person who did this wicked thing, Ao Li.
Ao Li was once Yan Jingjing's college classmate. According to her confession, the reason she did this was because she was jealous of Yan Jingjing. Ao Li kept apologizing to Old Yan, crying and making promises. Yan Jingjing felt a little unbearable and finally signed the letter of understanding. Li Han felt that this matter might not be over, so she sought Shen Yi's help.
Shen Yi had watched Ao Li's short video and asked Li Han to check the pendant on Ao Li. They found it was a custom-made pendant with an image of Lilith on it. In modern times, Lilith is seen as a symbol of the awakening of female personal power, representing temptation and revenge. To understand further, Jiang Feng proactively suggested going to the live streaming company where Ao Li worked to investigate.
Jiang Feng, with his toned physique and dance skills, successfully entered the live streaming company. Manager Liu arranged for him to learn well from Ao Li. Li Han took Shen Yi to meet Luo Yifan and Yan Jingjing to understand their entanglement with Ao Li during college. Yan Jingjing felt that Ao Li was quite normal during college, but Luo Yifan felt that Ao Li's desire to win was so strong she wasn't like a normal person.
The Ao Li that Jiang Feng observed at the live streaming company worked hard, constantly dancing, and didn't stop broadcasting even after getting myocarditis. And when she finished broadcasting at the end, Jiang Feng noticed that Ao Li's eyes seemed a little off.
Episode 14 Recap
Ao Li's physical condition worsened after the broadcast. Although she took medicine, she still walked unsteadily. Jiang Feng kindly cared for her, but she lashed out at him and threw her clothes in Jiang Feng's face. He Rongyue didn't know that Jiang Feng had gone to the live streaming company to gather information, and she sent Jiang Feng's live stream video to Du Cheng, feeling that the streamer in the video looked too much like Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng returned to the station, feeling very aggrieved. Shen Yi analyzed that Ao Li must have been physically and mentally exhausted after the broadcast, and the forced relaxation resulted in her aggressive dark side emerging. However, these were just Shen Yi's speculations. Shen Yi couldn't give an accurate answer as to whether Ao Li would continue to target Yan Jingjing. Du Cheng returned to the station.
He was indeed a little angry that Jiang Feng and the others had investigated Ao Li without authorization, but considering that everyone was trying to help Old Yan's daughter, Yan Jingjing, Du Cheng asked someone to help check Ao Li's resume to facilitate Shen Yi's further understanding. Ao Li met with her top fan, and Shen Yi observed and drew a portrait.
Ao Li had already noticed Shen Yi observing her, and bluntly said that if he spent enough to become her top fan in her live stream, she could meet him too. Shen Yi mentioned Yan Jingjing, and said that Ao Li wasn't like this in college. Ao Li didn't care, believing that Yan Jingjing and Luo Yifan were the ones who disgusted her first. After saying this, Ao Li turned and left.
It was raining heavily, and Ao Li couldn't get a taxi, sitting dejectedly by the roadside. Shen Yi held an umbrella and walked to her side, asking her to take his colleague's car back, but Ao Li refused.
In the heavy rain, Ao Li hysterically said that every choice she made was wrong, from studying landscape design in college, to opening a clothing store, to getting married, she chose the wrong path at every step, leading to where she is today. Soon after, Du Cheng drove over, picked up both of them, and dropped Ao Li off at a designated location. Shen Yi felt that the root of the problem hadn't been found yet.
Ao Li's emotions were too unstable, and there was a possibility of a malicious event occurring. In addition, Jiang Feng said that Ao Li had resigned from the Zhangxinhuo live streaming company and had a well-known fallout with Manager Liu, Shen Yi became more certain of his guess. Du Cheng immediately decided to go to the place where Ao Li got out of the car to take a look.
With the help of the local police, Du Cheng and the others entered the warehouse rented by Ao Li and found a room full of "tontong" dolls, one of which was placed in the center, surrounded by various furnishings, obviously intentionally arranged by Ao Li. Shen Yi couldn't figure out what Ao Li was trying to do, so he stayed there to ponder. On the other side, everyone went to participate in Luo Yifan and Yan Jingjing's wedding photo shoot.
After careful consideration, Shen Yi realized that the entire setup was Ao Li's rehearsal for a crime, and he immediately contacted Du Cheng. At the same time, the wedding car taking the wedding photos was about to arrive at the bend. The midday sun was very dazzling. Ao Li, dressed in a red dress, walked up the steps step by step, waiting not for the expected accident, but for Du Cheng.
Ao Li was taken back to the police station for questioning. According to the police's analysis, Ao Li learned about Yan Jingjing and Luo Yifan's itinerary from the alumni group, calculated the time and route in advance, and planned to rush into the road before the wedding car arrived, causing the wedding car to swerve and crash into the scaffolding.
Ao Li argued that she was going to send blessings, and only those with a guilty conscience would feel that a surprise is a fright. Old Yan was worried that if Ao Li was released, his daughter Yan Jingjing would not have a peaceful life. Shen Yi suggested going all out and letting Ao Li and Luo Yifan confront each other about what happened five years ago.
Episode 15 Recap
Luo Yifan and Ao Li confronted each other face to face. Ao Li directly called Luo Yifan a scumbag, saying he was two-timing back then, playing with her feelings while also dating Yan Jingjing. Ao Li refused to be the third party and escaped from Luo Yifan and Yan Jingjing's sight. Luo Yifan pretended to be innocent.
Ao Li directly presented the evidence, stating that the person who sent gifts in the live stream and made her dance frequently was Luo Yifan. The controversy about the 'chicken head' hadn't passed, and Luo Yifan came to provoke her again. Ao Li angrily flung his hand away, leaving blood marks on his hand with her fingernails. Luo Yifan still argued.
Du Cheng then presented another piece of evidence: an account that had been following Ao Li for a long time, frequently leaving many provocative comments for Ao Li. Upon investigation, the phone number linked to this account belonged to Luo Yifan's older female cousin. Luo Yifan still refused to admit it. Du Cheng opened the door, and outside was Yan Jingjing. Luo Yifan quickly stepped forward with promises and assurances.
Ao Li added from the side that back then, when Luo Yifan slept with her, he would always have her get a hotel room first, and then he would come up. Luo Yifan never talked about feelings through messages or phone calls because he was afraid of leaving records. Later, after Ao Li recognized Luo Yifan's true face as a scumbag, she finally decided to break it off. Yan Jingjing was utterly disappointed in Luo Yifan.
Luo Yifan left with a remark, "You will regret it," before departing. Li Han voluntarily went to help Yan Jingjing move. Yan Jingjing told Li Han that she later checked her and Luo Yifan's joint account and found that Luo Yifan had never stopped; besides Ao Li, he also provoked other women. Poor Yan Jingjing had been deceived by this kind of scumbag for so long. Yan Jingjing asked Li Han to help take the wedding invitation to Ao Li.
Ao Li received it, surprised and speechless. She hadn't expected that Yan Jingjing would still marry Luo Yifan after recognizing his scumbag nature. But Ao Li ended up going on Sunday. However, she found it wasn't a wedding. Yan Jingjing was wearing a wedding dress, but there was no one at the wedding venue. In front of Ao Li, Yan Jingjing used a knife to slash the wedding photos.
Ao Li complained that Yan Jingjing didn't believe her words from beginning to end. Yan Jingjing, however, said that she had always felt that the person Ao Li was targeting was Luo Yifan, not her. Ao Li angrily pushed over the cake. All her anger dissipated, and she hugged Yan Jingjing. They were once best friends, broke off contact because of a scumbag, and finally reconciled because of the scumbag.
--- This time, Shen Yi sensed Ao Li's potential danger and made a prediction about how things would develop. However, Ao Li ultimately didn't take that step, which also reflected that his prediction wasn't 100% accurate. He Rongyue scrolled through a short video and found the girl in the video very familiar. After Du Cheng's identification, it was confirmed that the girl in the video was Min Xue. Shen Yi didn't know who Min Xue was.
Du Cheng explained that Min Xue was a victim in a case handled by Captain Lei. Min Xue grew up in an orphanage, was later adopted, and was sexually assaulted by her adoptive father when she was underage. Captain Lei spent a lot of effort to rescue Min Xue. Shen Yi watched the video and always felt that Min Xue's face wasn't quite natural; she didn't look like the twenty-four or twenty-five-year-old person Du Cheng described.
Du Cheng didn't think much of it and had even requested Director Zhang's permission to organize a fundraiser. Du Cheng and the others delivered the funds to the public welfare home run by Min Xue. After some pleasantries, they returned. Shen Yi stayed behind to work overtime drawing Min Xue's facial proportions, believing that Min Xue was at least five years older than she appeared now.
Du Cheng held firm to his view, convinced that Min Xue was someone they had watched grow up and there would definitely be no problem. Suddenly, a jumping case occurred. The deceased, Wei Xianzhong, jumped after drinking heavily. Combining with what Wei Xianzhong's wife said, the police suspected the real reason for Wei Xianzhong's jump was blackmail by two girls named Min Xue and Jiang Huan in the form of a honeytrap.
As for what Min Xue and Jiang Huan said, it was a completely different version. They claimed that Wei Xianzhong had asked them to go collect aid money, but at the last minute, he wanted them to drink with him. The two girls were scared, so they ran away with a large amount of cash aid money. Currently, these are all one-sided accounts, and handling the case still requires evidence.
But a casual remark by Old Yan made Shen Yi think. Back then, Min Xue was sexually assaulted by her adoptive father Zhang Bin, and her adoptive mother Min Shengmei not only did nothing but was also in cahoots with Zhang Bin. Ultimately, Min Xue couldn't bear the humiliation and left her underwear as evidence. Captain Lei, who handled the case, rescued Min Xue and sent both Zhang Bin and Min Shengmei to prison.
This time, despite knowing there was a certain risk, they still had to go. Old Yan said that Min Xue's vigilance was not even as good as when she was a child. It was precisely this sentence that aroused Shen Yi's suspicion towards Min Xue.
Episode 16 Recap
李晗 checked the surveillance near Min Xue's relief station and found that Min Xue's adoptive mother, Min Shengmei, had visited Min Xue last week. After being released from prison, Min Shengmei had no job, but had multiple records of booking high-end hotels. Through hotel surveillance, the police discovered Min Shengmei taking a girl into room 1016, leaving the girl alone in room 1016, and then going to the adjacent room 1018 herself.
The person who booked room 1016 was named Guo Zhengjian, the boss of a private enterprise, who had been sued for threatening underage girls but the case was dropped after the other party withdrew the lawsuit. The police immediately confirmed Min Shengmei as a major suspect. The police moved out and brought Min Shengmei back for interrogation. Min Shengmei confessed truthfully that she was just working for others, and both the girls and the clients were provided by Min Xue.
Furthermore, Min Shengmei claimed that Min Xue never let her initiate contact, and Min Xue would contact Min Shengmei using different numbers. Min Shengmei was also always the one who took the girls out. The girl, Min Xue, whom Captain Lei had painstakingly rescued back then, was not a simple person at all. When Min Shengmei adopted Min Xue, she had suspected her age, but eventually softened and adopted Min Xue.
Because of this sentence from Min Shengmei, Du Cheng recalled that Shen Yi had said Min Xue did not look like she was twenty-four or twenty-five. Li Han expressed confusion, wondering why Min Xue would lead those girls to do such things, given that she had been assaulted when she was a minor.
Shen Yi explained that in psychology, this is called victim-perpetrator transformation, which refers to a phenomenon where a very small number of people, after being harmed, transform from victims into perpetrators due to psychological trauma and other influencing factors. Jiang Feng was in charge of calling Min Xue in for questioning. She denied that she made the girls from the relief station sell their bodies. When mentioning her painful past, Min Xue's eyes turned red.
Du Cheng arranged for people to search the relief station, but no funds of unknown origin were found there. At Min Shengmei's residence, Du Cheng found two bags of cash in the washing machine. Min Shengmei vehemently claimed innocence, stating that Min Xue had framed her, just as Min Xue had framed her back then by lying about her age.
Li Han investigated further and found that the girls at the relief station unanimously said that Li Han had not led them to sell their bodies. The usage of the relief station's funds was also normal, and Wei Xianzhong's funding for the relief station had been gradually decreasing, which aligned with his characteristics of bankruptcy. Based on this, Du Cheng believed that Wei Xianzhong's case could be closed.
--- Unexpectedly, someone posted a revelation online at this time, directly pointing the finger at the investigators of the underage sexual assault case from back then. Du Cheng dared not believe it, nor was he willing to believe it, but if what was said online was true, and Min Xue was twenty-two when she was assaulted, then Zhang Bin's sentencing standard would be different, which would also mean that Captain Lei had mishandled the case.
Du Cheng did not believe that Captain Lei would make such a big mistake, so he went to find Old Yan to recall the details when Min Shengmei recanted her testimony. Public opinion online was rampant, and the Municipal Bureau sent Comrade Lu Haizhou, the Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, to be responsible for re-investigating Min Xue's sexual assault case from back then.
Director Zhang instructed the criminal investigation team led by Du Cheng to cooperate and assist in the investigation. Given that most of those present had a working relationship with Captain Lei, Captain Lu requested instructions from Director Zhang and had Shen Yi cooperate with him. However, no one understood Captain Lei's case-handling habits better than Du Cheng, so Du Cheng would also participate in all investigations.
Shen Yi and Captain Lu first went to find He Rongyue, learning that the bone age test indeed showed Min Xue's age to be older, but since other corroborating evidence was needed, and household registration and other information all indicated Min Xue was a minor, He Rongyue did not insist further. Du Cheng accompanied Captain Lu to Captain Lei's home and obtained Captain Lei's case notes from before he passed away.
Learning that Captain Lei's daughter held grudges against Captain Lei, Du Cheng told her through the door before leaving that Captain Lei was a good policeman. Shen Yi discovered Min Xue's characteristics of being sweet-talking and skillful, but this was not mentioned in Captain Lei's case notes. Based on this point, Shen Yi and Captain Lu went to the orphanage where Min Xue had stayed to inquire. The person in charge confirmed that Min Xue had a docile and likable personality and was very skillful with her hands, making many handicrafts, some of which were sold for money.
Episode 17 Recap
Min Xue possessed mature handicraft skills. Shen Yi suspected she learned handicrafts very early, but how could a homeless child master such a survival skill? Shen Yi boldly speculated that Min Xue might have been trained, which meant the Tu Yuan City Orphanage was not the only orphanage Min Xue had stayed in. In the photo albums at the orphanage, Shen Yi remembered two things: one was rope weaving, and the other was origami.
Captain Lu had great chemistry with him and immediately decided to investigate orphanages that offered these two handicraft classes based on these two directions. They quickly found an orphanage. Inside, there was complex patterned origami similar to Min Xue's handicrafts. Through the old director's identification, it was confirmed that Min Xue was Zhang Ting. After turning eighteen, Min Xue never returned to this orphanage.
Li Han had investigated Min Xue's call records and found that she frequently contacted some 'fallen women'. To find out the reason, Du Cheng and Li Han went to talk to one of the 'fallen women' to understand the situation. They learned that the reason Min Xue contacted her was to have her pretend to be an underage girl to meet with perverted men, then secretly record videos to threaten those men for money. The matter had been clarified.
Min Xue did not indeed make the girls from the relief station sell their bodies, but it was an undeniable fact that she and the 'fallen women' extorted ill-intentioned donors. How to handle this still required discussion at a Municipal Bureau meeting. Captain Lu told them to wait for his news. Min Xue was interrogated again. This time, knowing she could no longer hide, she truthfully confessed everything and admitted to stealing Lin Xue's identity.
The reason Min Xue lied about her age and deceived Captain Lei was because she wanted to make Zhang Bin pay a heavy price. Back then, after Min Shengmei adopted her, she married Zhang Bin. Zhang Bin sexually assaulted Min Xue. Min Shengmei not only turned a blind eye but even advised Min Xue to comply. Min Xue, having been bullied, secretly resolved to send scum like Zhang Bin to prison.
She also knew that if she were a minor, Zhang Bin would be imprisoned longer. As for the relief station, Min Xue genuinely wanted to run it well so that those girls would not experience the misfortune she had gone through. Having committed a crime this time, Min Xue certainly could no longer operate the relief station, but Du Cheng told her that the relief station would be properly arranged.
The follow-up result regarding Captain Lei's handling of the case also came out. Captain Lei's case-handling procedures complied with the standards and were without fault. Everyone felt relieved. Captain Lu came to the Beijiang Branch and met with Du Cheng. Du Cheng recalled how serious Captain Lu was at first, making him unsure if Captain Lu was friend or foe.
Captain Lu also admitted that he had proactively applied to re-investigate this case because he was not comfortable with others investigating it. On the matter of upholding Captain Lei's reputation, Captain Lu and Du Cheng were on the same side. College student Guo Yuan was attacked by a criminal. The alarm she carried saved her life. After Guo Yuan woke up, Shen Yi and Li Han went to the hospital to ask her about the specifics.
Du Cheng and Jiang Feng, on the other hand, went to investigate Li Hong from the missing person notice seen in the demolition area. Through information provided by an old man who collects scrap, Du Cheng and Jiang Feng learned that Li Hong had gone to the old area to collect scrap, and there had been an incident at a chemical plant there before. Du Cheng then went to the chemical plant, and the security guard provided some information.
Meanwhile, based on Guo Yuan's description, Shen Yi reconstructed that the gloves the perpetrator wore were safety gloves from the Hongda Chemical Plant. Du Cheng immediately turned back to ask the security guard for the name of the chemical plant. The security guard's answer shocked both Du Cheng and Jiang Feng. This was indeed the Hongda Chemical Plant mentioned by Shen Yi.
Episode 18 Recap
Hongda Chemical Plant once caught fire due to an accident, causing ammonia gas to leak from the ammonia tank, polluting the entire factory. The firefighters and police at the time evacuated all the workers and surrounding residents, and the chemical plant was abandoned. The security guard does not patrol every day, but wanders around every few days, so the possibility of someone entering without permission cannot be ruled out.
The security guard opened the gate lock, and Du Cheng and Jiang Feng entered the factory. They found that a basement was also locked, but the security guard had never seen it before, and the key in his hand could not open it either. Du Cheng directly asked Jiang Feng to break the lock. As soon as the iron plate was lifted, a strong stench rushed towards them.
The steps leading to the basement were very slippery, and Jiang Feng followed Du Cheng into the basement. As the stench grew stronger, Du Cheng and Jiang Feng saw a shocking and disgusting scene. Six corpses were arranged in different poses, appearing in front of them. Du Cheng's face was solemn and serious, and he immediately asked Jiang Feng to notify the technical department and the forensic doctor.
According to technical comparison, the police confirmed the identities of the six victims. Wang Mengxiao's cause of death was drowning, and there were traces of being tied at the wrists and ankles. She should have been drowned after being tied with her hands and feet. Zhao Yuanqing's cause of death was also drowning. He went missing five months ago. Due to the severe decomposition of the body, it is temporarily impossible to determine the time of his death.
The other deceased, Liu Fang, Li Hong, Zhou Guoliang, and Feng Xiaowen, were 33, 37, 42, and 50 years old, respectively. Feng Xiaowen was the only outsider among these victims, and her identity was a Peking opera actress from the Chaohui Peking Opera Troupe. According to judgment, Feng Xiaowen was the first victim, with multiple violent fractures on her body. This case is a vicious and extremely large series of homicides.
The six victims have different occupations and ages, and have no intersection. Du Cheng decided to investigate from scratch. After investigation, Du Cheng learned that Feng Xiaowen had come to Beijiang for a performance, and the performance location happened to be the Hongda Chemical Plant. Feng Xiaowen's daughter, Wu Nianjun, rushed from Nansha and asked in tears if her mother had been killed. Du Cheng raised his head when he heard this.
Wu Nianjun said emphatically that Feng Xiaowen was killed by Ge Yutian, and claimed that Feng Xiaowen came to Beijiang to see Ge Yutian. Du Cheng and Jiang Feng found Ge Yutian and brought him back to the branch for interrogation. Ge Yutian claimed that Feng Xiaowen was his godmother, but Wu Nianjun believed that Ge Yutian was trying to deceive Feng Xiaowen, so Ge Yutian and Feng Xiaowen broke off contact.
Regarding Wu Nianjun's accusation that he killed Feng Xiaowen for insurance fraud, Ge Yutian immediately denied it, saying that Feng Xiaowen bought participating insurance, and the longer she lived, the more money she would get, so Ge Yutian said he had no reason to kill Feng Xiaowen. Shen Yi used Peking opera as an entry point. Under his guidance, Ge Yutian unconsciously recalled how he met Feng Xiaowen.
Shen Yi suddenly used the flower language of "Monthly Red" to loudly point out that Ge Yutian wanted to trick Feng Xiaowen into buying insurance, because Feng Xiaowen had just turned fifty at that time, and there were too many types of insurance she could buy.
Ge Yutian became emotional, denying that he deliberately approached Feng Xiaowen to trick her into buying insurance, and angrily rebuked that it was people like Shen Yi and such prejudices that forced them to death. Shen Yi asked sharply, from what moment did Ge Yutian and Feng Xiaowen become inseparable? Du Cheng and He Rongyue, who returned to the scene, made a new discovery. Feng Xiaowen was trapped here and wanted to climb the ladder to escape, but accidentally fell, causing fractures to her left calf and left forearm, and eventually starved to death here.
Episode 19 Recap
Shen Yi believed that the relationship between Ge Yutian and Feng Xiaowen was not simple and should be a romantic one. The chemical plant was where they met, making it profoundly significant to Ge Yutian. Feng Xiaowen's death could not be entirely unrelated to Ge Yutian. Feng Xiaowen left the hotel on April 19th, and the accident at the chemical plant happened the very next day, April 20th.
Moreover, Feng Xiaowen's last call was to Ge Yutian, but he did not answer. Du Cheng then called in relevant personnel for questioning, clarifying that Ge Yutian was not at the scene on the day of the fire, and he could not have known at the time that Feng Xiaowen would be there.
Shen Yi painted a portrait of Feng Xiaowen and gave it to Ge Yutian, pointing out that their 'jiejie-didi' (older sister-younger brother) relationship at the time must have been difficult. Indeed, just as Shen Yi had predicted, almost everyone opposed Feng Xiaowen and Ge Yutian dating back then.
Feng Xiaowen's daughter, Wu Nianjun, caused a scene at the troupe several times, and the troupe leader had to advise Feng Xiaowen not to ruin her hard-earned reputation as a highly respected artist for the sake of a young insurance salesman. Feng Xiaowen was unconcerned, believing that as a widow, she had the right to freedom in love, and that her relationship with Ge Yutian did not affect anyone else.
At the time, besides Feng Xiaowen and Ge Yutian themselves, no one believed in their relationship. Feng Xiaowen used an insurance policy with Ge Yutian named as the beneficiary as a promise for their future. She chose Ge Yutian, but Ge Yutian backed down. In front of Feng Xiaowen's daughter, he did not dare to admit that he was dating Feng Xiaowen and cowardly said that he was Feng Xiaowen's godson.
Shen Yi told Ge Yutian that the reason Wu Nianjun didn't report her mother missing until six months later was because Feng Xiaowen had abandoned everything and resolutely went to Beijiang to find Ge Yutian, even at the cost of severing her relationship with her daughter. On the day the chemical plant caught fire, everyone in the plant was running out to escape, but only Feng Xiaowen was concerned about Ge Yutian's safety and rushed inside regardless of the danger.
Upon hearing the truth, Ge Yutian was filled with nothing but endless regret, feeling that he was the one who had caused Feng Xiaowen's death. It has now been confirmed that Feng Xiaowen did not die from murder. The police then began investigating the first victim, Zhou Guoliang. Based on the foreign matter found in Zhou Guoliang's nasal cavity, the police started investigating Zhou Guoliang's social circle.
His wife said that Zhou Guoliang was a real estate agent who inevitably dealt with renovation workers, and of course there had been conflicts, but those were minor issues. Shen Yi suggested wanting to see the crime scene, but Du Cheng disagreed. However, Shen Yi went anyway.
At the crime scene, he painted the poses of each of the bodies one by one, lay down to experience the meaning of those poses himself, and was shocked to discover that the perpetrator had arranged the place into an extremely hidden stage. Feng Xiaowen was the protagonist on the stage, and the other five bodies were supporting roles. His intuition told him that this was a play centered around Feng Xiaowen.
Wu Nianjun arranged to meet with Ge Yutian and also called Jiang Feng and Li Han. Ge Yutian gave Wu Nianjun the agreement gifting her the insurance dividends Feng Xiaowen purchased before she died, stating that he was not with Feng Xiaowen for her money back then. Wu Nianjun regretted arguing with her mother, causing her mother to leave with regret. Now she would not accept this agreement, because she did not want to go against her mother's wishes anymore.
Shen Yi showed everyone the three-dimensional figures he drew. Jiang Feng immediately recognized that the play being staged was "Dragon and Phoenix Bring Prosperity". Guo Yuan was originally meant to be killed by the perpetrator and used as the Wusheng on the stage, but unexpectedly the perpetrator failed. The entire play is missing Liu Bei, and Liu Bei is Ge Yutian, who is also the casting director for this play.
Just as everyone had confirmed that Ge Yutian was the perpetrator, Li Han received news that Guo Yuan did not return to school after being discharged from the hospital, and her classmates had called the police. Shen Yi believed that Guo Yuan was the Wusheng that Ge Yutian had painstakingly searched for, and Ge Yutian would definitely not let her go easily. Du Cheng reassured Shen Yi that they would definitely rescue Guo Yuan.
Episode 20 Recap
The police meticulously investigated and found that Ge Yutian would go to care for an elderly person living alone every two weeks. Du Cheng immediately took Jiang Feng to the location and found a senile elderly person sitting on the sofa. Guo Yuan was tied hand and foot and submerged in a bathtub full of water. Du Cheng quickly rescued Guo Yuan. If the police had arrived any later, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
In the surveillance footage, Ge Yutian said he had found another suitable candidate for the Zhao Yun Wusheng role. Du Cheng thought this was bad and immediately contacted Shen Yi, but Shen Yi's phone was unanswered. Winding the clock back two hours, Shen Yi's intuition led him to accurately find Ge Yutian's residence. He told Ge Yutian a story about Feng Xiaowen, hitting exactly on Ge Yutian's motive for the crime.
Ge Yutian had always wanted to cast and perform a play of "Dragon and Phoenix Bring Prosperity" for Feng Xiaowen, as the best tribute to her. Zhou Guoliang was chosen as the Clown and subsequently murdered. Li Hong, who suffered from rickets, was arranged to be the Wu State Queen Mother and also did not escape. Liu Fang and Wang Mengxiao were arranged as Sun Shangxiang's palace maids, and Zhao Yuanqing played Sun Quan.
Finally, Guo Yuan was designated as the candidate for Zhao Yun. But Shen Yi immediately changed his expression and said that the casting director's aesthetics were too poor, and the casting was based entirely on his own imagination, completely failing to meet the requirements of Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, and Chou roles in Peking Opera. Guo Yuan was even less suitable; her gender was wrong. So who should play Zhao Yun?
Shen Yi looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly said that he would be good. Shen Yi was completely immersed. His participation made Ge Yutian very satisfied with the play. At this point, Shen Yi pointed out again that the play Ge Yutian wanted to complete for Feng Xiaowen could be finished in a few strokes by him, and the other character's three-dimensional portraits were also very good.
However, Ge Yutian chose the most extreme and insane method – murder, relying on killing to complete this play, destroying the originally peaceful and beautiful lives of five people, turning them into sacrifices for Ge Yutian's self-touching love. Ge Yutian denied it, insisting that this was the revelation Feng Xiaowen gave him. After finding Feng Xiaowen's remains, Ge Yutian originally wanted to let her leave with dignity.
Unexpectedly, a client he met on the road was on the phone mocking a sixty-year-old woman dating a thirty-year-old man. It felt as if they were talking about him and Feng Xiaowen, and Ge Yutian, consumed by rage, beat Zhou Guoliang to death. Ge Yutian, having killed for the first time, was at a loss and didn't know what to do. He could only temporarily place Zhou Guoliang's body in the chemical plant basement.
However, he unintentionally saw a white mark on Zhou Guoliang's face and felt that it was a revelation from Feng Xiaowen, telling him to treat Zhou Guoliang as the Clown in the opera. Shen Yi pointed out without hesitation that the white mark was not a revelation at all, but rather the white ash from wiping the car that had stained the cloth Ge Yutian used to cover Zhou Guoliang's face.
Ge Yutian fell into despair and was pushed away by Shen Yi, dropping the knife on him. Anticipating Ge Yutian's attempt at suicide, Shen Yi called out to stop him. Just then, Du Cheng also arrived in time and shot Ge Yutian in the arm, preventing his suicide. Upon learning that Guo Yuan had been rescued, Shen Yi finally relaxed, took leave, and had a good sleep.
The woman's body was found in the underground cold storage, making it impossible to determine the time of death. Shen Yi observed her mansion and found it filled with chaos, lacking the warmth of a home. Jiang Feng discovered that the drawers, which originally contained a large number of watches and jewelry, were empty. The Luminol reaction also showed a large amount of wiped-away bloodstains in the bathroom. It seems the bathroom should be the primary crime scene.
Episode 21 Recap
Cao Jian's lover Liu Yao died unexpectedly. Du Cheng questioned Cao Jian and learned that he last saw Liu Yao on the 22nd. Cao Xiaodong is Cao Jian and Liu Yao's son, but he lives elsewhere and looks down on his father Cao Jian, believing everything his father has today is thanks to his mother. Cao Xiaodong was accepted into a US Ivy League school. After graduating, he returned to the country for company rotation.
After the three-year rotation period ended, he was not groomed as the family business successor but was arranged to be the general manager of a club under the company. The preliminary cause of death for Liu Yao was determined to be multiple sharp object penetration injuries to abdominal organs. However, the body was frozen, so further testing is needed to determine the exact time of death.
However, the police collected an unfamiliar fingerprint from the doorknob, which is very likely left by the killer. Community surveillance showed that a person wearing a hat and mask entered the Cao family home through the back door using a card, and changed clothes upon leaving. Due to the mask, the person's appearance could not be immediately identified.
Du Cheng arranged for Jiang Feng to contact the property management and investigate everyone who entered the Cao family home, including property management staff. Shen Yi reconstructed the person's appearance and found that the person had a thin face and no eyebrows. Therefore, Shen Yi boldly speculated that this person had received medical chemotherapy and was likely a cancer patient. Jiang Feng took the portrait to inquire with the property management.
The property management staff said the person in the portrait was Ji Jun, who was a very nice and helpful person and had assisted many residents. This also means that Ji Jun knew the password locks of the residents' homes. Jiang Feng obtained Ji Jun's work badge from the property management and returned to perform fingerprint verification. Through technical fingerprint comparison, the police confirmed that the fingerprint from the Cao family home belonged to Ji Jun.
Soon, Jiang Feng brought back Ji Jun, who was suspected of intentional homicide, and found a bag of jewelry at his home. Ji Jun confessed the details of the crime. Shen Yi painted in the observation room and noticed that when Ji Jun described the killing process, his emotions did not fluctuate much, as if he was reciting lines he had already memorized.
Du Cheng also believed there was a hidden reason, so he decided to take Ji Jun back to the Cao family home and have him re-enact the scene of the crime. Ji Jun was getting increasingly sick and could not have dragged Liu Yao's body to the underground cold storage. Furthermore, based on how Ji Jun opened the door, it would be impossible for him to leave such a clear and complete fingerprint.
Du Cheng pressed Ji Jun about why he was hiding something, but Ji Jun collapsed and fainted. Shen Yi went to the company to talk to Cao Jian to understand the situation. Based on the Fuxi and Nuwa painting representing reproduction, he sensed that Cao Jian likely wanted another child. Cao Jian admitted frankly that his only son, Cao Xiaodong, returned after studying for a few years and wanted to inherit the family business.
Cao Jian wanted him to know that inheriting the family business was not that easy. Ji Jun's wife brought a bag of money to the police station. It was noticed that Ji Jun's wife was wearing a gold chain on her wrist. Ji Jun's wife confessed that Ji Jun had given her the gold chain a few months ago. Based on the time she provided, Li Han found a video clip.
In the video, Ji Jun seemed to deliberately hit someone with his car, causing a pregnant woman to fall to the ground. Later, it was discovered that the pregnant woman's name was Zhou Shanshan, a public relations person at the club where Cao Xiaodong worked. After getting together with Cao Xiaodong, she became pregnant and was staying at home awaiting delivery.
Du Cheng and Jiang Feng went to the club to inquire about Zhou Shanshan from Cao Xiaodong and related staff who knew her. They also went to find Zhou Shanshan herself to understand some situations. Shen Yi combined the similar furnishings in the Cao family home and the club, inferring that this was a way for Liu Yao to assert her dominance.
The female lion statue at the club had its head smashed, which might indicate a change in the relationship between Cao Xiaodong and his mother. Cao Jian had invested in a gene research company called Jiangcheng Kailai Biotechnology, whose head was Fang Kaiyi, whom Shen Yi had met before.
Regarding the matter of Cao Jian bringing Zhou Shanshan for genetic testing, Fang Kaiyi said that Cao Jian had brought many women here for genetic testing, the purpose of which was to check for compatibility, and Zhou Shanshan was the last one. The Cao family has a strongly hereditary genetic defect, and Zhou Shanshan's genes happened to be a successful match.
Fang Kaiyi also mentioned that Shen Yi was an artist with strong intuition and perception, and the profession of a police officer was too restrictive. He believed Shen Yi should no longer be a police officer.
Episode 22 Recap
Shen Yi believed that Zhou Shanshan was pregnant with Cao Jian's child. Du Cheng didn't understand why Shen Yi thought this. Shen Yi explained that Cao Jian was a person with a strong worship of reproduction, and his dressing style did not resemble that of a young person, indicating that Cao Jian did not want to acknowledge his age. Subsequently, they went to find Zhou Shanshan again.
This time, Zhou Shanshan confessed that Cao Xiaodong was a heavy gambler, and Liu Yao had always helped Cao Xiaodong manage the club and even used her own money to cover his debts. Cao Jian was extremely dissatisfied with this matter and had many outbursts. The police summoned Cao Jian to the sub-bureau. Facing Du Cheng's questions, Cao Jian denied killing Liu Yao and revealed that Cao Xiaodong suffered from azoospermia.
Considering that Liu Yao was already over fifty and could not have more children, and the Cao family could not end its lineage, Liu Yao and Cao Jian came up with a plan: to have a child using Cao Jian's genes. Nominally, this child would be Cao Xiaodong's, and Cao Jian and Liu Yao would be the child's grandparents. Cao Xiaodong could not accept this, feeling it was a humiliation to him.
If this was the reason Cao Xiaodong killed his biological mother Liu Yao, Cao Jian could only accept it. Du Cheng confirmed with Cao Jian again if he had just accused Cao Xiaodong of killing Liu Yao. Cao Jian confirmed. Freud, drawing from the ancient Greek myth of Oedipus Rex, created a concept called the Oedipus complex. He believed that a boy's love for his mother and hatred for his father is an instinct.
Shen Yi believed that Cao Xiaodong had an Oedipus complex. Liu Yao herself came from a wealthy family. As Cao Jian's power grew stronger, Liu Yao intentionally reinforced the subconscious idea in Cao Xiaodong that he could replace his father and reclaim the family property. When this desire was accumulated to its limit, Cao Xiaodong's male self-esteem was completely destroyed, and he learned that the mastermind behind this matter was his mother Liu Yao.
Thus, the deep mother-son affection turned into hatred for matricide. The house had already been screened, but no evidence of Cao Xiaodong killing was found. Shen Yi noticed that the painting on the wall and the paint chips dropped below were inconsistent. Du Cheng took the painting away, and there were indeed traces on the wall where the painting had been replaced. After the case occurred, the house had been sealed, so that painting had not been moved out.
Shen Yi and Du Cheng found that painting and took it back to the police station for testing, discovering Liu Yao's blood and Cao Xiaodong's fingerprints on it. Cao Xiaodong was beating Zhou Shanshan, trying to strangle her and also kill the child in her belly. Du Cheng and Jiang Feng arrived in time with people to stop him. Zhou Shanshan and her unborn child were unharmed.
With conclusive evidence, Cao Xiaodong confessed truthfully that he also paid Ji Jun to hit Zhou Shanshan. That day, Cao Xiaodong drank too much. Liu Yao even advised him that dignity comes with money and that he should first accept the child in Zhou Shanshan's belly. Cao Xiaodong was excessively drunk and mistook Liu Yao for Cao Xiaodong, stabbing Liu Yao with a knife.
Only before she died did Liu Yao confess that having Zhou Shanshan conceive Cao Jian's child was a plan she and Cao Jian had made. Liu Yao wanted her son Cao Xiaodong to use her husband Cao Jian's child as leverage to take her to the United States. After all, Zhou Shanshan's child was also Cao Xiaodong's half-brother. After this case, Shen Yi's resolve to study complex human nature became even stronger.
Therefore, he and Du Cheng applied to visit some inmates serving heavy sentences, but Du Cheng disagreed. Shen Yi went to see Fang Kaiyi. Fang Kaiyi advised him to consider changing professions, but Shen Yi felt he could categorize criminal personalities and prevent more crimes from happening. Su Youliang's fiancée Lin Xiaoyin reported that the deceased died unnaturally and stopped the crematorium from cremating the body. According to the forensic examination, Su Youliang's cause of death was sexual sudden death.
According to the feedback from 120, upon arriving at the scene, Su Youliang was naked and had no breathing. A large amount of aphrodisiacs was found at the scene, suggesting that the deceased had engaged in multiple intense sexual acts before death. Therefore, Su Youliang's cause of death was inferred to be acute myocardial infarction caused by sexual sudden death. He Rongyue discovered that Su Youliang's physical function was very poor, with all his organs abnormally deteriorated.
Coupled with Su Youliang having no history of underlying diseases, He Rongyue conducted further toxicological tests on the deceased and unexpectedly found a low concentration of thallium, not enough to be fatal. He Rongyue inferred that Su Youliang's real cause of death was acute myocardial infarction caused by taking aphrodisiacs and engaging in intense sexual activity while under thallium poisoning.
Allegedly, Su Youliang's girlfriend, An Luran, is the director of Hua'an Medical Center and is on a flight returning from a business trip abroad. Li Han has already contacted the airport police station for assistance.
Episode 23 Recap
Du Cheng and Shen Yi went to find Lin Xiaoyin, who claimed to be Su Youliang's fiancée, to understand more specific details. Su Youliang was scouted by An Luran during campus recruitment in his second year of graduate school, and then, through the introduction of his senior sister Tang Keying, he became An Luran's intern. Lin Xiaoyin knew about the relationship between Su Youliang and An Luran from the beginning.
The reason she chose to stay with Su Youliang was that she wanted to save Su Youliang, who had been misguided by An Luran. Lin Xiaoyin insisted that Su Youliang's younger brother had received benefits from An Luran, which is why he signed the consent for cremation, but Lin Xiaoyin knew that once the body was cremated, there would be no evidence left, so she stopped the cremation, hoping the police would reinvestigate Su Youliang's death and collect evidence.
However, Lin Xiaoyin had no evidence to prove that An Luran killed Su Youliang; she had figured it out by calculation. Du Cheng received a message from Li Han, learning that An Luran had returned to China. He immediately took Shen Yi to find An Luran. An Luran's expression was calm, and she did not admit to killing Su Youliang.
Shen Yi observed the painting by Caravaggio on the wall and used it to start a conversation, inferring that An Luran liked to be in control in relationships. An Luran did not deny this point; she indeed liked men who submitted to her. Shen Yi was curious if Su Youliang had done something wrong and was punished, but An Luran said she was grateful to Su Youliang because he got her pregnant.
Regarding Su Youliang's death, An Luran seemed very composed, not showing any signs of guilt. She had nothing further to say and told Du Cheng and the others to contact her lawyer directly if they had anything else. Li Han found that the Kailai Research Institute, where Tang Keying was employed, had clear records of thallium purchases. Tang Keying was the senior sister who introduced Su Youliang to An Luran.
Jiang Feng found trace amounts of thallium in Su Youliang's water bottle, and An Luran had purchased this water bottle, which cost several thousand yuan. Fang Kaiyi invited Shen Yi to visit his research results, and Shen Yi gladly went. Based on the records and surveillance footage provided by Tang Keying, Du Cheng and Jiang Feng found no issues, but Du Cheng proposed wanting to meet Fang Kaiyi, and Tang Keying immediately took them there.
Facing Du Cheng's request to inspect the laboratory and storage room, Fang Kaiyi did not refuse. Fang Kaiyi's gene therapy and targeted drugs were all experimented on at the medical center where An Luran was employed, which Fang Kaiyi also frankly admitted. The surveillance footage at Kailai Research Institute is automatically overwritten every month, but Su Youliang's poisoning time was estimated to be six months ago, so the surveillance records from that time should no longer exist.
Seeing that Shen Yi and Fang Kaiyi had a personal connection, Du Cheng was a little worried and asked Shen Yi a question. Shen Yi said he believed that his exploration and profession would lead to the same destination. Shen Yi saw the painting in the taxi driver's car and suddenly realized that Su Youliang's tattoo was likely in two layers. He wanted to figure out what the final layer of the tattoo was.
The police summoned An Luran again and showed her the tattoos of Su Youliang and Lin Xiaoyin. When she learned that Su Youliang was only with her for money, An Luran became very angry, so angry that her asthma acted up. Yan Jingjing felt her reaction didn't seem fake, and killing Su Youliang was not beneficial to her.
Shen Yi sent the restored tattoo image to He Rongyue, but he also went to Lin Xiaoyin to understand more information, learning that sacrificing himself for money by being with An Luran was Su Youliang's idea. Shen Yi also found plant ash in Su Youliang's medicine box. Theoretically, mixing plant ash and cow's blood can produce Prussian blue, which is a specific antidote for thallium poisoning. This could also explain why cow's blood appeared on Su Youliang's clothes. Shen Yi told Du Cheng that as a graduate student who majored in pharmacology, Su Youliang should have been well aware that he was poisoned by thallium and used his pharmacological knowledge to make an antidote.
Episode 24 Recap
Du Cheng and Shen Yi found ox blood and Prussian blue in Su Youliang's rental room, confirming that Su Youliang knew he was poisoned with thallium and had made an antidote. After preliminary confirmation, Su Youliang chose to shield the person who poisoned him, even though he knew he had been poisoned. Shen Yi also understood the meaning of the base layer tattoo on Su Youliang's body, and he went to talk to Lin Xiaoyin again.
This time he did not directly state his intention but first asked Lin Xiaoyin to read the relationship between two friends for him. Initially, Lin Xiaoyin did not realize that these two people were herself and her fiancé, Su Youliang. Later, Shen Yi's additions made her certain that he was referring to herself and Su Youliang, and she did not want to continue.
However, Shen Yi did not give her a chance to avoid it and spoke about the girl's subsequent state of mind and actions. Lin Xiaoyin's thoughts were exposed, and her expression changed immediately. Shen Yi further speculated that when Lin Xiaoyin realized Su Youliang almost changed his mind because of An Luran, she put poison in his water cup. Of course, Lin Xiaoyin denied it, claiming that Shen Yi had no evidence to prove she poisoned him.
Shen Yi took out the tattoo design, pointing out that because the trident could not be completely covered, it was incorporated into the topmost new tattoo. The trident represents loyalty and punishment, an eternal vow, and betrayal will result in punishment. Jiang Feng called Su Youliang's younger brother for questioning and learned that Lin Xiaoyin had a best friend who was a graduate student in the chemistry department at the University of Science and Technology.
Lin Xiaoyin often visited their laboratory, and there were records of thallium salt purchase and use. The police then went to Lin Xiaoyin's home and found thallium salt in her crystal ball. With irrefutable evidence, Lin Xiaoyin finally confessed truthfully, followed by endless remorse. She never intended to harm Su Youliang but indirectly caused his death.
Su Youliang's body functions were damaged by thallium poisoning, and the stimulation from a large amount of aphrodisiacs led to myocardial infarction, causing him to pass away in pain. Du Cheng, however, remained puzzled by one point: when a sudden myocardial infarction occurs, there is usually a process of onset, during which the patient struggles and calls for help, yet An Luran, who was sleeping with Su Youliang, somehow did not hear it.
There might be something hidden behind this, although it is not ruled out that An Luran was sleeping too soundly and did not hear Su Youliang's call for help. To resolve the doubts, Du Cheng arranged for Jiang Feng to check the surveillance footage at An Luran's home again. Li Han made a discovery: on the night Su Youliang died, An Luran had an online consumption record at a small private supermarket on Yongxing Seashore.
Verification via surveillance confirmed that An Luran herself purchased a carton of cigarettes. Meanwhile, Jiang Feng received news from the Seashore Police Station. On the night Su Youliang died, the coast guard intercepted a fishing boat used for human smuggling. The captain confessed that these boats were engaged in illegal transplant business, with many smuggled individuals having completed matching and coming to extract bone marrow, a round trip on the same day, similar in nature to the black market.
Shen Yi reviewed the recorder carried by the paramedics that day and discovered that An Luran had a piece of clothing dyed ginger yellow using pure natural plant dyes. The characteristic of ginger yellow is that it turns red when exposed to alkali and returns to yellow when exposed to acid. The reason for the yellow trace on the garment should be that An Luran had contact with seawater and then passed through some kind of acidic environment.
Li Han also found that only this area of the garden was sprayed with acidic pesticides on the day of the incident. Therefore, Shen Yi came here and unexpectedly met Du Cheng, Jiang Feng, and others who were tracking An Luran and had discovered Tang Keying. However, they came up empty-handed and did not find any illegal actions by An Luran.
Superiors discovered that the cases and background involving Huaan Medical Center were complex, so Director Zhang gave instructions to Du Cheng. As the joint liaison for Huaan Medical Center and Kailai Biological Research Institute, Du Cheng designated Tang Keying as the breakthrough point for the next case. However, Tang Keying was evasive and pretended not to know anything. Du Cheng did not rush in and left her his contact information.
An Luran planned to leave and needed Tang Keying to help her obtain the core data and experimental results related to embryo gene editing. That night, Tang Keying did not attend the dinner engagement and returned to the research institute alone, intending to steal the data. She was discovered by Shen Yi, and her plan did not succeed. Shen Yi advised her to turn over a new leaf, but Tang Keying said nothing and left.
Episode 25 Recap
Tang Keying listened to Shen Yi's advice and chose to cut her losses in time. She told An Luran that she couldn't find Fang Kaiyi's core data, and completely fell out with An Luran, who had been using her. Tang Keying went to Fang Kaiyi to admit her mistake, proposing to give the core data to An Luran so that when An Luran left, she would no longer be involved in other matters.
However, Fang Kaiyi would not pay for the mistakes Tang Keying had made. Tang Keying said she did all this because of him, but Fang Kaiyi felt that Tang Keying was making excuses for her own meanness. Fang Kaiyi lost control and smashed the decorative glass bottle on the table. He controlled his temper in time, but his hand was cut when he tried to pick up the pieces.
He simply left and went straight to the studio, leaving Tang Keying alone. Shen Yi had been at the research institute examining gene samples. Fang Kaiyi returned, and after a conversation, Fang Kaiyi extended an olive branch to Shen Yi, inviting him to join, assuring that Shen Yi could focus on his research there without distraction.
Shen Yi did not accept, stating that although they were not in the same field, he believed making the world a better place was a shared vision for him and Fang Kaiyi. Shen Yi slept in the studio for a night. When he woke up, Fang Kaiyi's star map was already finished, and he was still asleep beside it. Tang Keying was missing. The police found that the last person she saw before her disappearance was Fang Kaiyi.
Du Cheng and Jiang Feng immediately came to find Fang Kaiyi to understand the situation. Fang Kaiyi claimed that Tang Keying came to him to discuss work arrangements, that they didn't argue, and that the cut on his hand was from accidentally breaking a vase. Seeing that the inquiry was fruitless, Du Cheng and Jiang Feng quickly left. Li Han's further investigation revealed that the location where Tang Keying's mobile phone signal disappeared was near Baichuan Road Beach.
Fishermen had seen Tang Keying walk into an abandoned fishing boat around 2 am last night. Fang Kaiyi drove away from the research institute around 2 am and went to Binxi Road, where there were almost no surveillance cameras. At 4:30 am, surveillance footage showed him returning to the research institute from Binxi Road. Binxi Road is not far from Baichuan Road. Du Cheng told Jiang Feng to continue keeping an eye on Fang Kaiyi.
Upon further questioning by Shen Yi, Fang Kaiyi confessed that Tang Keying did not come to apologize last night but to express her love for him, which caused him a very strong sense of humiliation, leading him to lose control and smash the vase. Fang Kaiyi guaranteed that he did not harm Tang Keying, and was even a little worried about her safety. Fang Kaiyi intentionally mentioned that Tang Keying was no longer useful to An Luran.
Shen Yi did not want Fang Kaiyi to hide anything, so Fang Kaiyi confessed that what Tang Keying wanted to steal was core data specifically for human embryo gene editing. Editing human embryos itself is not illegal; the boundary lies in whether the results of the gene editing are stored or destroyed according to laws and regulations. According to international practice, edited embryos must be destroyed within fourteen days.
Implanting them into the human body, in defiance of norms, is a crime. The police found cyanide in the abandoned fishing boat that Tang Keying had entered. No bloodstains were found yet, so it could not be proven whether this was the primary crime scene. Shen Yi observed that An Luran's driver, Wu Bin, dropped a nail with a cinnabar-colored polish. The sand on An Luran's shoes indicated she had been to the beach.
Jiang Feng found that a fast-moving commercial van had entered and exited the fishing village. It hit a villager's dog, and the male driver promised to take the dog to the animal rescue center in Mingnanli for treatment. Du Cheng drove directly to the animal rescue center in Mingnanli and unexpectedly saw Shen Yi there. Shen Yi had also just discovered human bones. Shen Yi found a calendar on Tang Keying's desk with very faint pencil marks.
He managed to restore them and got the address of the animal rescue center in Mingnanli. The police extracted loose powder used by Tang Keying and her remaining hair from the car, and found An Luran's cinnabar-colored nail on the driver Wu Bin. An Luran's nanny, Xiao Chen, testified that An Luran was at home all last night. An Luran also stated that she was unaware of her driver Wu Bin driving out.
Wu Bin was listed as the prime suspect. Before Du Cheng could question him, Wu Bin confessed that he had killed Tang Keying. Meanwhile, Jiang Feng found that Wu Bin originally suffered from severe genetic anemia, and Fang Kaiyi's gene therapy research had cured his illness. Not only that, Wu Bin was also introduced to An Luran as a driver by Fang Kaiyi, and he and Fang Kaiyi also had financial dealings.
But Wu Bin insisted that he was the sole killer and that no one else was involved. The experienced Old Yan had long noticed contradictions in Wu Bin's statements and repeatedly reminded Wu Bin to tell the truth. Wu Bin took a sip of strong tea to calm down and recanted his confession, claiming that Fang Kaiyi was the killer. When asked why he changed his confession at this point, Wu Bin frankly said he wanted to live.
A remark from Du Cheng made Shen Yi recall that there was something wrong with that painting, and he immediately rushed back to Kailai Biological Research Institute. After seeing the painting, Shen Yi, with a serious expression, told Fang Kaiyi to go back to the police station with him and explain everything clearly.
Episode 26 Recap
On the needle found with Tang Keying's human tissue, the police analyzed and confirmed the components of sodium cyanide and anesthetics. These anesthetics are the research patent of Kailai Biological. Fang Kaiyi did not know that Tang Keying was dead. That night, he left the studio to go to the beach to seek inspiration for painting. Regarding Wu Bin's accusation, Fang Kaiyi appeared helpless.
He admitted that he introduced Wu Bin to An Luran as a driver with the purpose of monitoring An Luran. However, he didn't expect that his good intentions would ultimately result in Wu Bin's accusation. Clearly, Fang Kaiyi did not admit that he killed Tang Keying. Currently, the police have no new evidence besides Wu Bin's confession. Li Han and Jiang Feng's investigations did not find any new clues.
At this time, Li Han brought the wearable nail and told Du Cheng and the others that Tang Keying's DNA was not found on the wearable nail; instead, An Luran's DNA was detected. This wearable nail belongs to a high-end brand, costing nearly a thousand yuan for a piece. The set Tang Keying bought should have been a counterfeit.
Tang Keying's human tissue was found at the tip of the nail, which does not rule out the possibility that An Luran had a physical conflict with Tang Keying. Under pressure, Wu Bin finally confessed that An Luran killed Tang Keying. According to An Luran's arrangement, Tang Keying was supposed to go abroad with her. However, that night, Tang Keying suddenly changed her mind and proposed to meet.
Wu Bin immediately drove An Luran to the dock to meet Tang Keying. An Luran was blackmailed by Tang Keying for ten million yuan, otherwise she would immediately report An Luran to the police. The two failed to reach an agreement and quickly got into a conflict. During the struggle, a needle for animal euthanasia dropped out. Tang Keying quickly grabbed the needle to stab An Luran.
Wu Bin rushed over to help, threw Tang Keying onto the boat hull, and she was impaled by a hook. Taking advantage of Tang Keying's injury, An Luran immediately snatched the needle and stabbed it into Tang Keying's neck. Tang Keying quickly died. Wu Bin claimed that An Luran would pay his family a sum of hush money every year until he died.
Li Han discovered audio recordings in the recovered vehicle recorder where An Luran instructed Wu Bin on how to dispose of the body and handle post-incident matters. All evidence pointed to An Luran as the murderer. Based on the Guan Gong statue placed by Wu Bin's bedside, Shen Yi believed that the person Wu Bin was truly loyal to should be Fang Kaiyi. But Shen Yi didn't understand why Wu Bin initially insisted that it was Fang Kaiyi.
Du Cheng said that everything would be clear once An Luran was apprehended. But An Luran was well-prepared. She had the nanny, Xiao Chen, take her mobile phone to the club while she herself escaped. By the time Jiang Feng arrived at the club with his team, An Luran had already fled the country. Shen Yi always felt that the difference in artistic mood before and after Fang Kaiyi painted that starry sky painting was too great.
Fang Kaiyi must have experienced something at the beach that affected his subsequent painting. However, this time Du Cheng no longer trusted Shen Yi's intuition. He applied to Chief Zhang for a two-week leave for Shen Yi, telling Shen Yi not to be involved in this case anymore. Shen Yi went to find Fang Kaiyi. Fang Kaiyi clearly stated that he had nothing to do with Tang Keying's death.
Because of his words, and also Du Cheng's previous disappointment in him, Shen Yi felt unconfident in his own judgment for the first time. Ultimately, Shen Yi chose to believe Fang Kaiyi, but he also hoped that Fang Kaiyi would live up to his trust. Cao Jian brought Zhou Shanshan to the research institute for gene testing. Zhou Shanshan had already married Cao Jian and become his legal wife. Both were very much looking forward to this child, but Shen Yi began to notice that Fang Kaiyi's mood was a bit off.
Episode 27 Recap
Embryo destruction usually requires two people to be present: the lab personnel and the storage manager. They work in pairs, acting as mutual witnesses. In the destruction records from eight months ago, one person was Tang Keying, and the other was named Liu Lian. The police brought Liu Lian back for questioning. Liu Lian said that at that time, one experimental embryo was missing.
Tang Keying said she forgot and would destroy it with the next batch of experimental embryos, so Liu Lian didn't say anything more. Situations like this had happened more than once at Kailai Biological Research Institute. As for whether Fang Kaiyi knew, Liu Lian didn't know either.
Shen Yi was curious why the fetus in Zhou Shanshan's womb did not inherit Cao Jian's genetic defect, but Fang Kaiyi was unwilling to discuss this topic, stating that matters of the present and future were the most important to him. Li Han found that the experimental embryos at Kailai Biological Research Institute were all provided by Hua'an Medical Center. The embryo taken out of the country by An Luran surprisingly belonged to Cao Jian and Zhou Shanshan.
The two originally underwent IVF at Hua'an. After the embryos were synthesized, they were sent to Kailai Biological under the name of experimental donation, and then Fang Kaiyi performed gene editing on the embryos. However, the embryo that was supposed to be destroyed was stolen and taken out of the country by Tang Keying.
Furthermore, Zhou Shanshan had traveled abroad for embryo implantation, which is enough to indicate that the embryo Zhou Shanshan implanted was the gene-edited embryo that was originally scheduled for destruction. The entire matter only involved three people: Tang Keying, An Luran, and Fang Kaiyi. The first two are one dead and one who has left the country, leaving only Fang Kaiyi.
Du Cheng and Jiang Feng brought a subpoena to get Fang Kaiyi to return to the police station for investigation, but Fang Kaiyi said that he was unaware of the embryo being implanted into Zhou Shanshan. Initially, Fang Kaiyi's attitude was very firm, but when he saw Shen Yi arrive, he changed his demeanor. Cao Jian rushed up and angrily accused Fang Kaiyi of being the murderer, stating that the baby in Zhou Shanshan had stopped developing.
Subsequently, both Cao Jian and Fang Kaiyi were brought back to the station, but Cao Jian had no evidence to prove that Fang Kaiyi had tampered with the gene editing, and Fang Kaiyi never appeared on the surface during the entire process of Zhou Shanshan's embryo implantation. Fang Kaiyi left and asked Shen Yi to go with him. Du Cheng suddenly asked a question.
Shen Yi said that he could no longer control the impulse brought by his subjective feelings and intuition. If his intuition was no longer suitable for being a profiler, then he would choose to do something more meaningful. Back at the studio, Shen Yi and Fang Kaiyi discussed the reason for the baby's developmental arrest. Their relationship seemed to have progressed further. Du Cheng looked at Shen Yi's empty office.
He remembered many things Shen Yi had said and felt that he was about to lose Shen Yi as a comrade-in-arms. At this moment, Shen Yi called, and the two met on the rooftop. Du Cheng asked Shen Yi what he really wanted to do. Only then did Shen Yi reveal his true thoughts. In front of Shen Yi, Fang Kaiyi had already implicitly admitted that the fetus in Zhou Shanshan was the experimental product he edited and implanted.
Therefore, Shen Yi wanted to use his own method to persuade Fang Kaiyi to surrender voluntarily. Fang Kaiyi was too obsessed with the experiments, just like Shen Yi was in the beginning, so Shen Yi wanted to help him get back on the right track. Without any evidence, it is difficult to persuade an obsessed scientist to surrender. Du Cheng did not object, but he did not support it either. He stated that Shen Yi was still on leave and did not need his permission to do anything.
Episode 28 (Ending) Recap
Learning that Fang Kaiyi was in the lab, Shen Yi took a ladder and began observing the studio. He made a surprising discovery, but then Fang Kaiyi came out and also noticed his intention. The two sat down for a frank conversation. Fang Kaiyi believed Shen Yi had betrayed his trust, while Shen Yi felt that Fang Kaiyi hadn't revealed everything to him. Shen Yi was certain that Fang Kaiyi was solely responsible for Tang Keying's death.
On the other side, An Luran was extradited back to the country, but Du Cheng was noncommittal about whether this case could be closed. Li Han was assigned by Du Cheng to re-examine all the evidence in the Tang Keying case. After further analysis of Wu Bin's vehicle recorder by the municipal bureau's technical reconnaissance section, the police found an important clue. The recording on the vehicle recorder had been tampered with.
The analyzed recording contained a conversation between Wu Bin and Fang Kaiyi. It turned out that Tang Keying's death was orchestrated by Fang Kaiyi behind the scenes, with Wu Bin acting as Fang Kaiyi's accomplice, making An Luran the perpetrator of Tang Keying's murder.
With irrefutable evidence, Wu Bin confessed truthfully that the animal euthanasia injection was actually arranged by Fang Kaiyi for Wu Bin to bring over, seize the opportunity to put it in Tang Keying's bag, and then let the enraged An Luran kill Tang Keying. At the same time, Shen Yi confronted Fang Kaiyi.
He discovered that the layout of the studio resembled the double helix structure of DNA, and there were many butterfly cocoons on the tree, but there was no life inside; they were made by Fang Kaiyi using 3D printing, and the secret was hidden inside. Police personnel were assembled and ready to depart for Kailai Biological at any time, but Du Cheng didn't plan to go this time.
He also instructed Jiang Feng not to enter upon arriving at the entrance but to wait for his order. Du Cheng always remembered what Shen Yi said: if Shen Yi could successfully persuade Fang Kaiyi to surrender, it would undoubtedly be the best outcome. After Shen Yi discovered Fang Kaiyi's secret, the first thing he did was ask Shen Yi to let him go, to go to a place with more relaxed ethics and laws to continue his experiments.
Shen Yi hoped he would surrender, stating that the success of an experiment should not come at the cost of others' lives. Fang Kaiyi refused. He planned to drink toxic plant water, and his last wish was for Shen Yi to record him on the last page of his human portrait atlas. Shen Yi suddenly raised the volume of a sentence, making Fang Kaiyi stop his action.
From the first time he met Fang Kaiyi, Shen Yi had already begun working on drawing Fang Kaiyi's portrait, but Fang Kaiyi was like another Shen Yi. It was too difficult for Shen Yi to draw himself, but Shen Yi eventually drew it. Fang Kaiyi put down the cup and looked at the painting, finding the portrait dark and ugly. He angrily tore the paper but was shocked to discover another painting beneath the dark and ugly one.
The other painting was bright and sunny, strikingly depicting Prometheus, who stole fire and brought light to humanity, a revered god. Whether shocked or moved, Fang Kaiyi ultimately chose to surrender. Du Cheng, who had been on the phone with Shen Yi, finally felt relieved and notified Jiang Feng that he could lead the team up. After this major case, Du Cheng understood that it was his own boundaries that had limited Shen Yi's talent.
The human portrait atlas filling Shen Yi's wall were not just people, but also the hearts of those people. Shen Yi felt that he and Du Cheng were like a compass. No matter how large a circle he could draw, Du Cheng would always be the center point, capable of pulling Shen Yi, who was about to fly beyond the boundaries controlled by inner demons, back onto the right track at any time. The bureau introduced equipment for genetic testing. Everyone went to take the test and discussed the results with each other.
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