Captain Lu was aloof again today.

Chapter 149 Psychology
Shen Fu seemed to understand but not quite, and found it hard to believe: "Would anyone really imitate this kind of report?"

Wei Qingsong nodded solemnly: "Since the last century, many sociologists and psychologists have been studying the Werther effect. There is data to support this. Whenever a sensational extreme behavior event is reported, the suicide rate in the area covered by the report will rise sharply. The higher the circulation of the report, the greater the impact."

He then added, “Of course, most of those who choose extreme behavior because they are influenced by related reports are already suffering inside. When they see the reports, they are inspired to do so and imitate the suicide victims. There is actually a social identity psychology involved here. When people who are suffering inside see others like themselves take some extreme measures to end their suffering, they also identify with this means of eliminating suffering.”

"From a social psychology perspective, the Werther effect is like an emotional flu. Although mental illnesses are not contagious, there is a great deal of evidence that such emotions are transmissible."

After listening, Shen Fu was stunned for a long time before saying, "What you said seems to make sense, because they are already in pain, but they just haven't been able to make up their minds. The related media reports seem to have given them courage and determination."

Wei Qingsong affirmed her statement: "That's exactly the point. When you have experienced pain yourself, seeing others take extreme actions because of similar pain will produce two different consequences."

"One type of feeling is sympathy for those who choose extreme behaviors and thinks things don't have to come to this point. The other type is a deep sense of identification, feeling that their choice is very brave and that it is the best way to get out of trouble. So they want to imitate them and fall into a deeper depression. This is called painful identification in psychology."

"What also prompted them to make this choice was the mystery of death. Most of them had mild depressive tendencies and had many extreme thoughts. If they were standing on a tall building, they would want to jump off. If they were holding a knife, they would want to cut their wrists. Therefore, seeing such news made them want to experience the feeling of death even more."

"In addition, people who are already prone to extreme behaviors but fail to succeed for various reasons, will feel less alone after seeing other people's cases. This gives them more courage and confidence in extreme behaviors, as if they have been encouraged without their knowledge."

"This mentality is not hard to understand. Humans are social animals after all, and they care about the opinions and affirmation of others. Throughout history, those couples who committed suicide together did so because they encouraged and accompanied each other, which helped them to choose extreme behaviors together. This would reduce their fear of death."

"Such posts, which amplify negative energy, are even more suggestive and manipulative to those who are teetering on the brink of life and death, so these posts should never have existed in the first place."

Wei Qingsong finished speaking in one breath, only to find his mouth and throat dry.

Lu Jingming was prepared and thoughtfully handed over a glass of warm water.

Shen Fu: "..."

She doesn't seem to belong here.

So, feeling that her presence was in the way, Miss Shen made up an excuse and left on her own.

She can listen to science popularization anytime, she has plenty of time, but being a third wheel is unethical.

Actually, she was quite willing to be immoral, but she was afraid that Lu Jingming would freeze her to death with his gaze.

It's better to make a light bulb in the summer, when it's cool and refreshing.

In weather like this, there's really no need for that.

Wei Qingsong took a sip of warm water and suddenly realized that they seemed to have overlooked the most important point all along: the planners of the gray scheme seemed to know a lot about how to use people's psychology.

All the theories she just mentioned are completely consistent with the situation of the gray planning group.

Once one person achieves the project's ultimate goal, the others will feel a sense of belonging, overcome their fear of death, and follow suit.

Moreover, without exception, all the victims he chose were internet addicts with depressive tendencies and spiritual emptiness. If even one of them were sober and rational, the group would have been destroyed long ago.

Therefore, the people behind it—whether individuals or organizations—are inevitably connected to psychology.

However, before she could tell Lu Jingming her thoughts, he was called to the office by Director Wang.

It wasn't until evening that Chen Jin and Xiao Song returned to the Municipal Bureau one after the other. Half an hour later, Lu Jingming came down from the director's office upstairs.

Wei Qingsong sat at her desk, half asleep. The gentle draping of a blanket over her shoulder startled her awake. She rubbed her eyes and asked in a soft voice, "Why did you take so long? What did Director Wang want with you?"

Lu Jingming paused slightly, his eyes dark and unreadable, and said softly, "It's nothing, he just talked to me about the recent surge in crime rates in Tangzhou."

Wei Qingsong paused for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly: "So what did you say?"

“I mentioned to Director Wang that I suspected some of these cases were deliberately orchestrated, but Director Wang didn’t believe me, thinking it sounded absurd.” Lu Jingming’s tone was relaxed, but his eyes were cold.

Wei Qingsong was not surprised; without evidence, such things are hard to believe.

"It's alright, let's take our time."

Lu Jingming nodded slightly.

At this moment, Chen Jin and Xiao Song also came over, and Lu Jingming asked, "Have you found anything?"

Xiao Song, dejected, spoke first: "Zheng Xun was right. The surveillance cameras in the internet cafes in the old city are practically useless. I came here empty-handed and couldn't find that person."

"I extracted the internet cafe's identity registration records based on the login times of the three IPs, but I looked at the list carefully and there was no one named Zhu Zhixin on it."

Xiao Song looked very disappointed.

Captain Lu trusted him so much to do such an important thing, but he failed to do it well.

He was still young, having just graduated from police academy, and his worries were written all over his face. This mission was very important, and he felt extremely guilty for not being able to find the suspect's whereabouts.

Lu Jingming patted his shoulder and said calmly, "At least you brought back the list, so this trip wasn't entirely fruitless."

Xiao Song mumbled softly, "It's my fault for being useless; I couldn't find the suspect."

"You silly child, what nonsense are you talking about?" Wei Qingsong couldn't help but find it amusing, and gently comforted him, "At least now we have the identity registration information of the internet cafe. If we compare it carefully, there might be clues in it. This suspect is very cunning, so it's not your fault."

(End of this chapter)