I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 114 Criminal Profiling
Less than ten minutes later, Han Ling walked into the room with the documents: "Professor Yin."

People address Yin Yunliang in different ways; some call him Director Yin, others Expert Yin, while those who have attended his open lectures generally address him as Professor.

Yin Yunliang turned around and said with a smile, "Come, sit down."

He took the documents, placed them on his lap, and slowly began to peruse them.

sit?
They really came looking for me.

Han Ling stepped forward and sat down, looking at Yin Yunliang and waiting for him to continue.

The atmosphere was quiet, with only the sound of Yin Yunliang turning the pages in the room. After a long while, he spoke: "I originally came to the Gu'an branch to do a profile, but now that there's a case, let's do it again. Maybe it will be helpful."

"Profiling?" Han Ling asked in confusion. "Professor Yin, the Major Crimes Unit only has this one murder case so far. What are you referring to as the first profile you mentioned?"

Yin Yunliang looked up: "A profile of you."

Han Ling pointed at herself: "Me? I'm not a criminal."

"Hehe." Yin Yunliang laughed. "I meant character profiling, not criminal profiling. Let's save time. Want to hear about it? You should have learned about criminal psychology during your four years at police academy, right?"

Han Ling nodded: "Of course, please go ahead."

Yin Yunliang put down the documents in his hand, looked at him and said: "First of all, your law enforcement model is efficient but atypical. Both shots were fatal, far exceeding the training level of regular police officers. There was no warning and no hesitation, as if eliminating the threat was your only operating procedure."

The first sentence made Han Ling's gaze flicker.

Yin Yunliang continued, "Secondly, your perspective on solving cases is unique. You can get straight to the heart of the matter from tricky angles, as if you are instinctively peering into the criminals' thinking and understanding their psychological trajectory."

Thirdly, there is an emotional detachment; after killing the suspect, he remained unusually calm, somewhat like someone who has long been active in and coexisted with a violent environment.

Fourthly, in the police drill, setting fire to the film studio by exploiting loopholes in the rules indicates that the rules do not bind you much, and you subconsciously want to break free.

Let's just talk about personality. You have extreme instrumental rationality, you don't want to waste time understanding, and you tend to choose the lowest cost and most efficient solutions.

You may have killed someone, or killed someone multiple times in your dreams, or fantasized about killing someone countless times in your mind. This may be related to your childhood experience as an orphan.

Speaking of justice, I can't tell whether you advocate procedural justice or humanistic justice, but justice is definitely there, just a bit cold-blooded. As a police officer, this matter is of utmost importance; otherwise, I would really have to consider keeping a close eye on you.

What are your thoughts on what I've said above?

Throughout the entire conversation, Yin Yunliang maintained a smile and spoke in a calm tone, engaging in casual conversation without any aggression.

Han Ling remained outwardly calm, but inwardly she was surprised.

What the hell!

expert.

This is a true expert.

No matter the world, he has never underestimated anyone, including the police, of course.

There are quite a few formidable figures in the police force, and isn't this one one?

The two sides had never met, yet they inferred psychology from behavior and accurately portrayed a person's character based solely on a cold, written resume. They even vaguely touched upon a past life. This level of skill is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

The chief expert in criminal psychology at the provincial department, in other words... the most skilled criminal profiler in the entire Jiangyuan Province?

There is no profession called criminal profiler in the national police force, but profile skills have gradually been mastered by some senior investigators. The core of the technique lies in making predictions about the suspect's profile, thus narrowing down the scope of the police investigation.

To become an excellent criminal profiler, in addition to talent, professional knowledge and empathy are indispensable. This Yin Yunliang in front of us is definitely not someone to be trifled with.

Han Ling said helplessly, "Professor Yin, this isn't character profiling, it's criminal profiling! You're treating me like a criminal."

Yin Yunliang smiled and waved his hand: "No, no, you have a clean background, you graduated from the police academy, and you have performed excellently in your post over the past year. How could I possibly regard you as a criminal?"

From that simple sentence, Han Ling gleaned other information: the other party had thoroughly investigated him.

If a problem is found, it might not be just one person coming.

As a police officer, your profession is special, so you need to be more cautious in your actions. You never know who might be secretly watching your every move from some corner.

“What you said is basically correct.” After a moment of silence, Han Ling gave a positive response to Yin Yunliang’s profile.

We can't avoid the topic, nor can we deny it rashly. Since Yin Yunliang has come, he must have some confidence. In any case, his actions are all aimed at cracking down on illegal and criminal activities, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

Denying it would only make Yin Yunliang suspicious.

“I can understand.” Yin Yunliang’s voice remained kind throughout. “Growing up in an orphanage will definitely lead to some differences in personality compared to children from intact families. They have to shoulder everything on their own and bear all the grievances themselves, which can lead to paranoia.”

Han Ling lowered his head slightly and remained silent.

Yin Yunliang continued, "Fortunately, your obsession is positive, targeting only criminals. It's not a bad thing to hate evil, but we still have to abide by the rules in many situations."

Criminals are people who don't follow the rules. If the police also don't follow the rules, they're very close to the criminals, which is quite dangerous.

These words were pointed.

Han Ling pretended not to understand and said, "Professor Yin, rules have a certain degree of flexibility, right? Being too strict with the rules and limiting yourself within the framework is actually not conducive to criminal investigation, especially when facing suspects with high counter-investigation capabilities."

Yin Yunliang nodded with a smile: "What you said makes sense. He's very similar to Wu Bin from the Municipal Bureau. As long as the general direction is correct, a few flaws don't really matter, but..."

He looked at Han Ling, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

Han Ling said, "Professor Yin, please speak your mind, it's alright."

Yin Yunliang was silent for a while before speaking: "I won't ask about the specifics of the Weijiazhuang Village case; it's pointless. In future investigations, you should try your best to control your anger and not ruin your future because of the suspect's criminal behavior."

You are still young and have a bright future ahead of you. The police force is highly disciplined, so there's no need to let a moment of impulse send you back to square one.

I know several police officers who are similar to you in personality. They could have become excellent leaders in criminal investigation, but they were eventually transferred out of the front line for violating regulations, which was a great loss.

You should have attended my open lectures when you were at the police academy; I'm practically your teacher. Every word I just said was for your own good, and I hope you'll remember it.

Han Ling nodded: "Thank you for your guidance, Professor Yin. I will remember it." He sensed that the other party meant no harm, and he should still show respect.

As for his self-restraint, just listen to it; he's already been very restrained. If he had encountered someone like Cui Henian in his previous life, he would have died a terrible death.

Yin Yunliang hummed in agreement and picked up the case files in front of him: "Let's talk about Dai Bin's poisoning case next. What are your thoughts on this case?"

Han Ling: "I think it was done by the readers. The novel was the trigger. They were stimulated by a certain plot and developed a motive to kill."

Yin Yunliang smiled: "Would you like to work with me to create a criminal profile of the suspect?"
Large-scale investigations, surveillance, and interviews with the public are relatively inefficient methods. Perhaps we can try to narrow the scope of the investigation. When clues are scarce, profiling may be surprisingly effective.

Let's set aside the issue of accuracy for now; how will we know if we don't try? Make bold hypotheses and carefully verify them. When the results match the profile, you'll experience the allure of criminal psychology.

Han Ling became more serious: "I will learn from Professor Yin."

Yin Yunliang: "Let's learn from each other now. You know more about the details of the case than I do. First of all, do you agree that the man in the taxi is a suspect in this case?"

Han Ling: "Of course, too many coincidences lead to inevitability. The probability that this man is the suspect is over 90%."

Yin Yunliang nodded: "Okay, we have no objection to that. So the basic characteristics of the suspect have been determined: male, around fifty years old, unkempt."

So why did he become so unkempt? His behavior reflects his psychology; he no longer cared about his outward appearance.

Han Ling understood that the other person was referring to the suspect's unshaven appearance. After thinking for a moment, she said, "He seems to be having emotional problems. Perhaps there has been a major change in his life?"

Yin Yunliang raised his finger in affirmation: "This is the key. You just said that the suspect may be a reader of the victim, and I personally agree. So the nature of this case can be described as a crime committed by a stranger."

If a stranger is motivated to kill and acts on it, it indicates that his or her psyche is abnormal, or that something has caused his or her psyche to become abnormal, exhibiting strong paranoia and aggression, a black-and-white worldview, and a loss of empathy.

Moving on to the next point, judging from the fact that it would take a long time to investigate Dai Bin to pinpoint his exact location, and considering his behavior, could we conclude that he didn't have a stable intimate relationship in his life, or perhaps he did have one in the past but it ended?

Han Ling agreed: "It makes sense. Extreme loneliness and a narrow social circle."

Yin Yunliang: "Do you think a man around fifty years old is married?"

Han Ling said, "Of course, the possibility of marriage is greater, but... it is also possible that he will not get married. If he has personality flaws since childhood, it will be very difficult for him to enter into marriage as an adult."

Yin Yunliang: "Is this important?"

Han Ling: "What do you mean?"

Yin Yunliang smiled and said, "Let's skip that topic for now and talk about the motive. The suspect's motive is currently ambiguous and cannot be determined. If the suspect is a reader, what is the most likely motive?"

Han Ling replied, "The plot of the novel was the trigger, and I have my thoughts on that."

The victim, Dai Bin, wrote his wife, Xiao Yuxuan, into his novel as a supporting female character named Xiao Yu. Near the end, Xiao Yu died by suicide, which led to countless negative reviews.

"Could this be related to the motive for the crime?"

Yin Yunliang quickly integrated the new information, thought for several seconds, and said, "The female supporting character in the novel you mentioned is very important. Let's assume that Xiao Yu's death is positively correlated with the motive for the crime, and then we'll consider the new questions."

The suspect murdered author Dai Bin because of Xiao Yu's death, indicating that Xiao Yu was very important to the suspect. But a novel is just a novel; even if he harbored resentment, it wouldn't lead to murder, unless he was possessed. Do you understand what I mean?

At this point in the conversation, Han Ling noticed that Yin Yunliang's discussion style was mainly guiding. Was he assessing his own abilities?

“I understand.” He nodded. “Xiao Yu is a fictional character, but she was created by Dai Bin based on a real person. For Dai Bin, Xiao Yu is both fictional and real. Conversely, for the suspect, Xiao Yu is a fictional character, but she may have connected with reality, which is why she is obsessed.”

Yin Yunliang was very satisfied: "Yes, following this line of thought, Xiao Yu has a real-life prototype for Dai Bin, and also a real-life prototype for the suspect. Is it possible that the prototypes come from the same person?"

Han Ling thought for a moment and shook his head: "The possibility is low. Xiao Yuxuan's investigation is handled by our team. Her interpersonal relationships are very simple after marriage. If there are any problems, they can only come from before marriage and from people who have lost contact for a long time."

Yin Yunliang: "Profiling can offer multiple possibilities. First, Xiao Yu's real-life prototype is based on Xiao Yuxuan. Second, Xiao Yu's real-life prototype is based on two different people."

We will discuss the second possibility: Xiao Yu's real-life prototype comes from two different people, codenamed A, and female.

As mentioned earlier, the suspect lacks a stable intimate relationship or the relationship has ended. Now, considering the possibility of an end to the relationship, based on the above assumptions, what do you think caused the end?

Han Ling began, "Breakup, divorce, disappearance, death, etc., with disappearance or death being the most likely possibilities."

Yin Yunliang smiled: "The portrait is clearer now. It shows a male, around fifty years old, with a female relative who has passed away, and it is very likely that he died under abnormal circumstances."

A was extremely important to the suspect, even more important than his own life.

Han Ling continued, "He accidentally came across Dai Bin's novel and found that the female supporting character Xiao Yu was very similar to A. He became obsessed with the novel and couldn't extricate himself from it, fantasizing that A was still alive. This is what is called being obsessed."

When Dai Bin wrote Xiao Yu's death, the suspect couldn't accept it; it felt as if A had died a second time.

When A died for the first time, the suspect had no outlet for his anger. But when A died for the second time, an outlet appeared. The murderer who killed A was the author, Dai Bin. He wanted revenge and venting his anger, and even projected the anger and helplessness of A's first death onto Dai Bin.

This person has gone mad.

Yin Yunliang took a light breath and said, "Judging from Xiao Yu's age and daily experience, she is unlikely to be the suspect's wife. There weren't that many entertainment venues decades ago."

Han Ling: "Daughter."

Yin Yunliang: "What's the suspect's accent?"

Han Ling: "According to the taxi driver, there is a slight difference between his accent and that of Qingchang City, but the difference is not significant. He should be from Qingchang or Jiangyuan, in short, within the province."

It's perfectly normal for accents to vary slightly between different districts and counties within the same city.

The two looked at each other and reached a consensus.

The profiling is basically complete.

The investigation covers all eligible women who died unnaturally in recent years, including those in Qingchang, the surrounding areas, and even the entire Gangwon province.

……

P.S.: I updated 4,000 words today. I took my family out for a walk and I'm very tired. I'll resume normal updates tomorrow and make up for the missed updates.

(End of this chapter)