Film and Television: My Cheat Code is AI

Ji Jie stood at the school gate when Xiao Xue came out carrying a suitcase. Xiao Xue smiled broadly when she saw Ji Jie. After putting the suitcase away, Ji Jie drove home.

Xiaoxue said with a smile in the car, "I thought you weren't coming!"

Ji Jie said, "Do I look like the kind of person who doesn't keep their word?"

Xiaoxue said, "It's so-so."

"You little punk," Ji Jie said, "still gotta keep your mouth shut."

Xiaoxue seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Weren't you working on the case? Aren't you busy today?"

Ji Jie was taken aback, and said in a slightly off tone, "It's nothing, it's a small case, taking you on is more important."

Xiaoxue then asked, "Have you heard anything from Jiajia lately?"

Ji Jie said with a smile, "She called and said she's doing well at Dad's new house and has transferred to a new school. She even asked how you are."

Xiaoxue said, "Thank you, and I'll say hello to her too. I miss her quite a bit."

Ji Jie said, "Then shall I take you to see her?"

"No need," Xiaoxue said. "Let's talk about it after I get into university next year. Don't let me affect your work."

"My job now is to pick you up and take you home."

That evening, only Yang Zhen and Zhang Yang were in the office of the Major Crimes Unit 6.

It's their turn to be on duty tonight.

Around 1 a.m., the office phone suddenly rang. Yang Zhen thought it was about a case, but it turned out to be Ji Jie.

Ji Jie hung up the phone after only a few words. Zhang Yang said, "Was that Sister Ji's call? Why don't you call her back?"

Yang Zhen nodded and called back, "Why are you playing this midnight horror game with me so late at night?"

Ji Jie didn't say anything, so Yang Zhen continued, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"What I want to say is that... actually, Xiaoxue doesn't know Ma Hongsheng."

"Ji Jie, please stop torturing yourself over Xiao Xue's matter, okay?" Yang Zhen said. "I have something important to report to you tomorrow."

"Stop joking."

"You're the detective, I have to obey your orders," Yang Zhen said. "Now you should take a nice bath and go to sleep. If you can't sleep, count sheep or stars. If you still can't sleep, I'll send you sleeping pills."

"Get lost," Ji Jie said with a laugh. "Okay, see you tomorrow then."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yang leaned over and said, "Wow, you two chatted for quite a while."

Yang Zhen said, "Perfect, take a look at this."

Zhang Yang recognized the residence as belonging to one of the victims in the Ma Hongsheng series of cases. He said, "You mean the suspect's psychological safety zone is within three kilometers?"

Yang Zhen nodded.

[The psychological safe zone refers to the area or environment that a criminal suspect feels is familiar, easily controlled, and unlikely to be detected when committing a crime. It is usually closely related to the suspect's life experience, work area, and daily activity patterns, such as the vicinity of their residence, their commute route, or places they have previously scouted. Within this area, the suspect believes they have sufficient control over factors such as terrain, crowds, and the distribution of surveillance cameras, enabling them to quickly escape and conceal their tracks after committing the crime, thus reducing their tension and the risk of being discovered. In case investigation, analyzing the suspect's psychological safe zone helps determine their modus operandi and activity range, thereby narrowing down the scope of the investigation.]

After Zhang Yang finished speaking, Yang Zhen said, "That's right, Ma Hongsheng would feel much safer in this area, but in Jiajia's case, the safe zone has shifted, and it's now in this area."

Looking at the map, Zhang Yang said, "Brother Yang, I didn't expect you to be so amazing."

Yang Zhen checked the time and said, "Alright, go and rest. It's so late, there probably aren't any cases left."

Zhang Yang arrived at his dorm, quickly washed up, and lay down, beginning to analyze the case in his mind using Deep Blue.

[Ma Hongsheng, the suspect in the series of rapes of woman Y, has had his psychological safe zone identified, and behavioral pattern analysis has begun...]

[Geographical scope: Within a three-kilometer radius of the bus route. This area has a high density of older residential communities, and four of the five cases involved occurred within this area. The other location, though slightly further away, is still along the same bus route and is no more than a twenty-minute walk away. Overall assessment: The suspect has a high degree of familiarity with this area, and their daily activity patterns highly overlap with the bus route.]

[Analysis of Entry Methods: This area consists mostly of older residential communities built in the early 1990s, with numerous entrances and exits without access control, and a lack of registration systems for visitors and vehicles. Commercial services within the communities are primarily provided by street-front shops, with itinerant vendors and service personnel frequently entering and exiting. The suspect's ability to repeatedly enter different communities without alerting property management or residents strongly suggests he was posing as one of the following professions: water deliveryman, milkman, appliance repairman, gas meter reader, courier, or construction worker. These professions typically involve uniforms or tools, providing the objective means for entry without registration, and their predictable behavior patterns mean residents wouldn't be particularly wary of their presence in hallways or unit entrances.]

[Analysis of the reconnaissance pattern: After entering the target residential area, the suspect primarily observed girls aged seven to twelve who were walking home from school alone or spending time outdoors alone. Their observation time likely coincided closely with the school dismissal times. The suspect would use professional disguise to linger in the residential area for extended periods, during which time they would select targets and confirm escape routes. Older residential areas often have semi-open spaces with many obstructions to the view, such as bicycle sheds, storage rooms, and unused flower beds, which facilitate concealed observation and rapid escape after the crime.]

[Supplementary characteristics: The series of cases two years ago and the current cases share a high degree of consistency in modus operandi, but the suspect's psychological safety zone has shifted significantly. Early cases were concentrated in older residential areas along the southern section of the bus route, while the current cases show a shift in the psychological safety zone towards the northern section. The crime scenes remain concentrated in older residential areas along the same bus route. This indicates that the suspect's reliance on this bus route remains unchanged—it is still a frequently used commuting route in his daily life. However, his core activity area may have shifted due to changes in residence, job, or the pressure of investigations two years ago. Overall assessment: The suspect's current residence or workplace is highly likely within a three-kilometer radius of the northern section of the bus route. His occupation or living environment allows him to frequently enter and exit multiple residential areas without arousing suspicion, and his workload is not heavy, allowing ample time for preliminary reconnaissance and post-crime covert operations.]

Unable to sleep, Zhang Yang got up and tried to deduce the answer given by Shen Lan in his mind. Many old residential areas don't have access control systems, and there are basically no security cameras, let alone those built around 2000. Back then, only very high-end residential areas had surveillance cameras; other places didn't have them at all.

After writing down his reasoning on the paper, Zhang Yang felt dizzy and began to fall asleep.

The next morning, Zhang Yang arrived at the office with a steamed bun in his hand.

Yang Zhen sat there, looking as if he hadn't slept all night.

A little while later, Ji Jie arrived, walked to her desk, put down her bag, and said, "I'm so sorry, I bought breakfast for Xiaoxue, so I'm a little late."

Yang Zhen said, "Let's go to the conference room. Zhang Yang, you come too."

When Zhang Yang arrived in the morning, he presented Yang Zhen with the results of DeepBlue's analysis from the previous night, presenting them as his own.