A perfect crime? To me, it's full of flaws!

H City Public Security Bureau, Conference Room 1.

The air was as stuffy as a sponge that had absorbed all the water.

The ashtray was crammed with twisted cigarette butts, and bluish-gray smoke swirled slowly under the incandescent light.

Gong Jianping sat at the head of the oval conference table, his face ashen.

The head of the H City Bureau sat beside him, his back ramrod straight, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

Qi Feng was not qualified to sit at the table.

He was seated in a corner near the water dispenser, in a folding chair.

He crossed his legs, idly twirling a ballpoint pen he'd swiped from the nurses' station in his hand, but his eyes were fixed on the projection screen in front of him.

Zhao Gang, captain of the criminal investigation team in H City, stood by the curtain, his eyes red and his voice hoarse as he reported on the case.

"The nature of the case is extremely heinous." Zhao Gang pressed the laser pointer, and a series of gruesome crime scene photos appeared on the screen. "Within half a month, three pregnant women were murdered. The cause of death was the same: their carotid arteries were severed by a sharp weapon, a single fatal stab. What's most appalling is..."

Zhao Gang paused, then gritted his teeth: "After committing the crime, the suspect cruelly cut open the victim's abdomen and removed the fetus. No embryonic tissue was left at the scene."

Several heavy breaths echoed in the conference room. Even the police officers, who were used to seeing life and death, couldn't help but feel physically nauseous when they saw these photos.

"The suspect possesses extremely strong counter-surveillance awareness." Zhao Gang pulled up several blurry surveillance videos. "The crimes all occurred late at night, and the locations were chosen in blind spots of the surveillance cameras. In these videos captured by the peripheral surveillance cameras, the suspect was wearing a large black raincoat, a mask, and a baseball cap throughout, so his face was not visible. Based on his stride and reference points, his height is estimated to be around 170 centimeters, and he has a slender build."

Qi Feng stopped spinning his pen and leaned forward slightly.

Zhao Gang continued, "Comrade Lin Haitang was injured during last night's entrapment operation. She volunteered to disguise herself as a pregnant woman fishing alone in an area where the suspect might appear. However, the suspect saw through her disguise and launched a surprise attack. The suspect's knife strike was extremely fast, and although Comrade Haitang reacted quickly and avoided vital organs, she was still stabbed twice. The suspect then used the complex terrain to escape."

Qi Feng raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this.

Volunteering? Pretending to be pregnant to go fishing?

Qi Feng cursed inwardly: This stupid woman usually seems quite smart, how come she's become so dim-witted after going to the grassroots level? Is the suspect a computer program? There are so many policewomen in H City, how could the suspect remember the faces of each one? The reason of bringing in a complete stranger from out of town is too far-fetched.

But then he thought about it again and instantly understood.

In the S City "Doll Corpse Case," Lin Haitang shone brightly, but aside from kicking that pervert at the end, she was practically a background character. With her aloof and strong-willed nature, how could she possibly swallow this insult?

If someone who's always been a lazy bum, whom she considers "unreliable," can do it, why can't she? She's eager to make a name for herself in H City and prove herself.

"Damn competitive drive." Qi Feng sighed silently.

"There are two directions for the investigation at present," Zhao Gang summarized. "First, conduct trace evidence analysis on the fragments of the murder weapon left at the scene to investigate the purchase channels. Second, once Comrade Lin Haitang regains consciousness, question her to see if she clearly saw the physical characteristics of the suspect during the struggle."

The report concluded. A deathly silence fell over the meeting room.

These two approaches, frankly speaking, are standard procedures; all we can do is wait. But in this kind of serial heinous crime, waiting means there's a possibility of a fourth victim.

Gong Jianping tapped his fingers lightly on the table, "tap, tap, tap," each sound striking the hearts of the police officers in H City.

He scanned the room, his gaze cold and sharp: "That's all?"

Zhao Gang lowered his head: "Director Gong, the suspect was too cautious and didn't leave any evidence at the scene, so..."

"Qi Feng." Gong Jianping suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but it was like a thunderclap in the quiet conference room.

What do you think?

Swish-!

A dozen pairs of eyes instantly swept across the conference table and landed on the young man sitting by the water dispenser in the corner.

The police officers in H City looked at each other in bewilderment. Who was this kid? When Director Gong brought him in earlier, everyone thought he was an internal affairs officer or secretary from the provincial department, who hadn't even managed to get a proper seat. Why was the director personally appointing him now?

Qi Feng showed no signs of stage fright. He casually tossed his pen into the paper cup beside him and stood up.

He strode to the conference table, meeting everyone's gaze, and placed his hands on the tabletop, his eyes sharp as a newly sharpened knife.

"Two things," Qi Feng said calmly, without wasting a single word. "First, the suspect isn't male, it's a woman. Second, immediately have someone take me to the crime scenes of all three cases."

As soon as he finished speaking, a low murmur rippled through the conference room.

Zhao Gang frowned, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes. Some nobody, some greenhorn, had overturned their previous assessment with just a few words?

"Women?" Zhao Gang couldn't help but question, "Comrade Qi, although the three victims were pregnant, there were obvious signs of struggle at the scene. The suspect was able to quickly subdue them and perform a precise abdominal dissection, so his strength and mental fortitude are definitely not weak. What makes you so certain they were women?"

Qi Feng ignored Zhao Gang and went straight to the control panel, directing the police officer in charge of playing the video.

"Go back." Qi Feng said, operating the controls while keeping an eye on the screen. "Play the first video clip, 29 seconds."

The image freezes. It shows the suspect standing in the shadows under a streetlamp, seemingly waiting for something.

"Watch for 1 minute and 01 second."

The screen changes.

"The second video clip, at 37 seconds and 42 seconds."

"Third video clip, 7 seconds in."

Qi Feng cut out five frames in succession and froze them all.

He turned to the people around the conference table: "Ladies and gentlemen, pay attention to the suspect's hand movements. When she's waiting for her prey or checking her surroundings, she has a subconscious, habitual action—looking at her fingernails."

Everyone squinted at the screen. Indeed, at each of these specific moments, the man in black raised his right hand, seemingly examining his fingernails.

"What does that prove?" a veteran detective asked, puzzled. "Men also have the habit of trimming their nails."

"It's about the posture of looking at your fingernails." Qi Feng's lips curled into a cold smile. "Everyone, now, please raise your hands and look at your own fingernails."

The people in the conference room were stunned for a moment, then subconsciously did as instructed.

Zhao Gang raised his hand, his five fingers naturally curled up, his palm facing inward, and his gaze fell on his fingernails.

Without exception, all the other male police officers were in the same posture.

Qi Feng pointed to the screen: "Did you see that clearly? When the suspect looked at his fingernails, his palm was facing outward, the back of his hand was facing inward, and his five fingers were stretched outward."

Qi Feng made the exact same gesture as the suspect.

"In behavioral psychology, this is a typical female physiological habit and subconscious action," Qi Feng said firmly. "Because when women look at their nails, they usually do so to appreciate the manicure or the slenderness of their fingers, so they tend to extend their fingers outwards. Men, on the other hand, look at their nails purely to check if they need trimming, so they subconsciously clench their fists."

The meeting room was deathly silent.

Zhao Gang abruptly raised his head, staring intently at the magnified image on the screen. Sure enough, the hand encased in the black glove was clearly outstretched!

This tiny detail, which almost everyone overlooked, became the key to breaking the deadlock!

The way the police officers in H City looked at Qi Feng completely changed. Gone was the contempt; only shock and an indescribable admiration remained.

Is this kid's eye a microscope?!

"The suspect is likely female." Gong Jianping's voice broke the silence. He made the final decision, "Zhao Gang, immediately adjust the investigation direction! This guy is a psychopath!"

"Yes!" Zhao Gang stood up abruptly, his voice booming.

Gong Jianping turned to look at Qi Feng, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes, but his tone remained stern: "Find someone to take Qi Feng to a few crime scenes. Qi Feng, I only care about the results."

"Understood." Qi Feng nodded.

He understood the look Gong Jianping gave him. For the sake of the people, and for the sake of his injured daughter, he was telling Qi Feng to go ahead and do it!

Ten minutes later, a police car sped out of the H City Public Security Bureau compound.

The driver was Xiao Liu, the policewoman who had been waiting in the hospital corridor earlier. She would occasionally peek at Qi Feng sitting in the back seat through the rearview mirror, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Consultant Qi," Xiao Liu couldn't help but ask, "which site should we go to first?"

"The most recent one. The third crime scene, an abandoned auto parts factory in the west of the city." Qi Feng leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes to rest.

Half an hour later, the police car stopped outside a desolate industrial area.

The area was cordoned off, and a faint smell of blood mixed with the pungent odor of disinfectant lingered in the air.

Qi Feng pushed open the car door, crossed the cordon, and stepped onto the cement ground covered with oil stains and gravel.

"The scene has been examined three times already." Xiao Liu followed behind, flipping through the notebook. "Aside from the victim's bloodstains and signs of struggle, no valuable footprints or fingerprints could be extracted. The suspect has extremely strong counter-surveillance capabilities; he even used bleach to clean the core area."

Qi Feng remained silent.

He stood in the center of the empty factory building of the auto parts factory, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

In my mind, the system's crisp notification sound rang out precisely on time.

[Ding! Host detected at crime scene. Skill "My Eyes Are a Ruler" LV3 activated.]

[Horizon Rewind (Beginner) is ready.]