Anti-gang campaign: Female bureau chief

Ding Hai's cell phone signal entered the old city area in the east of the city at 9:40 pm on the night Su Nian was killed and left at 10:35 pm, staying for nearly an hour, which perfectly matches the time of death estimated by the forensic doctor.

More importantly, the signal did not immediately shut down after leaving the old city. Instead, it circled around several alleys in the east of the city and finally stopped near an abandoned construction site in the north of the city before finally shutting down completely.

"He didn't flee immediately after the incident; instead, he drove around the city for a while."

Jiang Ruolan pointed to the tracks on the map, "He knows every alley in Yi'an, and knows where there are surveillance cameras and where there aren't."

The purpose of circling around wasn't to reach a specific destination, but rather to evade surveillance and create gaps in the network. This person possesses a certain level of counter-surveillance ability.

"Moreover, the lipstick he bought has the exact same ingredients as the lipstick mark left on Su Nian's lips."

Lu Zheng added, "The task force checked Su Nian's shopping records. The same lipstick she bought was purchased at the end of last year and has almost been used up after half a year."

Ding Hai placed the order in May of this year, which means that Su Nian had already owned the same lipstick for several months when he bought it.

This was no coincidence—he knew Su Nian used this brand and this shade, and he deliberately bought the same one.

Jiang Ruolan remained silent for a while.

A man deliberately bought the same lipstick as his victim, applied it to his lips before and after the murder, and then forcibly kissed the lips of a girl who was dying or had already died—the symbolic meaning of this act far outweighs its practical significance.

He wasn't covering up evidence; he was leaving his signature. He was declaring in the most twisted way:

This person belongs to me. This lipstick is the embodiment of his morbid possessiveness.

Three years ago, when he left the same lipstick mark on Fang Zhiqing's lips, Su Nian was still in high school. So the "ritual" of this lipstick was originally designed for Fang Zhiqing. Su Nian simply replicated this ritual after he moved on to a new target.

"His counter-surveillance awareness doesn't seem to be something he acted on spur of the moment."

Jiang Ruolan sat down and opened Ding Hai's only paper file—a record of his statement when he was administratively detained for theft in Shiqiao County when he was eighteen years old.

She flipped through the yellowed file twice, her gaze suddenly lingering on a detail.

The file had a photo from that time attached. In the photo, Ding Hai was thin, gloomy, and had shifty eyes, not much different from most petty thugs who were entering the police station for the first time.

But one passage in the statement caught her attention—when the police officer handling the case asked Ding Hai why he stole the copper wire from the hardware store, Ding Hai's answer was:

"My boss cursed at me, calling me a bastard without a father. I'll show him that even bastards aren't to be trifled with."

This retaliatory criminal impulse arising from verbal humiliation, after further personality distortion and alienation in adulthood, can very well evolve into a complex criminal motive intertwined with morbid hatred and possessiveness towards a specific group of women.

"He was taken to his stepfather's house by his mother during his childhood, and he likely suffered continuous belittling and humiliation during his upbringing."

He was unusually sensitive to being looked down upon, and women—especially those more accomplished than him who rejected him—became his ideal targets for venting this hatred and proving his own power.

Jiang Ruolan closed the file and said to Lu Zheng, "Fang Zhiqing and Su Nian are both girls with gentle personalities and excellent academic performance. They are easy to notice in a crowd and can easily arouse the twisted possessiveness in some people's hearts."

Why did Ding Hai disappear for three years after killing Fang Zhiqing? Where was he during those three years? Why has he suddenly reappeared now?

And why choose to commit the crime in Ngee Ann? His activity range should be between New South Wales and Stonebridge; Ngee Ann city proper is a relatively unfamiliar environment for him—unless he had a compelling reason to come to Ngee Ann.

"It's also possible that he's always been in Yi'an."

Lu Zheng said, "His mother's household registration is in Shiqiao. Although his stepfather has passed away, his mother still lives in Shiqiao."

We checked his mother's address; it's on an old street in Chengguan Town, Shiqiao County. Should we go there?

"Go. But before you go—"

Jiang Ruolan picked up the phone on the table and dialed Zhou Pei's number.

"Zhou Pei, help me investigate someone. Ding Hai, male, 31 years old, from New Jersey."

He worked for Longsheng Trading Co., Ltd. in New South Wales three years ago, but his social security contributions stopped after the company was dissolved.

I suspect he may not have been in the province for the past three years—check all accommodation registrations, temporary residence registrations, and transportation ticket purchase records for those who have used the name "Ding Hai" in cities and counties outside the province over the past three years.

If that can't be found, then check if his mother and stepfather have any relatives outside the province; he might have gone to live with a relative.

After hanging up the phone, she drove with Lu Zheng and a criminal investigation technician to Chengguan Town, Shiqiao County.

This is her third time coming to Shiqiao in six months—the first time was to apprehend Tang Yuanqing, the second time was for the tailings pollution case in Chenjiagou mining area, and this time it is to find the growth trajectory of a serial murder suspect.

Ding Hai's mother is named He Guifang. She is fifty-six years old and lives in a low brick house on the old street of Chengguan Town.

This old street bears a striking resemblance to the old town east of Nghe An – both are dilapidated, both are deserted, and both exude a sense of desolation as if abandoned by the times.

Most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, and the lettering on the signs was blurred by the rain. Only a grocery store and a barbershop were still barely open.

He Guifang's house is at the end of the street. There are several stacks of waste cardboard and plastic bottles piled up at the door, and a row of dried orange peels are drying on the windowsill.

Jiang Ruolan knocked on the door twice, and there was a rustling sound inside. Then the door opened a crack.

An old and thin face peeked out from the crack in the door, with deep-set eyes, high cheekbones, and hair that was completely white at the roots, with only a few strands of black hair remaining at the ends.

She doesn't look fifty-six; she looks more like seventy.

Who are you looking for?

He Guifang's voice was hoarse and wary. Her gaze swept over Jiang Ruolan's police uniform. Instead of opening the door, the crack in the door narrowed even more.

"Aunt He, I'm from the Yi'an City Public Security Bureau. I'd like to ask you about some things concerning your son, Ding Hai."

Jiang Ruolan's tone was calm and not at all oppressive.

He Guifang's expression changed slightly when she heard the name "Ding Hai," but she quickly returned to her blank expression.

She opened the door halfway and stepped aside to let Jiang Ruolan into the room.

The room was small, about ten square meters, and the furniture was all old stuff from the 1970s and 80s, but it was very clean. There was a faded plastic tablecloth on the table, and a piece of floral cloth covered the old sewing machine in the corner.

The most eye-catching thing is a photo hanging on the wall—a young woman holding a baby, standing in front of a field of rapeseed flowers, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

..............