We asked you to solve cases, and here you are sharing your criminal experiences?

The tree-lined paths of Jiangcheng University are covered with a thick layer of autumn leaves.

The tires of the off-road vehicle crunched over the dead leaves, making a soft, rustling sound.

The car came to a smooth stop in front of the sociology department's teaching and research building.

Song Qianxia slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and reluctantly pushed open the car door.

I looked around and saw the college students hurrying by with their books.

This place, filled with a strong academic atmosphere, made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

In her past life, she had been working in the underground black market of Cyrillic continent since she was a teenager, and she had never even seen what a university gate looked like.

Although the original owner of the body, Song Qianxia, ​​graduated from the police academy, her academic record was appalling.

"Captain Gu, do we really have to come here?" Song Qianxia pouted. "The food in the university cafeteria is awful, it's completely bland."

Gu Tingchen locked the car door and walked ahead.

"When you go inside, you'd better stop acting like a beggar."

He even turned back and gave her a warning look.

"Observe and listen more, speak less. Cheng Yan is not an ordinary professor, but a specially appointed psychology expert."

Song Qianxia put her hands in her hoodie pockets and obediently followed him upstairs to the second floor.

The door to the teaching and research office was half-closed.

A very faint aroma of tea wafted out from under the door.

"Please come in." A gentle voice came from inside.

Song Qianxia peeked inside.

This is a very spacious private office with a huge solid wood tea table in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

Several powerful and vigorous calligraphy works are hanging on the wall.

Cheng Yan was sitting in front of the tea table, slowly washing a set of purple clay teaware.

He was wearing a gray turtleneck cashmere sweater and frameless glasses perched on his nose.

In his early forties, he was very well-maintained, with a refined and elegant demeanor, like a highly cultured traditional scholar.

There was absolutely no trace of any dark or sinister atmosphere associated with the underworld.

That old fox is really good at hiding his true colors; his mastery of the professor persona is unparalleled.

Song Qianxia snorted coldly in her heart.

"Captain Gu, what a rare guest! What brings you to my humble research office today?"

Cheng Yan put down the tea tongs in his hand and smiled as he invited them to sit down.

His gaze lingered on Song Qianxia's face for two seconds, quite naturally.

"Is this a new face in the Major Crimes Unit? He looks very young."

"Technical consultant Song Qianxia," Gu Tingchen introduced succinctly.

Song Qianxia immediately forced a perfectly fake silly smile.

"Hello Professor Cheng! I'm just a handyman, I came out with Captain Gu to broaden my horizons."

The three of them took their seats.

Cheng Yan used tweezers to pick up two teacups, rinsed them with boiling water, and pushed them in front of them.

Gu Tingchen didn't touch the cup, his back was ramrod straight, and he got straight to the point.

"Professor Cheng, we recently came across a case. We'd like to hear your professional analysis from a social psychology perspective."

Cheng Yan leaned back in his chair, his hands crossed on his knees.

"Captain Gu, please go ahead."

Gu Tingchen briefly explained the setting of the crime school and the mass production of imitators.

The specific names of Night Owl and Thousand Faces were omitted; it was only mentioned that someone was running a training course on the dark web, teaching people how to imitate the crimes of a well-known criminal.

Cheng Yan listened attentively, occasionally nodding thoughtfully.

After Gu Tingchen finished speaking, he pushed up his glasses.

"In criminal psychology, this is called the collective resonance of antisocial personality disorder."

Cheng Yan's voice was calm and his pace was unhurried, just like he was giving a lecture to a student.

"They created a virtual system of rules that allowed marginalized groups to find a sense of belonging within it."

"They alleviate their guilt by imitating a legendary figure, even glorifying their criminal acts."

At this point, Cheng Yan picked up his teacup and gently blew on the steam.

"Just like that legendary assassin from back then, Thousand Faces."

Song Qianxia just picked up her teacup and took a big gulp.

Upon hearing the name, she suddenly coughed.

Gu Tingchen tore off two tissues and handed them to her, but his gaze remained fixed on Cheng Yan's face.

"Professor Cheng is also knowledgeable about the underworld?"

Cheng Yan smiled very openly and harmlessly.

"Social researchers always have to pay attention to extreme crime cases. A thousand faces is a sign; it's not surprising that someone wants to possess another's body."

He turned to look at Song Qianxia, ​​who was still coughing.

"Are you alright? This tea is a bit hot."

Song Qianxia quickly covered her mouth with a tissue.

"It's nothing, it's nothing, I just choked a little."

She continued Cheng Yan's words, feigning the gossipy expression of a bystander.

"The professor is absolutely right! This is just the same kind of publicity stunt used in the entertainment industry and fan circles!"

"If you lack ability, you try to ride the coattails of influential figures. You use their names as a gimmick to scam fools into paying your tuition!"

"This kind of bloodsucking to climb to the top is utterly shameless!"

Cheng Yan looked at her, a quick glint in his eyes.

"This analogy is very interesting. Indeed, in the information age, a reputation itself is an asset that can be monetized."

For the next ten minutes or so, the two went back and forth.

Cheng Yan's answer was watertight.

It is all a reasonable academic analysis, and there is not a single flaw that can be questioned.

He even proactively provided the police with some psychological models for tracking marginalized groups.

Gu Tingchen knew that he wouldn't get any substantial information from the resident if he stayed any longer.

He stood up and took his leave.

Song Qianxia could also see that this man's skill in treating the police like monkeys had reached its peak, so she quickly followed him out of the teaching and research office.

Back in the car.

Song Qianxia let out a long breath and slumped in the passenger seat.

"Captain Gu, this professor's theories are really overwhelming me."

Gu Tingchen started the car and turned the steering wheel.

"The more meticulous he is, the bigger the problem. He's wary of us."

The SUV drove back to the municipal bureau and came to a smooth stop in the yard.

Xiao Wang from the technical department rushed over with his hair all messy.

He was holding a tablet computer high in his hand, as if it were some rare treasure.

"Captain Gu! A major breakthrough!"

Xiao Wang was so excited that his voice cracked, and he shouted loudly in the yard.

Gu Tingchen immediately pushed open the door and got out of the car.

"What did you find out?"

"Data on Meng Xiaoqing before she went missing!"

Xiao Wang was out of breath from running.

"Old Chen led us through the whole morning, forcibly bypassing the physical isolation of the cloud."

"Finally, we pieced together a fragmented phone recording from the cached data!"

The group quickly walked into the main office of the Major Crimes Unit.

Old Zheng and Lin Wan immediately came over as well.

Xiao Wang connected the tablet to the external speaker on the large screen.

I pressed the play button.

The recording quality was very poor, with a lot of static and noise.

A girl's panicked sobs could be heard coming from inside.

"I've already mailed the items! You promised to protect them!"

In the background, there's the sound of howling wind and the piercing horns of heavy trucks.

Meng Xiaoqing's voice trembled violently.

"The people over in Xinghai have discovered I've tampered with things! They're looking for me everywhere! Send someone to pick me up right now!"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then came a mechanical voice that had been heavily distorted by a voice changer.

Short and cold, devoid of any emotion.

"Um."

The call was then unilaterally cut off.

The recording ended, and the large office was deathly silent.

Song Qianxia rested her chin on her hand, her brain racing.

She walked straight to Xiao Wang's computer and grabbed the keyboard.

"Meng Xiaoqing did not call the police or ask us for help at all."

Song Qianxia's fingers pounded loudly on the keyboard, bringing up a bunch of data windows.

"She knew how murky things were at the Xinghai Foundation, and she felt that the police were too slow in following procedures and couldn't protect her at all."

She pointed to the audio voiceprint analysis diagram on the screen.

"So she found an underground third-party force that thought it could rival Xinghai."

"She used those original account copies that she hadn't had time to destroy as a pledge to save her life."

Old Zheng slammed his fist on the table in anger, making the coffee cup shake violently.

"How foolish! This girl sent the stuff to the underworld; isn't she just asking for trouble?!"

Song Qianxia ignored Lao Zheng's irritable complaints.

Stare at the scrolling code on the screen.

Tracking that virtual number was extremely difficult; the other party used seven or eight overseas servers as stepping stones.

It requires continuous reverse parsing.

After a full ten minutes, Song Qianxia pressed the Enter key heavily.

"Found it."

"This virtual number is linked to an anonymous same-city delivery platform."

"On the night she went missing, Meng Xiaoqing used a smart locker on the roadside to send a package."

Gu Tingchen immediately walked behind her and placed one hand on the table.

"Where is the mailing address?"

Song Qianxia clicked on the final tracking record of the electronic express delivery slip. As long as she found that package, she could obtain irrefutable evidence to bring down the Xinghai Foundation!

All eyes were focused on the line of black text.

After Song Qianxia saw the address clearly, her fingers suddenly froze.