In the police station, Ji Qiuhan sat in front of the desk, absentmindedly gazing at the newly sprouting branches and leaves falling outside the window. The withered branches of winter began to revive, gradually shedding their dullness and sprouting crystalline new greenery. The tiny, winding veins on the leaves reflected small patches of silver-white sunlight.

Su Xiaona slid off her chair and tilted her head, looking at him in confusion.

"Brother Ji... it seems like you've been daydreaming a lot these past few days..."

Subconsciously, Ji Qiuhuan pressed the phone on the table, and the screen faintly lit up, revealing an empty message interface.

"Have the transcripts of those people been completed?"

As soon as Su Xiaona heard about the transcript, her ears perked up instantly.

Why do they always push all the troublesome matters to Group Three? It's going to take forever to ask those involved in the fight, numbering around a couple hundred people...

Ji Qiuhuan took out a box of jelly from the drawer and gave it to her. Su Xiaona immediately smiled happily. When the others in the group saw this, they complained, "Captain Ji is too biased. We don't have any snacks!"

After being tricked by Su Xiaona to "donate" two jelly desserts, the office was once again filled with laughter and joy.

And Ji Qiuhan seemed lost in thought, his fingertips unconsciously resting on the lock screen button.

Since Yi Qian came over that day, Ji Qiuhan has been contemplating a question. It appears that Jiang Zhan has more dominance in their relationship, making decisions unyieldingly. Ji Qiuhan always thought that he compromised more, but he never considered that Jiang Zhan has also been constantly learning.

They used to argue over trivial matters in the past. He was not one to back down easily, and after a few disputes, even before his face turned sour, Jiang Zhan would do anything to appease him, disregarding all principles.

And now, the issue that makes this man, who is almost indulged and accommodated in every aspect, unwilling to compromise or make any concessions, is unexpectedly his own safety.

Ji Qiuhan felt uneasy about this. Yiqian's words that night were like prying open a crack in his shell, allowing a bit of bitter seawater to seep in, stirring up tiny bubbles that mingled with his guilt, self-blame, and a sense of...disappointment in his own helplessness.

In a few moments, he even uncontrollably began to wonder if, every morning when they woke up in each other's embrace, Jiang Zhan would also be disappointed by his neglect.

In such a crucial moment, he unexpectedly chose to be a coward and retreated. Lately, his increasingly despondent attitude resulted in him doing nothing, instead pushing all of his unresolved emotions onto Jiang Zhan.

This irresponsible evasion made even him feel extremely pathetic.

Ji Qiuhan's lips curled up in a self-deprecating curve. It seemed that he had truly been spoiled by Jiang Zhan.

"...Brother Ji? What are you thinking about?"

Su Xiaona waved her hand in front of him and said, "You have been looking at this report for the entire afternoon. If it's possible, can you let Wu Chu take it to Director Zheng?"

The report remained on the first page. Jiqiu Han snapped back to reality, closed the folder, and said, "Let's go."

At this moment, there was a light "ding" sound.

The screen, which had been silent for a long time, dimly lit up.

The screen was dimly lit, so Su Xiaona had no idea what message had been sent. All she knew was that Ji Ge's whole body seemed to sink with the faint glow, accompanied by an inexplicable chill that made her instinctively shrink back and look for Ba Qingping.

Half an hour later, a silver Lincoln parked in front of a suburban detention center. Ji Qiuhan took off his police uniform and put on a black jacket.

A few months ago, he captured the ringleader of a child trafficking case at the train station. Today, he will escort him from here to the Second Prison.

At the entrance of the detention center, a police officer was waiting for him. With a bold expression on his face and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, the officer waved at him.

"Qiuhan,"

The two of them walked through the long and narrow corridor, one in front and one behind, until they reached the last iron door.

Ji Qiuhan grabbed onto the door handle and, before pushing open the door, he said, "...thank you."

The police officer gestured impatiently, unsure whether he felt conflicted about whether it was right or wrong to help them with their favor or if he simply found their previous expressions of gratitude annoying.

Why are there so many unnecessary words since you joined the serious crime unit? Look at the watch, there are only ten minutes left.

"Hmm, that's enough."

Ji Qiuhuan spoke softly.

The room used for confinement was not large, and within the dismal and oppressive walls, the emptiness seemed even more desolate.

Sitting on the central interrogation chair was a middle-aged man wearing a yellow vest. He had grown thinner and hunched his back, looking much more exhausted than when they last met at the train station.

Huang Majia looked up when he heard the commotion, seemingly recognizing that the person approaching him was none other than Ji Qiuhuan, who had caught him at the station. His murky eyes immediately erupted with venomous hatred.

"Fuck. You. Motherfucker--! How is it you?!"

Ji Qiuhan wore a black jacket and black pants, blending in with the shadows at the door. He closed his eyes, seemingly trying to not let the man's "appearance" affect him.

He approached and smoothly pulled out a photograph from the inner pocket of his coat. He held it up and asked the person sitting on the interrogation chair:

"Take a good look, do you recognize him?"

"Pah!! Did I put your stinky bandit arm back on?! Should have blown you up right then, damn it—!"

His words came to an abrupt halt when a bone-white hand reached out from behind and forcefully pulled back the head of the person in the yellow vest, causing him to tilt his head back as far as possible. Qi Qiuhuan extended the photo in his hand in front of his eyes.

"I'll ask you again, have you seen him?"

The pixel quality of the photo in Ji Qiuhan's hand is very poor, as if it was taken from a very outdated monitor screen more than a decade ago. In the photo, a middle-aged man wearing glasses turns his head. What's crucial is that his facial features bear a striking resemblance to the person wearing a yellow vest currently sitting in the interrogation chair.

"- Fuck! The police are beating people! Is there no one in charge? These bunch of bastards—ahhh!!!"

The yellow vested person suddenly let out a painful cry, as the owner of that hand grabbed his hair and, without warning, smashed his head towards the interrogation table. The skull collided heavily with the solid iron table, producing a deep muffled sound. The yellow vested person's vision blurred as his brain was violently shaken.

Ji Qiuhui roughly yanked his head up, forcing his eyes to look at the photograph. His voice was so cold that it made one's hair stand on end.

Listening, I can keep wasting seven more minutes with you, asking the same question fourteen times like this. But I would prefer it if you could cooperate with me. This person is very important to me, so I must know the answer. Look carefully before you answer me, do you know him?

Sensing a seemingly heated stream flowing down his forehead, the man in the yellow vest was suddenly frightened by the terrifying aura of the young man before him. He panicked, but his eyes only flickered to the photograph in front of him for a moment, and he couldn't help but curse inwardly!

This is so damn creepy!

This was already the second time someone had come to the police station and asked him about this worn-out photo!

"...How many times do I have to say that I don't know him! There are countless people in this world who look like me! Does that mean everyone is related to me?! Does that mean everyone is my brother?!"

Huang Majia couldn't help but burst out with a string of curses. He pulled on his hair and looked at Ji Qiuhuan, and this look almost scared him to the point of wetting his pants right then and there.

Because the young man was also looking at him,

Ji Qiuhan stood behind him, hunching his back. His face, devoid of color and warmth, was very close to him. The most terrifying thing was his pair of pitch-black eyes, so beautiful that they seemed unreal. They appeared to have grown out from the depths of the abyss and were currently staring at him with a menacing scrutiny.

Huang Majia's Adam's apple trembled as it rolled down his throat. He felt that the young man before him was even more terrifying than a dead person. He swallowed his saliva and stammered, "..."

"...I... I really don't know him, haven't, haven't seen him, damn it... leave me alone..."

Han Jin leaned against the wall outside, exhaling a faint sigh of disappointment. Cigarette butts were scattered on the ground by his feet. Despite a well-insulated wall separating him, a sudden and pained scream still pierced through the walls, sounding muffled.

Three minutes remained, but everything fell eerily silent.

The door lock clicked and Ji Qiuhan stepped out, closing the door behind him.

Her normally cold face seemed to have lost even its vitality, appearing lifeless and chilling to behold.

Han Jin handed the freshly poured hot water to him.

She asked, "What did he say? Do you know him?"

Ji Qiuhan shook his head and said, "I don't know him."

Han Jin thought to himself, "If it's already like this, it's probably true that she doesn't recognize me anymore."

Han Jin had also heard his father mention the sensational 5.23 major case from years ago.

When asked about it, the veteran police officer, who had been in the force for over thirty years, said that he had never seen such a ruthlessly inhumane killer. This perpetrator had kidnapped and abducted a total of thirty-six people, and before their deaths, he subjected them to extremely brutal methods of torture. In the end, he cruelly dismembered their bodies, scattering the remains haphazardly, and tossed them into a large pit dug in the backyard.

The only person who was confirmed dead by the police in the "Ten Thousand Bone Pit" but whose body was not found with a single piece of mutilated limb is Ji Xia, the older sister of Ji Qiuhuan.

Because, Ji Qiuhan said that she died.

Ji Qiuhuan was the headline of the news at that time: "The Luckiest Thirty-seventh". Yes, as the sole survivor of the 5.23 case, after enduring thirty-three days of hell on earth, he was rescued but suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, which led to selective amnesia.

He had forgotten everything that happened during those thirty-three days, the only thing he could remember was Ji Xia's screams of misery.

On the police side, the only witness in this case went missing, and the crime occurred sixteen days ago. The culprit was extremely cunning, and coupled with the backwardness of forensic technology at that time, the police now only have a photo of the culprit captured on the surveillance footage. Apart from that, they have nothing else. In the vast sea of people, relying solely on one photo to track down the culprit is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Ji Qiuhan took a sip of the hot water handed to him by Han Jin, and his eyes finally regained some vitality.

"...Sorry, I made him suffer a bit. I caused you trouble."

"What does this count for? That beast has at least mutilated five or six little girls, all around the age of ten... Damn it! Those scum deserve to have their heads smashed to pieces! None of them managed to escape either...!"

Ji Qiuhan didn't hear clearly what Han Jin said to him afterwards. He felt that everything around him had lost its color. He walked out of the detention center like a marionette on strings.

And hanging from his thread, a few words from the person wearing the yellow vest that he didn't recognize just now completely severed it. He had no support at all. Once he got on the car, the glaring sunlight made his eyelids feel scorching hot and bright. It was only then that Ji Qiuhan felt that his arms and legs were his own again.

The phone lying on the passenger seat suddenly lit up with a text message from someone saved as "Aunt Lan".

Xiao Han, come home for dinner tonight.