Contradiction

At the same time, Wen Yiting sat to the side, rubbing his temples.

The main speaker was Fu Qiongjing, who knew the inside story, along with Liang An providing supplementary explanations. As the fake party involved at that time, he occasionally added a couple of detailed sentences as expected, and then kept listening from the side.

"Actually, I had a speculation at the beginning that Zhao Xiang might really have feelings for my sister-in-law, Cui Xiuling. She might have kidnapped her only friend to the island, but as a serial killer, there was such a person in her psychological 'comfort zone,' which allowed her and my elder brother to survive all along."

Speaking of this, Fu Qiongjing looked at the others, making sure they didn't seem to have doubts about the comfort zone theory, before continuing.

"Later, I started to feel it wasn't like that. This theory could originally explain why she wanted to spare my sister-in-law's life, but after studying that sentence, I found that Zhao Xiang did not hesitate to use her as a tool for murder—so this kind of protection naturally didn't prove 'affection'."

Shao Zi looked into his eyes. "Then what do you think it was for?"

Fu Qiongjing hesitated but still voiced his speculation: "I can't say for sure, but the greatest possibility should be to use my brother to restrain Zheng Chunsheng. From the perspective of benefit, having Zheng Chunsheng do the heavy lifting was an important part of the plan, because it was inconvenient for Zhao Xiang to show her face."

Compared to ordinary female criminals, Zhao Xiang had her own advantages; her strength was greater than the vast majority of females and a large portion of adult males, but this didn't mean she would blindly rely on her own traits.

She was not a serial killer in the traditional sense. From the motive, target selection, actual execution, to the final cleanup, she had her own set of rigorous rules, which allowed her to complete dozens of nearly perfect, traceless crimes.

Performing repetitive work, Zheng Chunsheng was not an essential link, but his existence allowed Zhao Xiang to better devote herself to other matters she cared more about.

Cui Xiuling and Fu Qiongguang were only in a relationship. In a desperate situation, Cui Xiuling's existence could restrain Fu Qiongguang, and Fu Qiongguang's voice could make Zheng Chunsheng believe his treasured son was in the hands of the perpetrator as leverage, not daring to act rashly.

This was Zhao Xiang's basic criminal script for a period of time, and also the logical chain she meticulously crafted.

But only those who had actually interacted with high-IQ serial killers knew that someone like Zhao Xiang, who could be regarded as a killer, could not have only one kind of script—they were often skilled in solving problems through multiple avenues, and all the chains formed were merely tools.

Wen Yiting looked here and there, then fixed his gaze on Fu Qiongjing, smiling casually: "Officer Fu, did you major in criminal psychology? After being kidnapped, I heard about the comfort zone theory; it's truly magical."

Fu Qiongjing's peripheral vision swept over to look at him, asking casually: "What's so magical about it?"

These words were originally meant to be polite, but with Fu Qiongjing actively repeating them, the situation truly became a bit strange.

Wen Yiting was also stunned for a moment, then smiled: "It's just that my knowledge is too limited; this kind of situation is indeed different from intuition. But Officer Fu, you happen to be the younger brother of that elder brother back then? That is truly too coincidental..."

Fu Qiongjing, for some reason, frowned. He watched Wen Yiting talk about some past interactions with Fu Qiongguang, and when he finished, he spoke slowly:

"Mr. Wen, your memory is indeed not bad, to be able to remember so many details from back then."

"Thank you for the compliment." Wen Yiting smiled again. "The spiritual world of criminals is always curious, especially for someone like me to understand. Some curiosity might be too abrupt, but being able to hear you talk about these things, I feel quite lucky."

This was complete flattery.

However, being regarded as an expert, Fu Qiongjing didn't seem to feel very flattered; he even frowned slightly, looking at Wen Yiting without hiding it.

At the same time, Liang An spoke from the side: "...Actually, if we must delve into it, Zhao Xiang's motive for committing crimes itself originated from her unrealistic thoughts."

Everyone's gaze turned to him, and Shao Zi instinctively looked to the side. He knew best that Liang An always had a purpose in his actions, especially when facing an outsider like Wen Yiting—suddenly participating in this conversation must have a reason, rather than being mere small talk.

What on earth did he want to do?

Liang An merely interrupted the conversation, bringing the path back to his own hands, and narrated naturally: "Zhao Xiang's father was just an ordinary person, yet all her motives for committing crimes were established on him—this was not some will, but just an excuse. Or to put it another way, in order to justify her criminal acts, Zhao Xiang, while knowing the truth, deified her own father as the center of her crimes."

Fu Qiongjing had obviously never heard this part, and his attention quickly shifted here: "Could this be due to her having almost no contact with her father? The unknown is the easiest to idealize."

"She just needed a central motive; as for what the truth was, it didn't matter. However, her life ended just like that, and we also found the person she killed, but this is not the end of the case."

Shao Zi immediately recalled the contents he had looked up, including Liang An returning to the team immediately after escaping, and participating in almost the entire case investigation process, playing an extremely important role.

Most of Liang An's communication with Zhao Xiang was known only to him. Perhaps it was precisely because of that unknown communication that he uncovered most of the causes and consequences of the case, thereby gaining a significant portion of the credit and accumulating the necessary seniority for promotion.

Everything has a cause and effect. Simply from the perspective of the police force, Liang An should be the biggest beneficiary, as well as the hero who made every effort to minimize losses.

"None of these are the reasons the case files remain sealed to this day." Liang An paused for a long while. "Because besides this, there are still two other contradictions that have never been resolved—and it is still the same now."