Chapter 40

"I myself am a detective enthusiast, and in the play, I play the role of the victim. After truly understanding the character's inner world, I now particularly want to bring justice to the deceased." Han Fei's expression was calm, and from any angle, he did not seem to be lying.

"Is this what they call getting into character?" Li Xue sat opposite Han Fei.

"Before I start, I have one question to ask you." Han Fei did not beat around the bush and directly said, "If we work together to solve the human puzzle case, what kind of impact will it have?"

"The human puzzle case is a cold case from ten years ago. Many police officers still have it on their minds. If we solve this case, we will be heroes." Li Xue took a sip of water from her cup. "You are an actor who needs fame. After solving such a big case, various media outlets will definitely come for interviews. Besides the reward money, you will also gain many hidden benefits. For me, it's even more important. As long as I can solve this case, the head of the major crimes unit will likely invite me back to the team."

It was clear that Li Xue was eager to return to the team, and this was one of the reasons she had been enthusiastically helping Han Fei.

"I don't really care about money and fame now. I just want to build a good relationship with you police officers. Who knows, we might have more interactions in the future." Han Fei spoke from the heart, and his sincere appearance was very touching.

"Let's skip the formalities and get straight to the point. I'm also very curious about the appearance of the eighth victim." Li Xue took out her phone, as if searching for something.

"I don't have a photo of the victim, but I remember her face." Han Fei opened a computer program and used the automatic image generation function, inputting all the information.

A moment later, a slender girl of about fourteen years old appeared on his computer screen.

Seeing the photo on the computer, Li Xue's gaze lingered for a long time. After several seconds, she took a deep breath. "You have some skills. Now I completely believe what you said."

"Didn't you believe me before?"

"Not entirely. After all, a comedy actor uncovering important information about the human puzzle case would seem unbelievable to anyone."

"But you haven't seen the real eighth victim. What if I just made up a picture to deceive you?"

"Are you underestimating the police?" Li Xue took out her phone and showed Han Fei another image. The girl in the picture was strikingly similar to the one Han Fei had drawn. "The police deduced the victim's age from the remaining flesh of the eighth victim and reconstructed her body type based on some skeletal remains. We used computer simulation to recreate the girl's appearance, but we never released it to the public."

"It seems the police have more information than I imagined, but that's even better." Han Fei was ready to work with Li Xue to consolidate their clues. "What do you think of this case? Or has the police already narrowed down a general range?"

"The killer is of medium to slim build, has some combat and dissection skills, and is very meticulous. Considering the special nature of the eighth victim, the killer may have adopted an unregistered abandoned infant..."

Li Xue said a lot, broadening Han Fei's perspective.

"You think the same as I do, but there's one thing you seem to have overlooked." Han Fei pointed to Wei Youfu's photo and shared his previous speculation, believing that the killer should know Wei Youfu.

"Let's not talk about whether the killer knows Wei Youfu or not. To be honest, the police have already investigated everyone related to the victims." Li Xue logged into the police internal database with her credentials. "In the puzzle store you mentioned, neither the owner nor the employees had the opportunity to commit the crime."

"Can you help me check one more thing?" Han Fei wrote down Meng Chang'an's name on a piece of paper. "I want to know if any of Meng Shi's three sons know Wei Youfu."

"Do you think the refrigerator corpse case and the human puzzle case are committed by the same killer? Their methods are completely different. Besides, the Meng brothers all have alibis. The police at the time considered all these possibilities."

"Even if the killers of the refrigerator corpse case and the human puzzle case are not the same person, they must be connected." Han Fei was so certain because he learned in the game that Meng Chang'an had predicted the human puzzle case.

After reviewing the police investigation report, Li Xue found a connection between Meng Chang'an and Wei Youfu.

"The police investigation records show that a few days before the human puzzle case, Meng Chang'an and Wei Youfu visited the same puzzle store, but they did not know each other; they were just strangers."

The police had to sift through hundreds of people, like searching for a needle in a haystack. Han Fei, however, had a specific direction, making his investigation much easier, almost like an open-book exam.

"Meng Chang'an also went to that puzzle store?" Han Fei was even more excited. "That store must be suspicious! We can't just screen the owner and employees. We need to extend the time frame and pay special attention to all customers who had any interaction with Wei Youfu in the store!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Han Fei nodded confidently and continued, "There's another piece of information I need to tell you. The eighth victim left no trace on the internet. She was kept in a place isolated from modern society. She lived in a black house surrounded by an endless forest."

"How do you know all this?" Li Xue recorded the information Han Fei provided.

"If I told you the victim told me herself, would you believe it?"

"Sure, why not? Forensic experts can make the dead speak, and perhaps you have your own methods. I'm not curious about that; I just want to solve the case as soon as possible." Li Xue stood up. "The database from ten years ago doesn't have information on the puzzle store's customers. I'll go to my teacher's house now. He was involved in the investigation of the human puzzle case ten years ago, and it's a thorn in his side."

"Okay."

"I'll inform you as soon as there's any progress." Li Xue put the documents and her phone into her bag and glanced back at the wall covered with photos of the victims. "In a way, you are quite dedicated as an actor."

"Average, just the basic skills of an actor."

Han Fei felt a bit embarrassed. He noticed that since playing "Perfect Life," he had received a lot of unexpected praise in real life.

After seeing Li Xue off, Han Fei was about to study criminal psychology when his phone rang.

"Director Jiang? Haven't I already finished filming?"

"After discussing it, we decided to add more scenes for you, making Wei Youfu the most typical of the seven victims." Director Jiang was now more polite to Han Fei, perhaps because Han Fei's acting had impressed him.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Rushing to the old city's North Street, Han Fei arrived to find the staff already in place.

It was clear that although this was a low-budget thriller, Director Jiang's team took the production very seriously.