novelraw Chapter 434 - 261: Case Simulation
Chapter 434 - 261: Case Simulation
Li Xiang nodded, Qi Liyan’s analysis was objective, and when it comes to studying crime suspects, there was no one more fitting present than Lan Huina, who specialized in criminal psychology.
"Lan Huina, what do you think?"
"From the victims chosen by the murderer, all of them share similar characteristics: young, beautiful, fond of wearing stockings, and exhibiting necrophilic behavior. The killer evidently has severe psychological peculiarities."
"His methods evolved from naive to brutal throughout these 11 cases, honing his skills and taking pleasure in the violence. Each time he committed a crime, his excitement threshold increased, and his methods grew increasingly vicious. This kind of criminal is clearly killing for the thrill of it. What puzzles me is why someone like him stopped five years ago."
Lan Huina shared her views too. She believed this suspect was no ordinary person; he was addicted to murder and enjoyed the violence. It’s puzzling why he suddenly stopped.
The group listened and nodded silently. Why did the killer stop five years ago?
None of them had the answer to this question. Perhaps they would only find out by capturing the suspect and asking him personally.
Then, everyone presented their unique insights on the Yuncheng Case No. 1, bringing up overlooked details and assisting Li Xiang in refining them.
"Does anyone have any leads on solving the case?"
"Look for patterns. In serial cases, the murderer’s modus operandi is always the key to solving the case. Although the taskforce attempted to identify patterns, they evidently didn’t succeed or found many that weren’t correct. What we need to do next is continue searching for patterns and direction."
The group agreed unanimously that in serial murder cases, the killer operates with patterns. At the very basic level, there’s the time of the crime; like in this case, almost every six months—it’s a pattern.
This case certainly has more than one pattern. For example, what is the pattern used by the killer to select young girls?
One might simply think: young, beautiful, wearing stockings.
But how did the killer manage to find those fitting such criteria, and commit the acts in secluded locations?
This is a mystery.
"Alright, from now on, everyone start looking for patterns. That’s it for today’s analysis meeting."
Li Xiang hurriedly concluded the meeting, leaving everyone somewhat puzzled.
Everyone shared their thoughts, but Li Xiang, being the captain, said nothing, he only listened to everyone’s analysis.
Actually, the group wanted to hear Li Xiang’s thoughts on the case.
But seeing Li Xiang speedily leave the meeting room as if for something urgent, they refrained from commenting further.
They didn’t adjourn but rather continued discussing case solutions and identifying patterns.
Everyone presented their ideas and queries, even Yang Ming shared his views.
When it was Sun Zhidong’s turn, he glanced at everyone, then the direction Li Xiang had left.
Actually, he too wanted to leave like Li Xiang, but he wasn’t the captain and couldn’t enjoy such privileges. Reluctantly, he said, "What you guys just said covered everything comprehensively. I have nothing to add, but I think, perverts are not gender-specific. Don’t just focus on male perverts, also consider female ones, there’s a lot on TikTok nowadays. Hey, hey, don’t go!"
Sun Zhidong hadn’t finished before the group began rising from their seats, unwilling to listen to more of his nonsense.
Yang Ming patted Sun Zhidong’s shoulder and said, "What’s on your mind? Women assaulting women?"
"Perverts are perverts, why not?" Sun Zhidong stiffened his neck in a final act of defiance.
"Alright, alright, I think you’ve been driven crazy by female perverts. How does your girlfriend usually treat you?"
"Humph, none of your business. If you’re curious, find out yourself."
Sun Zhidong knew Yang Ming was still single, so he struck where it hurt.
Yang Ming clutched his chest and pointed a trembling finger at Sun Zhidong, "You’re heartless and cruel."
No more about Yang Ming and Sun Zhidong’s banter, nor about the team getting back to their business.
Li Xiang left and locked himself in the meeting room.
He wanted to try out what the case simulation function really was after the system update to 2.0.
[Ding, player Li Xiang, welcome to Police Simulator 2.0’s simulation space.]
After the system update, not much differed from before. The mission menu remained, except the removal of the multiplayer option and addition of two new options.
[Mission Name: Yuncheng Case No. 1]
[Mission Description: This is a serial rape-murder case. The killer committed 11 brutal acts over 5 years, occurring nearly every six months, with the victims enduring inhumane torture before their deaths. The case remains unsolved, and Provincial Headquarters commands you to guide the team to crack it.]
[Mission Requirement: Assist the Yuncheng task force to uncover the truth.]
[Mission Reward: Experience +3000, Diamonds +15000]
Having accepted the mission, the reward was substantial given the difficulty. Yuncheng Case No. 1 was the biggest case he was involved in, the reward matched its challenge.
After reviewing the mission, Li Xiang then checked the two new options:
1, [Case Simulation] Cost: 10 Diamonds/second.
2, [Mentor Mode] Cost: 10 Diamonds/second.
"Case Simulation."
[Ding, detected player acceptance of the Yuncheng Case No. 1 mission, activate case simulation?]
"Yes."
Upon Li Xiang’s confirmation, the surrounding virtual space transformed to reality, and he found himself inside a police car.
"Move, move, move, police coming through."
Li Xiang exited the car, curiously observing the environment: "This is the scene where Xiaomei, the first victim in Yuncheng Case No. 1, was murdered."
System simulated the crime scene, and his current role was as a frontline officer participating in the investigation.
Understanding his identity meant understanding that the system’s so-called case simulation wasn’t about directly revealing the murderer, but maximally reconstructing the crime scene.
This function greatly facilitated cracking old cases, where crime scenes had long turned into construction sites, irreparably altered.
Now there was no fear. He could restore everything at the click of a button.
The more detailed the police data was back then, the higher the fidelity of the system restoration.
"Damn, such a young girl, just like that, violated."
Li Xiang squeezed through the crowd. Although policemen were dispersing onlookers, he could still see signs of tampering at the scene.
Nestled in a development zone, surrounded by construction sites and numerous laborers, murder attracted curiosity, leading to close inspections, making the footprints messy and hard to differentiate which belonged to the suspect.
Back then, the files had crime scene photos and detailed autopsy reports.
Yet, these materials merely reflected the investigating officers’ proficiency—if they omitted details, future agents would struggle to reconstruct them.
Now it’s different; leveraging its impressive virtual reality engine, the system developed the most realistic crime scene, simulating aspects the police once overlooked.
For instance, Li Xiang approached the victim Xiaomei, observing meticulously through a forensic lens.
In May, although it wasn’t very cold anymore, the day’s temperature varied greatly, and nights remained chilly. Thus, the victim wore a knitted pullover with a long trench coat, a short skirt, and stockings.