Chapter 577: Unveiling the Deception

Chen Shi dropped his smile and looked seriously into Yan Ke’s eyes. “Did that so-called mastermind tell you that? Did he promise you that even if the police suspected you, they’d have no evidence to arrest you because his power is limitless, capable of making the dead rise and die again the next day? But he wouldn’t help you for free. Since you couldn’t pay him, he must have wanted you to do something for him. Do you know that agreeing to his terms is truly a path to ruin?”

Faced with Chen Shi’s questioning, Yan Ke was so frightened that he fell over with his chair. He panted heavily, as if facing a wild beast, then tried to mask his panic with anger. “This is intimidation! I’ll sue you!”

“Go ahead, if you really dare.” Chen Shi sat down. “This isn’t a formal interrogation. All our conversations here are informal. I’m just warning you—making a deal with the devil never ends well.”

Yan Ke hesitated, fearful that even a single word might give him away. Pretending to be angry, he said, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Is this how you police frame innocent people?”

“Alright, Mr. Yan, I believe we’ll be seeing each other again.”

As they left, Lin Dongxue reproached Chen Shi, “That was a bit much.”

“Sorry, I lost my temper.”

“I know you can’t stand evil!” Lin Dongxue smiled. “Do you really suspect him?”

“What about you?”

“Ninety percent sure.”

Mr. Liu walked over. “Hey, are you two still investigating? I wanted to ask when the office will be cleared. We’ve been cramped with other teachers or grading in classrooms. It’s really inconvenient.”

“Sorry about that. Forensic technicians will be back this afternoon for another sweep. You should be able to use it tomorrow.”

“Great. By the way, any progress on the case?”

“Can’t disclose that.”

“Come on, just a little hint. How much progress? 30%, 60%, 90%?”

Chen Shi smiled and shook his head. “Investigating a case isn’t like completing a task. One clue could mean 100%, and until then, it’s 0%.”

“So, no key clues yet?”

“One more thing, do you live alone?”

“Yes, I live alone in an apartment near the school, the one with the ‘XX Tutoring School’ sign.”

“And the janitor who provided the testimony, does he live alone too?”

“Old Zhang? He stays in the guard room during his night shifts. So yes, he’s alone.”

Chen Shi pondered for a moment and asked again, “Another question, did anything unusual happen to you on the night of September 30th?”

“Do you mean me personally?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t recall anything unusual. It was a normal night. I had some beer, watched TV, and went to bed.”

“Alright, thank you.”

As they walked away, Mr. Liu suddenly chased after them, insisting on speaking to Chen Shi alone. Glancing at Lin Dongxue, he whispered, “It’s a bit embarrassing, but that night, I dreamt of… Ms. Lin!”

“Was it that kind of dream?”

“Oh no, nothing like that.” Mr. Liu blushed. “It was strange. I’m much older than her, and we rarely talk. I have no such feelings for her. But that night, I had a very vivid dream about her. It never happened before or since… I don’t know if this counts as personal, but I want the case solved soon, so I’m telling you. It’s probably not a clue, just a coincidence. Don’t tell the lady officer.”

“Of course, I’ll keep it confidential.”

As Mr. Liu walked away, Lin Dongxue asked, “What did he say?”

“He dreamt of Ms. Lin on the night of the 30th. Strange, right?”

“Could it be a dream visitation?”

“A dream visitation is just psychological suggestion…” Chen Shi’s eyes widened. “Psychological suggestion?!”

“Psychological suggestion?”

Chen Shi suddenly ran outside. Lin Dongxue caught up with difficulty and asked, “Are you going to see Ms. Gu?”

“Yes!”

Instead of going directly to the consulting room, he called Gu You, arranging to meet downstairs at their office. Half an hour later, Gu You arrived, looking as neat and professional as always. She greeted them, “Ms. Lin, long time no see. Why not go upstairs?”

“Gu You, I need to ask you something. If I have a pear, can I use hypnotic suggestion to make the subject believe it’s an apple? No matter how it looks or tastes, they’d think it’s an apple and recall it as an apple.”

“That’s easy. Anyone with basic hypnotic skills can do it. Not just a pear, even an onion can become an apple.”

“What about a person?”

“A person?”

“Can you make one person believe they are another person through suggestion?”

Lin Dongxue suddenly understood. All three witnesses provided their testimonies individually without any physical evidence. Were they hypnotized?

But how was it done?

Gu You pondered and asked, “What’s the case about this time?”

At a nearby café, Chen Shi recounted the case and his suspicions. Gu You mused, “Zhou Tiannan is active again? Sooner than expected.”

“I remember you mentioned he had a psychologist of your caliber under him, Ling Shuang.”

“She’s a master in behavior control. Do you know the term ‘reflex conditioning’?”

“Somewhat,” said Chen Shi, while Lin Dongxue looked puzzled.

Gu You placed a sugar cube on the table. “This is sugar. It looks and tastes like sugar because your brain has established the correct feedback reflex. But if I deeply hypnotize you, constantly telling you it’s salt, creating a new conditioned reflex, when you taste it, it will be salty.”

“Can that really be done?” Lin Dongxue asked, astonished.

“The human brain, because of its complexity, is easily deceived. Such examples are common in daily life. With reflex conditioning, you can make someone see target A as target B. The key is the hypnotic process, which must be covert.”

“All three witnesses live alone.”

“That makes it easier. On the night of the 30th, someone quietly enters their homes, hypnotizes them in their sleep, and repeatedly tells them, ‘This person is Ms. Lin.’ It must be Ling Shuang. She has all the necessary skills!”

Lin Dongxue exclaimed, “No wonder Mr. Liu dreamt of Ms. Lin. Someone was whispering her name in his ear.”

Chen Shi thought, “If we show them Ling Shuang’s photo now, they’ll still recognize her as Ms. Lin?”

Gu You shook her head. “Zhou Tiannan is cautious. He wouldn’t leave such a flaw. If it were me, I’d lift their hypnotic state after October 1st, leaving the altered memory intact without their awareness.”