Kowloon Police Station, Administration Department.
"Doctor Zhao, Doctor Zhao..."
With a bang, the door to the Psychological Counseling Department was shoved open, and Chen Guibin strode in from outside, his face full of anxiety.
"Hey, what department are you from?"
In front of the Psychological Counseling Department, a young woman in a long skirt, seemingly just changed into her own clothes and ready to leave, saw Chen Guibin barge in and hurried forward to stop him.
"Chen Guibin, Serious Crimes Unit."
Chen Guibin pointed to the ID hanging from his chest, grabbed the young woman's arm, and asked urgently, "Where's Doctor Zhao? Has he left yet?"
The young woman seemed uncomfortable with Chen Guibin's rough handling. She pointed to a room inside. "He just finished a psychological evaluation for a colleague from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau. He probably hasn't left yet."
Chen Guibin let go of her arm and headed in the direction she'd indicated, striding into the room.
"What a nutcase. Can't even say thank you."
A voice suddenly came from behind him.
Chen Guibin glanced back and saw that the young woman had suddenly turned into a middle-aged woman with a mean-looking face. She stood with her arms crossed, eyeing him askance.
"Doctor Zhao!"
Chen Guibin quickly looked away, called out, and entered the counseling room.
"Ah, Chen sir, what brings you here?"
A middle-aged man, who had just changed into his own clothes behind a screen, looked up in surprise as Chen Guibin barged in.
"I—"
Chen Guibin stepped up to the middle-aged psychologist, whose surname was Zhao, and pointed at his head. "I'm having hallucinations. I can see strange things on people."
"Chen sir, don't get worked up. Sit down and tell me about it slowly," Doctor Zhao said with a reassuring smile, motioning for him to take a chair nearby.
Just then, another man with a brutish face appeared behind Doctor Zhao. He glared at Chen Guibin in irritation, held up his wristwatch, and shouted, "Look at the time! This damn Stone couldn't come earlier or later—he had to show up right when I was about to get off work. You did this on purpose, didn't you?!"
"Chen sir, tell me in detail. What kind of hallucinations have you been having?" Doctor Zhao asked gently after sitting down, still smiling.
But as soon as Doctor Zhao finished speaking, Chen Guibin clearly saw the brutish-looking man behind him bare a set of white teeth. "Come on, hurry up and tell me. Let me crack your skull open and see how many dirty secrets you've got in there."
"Ah—"
Chen Guibin shuddered and sprang up from his chair, staring at Doctor Zhao in terror.
"Chen sir, calm down. Sit down first." Doctor Zhao stood as well, soothing him in a calm voice.
"Could he really have schizophrenia? It's rare for police work to cause this kind of stress-related condition. I'll have something to write about in my next paper." The brutish-looking man cast Chen Guibin a sidelong glance, his voice ringing out again.
"Get out of my way!"
Chen Guibin shoved Doctor Zhao aside and staggered toward the exit.
"Chen sir, what's wrong?" Doctor Zhao called after him.
Another voice mingled with his. "Nutcase. You made me stay late. I'll write down that you have schizophrenia in your assessment."
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
After running out of the Administration Department's psychology section, Chen Guibin stopped in front of the police station building, bracing his hands on his knees and gasping for breath. Sweat streamed down his forehead.
"Chen sir, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
"What's Blackie doing here? He doesn't look too good. Let's go say hi."
"Chen sir, you haven't left yet? Working late again tonight? I heard your unit has a big case on its hands."
"They've got their work cut out for them this time. I heard the case has caused quite a stir."
"Chen sir, want to grab something to eat? Everyone's been swamped lately. Our Narcotics Division has been working nonstop. Several drug lords are dead, and things have gotten downright ugly."
"We've been working overtime for ages. Now your Serious Crimes Unit's in for it too. Let's see how you enjoy that."
People he knew and strangers alike kept appearing around him. As Chen Guibin watched them passing back and forth, his senses grew increasingly hazy.
When the people passing by saw him fail to react, some walked away at once, while others left only after grumbling and cursing.
Chen Guibin lowered his head, his lips moving as he muttered, "I don't have schizophrenia. I'm not crazy... That's right. I don't have schizophrenia. I'm not crazy..."
As he murmured under his breath, Chen Guibin seemed to pull himself together.
"What I see isn't an illusion. I see what's inside them, and the demons lurking in the dark corners of their hearts. That's right. I see what's inside them, the demons in their hearts... Then I—I can use this when I work cases from now on..."
Chen Guibin's eyes gradually brightened, and his spirits rose. He turned to look at the brightly lit police station and suddenly walked back inside.
"Chen sir, you're back."
As soon as he pushed open the door to the Serious Crimes Unit's office, Chen Guibin saw a little boy who looked no older than eight or nine rise from his seat. Holding a stack of documents, the boy came over to him.
"You..."
Chen Guibin instinctively took a step back, then studied the little boy standing in front of him.
"Chen sir, are you all right?"
He Jia'an, holding a stack of documents, looked at Chen Guibin's strange expression and asked in confusion.
"I'm fine. Give me the latest investigation report."
Chen Guibin waved a hand and walked into the Serious Crimes Unit's office.
None of the officers in the unit had left yet. The whole team was busy working on the major case from the other night, when six people had died around midnight.
But as soon as Chen Guibin entered the office, an odd mixture of surprise and bewilderment surfaced on his dark face.
Many people he didn't recognize had appeared in various spots around the office. Some were whispering among themselves, making a racket, while others stood up to greet him as soon as they saw him approach.
"Chen sir, you're back."
"Chen sir, we found out through colleagues in other units that several drug lords on Hong Kong Island have been murdered recently."
First, two men Chen Guibin didn't recognize came up to him and briefed him on the latest developments. Then he saw several disgruntled-looking men and women appear behind them.
"Look at the time! Are we ever going to get off work?"
"Following this damn Stone around is the worst. There goes my date tonight."
"He went out for dinner by himself, while we're stuck eating boxed meals here. That's too much!"
"Do anything but become a cop. You're so good with numbers, you should've learned to trade stocks."
More and more strange figures appeared in front of Chen Guibin, each accompanied by a voice.
"Mm. Good work."
Chen Guibin took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil inside him. He nodded to everyone and made his way to his desk, trying to act as normally as possible.
"Chen sir—"
He Jia'an followed him to his desk and handed him the documents.
"We found that the four victims that night—Wu Xingsha, Dang Hongbo, Li Bang, and Shen Maode—had been filming with a production crew at a pier before the incident. According to statements from several crew members, five people arrived at the set at first. After Black Skin Sha, also known as Wu Xingsha, started filming, three of them left. Two more showed up as the crew was wrapping for the day, and they were the last to leave."
"So there were five people in their car at the time?"
Chen Guibin picked up the documents on his desk and flipped through them. He glanced at He Jia'an, who seemed to have turned into a little boy again, and asked as casually as he could.
"That's right."
He Jia'an continued, "The guys checked around afterward, and someone reported seeing a stranger with a ponytail three kilometers from the crime scene. The crew members later confirmed this. Our informants found out that the person with the ponytail was named Ma Weihao, one of Dao You Cheng's underlings. Dao You Cheng's the head of a drug operation. But..."
"But what?"
Chen Guibin asked. His gaze kept flicking around the room, but he was beginning to ignore the strange things appearing before him and focus on the case instead.
"Ma Weihao was found dead this morning. His body had multiple injuries, and it looked like he'd been tortured before he died," the little-boy version of He Jia'an said hurriedly.
"If I remember correctly, your last report said Wu Xingsha and the others worked for another drug lord, Tai, right?"
Chen Guibin lowered his head and looked through the documents in his hands before asking another question.
He Jia'an nodded and quickly replied, "Yes. A lot of drug lords have been murdered one after another recently. The Narcotics Division says it's caused quite a bit of unrest."
"It seems this case isn't isolated."
After setting aside the hallucinations appearing before him, Chen Guibin quickly showed the skill of a top detective. He turned to He Jia'an and asked, "Have they sent over the files I asked Tuen Mun Police Station for?"
"They've already sent them over."
He Jia'an quickly reached beneath the documents Chen Guibin was reading and pulled out another stack. He explained, "We compared the injuries on Lin Guoyu, the 'Butcher Driver,' with those of the foreigner we found. They're basically identical. Both had their chests crushed by a tremendous impact. The forensic team also concluded that it was unlikely to be a coincidence for two people to have the same injuries. It was probably the work of one person."
"And did they find any leads on the 'hero' who took down the 'Butcher Driver' and rescued the girl in danger?"
Chen Guibin looked at the comparison of the autopsy reports and asked casually.
His furrowed-brow, thoughtful expression made He Jia'an feel that his boss had finally shaken off the mental fog that had plagued him these past few days and returned to his sharp, capable self.
"Hmm?" Chen Guibin seemed to notice He Jia'an had drifted off and glanced at him.
He Jia'an quickly pointed to the last few pages of the documents in Chen Guibin's hand. "There's a sketch based on the rescued schoolgirl's description."
"A sketch?!"
Chen Guibin turned past the autopsy reports and looked at the sketch. His pupils suddenly contracted, and he shot up from his seat.