Madman's Shield

Qin Ming's words, "I did all of this," were not loud, but they were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating huge ripples in the interrogation room.

A sharp glint flashed in Captain Li's eyes, and he involuntarily leaned forward slightly. The recorder's pen hovered over the paper, ready to record this crucial confession.

However, before Captain Li could ask for details, Qin Ming's tone abruptly changed. The dejection and emptiness on his face, a result of utter surrender, receded rapidly like a tide, replaced by a strange expression that mixed excitement and mockery, with even a hint of unsettling smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"But—" he drawled, his gaze sweeping over the three people opposite him before finally settling on the still-calm Expert Chen's face, "I'm a Madman."

He slightly raised his chin, adding with an almost boastful tone, "I have a doctor's certificate, a formal diagnosis report of mental illness. Bipolar disorder, accompanied by delusional symptoms. At its worst, I don't even know what I'm doing."

The atmosphere in the interrogation room changed abruptly upon hearing this!

Captain Li's face instantly darkened, his brows furrowing. He had handled cases for many years and had seen all sorts of sophistry and denials, but to directly invoke the shield of "mental illness," especially with such a sudden and dramatic shift, still left him feeling astonished and angry. He immediately realized that this was likely a despicable yet potentially effective contingency plan prepared by the other side.

The calm on Expert Chen's face was finally broken by a slight ripple. A sharp, hawk-like glint flashed in his usually gentle eyes, but it quickly returned to its unfathomable calm. He did not immediately refute, but subtly adjusted his posture, as if preparing to engage in a completely new type of game.

"Doctor Qin," Expert Chen's voice remained calm, revealing no emotion, "You mean to say that your misdiagnosis of Ms. Hou Xiaoya, your overtreatment, and the subsequent series of actions were all carried out while you were experiencing a mental illness episode, unable to recognize or control your own behavior?"

"You could say that," Qin Ming said, shrugging, his expression even carrying a hint of helplessness. "When the illness struck, my perception was distorted. I might have seen some normal indicators as abnormal, and imagined some simple symptoms as terminal illnesses. As for why I prevented her from being transferred to another hospital... maybe at the time, I was paranoid and believed that only I could cure her? Who knows? The thoughts of a Madman are inherently irrational." He spoke casually, as if he were talking about someone else's affairs.

"That's an interesting point." Expert Chen nodded, as if he were seriously considering this possibility. "So, those funds in your account that frequently transacted with your brother-in-law Zhao Cheng's account, and whose source was unclear, were also received uncontrollably during your 'illness'?"

Qin Ming scoffed, his mockery deepening. "Money? What money? Officer Chen, does a mental Patient even have a concept of money? Maybe I just thought those numbers looked good and accepted them like it was a game? Or maybe it was all just my imagination? How can you be so sure those transfer records weren't just part of what this Madman's imagination made up?"

He began to use the label of "mental illness" to wantonly deconstruct and deny all objective evidence, muddying the waters.

"As far as we know," Expert Chen continued calmly, his tone still non-aggressive, as if discussing an academic issue, "During your time at Ankang Hospital, your performance was consistently 'normal,' even 'excellent,' with no record of any obvious behavioral abnormalities. Your 'illness' seems to have been highly selective and purposeful?"

"Ha!" Qin Ming's voice suddenly rose as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, tinged with a theatrical excitement. "Selectivity? Purposefulness? Officer Chen, are you trying to understand the world of a Madman using the logic of a normal person? Don't you have experts? You can ask any psychiatrist if there's a pattern to bipolar disorder episodes? Can they be triggered under certain stress? I had an episode while facing a complex illness and immense pressure, what's so hard to understand about that?"

His words began to become somewhat incoherent, but he cleverly defended himself by focusing on the core issue of "mental illness," attempting to drag rigorous legal logic into a quagmire of an unfalsifiable, subjective "disease."

Seeing Qin Ming's sudden change to being "eloquent" and even somewhat "excited," Captain Li's anger and suspicion grew stronger. He simply couldn't believe it was such a coincidence. He immediately gave a wink to a young officer beside him and quickly ordered in a very low voice, "Verify immediately! Check Qin Ming's medical records to see if he really has a history of psychiatric visits and a diagnosis! Be quick!"

The officer understood, immediately stood up, and quickly left the interrogation room.

Qin Ming watched the police officer's hurried Back View, a predictable, mocking glint of smugness and contempt flashing in his eyes. He certainly had proof—a seemingly impenetrable "protective shield" prepared for him by Mr. Wei, issued by a controlled or bribed psychiatrist. Although using this would mean permanently ending his career as a doctor and being labeled "Madman," it was undoubtedly the best option compared to a long prison sentence. He Qin Ming that with Mr. Wei's methods, this proof would be enough to temporarily save him.

Inside the interrogation room, the verbal exchange continued.

Faced with Qin Ming's sudden fortress of "mental illness," Expert Chen showed no sign of discouragement or frustration. His questions remained logically rigorous, like a scalpel, attempting to find cracks in this new shield.

"Doctor Qin, even if, as you say, you were in an acute phase of your mental illness at the time of the behavior, a forensic psychiatric evaluation is a very rigorous process. It requires assessing whether you completely lost the ability to recognize or control your behavior at the time of the specific act. This cannot be completely determined by a single diagnostic certificate."

Expert Chen's gaze, like a searchlight, was fixed firmly on Qin Ming's eyes. "Are you sure that at every crucial juncture—for example, when you prescribed those large prescriptions, when you prevented the Patient from transferring to another hospital—you were completely unaware of the nature and consequences of your actions?"

Qin Ming's eyes flickered for a moment, but he quickly regained his nonchalant attitude. "I told you, I was a Madman back then! Who can predict what Madman is thinking?"

He knew that as long as he clung to the "mental illness" claim and attributed all his actions to an uncontrollable disease, he could minimize legal risks. It was a difficult game, but with the "proof" in hand, he felt he was in an invincible position.

The interrogation entered a completely new and more complex phase.