Lei Mi - Profiler

Jeez… thought Fang Mu, glaring at Tai Wei and shaking his head.

Tai Wei chuckled and continued to smoke his cigarette and drink his tea. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked: "Fang Mu, what kind of person do you think this guy is?"

Fang Mu was taken aback. "Didn't I already tell you in detail about his probable physical and psychological characteristics?"

"You did," Tai Wei said, nodding. "There's something else, though, and I don't quite know how to put it." He gave Fang Mu a scrutinizing look. "For a while I've felt that this guy…is very similar to you."

Fang Mu said nothing. Actually, he had been thinking the same thing himself. The killer had designed each of his murders to challenge Fang Mu, which meant that he had to possess a deep of understanding of criminology, or at least think he did, and at JiangbinCityUniversity, Fang Mu only knew of one other criminal profiler.

Fang Mu's heart fell.

Could it really be Professor Qiao?

Impossible. He immediately rejected this idea. From his professional integrity to his personal morality, Professor Qiao was exemplary. Besides, Fang Mu knew his skills were nothing compared to Professor Qiao's. There was no need for the professor to compete against him. Also, not only did these crimes require technique, they also demanded strength, and that was something that the old professor no longer possessed.

Almost 20 days had passed since the last crime and the killer had done nothing. The waiting was really akin to torture.

A gloomy atmosphere gradually fell over the room, spreading like the smoke from their cigarettes. Soon Tai Wei and Fang Mu could barely discern the other.

And, as if to mirror the haze, neither could see the man they were seeking. After a while, Tai Wei rose to his feet, sluggishly extended his arm and looked at his watch. "It's almost nine. I'm going to swing by several of the observation points to check things out. You want to come?"

Fang Mu thought about it. Having nothing else to do, he decided to go.

The police were still focusing most of their attention on the women's dormitories and areas relating to the number six. Although the observation points were all different, the policemen standing watch were all exhausted and irritable.

The nonstop battle had been going day and night for over a month. Anyone in their position would feel just as bad.

Fang Mu and Tai Wei visited several observation points, one after another, and each reported that "everything was normal." The sight of his comrades continuing to man their stations despite their obvious exhaustion was too much for Tai Wei, so he and Fang Mu went to one of the little restaurants outside the school gates and ordered several boxes of take-out food. Tai Wei even went so far as specifically asking the owner to put in a little extra meat and vegetables in the orders to back to the officers. Seeing the few sad-looking bills in Tai Wei's wallet, Fang Mu stopped at the supermarket on the way back and bought two cartons of cigarettes. He was going to buy alcohol, too, but Tai Wei stopped him. When they got back with the food, the officers were delighted. After each took a box, they leaned against the walls or crouched on the floor and immediately dug in. The male cops ate crudely, stuffing huge amounts of food that had already gone a little cold into their mouths, chewing roughly before swallowing it down. Every now and then one of them would bite into a bit of sand or small stone from the unwashed vegetables, but then just swallowed that, too. The female cops ate in a group, quietly commenting on the food and exchanging pieces back and forth — a chunk of meat for you, a bit of ribbonfish for me — that sort of thing. And when they had finished, the women still remembered to hand out tissues to all their male comrades who were about to wipe their faces on their sleeves.

But even while they ate, the cops continued to carefully scrutinize everyone who walked past. Even those who were chatting still had their ears perked, listening for any suspicious sounds.

Watching them, Fang Mu couldn't help but be filled with admiration. They were haggard and exhausted and yet still just as alert as a hunter in the forest. While passing out the cigarettes, he made sure to give two extra packs to the officer he and Deng Linyue had tricked. The man obviously didn't hold any hard feelings, giving Fang Mu a grateful smile as he took the packs.

Observing all the officers devour their food, Fang Mu felt a little hungry himself, so he and Tai Wei decided to share a box. He was astonished at how good it tasted. Even though he was eating it while leaning against a cold wall, even though the rice was far from fresh and a chilly wind was blowing all the while, Fang Mu still felt it was the most delicious meal he'd had in days.

After they ate, Tai Wei brought Fang Mu back through all the observation points once more. By the time they finished it was almost eleven that night and the campus was empty. Dormitory lights were blinking out one by one. After a long, noisy day the only sound left on campus was the cold wind.

Fang Mu and Tai Wei hurried down the empty street towards Fang Mu's dorm. Just as they arrived, Tai Wei suddenly stopped and looked behind them.

"What is it?" Fang Mu asked. He looked back. Not far away stood a lonely streetlight, illuminating the patch of street underneath. Everything else was shrouded in darkness and the campus was silent.

"Nothing," said Tai Wei. Frowning, he looked around. "I must be hearing things."

They walked single file into the dorm. When they passed the first floor bathroom, Tai Wei suddenly stopped and held his stomach. "You go on ahead," he said. "That ribbonfish wasn't fresh. I think I'm going to be sick."

Fang Mu nodded. "I've got some herbal meds in my room. You should come get some when you're done." He headed on upstairs.

The stairwell was eerily quiet. Every now and then he could hear the faint sound of water running through the pipes. He had been walking all night and now his legs ached a little, so he climbed the stairs slowly, listening to his footsteps echo throughout the stairwell.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps that didn't belong to him.

The steps were coming from somewhere nearby. They were moving neither fast nor slow, and sounded almost careless.

When Fang Mu reached the second floor landing, he stopped and listened closely.

At once the sound of footsteps vanished, as if they had never been there.

Fang Mu held his breath and listened. After a few seconds, he stepped forward and began again slowly climbing the stairs.

Sure enough, the other footsteps started up again as well.

As Fang Mu climbed, he held onto the handrail and glanced down. He could see a long, thin shadow swaying on the stairs between the first and second floor, moving slowly higher.

Fang Mu felt all the hairs on his body stand up. There was no time to think. He bolted up the stairs as fast as he could and into the third floor hallway. When he reached the door to Room 313, his room, he hesitated for a moment, and then ran past it to the far end of the hall. There was a low wall next to Room 320 that was big enough to hide behind. When he passed Room 318, he saw a large shattered mirror leaning against the wall beside the door. The broken mirror had been left outside for the cleaning people to deal with, as was customary. Fang Mu leaned down and grabbed a decent-sized piece and then kept going. When he reached the low wall, he placed the mirror across the hall beside the door to Room 321 and angled it so it reflected the other end of the hallway. Positioned this way, when he crouched down behind the wall he could see what was happening in the rest of hall without revealing his location.

After a few seconds, a vague figure appeared in the mirror.