The day passed quickly.

Hua Ming, who had arrived early that morning, finished multiple facial reconstructions of the victim just as everyone was getting off work.

Perfect timing.

Right when Shen Chen was about to clock out, Hua Ming stormed into the Criminal Investigation Unit like a whirlwind.

Shen Chen was still complaining to Sang Ning about wanting a private office and a high-end computer setup.

Sang Ning’s ears were practically growing calluses from listening to him whine all day.

As for Gu Yezhou—who knew where he’d gone? He hadn’t shown up at the station once the entire day.

“Shen Chen, hurry up and run the search. I can’t wait to find out who the victim really was.”

Hua Ming slapped down a thick stack of sketches, nearly as thick as a one-jiao coin standing upright.

“So many? You planned on making me work overtime from the beginning, didn’t you?” Shen Chen stared at him in disbelief.

Hua Ming still carried that stuffed backpack of his.

Sang Ning glanced at it.

It looked noticeably flatter than it had this morning.

Did this guy seriously snack on chips while drawing?

“I brought late-night snacks for you guys.” Hua Ming unzipped the backpack as he spoke. “Forensic Doctor Sang’s here too, perfect. We can eat together. Oh—and I already returned the skull. Not a single scratch on it.”

Sang Ning noticed he seemed much more lively now.

Maybe reconstructing the victim’s face had lifted a burden off his shoulders.

She understood the feeling.

Every time she finished an autopsy, she loved running over to the Criminal Investigation Unit to analyze why the killer targeted the victim in the first place. What kind of hatred could drive someone to do something so cruel?

That afternoon, neither Gu Yao nor Lu Lin had shown up.

Sang Ning had spent most of the time gossiping with Shen Chen about the landlord lady’s bizarre family.

“Alright, you two start checking first. I’m going back to take another look.”

The dead deserved dignity.

Even one missing body part mattered. Otherwise, how would they explain it to the victim’s family?

The round trip only took ten minutes.

But when Sang Ning returned to the Criminal Investigation Unit, she saw Hua Ming and Shen Chen sitting shoulder to shoulder.

Shen Chen’s face was almost unfairly beautiful, and paired with Hua Ming’s obedient-college-boy appearance, it created an oddly harmonious image.

They were both men.

So why did she suddenly think they looked weirdly compatible?

“You drew too many. How am I supposed to search through all this?” Shen Chen grumbled as he reached for the chips in Hua Ming’s arms.

Hua Ming instantly protected the bag like his life depended on it.

The moment he noticed Sang Ning walking over, he immediately rolled his chair away from Shen Chen to create distance.

“Forensic Doctor Sang, want some?”

Sang Ning had originally intended to refuse.

But seeing Hua Ming’s awkward expression while Shen Chen still wore that dissatisfied little pout, she suddenly felt mischievous.

Smiling brightly, she replied,

“Sure.”

Then she reached out—

And snatched the *entire* bag of chips away from Hua Ming.

For the next half hour, two hands repeatedly dipped into the bag while Shen Chen hammered away at his keyboard.

One matching face after another flashed across the screen.

Sang Ning’s eyes were beginning to blur from staring.

Finally, at seven in the evening, Gu Yezhou returned to the station.

Shen Chen suddenly slammed his hands against the keyboard.

“Done! After filtering through the missing persons database from the past ten years, these twenty are the closest matches to the sketches.”

Sang Ning looked over each portrait carefully.

At first glance, they all looked like the same person.

But because the victim’s teeth were missing, the jaw muscles and lip structure had shifted, making identification significantly harder.

“Too many. Narrow it down.”

Gu Yezhou’s voice came from the doorway.

The instant Hua Ming heard the familiar voice, he shot to his feet and strode toward him.

“Surprise!”

He spread his arms wide like he was about to hug him.

“Unexpected? Surprised?”

Sang Ning watched helplessly as the fresh-faced college-boy image completely transformed into something that looked suspiciously like a lover reuniting with his partner.

Unfortunately for Hua Ming, Gu Yezhou’s face remained ice-cold.

So he only stood there awkwardly with his arms open, not daring to actually hug him.

“Uh… I arrived last night, actually. You weren’t around, so I just crashed here for the night. Did you prepare a place for me to stay?”

Hua Ming wiggled his brows dramatically.

The sight made Sang Ning’s scalp tingle.

This guy’s orientation… might not be entirely straight.

Noticing the complicated look on her face, Gu Yezhou shot Hua Ming a cold glance before walking straight to Sang Ning.

His voice softened noticeably.

“Why haven’t you gone home yet? We can handle things from here.”

Home?

Last night, Sang Ning had ended up squeezing into bed with Gu Yao.

Who even knew whether Gu Yezhou had bothered making his own bed yet?

“I’m fine here,” she replied lightly. “Maybe I can help.”

Gu Yezhou nodded, then picked up the victim sketches from the desk and glanced through them.

“Narrow the range to Yancheng.”

“Boss, that cuts things down too much,” Shen Chen complained while adjusting the filters.

In an instant, only three names remained.

“Two are already dead. The other currently works in education—a kindergarten teacher.”

Gu Yezhou rested his hands on the back of Sang Ning’s chair.

“Check the backgrounds of the two deceased.”

“Can you print the kindergarten teacher’s file for me?” Sang Ning asked curiously.

Based on the sharp features in the reconstructed face, she found it hard to imagine this person working with children.

Not that she was judging appearances.

It was just that kindergarten teachers usually gave off warm, approachable vibes.

“Sure. Sent it to your phone.”

Even while talking, Shen Chen kept working the mouse, pulling up information on the other two individuals.

“This one was born in Yancheng in 1979,” he said. “Wouldn’t the age be off? Boss, didn’t you estimate the victim was between thirty and thirty-four?”

Sang Ning didn’t even look up.

She was already studying the kindergarten teacher’s photo and background information on her phone.

The fact Shen Chen could pull up complete personal files that quickly really proved he was a genius hacker.

As for the estimated age—

That came from skeletal degeneration markers. Bone nodules and ventral edge wear indicated the victim had been in that age range when killed.

And because the murder had occurred roughly ten years earlier, it meant the victim had been murdered in the prime of youth.

In such a horrifying way.

“Mhm. There’s one more,” Gu Yezhou said quietly.

Shen Chen frowned as he examined the second file.

“The age matches this one. But according to records, he died in a hiking accident eight years ago.”

Gu Yezhou immediately asked,

“Check the exact timeline of the hiking incident.”

After several rapid searches, Shen Chen pulled up the mountain location and original case records.

No body had ever been found at the foot of the mountain.

Rescue teams searched for three days and nights without success, so the case had initially been classified as a disappearance.

Two years later, after the family applied for a declaration of presumed death due to accidental disappearance, funeral arrangements had finally been carried out.

“Honestly, that doesn’t seem strange,” Shen Chen said. “The mountain’s covered in thick fog. Even if he didn’t fall all the way down, he could’ve gotten stuck in a tree somewhere halfway. By the time he woke up and tried calling for help, he probably wouldn’t have had the strength anymore.”

Still, just like Sang Ning, his suspicion naturally shifted toward the kindergarten teacher who resembled the victim so closely.

So he opened that file again.

Before he could read more than a few lines, Sang Ning suddenly said:

“This kindergarten teacher has an older brother who also disappeared during a hiking trip.”

She slowly lifted her gaze.

“…Could it be the same person?”