41 Justice

Ji He felt a sense of déjà vu washing over her overloaded brain. "Professor Fang, haven't I already answered this question?"

Rubbing her temples firmly, she extracted a few keywords from her cluttered memory. "What was it? Something about chameleons and rainforests?"

"That was Professor Liang's perspective," Fang Qingzhou replied. "He believed that, measured by the standard of law, illegal behavior is an abnormality that must be corrected."

Wearing her characteristic lifeless, world-weary expression, Ji He let out a soft scoff. "Didn't you say you appreciate the charm of order? The law should be one of the most unshakable orders in modern society. Doesn't that mean your views align?"

"Rules are rules. Rules exist to maintain stability; they cannot be used to determine right and wrong. Just as the law can measure a crime, it cannot measure suffering."

Glancing at her, Fang Qingzhou said, "Whether you are willing to admit it or not, you have to agree that in most matters, stance precedes right and wrong. As Nietzsche said, 'There are no facts, only interpretations.'"

Ji He's head began to throb again, the phantom sound of suona horns ringing in her ears. She wished a coffin would drop from the sky so she could climb right in, and raised a hand to stop her. "Please, no philosophy right now. I'm sleep-deprived."

"Actually, I don't know who originally came up with the name 'Anomaly Determination'," Fang Qingzhou said. "Technology itself is neither right nor wrong, but its applications offer multiple choices. I've only ever heard Professor Liang's explanation. Still, I've always felt the name was a bit discordant."

Ji He perked up, agreeing readily, "I've been meaning to say that. Who has the qualification to judge who is an anomaly? By their actions or by their intentions? The very name of this project carries an inherent, unequal arrogance."

Staring at the tips of her shoes, Fang Qingzhou paced back and forth, stepping on the flashlight beam that filtered through the gaps in the stone wall. Her pace was slow and erratic.

"Because of this project, I've interacted with several experimental subjects. Most of them cannot accept such a judgment. Take Liang Ming, for instance: he followed his inner sense of morality and chose to kill. He respected society's rules and chose to surrender. In his logic, he did not believe Professor Liang was qualified to erase his personality based on this. Which side is being too stubborn here, I'm not sure, so I went to investigate the victims."

"When narrating the truth, everyone cleverly avoids factors detrimental to themselves, uttering seductive, lie-like testimonies."

"Yet, when I stated that I intended to make the original truth public, they seemed to realize for the first time that their own images were equally hideous."

"They are terrified of confronting their own despicable selves, afraid of exposing their true faces, and dreading the responsibility for their own mistakes, all while loudly proclaiming themselves victims and condemning society and the law for failing to grant them righteous retribution."

"Righteous retribution?" Fang Qingzhou stopped pacing, standing isolated in the alternating light and shadow of the night. The light floating around her was like a silent, long river. She raised her head and calmly uttered words that felt somewhat chilling. "Justice under a single perspective is, in its essence, I believe, an absurd definition."

"So, 'Anomaly Determination'—its target of determination is altering perspectives..." Ji He recalled the cynical young man in the hospital ward who called himself "Xu Yuan." Deep fine lines formed between her brows as a realization dawned on her. "Making them judge their own crimes?"

Thinking deeper, Ji He shuddered.

"This technology has significant limitations. For instance, someone with extreme narcissism like Liang Yizheng is difficult to influence from the outside. Since technology couldn't satisfy him, he resorted to more extreme methods." Fang Qingzhou's train of thought grew clearer. "Before this, all narratives were from Liang Yizheng's perspective. No one had ever given the truth to Xu Yuan or Yan Jianyuan. He is filling in the gaps. If the police cannot reconstruct the truth more quickly, he will construct a perspective of his own that guides things toward self-justification. Just like the roaring public opinion on the internet right now."

Ji He's thoughts tangled into a mess. "A trial of justice..."

An itch rose on her arm where a mosquito had bitten her. Only then did she snap back to reality, standing up and dusting off her trouser legs.

"Fang Qingzhou." Ji He stood in profile, her expression hidden from view as she swatted at invisible flying insects buzzing around her. "In your opinion, who is the anomaly? Who represents justice?"

"I don't know," Fang Qingzhou answered honestly. "I don't know if someone who discards axioms and morality, using knowledge to place themselves above law and order, is doing what is right. Nor do I know if someone who tramples rule-based red lines out of a sense of emotional reason, yet remains unrepentant, truly deserves their punishment. That's why many people say I have an aloof indifference, unable to show absolute pity for the victims."

For once, Ji He was left speechless. After a long silence, she remarked, "Enthusiastic citizen, that last sentence of yours borders on dangerous inclinations."

"Perhaps," Fang Qingzhou said, accustomed to such feedback. After a moment's thought, she added, "It's not arrogance, though. I simply cannot grasp the boundaries of good and evil, nor do I have a clear standard for right and wrong. Therefore, I believe I lack the qualification to evaluate others, and I am not worthy of self-righteously pretending to empathize on behalf of someone else."

Ji He said, "I thought that, given Zhou Suirong's experiences, you would unconditionally stand on the opposite side of Yan Jianyuan."

Hearing this, Fang Qingzhou turned her head toward Zhou Suirong, and Ji He followed her gaze.

Zhou Suirong was leaning against the kitchen windowsill, waiting. From his posture, he seemed to be looking over in their direction. He boredly took two steps along the base of the wall, returned to his original spot, crossed his arms, and froze completely still.

A police officer walked through the house with a flashlight. The stainless steel bars of the security window cast crisscrossing shadows under the pull of the light, draping over Zhou Suirong like the bars of a closed cage.

An impulse rose within Ji He, prompting her to ask, "Fang Qingzhou, do you regret telling me about Zhou Suirong back then? If you hadn't leaked to me that Zhou Suirong was the first victim, I wouldn't have thought to investigate his past. Or perhaps, if you hadn't met me, another criminal investigator might not have pursued the matter to the bitter end like I did, digging deep and pressing forward step by step."

Fang Qingzhou looked straight into her eyes, her expression remaining calm and unrippled. Her eyes were as deep as the sea and as still as a lake, rippling with water-like lamplight in the deep night.

"Well..." Ji He met her gaze for a moment, realizing she had asked a rather foolish question. She nudged her cigarette case open with her thumb, but as she reached to pull one out, she remembered she was still at a crime scene and withdrew her hand emptily, taking back her words. "Never mind. My brain is fried from staying up all night."

Long before Fang Qingzhou gave her the answer, she should have anticipated the worst possible outcome.

Fang Qingzhou waved in that direction. Seeing her, Zhou Suirong lengthened his stride, covered the distance in two or three steps, and asked with feigned nonchalance, "Secret whisperings finished?"

"Mhm," Fang Qingzhou replied. "We were talking behind your back."

"Do you need to hide behind my back to talk bad about me?" Zhou Suirong exaggerated his expression. "Goodness, is my status that high now?"

With that, he fished a piece of biscuit out of his pocket, tore open the wrapper, and fed it to the corner of Fang Qingzhou's mouth.

"Tch." Ji He's nicotine cravings were acting up, and watching the two of them being all mushy made her profoundly uncomfortable. "It feels rather unsettling not seeing you two arguing."

Zhou Suirong pressed down on Fang Qingzhou's hand as she rummaged in his pocket. "Captain Ji, is this the kind of mindset a people's police officer should have?"

The people's police officer twitched the corner of her mouth, flashing a smile tinged with a hint of spiritual death.

The crowd outside the stone wall began to stir. With a solemn expression, Ji He moved closer to investigate.

The forensic doctor finished counting the bones, confirmed nothing had been missed at the scene, packed the remains carefully, and prepared to take them back for an autopsy.

Shadows shifted and intertwined—the shadows of grass, the shadows of trees—with pitch-black line segments interspersed among those elusive, shifting silhouettes.

Fang Qingzhou felt as though Xu Yuan's father had come back to life, crawling up out of the dirt pit with a rope around his neck, staring down at his own feet. The people around him stood with him upon the gallows.

"I really don't want to be on camera. Why won't those people outside leave?" The forensic doctor tugged at his face mask, but his face was too broad to cover it completely. He sighed sorrowfully, "If I go out like this, they're going to film me looking all sneaky. When netizens see it, they'll say I have a wretched appearance and a guilty conscience."

A nearby officer patted him on the back, finding humor in their misery. "It's fine. Just take two steps for every three when you walk out and show them what an agile fat person looks like. We'll block you from behind."

The group trudged outward.

Before even following them out, the group could already hear the reporters and netizens who had been waiting for a long time shouting out their interrogations:

"Did you dig up Xu Yuan's father's body? Why have Xu Yuan and his father been missing for over twenty years, and the police are only finding this out now?"

"Why did the police arrive at the scene slower than reporters and even netizens? Were you deliberately stalling for efficiency?"

"Can the forensic doctor determine the general cause of death?"

"Why did the police find the body so quickly? Does that mean the police knew the location of the hidden corpse all along?"

"Was it really dug up? Where are they taking the body? Will the autopsy result just be ruled a suicide?"

"Answer us! Citizens demand the right to know!"

The voices gradually faded into the distance until, after the police vehicles drove away, they erupted into a jumble of indistinguishable, chaotic arguments.

Ji He: "..."

The pit nearby was ready-made, looking so comfortable it made one want to lie right down inside.

Closing her eyelids for a moment, Fang Qingzhou broke the frozen silence of the cramped space. "This is his perspective."

Naturally taking her hand, Zhou Suirong lowered his head and asked, "Huh? What perspective?"

Ji He exhaled a long breath of tainted air. "Honestly, I think..."

Standing atop a landscape of ruins and mud, a sudden sense of relief washed over her. She lifted her head and sighed, "The feng shui of City A is truly wonderful."

She had almost forgotten she was a native of City A.

If this mess had happened within her own precinct's jurisdiction, countless whips would be taking turns lashing her until she spun like a top.

Zhao Rong would probably be screaming his head off.

Over there, the prospective top—Captain Feng—strode toward them after finishing his current tasks. With his arms swinging at his sides, his sturdy build gave his approach the momentum of an enraged wild bear, his broad shoulders casting a sudden darkness over the entire patch of ground.

Unconsciously, Zhou Suirong pressed his hand onto Fang Qingzhou's shoulder, pulling her aside once, then twice more.

Noticing his petty movements, Captain Feng glared fiercely, opening his mouth to spew sparks. "Do you take me for some kind of ruffian? What are you afraid of? Do I look like I'm about to hit someone?!"

The people present found it hard to comment. Captain Feng deflated on the spot.

Scratching his short hair that clung tightly to his scalp, Captain Feng said in a deep, rough voice, "Consultant Fang, what do you think of the situation now?"

The question was a muddled one. After all, Captain Feng had a clear grasp of the situation; he just wanted to chat casually with an expert, seek some comfort, and see if it might broaden his train of thought.

To everyone's surprise, Fang Qingzhou delivered a brutally honest blow to his soul. "You guys are doomed."

Captain Feng shuddered as if scorched by fire, his robust frame trembling.

Wonderful, she had brought in a living judge of the netherworld.

Seeing the captain's face turn livid, Zhou Suirong offered a dry smile and said, "Boss Fang, could you phrase that a bit more tactfully?"

"The end," Fang Qingzhou replied.

Ji He's masseter muscles twitched as she silently stepped backward.

"..." Avoiding Captain Feng's murderous glare, Zhou Suirong tried once more to salvage the situation. "I don't mean that kind of tact... I mean, is there a description with a bit more detachment?"

Fang Qingzhou actually considered it for a moment before saying, "There is still a brief period before the situation ferments. Suspended sentence."

Feeling the air grow thin, Zhou Suirong gave Captain Feng a look that said *I'm powerless to help*.

Clutching his chest, Captain Feng began to suspect he had developed some new medical condition. "You know what? After that sudden spike of panic in my chest, I actually feel a lot better. What's going on here? Have I become a psychopath too?"

"I was just teasing you." Fang Qingzhou swept her gaze over the three of them, whose faces all read *speechless*. "When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally go through. What else can be done? Xu Yuan's matter is already resolved; after this, we'll deal with Yan Jianyuan's."

With that, Fang Qingzhou glanced at Zhou Suirong. Catching the hint keenly, he tilted his head and asked, "What? Do I have a problem too?"

"If you have any troubles that require external assistance, I can prioritize handling them," Fang Qingzhou said.

Declining politely, Zhou Suirong leaned back and waved his hands. "No thanks, miracle doctor, I don't have any."

Sometimes, Ji He truly admired Fang Qingzhou's ability to crack jokes and remain completely unfazed even if Mount Tai were collapsing right before her eyes. No wonder her nickname was "Leader."

It was just that ordinary people simply couldn't understand her sense of humor.

Hearing the commotion outside quiet down, Ji He said wearily, "I'm going to find somewhere to smoke a cigarette."

Reaching into his pocket, Captain Feng fell right into step behind her. "I'm coming too."

Catching the unspoken warning about to escape Fang Qingzhou's face, Ji He spoke first, "Unless you can figure out a way to shock someone's brain with electricity and make them quit smoking. That technology would genuinely benefit humanity. Is that feasible?"

Passing by the two of them, Fang Qingzhou offered a polite farewell: "Good night."