Volume Two: Portrait - Chapter 2: Marked People

After listening to the bizarre and almost absurd story from Fang Mu, Tang Wei found it hard to believe.

"He, that student called Fang Mu..."

Tang Wei carefully chose his words, "He is drawing portraits for the criminal suspects?"

Ding Shucheng nodded.

"Is he really that amazing?"

Ding Shucheng smiled and leaned in, asking mysteriously, "Do you know why Ronaldo is the world's number one striker?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tang Wei was a bit puzzled.

"Why can't Hao Haidong become the world's number one striker?"

Tang Wei stared at Ding Shucheng in astonishment.

"Talent. This guy has the talent to perceive crimes."

Tang Wei found out from the graduate school office that Fang Mu lived in Dorm B313 in Nan Yuan Building 5, but when he arrived at the dormitory, he found it empty. A roommate of Fang Mu's said that Fang Mu had gone to play basketball. Tang Wei asked what Fang Mu looked like. The roommate smiled and said, "You don't need to ask about his appearance. If you see someone practicing free throws alone on the court, that's definitely Fang Mu."

The weather was nice. There was a faint warm breeze and the pleasant scent of flowers in the campus. Most of the college students had taken off their heavy winter clothes and were wearing light attire while shuttling around the campus. Occasionally, one could see a few girls eagerly putting on skirts. Tang Wei's black overcoat seemed out of place, and he started sweating after walking for a while. He stopped a small guy holding a basketball and asked for directions to the basketball court. The small guy enthusiastically led him there.

The basketball court was located in the southwest corner of the campus, a large area of concrete enclosed by wire mesh, containing eight complete basketball courts. Tang Wei walked through these courts, observing the lively young men and searching for the boy practicing free throws alone.

He wasn't hard to find.

Tang Wei quickly spotted a boy on the edge of one court, standing at the free throw line, raising his hand, and accurately shooting the ball into the basket.

Tang Wei walked to the edge of the court and watched as the boy repeated the same motion over and over: raise hand, shoot, score, retrieve the ball, walk back to the free throw line, raise hand, shoot, score...

The boy's movements were precise and graceful, with almost no missed shots.

"Is there something you need?" Suddenly, the boy threw a cold glance at Tang Wei without turning his head.

"Oh?" Tang Wei was caught off guard. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Um, are you Fang Mu?"

The boy's raised hand paused slightly, then flicked his finger, and the basketball flew out, hitting the rim and bouncing back into his hand.

The boy held the ball and turned around.

His face was flushed, with tiny beads of sweat on his nose, sunken cheeks, a sharp chin, and thick eyebrows furrowed together. His eyes were cold, tired, yet sharp, as if they could pierce through the intense afternoon light.

Under such a gaze, Tang Wei couldn't help but shiver. He avoided the boy's eyes and was about to speak when he realized he hadn't prepared a suitable opening line for his first meeting with Fang Mu.

"Do you... do you know Ding Shucheng?"

Fang Mu furrowed his brows even tighter, staring at Tang Wei and asked, "Are you a police officer?"

Before Tang Wei could respond, Fang Mu walked straight to the bench at the edge of the court.

Tang Wei hesitated for a moment and followed to sit down.

On the bench lay a very old backpack. Fang Mu took out a pack of tissues, wiped his face, and put on his glasses.

"Is there something you need my help with?" His expression remained blank.

Tang Wei felt a bit uneasy, but considering the purpose of his visit, he took out a stack of documents from his briefcase and handed them to Fang Mu.

"I'm from the Municipal Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division. My name is Tang Wei. Since March this year, there have been three consecutive cases of home invasion homicides. These are some of the materials related to these three cases. I heard that you..." At this point, Tang Wei noticed that Fang Mu was not listening to him but was fully focused on the materials in his hands. He closed his mouth and discreetly put back the police credentials he had prepared to show his identity.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

There was nothing more annoying than sitting with such a person for an entire afternoon.

Fang Mu remained silent, examining the documents. At first, Tang Wei patiently maintained a posture ready to listen at any time. But as time passed, his shoulders became sore, and he started to feel impatient. He stretched his limbs and leaned back comfortably in his chair, looking around listlessly.

The court where Fang Mu had been shooting was now occupied by several young men. These boys in their twenties were running on the court, competing and occasionally shouting excitedly, debating loudly about whether a certain move was a foul or if a score was valid. Watching these energetic young men, Tang Wei couldn't help but recall his days at the police academy, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Suddenly, he realized that the person next to him was one of these young men, and he, compared to these carefree boys, was so different! As if there was some kind of mark that made him stand out from the others. He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Fang Mu again.

Fang Mu was reading very slowly. He kept his head low, his eyes fixed on the pictures and on-site reports and autopsy reports. There were a few times when he looked up, and Tang Wei thought he was going to say something, but Fang Mu just gazed into the distance without speaking. After a while, he lowered his head to carefully examine the materials. Tang Wei noticed that he paid particular attention to several on-site photos.

Finally, he stood up and let out a sigh. Then he took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and handed the materials to Tang Wei, who had been staring at him.

"This person, male, aged between 25 and 35, should not be taller than 175cm, and is likely to be quite thin."

Tang Wei stared at Fang Mu. After a few seconds, he couldn't help but ask, "Is that all?"

"Yes, that's all," Fang Mu replied simply.

Tang Wei felt deeply disappointed. He had expected Fang Mu to describe the appearance, living environment, and family background of the killer in detail, as Ding Shucheng had described. But Fang Mu only provided such vague and ambiguous conclusions. In all honesty, what Fang Mu had deduced wasn't a valuable clue: most of those who used such brutal methods were male, and the majority of serial killers were aged under 40. As for height and weight, the perpetrator's height and weight could be inferred from the footprints found at the scene, and the evidence left at the scene indicated that the perpetrator had engaged in a fierce struggle with the victims, meaning that the perpetrator wouldn't be too strong.

"Based on these materials and the on-site photos, this is all I can gather," Fang Mu seemed to see through Tang Wei's thoughts. However, he added, "I also feel that this person has some mental issues, but I cannot be certain about the specifics."

Hmm, Tang Wei thought to himself, even a fool could see that this killer is a psycho!

"Being a psycho and having mental disorders are two different things."

Tang Wei couldn't help but be surprised. He realized that Fang Mu had seen through his thoughts twice within a few minutes. To cover up his surprise, he stood up and reached out his hand to Fang Mu.

"Alright, thank you. If there's anything else we need to consult you about, we will contact you again. Goodbye."

Fang Mu shook Tang Wei's hand. Tang Wei felt that the hand was cold and lacked any warmth.

"It's probably best if we don't meet again."

"Oh?" Tang Wei raised his eyebrows.

"When we meet again, it means someone else has died."

Tang Wei opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He could only nod and turn away, walking off.