Director Zhang raised his head in astonishment, "Speak!"

"Actually, I was the one who leaked the case information to Lin Kexin."

"Bang!"

Director Zhang slammed the table and stood up, "I knew it was you. The Inspection Office will talk to you. Now get out!"

"Wait a minute," said an unfamiliar middle-aged man on the sofa.

He looked at me, staring for at least three seconds. Just as I was feeling uneasy, the middle-aged man spoke, "Tell me your thoughts."

"My thought is that revealing the details of the 927 murder case and the 926 case to Lin Kexin can serve three purposes..."

"What good would that do? The reputation of Binhai Public Security is already ruined!" A hot-tempered deputy director shouted angrily, his finger almost poking my head.

The middle-aged man raised his hand, "Old Gu, let him finish."

The deputy director glared at me angrily, then sat down in a huff.

"First, it helps to stop the rumors. The 926 case involves minors, so it hasn't been reported, but rumors are flying everywhere. Some say it's a cover-up of a gang rape and murder involving a leader's child, others say it's a gang fight at the Second People's Hospital that killed over a dozen people, leading to the hospital being sealed off."

"It was only sealed for two days, for investigation purposes," said Team Leader Liu, frowning.

"Therefore, revealing the truth about the 926 case helps curb the rumors. There's no gang in Binhai, let alone any protection racket. Everything is handled according to the law and regulations."

"Go on," the middle-aged man said.

"Second, it helps prevent future cases. From this situation, it's clear that the Shen family didn't take our warnings seriously. When officers were on site to protect them, they refused entry, saying they didn't need us, and if anyone came for revenge, they'd kill them. When Shen Guochang died in the hospital, the Shen family's first reaction was to cause a scene and demand compensation, rather than cooperating with the police. With Lin Kexin's report, both Zhao Dabao's family and the Xiao brothers will take this matter more seriously and cooperate more with our protection efforts."

"Third, it aids in capturing the killer. As the incident spreads through society, the entire city's populace will become the police's eyes and ears, collectively tracking down this brazen killer. I suspect that even if he continues to commit crimes, he won't use the method of pre-announcing the murders again."

The leaders listened in silence, even nodding slightly.

The middle-aged man shook his head, "Things might not be as you imagine. At the very least, the public's reaction is not unified."

He paused, picking up his phone.

"I have been reading the comments, and the public is divided into three groups. The first group, which is the largest, sympathizes with Shen Jiayi and her mother, and they detest Zhao Dabao and others, wishing they could eat them alive. They call the killer 'The Judge' and praise him for filling the gaps in the law and seeking justice for the mother and daughter. The second group believes that although the children made mistakes, they are still young and immature, and they have been punished by the law. They condemn 'The Judge' for disregarding the law and targeting even children, as well as his arrogant attitude. The third group doesn't care about right or wrong; they simply admire 'The Judge's' elusive methods, completing the pre-announced murders under the police's nose without anyone knowing his exact methods. Some even say he has superpowers, able to control life and death, and punish evil while promoting good."

Director Zhang sighed, "Superpowers? Controlling life and death? Ghostly abilities? Punishing evil and promoting good? The Judge? It's all because our work wasn't thorough."

Deputy Director Wang, who is in charge of criminal investigations, hesitated and said, "I attended several task force meetings. The current judgment is that the killer is most likely Chen Jiafei. He studied biology in college and might have used virus-carrying insects to commit the crimes. When swimming in Yushan Lake, he caused Cai Yifan to suddenly cramp in the calf and drown by using water insects. Near Shen Guochang's home, he released mosquitoes carrying malaria or septicemia viruses to kill Shen Guochang."

The middle-aged man smiled tolerantly after hearing this, "This idea is interesting but impractical. First, I don't know what kind of water insects can cause calf cramps or what mosquitoes can quickly transmit malaria. Second, whether it's water insects or mosquitoes, they are still insects, not robots, and won't follow orders to bite a specific target. If the killer really did this, it wouldn't just be Cai Yifan and Shen Guochang who had accidents."

Deputy Director Wang blushed, glaring at me and Team Leader Liu with disdain and anger. If looks could kill, we would have been riddled with holes. Yes, this idea was proposed by me and Team Leader Liu at the task force meeting.

Director Zhang awkwardly took a sip of water, cleared his throat, and said, "Principal Zhang, what do you think of the case?"

Team Leader Liu whispered in my ear, introducing the fair-skinned, elegant middle-aged man as Zhang Weihua, the former head of the provincial criminal investigation department, now the vice principal of Jiangnan Police University, and the leader of the 927 task force sent by the province.

Zhang Weihua smiled, "The methods used in the first two cases were very simple."