Memory Lost

The sky at the start of winter is always gray. The birds chirp as they fly across the windows, contrasting the quietness of the building.
Su Mian is standing in front of the round table. She’s still as pretty as always, but her hair is like a bird’s nest after being ruffled by her all morning. There’s also a ballpoint pen stuck in her hair——it’s being used as a hairpin.
The Black Shield Team is sitting at the table. Han Chen is the closest to her. He has his legs crossed, his elbow on the armrest while looking at her; it’s not unusual. The untidiness doesn’t seem to bother her. She strokes her hair out of habit and turns around to look at everyone. Her movements carry her beautiful aura as always. All of the guys smile; Han Chen smiles as well.
Su Mian sweeps her eyes across them unconcernedly. Her black pupils are full of coldness as she says, “The common trait across the seven-member organization: they’ve all experienced some kind of psychological harm, and this harm came from their families.”
Everybody turns serious as she continues to speak, “We already know the identity and family background of Sniper T. If it weren’t for his father’s selfishness, he would have probably become a gold medalist at the Olympics and not a serial killer who ended his own life;
As for A, we’ve just finished researching his background, so there’s not much more to say. He’s from a family of poverty whose father died from being beaten up as a thief. His mother died at home from illness——all of these must have had a psychological impact on him as a kid;
Although we’re still not clear on L’s identity and background, based on his preliminary profile, he has lived in a suppressive family for a long time causing him to become twisted;
There’s also Xin Jia. Although her family is wealthy and respected, she said these words to Han Chen before she died: ‘there are actually many things that are not what they seem. Many people also don’t live as happy as they seem. It was them who discovered me and saved me. ’ The meaning behind these words is quite obvious. As a daughter of a wealthy family who works at a university, she rarely has contact with people outside. Besides her family, what else could bring her such harm?”
She speaks up to this point and glances at Han Chen subconsciously. Just basing on the facts, there sure is one person sitting here who could have caused great pain to Xin Jia.
How could Han Chen not understand her gaze?
He continues to look indifferent—–he doesn’t respond to her.
But Xiao Zhuan on the side slaps his thigh and says, “Oh yeah! Every one of them has indeed been harmed by their own family!” Chatterbox butts in, “But Xiao Bai, what use is there to conclude this?”
Su Mian smiles, crosses her arms, leans against the edge of the table and answers, “Even though we don’t know what the circumstances were for Xu Nan Bai and R, Xu Nan Bai’s family condition and his personality, as well as his father passing away suddenly after 420, I think, that it’s possible that Xu Nan Bai did not receive recognition from his dad and family and had a big conflict.
There are so many psychopaths in the world. Not all of them have experienced serious harm from their families. The probability of it is only half and half. But among 6 members, there are already 5. This is most likely not a coincidence. But rather……”
She pauses before continuing, “It’s one of S’s criteria for choosing members.”
Everybody is silent. Han Chen looks at her and doesn’t say anything.
“The seven-member organization is calm, reasonable, intelligent, and cruel. S, as the core of the group, must also be an influential figure. Such a person setting an ‘emotional’ criterion like this can only indicate that S is very stubborn about it. It may even be what partly caused him/her to become twisted,” she says, “Therefore, this gives us S’s first profile description: he/she once experienced serious harm from his/her family.”
Chatterbox, Xiao Zhuan, and the others all nod. Cold Face speaks, “How serious could it have been?”
Chatterbox, Xiao Zhuan, and the others all nod. Cold Face speaks, “How serious could it have been?”
Su Mian thinks for a moment and answers, “For example, being abused for a long time, or a murdering incident of a family member.”
Everyone turns to silence. Su Mian continues speaking, “S’s second profile description: he/she may be a member of the police force or of a related profession. Even if he/she is not, he/she must have studied in the system before. And therefore: he/she must have been a student at the police academy or has studied in a related profession.”
Everybody freezes hearing this. Su Mian smiles and explains, “The second common trait of the seven-member organization is: loyalty. For a psychopath, benefits cannot drive loyalty, nor can force. Only understanding and being able to relate to one another can do this. understands them and is able to guide them, so they view him/her as their spiritual leader.
And under his guidance, what is this organization like? First of all, the organization is tight. They almost never leave any traces of evidence behind at the scene. Doing this once is easy, but being able to do this so many times is very difficult. On top of that, every killer has a different way of killing, which involves examination, geography, criminal psychology, criminal investigation, forensics……and other knowledge. This means that S has a vast knowledge of the police and its processes.
In addition, T’s sniping, A’s explosions, and R’s heart extractions……they can display their skills and release their emotions at the same time, letting them feel satisfaction and enjoyment. This shows that S understands criminal psychology as well.
His/her understanding of it is different from Shao Lun, a top student who self-taught and imitated profiles. Shao Lun completed Situ Yi’s profile at the time, but his execution was very rough-edged and amateur. Therefore, he was controlled by Situ Yi instead. But Suses criminal psychology, and maybe knowledge of criminal investigation and the police force, and leads the members, creating a unique, safe, and twisted way of committing crimes. I think this may also be the meaning behind the phrase, ‘truly started to ignite themselves,’ which they’ve mentioned several times.
And in China, the police system and criminal psychology share very little knowledge to the outside. It’s like if you’re not a member of the system, it’s very hard for you to search and read related information. For him/her to be this familiar with them, he/she must have worked or studied in the system before.”
Su Mian finishes talking. Xiao Zhuan nods furiously. Han Chen remains quiet. Chatterbox ruffles his hair. Cold Face is the sharpest, so he asks, “Xu Nan Bai also fits the two criteria that you mentioned. Could he have been the one who was able to put his knowledge into use?”
Su Mian shakes her head, “Not possible. First off, he’s not smart enough to design all of these methods of killing. Furthermore, if he designed them, he should have been the spiritual leader.”
Su Mian shakes her head, “Not possible. First off, he’s not smart enough to design all of these methods of killing. Furthermore, if he designed them, he should have been the spiritual leader.”
Chatterbox interrupts, “Then is it possible that——he/she is not a member in the police system, but he/she is a veteran in crimes and has been dealing with the police for many years and we never caught him/her? And this is why he/she understands the police system so well?”
Su Mian shakes her head, “No. This brings us to S’s third profile description: back then, his age should be between 20-30 years old, and likely to be male.”
Chatterbox says in shock, “That young?”
Su Mian nods, “That young. Two reasons: number one, from the members that we already know of, their age is not too old either. Tand A were not even 20 years old at the time. If S is a lot older than them, as the spiritual leader to the members who have experienced harm from their families, he/she would definitely have been more like a ‘father’ figure. But whether it was Xu Nan Bai’s attitude when talking about S before the cliff or the poems and lyrics mentioning S from L and R, none of them showed this kind of emotion. On the contrary, S seems more like one of their members, their center. Therefore, I speculate that their age difference is small and may be the same age. Number two, the seven-member organization case back then emerged suddenly and erupted suddenly, provoking the police leading to the bloodshed battle and the defeat of them. No matter how intricate and experienced they are, they always show pride in their style.
In addition, a female criminal’s characteristics are usually different from a male criminal. They’re usually more delicate and have different methods of committing a crime. But the members of this organization have never shown any female characteristics from the start. Therefore, the leader is more likely to be male.”
Everyone nods after she finishes.
Su Mian then says, “The last three profile descriptions are: number one, every member of the organization has their own specialized skill. Some are gifted, but they also spend a lot of time practicing to perfect it. He has a certain level of skill in professional knowledge or technique and is able to have a comforting effect on psychopaths who often have fluctuating emotions. Therefore, I think that Smust have a specialized skill. And it’s possible that he uses it as a disguise.
Number two, since S is able to make so many members trust him and be loyal to him, as well as design their methods of committing crimes so incredibly, he must be smart and knowledgeable. He possesses very strong charisma.
Number three, since S is able to gather so many people together and have them trained, he must have a certain level of wealth to be able to do this.”
Speaking up to this point, everybody already has their eyes on the whiteboard in front of them. During her speech, Su Mian has already written out the six profile descriptions of S:
Number three, since S is able to gather so many people together and have them trained, he must have a certain level of wealth to be able to do this.”
Speaking up to this point, everybody already has their eyes on the whiteboard in front of them. During her speech, Su Mian has already written out the six profile descriptions of S:
1, he’s currently between 25-35 years-old, male;
2, has once experienced serious harm from the family. Long-term abuse or a murder incident within the family;
3, highly educated with top scores, extremely knowledgeable;
4, wealthy, and can allocate a considerable amount of money freely;
5, was a member of the police or related systems in the past. Or had studied in a related profession before;
6, experienced in a specialized skill and uses it as his profession.
“During the case from five years ago, the police must have interrogated a large number of suspects, witnesses, or related personnel. There are also the criminal investigators and civil officers who participated in the case as well…..” Su Mian says, “let’s start by searching for S among them. We might find something.”
At this point, Han Chen, who has been quiet this whole time, speaks, “Let me draw a profile as well.”