Ji Xingyao saw Luo Zuyu confessing to his crimes through the monitor outside and knew that they had lost their battle. She slumped down in a chair.

For four full hours, Luo Zuyu confessed to his crimes with a self-satisfied smile. Every time that he killed someone, he had no worries at all, because his brother, sister-in-law and agency would help him smooth everything over and help him escape the police’s investigations.

With this illusory sense of security, his ego had become extremely inflated. He was complacent and viewed human lives like grass.

"Even if these women were still alive, they would just get married; doing housework during the day and getting fucked at night. After a few years, they would become dry yellow-faced women[1]. Their lives are meaningless like most people... It was I who chose them as sacrifices and let them turn into famous songs that will be passed down through the ages. It is just like turning pitch-black coal into sparkling diamonds. This sublimated their lives. Even if they have souls, they would thank me."

Luo Zuyu ended his confession with these dark values. He had said all the words that had accumulated in his heart for a long time in one breath and he seemed very tired.

After a moment of silence, Chen Shi said, "‘Sublimated their lives’. You actually dared to say that! Is it not you who relies on these songs that are popular all over the country to earn buckets of money and live a lavish life? What about those girls? Their families can only cry into their photos."

"Art is like fire. It will burn everything. Real artists won’t care about the life and death of others." Luo Zuyu grinned.

There was no cure for this man whose sickness has reached his vitals. Chen Shi was too lazy to refute him and just said, "I think that your future cellmates would be delighted to share a room with a big star!"

Luo Zuyu was instantly pulled back towards reality. He shouted hysterically, "No, I want to withdraw my confession! I want to withdraw!"

The lawyer, whose mind had been wandering for quite some time, suddenly sat up straight, as if grabbing onto a glimmer of hope. Lin Dongxue berated him, "The evidence is solid. Do you still want to deny it?"

Luo Zuyu panicked and muttered for a long time, "I... I’m sick. Yes, I have dual personalities. The one who killed people wasn’t me! It wasn’t me! I don't want to go to jail, not even for a day!"

"You’re trying to struggle even now? Is there a point?" Chen Shi asked coldly.

Luo Zuyu cried, "I'm a big star! You can't treat me like this. If I’m in prison, who knows how many people would be sad… I don’t live for myself, but for my hundreds of thousands of fans. You should think of them!”

The lawyer echoed, "Yes, this case involves extremely extensive public influence and can’t be dealt with hastily!"

Chen Shi sneered. "Don't think too much. When you kill and go to jail, in the eyes of others, it's just a big commotion. After watching it, everyone would still eat and sleep. No one will grieve for you or shed tears for you, no matter how dazzling you once were. Your fans won’t hesitate to abandon you because there would soon be new idols for them to pursue. There is no shortage of stars in the world! You have chosen a career that sells dreams. This doesn’t mean that you’re as holy and beautiful as the dreams. That’s just the public image your agency designed for you. It’s because you’re so inaccessible that outsiders can’t see you clearly! You are just a presence that entertains other people. It’s a pleasure to see your rise in popularity. But it’s also a pleasure to see your destruction. No one will grieve for you. You should struggle as you fall into the abyss where you’re disdained by thousands. Perform your last show well and entertain your food and clothing providers![2]”

This last passage gave Luo Zuyu a feeling of déjà vu. Through his tears, Chen Shi in front of him seemed to turn into another person. He murmured, "Song Lang..."

Chen Shi picked up the intercom and said, "Take him away!"

At the end of the interrogation, Luo Zuyu was taken to the detention room. The lawyer, who had failed to protect him, went outside. He bowed deeply to Ji Xingyao, who was sitting paralyzed in a chair, and left.

At that moment, Ji Xingyao looked as if her soul had been taken away and her eyes were blank. She stood up and said to Chen Shi, "I won't give up just like this!" Then she turned and left.

"Where are you going?"

Ji Xingyao turned her head and saw another arrest warrant in Lin Dongxue's hand, on which her own name was printed.

Lin Dongxue said, "We suspect that you are related to the death of the hotel cleaner. Please accept being investigated!"

Two days later, the police held a press conference and confirmed that Luo Zuyu’s murder case was true. This matter was tantamount to a powerful bomb. Over the next two weeks, it was hotly discussed by netizens. Luo Zuyu and his agency’s various black materials[3] were uncovered as a result. Luo Zuyu, who was staying alone in the detention center waiting for the court proceedings, had already become an abandoned chess piece. His agency didn’t take any measures to defend him and all real estate under his name was also auctioned off.

As for Ji Xingyao, she let an assistant in the team bear the charge of murdering the female cleaner. She walked out of the police station without incident. When she left, she said, "Long’an is really an ominous place. I’ll never come again."

The work of collecting Luo Zuyu's murder evidence lasted for nearly three months, so the proceedings could only be delayed again and again. During this period, the agency released an album called "Pure Black Remembrance", which was a collection of songs Luo Zuyu had written after each murder. They publicly announced that all the proceeds from the sale of the album would be used to compensate the victims' families.

The release of this album was met with criticism, with people blaming the agency for its lack of conscience and making money off of dead people’s backs. However, this couldn't stop its sales from rising. Everyone sought it out for the novelty because they wanted to hear what these songs were about. And there were rumors that the screams of the victims were hidden in the audio mix of the songs.

While "Pure Black Remembrance" was setting off a sales frenzy, Luo Zuyu, who had been forgotten by others in the detention center, quietly committed suicide by slitting his wrists with a flattened and burnt cigarette filter.[4] The autopsy results showed that he had signs of being sexually assaulted and subjected to violence on a long-term basis. However, his buddies unanimously denied this matter, so they couldn’t do anything about it.

These were all things that happened later.

The day after the case ended, Lin Qiupu called Chen Shi, Lin Dongxue, and Xu Xiaodong to the office and said, "Well done. I thought that this case would drag on for a long time. I didn't expect it to be wrapped up by only the three of you."

Xu Xiaodong said, "To be accurate, it was due to Brother Chen alone."

Lin Qiupu smiled, "You two have made great contributions this time. The Bureau will definitely reward you generously. As for you..." He looked at Chen Shi, "I still say that it’s a pity that you’re not a policeman. You can’t even take credit for such a big thing like this. Isn’t it such a shame?”

"I don't care. Just give me the case-solving bonus."

"This will be a big bonus! You can look forward to it! By the way, there’s one more thing that I need to talk about. The colleagues in the information department found that Ji Xingyao had contacted a suspicious number. The content of the communication is unknown, but checking her bank account, they found that she had taken out two million in cash on the 16th."

Lin Dongxue was slightly taken aback. "She didn't mention this matter during the interrogation!"

Chen Shi said, "The 16th was the day when the gun mailing case happened. Could it really be a coincidence? Was the Ghost Face Butterfly really directed by her and distracting the police?"

"Unfortunately, we have no evidence and can't sue her. Sure enough, money could make anyone work for you."

"Who exactly is the Ghost Face Butterfly?" Lin Dongxue asked.

"We suspect that it’s Zhou Tiannan or one of his associates. A crime master with hidden talents!"

"How is the pistol mailing case going anyway?" Chen Shi asked.

Lin Qiupu shook his head, "It's not going too smoothly. Three people have already died and one police officer has died. We’ve only found five pistols..." He looked up. "The follow-up for the Luo Zuyu case will be taken over by comrades from other bureaus. You can put down that case and hurry over to help me!"

"Long’an has never had such a case. It seems that the storm is coming!" Chen Shi sighed with emotion.

"Yeah, the storm is coming."

1. Middle-aged women who generally have less time to take care of themselves and aren’t as youthful-looking and pretty as before.

2. Another way to talk about fans. If fans don’t purchase tickets, the stars won’t get any money to provide for themselves.

3. News that would tarnish their reputations.

4. So I didn’t think this was actually possible until I found someone who actually did this. A video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dGvnEnCXc8