American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others

Dr. Green pondered for a moment: "He may have made judgments by observing the behavior, words, and even their social circles. He may think that these people represent some kind of 'evil' that he cannot accept."

Carter interrupted, "For example, Peter's gambling debt may be a sin in the eyes of the murderer?"

"It's very likely." Dr. Green nodded, "and, the murderer may have a strong sense of self-identity. He would think that his actions were for greater justice, even if this justice was completely distorted."

Lynn leaned on the back of the chair, crossed his hands in front of his chin, and his eyes flashed: "So, we must start with the details of the lives of the victims and find their common 'sin'. It is not necessarily a sin in the legal sense, but It is the 'sin' defined in the eyes of the murderer."

Dr. Green nodded with a smile: "That's right. The murderer's psychological clue is hidden in some connection between these victims. Find this clue and you can find him."

After leaving Dr. Green's office, Lynn stopped, took a deep breath and looked at Carter: "Notify the tech department to re-crush the background of each victim, especially their daily behaviors, social circles and possible secrets . No seemingly unrelated details can be left out."

Katit head: "I get it. This time we will dig deep until we pull him out of the shadow."

A cold light flashed in Lin En's eyes: "The murderer thought he was judging others, and soon he would find that he was the one who was truly judged."

The night shrouded Manhattan, but the FBI office was brightly lit. Lynn sat at his desk, staring at the computer screen, holding a cup of coffee that had already been cold. He has been browsing the Manhattan area's mutant archives for several hours in a row, trying to find suspects who are in line with the "punishing evil and promoting good" behavior pattern.

The files on the screen slid one by one, and Lynn's brows became tighter and tighter. Finally, he stopped on two files and his eyes became sharp.

Suspect 1: Codename "Judge"

Real name: Max Sloan

Ability: Think about power, can control objects and create high-intensity shock waves.

Background: Once a lawyer, an innocent person was convicted of a failure in a case. He suffered from guilt and later resigned and disappeared from the public eye. Years later, he appeared as a "judgmenter" and focused on punishing criminals who he believed had escaped legal sanctions. His way of committing crimes is usually precise and cruel, and he uses thought power to create fatal damage.

Latest record: Two years ago, he participated in an "underground trial" event in Brooklyn, and has no trace since then.

Suspect 2: Codenamed "Thorns"

Real name: Caroline Perez

Ability: Plant manipulation, able to grow and control vine-like plants quickly, causing damage or imprisoning targets.

Background: Once an environmentalist, strongly opposed pollution and corporate greed. Her family died in a chemical plant leak accident, which made her lose trust in the so-called "system". After that, she began to use her own abilities to fight against "bad people", including polluting corporate executives, corrupt officials and violent criminals.

Latest record: Six months ago, she appeared in a case on Manhattan's Upper East Side targeting a wealthy businessman suspected of illegal hunting of animals, but she managed to escape.

Lynn stared at the screen and pondered for a moment. Both of these people have obvious "lyncher" traits, which are in line with the analysis of psychology expert Dr. Green. They exercise violence in the name of "justice" and place themselves above the law and morality.

"Judges and Thorns, one of them may be our murderer." Lin En thought silently.

He quickly sorted out the two's files and began to find potential connections between them and their victims. He particularly noticed that Thorns appeared on Manhattan’s Upper East Side six months ago, which is less than two miles from the nearest murder site. As for the judge, his ability description is also highly consistent with certain traces on the scene, especially those wounds that appear to be caused by external forces.

"Carter," Lynn called Carter, his voice sensually exhausted and cold, "I found two suspects. One was the 'Judges' and the other was the 'Thorns'. They both punished evil and Yang. Good is a criminal record, and their abilities overlap with the murderer's behavior."

Carter's voice came from the other end of the phone, obviously not resting yet: "Who do you think is more suspicious?"

"All are very big." Lin En rubbed his eyebrows, "But we can't rely on guessing. I need you to lead someone from the technical department to check the recent trends of these two people, especially whether they have appeared near the crime scene. .”

"I understand, I'll start immediately." Carter answered simply and neatly.

After hanging up the phone, Lynn leaned on the back of the chair, closed his eyes and recalled all the clues. Although both suspects meet certain conditions, there are still unsolved mysteries in the case. Does the murderer's behavior of leaving Rose have some connection with one of the two people's past? Or is there someone else?

Late at night, the office was so quiet that only the ticking of the clock remained. Lynn opened the Thorns' archives again and carefully studied her crime patterns and goals. Her behavior is full of protests against social injustice, but will she cross the line and reach out to ordinary people who are not directly related to the system?

Immediately afterwards, he switched to the inquisition's file. Max's past is full of regret and anger, and he is extremely hostile to "the sin that the law cannot punish." Perhaps, this gave him more motivation to target these seemingly ordinary but flawed victims.

Lynn finally came to the conclusion that the judge's behavior pattern is more in line with the victim's background, and Thorns, while some cases may involve, she is more like a marginal participant.

He picked up the phone and called Carter again: "Focus on the judge and find his place. This time, we can't let him run away."

Carter on the other end of the phone smiled: "I understand, Inspector. We will definitely make him pay the price this time."

Early in the morning, after the rain, the streets of Manhattan were still wet, and the air was filled with the smell of soil and oil smoke. Lynn was sitting in the car, holding a file in his hand. This was the detailed whereabouts report of the judge, Max Sloan. Carter sat in the passenger seat, looking at the map and whispered:

“According to the technology department’s investigation, Max has indeed appeared in Manhattan several times in the past six months, but we tracked his bank records, public transportation records and some surveillance equipment records… and found something interesting.”

Lynn looked up and said, "What's the matter?"

Carter turned his laptop to Lynn, and the timeline showed it: "The first two serial murders in the case happened in two weeks three months ago. And that time period, Max simply Not in Manhattan. He was in Philadelphia and lived in a cheap hotel, and the bills and surveillance could fully confirm his alibi.”

Lynn frowned even more, and took the notebook and looked through the records. Indeed, Max's credit card consumption records, hotel check-in records, and multiple public surveillance footage during that period all indicate that he is in Philadelphia. More importantly, time doesn't match - he can't appear at the crime scene at all.

"That's interesting." Lynn whispered, with a hint of helplessness in his voice. "Max's method of committing the crime is consistent with some of the characteristics of the murderer, but his absence proves to be impeccable. It seems that he is not our murderer."

Carter sighed and leaned on the seat: "So, this line is dead. But he does have a tendency to be a 'lyncher', what if he has some connection with the murderer? For example, he might be in some kind of Have you communicated in the mutant community or have you instigated someone?”

Lynn nodded: "This possibility cannot be ruled out. Notify the technical department and continue to monitor Max's activities to see if he has connections with other mutants, especially those with similar tendencies."

Carter turned on his phone and started to arrange it, while Lynn put the file aside, rubbed his eyebrows, and felt a little tired in his eyes. They spent two full days investigating Max, but eventually had to rule him out, which doubled his pressure.

"What about the thorn?" Carter asked, "Is it time for her to put her suspicion first?"

Lynn pondered for a moment and shook her head: "Thorny's behavior pattern is more inclined to targeted attacks. Her victims are mostly clear 'some evil people' - people like polluting business owners, corrupt officials, poachers. , and our serial murder victims do not have that clear commonality. She may be the direction of investigation, but I prefer to think that our murderer has not surfaced yet."

At noon that day, Lynn took Carter to the conference room of the FBI branch in Manhattan. He summoned all members of the team, sorted out the case again, and officially announced Max's exclusion.

"Our main suspect, Max, has ruled it out, and thorns are just an alternative direction. We may have to face a new possibility - the murderer may not be a mutant in the known archives, or even hidden deeply. Individuals.”

There was silence in the conference room, and several agents looked at each other, obviously realizing that the case was much more complicated than expected.

"Inspector," said a young technician. "If the murderer is a mutant hidden deep, how should we lock it? We have checked all known mutants in Manhattan, but there are no traces."

Lynn's eyes were cold: "Then expand the scope. Contact the federal mutant database to retrieve files from the entire New York State. At the same time, we need to re-examine the background of these victims. I believe the murderer's logic is hidden in some kind of victims. There is commonality, but this commonality may be very secretive.”

Carter added: “Victims have more than just careers or life trajectories, we need to investigate their social circles to see if they may have been exposed to a particular mutant or participated in some unknown activity. ”

Lynn nodded: "That's right. Also, let psychology expert Dr. Green join the analysis team to focus on the potential psychological connection between the victim and the murderer. The murderer believes that he is 'punishing evil and promoting good', then his' evil 'What is the standard? We must find this logic."

In the afternoon, Lynn returned to his office and flipped through the files alone. Although Max's suspicion has been ruled out, the quote from the archive still emerges in his mind: "The crime that the law cannot punish."

"Just outside the law..." Lynn murmured in a low voice, and the red rose at the scene of the crime appeared in his mind, as if it was sending some message to him.

Suddenly, the phone on the table rang, and it was Carter who called.

"Lynn, I found something new." Carter's tone was a little nervous. "Two of the victims, Peter Reynolds and college student Alyssa, appeared in the same place a week before the incident. ——A underground bar in Manhattan. And this bar happens to be a gray area where mutants and ordinary people intertwined."

Lynn raised his eyebrows: "Underground bar? Are you sure?"

"Yes. And this place has been marked as a possible 'mutant stronghold' by intelligence agencies many times, but it has not taken action because of no direct violations." Carter replied.

Lynn stood up and said firmly, "That's our next investigation target. Get ready for support teams and we'll go to that bar tonight."

Lynn led the team to investigate the second suspect - Caroline Perez, code-named "Thorns". Her abilities, motivations and past behavior patterns all coincide with the case, which made her the focus for a while. However, after an in-depth investigation, things once again deviated from Lynn's expectations.

Carter placed a detailed report on Lynn's desk, with helplessness in his tone: "The record of Thorns' activity at the time of the incident has also been found. When the last three cases occurred, she was not in Manhattan at all."

Lynn opened the report and saw that the thorns' activity trajectory was listed in detail. She was participating in a fierce protest on environmental protection at the time of the incident. There were many witnesses and video records at the scene, and even public speeches she delivered, which were in line with the time and place.

"This record proves that she cannot be the murderer," Carter added. "And, based on our clues, her recent actions have no intersection with the cases we are pursuing."

Lynn frowned, took a deep breath, and said in a low tone: "This means that our second suspect has also been ruled out."

The office fell into a brief silence. Lynn leaned against the back of the chair and rubbed his temples, a trace of fatigue and doubt flashed in his eyes. He has always believed that the murderer was some mutant in the name of "justice", but now, both of the most likely suspects have been proven innocent, which has shaken his judgment.

"Linn," Carter spoke tentatively, "would we be wrong from the beginning? Although these cases have traces of mutants, the murderer may not be the kind of lyncher we imagined."

"You mean, these cases may have nothing to do with mutants at all?" Lynn asked in a low voice, his eyes sharp.

"It's not totally unrelated." Carter shook his head, "but maybe we're too focused on finding the motivation for 'lynchers' and ignore other possibilities. For example, the real connection between these victims, or the symbolism of the rose. ”