Chapter 258 - 161: Poaching

"How is Lin Miao?"

"She’s in a mental hospital. Her physical recovery is going well, and the wounds aren’t at risk of infection."

"What about Lin Miao’s body?"

"We’re holding onto the remains as evidence for now. Cremation is on hold, and we’ll be preserving them for a while."

"I was referring to the skin from her face."

「The thirty-first.」

The tight security that had been in place suddenly relaxed.

Although you could still see police officers on duty, things were no longer so strict.

"The same goes for the skin. It’s being kept for now, just like the body."

"We originally planned to place Lin Miao under compulsory management. However, considering her mental instability, we realized long-term restraint would cause more harm than good."

"So, the Special Fifth Bureau came up with a good solution."

「2:30 in the afternoon.」

「Inside the office.」

Zhang Liang leisurely lifted a cup of tea, blew on it to cool it down, and took a couple of sips. He looked up, revealing dark circles under his eyes.

"What solution?" Wang Chao, who had been observing from behind, paused and leaned in.

The Special Fifth Bureau was becoming less secretive. Aside from keeping its members’ identities classified, its operations were gradually becoming more public as it began to take on some police duties.

So it wasn’t a big deal for Wang Chao to be observing.

"A human-skin mask."

Zhang Liang paused before adding:

"According to the evaluations from her psychologist and psychiatrist, Lin Miao’s psyche suffered a massive blow, triggering a self-preservation mechanism."

"She’s entered a state of profound isolation from everyone around her, where she can only perceive things she’s fixated on."

"At the same time, her perception of reality has become severely distorted. Her understanding of life and death, of the distinction between people, her personality, her emotions—it’s all been altered."

"This is..."

As Zhang Liang spoke, the more Xu Huo listened, the more familiar it sounded. Before Zhang Liang could finish, he paused and preemptively said one word.

"Autism?"

He asked tentatively.

"That’s right. According to the psychiatrist, it’s autism."

"But it’s a form of autism accompanied by extremely strong self-destructive tendencies. In the context of the case, it seems she’s blaming herself for everything that happened."

Zhang Liang nodded.

Next, he set down his teacup and handed the assessment report to Xu Huo. Wang Chao scooted closer, sticking his butt out as he peered over to read it.

Autism is a condition where a person gets trapped in their own world.

You could think of it as being trapped in a dream while you’re wide awake, completely unable to see how the people around you are reacting.

You can only see the images your own brain creates to deceive you.

Of course, this is a very severe case. Typical autism usually just involves being isolated from others and retreating into one’s own world.

But Lin Miao’s condition fit the description of a severe case perfectly.

Normally, the best treatment is to have someone guide the patient, or to help them resolve the underlying psychological trauma.

But forget about resolving anything. Lin Miao doesn’t even notice you’re there. You can talk to her, even hit her, and she won’t notice at all!

She can only perceive the one thing she cares about.

Namely, Lin Miao’s skin.

"Based on the skin from the face, we were inspired to create another kind of ’human-skin mask.’"

"Which is to say, a silicone mask!"

Zhang Liang explained as he handed over a photo.

A silicone mask? How human could one of those things really look?

Let’s put it this way.

Put a female silicone mask on a middle-aged man, and you wouldn’t even realize he’s a man. You’d just think you were looking at a gorgeous woman!

Yes, their resemblance to a real person is just that insane.

This is something they teach in the military. Some reconnaissance soldiers are absolute masters of disguise.

"We scanned images of Lin Miao from before her death."

"We created a durable, life-sized mannequin of Lin Miao, identical to how she looked when she was alive."

"Then we anesthetized her and took away the skin. When she woke up, she didn’t fixate on the skin anymore. Instead, she became attached to the Lin Miao mannequin."

Zhang Liang sighed as he explained this desperate measure.

’Creating a life-sized silicone doll that looks exactly like Lin Miao...’

"Then let’s leave it at that. I suppose it’s the best solution for her."

Xu Huo nodded in approval of the plan.

’If Lin Miao’s condition never improves, she’ll spend the rest of her life in that mental hospital.’

’Unlike the other patients under supervision, reality holds nothing for her.’

’She’s lost in the sweet lies her own mind has woven for her.’

’Reality is too cruel. Sometimes, living in a fantasy is its own kind of release.’

"The Special Fifth Bureau will personally oversee her care from now on."

"So you don’t have to worry about accidents or the Lin Miao mannequin getting damaged," Zhang Liang added.

The Special Fifth Bureau prepared over twenty of the life-sized Lin Miao mannequins in advance. If one gets damaged, a replacement can be sent directly from the warehouse.

Even if the leadership changes in the future, no one’s going to quibble over a pile of mannequins. She’ll get what she needs.

"You’ve handled it well enough."

Xu Huo gave his fair assessment, then changed the subject and asked another question.

"What about the killers?"

"The five killers, their accomplices, and anyone else involved—how many have we arrested? How many are still at large?"

Xu Huo was determined to get to the bottom of it.

It was much better to get the full story on something like this all at once, rather than asking about it piece by piece later.

"We’ve arrested a lot of them," Zhang Liang replied. He was in charge of this matter, so he was very clear on the details. "We have plenty of resources—more than enough for any operation. When we moved to arrest Huang Meng, we had already dispatched numerous teams to round up everyone connected to her."

"They were involved in trafficking and forging cultural artifacts, and they’d built a massive network of cronies profiting from it."

"The sums involved are enormous—hundreds of millions!"

You could spend a lifetime stealing or robbing banks and never get close to hundreds of millions.