He Qing hadn't intended to laugh, but I had amused her, and Liu Yuning, in a huff, turned away: "You two keep laughing, I'll go find that guy by myself!"
"Wait, hold on! Rich girl, wait up!" I pulled on her shoulder from behind.
"Hmph, say that again!"
I immediately shut my mouth, and then the three of us got into the car.
We arrived at the Hao Ting apartment complex again and found the man. I had known his name when Yu Zimo was investigating his medical records, but I hadn't revealed it. He had a history of being admitted to a psychiatric hospital due to intermittent schizophrenia, as recorded by the hospital.
Yu Zimo seemed quite welcoming, knowing we had returned. This time, when we visited his home, I found it much tidier than before. The guy seemed like a different person, though his slightly silly demeanor remained unchanged.
I sat down and introduced him: "Hello, Mr. Yu. This is Mr. He. He's a psychologist, and I need him to consult with you on some matters."
"Psychologist? You're not here because of my mental state, are you? I absolutely don't have any problems, really! What do you mean by this?"
"Mr. Yu, please calm down. We've checked your medical records and know about your condition. Therefore, we suspect that some of the things you said earlier might not be entirely real. But there's another matter. Oh, right, do you recognize this girl?" I showed him a photo of Li Letao.
"This? Who is she? I don't remember her. Is she another victim?" Yu Zimo asked curiously.
I shook my head: "This girl might be a witness. We've investigated and found that she disappeared nearby."
"No way? It seems I wasn't the only one in the vicinity that night!"
Yu Zimo said this without any surprise or hesitation, very directly.
I looked at He Qing: "Why don't you try it? Hypnotize him?"
"Mr. Yu, do you think that's okay?" He Qing asked politely.
"Hypnosis? No way! Isn't that dangerous? I've heard about it before, it seems very mysterious."
"No, it won't be. It can also help you recall things you've forgotten, which will help us solve the case faster. Please, Mr. Yu."
He Qing was exceptionally sincere and polite. It wasn't just women; even men would find it hard to refuse him when he appeared so gentle and refined. Indeed, Yu Zimo agreed.
He Qing had him lie down on the sofa, using the apartment as his makeshift clinic. He said he would try it here first, and if it was effective, there would be no need to go to the clinic.
After Yu Zimo lay down, He Qing began to speak softly. This time, Liu Yuning and I observed him using hypnosis up close.
I didn't know how many times He Qing had used this method, but he seemed very proficient.
"Mr. Yu, please relax, then close your eyes. Breathe deeply according to my rhythm. Your nerves are beginning to loosen, and you feel extremely comfortable."
"You are no longer in this small apartment. Instead, you've arrived in a vast desert. However, there's a beautiful oasis here. You were very thirsty earlier, but now you've replenished yourself. There's also a strong camel waiting beside you."
"So, you are completely relaxed now. Finally, you return to the scene of the crime. You see the person holding the claw hammer..."
He Qing deliberately drew out the latter part of his sentence, as if waiting for Yu Zimo to continue.
At this point, Yu Zimo's eyes became vacant, and his head drooped. He had entered a hypnotic state.
"I saw a tall, muscular man, about 1.9 meters tall, hiding nearby. It looked like he was observing two people on the stairs. His eyes were narrowed, and his ears were perked up high. I saw him at the time, but he didn't seem to notice me because the light bulb upstairs was broken, which allowed me to hide."
"The muscular man watched and listened. For some reason, he suddenly became enraged. Then, without any regard for reason, he swung the large claw hammer directly at the man's back, first striking him, and then he went after the fleeing woman. The woman was so agitated she ran downstairs..."
At this point, He Qing interrupted Yu Zimo: "Did you really discover this scene in the hallway? How did the body later appear on the street outside? How do you explain this?"
"Ah, this, I must have misremembered. I wasn't home at the time. I was coming back from the internet cafe when I happened to witness the scene downstairs. That's right, I remember. I have a habit of going online. I met a girl there, and we often went online together. We had a good relationship."
"Oh? Did you see anyone else at the scene at that time?" He Qing asked again.
"Let me think. My attention was focused on those three people, so I didn't notice. However, it seems that when the muscular man made his move, a female voice cried out not far away, and then I hurriedly turned and fled. As I recall, the muscular man seemed to hear her shout and chased after her."
Hearing Yu Zimo say this, Liu Yuning and I exchanged glances. If what he said was true, Li Letao was likely in grave danger. But why couldn't we find her body? Could it be that the murderer took her away?
I asked again about the physical characteristics of the muscular man. Yu Zimo, under hypnosis, clearly recalled more. He mentioned that the muscular man was bald, had thick eyebrows, and very full lips. He wasn't disguised and was even exposed to surveillance, but his face wasn't captured.
We hadn't seen Yu Zimo on the surveillance footage before. He claimed he had been hiding in a recess on the street, so it was normal for the surveillance at the crime scene not to have captured him. I observed his microexpressions and found that he wasn't lying. Even under hypnosis, people's microexpressions are still visible on their faces, especially since people tend to lose their guard when hypnotized. After all, he was at his lowest point of vigilance.
"Snap!" With a snap of He Qing's fingers, the hypnosis ended. Yu Zimo woke up from his dazed state with a start, his eyes suddenly regaining focus. He looked around, surprised, and said, "What just happened? I feel like I had a long dream, saw many terrifying images! Those scenes were so frightening, I almost thought I wouldn't be able to leave, that I would be trapped in that bizarre space forever!"