The Jiangzhou City Police Department had recruited many new talents this year through their talent introduction program. To show their importance to these new hires, the department specifically held a simple welcome party for them.
Because most of the positions were for police technical roles with low physical requirements, this batch of new recruits was generally quite slim and weak-looking.
Even so, Mu Mian stood out prominently among them.
She was like a solitary island, having almost zero interaction with others.
"Fang Rui, Consultant Lin, what do you think of this forensic expert Mu?"
Chief Wang Yong and Fang Rui stood outside the hall, watching Mu Mian through the window.
Next to them stood a young man named Lin Sen, a criminal psychology expert. He frowned slightly as he observed Mu Mian.
Mu Mian was staring blankly at a fake tree, completely out of place in the lively environment.
"Chief, is she really a forensic expert?" Zhang, who was passing by with some documents, couldn't help but chime in when he heard Wang Yong talking about Mu Mian. "I doubt she's even graduated from university. Did she get in through the back door?"
Wang Yong glanced at Zhang, who immediately shut up, but his eyes still sparkled with gossip.
Fang Rui reprimanded him, "Go deliver your documents!"
"These documents aren't urgent," Zhang muttered under his breath. "Chief, is this forensic expert Mu really the talent you headhunted?"
"Indeed she is. Several police departments were competing for her, but luckily I acted fast and got her first," Chief Wang boasted proudly, then handed Mu Mian's file to Fang Rui. "Take a look at her resume. She's a Ph.D., you know."
In recent years, Jiangzhou City had experienced several serial killing cases. Wang Yong had established a Special Crime Unit specifically to investigate such cases.
However, he was having trouble choosing the right members for the team. The older detectives, though experienced, were still using outdated methods to solve cases and often found themselves at a loss when faced with unusual cases.
So he wanted to select some new blood to join this special unit.
Mu Mian was one of the talents he had his eye on.
Fang Rui casually flipped through Mu Mian's resume:
Mu Mian, 25 years old, graduated from S University with a major in Clinical Medicine, holding two Ph.D. degrees in Neuroscience and Pathology...
Fang Rui's gaze fell on the self-introduction page:
"After dissecting my first corpse at the age of twelve (an adorable little squirrel flattened by a car wheel), I was determined to become a forensic expert. As of the day you received this resume (February 10th), I have dissected 103 human corpses: 58 Black, 35 White, 5 Asian. (Notice that 5 are missing? This proves you've read my resume carefully. I'll tell you why they weren't included once you hire me). This clearly shows how much I need this job to increase my understanding of the internal structure of my fellow countrymen's bodies..."
Fang Rui's mouth twitched slightly. This self-introduction was indeed quite strange.
But then again, Mu Mian was strange in every aspect. This resume suited her personality perfectly.
Chief Wang said, "We've pretty much selected all the members for our Special Crime Unit, except for a forensic expert. Old Qin would have been the best choice, but unfortunately, he's retiring next month. This Mu Mian is the one I'm most satisfied with among the new recruits."
Fang Rui glanced at Mu Mian again. Her gaze had finally left that aesthetically unpleasing plastic tree, only to fixate on a pot of fake flowers.
He really couldn't understand what the Chief found satisfying about this young girl. She was like a little robot, and a malfunctioning one at that. Was it because of her impressive academic credentials?
Fang Rui said with dissatisfaction, "Chief, I don't accept her joining our Special Crime Unit!"
"Why not?"
"Because she's got her eye on the boss's..." Zhang was about to explain for Fang Rui but was silenced by his glare.
"She doesn't look like she'll be easy to manage," Fang Rui rubbed his brow. "I can't handle a team member like that."
"But she looks quite obedient."
"Looking obedient is useless. She's not here to be looked at. Choose someone else!" Fang Rui insisted.
"I don't agree with her joining either," Lin Sen chimed in.
"Why? Because she looks young and you think she's incapable? Or are you discriminating against women?"
Lin Sen explained, "She's likely an autistic individual."
Wang Yong frowned, "That's impossible, right? Aren't autistic people unable to take care of themselves? She looks quite..."
Wang Yong didn't finish his sentence. Just by observing Mu Mian a little more closely, one could notice that she seemed to never make eye contact with others.
"She avoids eye contact, has difficulty communicating with others, and exhibits stereotypical behaviors," Lin Sen explained. "She might be a high-functioning autistic individual who has recovered well. But even so, she probably can't work normally. So I don't recommend hiring her."
"Lin Sen, are you sure she's autistic?" Fang Rui was a bit surprised. "I've never seen an autistic person who talks so much!"
Lin Sen gave him a cold look.
Wang Yong was also skeptical of Lin Sen's judgment.
"When we selected new recruits, we did an initial psychological screening... Look at page seven of the file, there are test results."
Lin Sen turned to page seven, which contained a psychological test report:
Subject: Mu Mian
[Mental Health Dimension:
Scale: SCL-90
Scores for each indicator (scores over 2 require attention):
Somatization: 1.34; Obsessive-Compulsive: 1.82; Interpersonal Sensitivity: 1.41; Depression: 1.02; Anxiety: 1.29; Hostility: 1.54; Phobic Anxiety: 1.13; Paranoid Ideation: 1.01; Psychoticism: 1.21; Additional Items: 1.32.
Mental State Evaluation: All indicators normal, no symptoms of depression or anxiety... High level of mental health.]
[Personality Dimension:
Scale: Big Five Personality
Scores for each indicator:
Openness: 48 (High); Conscientiousness: 45 (High); Extraversion: 43 (High); Agreeableness: 49 (High); Neuroticism: 19 (Low)
Personality Evaluation: Extroverted, helpful, reliable, emotionally stable, skilled at independent thinking.]
[Ability Dimension:
Scale: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
IQ Test Score: 186.
Ability Evaluation: Intelligence at an exceptionally high level.]
Lin Sen said, "According to this psychological test result, this forensic expert Mu is an extroverted, helpful, friendly genius. Do you think this describes her?"
Wang Yong looked at Mu Mian and remained silent for a while. "I still believe we shouldn't be prejudiced against autistic individuals. We should give her a chance to prove her abilities, shouldn't we?"
The welcome party lasted exactly 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 17 seconds.
Mu Mian found it excruciating. She desperately wanted to rush to the autopsy room and continue dissecting her unfortunate neighbor.
She had been too tired this morning and only got halfway through the autopsy before falling asleep from exhaustion.
There was no dispute about the cause of death, but the method of death was so unique.
So Mu Mian was eager to figure out how the killer had come up with such a creative method of murder.
She even thought that if she were the killer, she could have done it more perfectly. She could have made the kitten stay quietly in the victim's belly, then be "born" like a baby.
Mu Mian vividly imagined the scene in her mind:
Accompanied by a series of meows, an adorable kitten crawls out of a human woman's body.
"According to our department's tradition, all new recruits need to complete a psychological test. Please follow me to the computer room to complete the test," Officer Chen's voice interrupted Mu Mian's fantasy.
Mu Mian looked at her, momentarily stunned.
Another psychological test?
Mu Mian felt a bit irritated. She disliked psychological tests and despised those self-righteous psychological experts even more.
