Chapter 249: Criminal Profiling

Zhou Yimin and the others returned to the police station with Director Zhang and his team. The case still needed further investigation.

Director Zhang informed Zhou Yimin that the seven hundred or so yuan couldn’t be taken back just yet; it could only be returned after the case was closed. He asked Zhou Yimin and Zhou Dafu to be patient.

Zhou Dafu naturally had no objections.

As long as the money was still there, he could endure it. If it was gone, that would be devastating—not only would he lose his job opportunity, but he’d also be saddled with a mountain of debt.

A few hundred yuan! How many animals would he have to hunt in the mountains to earn that back?

As for farming in the village to earn work points, that was even more hopeless. Although Zhoujiazhuang now had other income-generating projects—like vegetable farming, chicken raising, and mushroom cultivation—the earnings distributed to individuals were still meager.

“Young man, be more careful next time,” Director Zhang reminded Zhou Dafu.

Buying and selling job placements was something to be cautious about. Recently, there had been quite a few scams in other districts. Apparently, the scammers targeted outsiders specifically. After conning one or two people, they’d either skip town or lie low for a while.

“I’ll definitely be more careful, absolutely,” Zhou Dafu said repeatedly.

After this experience, how could he dare to be careless again?

At this, Zhou Yimin was filled with frustration.

What the hell was this guy thinking?

A real genius—falling for a scam like that.

He’d almost been duped before too, and Zhou Yimin had warned him back then. Yet now, he’d still walked straight into the trap.

What was even more infuriating was that Zhou Dafu clearly had connections and means to secure a job, but he insisted on doing it all himself. Damn it! Was his brain broken?

If he had that kind of money, why not come to Zhou Yimin?

Or he could’ve just gone to the subdistrict office and picked a job properly. Every factory needed workers. It wouldn’t have come to this. Zhou Yimin had heard that Secretary Huang even gave him a few options at the time.

But he just had to get into the steel factory. Seriously, what was so great about the steel factory? If he got assigned to the workshop swinging a sledgehammer or to the warehouse hauling cargo, that was no joke. Most people couldn’t handle that kind of work.

There were multiple paths right in front of him, and he just had to leap into danger.

Zhou Yimin cursed him a few times and told him to get back to the courtyard and crash at Zhou Dazhong’s for the night.

Meanwhile, Director Zhang chatted with Zhou Yimin for a bit, saying he was acquainted with Director Li and that Zhou Yimin shouldn’t hesitate to reach out if he ever needed help.

Zhou Yimin naturally didn’t refuse such goodwill.

As they talked, their relationship grew warmer.

At one point, Zhou Yimin even brought up something substantial—a criminal investigation technique called criminal profiling.

It was an essential part of modern investigative work, though it didn’t exist yet at the time.

This method had first emerged in the 1950s, just a few years ago. In New York, there had been a mad bomber calling himself F.P. who planted bombs across the city, causing numerous serious injuries. He constantly taunted the police and media through letters. This went on for sixteen years. Traditional investigation methods proved ineffective.

So, the police sought help from a criminal psychiatrist.

Based on the available data, the psychiatrist conducted a psychological analysis of the bomber and came up with eleven conclusions. He recommended publishing these analyses via newspapers, radio, and television. He even boldly predicted what the bomber would be wearing when caught.

Using these profiles, the police ultimately apprehended the criminal. Amazingly, the man matched every detail in the psychiatrist’s analysis—right down to his clothing.

That was the first major victory for criminal psychology.

From then on, this discipline—analyzing criminals’ behavior to infer psychological traits and assist in solving and interrogating cases—became an indispensable part of modern criminal investigation.

Director Zhang was stunned.

A nearby officer couldn’t help but say, “That sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it?”

Zhou Yimin chuckled. “It should be somewhat useful.”

Profilers were quite famous in the future—especially in TV dramas, where they were portrayed as all-knowing, able to predict a criminal’s every move.

In reality, profilers weren’t that magical. They simply observed and analyzed more than the average person. There was no need to deify them.

“We’ve got a case here that’s still…” someone began, but was quickly interrupted by a colleague’s cough.

That person promptly shut their mouth.

Director Zhang laughed and said, “That case doesn’t need to be kept confidential. Quite a few people know about it already. Let Yimin give it a shot.”

He was giving Zhou Yimin a lot of face.

Well, since the director said so, the officer no longer held back and told Zhou Yimin about the case, asking him to do a profile and predict what the criminal might do next.

After hearing the case and reviewing the clues and intel from the station, Zhou Yimin analyzed the criminal’s potential mindset. He gradually narrowed the focus through cross-referencing and analogy, then predicted where the criminal might go next and what he was likely to do.

“No, that’s not right!” Zhou Yimin soon contradicted his earlier analysis.

“What’s wrong?”

“I missed a detail. Now that I’ve connected it, everything makes sense. This person is an enemy agent. If I’m not wrong, he’ll act again tonight, most likely near Dongzhimen. Be careful—he might be armed,” Zhou Yimin said.

Dongzhimen was a city gate located on the northeast side of the capital. It included the main gate tower, arrow tower, sluice tower, and the barbican.

Donghefang was a main street outside Dongzhimen. It wasn’t long—just over a hundred meters. Exiting Dongzhimen and crossing the moat led to a five-way intersection, with Donghefang being the road heading south.

Everyone looked at each other, unsure whether to believe him.

In the end, it was Director Zhang who decided to take a chance.

After all, catching an enemy agent meant huge merit. If they captured him and extracted valuable intel, it’d be a major achievement.

Even though Director Zhang wasn’t fully convinced about criminal profiling, what if it worked?

“Let’s go. Grab your gear. We’re heading to Dongzhimen,” Director Zhang ordered.

Seeing the others heading out, Zhou Yimin didn’t stay in their way.

He returned to the courtyard and gave Zhou Dafu another scolding.

“Just wait patiently. I’ll keep an eye out over the next few days and ask around,” Zhou Yimin said.

After all, he was a team leader with decent connections. It was easy for him to get wind of this kind of news.

“Thank you, Uncle Sixteen,” Zhou Dafu mumbled dejectedly.

If this got back to Zhoujiazhuang, he’d be the laughingstock for ages.

Three or four hours later, just as Zhou Yimin was about to sleep, someone from the police station came to thank him. The man told him they had caught the suspect—and he really was an enemy agent. He was carrying a gun and a piece of classified intelligence.

At that moment, the police had immense respect for Zhou Yimin.

Who could’ve imagined?

He’d analyzed the clues and intel and accurately predicted the criminal’s next move—even the route he’d take.

It was almost miraculous.

“Our director wants to know if you’re free tomorrow. If so, he hopes you can come to the station.”

Zhou Yimin smiled and shook his head. “I’ll pass.”

There was no need to steal the spotlight.

(End of Chapter)