We held each other quietly for a while, she leaned on the chair and fell asleep. I asked the duty policeman to get a quilt from the bed to cover her, then went out into the corridor to smoke.

  The stars are shining in the sky, and the office downstairs is brightly lit. They're probably still discussing it. We need the police's help; only when they take action can we catch the serial killer.

  Not long after, someone came upstairs, and it was Old Ding.

  I smoked in silence as I watched him approach. His expression was also as usual, he lit a cigarette and stopped beside me.

  We both fell silent for a while.

  Lao Ding said: "That taxi driver has not been found yet."

  I didn't say anything.

  He also said: "However, the names and information of several girls seen by your girlfriend have been verified with two. Including what she said, the one who will be killed tomorrow."

  I had a sudden movement in my heart, couldn't guess what he was thinking, and only said: "That's great."

  Lao Ding took a deep drag on his cigarette and said, "I've made up my mind. We'll take action tomorrow night. We'll lay an ambush on the road Chen Ning must take to get home. If they really show up, we'll catch them and bring them back to the police station for a thorough interrogation."

  In my heart, it was as if there were ripples rising silently, wave after wave, deep and slow, unstoppable turmoil. But I didn't speak, just gazing into the distance.

  Lao Ding smiled and said: "Hearing me make this decision, aren't you all very happy?"

  I turned my head to look at him and met his sparkling eyes. I said, "Yes. I dream of catching those two people."

  Lao Ding fell silent, took a few more puffs of his cigarette and said: "Wu Yu, from Suzhou, studying in Beijing at a prestigious university with a master's degree. Haven't I seen you somewhere before? You look so familiar."

  I was taken aback.

  He asked: Haven't I seen you somewhere before?

  Is in the future.

  Lao Ding also had a vague perception of the future? Was he also affected by the timeline?

  The boundary between past and future may have already been interfering with each other. In the world and people around me and Tan Jiao.

  Deep down, I always feel like I've overlooked something.

  Later, when I thought back on it, I realized that we were too eager to catch them that night, and some particularly obvious signs were overlooked. We were too eager to strike and wanted to take the initiative.

  Facing Old Ding's suspicion, I said: "I am a Suzhou person, maybe we met somewhere before."

  He seemed to think that this explanation was reasonable too, and nodded. After a while, he suddenly said: "Your girlfriend's testimony is a pack of lies, do you know that?"

  My heart skipped a beat, but I also had a sense of inevitability. Looking at him, I said, "I don't understand what you're talking about."

  Lao Ding smiled and said, "You understand. You two are both smart people, you're even a master's degree holder, even smarter. Bookworms are so smart that it makes us old roughnecks jealous. Other detectives may not be able to tell, but your girlfriend's confession was too specific, too realistic. Those things give people the absolute feeling of being real, can't be fabricated..."

  "What else can you say is loud?"

  Old Ding said profoundly, "The biggest problem is that it's too perfect, too coincidental. Everything is too realistic. She just arrived in Suzhou a few days ago and was already targeted by the suspect. She noticed the suspect's height and characteristics so carefully, remembered every word, yet managed to escape safely. Although she doesn't remember the specific address, she gave a rough range. And she also happened to see the information of each victim afterwards. It's simply... everything is complete, only lacking the final blow, just short of letting us police catch the person."

  "My heart sank slowly and I said: 'Since you don't believe me, why are you still planning to go out and catch people tomorrow?'"

  Old Ding took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Don't be in a hurry, young man, I haven't finished speaking yet. Although what you two said is a bit hard to believe, I do believe that the existence of those two killers is likely to be true, and those are not something your girlfriend can make up. You two are fine young people, there's no need for you to come up with lies to deceive the police and get into trouble."

  Although I don't know what else you're hiding, I can tell by looking at people, looking into their eyes. Both of your eyes are clear and clean, worthy of trust. Just like you, it even gives me a sense of familiarity. So, I'm willing to take this risk.

  There's another reason, we've been doing this for years as criminal police, and many times intuition is more important than judgment. It's funny to say, but I'm not afraid to tell you, I have a strange feeling, a very strong feeling that tomorrow must go. If I don't go, I'll be so regretful that I won't be able to sit still, it's the kind of regret that can kill.

  "If those two beasts really exist, I must catch them. Even if it takes the rest of my life, I will catch them. Because I am a detective."