Chapter 265: Chapter 265

Mr. Tang praised, "Good taste. Originally, it wasn’t for sale; it was something I particularly liked. But since it’s your first visit, Huangfu, and it’s fate that you chose it at first glance, I can only part with it reluctantly."

Huangfu Huazhang left with the scroll, but did not rush to get in the car at the entrance; instead, he walked dozens of meters along the red-brick path.

Xia Zuo noticed the gentleman seemed preoccupied, so he instructed the driver to follow slowly, without disturbing his contemplation.

As Huangfu Huazhang walked, his thoughts irresistibly drifted back to the year 2000 and that particular movie.

That year, he finally decided to leave his mother and go to M Country. His emotions were somewhat perplexed, so he wandered alone into the vast sea of humanity. He didn’t go to the peaceful mountains or the open-hearted coast; he went to the bustling commercial center.

Immersing himself in the densest crowd, letting the chaotic worldly noises fill his ears, was the only way that his heart could find calm.

He even followed the crowd, aimlessly wandering into a cinema to watch a film. He randomly picked one that was about to start, not asking for its name or cast.

It wasn’t until the film began that he realized most of the people around him were couples. The screen lit up, revealing the movie title— "Heartbeat".

Jin Chengwu, Liang Yongqi, Karen Mok. An almost dreamlike cast.

But what allowed him to remain seated and watch the entire film wasn’t the actors; it was the director, Zhang Aijia.

Rich in talent, having endured the most tragic experiences, yet still serene as a chrysanthemum. Such a woman he admired.

It was just that, in that year, he still could not comprehend the essence of the term "heartbeat". The film was beautifully made, but eventually bound by time, script, and the film industry’s compromises with the market, so he couldn’t find more from the film itself. But that feeling stayed with him until today.

It was fate that he, finally understanding the meaning of heartbeat now, obtained the ink treasure of the High Monk from centuries ago.

He finally slowly lifted his head, a gentle smile hung at the corner of his lips.

Xia Zuo, who had been watching the gentleman tensely, was also stunned by that mysterious smile and couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

Huo Danru was hypnotizing Mark.

Lin Qi signed the consent himself and waited with Xiang Yuan in the outside waiting area.

Mark’s recount made Huo Danru slightly frown, though her tone remained calm, without a trace of fluctuation: "Tell me again: who are you?"

Mark’s eyelids fluttered rapidly, his lips slightly curled up into a wild smile: "I am... that person."

"Then, Mark? Do you recognize a person named Mark?" Huo Danru asked again.

Mark continued to laugh wildly, almost unwaveringly answered: "Mark? Who is he? Why must I know Mark?"

The hypnosis ended, Lin Qi first took Mark to leave.

Huo Danru called Xiang Yuan into the office, reached out to rub the center of her forehead: "Your concerns were correct, he has assumed himself to be another person. And his obsession is deep, so deep that he has completely transferred into that identity, abandoning himself entirely."

Although it was the expected answer, Xiang Yuan was still a bit shocked. To be honest, when he brought Mark in, he had a tiny worry in his heart, fearing that Mark’s performance would be seen through by Huo Danru.

In his view, Mark’s talk about wanting to be someone else was just an excuse; his attempt to use this method to exonerate Mark was merely a conventional maneuver by lawyers.

He hadn’t expected it to be real, even a professional psychologist like Huo Danru showed concern for Mark’s situation.

Xiang Yuan couldn’t help but ask, "How could this happen?"

"Hero complex." Huo Danru looked over, "He must highly admire that person, to the point of imagining himself as that person numerous times, even willing to give up his real self."

Xiang Yuan took a deep breath: "...Auntie Huo, you said during my previous hypnosis that I also had a certain emotional transference and used the term ’hero complex’. Does that mean my feelings are similar to Mark’s?"

"No, though the same terminology can apply, the facts under a similar hero complex differ greatly. A Yuan, you and Mark’s conditions are vastly different. Simply put, although under a long-term oppressive environment, you imagine yourself as someone else, you haven’t given up your real self; but Mark is different, for becoming that person, he can abandon his real self."

Xiang Yuan looked expectantly at Huo Danru: "So, would you be willing to testify in court for me?"

Huo Danru eventually nodded: "A Yuan, Auntie Huo owes you a favor. I originally hoped to help save your marriage, but didn’t expect you to still divorce. Consider this a favor from Auntie."

Xiang Yuan walked out of Huo Danru’s office, standing by the roadside, he subtly smiled, relieved. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NoveI~Fire.net

With this trump card, his confidence in the case greatly increased.

He couldn’t help but light a cigarette, slowly exhaling smoke.

But one thing unexpectedly surfaced in his mind: Mark said he killed Sean to avenge Zhou Guanghan. And his reason for harming Shi Nian was also because of Zhou Guanghan; Mark said that as long as it was a girl that person liked, then he, Mark, also had to like her.

So logically, the person Mark wants to become should be Zhou Guanghan.

But from existing information, what is there about Zhou Guanghan worth Mark’s admiration, even to the point of giving up his real self? Could it be Zhou Guanghan’s family background is superior? Hah, please, the Mark family’s background isn’t in the least inferior to Zhou Guanghan’s family.

However, this is not what he should consider. In court defense, he only needs to prove that at the moment Mark committed murder, his mental state was impaired, imagining himself as someone else, just enough for the jury and judge not to convict him of murder.

Tang Yanqing squinted at Guan Liang as he brought up surveillance footage from Rosa’s residential community perimeter.

Guan Liang explained, "I’ve checked the location of all the phones of the interested parties listed by Rosa for Old Qiao, and none appeared on the road Rosa traveled during that time. So I retrieved the relevant surveillance footage."

Tang Yanqing stared at the distant footage, slightly frowning, "Could it be that the surveillance camera in that section happened to be damaged, or the archive records were cleared, so you had to retrieve such distant footage?"

Guan Liang shrugged helplessly, "If that’s the case, it would be fine, at least it would allow us to indirectly know the matter is indirectly related to the suspect. But the real fact is: the residents of this community are extremely opposed to installing surveillance cameras around the community. Thus, community representatives wrote joint letters to city council members, protested for a long time, and finally succeeded in having the community’s surveillance cameras removed."

Shi Nian came in from outside, bringing in four cups of coffee, serving them to Tang Yanqing, Guan Liang, and Jia Tianzi.

The three thanked him and tasted the coffee. Shi Nian took the opportunity to look at the footage carefully, but doubted, "But this isn’t right. Even if the community residents objected, the surveillance cameras are a general need for city security. When individual and public interests collide, individual interests should submit to public interests. Even if a council member assists, the judge can still dismiss it."

Tang Yanqing put down the coffee cup, "In other words, the residents must have found evidence of the surveillance cameras’ illegality, and that evidence is supported by the judge."

Jia Tianzi immediately asked, "When did this happen?"

Guan Liang’s fingers moved swiftly, pulling up the timeline, then whistled, "Can’t be so coincidental, can it? Just one month before Rosa’s car accident."

Tang Yanqing squinted at Shi Nian, "When you talk about concerns or illegal evidence regarding surveillance cameras, what comes directly to mind?"

Shi Nian clapped his hands, "Mr. Guan, check the online video sites around that time to see if there’s any illicit video from that community!"

Guan Liang quickly searched, a few minutes later let out a cheer, "Sure enough, there is! But it has already been removed or blocked by the video sites; I found it in the root directory. Look, there are girls changing clothes, couples being intimate... oh my god, even worse, there are many bathing scenes of minors."

"Ok," Shi Nian snapped his fingers, "the adult ones are negotiable; the judge might support or not support; but as long as it involves minor footage, the judge would fully oppose."

Guan Liang sincerely praised, "Brilliant."

Jia Tianzi couldn’t help but question, "Police installations are executed by professional companies. All installation angles undergo careful debugging, how could there be so many and such major leaks?"

Guan Liang shrugged with a smile, "Machines in this world are built by humans, and as long as it’s a machine, it can be controlled by humans. To hack into those camera control programs is truly not that difficult."

"Are you saying it was deliberate?" Jia Tianzi’s eyes widened.

Shi Nian’s heart also tightened, "So now the chain goes : someone hacked the camera program a month ago, leveraging the illicit videos to gain support from counselors and judges, thereby removing the community cameras—then a month later Rosa’s car accident happened."

Jia Tianzi and Guan Liang nodded in agreement. But Tang Yanqing remained silent, only focused on that perimeter footage.

"Little bird, did you find anyone from the list in the perimeter footage?"

"No," Guan Liang suddenly grinned mischievously, "but I found this person. Mr. Tang, Shi Nian, I think you’d be very interested."