This year, the Jiangzhou Police Department hired many new recruits through a talent recruitment program. To show their appreciation for these new talents, the department held a simple welcome meeting.
Since most of them were in law enforcement technical roles and didn't have high physical demands, this batch of recruits tended to be on the thinner side.
Even so, Mu Mian stood out among them.
She was like an isolated island, almost completely disconnected from the others.
"Fang Rui, Consultant Lin, what do you think of this Mu Mian?"
Director Wang Yong and Fang Rui were standing outside the hall, looking through the window at Mu Mian inside.
A young man, standing next to them, was Lin Sen, a criminal psychology expert. He furrowed his brow as he watched Mu Mian.
Mu Mian was staring blankly at a fake tree, looking completely out of place in the lively environment.
"Director, is she really a forensic doctor?"
Officer Zhang, who was passing by with some documents, overheard Wang Yong talking about Mu Mian and couldn't help but add his thoughts, "I suspect she hasn't even graduated from university. She didn't come in through the back door, did she?"
Wang Yong shot a glance at Officer Zhang, who immediately stopped talking but still had a curious gleam in his eyes.
Fang Rui scolded him, "Take your documents over there!"
"It's not urgent," Zhang muttered under his breath. "Director, is this Mu Mian really the talent you brought in?"
"Of course. Several police stations were after her. Thankfully, I acted quickly and secured her before anyone else could," Director Wang said proudly. Then, he handed a file to Fang Rui. "Take a look at her resume; she's a PhD."
In recent years, Jiangzhou had been plagued by a series of serial murders. Wang Yong had set up a special task force to investigate such cases.
However, he was struggling to choose team members. Although the veteran detectives had a lot of experience, they still relied on old methods that often didn't work with unusual cases.
So, he wanted to bring in some fresh blood for the task force.
Mu Mian was one of the talents he had chosen.
Fang Rui casually flipped through Mu Mian's resume.
Mu Mian, 25 years old, graduated from S University with a degree in Clinical Medicine, holding PhDs in both Neuroscience and Pathology...
His eyes landed on the self-introduction page:
"I performed my first dissection at the age of twelve (a cute little squirrel that got run over by a car), and since then, I've aspired to become a forensic doctor."
"By the date you receive this resume (February 10th), I have already dissected 103 human bodies: 58 Black bodies, 35 White bodies, and 5 Asian bodies. This shows that I am in urgent need of this job to enhance my understanding of the human body's internal structure, especially that of the people of our nation…"
Fang Rui's lips twitched. The self-introduction was certainly strange.
But then again, Mu Mian was strange in general, and this resume seemed to match her personality.
Director Wang spoke up, "We've almost selected all the members for our special task force. The only missing position is a forensic doctor. Old Qin would've been the best candidate, but he's retiring next month. Mu Mian is the one I'm most satisfied with from this batch of new recruits."
Fang Rui glanced at Mu Mian again. Her gaze finally left the ugly fake tree, only to focus on another fake plant.
He really couldn't understand what the director saw in this girl. She was like a little robot, the kind that sometimes short-circuits. Could it be because of her academic background?
Fang Rui expressed his dissatisfaction, "Director, I'm not accepting her into our special task force!"
"Why?"
"Because she's focused on the boss's…" Before Officer Zhang could explain further, Fang Rui shot him a glare.
"She just doesn't inspire confidence," Fang Rui pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't have such a team member."
"But she seems obedient," Wang Yong said.
"Looks obedient doesn't count. She's not here to be looked at. Find 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 her work ability is lacking? Or is it because you're discriminating against women?"
Lin Sen clarified, "She's likely to be an autism spectrum disorder patient."
Wang Yong frowned, "That's not possible. Aren't people with autism usually incapable of taking care of themselves? She seems…"
Wang Yong didn't finish his sentence, but anyone who observed Mu Mian for a bit could tell that she never made eye contact with others.
"She doesn't like eye contact, has difficulty interacting with others, and displays rigid behaviors."
Lin Sen explained, "She might be a high-functioning autism patient with good recovery. But even so, she would likely be unable to work properly. So, I don't recommend hiring her."
"Lin Sen, are you sure she's on the autism spectrum?" Fang Rui was surprised. "I've never seen such a talkative autistic person!"
Lin Sen shot him a cold glance.
Wang Yong also felt skeptical about Lin Sen's judgment.
"We did psychological screening when we selected the new hires…" Wang Yong turned to the seventh page of the file. "There's a test result."
Lin Sen flipped to the seventh page, which contained a psychological test report:
Test Subject: Mu Mian
[Psychological Health Dimensions:
Scale: SCL-90
Scores for each indicator (any score over 2 should be closely monitored):
Somatization: 1.34; Obsession: 1.82; Interpersonal Relations: 1.41; Depression: 1.02; Anxiety: 1.29; Hostility: 1.54; Terror: 1.13; Paranoia: 1.01; Psychoticism: 1.21; Others: 1.32.
Psychological Status Evaluation: All indicators are normal, no symptoms of depression or anxiety… High psychological health level.]
[Personality Dimensions:
Scale: Big Five Personality
Scores:
Openness: 48 (high) ; Conscientiousness: 45 (high); Extraversion: 43 (high); Agreeableness: 49 (high); Neuroticism: 19 (low)
Personality Evaluation: Outgoing, helpful, reliable, emotionally stable, good at independent thinking.]
[Ability Dimensions:
Scale: Wechsler Intelligence Scale
Intelligence Score: 186.
Ability Evaluation: Exceptional intelligence.]
Lin Sen said, "This psychological test shows that this forensic doctor, Mu Mian, is an outgoing, helpful, friendly genius. Do you think this describes her?"
Wang Yong looked at Mu Mian, thinking for a moment. "I still believe we shouldn't be biased against autism spectrum disorder patients. We should give her a chance to prove her abilities, shouldn't we?"
—
The welcome meeting lasted a full 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 17 seconds.
Mu Mian found it torturous. She desperately wanted to run to the autopsy room and continue dissecting her unfortunate neighbor.
She had been so tired this morning that she fell asleep halfway through the dissection.
There was no dispute about the cause of death of the victim, but the method of death was particularly unique.
So, Mu Mian was eager to figure out how the murderer came up with such a creative method of killing.
She even thought, if she were the murderer, she could have done it even more perfectly. She could make the kitten stay quietly inside the victim's belly, then, like a baby, be born.
Mu Mian vividly imagined the scene in her mind:
With each meow, a cute kitten crawled out of a human woman's body.
"According to our city'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, stunned.
Another psychological test?
Mu Mian felt irritated. She didn't like psychological tests, and she especially hated dealing with self-righteous psychological experts.