After hearing Gong Yingxian’s description, Dr. Pompeii looked down at the materials in his hands. “This is the mask.”
It was a photograph captured from one of Ziyan’s videos, and the image was exceptionally clear. The bird mask was dark gray, with certain features deliberately exaggerated. It had an enormous, prominent beak and two large, round eye sockets, yet no feathers. Overall, it had an uncanny, surreal grotesqueness to it. It was clearly not modeled after any real bird.
“We investigated this mask,” Gong Yingxian said. “There are no similar products on the market, and we couldn’t find anything resembling it in any artwork. It’s a completely unique design.”
“Can you tell what material it’s made of from the video?”
“Plaster. It was made using a 3D printer.”
“So it was modeled and manufactured by the person who made it.”
“Yes.” Gong Yingxian continued, “But 3D printers didn’t exist back then. If someone wanted to make something like this, they would have had to pay a factory an enormous amount of money to create the model and manufacture it. That’s one of the reasons I doubt the mask is genuine.”
“What about carving it by hand?” Ren Yi asked.
“Of course, that would have been possible. But what would be the point?” Gong Yingxian replied. “If all you wanted was to conceal your face, why not just buy any mask from a store? Why go to so much trouble to make something like this? Unless the mask had some important symbolic meaning—for example, if it were the organization’s totem.”
“But you haven’t found anything resembling it anywhere online,” Dr. Pompeii mused. “That doesn’t fit the psychological profile of a pyromaniac. Pyromaniacs are cowards who suppress their dissatisfaction in real life and can only express their power through arson. If this mask really were that important, someone would surely have been unable to resist showing it off at some point over the past nineteen years. On the one hand, they would want to show off their masterpiece; on the other, they would want recognition from others like themselves.”
Gong Yingxian nodded. “I agree. That’s why I’m increasingly suspicious that the mask isn’t genuine. If we look at it from another angle, everything becomes easier to explain if Ziyan made the mask on the spur of the moment.”
“So you think the mask you saw back then wasn’t this one, but Ziyan gave you a psychological suggestion that caused this mask to merge with your memory of it?”
“Not with my memory, but with my imagination.” Gong Yingxian frowned. “The truth is, I’ve never actually remembered what the mask looked like.”
“That’s right. When you first told me about the mask, I spent a long time guiding you, but you couldn’t describe its specific color, design, or features. You only knew it was a bird mask. You were in your early teens at the time, and the memory dated back to when you were six, so I even questioned whether the memory was genuine.”
“I know. You told me that.”
“But you insisted that you really had seen such a mask, so I helped you undergo deep hypnosis. You returned to the scene in your memory and confirmed that you had indeed seen it. You still couldn’t explain what it looked like, though.”
A look of uncertainty crossed Gong Yingxian’s face. “I don’t know why, either.”
Ren Yi studied the photograph. The mask looked vaguely familiar, as though it reminded him of something, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
“That’s perfectly normal. You experienced an enormous shock at the time. Compared with all the other memories you’ve lost, it’s hardly surprising that you can’t recall the details of a mask you saw only once.” Dr. Pompeii thought for a moment. “I never considered the mask a priority in your treatment, and repeatedly taking you back to the scene wasn’t advisable. If you hadn’t insisted, I would never have agreed to those hypnosis sessions.”
“Those sessions were necessary. They helped me remember a great deal.”
Dr. Pompeii sighed. “But they were dangerous. Extremely dangerous.”
Gong Yingxian barely seemed to register the word dangerous. “So, what I was thinking—”
“No.” Dr. Pompeii immediately saw what he was getting at and rejected the idea outright. “I already told you over the phone. If you ask me to perform deep hypnosis again, I won’t come back.”
Ren Yi turned to Gong Yingxian in surprise.
Gong Yingxian said gravely, “Doctor, the investigation has reached its most critical stage. I’ve uncovered many more clues over the past six months. If I go back into those memories now, I’m certain I’ll be able to recover more than I did before.”
“I’ve performed deep hypnosis on you three times. The first session failed. During the second and third, I had to pull you back when you were on the verge of a breakdown. You needed a long time to recover after each one. Since entering the police academy, your sense of independence and vigilance have grown stronger. Your subconscious now resists outside interference. On top of that, you’re desperate to uncover the truth. I’m worried something could happen during hypnosis that I wouldn’t be able to control. I can’t take that risk.”
Gong Yingxian’s expression turned resolute. “Even if it’s dangerous, I have to try. Catching Ziyan isn’t just about me personally. Every day he remains at large, countless lives and people’s property are at risk.”
Ren Yi tried to persuade him. “Yingxian, you should listen to your doctor. I think you’re being too impatient. This isn’t the only way to solve the case, and haven’t you been making progress all this time?”
Gong Yingxian gazed deeply at Ren Yi. “I can’t afford to be patient.”
Of all the people whose lives were in danger, Ren Yi was right at the top of the list.
Dr. Pompeii spoke sternly. “Yingxian, I understand how you feel, but I’m your doctor. I’m responsible for your safety, and I have to abide by the standards of my profession. Right now, I can’t agree to your request. Taking you back to the scene of the fire is an extreme measure. If I lose control of the situation, pain and despair could tear you apart all over again as you relive those memories. More than a decade of treatment could be undone.”
Gong Yingxian lowered his head, his expression dark.
Dr. Pompeii tried to reassure him. “Captain Ren is right. This isn’t the only way. I’ll be staying here for a while to participate in some academic exchanges, and I’ll do my best to help you in other ways.”
Gong Yingxian gave a reluctant nod.
“I think we should return to the mask itself,” Dr. Pompeii said, looking at the photograph. “There’s something strange about it. It looks like… an owl’s enormous eyes combined with a hornbill’s oversized beak. As far as I know, no bird looks like that, does it?”
“To me, it looks like something from street graffiti,” Ren Yi said. “Don’t you think so? When I look at it, I keep feeling that it resembles something I’ve seen before. Its style is so modern and trendy. It really doesn’t seem to fit the aesthetic sensibilities of China nineteen years ago.”
“Exactly. It has a very youthful feel, and there’s also a hint of…” Dr. Pompeii searched for the right word before finally finding it. “An industrial aesthetic.”
Ren Yi said, “Let’s assume the mask was made by Ziyan and isn’t the one you saw back then. In that case, was Ziyan actually someone who knew what happened all those years ago?”
Gong Yingxian fell silent.
“I have a gut feeling that he was,” Ren Yi said. “Although it’s only an intuition…” He looked at Gong Yingxian with complete sincerity. “I’m absolutely not saying this just to comfort you. I genuinely believe it. The things Ziyan said in the video make me feel that he’s holding a lot more back.”
“I understand,” Gong Yingxian replied. “After analyzing Ziyan’s video, our criminal psychology experts also concluded that when he talked about what happened back then, he showed no signs of guilt or uncertainty. That suggests he’s extremely confident in what he’s saying. I’m inclined to believe he knows what happened, too. But I still think the mask is fake.”
Dr. Pompeii analyzed the situation. “The moment you saw the mask, you were taken in and believed it was genuine because Ziyan created an atmosphere that gave you powerful psychological suggestions. Once that atmosphere disappeared, your rational mind kicked in and you began to doubt it. That’s a perfectly logical psychological process, and I think it’s highly likely to be what happened. After all, even under such intense psychological influence, the mask still couldn’t fool you completely. That makes it quite likely that it’s fake.”
Gong Yingxian rubbed his brow. “But what if this is a form of psychological reactance on my part?”
“You mean multiple layers of suggestion. Because you’re resisting the idea deep down, you’re telling yourself the mask is fake even though it might be genuine, simply so you can justify questioning it.”
Gong Yingxian let out a weary “Mm.”
“What I’m most suspicious of now is my own memory, because it was incomplete to begin with.”
Ren Yi felt his head beginning to spin just listening to them.
“You certainly have reason to doubt your memories, but we don’t need to rush to a conclusion. The situation is complicated, and if we can’t untangle it immediately, we can look for a way forward elsewhere,” Dr. Pompeii said. “Let’s continue with the assumption that Ziyan knows what happened, but doesn’t know the details. He might be betting that you were too young to remember what the mask looked like, so he used this mask to test your reaction. Either way, it seems he had little to lose, whether the test succeeded or failed.”
“Did he do it just to throw me into confusion?” Gong Yingxian gritted his teeth. “Because when I saw the mask, I really did panic.”
“To confuse you and frighten you, making you easier to manipulate. But he underestimated your abilities, and you still managed to defuse the crisis successfully. The incidents that followed, including the package and the barbecue restaurant, all demonstrated Ziyan’s anger. He felt you had humiliated him and challenged his authority. With Bai Yan being wanted by the police and the barbecue restaurant bombing failing, he’ll continue committing crimes to retaliate and restore his reputation,” Dr. Pompeii said. “I suggest that at this point, you shouldn’t just investigate the case quietly. You should strike back at him using his own methods.”
Ren Yi’s eyes widened. “How?”
Dr. Pompeii narrowed his eyes. “If you want to find out what this mask means, put it on Seraph.”