Girl: "Nobody said they believed her. If she hadn't taken a photograph when she reported the case, everyone might have thought she was talking nonsense.
The photo was taken in the living room. There was a fruit platter on the coffee table, and a peeled orange arranged like petals. The photo was taken at 1:03 in the morning."
Man: "Is the photo credible?"
Girl: "I can't guarantee it, but the officers at the scene judged the photo is probably not fake... Actually, verifying its authenticity isn't difficult; it can be appraised."
Whether the photo was altered can be authenticated, and the original photo taken by a phone includes not just the image, but also the timestamp, approximate location, and various other parameters.
Man: "Assuming the photo is real, how does the police explain it?"
Girl: "There's no conclusion yet. The community's entrance surveillance was checked, the complainant arrived home around 9:30 PM, bought apples downstairs, and then never came out.
Apple peels were indeed found in the trash bin next to the coffee table, but no peeled apples were found. The complainant insisted the apples turned into oranges, but the oranges were gone, leaving only the photo she took at the time.
If the photo is real, the only explanation I see is that the complainant is lying."
The man smirked: "Is that what you think?"
Girl: "It's not just what I think, our criminal investigation team believes so. During breakfast after the night shift, everyone chatted in the cafeteria and mentioned this, and some analyzed it briefly."
Man: "If the complainant is lying, what would be her motive?"
Girl: "The complainant might have something to gain; she might want to leave evidence of mental instability, then apply for a psychiatric evaluation. Once diagnosed with mental symptoms, she could escape certain penalties... The criminal investigation team has encountered such cases before."
The man shook his head with a smile: "You said the only explanation is that the complainant is lying, that's too arbitrary! Why not assume the complainant is telling the truth, and that there's really an offender?
Interesting, simply too interesting; we could create a psychological profile for the perpetrator.
If he just wanted to scare the complainant, swapping apples for oranges would suffice. There's really no need to carry away the oranges after the complainant reports the case, before the police arrive, leaving traces for suspicion."
The girl didn't quite understand, puzzled: "What are you talking about?"
Man: "Think about it carefully, if that plate of oranges hadn't been taken away, the complainant merely claimed the apples turned into oranges, with no one else entering the apartment on the surveillance, it would be an absurd farce! That would suffice to demonstrate her mental abnormality.
But that plate of oranges vanished, and the complainant took a site photo with her phone. If it was the complainant herself who did it, that photo was unnecessary.
Let's analyze the hidden perpetrator; if there really is such a person, what might be his purpose? Challenging law enforcement, increasing the risk of exposure, what benefit would this bring him?"
The girl was deeply engrossed, subconsciously asking: "Yeah, what benefit?"
The man took a sip of water and said: "Not just scaring the complainant, even provoking the police, implies he doesn't care if the complainant reports it or not, not afraid of police investigation.
This inflicts a greater psychological impact on the complainant, but it's not his primary goal. More importantly—he gains greater pleasure."
The girl raised her head in confusion: "Pleasure?"
Man: "What does it feel like to accomplish something others can't even imagine? It's a pleasure in subverting perception, breaking rules, like undertaking a challenge, again and again, each time getting more thrills.
He doesn't want to be discovered but is subconsciously compelled to leave traces, finding satisfaction in others' shock, confusion, misjudgment, and speculations. Only he possesses the truth, and he relishes this feeling."
Girl: "Listening to you, it sounds like some kind of pervert!"
Man: "You can't say he's a pervert, just an ordinary person with weaknesses, like most of the people in this world. In fact, many criminals slip due to similar reasons after committing a crime that's not uncovered."
Girl: "You really think someone did it, what kind of person could do such a thing?"
The man suddenly asked: "Have you heard of Hidden Moth?" As he spoke, he typed two words on his phone, gesturing for the girl to see.
"What's Hidden Moth?"
"Hidden Moth is a person, said to appear and disappear in a place out of thin air, undetectable by people, and nobody knows how he does it."
"Is it that magical?"
The man's tone was somewhat inscrutable: "Records of Hidden Moth can be found in official history.
Over eleven hundred years ago, a woodcutter conscripted with the army sneaked into the enemy's camp, decapitated the enemy commander as he slept, and took the head back.
But the historical record only noted a woodcutter sneaked into the enemy camp, severed the commander's head, and stealthy returned at night, with no other descriptions. No one knows how he did it, seems rather dubious."
Girl: "Isn't that just a high-skilled assassin? That doesn't prove anything!"
Man: "Think carefully, doesn't this resemble the two cases you mentioned? The commander's head is like that computer and apple.
As for that woodcutter, an investigation was conducted, including by Sorcerers from the Observing Body Sect at the time. We should call them our ancestors. Our Observing Body Sect also has a very long history, at least more than eleven hundred years.