Chapter 1

Darling is a fanatic of mystery novels.

Murder, dismemberment - the gorier, the better.

She always reads a bit before bed.

To be honest, watching her devour those books with such relish every night kind of freaks me out.

One evening, she was at it again.

Curiously, I asked her if those books were really that interesting.

Or if she had any... thoughts.

She posed a question to me:

"What do you think is the hardest part about killing someone?"

"Erasing the evidence?"

"Wrong."

"Disposing of the body?"

"Wrong."

After I guessed incorrectly a few times, she told me what she thought was the toughest part of murder:

"Choosing the victim."

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I cannot agree with this statement.

I think the hardest part about murder is disposing of the body.

If the police can't find a body, the case will only be classified as a missing person.

Once a body is found and identified, anyone connected to the deceased becomes a suspect. From there, it's usually just a matter of following the trail to find the killer.

So no body means no case. Perfect.

"Most cases involve people who know each other. Once there's a body, there are suspects. Your logic is correct."

"I'm talking about random cases."

"What do you mean?"

"Indiscriminate attacks."

Then she told me a story.

The protagonist of the story was a young woman named Aria who had recently graduated from college.

Aria came from a well-off family and rented a studio apartment after graduation.

One day, as she was taking the elevator home from work, a man entered.

Aria lived on the fifteenth floor, and this man pressed the button for the thirteenth floor.

Aria didn't think much of it.

But as soon as she opened her door and set down her bag, she turned to find the man who had been in the elevator with her had followed her in.

It turned out that after getting off on the thirteenth floor, the man had quickly made his way up to the fifteenth and hidden in the fire escape.

He waited for the moment when Aria opened her door, caught off guard, and followed her inside.

His objective was clear.

To commit sexual assault. He entered the room and immediately told Aria to take off her clothes.

Aria didn't resist.

She knew the physical difference between them was too great, and with the man holding a knife, she had no chance of winning.

To stay alive, she could only comply.

After undressing, they went into the bedroom.

The man left after he was done, without taking her life.

The next day, Aria went to the police station to report the crime.

The tricky part was that Aria hadn't reported it immediately, and she had taken a shower after being assaulted.

So there was almost no evidence left to prove she had been raped.

But the police still conducted a sexual assault examination on her and immediately went to Aria's place to collect new evidence.

They quickly identified the man.

There were cameras in the elevator.

After police investigation, the man was identified as Blaine, a street thug.

He was often idle, loitering on various streets stealing things, and had even been detained a few times.

When the police arrested him, he was in the act of pickpocketing a passerby's phone.

But he vehemently denied the sexual assault charge.

"Do you have any evidence?"

"It was all consensual. How can you say I forced her? She enjoyed it too, you know?"

Blaine was very arrogant. But just as Blaine had said, there was no substantial evidence to prove he had forced anyone.

Most women who suffer assault don't dare to report it to the police.

Firstly, they fear discrimination and gossip from those around them.

Secondly, without evidence, they risk being accused of false allegations.

Most importantly, these kinds of assault cases are very difficult to define.

Because Aria couldn't provide more compelling evidence, Blaine was quickly released.