Cipher: Lost in the Maze

Every software bug reflects the depths of human nature: a courier uses route algorithms to dispose of a body flawlessly, a parenting AI urges a mother to stage an accident, a retired engineer sells a "perfect car-crash probability model" on the black market... One short story every two or three chapters, and the mystery-solving journey begins!

Chapter One: The Yellow-Raincoat Delivery Detective and the Mystery of the Pet Grooming Salon

Late-night orders are never quite peaceful for delivery rider Gu Xiaoman. Tonight, she takes an "astronomical bounty order," but when she opens the door, a wealthy woman is in tears, claiming her corgi has been kidnapped. A pervert in pink pajamas on the security footage, a crime scene strewn with mint shampoo, an intelligence network of square-dance grannies, and a programmer who hacked into the control system of a pet lab all lead to a shocking conspiracy in the pet grooming industry...

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.