Ye Tiancheng and the others learned about the situation through news on television and the internet, and the results didn't seem good.
Another person had died.
A few hours after they lost track of the man, in the evening, a new victim was found. However, the news of it only came out that night.
Judging by the methods, it was indeed the same person who had been doing this all along.
The investigators were under immense pressure because people kept getting hurt, yet they hadn't been able to obtain any useful clues. Although they had their eyes on the man from before, they were restricted by discipline and couldn't detain him directly without sufficient evidence, thus unable to prevent further incidents.
Ye Tiancheng understood this better. If the man could indeed use the power of the Fuxi Qin fragments, then the investigators alone would likely not be able to catch him, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to hold him.
It was that same night that Ye Tiancheng received a communication from the investigators. They wanted to meet to discuss some matters and exchange clues and information. The person who would be meeting Ye Tiancheng would also need to act with him later.
Although Ye Tiancheng had suggested that the man was special and that ordinary people shouldn't track him to avoid unnecessary casualties, the investigators couldn't fully trust Ye Tiancheng.
Or rather, they couldn't just leave these matters to ordinary citizens to handle and put them in danger, could they?
Even if they lacked the capability, it was their duty to do these things, and they couldn't evade risks even if they knew there were dangers.
Ye Tiancheng also knew that cooperating with official bodies would inevitably lead to such issues. After some thought, he decided to accept, as it would put their minds at ease. Otherwise, this situation wouldn't be entirely beneficial for Ye Tiancheng either.
However, before the official investigators arrived, Ye Tiancheng primarily stayed at home, discussing the current matter with Fatty and Little Fox.
Ye Tiancheng said to Fatty and Little Fox, "Regarding this matter, based on the information we've gathered so far, do you two have any thoughts?"
Little Fox and Fatty exchanged glances and began to ponder.
Fatty was the first to respond, "Firstly, can we determine the regularity of the killer's motive, target characteristics, and crime scene locations?"
Ye Tiancheng analyzed with Fatty, "Currently, there isn't enough information, and we don't know if the officials will have more clues to offer."
"From the perspective of motive, we can only judge that the methods are brutal, but the true motive is hard to say. We have too little information. As for the target characteristics, that's also difficult to ascertain, as the victims so far include men, women, old, and young. We can't confirm their commonalities at once. This clearly requires communication with the officials to understand more."
"As for the choice of crime scenes, I don't think those are easy to determine either. I tried marking them on a map, but nothing seems apparent yet."
Little Fox flipped through the news reports they had collected. "I mean, is it possible that the perpetrator is just acting on impulse, without any plan or target, so there are no patterns at all? He just wants to do this?"
Ye Tiancheng said, "Then we need to clarify another matter."
"Assuming we confirm that the man is the killer, we need to know why he came to the building where we live."
"If he was casing the joint, then he might kill without reason, but it definitely wouldn't be on impulse. He would have to select a target and make plans beforehand."
Little Fox shook his head and could only say, "Then it's very difficult for us to analyze. We can only speculate now because the information we possess is still too little. It's not enough for us to make accurate judgments. We should communicate more with the person who contacted us earlier and gather more information to understand the situation more clearly."
Ye Tiancheng nodded. "There's no problem with that, because those people are also struggling with their investigation, as the clues are directly stuck on that man."
"Because those people are ordinary individuals, they won't have any good methods to deal with that man. If they want to find a breakthrough and prevent more new cases from occurring, they have no choice but to cooperate with us."
"It's also been agreed that they will arrange for someone to come tomorrow to liato with us. However, considering various factors, the person who liaises with us will likely have to act with us afterwards."
Little Fox and Fatty both frowned. Fatty said, "Can't we refuse? If they get involved when we take action, won't that be very troublesome for us?"
Little Fox seemed to understand things more clearly. He picked up his teacup, took a sip of the warm tea with a calm expression, and then continued, answering Fatty on behalf of Ye Tiancheng.
"It's not that we can't refuse to cooperate, but considering various factors, it's not just them who have concerns; it's best for us to actively cooperate as well. We should try to fulfill their requests as much as possible, otherwise, it won't be conducive to our cooperation with them."
"Because if we don't do this, it will be difficult for them to trust us and exchange important information with us."
"We also need to reassure them, because we joined suddenly and actively entered their sight. If we don't cooperate a bit, it's easy to appear to have ulterior motives, and it might even backfire. It's better to cooperate for greater benefits."
Fatty understood Little Fox's point, but he still had some concerns. "But what about when it comes to taking action?"
Little Fox blinked his eyes and said, "This isn't a big problem. When it's time to act, will we have time to worry about these things? We'll just act directly. Who cares what they think of us? Whether they believe us or not, when the time comes, they'll just have to accept it."
Ye Tiancheng agreed with Little Fox, "That's right, it's exactly like that. When something really happens, will there be enough time to blind others' eyes?"
"Moreover, since we proposed that the man is special and we must deal with him personally, we at least have to provide some proof. Otherwise, we'll really look like tricksters. What if we're mistaken for accomplices of that man and have ulterior motives?"
Fatty thought about it and felt that it made sense, so he didn't say anything more.
Then, Little Fox said to Ye Tiancheng again, "I don't think we can analyze anything further now. The information we have is still too little."
"The perpetrator's motives could be many: acting on impulse, wanting to harm people for no reason, randomly selecting targets, or perhaps some abnormal religious worship, possibly performing some evil rituals."
"Or perhaps the Fuxi Qin fragments are on him. This possibility is also valid. Maybe it's for the Fuxi Qin fragments?"
Ye Tiancheng was taken aback. After thinking for a moment, his expression became more serious. Little Fox nodded, "This is indeed a possible line of thought."
Confirming that they couldn't come up with anything further for the time being, Ye Tiancheng's discussion with them had to come to a temporary end.
In the evening, Ye Tiancheng had dinner with Ye Qingcheng and told her about the current situation. Upon hearing that Ye Tiancheng wouldn't be going out to play recently due to the dangerous situation, Ye Qingcheng, being a relatively intelligent child, quickly reacted and asked Ye Tiancheng if it was related to the news she saw during the day.
Ye Tiancheng wouldn't use any other excuses to fool the child just because she was young. Currently, there was no need for that. In fact, it was a good thing to let the child understand the truth and the seriousness of the situation better. Even children could make basic judgments.
Knowing the severity of the consequences, although they might feel fear, fear itself was a good thing. Because once they felt fear, they would actively distance themselves from danger and protect themselves.
Instead of causing trouble at such a critical juncture by not taking the warnings seriously, leading to tragedy and the parents regretting it immensely.
As parents, if they were always vague when talking to their children about these matters, and the children didn't understand how bad the situation was, they might not take it seriously. Or, even if they were obedient children who remembered their parents' words, they might occasionally forget or violate the warnings due to the consequences of occasional mistakes.
They might think, "It's just for a moment, and it'll be fine." And it's precisely that moment that leads to an irreparable regret.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng explained the situation to Ye Qingcheng in language she could understand.
Ye Qingcheng was precocious and had always been very well-behaved and obedient. After getting the answers she wanted, she naturally expressed her intentions to Ye Tiancheng repeatedly – she would remember what Ye Tiancheng told her and would not put herself in danger.
Ye Tiancheng knew that Ye Qingcheng was a sensible child and would keep her promises to her parents, so he was quite relieved.
Once Ye Qingcheng understood the situation, and they adults arranged the outer protective measures, there would basically be no major problems.
Ye Tiancheng also made arrangements. The building would strengthen its security and strictly control access. The private tutors who came to teach Ye Qingcheng would also have their identities verified one by one before being allowed to approach Ye Qingcheng.
The situation was special now. Although it was a bit troublesome, it was very necessary. Moreover, such strict checks were also beneficial for the safety of others. Therefore, most people, after receiving the notice, would probably accept it relatively willingly and cooperate.
The next morning, early in the morning, Ye Tiancheng received a call from the bodyguard downstairs, informing him that a visitor had arrived to meet them, sent by the investigators.
Because Ye Tiancheng had chosen to strengthen security, the person who came to meet them early in the morning was stopped downstairs. The bodyguards confirmed his identity before reporting it to Ye Tiancheng.
Upon receiving the news, Ye Tiancheng immediately changed his clothes. He didn't have time for a proper wash and could only quickly take care of it casually. At the same time, he informed the bodyguards that they could let the person up.
After Ye Tiancheng quickly finished these basic morning routines, he walked to the door and opened it. He saw a man standing at the entrance of his residence, looking hesitantly at Ye Tiancheng's side and the two doors on Fatty's side, seemingly unsure which door to knock on.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng open the door, the man immediately turned around and walked to Ye Tiancheng's door.
"Hello, you must be Mr. Ye Tiancheng, right?" he greeted Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Tiancheng sized him up and nodded, then said to the man, "It's me. May I ask your name?"