Ye Tiancheng's firm promise to help finally put Nie Chongyang at ease.
He thanked Ye Tiancheng, saying, "Thank you very much then."
Ye Tiancheng waved his hand.
"It's the least I can do."
Then, Nie Chongyang began to tell Ye Tiancheng about the events that had transpired on their side during this period.
It turned out that about a month ago, a very serious murder case had occurred in their city. The criminal investigation team immediately got involved. To avoid causing public panic, the authorities had sealed off information about the murder.
However, the investigation process was extremely difficult.
Despite their best efforts, they couldn't find any particularly useful clues. Just then, even more heinous incidents occurred. Different victims, different locations, the same modus operandi, repeated again.
The criminal investigation team pursued, but still found nothing.
During that time, the entire criminal investigation team was in disarray. They couldn't find any useful leads, yet people kept falling victim. So far, there had been a total of five murder cases.
As for how this case became linked to supernatural events and was transferred to the Special Operations Team, it also had something to do with Nie Chongyang.
After the fifth murder case, the criminal investigation team investigated and finally discovered that the commonality among these five murder cases was that all five victims had contact with the same young man.
Because the investigation had stalled for a long time, and they finally had this clue, the criminal investigation team immediately arrested the young man.
However, the young man seemed completely unaware of these matters. When he was apprehended, he still had a look of bewilderment on his face. Like most ordinary citizens who were kept in the dark by the information lockdown, he had no idea that murder cases had occurred.
The criminal investigation team was unwilling to believe in coincidences, so they naturally did not easily believe the young man's defense.
Who knew that, in the end, the investigation revealed that the young man seemed to be truly innocent.
At least, the criminal investigation team could not obtain any incriminating evidence and thus could not detain the young man. They could only release him and could not keep him in custody.
It was also by chance that around the time of the fifth murder case, Nie Chongyang was taking Xiao Miaomiao out shopping and encountered an extremely dangerous malevolent entity. Xiao Miaomiao discovered it and informed Nie Chongyang. Later, Nie Chongyang and his team were able to connect this malevolent entity with the murder cases that the criminal investigation team was struggling with.
The malevolent entity that committed the crime was extremely brutal. Each time it harmed someone, it would hollow out the victim's internal organs. The victim's body also bore many marks of being gnawed by beasts.
The criminal investigation team initially thought that a perverted murderer with an antisocial personality disorder was committing crimes in the city.
Later, as things had progressed to this point, and no one wanted to see more victims, Nie Chongyang took the initiative to hand over the case to the criminal investigation team, transferring it to the Special Operations Team.
After hearing Nie Chongyang's account, to everyone's surprise, the first person to react and speak was Long Zhaozhao.
After Nie Chongyang finished speaking, Long Zhaozhao suddenly blurted out, "It must be mountain spirits and wild monsters committing the crimes! It's mountain spirits and wild monsters harming people! As for the murder cases that have occurred so far, it can be confirmed that the victims are definitely not five, but six!"
Hearing Long Zhaozhao say this, Nie Chongyang was greatly alarmed and urgently asked, "What do you mean? What do you know?"
"When we discovered that malevolent entity, we only felt that it was emitting an overwhelming aura of malevolence. It was just a fleeting glance, and Xiao Miaomiao couldn't recognize what it was at first glance. How do you know that this case was committed by mountain spirits and wild monsters?"
"Also, why do you say that six people have already been killed!"
Long Zhaozhao scratched his ear with his claw and said, "Ay! Ask me one question at a time. If you ask so many questions all at once and speak so quickly, my brain can't keep up."
Nie Chongyang then softened his tone slightly and said to Long Zhaozhao, "No rush, no rush... Just answer the questions I asked, take your time, and tell me everything you know. This matter is very important, do you understand?"
"I understand, let me think," Long Zhaozhao replied.
He organized his thoughts, considering Nie Chongyang's questions, and then answered them one by one.
Long Zhaozhao said, "You ask me how I know. It's mainly because the way you described the crime is very typical. Those who usually do this are mountain spirits and wild monsters. And there's a reason why the victims are so miserable."
"This is a very distinctive method. Anyone who knows about it can identify it just by hearing it. I don't need to see the perpetrator in action to know."
Nie Chongyang asked, "So, mountain spirits and wild monsters generally harm people this way, and this is their modus operandi, which is why you are so certain, right?"
"Then why do you say that there are actually six victims? There are only five victims discovered so far. Is there a sixth one that we haven't discovered? And how did you determine this?"
Long Zhaozhao replied, "Didn't I just say that this is the characteristic of how mountain spirits and wild monsters harm people? The real victims must be at least one more than the victims you have discovered."
"And this point basically depends on how many mountain spirits and wild monsters are causing harm."
"However, when you were speaking, you didn't mention if there were crime scenes occurring simultaneously or very close in time, so I'll assume for now that there is only one mountain spirit or wild monster causing harm."
Nie Chongyang listened as Long Zhaozhao explained the reason.
Long Zhaozhao continued to explain to him, "It's like this. The reason why those victims had their internal organs hollowed out is because these mountain spirits and wild monsters generally cannot transform into human form. Therefore, if they want to walk around in human form, they can only do so by harming people to obtain human skins."
"The reason why the internal organs are hollowed out and the body is empty is because when mountain spirits and wild monsters use human skins, they eat the human internal organs and then enter the human chest and abdomen to control that skin."
"As for the marks of beastly gnawing on the victims' bodies, mountain spirits and wild monsters are basically transformed from plants and animals in the mountains. If they can't control their nature, what's strange about gnawing on a human skin a few times? Mountain spirits and wild monsters that harm people inherently have a habit of eating humans."
After saying all this, Long Zhaozhao paused for a moment to catch his breath, and then continued to explain, "And as for why I said that there is at least one more victim than you have discovered, it is also related to mountain spirits and wild monsters changing skins."
"Think about it. They need to use skins, but the skins that have been hollowed out by them are essentially corpses. Corpses will decay. Even if they maintain them with their cultivation, they can only preserve them for a period of time. And the weaker their cultivation, the worse their preservation ability. They must change skins more frequently."
"And every time you discover a victim, it is actually when this skin is replaced. Since you have discovered a discarded skin, it must be because the mountain spirit or wild monster causing harm has already put on a new skin."
"The victim whose body has been occupied by the mountain spirit or wild monster, and who may still be acting freely like a normal person, has actually already died. It's just that under the disguise of the mountain spirit or wild monster, no one would discover this."
"You wouldn't realize this matter, and you don't understand so much, so naturally, you wouldn't know that every time you discover a victim, it means there is one more undiscovered victim."
Nie Chongyang and Ye Tiancheng listened with pale faces, while Long Miaomiao pondered thoughtfully.
After Long Zhaozhao finished speaking, Long Miaomiao said, "Now that you mention it, I do recall. A long time ago, when I was traveling outside, I did hear about such things. However, I never personally encountered them or saw them with my own eyes, it was just hearsay."
"But now that it matches up, I do have some impression. Such things indeed happen."
Nie Chongyang became anxious.
He said, "What should we do now? How can we apprehend the culprit?"
"Perhaps, he is already looking for new victims. How do we know when he will harm someone and who he will choose as a target? If we knew these things, it would at least help in catching him."
The little fox listened more than he spoke. In this regard, he needed to actively absorb knowledge himself to know more. However, relatively speaking, his role would be greater when he was called upon to act. He was of little help in providing clues.
Therefore, he had been listening quietly, almost without speaking.
Ye Tiancheng was also the type who could help with actions.
So, the only ones who could help Nie Chongyang now were clearly Long Miaomiao, and surprisingly, Long Zhaozhao, who knew the situation.
Long Zhaozhao said, "Then tell me in more detail. The time intervals between discovering victims, the locations where victims were discovered, and the social relationships of these victims. Be as detailed as possible. It will be easier to deduce from these."
Nie Chongyang, after all, was a normal criminal investigator who had transferred to the Special Operations Team. He was momentarily shocked by the news, not having expected these things. But now that Long Zhaozhao mentioned it, Nie Chongyang understood the significance of deducing this information and the clues he could obtain.
Long Zhaozhao reminded him, "Also, pay more attention to that young man who was arrested and then had to be released. It might not really be a coincidence. What if he is both a victim and the perpetrator?"
Nie Chongyang nodded in agreement.
Initially, they didn't know about mountain spirits and wild monsters harming people, nor did they know about the sixth victim. But now that they knew about this matter, they certainly had to take it seriously.
They would also need to retrieve the information that Long Zhaozhao had mentioned earlier, which meant they would have to notify their colleagues in the criminal investigation team.
The case had just been transferred to the Special Operations Team, and much of the work and documentation had not yet been fully handed over. Moreover, the criminal investigation team did not fully believe in the existence of so many supernatural beings in the world. Therefore, they were paying close attention to how the Special Operations Team handled cases, and it was also an opportunity to show them, so they would no longer have doubts.
Nie Chongyang and Long Zhaozhao discussed the matter. Long Zhaozhao expressed his willingness to show himself. Nie Chongyang immediately notified his colleagues in the criminal investigation team, asking them to bring the relevant information and materials to the Special Operations Team's department, and to let them meet Long Zhaozhao.
Once these people were convinced, they would stop looking at their team members as if they were crazy all day long.
Although when it came to actual work, the Special Operations Team's tasks were incredibly difficult and headache-inducing, if the criminal investigation team knew about it, they would surely be extremely envious.
The criminal investigation team received Nie Chongyang's message. Nie Chongyang had made a big promise to them, so they immediately rushed to the Special Operations Team's department with the data, eager to see what he was up to.