"The seventh victim appeared just this morning—another bloody confession letter."
"The Liyue Qixing probably won't be able to keep this under wraps much longer. Rumors are already spreading from Liyue Prison."
Hu Tao spoke with a worried tone. The Task Force's investigation had been progressing extremely slowly over the past few days, not even halfway complete.
Adding more manpower wasn't a viable option. Liyue Harbor had developed over so many years that its residents were all somewhat familiar with each other. A sudden influx of so many unfamiliar faces would easily alert the murderer.
Furthermore, any additional personnel wouldn't be as professional as the current team, and the risk of exposure would be immense.
"We're running out of time," Chen Feng said, stroking his chin in thought.
"Only one person is left now. The murderer will likely announce their presence to everyone with the next strike."
Hu Tao nodded; this was also Yelan's deduction.
But trying to find the murderer in a vast sea of people in such a short time—all while avoiding exposure—was simply too difficult.
"The biggest problem is that we don't know how the murderer activates that ability. Otherwise, the investigation wouldn't be this difficult."
Hearing Hu Tao's words, Chen Feng also sighed softly.
"At first, I thought the murderer might have some kind of abnormality, and perhaps my eyes could find him directly. But I've already met almost every suspect, and I haven't found anyone with anything unusual about them."
"Director Hu, do you think our investigation is headed in the wrong direction?"
Feeling Chen Feng's inquiring gaze, Hu Tao hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Consultant Chen Feng, you have to trust your own judgment. Besides, don't Yelan and the others share the same opinion as you?"
Hu Tao paused for a moment, then continued, "Even if we were to turn back and restart the investigation, we wouldn't have enough time."
Chen Feng thought it over for a long while, then nodded.
"Let's go, Director Hu. Suspect No. 53's usual time for going out is approaching. Let's go find him."
"Mm."
Soon, Chen Feng and Hu Tao turned a few corners and arrived at a somewhat secluded spot. After waiting for about two minutes, a thin figure emerged from an alleyway and began walking along the main street.
Seeing the figure, Chen Feng and Hu Tao exchanged a glance and immediately followed.
This suspect was one of their primary targets. Every day, he went out at this exact time to take a stroll and buy daily necessities and food. Other than that, he never left his house, staying inside to do who knows what.
His route was not fixed, and he kept looking around as he walked, as if searching for something.
Chen Feng and Hu Tao had once suspected him and specifically asked Yelan about the locations of the victims' bodies on those days, but they dropped the idea after discovering the locations didn't match his route.
However, the two had not completely dismissed their suspicions. Every time he went out, they would follow him from a distance, recording his route each time for comparison.
Today, Chen Feng and Hu Tao had expected another unremarkable tailing session, but unexpectedly, an unforeseen situation occurred.
Not far ahead, a squad of Millelith was chasing a muscular man. Passersby on the street, sensing something was wrong, had long since fled to a distance. However, Suspect No. 53, seemingly completely oblivious, continued walking down the middle of the street and soon passed the muscular man.
Seeing this scene, Chen Feng and Hu Tao's hanging hearts finally dropped. However, before they could rejoice for long, the muscular man made a sudden turnaround, using his powerful arm to seize Suspect No. 53 in a chokehold.
"Stop. If you dare chase any further, I'll kill him!"
As the muscular man spoke, veins bulged on his arm, and his immense strength squeezed Suspect No. 53 until his face turned a deep purplish-red.
Suspect No. 53 struggled desperately, but the muscular man delivered a sharp slap that left him dizzy and disoriented, and two streaks of blood flowed from his nostrils.
"Not good!"
As they had feared, the worst-case scenario had occurred: Suspect No. 53 had been taken hostage.
Seeing this, the Millelith immediately stopped and tried to calm the man down with grave expressions.
"Liu Laosi, don't do anything foolish. The person you beat hasn't been confirmed to be in life-threatening danger yet. Your life still has hope, but if you go down this path, there's no turning back!"
"Hahaha, save those words for deceiving children!"
Hearing the Millelith's words, the muscular man, Liu Laosi, erupted into wild laughter.
"That bastard who swindled all my money? Every one of my punches was aimed at his vital points. I smashed his head in, and you're telling me he might still be alive? That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"
After hearing Liu Laosi's words, the expressions on everyone's faces became even more grave.
This kind of calm criminal is the most terrifying because they know exactly what they are facing and hold no delusions of luck.
"You Millelith, where was all your talk of gathering damn evidence when he was swindling my money? Why aren't you demanding evidence now?!"
"Alright, everyone get back, or I'll kill him right now and take another hostage!"
"Don't think I won't do it. Do you want me to break his arm first to show you what I'm capable of?!"
"Don't be rash!"
Hearing Liu Laosi's threatening words, the Millelith had no choice but to keep retreating, though they didn't go too far at first.
"Get back further, this distance isn't enough!"
"This is the limit of our retreat. I also need to ensure the safety of the innocent civilians!"
Just as the Millelith leader finished speaking, a sudden "crack" echoed from a distance, followed by a muffled scream from Suspect No. 53.
His right arm had been snapped by Liu Laosi. Seeing this, the Millelith's faces paled, and they immediately retreated a great distance.
"Heh, wouldn't it have been better if you'd done that from the start?"
"Tsk tsk, what a fine arm. It'll be hard for him to support himself from now on."
Hearing Liu Laosi's taunts, the expressions of both the Millelith present and Chen Feng and Hu Tao watching from afar turned grim.
"Consultant Chen Feng, this Director is about to make a move."
Although the Task Force members' most important principle was to keep their identities secret, Hu Tao couldn't stand by and watch this scene unfold any longer. The criminal had proactively harmed someone, and there was no guarantee he wouldn't kill Suspect No. 53 next.
Hu Tao's greatest advantage was her ability to hide in the crowd. She could rescue the hostage with a high probability if she caught the culprit off guard.
"Wait, Director Hu, look over there."
Hearing Chen Feng's words, Hu Tao looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a familiar figure.
"That's a member of the Task Force!"
Seeing that he had already secretly approached behind the criminal and seemed ready to act, Hu Tao abandoned her own plan and decided to help distract the culprit instead.
With this in mind, Hu Tao asked Chen Feng to remove his mask with her. Then, she stood in the crowd with her hands on her hips and shouted.
"This Director has arrived! Everyone, clear out!"
"Holy crap, it's Director Hu!"
"Director Hu is here! Everyone, run for your lives!"
"I just turned eighteen this year! I don't want to die yet!"
The moment the crowd recognized Hu Tao and Chen Feng, the scene descended into absolute chaos—far more absurd than when the criminal had been holding hostages.
After all, there was only one criminal, and he could hold at most two hostages. But Director Hu alone could claim the lives of everyone on this street!
Some people had been trying to watch the commotion, but who dared to do so now? Staying any longer might mean becoming the commotion!
"Holy shit, what is Director Hu doing here?!"
The moment he saw Hu Tao and Chen Feng, even the criminal, Liu Laosi, couldn't help but curse. Such was the fearsome reputation Chen Feng and Hu Tao had built.
Perfect timing!
The Task Force member hidden in the crowd saw this and knew Hu Tao had spotted him and was providing backup. He didn't miss this golden opportunity, lunging forward in a few strides to smack Liu Laosi's head. Before the criminal could recover from the blow, he rescued Suspect No. 53 and dragged them to safety.
The Millelith finally snapped into action, swarming in and apprehending Liu Laosi in no time.
The crisis was over, yet no one dared to breathe a sigh of relief, for Hu Tao and Chen Feng were still present.
Sensing the crowd's subtle attention, Hu Tao had no choice but to lead Chen Feng away to let things cool down. She then returned to watch the commotion, her mask firmly back in place.
"That was a close call! I never expected Director Hu Tao to be here!"
"How strange... Why didn't I notice her, even when she was so close?"
Hu Tao, standing right next to the man who was muttering to himself, thought she had no idea why either.
"Sir, will you be handling this case?"
The Millelith clearly recognized the Task Force member. After securing the culprit, one of them jogged over, gave him a sharp military salute, and asked.
"No need. You all can handle this."
The Task Force member shook his head and then looked with concern at Suspect No. 53. "Your arm... I'll find you a specialist in the field. I'm sure you'll recover completely in no time."
"No need!"
The man shoved the Task Force member aside, covered his arm, and hurried away with his head down.
"What's with that attitude? Sir, you just saved his life!"
Seeing this, the Millelith immediately spoke up in protest for him.
"It's alright. It's only natural for him to feel upset after suffering such an undeserved calamity in front of so many Millelith," the Captain said. "How about this? Since he refuses to let me find a doctor for him, I will personally bring some compensation to his home another day to apologize."
"Captain, you don't need to do that. Let me go in your place!"
"No, you have your own work to do..."
After the matter was settled, the Task Force member met up with Chen Feng and Hu Tao.
"Thank you, Director Hu Tao and Consultant Chen Feng, for distracting the culprit earlier. It's thanks to you that the hostage rescue went so smoothly."
"Not at all. We just happened to see it and wanted to help you out."
"That's right, that's right. We're all on the same team, no need to be so formal."
Hearing Chen Feng and Hu Tao's words, the Task Force member nodded and then asked, "By the way, how is the investigation going on your end?"
"Still no progress. I'm afraid we won't find anything until the next phase, when we can search the suspects' homes."
Hearing Hu Tao's answer, the Task Force member sighed softly and said, "Alas, I've got nothing on my end either. Everyone's acting completely normal."
"We're running out of time..." he added, his voice trailing off.
His somber words left Chen Feng and Hu Tao silent.
The next morning, Chen Feng and Hu Tao arrived early for the regular meeting.
However, as soon as they entered the room, they saw the Task Force member who had saved Suspect No. 53 the day before approaching them. His expression was grave.
"Director Hu Tao, Consultant Chen Feng," he began, "have you heard? Liu Laosi is dead."
At first, Chen Feng and Hu Tao didn't grasp the full meaning of his words. But they quickly snapped out of it.
"The hostage-taker from yesterday!"
The officer nodded and continued.
"I just received word today. Liu Laosi was caught up in a fight in Liyue Prison and beaten to death by another prisoner."
"How could that be? I saw him yesterday, and the Deathly Aura on him wasn't even strong."
"The murderer has made their move!"
Suddenly realizing the implication, Chen Feng and Hu Tao exclaimed in alarm.
"Yes, it seems so."
The Task Force member nodded and continued speaking.
"I'm telling you this because I want to ask... with things turning out like this, the murderer is very likely among the crowd of onlookers from yesterday."
"Doesn't that narrow the search area significantly!"
Upon hearing the Task Force member's words, Chen Feng and Hu Tao's eyes lit up, and they spoke with excitement.
"Yes!"
The Task Force member nodded with a smile.
"It looks like we're very close to catching the murderer this time."
"I plan to ask Sir Yelan to assign more colleagues to assist me so we can find that murderer who is acting recklessly according to his own whims as soon as possible."
After hearing this, Hu Tao immediately volunteered.
"This Director also wants to participate!"
"Oh, right, Consultant Chen Feng will be with this Director as well!"
However, the Task Force member shook his head and said,
"I believe this operation is not suitable for you two."
"Your appearances yesterday have already been noted by those onlookers. If you get involved, there's a huge risk of being exposed."
"While I have already been exposed, I can use yesterday's incident as an excuse to bring in those onlookers for questioning. If anything unusual comes up, I'll arrest them immediately."
After hearing the explanation, Hu Tao could only helplessly give up on the idea of joining.
"Alright, then we'll leave this matter to you."
"Please leave this to us, and I will bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible!"
"Since we've narrowed the suspect list to such a small range, we will never let the murderer have a chance to escape!"