As time passed, the identities of the other three individuals captured in the surveillance gradually became apparent.

Their physical characteristics were quite similar to Su Hui’s previous profile.

The man who made the payment was sitting in a dark corner, and the police directly traced his relevant information from the payment method. His name was Bi Shanyu, 30 years old, and he used to be a long-haul driver. A few years ago, he was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in a fatality. He had paid compensation, divorced his wife, and has been living alone in Huadu with no close relatives.

The elderly man was named Dai Yuansheng, 63 years old, and he was a habitual thief who specifically targeted vacant houses in villa areas. He had a record of committing violent crimes and had been imprisoned twice before. After his release, he worked as a security guard in a clothing factory owned by relatives.

The woman’s name was Xu Shuang, 32 years old. Her parents used to run a factory, and her family was once well-off. However, she faced unfortunate circumstances and became a single mother after her marriage ended. Later, her young son passed away, and after her parents also passed away, she has been living alone.

These three individuals, with entirely different ages, backgrounds, and life situations, along with Jie Qiu and Song Lan’en, had come together two and a half years ago to commit the “Fine Sand” major case.

Now, they had reunited again, and the “Finer Sand” case was reopened.

After clarifying their identities, warrants for their arrest were issued.

Since the police started tracking these four individuals, they seemed to have become aware of it.

All of them left their residences, turned off their phones, and concealed their whereabouts.

The police tried to track them through their social connections, phone numbers, and surveillance footage, but couldn’t find their current location.

Subsequently, the police applied for search warrants and conducted searches at their residences but found no specific leads.

Not only at the central bureau but also at all police stations in the city, officers were working overtime to search for these individuals.

They sealed off the city’s transportation network and conducted thorough inspections.

However, the city was vast enough for the four individuals to remain hidden without a trace.

Explosives, unlike knives or even guns, had uncontrollable ranges, and the victims were random. Even someone as frail as Xu Shuang could cause multiple fatalities.

The situation was highly tense.

Time was ticking away, every minute and every second.

No news, still no news.

Lu Junchi ordered to dig deeper into the investigation of these individuals. Several teams were sent out to inquire about their past from their elders, relatives, teachers, neighbors… to find out what they had done and what had happened to them.

By the evening, after summarizing the findings, the police had yet to make significant progress.

This stage of the investigation was the most agonizing.

Lu Junchi and Su Hui didn’t return home; they stayed in a nearby hotel next to the central bureau so that they could respond immediately if there was any news.

After dinner, Lu Junchi received a call and inquired about the results of Tan Ju’s meeting with Deputy Director Jin.

Seeing the situation not going well, the deputy director directly broke down and sought leniency by confessing.

According to Deputy Director Jin’s confession, he knew some people from the social circles, and occasionally, they would ask him for information about the municipal bureau. He helped them with some tasks and accepted small bribes.

As for the anonymous tip-off letter, he vehemently denied any involvement, claiming that someone had placed it in his office. The letter was slipped in

through a blind spot in the surveillance.

Su Hui leaned back on the bed, listened for a few moments, and when Lu Junchi hung up, he said, “Deputy Director Jin is probably telling the truth. We are just using his case as a means to apply pressure.”

Lu Junchi pondered for a moment and said, “I understand what you mean. It’s still uncertain if Deputy Director Jin is connected to the mastermind behind this. He seems more like a scapegoat pushed to the forefront.”

“Their impulsive nature, explosive temperaments, and susceptibility to trust others easily,” Su Hui coughed a few times, “If I were the mastermind, I probably wouldn’t choose teammates like them. And the words Deputy Director Wang said, it sounds like he’s trying to balance the relationships, but there’s an element of incitement in them.”

Whoever is hidden within the central bureau, it will likely require a thorough investigation.

Lu Junchi noticed that there was a slight abnormal flush on Su Hui’s face. He reached out and touched his forehead, feeling the warmth beneath his palm. “It seems like you have a fever again.”

Su Hui coughed a few times and blinked, saying, “I just took some fever-reducing medicine. Maybe the effects haven’t kicked in yet.” His fever had been fluctuating for the past few days. It would subside when he took medicine but flare up again when he didn’t.

“But you’re still running a high temperature… Maybe you should go to the hospital and get checked,” Lu Junchi expressed concern.

“At a time like this, it’s better to wait until we handle the situation,” Su Hui replied, still keeping his head lowered. He continued to sift through the documents, hoping to find some clues among them.

Lu Junchi sighed helplessly. “Then let me get you a cold towel for physical cooling.”

Su Hui murmured in agreement. He was trying to find commonalities among these individuals, to discover the catalyst that brought them together.

But there were hardly any…

Different residences, different schools, different life trajectories.

There seemed to be only one commonality—they were all relatively lonely individuals within the city. They spent a lot of time in solitude, and their schedules were relatively flexible.

He couldn’t explain why these people gathered together.

He couldn’t fathom why they carried out these attacks.

But there must be some connection…

As distributors of the bombs, they were selected according to certain rules. It was because of certain traits they possessed that they were capable of carrying out such deranged acts.

It definitely had something to do with their past, their upbringing, and life trajectories. There might be some clues they had yet to discover.

How did those people come together to embark on such an endeavor?

Su Hui was facing a difficult problem, completely engrossed in it.

In the hotel room, under the warm orange light, there was a moment of silence.

Lu Junchi sighed and draped a blanket over him.

After a while, Su Hui started coughing again.

Lu Junchi helped him change the towel. The towel had become warm from his body temperature, and he couldn’t help but say, “You’re probably nearing forty degrees now. Today is only the first day, whether it’s bomb-making or carrying out attacks, it won’t happen this quickly. We still have time. After you finish at the hospital, we can intensify our efforts.”

Su Hui took the cold towel from him. “I feel okay for now.”

Lu Junchi coaxed him, “If you’re delirious from the fever, who will solve the case?”

His voice was so gentle, gentle enough to momentarily shake Su Hui.

Su Hui’s gaze fell on the documents in front of him. “I know my body can’t collapse right now. I can still push through. Let me finish this, and once we handle this case, I’ll go to the hospital.”

With one hand supporting the cold towel on his forehead, he continued discussing with Lu Junchi.

“All the police in the city are busy, and I’ll keep an eye on things too. Don’t burden yourself with everything,” Lu Junchi tried to convince him.

“I know. The world won’t stop without me. I’m not capable of saving everyone either,” Su Hui lowered his eyes. He knew he should find a balance between work and his health.

As he spoke, his voice choked for a moment, and he continued with a hoarse voice, “But whenever I think of someone holding a bomb in the city, I think of that scene from two years ago…”

It was the moment of the explosion—fire, blood, the loss of lives… It was a recurring nightmare for him.

Su Hui continued in a low voice, “I indirectly confronted them, and I understand those people. I will definitely find the connections between them.”

At present, there was no one more suitable than Su Hui to investigate this case. Lu Junchi hesitated, withdrew his hand that was blocking the documents, and looked at the person in front of him. He felt a slight pain in his chest, but he couldn’t replace Su Hui.

Lu Junchi finally compromised and advised, “But don’t be too stubborn. If you feel unwell, make sure to take a break. If something comes up tonight, and if your temperature goes above forty, you must go to the hospital, or if necessary, we can call Dr. Zhu from the General Bureau’s clinic.”

The room was dimly lit, and in Su Hui’s gaze, the person in front of him appeared somewhat blurry, like in a dream.

He suddenly realized that this was the person who cared about him the most in the world.

He remembered the times he fought against illness and pain alone. Once, he had a high fever at home, and he fell into a drowsy sleep. When he woke up, he found Aristotle holding his finger while the room remained cold and lifeless. He was alone…

Holding the cold towel, Su Hui was momentarily lost in thought. He suddenly thought of that question: Why did he forget about this person, who was so good to him, in the past?

Was Lu Junchi also worried about this?

A sudden thought crossed Su Hui’s mind, and he spoke, “Don’t worry, even if my brain gets fried this time, even if I forget who I am, I won’t forget you again.”

Lu Junchi listened, momentarily stunned. The softest part of his heart felt as if it had been marked by a cat’s paw.

Su Hui put down the documents, his eyes slightly reddening at the corners. He reached out with his other hand and embraced Lu Junchi’s waist, burying his head against his chest.

Because he loved him the most, he wouldn’t forget him again.

This embrace caught Lu Junchi off guard.

Being held by Su Hui, feeling the warmth of his body, Lu Junchi instantly lost his resistance.

He reached out and embraced Su Hui’s body, feeling the butterfly bones on his back and the old scars.

This was not a balanced negotiation at all. Just seeing him, hearing him speak, Lu Junchi was on the verge of surrendering. How should he handle him?

It seemed like there was no other way but to indulge him, protect him, and guard him.

Lu Junchi held Su Hui tightly, patting him gently, then lowered his head to kiss his forehead. “Then I’ll accompany you. We will definitely catch them.”

After a short rest, the two of them immediately began another round of work. The night grew deeper, but they were wide awake.

As the night deepened, various messages from different sources kept coming in.

Su Hui focused on the various documents in front of him, his long eyelashes drooping. He circled a few words and said, “I haven’t found the answer to how those four people came together. But it seems like I know where Song Lan’en plans to find some help…”

Lu Junchi remembered Su Hui telling him that if Song Lan’en wasn’t satisfied with the scale of the past cases, besides the usual suspects, she might also find temporary helpers to join in.

Su Hui pointed to a few documents. “A few days ago, Song Lan’en used Liu Yumei’s phone to make some calls. The phone numbers don’t match the identities of those people, but I found another clue.”

Lu Junchi had previously discussed with his team members about how Song Lan’en would select potential culprits. Now Su Hui had discovered some leads.

Speaking of which, Su Hui pointed to the screen of his laptop. “I followed one of the phone numbers and discovered a hidden message board accessed through it.” He handed the notebook to Lu Junchi. “Those people have murder fantasies.”

Lu Junchi started to browse through it. It was a message board similar to an anonymous confession platform, with many people posting anonymously.

He flipped through several posts and felt that the messages on the message board were disturbing.

It was like a breeding ground for evil.

“I want to kill someone. Lately, I’ve been thinking about killing often. I don’t hate anyone, and there are no specific targets. I want to kill strangers who pass by me.”

“I want to destroy everyone, people I know and people I don’t, even complete strangers with no connection. Including myself.”

“I just encountered a child, and suddenly I wanted to kill him, like I did with that cat.”

“I have an intense desire to kill, to channel my anger into killing those who anger me. I want to see blood. I know it’s wrong, but I want to defy the norms and become a demon that everyone fears.”

Lu Junchi furrowed his brow as he read more. With the advent of the internet, communication among people had become much easier, but it also exposed some of the darkness within.

The people who posted on this forum every day were potential dangers, killers hidden among ordinary people.

Su Hui cleared his throat and said, “In fact, many people have had murder fantasies at some point. Some say it’s an emotional response that humans have evolved from their animal instincts. At certain moments, they suddenly think about killing, but as their attention shifts, they think about other things and abandon the thought.”

“There have been psychological and social surveys, and the data shows that around 70% of people have experienced murder fantasies, especially during emotional fluctuations or when something happens. However, rationality ultimately overcomes impulses. Normal individuals realize that having such thoughts frequently is wrong, and they will suppress them.”

“But there’s a small minority of people whose murder fantasies don’t disappear. They have these fantasies for a long time, coexisting with these thoughts year-round. Whether they’re happy, idle, busy, or in pain, they are constantly thinking about it.”

Humans cannot control their own thoughts. Sometimes they suddenly think of terrifying or dreadful things. But once these thoughts occur frequently and there is a desire to act on them, it becomes something entirely different.

Su Hui cleared his throat again. “Unlike typical serial killers, they don’t have such strong urges, nor is it for sexual gratification. What fascinates them is the act of killing itself. They want to achieve that goal.”

Lu Junchi nodded. “If someone provides them with convenient tools that fulfill their expectations, a crime could occur. They might become accomplices to Song Lan’en…”

“Song Lan’en might have made contact with the people who leave messages here and select some of them to act together. I think we can follow this lead and investigate their identities,” Su Hui said, trying to think from the perspective of those individuals, finding the potential perpetrators among millions of people.

Lu Junchi nodded. “I will instruct my team to focus on investigating this message forum, tracing the frequently logged IP addresses and verifying each one.”