Lin Fan froze instantly, clutching the blanket and staring into the darkness, holding her breath.

"Can't sleep?" Qin Feng asked.

In the quiet night, his voice was deep and mellifluous, inexplicably pleasant.

Lin Fan's pounding heart gradually calmed down, and she fell silent for a moment. "I was thinking about the killer, how calmly they murdered and extracted the heart. Are they not afraid?"

Qin Feng didn't answer, resting his head on his arm.

Clutching the pillow, Lin Fan turned to face Qin Feng. "Today, I saw the body of that little demon, its organs hollowed out to make handicrafts. It's quite cruel. Anything can be turned into a commodity, even human lives."

Qin Feng remained silent for a long while before speaking. "So, they reap what they sow."

Raising himself, Qin Feng turned on the light and headed for the bathroom. Lin Fan watched his broad and upright figure. Blinking, she swallowed the words she was about to say.

The bathroom door opened quickly, and Qin Feng emerged, switching off the light and lying down.

The room returned to darkness, and Lin Fan lay staring at the ceiling.

"Qin Ge?"

"Yeah?"

Qin Feng was sleeping on the floor, and Lin Fan felt a bit guilty. "Why don't you sleep on the bed, and I—"

Her words were cut off by Qin Feng. "Shut up and sleep."

He was a man, not her confidant sister.

Lin Fan thought she would be up all night, but she quickly fell asleep. She woke up to their conversation the next day, just as dawn was breaking, seeing Qin Feng grabbing his phone and heading out.

Lin Fan checked her wristwatch, showing 6:30 in the morning.

The door closed behind Qin Feng, and Lin Fan went to the bathroom. Soon, there was a knock on the door.

Lin Fan quickly pulled up her pants. "What is it?"

"The toothbrush is on the table for you, and there's a white towel for your face."

"Thank you."

After washing up, Lin Fan went out. Qin Feng was already dressed neatly, his shaved face looking refreshed. He had his police jacket in hand. "Let's go."

Lin Fan slung her bag over her shoulder and quickly caught up with Qin Feng, following him out.

"Where are we going?"

"To the old building."

There was nothing in the old building, just dust-filled air. Lin Fan ran from the first floor to the fifth floor and didn't see a single soul. It was too strange. Where did Su Ran go? There was a faint smell of burning in the air, not very clear.

Breathless, Lin Fan ran down the stairs and saw Qin Feng waiting outside, extinguishing a cigarette in his hand.

"Still there?" he asked.

Lin Fan shook her head, frowning. "Was someone here again yesterday? I can smell something burnt."

Qin Feng tossed the cigarette butt away and strode into the building. "Let's go see."

The corridor was dark and gloomy, and very cold.

Qin Feng glanced at Lin Fan's bare arms and handed her his jacket. "Put this on."

"I'm not cold—" Lin Fan started to say, but she met Qin Feng's determined gaze and silently took the jacket, putting it on.

Qin Feng switched on his flashlight and continued upstairs.

The light swept across, and Qin Feng stopped his steps, crouching down to examine the black ashes on the ground. Lin Fan also squatted down, picking up a piece and sniffing it. The foul smell surged into her nostrils, almost making her gag. She turned away her face.

"Fresh ashes. Was someone here last night?" Qin Feng asked.

Lin Fan shook her head. "Shouldn't be, otherwise I would have smelled it."

Qin Feng collected some ashes into an evidence bag and continued to search for footprints on the ground. However, there was no trace to be found in the dusty corridor.

Exiting the corridor, the sunlight outside washed over them, dispelling the oppressive atmosphere.

"Is that little demon still following us?" Lin Fan asked.

Qin Feng shook his head.

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Leaving the residential area, they got into the car. Qin Feng pinched his brow in frustration. There were no surveillance cameras nearby; the nearest one was on Mid-Ming Road. It was another dead end; there were no leads to follow regarding who had been here.

They had breakfast nearby, but as soon as Qin Feng arrived at the office, he was summoned by the chief.

"A public figure has been murdered, and it's causing a stir online. It's having a serious impact," the chief said.

Qin Feng hoped that Lin Fan wouldn't be bothered by that little demon again. He should arrange for Xiao Wang to keep an eye on her.

"What's your take on this?" the chief asked.

"It's similar to the two previous cases of heart extraction. We can confirm it's the same perpetrator. There aren't many clues, and the criminal's methods are clean. Perhaps it's related to certain religious beliefs."

"Why would it be related to religious beliefs?"

"There were talismans at the crime scenes."

"Did the crime scene of the female celebrity have them too?"

Qin Feng shook his head.

"Don't be superstitious; we need to focus on science."

Qin Feng nodded. These cases were too bizarre. Qin Yu, Fu Qiang, and Su Ran had different professions, different ages, and no connection whatsoever.

"That's currently the most likely motive for the murders."

"We need to solve this case quickly; otherwise, the repercussions will be severe."

Qin Feng left the chief's office and received a call from his father. After hesitating for a moment, he answered.

"Where's your girlfriend? Why did you take her away?" his father asked.

"What girlfriend? A friend's daughter asked me to look after her," Qin Feng fabricated a reason. "She's having some trouble lately. I'll send her back in a few days when things settle down."

"Since when does your friend have such a grown-up daughter?" His father's tone became serious. "She's a nice girl and cute."

There was no way to communicate. She hadn't even graduated from high school yet, and he was making up stories like this.

"I'm busy with a lot of cases lately. I'll be off now."

"You little rascal."

The call ended, and Qin Feng hurriedly walked to his office.

Opening the door, Lin Fan quickly turned her face. Qin Feng sighed in relief. "Everything okay?"

Lin Fan shook her head. "No problem."

"If anything comes up, let me know." The phone rang, and it was Xiao Wang. Qin Feng turned and headed towards the special task force office.

The office was filled with smoke, and even though Qin Feng smoked, he wrinkled his brow at the smell.

Xiao Wang and Lei Zhan were in charge of monitoring. Xiao Wang shrugged. "We haven't found anything suspicious. There are too few clues."

They had been working through the night. Qin Feng pulled up a chair and sat down to review the three cases.

"What about the blood samples?" he asked.

"They all belong to the victims." Lei Zhan handed over a document. "We found a blood glove print on the sofa."

Qin Feng took the document. The sofa was dark-colored, and the print was on the side.

"Let's go back to the scene."

"The staff at the Fuli Hotel have strong opinions about our investigation. There was another incident this morning. They probably won't let us stay at the crime scene for long."

"The surveillance is malfunctioning, and the hotel's security facilities are just for show. They still want to operate, thinking too much." How did the killer enter and leave the hotel?

"Liu Juan, have you compiled the victim's social relationships?"

"Qin Team, take a look."

Su Ran's information was similar to what was circulating online, and her social relationships were not complicated. "What about the transcripts of relevant individuals?"

"Here they are."

Qin Feng glanced through them.

The same day, there were conflicts between Su Ran and Jiang Siyu, a female star in their group, as well as with Su Ran's assistant Li Yun and her agent Liu Ge. Su Ran and Jiang Siyu had a dispute during filming, where Su Ran angrily accused Jiang Siyu of using improper means to advance her career. Later, in a fit of anger, Su Ran slapped Li Yun. As for her agent Liu Ge, he currently had the highest suspicion. Hotel surveillance showed him entering the hotel at 11:30 p.m. and leaving at 1:30 a.m. However, Liu Ge claimed that he had parted ways with Su Ran at 8:00 p.m. and hadn't seen her since. Su Ran's time of death was around 1:30 a.m.

Could it be Liu Ge? His actions on the day of the incident were indeed suspicious.

"Bring Liu Ge in for questioning," Qin Feng handed back the file and walked out. "Xiao Liu, come with me to the scene."

Upon revisiting the scene, they still found nothing. It wasn't until lunchtime that Qin Feng remembered Lin Fan. He quickly called her, and after a long time, Lin Fan finally answered. "Qin Big Brother."

"Are you still at the office?"

"Uncle Liu took me out for lunch," Lin Fan said. "That thing hasn't shown up yet. Don't worry, everything's fine."

"Okay, stay safe."

Qin Feng hung up and Xiao Liu, with a smirk, asked, "That little girl?"

"Eat your food."

In the afternoon, Qin Feng returned to the bureau to meet with Liu Ge. Liu Ge had a bad temper and kept yelling about bringing in a lawyer. These public figures were not to be trifled with; the police couldn't afford to offend any of them.

Qin Feng pushed open the door and extended his hand. "Hello, I'm Qin Feng."

Liu Ge shook hands with him hastily. "What's going on? Haven't you already asked me? Why the questions again?"

"On the night of the 6th, from 10:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., what were you doing?"

"I went home to sleep. What else could I have been doing?"

"Anyone to corroborate?"

"I was sleeping at my own home. Who else would be there to corroborate?"

Qin Feng turned the computer screen towards him. "Is this you? You were seen leaving the Fuli Hotel at 1:30 a.m. Is this what you mean by going home to sleep?"

Liu Ge furrowed his brow, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. Then, he looked up at Qin Feng and spoke after a moment of silence. "This video won't be leaked, will it?"

"Were you in Su Ran's room?"

Liu Ge nodded, burying his face in his hands and rubbing it harshly. "She was my girlfriend. We've been together for a year. She didn't want to publicize our relationship for fear of affecting her career prospects, and I agreed. But now she wants to break up and leave the company. She's dumping me now that she's reached a higher status."

Qin Feng flipped through the documents. "It's not just breaking up; she's also leaving your company."

Liu Ge fell silent. Qin Feng had checked Su Ran's information at lunchtime, and her contract with Liu Ge's company was about to end.

"So you killed her? You helped her rise to fame—"

"I didn't! I didn't kill her," Liu Ge suddenly became agitated. "I couldn't have killed her. Do you know she was raising a little demon? That little demon was powerful, and I couldn't get close to her. That little demon was terrifying!"

Qin Feng shifted in his seat, looking coldly at him.

"Don't believe me? That little demon can kill."

Qin Feng suddenly thought of something. "Did that little demon listen to Su Ran?"

"It did. That was her son; he definitely listened to her."

Qin Feng frowned. "Her son?"

Liu Ge clammed up, refusing to say another word, and tightly sealed his lips.

"Who is Su Ran's benefactor?"

Liu Ge remained silent for a long time before speaking up. "You won't let what I say today leak out, right?"

"We won't."

"Radiant Entertainment."

Qin Feng noted down the name. Xiao Wang searched for Radiant Entertainment on Baidu Baike, and a name popped up. Qin Feng's gaze turned sharp as he took out a business card and handed it to Liu Ge. "Do you recognize him?"

Liu Ge sneered. "Who doesn't know him?" He slouched back in his chair, defeated. "Mr. Ouyang, the founder of Radiant. They met at a charity event, and Su Ran latched onto him."