The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 218 The Phoenix's Suspicion
Upon seeing this, Wu Shanqiu immediately opened the message: "Brother Fei, Hao Weiwei's novel has been updated again."

Qi Fei also took out his phone. In order to track the movements of the cyber assassin, they were all now following Hao Weiwei's book, "The God of War: Rebooting Life".

Ironically, this novel, with its clichéd plot and lukewarm popularity, gained attention from a few police "fans" after the author's death.

Upon seeing the title of the latest chapter, Wu Shanqiu couldn't help but read it aloud: "I'm not a bot?"

"Huh?" Ji Peng on the other end couldn't help but say, "Did this guy overhear our conversation?"

As they spoke, they opened their phones and quickly found the novel. The three of them simultaneously began reading the chapter titled "I'm Not a Human Machine."

However, unlike the previous lengthy discourses, this content is very short, consisting of only a single, ambiguous statement:

I miss the river reflecting the moonlight after sunset, and the damp scent of earth in the evening breeze.

I cherish the memory of profound grief and passionate love, and I long for the dreams of life that soared like kites in the sky, a life that seemed endless.

"This person's writing skills are alright, but what is he trying to say?" Wu Shanqiu frowned after reading it.

"I'm not a bot," Qi Fei murmured.

"This is the title, so what does it mean?" Wu Shanqiu looked back and forth at the text, completely baffled.

“This is not just the title,” Qi Fei said, “it is also the answer.”

“This handsome policeman seems to understand literature.” Ji Peng nodded in agreement. “If these texts and the previous two pieces were written by the same person, then I have to say, this person is a master of words.” He pushed up his glasses. “As I just told you, I don’t think AI can replace writing because what it writes can only express superficial things. As for deeper emotions, well, some people will be fooled by its flowery language, but we writers are quite strong in terms of empathy. Anyway, if it’s written by AI, I can’t empathize with it.”

Looking at the bewildered Wu Shanqiu, Ji Peng further elaborated with an analogy: "To put it this way, it's like one is a living person and the other is a wax figure. From a distance, you might confuse them, but if you look closely, you'll find that the things created by AI are just like wax figures—they have no breath and no pulse."

However, what was released was clearly not it. How did this person know we suspected him of being an AI? He grinned, "Hey, does this clear my name? I'm chatting with you guys right now..."

"You said before that a person's writing style is like a fingerprint, unique, but didn't this person write in a completely different style?" Qi Fei seemed unwilling to let Ji Peng off the hook easily and continued to press him.

"His word choice is still very simple, that hasn't changed. However, he's a master; he expresses a profound emotion with simple words. That's amazing; I know I can't do that," Ji Peng said sincerely. Then, a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes, and he raised his hand to push up his glasses again. "I have a feeling I've seen similar words before. It's strange, where exactly?"

"A story written by a certain author?" Wu Shanqiu prompted.

Ji Peng nodded slightly: "Maybe, but I've read so many online novels, and they're all so varied, I don't know which one has this similar style." "AI style?" Wu Shanqiu laughed.
-
The elevator creaked and groaned as it descended.

Because Ji Peng lived on such a high floor, Qi Fei even felt a stuffy or swollen sensation in his ears, similar to that experienced when an airplane is landing.

"Brother Fei..." Wu Shanqiu's voice seemed to come from a very distant place, "Do you think Ji Peng is innocent?"

Qi Fei covered his ears with his hands and said, "It's too early to draw conclusions. If I'm not mistaken, the release of these novels can be scheduled, right? For example, he could have set the release time for today yesterday and released the chapter while we were talking?"

"Theoretically, it should be possible. We'll find out by testing it ourselves in the writing software's backend. But Fei-ge, why are you so skeptical of Ji Peng?"

“It’s not that I have any doubts about him, but I noticed the books on his bookshelf. Besides some literature-related books, I saw quite a few professional books on mechanics and engineering. Also, among the clothes he hurriedly packed when we came in, I saw work clothes. It seems that before Ji Peng became a full-time novelist, he may have worked in this field.”

“He does work that requires rigor and efficiency!” Wu Shanqiu blurted out. “This is a characteristic that Zhong Kui analyzed in the article about the cyber killer.”

"Not only that, he is from Nancheng University, and there is a trophy on his bookshelf that was awarded to him by the Nancheng University Alumni Literary Creation Competition."

"In other words, this Ji Peng has received higher education. If that's the case, Ji Peng had a heated argument with Hao Weiwei online, has a high level of knowledge, and has worked in a rigorous and efficient manner. Doesn't that mean he's almost entirely right?" Wu Shanqiu said, her eyes widening involuntarily.

The elevator slowly came to a stop on the first floor. Qi Fei stepped out of the elevator and looked at the mimosa trees outside the lobby, which were swaying wildly in the river breeze, and asked, "What was his pen name again?"

"Phoenix".

"He himself said that everyone's writing style is unique. It seems that I will be forced to slack off and read online novels again when I get back. He said that the murderer's writing has an AI feel. Let's see if Phoenix's novel has an AI feel."
-
It was late at night, but the desk lamp on Qi Fei's desk was still on. He put down the mouse, reached up and rubbed his sore eyes, and heard Wu Shanqiu yawning behind him.

“Brother Fei, reading online novels while on paid leave is quite tiring.” Wu Shanqiu’s voice was full of weariness. “Although, this Phoenix novel is much better written than Hao Weiwei’s, no wonder it sold 500,000 copies.”

"I don't know if it's well-written or not, but it looks quite different from the style of Cyber ​​Killer." Qi Fei looked at the dense text on the computer screen.

"Indeed, this whimsical style surprised me quite a bit, and it's quite different from the person we met during the day. Speaking of which, I just received news that before Hao Weiwei was murdered, there really was an author on our screening list who came to Nancheng from out of town and stayed at a hotel in Jiangbei."

Upon hearing this, Qi Fei couldn't help but grin: "Hmm? We're casting such a wide net, and we can actually catch fish?"

“Hey, there’s something even better for you. This person is still staying at that hotel and shows no signs of leaving,” Wu Shanqiu said with a smile.