Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

11 St. Louis Street, Torden Road, 21st floor.

The motion-sensor lights in the corridor were old and dilapidated, emitting a dim, flickering, pale light that made the surrounding air feel somewhat oppressive.

A dull hum of air emanated from the ventilation ducts, carrying with it the stale smell that had accumulated throughout the entire apartment building over the years.

Having found a man named Jedi, Qi Zhimu did not choose to observe quietly this time.

Without saying a word, he went up and used hypnosis.

After some time, the entire Jedi family, inside and out, and their ancestors, were thoroughly cleaned.

On the surface, this guy is a very capable private investigator, but in private he's not very ethical, has a chaotic personal life, and has ambiguous relationships with two married young women.

The two-way communication continued for two years without being noticed by the other party's husband.

As expected of a detective, his counter-surveillance skills are top-notch.

However, Jedi hasn't gone to see those two women recently.

He's been very tired lately. Despite being tall and strong, he seems listless and weak. To use an underworld analogy, it's like someone has drained his life force.

Logically speaking, even if he was drained by a woman, and hadn't sought pleasure with anyone for more than ten days, his condition should have improved considerably.

After sending the message to Black Tower, Qi Zhimu did not stay at Jedi's residence, but went to find the two women he was keeping.

Just as Heita and the others arrived at Jedi's residence, Qi Zhimu returned.

"Where did I go just now?" Black Tower asked in his mind.

"They tied up two NPCs and left them lying in Jedi's car in the underground garage."

"You suspect they are related to the leads?"

"It's all about taking precautions, but we didn't get any valuable information out of them." Qi Zhimu crossed his arms and followed Black Tower openly.

Anyway, only the Black Tower can see him.

Superintendent Brooks stopped in front of Room 05, just about to ring the doorbell.

—Click.

Suddenly, the sound of the lock turning rang out, and the security door was pulled open from the inside.

A tall man dressed in loose loungewear and carrying a black garbage bag appeared behind the door.

When Jedi noticed a group of people standing outside the door, he was clearly taken aback.

His gaze swept over the crowd and he quickly recognized Brooks, who was standing at the very front.

As a private detective who had worked in the city for many years, he had naturally dealt with many superintendents of the Ke Wen Police Station and had even exchanged intelligence with them privately.

"Officer Brooks?"

A look of doubt flashed in Jedi's eyes, and he glanced around at the few tense-looking men behind him who appeared to be plainclothes police officers.

"What brings you all here today? Perhaps you have a tricky case you need my help with?"

Brooks was speechless for a moment, unsure of how to begin.

You can't just tell them directly that Death has specifically requested to take their lives within a certain time, and that you're here to save them, right?

Not to mention Jedi, even he himself would have found it hard to believe that such a statement was true before he met Simmaning.

The image of that full-time writer's bizarre and tragic death is still vivid in my mind, and the strong smell of blood still lingers in my nose.

This made his expression at that moment appear extremely complex and stiff.

Seeing Brooks's hesitant look, Jeddy naturally assumed that the police department was in considerable trouble and wanted to hire him privately to investigate some shady leads.

"Sigh... I'm afraid it won't work this time."

Jedi leaned half his body against the door frame, his tone revealing deep weariness.

"I'm in really bad shape lately and I don't have the energy to take on any new work. Your police station has plenty of talented people, so please find someone else."

It wasn't until Jeddy spoke those words that Brooks and the others, who were preoccupied with their own thoughts, finally focused their attention on the other person's face.

Upon seeing it, I was immediately filled with astonishment.

Jedi was tall and strong, with a broad frame, and was an energetic and robust man.

But at this moment, his face was deathly pale, his eyes were sunken, and there were two dark circles under his eyes.

His posture appeared casual, but in reality, he relied entirely on the door frame to support his body weight, giving him a sickly and withered appearance, devoid of any energy or spirit.

Jedi rubbed his temples and continued speaking.

"Besides, this is quite an overreaction. Seven people, including plainclothes officers, are blocking my door. What earth-shattering thing happened...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Jedi's voice abruptly stopped.

My gaze passed over Brooks and lingered on the petite figure at the back of the crowd.

The girl, who looked to be only a teenager, was dressed in exquisite and sophisticated clothes, and her expression was calm, which did not match her appearance.

The contrast with the tense-faced guys around him was stark.

"And this is...?"

Jedi squinted his bloodshot eyes, clearly puzzled by the appearance of the Black Tower.

Black Tower stepped forward and began his introduction in a calm tone.

"I'm a private investigator from another city, Black Tower. We're in the same line of work, so it's nice to meet you. Please take care of me."

In the past, when Jedi, a seasoned veteran, met a young colleague from out of town, he might have been interested in making a few jokes and testing the other party's abilities.

Right now, he has absolutely no time to spare.

The only thought in my mind was to quickly throw away the sour-smelling garbage in my hand, and then crawl back to bed to continue sleeping.

"Nice to meet you."

Jedi gave a perfunctory response.

"I'm really not able to entertain you all today. I need to take out the trash and go back to rest."

No one would let him close the door like that.

With less than half an hour remaining before the moment of death, letting the target out of sight would be tantamount to declaring the mission a failure.

Immediately, a man with a buzz cut snatched the trash bag from his hand and ran the errand for him.

"Mr. Jedi, I'm afraid you can't rest right now. The Koven Police Department is currently investigating an extremely heinous serial murder case."

Before Brooks or Green could come up with a suitable excuse, Black Tower spoke first, throwing out a very heavy bait.

"The murderer is extremely cunning and has already committed crimes and killed more than a dozen people."

Jedi frowned, clearly uninterested, and was about to send him away when Black Tower changed the subject.

"Through our meticulous investigation, we found that the dozen or so victims all shared several very obvious and completely consistent characteristics before their deaths."

"In the period leading up to their deaths, they would fall into a state of extreme exhaustion."

"No matter how much rest or sleep I get, it won't help, just like how you are now."

Jedi's arm trembled, and his drowsy eyes brightened slightly.

Having taken in his reaction, Hei Ta continued to recount the details he had learned from Qi Zhimu in a calm tone.

"Accompanying this fatigue are intense lower back pain, persistent dizziness, and weakness in the limbs."

"In addition, victims may also experience complications such as memory loss and slow reaction time."

"As time goes on, the symptoms will become more and more severe until the killer comes knocking and brutally murders them when they are powerless to resist."

A cold sweat involuntarily seeped out from Jedi's back.

Every word Black Tower uttered struck him with pinpoint accuracy.

His body's reactions over the past few days are exactly as described!