1:48 a.m., the 24-hour "Old Chen’s" snack shop.

The ticking of the clock’s second hand sliced through time, intertwining with Feng Ju’s hoarse narration—the once authoritative father now seemed like an obsessive madman, incoherently repeating words like "monster," "mask," and "heart."

Feng Mu pretended to listen blankly, his brow furrowed tightly.

Feng Ju looked at his son with trepidation, afraid the other would think he had lost his mind.

The scene before him involuntarily reminded Feng Ju of the times when his useless son would bring home his Martial Arts grades, facing him with panic.

Only now, the roles of father and son seemed subtly reversed.

For a while.

"So, Dad, what you mean is..."

Feng Mu spoke slowly, his voice so dry it didn’t sound like his own,

"Yuhuai and that [Mask] monster in the sewer are the same?"

Feng Ju’s face darkened, his jaw muscles tightening as if he’d grind his teeth to dust:

"Not just the same, I now suspect that Feng Yuhuai is the [Mask]."

Feng Mu’s pupils slightly contracted. He reached up to adjust his glasses, questioning:

"Wasn’t [Mask] caught on camera? The man on TV, you said his name was Zheng Hang, he goes to the same school as me."

Feng Ju shook his head slowly, shadows flowing across his face.

On the way here, he had thought a lot, carefully reviewing the clues in his hands once more.

Twenty years of criminal investigation experience were fully mobilized today, as Feng Ju gathered all his lifelong detective power to finally piece together a truth that made his skin crawl:

"[Mask] may not be just one."

His voice was hoarse, as his fingers absentmindedly traced deep marks on the table,

"Zheng Hang is a [Mask], and so is Yuhuai. Only this way..."

"Right, it all makes sense now!"

Feng Ju slammed his fist on the table, dishes clattering violently, coffee splattering onto the worn wooden surface, resembling dried blood,

"Damn it! How did I only figure this out now?"

His voice was unusually angry, yet he had to suppress it to a low volume:

"Yuhuai’s strength has recently skyrocketed, even making her shine at the Martial Arts Joint Examination, nearly taking the top spot! And her change in behavior, becoming suddenly reticent recently..."

Two customers at a distant table were startled by the sudden commotion and turned their heads in unison to look.

The shop owner also peeked out from behind the counter, distressed for the table in his store.

But Feng Ju’s voice remained buried deep in his throat, like the low growl of a trapped beast.

The terrifying, crazed ramblings were only clearly heard by Feng Mu sitting across from him.

Seeing his terrifying demeanor, and noticing he was in uniform, the others hurriedly looked away, afraid of inviting trouble. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Feng Mu hadn’t expected Feng Ju to infer this far, and he couldn’t help but want to applaud his father internally.

"It seems that Imoto’s heart extraction wasn’t all bad for Feng Ju, at least his professional skills were inevitably upgraded."

Feng Mu thought silently, feigning skepticism on the surface:

"Okay, Dad, even if your speculation is true, then according to what you said..."

He paused meaningfully: "Dad, your heart should have been taken by your sister, right?"

Feng Ju silently took off his coat, turning to reveal the horrifying hole on the back of his shirt, with the edge of the fabric still stained with dark red blood, through the tear, his pale skin was visible.

"No....."

Feng Mu’s voice became exceptionally calm,

"What I want to ask is, when someone loses their heart they should die, so how are you still alive, don’t tell me, you also....."

The air instantly solidified, with a faint thread of mystery woven into the oppressive atmosphere.

Feng Ju’s expression became extremely complex, anger, hesitation, fear all flashing across, his heart in a fierce internal conflict.

On the way here, this question had already swirled through his mind a thousand times.

Resurrection, this is his greatest secret, one he was deeply unwilling to share with anyone.

But if he didn’t tell the truth, how could this rebellious son believe his sister had become a monster.

Yet now.....

He needed to deal with the monster his "filial daughter" had become, for which he needed help, needed someone he could trust.

Ironically, after considering everyone around him, he found there was only this most disliked "rebellious son" who fitted the criteria.

After all, they were the only family eternally bound together by Destiny!

As for the Patrol Office’s strength, Feng Ju dared not use it, fearing exposure would change how the special commissioner viewed him?

Well then~

Turns out it wasn’t Li Shang covering for [Mask], but the doting old father.

The more Feng Ju thought, the more his head spun, as the special commissioner left him one deadline for a week, while the countdown on his retina offered him two weeks.

The two deadlines, one after another, each tighter than the last, left Feng Ju with little time, obligating him to race against the clock, wasting not even a moment.

"Enough....."

Feng Ju felt his left chest, sensing the eerie, languid heartbeat, hesitating no longer.

He raised his eyes, for the first time looking at his son with a nearly equal gaze, and uttered three words:

"I died!"

Feng Ju expected to see fear on the face of his rebellious son, but he didn’t, only calm and contemplation.

"This rebellious son has a strong heart!" Feng Ju inwardly rarely praised.

Seeing Feng Mu silent, he added, "But I was also brought back to life by someone."

Feng Mu then asked, "Who?"

"I don’t know."

Feng Ju’s face was black as the bottom of a pot,

"But surely someone who knows me, maybe even someone around me, no, I should say another..... monster?!!"

Feng Ju still held back, not revealing the countdown in his eyes to his rebellious son.

Feng Mu pondered a while before summarizing meaningfully:

"In other words, besides Yuhuai, there’s another monster hiding around you, with unclear motives?"

Feng Ju nodded heavily, suddenly asking back, "You don’t believe me?"

Feng Mu didn’t immediately answer, calmly gazing at Feng Ju, a comforting arc slowly forming at the corner of his lips:

"A family should trust each other, so naturally, I believe what Dad says."

Feng Ju’s tense nerves slightly relaxed, but the creases between his brows hadn’t fully smoothed out.

At that moment, he heard his son continue:

"More importantly, the story Dad told is too bizarre.

But precisely because of this, it doesn’t seem like a fabricated lie, after all, even a madman couldn’t come up with such an absurd story."

Feng Ju’s expression completely relaxed, a rare glimmer of appreciation flickering through his eyes.

"In the past, I misjudged. Though you don’t match Yuhuai’s Martial Arts talent..."

He paused, speaking solemnly,

but now, it seems you’re cleverer than your sister."

Feng Mu’s lips twisted into an inscrutable arc, suddenly changing the subject:

"So, Dad, in telling me all this, what do you want me to do?"