Ke Yingying deliberately mentioned "Heart Eater," which indeed served as a wake-up call.
...
This period has been chaotic, making me forget the fundamentals... In the game of the genuine and the fake Monkey Kings, I had already seen through Ke Yingying's identity as a traitor, but I didn't expose him. Instead, I attempted to pull Ke Yingying back to my side through the means of kinship. Then, I leaked the news about Chen Ling, waiting for the "Southern Faction" to follow the trail and find them.
Initially, the plan's outline was clear until numerous Mr. Ke appeared. I met an extraordinary individual named Ping Fan and learned that those Mr. Ke were fakes, and they had no connection to Ke Yingying.
Therefore, I found Ke Yingying and tried to have him resolve this issue.
Then, Ke Yingying told me that Chen Ling had actually surfaced. Based on Ke Yingying's demeanor, because I had helped him find his biological son, he wanted to repay the favor and did not want me to get involved in this scheme.
Ke Yingying was very knowledgeable about psychology and aware of my abilities. After much consideration, he still refused to let me enter this scheme, which indicated that the scheme was quite complex for the problem at hand.
Could it be that Ke Yingying knew about this "Heart Eater"? The current problem is that I haven't exposed Ke Yingying as being from the "Southern Faction," and Ke Yingying hasn't promised to betray them again to deal with the "Southern Faction" for me.
Therefore, I need to be careful with my words.
"Do you know anything about the 'Heart Eater'?"
"Never heard of it, but you mentioned Chen Ling has dealings with the 'Southern Faction,' and the 'Heart Eater' of the Southern Faction is her strategist. This puzzles me greatly."
"Why?"
"We don't know much about the Southern Faction, but we know their leader became the leader through slaughter. In order to select the most formidable schemer, the Southern Faction's elites were almost wiped out in that battle of schemers. The last remaining leader rebuilt the Southern Faction. The new Southern Faction is mostly composed of extraordinary individuals who share a common trait: they are solitary. Apart from the Southern Faction's leader, the Devil, they obey no one and assist no one. The philosophy of the Southern Faction is to take selfishness to its extreme."
"Don't they have any division of labor or cooperation?"
"No!"
"Do members have no cooperative relationship among themselves?"
"No!"
"If that's the case, why are they collectively referred to as the 'Southern Faction'?"
"Everyone in the Southern Faction works only for the leader. In a sense, they are all tools for their leader, the Devil, except they are all schemer-level."
"What kind of skilled individuals are they? Are they four-element fusion?"
"The so-called four elements are merely distinctions they've made themselves in training. To put it bluntly, true schemers have no class distinctions. As for the Southern Faction schemers who originated as tools, their most prominent skill is discretion. Without a scheme, they are no different from ordinary people, and we cannot find them."
"Why are they loyal to the Southern Faction's Devil?"
"Faith. Just like some people believe in Jesus, everyone in the Southern Faction deifies their leader. The Southern Faction schemers firmly believe that as long as they are willing to dedicate themselves, they will receive everything they desire. It's akin to the feeling in Western mythology where humans, wanting to obtain what they desire, sacrifice their souls to cooperate with demons."
"So, the Southern Faction's leader is called the Devil?"
"Yes, 'Devil' is the honorific title all Southern Faction schemers use for their leader."
...
According to Ke Yingying, the "schemers" of the Southern Faction are all extraordinary individuals. I frowned, because their lack of cooperation makes it difficult to uproot the Southern Faction. Most importantly, even if I could win over Ke Yingying psychologically, it wouldn't change this fact.
Suddenly, I felt as if I had encountered an enemy for life. My philosophy of scheming is to do good deeds without asking about the consequences; in a way, good karma always brings good luck to my plans. In this scheme, the importance of each person's role and relationship within the game was emphasized, and human emotions were transformed into the key to breaking the deadlock.
This "Devil" of the Southern Faction is the complete opposite of me. He has taken selfishness to its extreme. Everyone in the Southern Faction is selfish, making a deal with the Devil for personal gain. Such an enemy is terrifying. The Devil can perfectly utilize his subordinates and also perfectly abandon them. Most importantly, through these means, the Devil can forever remain mysteriously hidden from our sight.
Who is this Devil?
Although the Southern Faction's Devil has piqued my curiosity, that's not what I need to do now. I need to figure out how to resolve Jiang Keyang's situation, and determine if this current situation is orchestrated by the "Heart Eater," or if it's a manifestation of Teacher Wang Ren's abilities, meaning Teacher Wang Ren saving his son is a crucial part of this scheme.
...
Clearly, Ke Yingying believes this matter has nothing to do with Teacher Wang Ren. According to my reasoning, the method of breaking this scheme clearly understands the operational rules of the game. I have conducted a global analysis for Teacher Wang Ren, so I believe only he and I know the rules of this game. Since I haven't taken any action, and someone has incisively broken the deadlock, then this person must be Teacher Wang Ren.
This deduction is not unfounded. Jiang Keyang is Teacher Wang Ren's son, and it stands to reason that Teacher Wang Ren would do this. However, what Ke Yingying said also makes sense: I analyzed this scheme thoroughly and told Teacher Wang Ren. But this doesn't mean we are the only two who know about this game. There is another person who understands the operational rules of this game even better than I do, and knows its key points. This person is the "Heart Eater" who designed this scheme.
Whether this "Heart Eater" set up the scheme and intentionally instigated conflict between Teacher Wang Ren and me can only be proven by one thing: finding this "Heart Eater."
Who is the "Heart Eater"? Where is he? There is only one person I can consult on this matter: Chen Ling.
In real life, finding someone who seems to not exist. Among the people I know, only one person can achieve this. That person is Teacher Wang Ren's daughter, Jiang Kexin.
"Kexin, where are you?" I dialed her number.
"Drinking!"
"Where are you drinking?"
"None of your business! I'll drink if I want to, nobody can control me..."
Her tone indicated she was drunk. With so much happening at home? Her brother is a suspect in her best friend's murder, and this young girl has reached her psychological limit. Fortunately, someone then took the phone: "Tang Nan?"
"Mm!"
"This is Shi Ying. Kexin is with me, she's drunk."
"Tell me the address, I'll come find you now."
"Okay!"
...
I went to a restaurant according to the address. Shi Ying and Jiang Kexin were in a private room. Jiang Kexin was slumped on the table, her face flushed, and she smiled at me: "Tang Nan, do you think I'm pathetic?"
Shi Ying pointed to the empty wine bottles nearby and said, "I didn't drink much; she drank it all."
"Good tolerance. If I drank this much, I probably wouldn't be sober. Kexin, I need your help. Get up and get to work, we need to find the real killer of your best friend."
"Hmph! You're lying to me too. Yes, my brother is out of trouble, and my mother had a huge argument with him, and her heart condition flared up. Someone is targeting my brother, so my brother isn't the killer of Xiaoyu, who would believe that? Do you believe it?"
Shi Ying sighed and said, "On this matter, I stand with Kexin. I don't even believe Jiang Keyang is not the killer. If I weren't worried about Kexin, I wouldn't be drinking less than her today."
Hearing them say this, I turned and walked out. I asked the waiter if they had ice-cold beer. I ordered a bottle of beer, chilled it, poured it into a beer mug, and returned to the private room. I raised the mug and poured the entire beer over Jiang Kexin's head.
Jiang Kexin, gradually sobering up, stopped smiling. She didn't blame me but slumped onto the table and burst into tears.
"Cried enough? Come with me to find someone. This matter requires you."
"Tang Nan, don't make things difficult for Kexin. She can't do anything in her current state."
I sighed deeply, "If she truly can't do anything, then Hu Xiaoyu died in vain."
Upon hearing that Hu Xiaoyu died in vain, Shi Ying's emotions also began to break down: "Xiaoyu is already dead, Tang Nan. Why are you making things difficult for Kexin? If you're truly capable, go find the killer yourself! You're making things difficult for a girl, what kind of person are you? I'm telling you, Tang Nan..."
Jiang Kexin, still crying, looked up and grabbed Shi Ying's hand: "Sister Ying, it's okay, I can do it. I will definitely catch the killer who murdered Xiaoyu."