Inside the villa, watching the overwhelming online comments against Jian Tao disappear, Mengyao and Qiu Wen both breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling completely at ease.

"We need to dig out the person behind all this quickly, it’s endless to just passively counterattack," Ye Fan said calmly, glancing at Qiu Wen, "Any progress in the surveillance on Brother Dog and his three men?"

"The other party is very cautious and stays inside without going out or contacting anyone," Qiu Wen replied, "However, through listening, we learned that Brother Dog and his three men have someone giving orders, but we only have the voice and can’t confirm who this person is. The mastermind has also strictly ordered the three to stay hidden and not go out."

"It seems the other party has some skill and isn’t a reckless person," Ye Fan remarked.

"Let’s wait. The other side will eventually slip up," Mengyao said, "Since there’s no major breakthrough now, we can only look for the owner of the voice as a clue. It might be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but letting Zhang Lu help should yield new leads soon."

"That’s all we can do. Until we find something new, analyzing the voice owner should uncover a lot of clues," Ye Fan said calmly, then asked, "How’s the investigation into Jiang Zhe, who monitored Jian Tao and spread rumors with photos?"

"Jiang Zhe was just a pawn, and he doesn’t even know who used him. He confessed everything and regrets being driven by rewards," Qiu Wen replied, "We’ve investigated the person who contacted Jiang Zhe, and the voice above Brother Dog and his three men is the same. It’s undoubtedly the same person orchestrating it."

"Finding this person means success," Mengyao said, "I wonder how the investigation by Fire Phoenix and the Butcher is going?"

"If there are clues, they should have found out by now. I’ll make a call to ask," Ye Fan dialed a number. Fire Phoenix answered with a laugh, "I thought you weren’t going to call anymore and didn’t care about what you asked us to investigate."

"Any results?" Ye Fan asked.

"There are some results. The truck driver who ran over Zhao Hai is dead, and the body hasn’t been found. However, we found some clues. We dug up the person contacting the truck driver, and a key photo shows this person in contact with the mastermind. You’ll need to investigate the specific location of this person yourself. On the street, this person has a nickname, Hei Pi, and isn’t just a lowly player. Currently, he’s in Huaxia, beyond our reach," Fire Phoenix briefly explained, summarizing the findings.

"What are you doing right now? Why do I hear gunfire and explosions? Are you in a war?" Ye Fan curiously asked.

"Remember the several assassination attempts on you while you were hospitalized? We discovered and thwarted them early on, but the force behind remains. We confronted them, and they refused to back down, insisting on a showdown, so we’re fighting now," Fire Phoenix said disinterestedly, "Forget it, why am I telling you this? I’ll send you the photo right away."

"Be careful," Ye Fan said with concern.

"Taking care of some minor gangs is a piece of cake," Fire Phoenix said indifferently, "Alright, I’m busy, no time for chatting."

After ending the call, Ye Fan quickly received a photo.

Ye Fan sent the photo to Zhang Lu, asking her to investigate the man called Hei Pi in it.

A few minutes later, Zhang Lu called back.

"Hei Pi seems to be very close to Zhao Zhongtian. Voice comparison shows the person directing Brother Dog and instructing Jiang Zhe is Hei Pi," Zhang Lu straightforwardly said, "From what we can see now, all the troubles the Zhao Family is facing were orchestrated by Zhao Zhongtian through Hei Pi."

Previously, if there were suspicions about Zhao Zhongtian being the mastermind, now things have become clear. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Send me a copy of the information," Ye Fan said.

"No problem," Zhang Lu agreed, "But should we hand over Brother Dog and his three men to you? We’ve controlled these minor characters, and the pressure on our side is really high."

"There’s no sense of accomplishment in capturing small fry. Let them stay hidden for now and continue surveillance. Who knows, there might be other discoveries," Ye Fan said, "Now, although we’ve identified Zhao Zhongtian as the mastermind, there’s no evidence, so it’s unconvincing. Currently, everything appears to be done by Hei Pi alone. The fact that Zhao Zhongtian has contact with Hei Pi doesn’t necessarily mean he directed Hei Pi to commit a series of acts."

"That’s right. Without evidence, we can’t prosecute Zhao Zhongtian," Zhang Lu replied seriously, then reluctantly said, "You take responsibility for monitoring Brother Dog and his three men. I’m not involved anymore, but if you need anything, just let me know."

"Thanks for your hard work," Ye Fan replied courteously.

Through the investigation, the fog before them cleared, revealing Zhao Zhongtian as the suspect, with Hei Pi playing a pivotal role. On the surface, everything seems to be conducted by Hei Pi, but what are Hei Pi’s motives and goals?

Clearly, Hei Pi has no reason to have done this alone. Yet, to convict Zhao Zhongtian, the evidence is still insufficient.

Not to mention whether Hei Pi would testify against Zhao Zhongtian. Even if he would, we lack the certainty to deliver a surefire blow to Zhao Zhongtian.

Furthermore, the possibility of Hei Pi betraying Zhao Zhongtian is very slim. The two share a relationship where one prospers or suffers with the other, and everyone understands this logic, so neither would do anything detrimental.

Qiu Wen looked at the two photos in front of her. One was sent by Fire Phoenix, showing Hei Pi with the truck driver who ran over Zhao Hai.

The other photo was from Zhang Lu, depicting Zhao Zhongtian and Hei Pi together.

"What should we do now? Should we find a way to capture Hei Pi and get useful information from him?" Qiu Wen asked.

"When the other party makes a move again, then we’ll act," Ye Fan confidently replied, "Since they’re now in the open, it’s our turn to be in the shadows. Disposing of them will be easy, unless the other party doesn’t strike again."

After agreeing on a strategy, Qiu Wen went off to make arrangements.

In the afternoon, Zhao Feipeng, Zhao’s mother, and Jian Tao came to visit Ye Fan and Mengyao, taking both by surprise.