Jiang Yue sat in Han Yiming's car, and the two of them chatted on and off.
"Little Jiang, that Year Eater from last time was said to have a whole clan, but we haven't heard of any new Year Eaters showing up. Could these Replicators really have a clan?"
"We've confirmed that they're appearing in groups. Whether they're a clan is hard to say for now. It depends on when you figure out the identities of the bodies they're attaching themselves to."
"Identifying them is exactly what's difficult at this stage. Matching the data takes time."
"Didn't you find any evidence on the Replicator?"
"We searched. There was nothing."
Officer Han recalled the last time they'd searched the rotting corpse from head to toe. It had been quite an experience.
Jiang Yue was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No, that doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't?" Old Han glanced at Jiang Yue, his expression puzzled.
"We can confirm that the Replicator we killed last time was the one who attacked the Su family victim in our neighborhood, right?"
"Right."
"And the one who impersonated the late-night snack shop owner and broke into the morgue was the Replicator we caught today. That's right too, isn't it?"
"Absolutely."
"Then think about it. That night, when the vengeful spirit was causing trouble, how did this Replicator at Star City Second Hospital know there was a vengeful spirit in our neighborhood? And how did he know it had weakened? Was he keeping the morgue under surveillance the whole time? That doesn't really make sense."
"You think someone tipped him off?"
"I suspect the Replicators are in contact with each other. They have the intelligence of ordinary people, and they can use all the same tools humans can—like phones."
"So they're acting as