"It wasn't me," Chen Nian said slowly, a trace of helplessness in his eyes.
"If it were me, I wouldn't have mentioned that the culprit belongs to the Envy system."
"A smokescreen!"
Fu'erlius was back online.
Never mind his actual accuracy as a detective—the man was all about speed.
Old Liu pointed a finger.
"If you want me and the kid to let our guard down, you have to prove your identity."
"I can recount everything that's happened between us over the past few months," Chen Nian offered.
"No, that's useless. I suspect you gain some of a person's memories when you disguise yourself as them."
Old Liu's logic had sharpened considerably after his previous misjudgment.Yan Jing agreed with this assessment.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain how the Disguiser could perfectly mimic their target's daily habits.
As the tension in the room thickened, Chen Nian sighed.
"Fine. You just want me to explain the voice, right?"
He pulled down his collar to reveal the bandages wrapped around his neck, then reached around to the back and began untying them.
He really didn't want to do this, as it would expose his origins.
He actually liked Rotten Vegetable Village. If possible, he wanted to stay here for a long time. He had no desire to return to his past life of wandering.
But right now, he had no choice. Proving his innocence was a difficult task.
He had always known that.
He had just unwound the first layer of bandage when Yan Jing's urgent voice interrupted him.
"What are you doing taking off those bandages?"
"Didn't you guys ask me to—"
Chen Nian looked completely lost.
"We asked you to prove your identity! Now hurry up and compliment us—one compliment each!"
Yan Jing crossed his arms, his expression dead serious.
Parts of his memories regarding the path of Sin had resurfaced, confirming that people under the Envy power system were fundamentally incapable of praising others.
Chen Nian still hadn't quite processed the demand. He looked over at Old Liu, only to find the old man had already settled into position, lounging in his recliner with his legs crossed.
"I want to hear about my detective skills."
"..."
Chen Nian suddenly felt a headache coming on, but he carefully weighed his words and said:
"Your investigative skills are truly exceptional, sir. You more than live up to the title of Rotten Vegetable Village's master detective."
"Heh."
Old Liu tilted his head back at a 60-degree angle. "I knew it!"
"My turn."
Yan Jing stepped forward.
"Was one sentence not enough?"
Chen Nian could feel a vein throbbing in his forehead.
"At least three."
A cold glint reflected off Yan Jing's camera lens.
"I suspect you made a massive sacrifice to deceive us and forced yourself to praise Old Liu that one time."
"..."
"You... actually look quite decent..."
That hit the spot.
When a bro said you looked 'decent', it meant you were handsome. And a man with a camera for a head was undeniably handsome. Suppressing a smirk, Yan Jing pulled Mantou forward.
"Mantou's turn."
"Come on... Her too?"
"At least three sentences!"
Yan Jing's tone was serious.
"..."
Chen Nian lowered his head. He looked at the innocent expression on the little girl pushed in front of him and said softly, "You're one of the few truly kind people I've ever met in this Domain, little girl. I hope good fortune always stays with you."
His tone was unexpectedly sincere as he spoke, sounding as though these words truly came from his heart.
He wasn't saying them just because he was forced to.
"Thank... thank... you..."
Mantou thanked him happily, giving a sweet, silly smile.
She didn't entirely understand the word 'kind', but that didn't stop her from feeling happy.
"He's not the killer."
Yan Jing and Liu Fu exchanged words.
"To be honest, I knew from the start that the Chen kid couldn't be the killer."
"Exactly. He doesn't look the part. He looks way too weak..."
"..."
Chen Nian swore he wanted to turn and walk away right then and there. But fearing that if he disappeared from their sight, they would just make him prove his identity all over again next time, he forced himself to stay put.
"Point three!"
He raised his voice, interrupting their blatant gossiping.
"Ahem."
Old Liu coughed lightly twice and pointed at the blackboard.
"Alright, back to the main topic. The third of the five elements of solving a case."
"Time of the crime."
"Actually, there isn't much to debate on this point."
"Both the Chen kid and I were attacked in the middle of the night. As for that old woman, many residents stated they still saw her before the streets were cleared in the afternoon."
"Which means the killer's time of operation is highly likely to be at night."
Yan Jing listened to Old Liu's analysis without agreeing or disagreeing.
He had also run into that old woman yesterday afternoon, under his identity as a Player.
But these deductions were all based on one assumption.
That the person was actually the old woman.
But was it really her?
Yan Jing thought back to the situation at the time. He had felt something was off back then, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Now, he finally realized what had been so strange—it was the voice.
That person was definitely not the old woman.
The old woman was already dead by then.
That person had been the killer.
He had spoken face-to-face with the killer yesterday afternoon.
But why do that? Why would the killer go out of their way to obscure the old woman's time of death?
It didn't fit their usual MO at all.
There had to be a reason why they changed things up this time. What could it be?
Yan Jing couldn't figure that part out yet, but he suddenly remembered another strange anomaly.
He looked up at Old Liu and Chen Nian, voicing his confusion.
"Did you two go out in the middle of the night yesterday?"
Hearing the question, both Old Liu and Chen Nian froze, clearly caught off guard by Yan Jing's sudden inquiry.
Yan Jing continued, "The street lockdown ended at midnight yesterday. After midnight, there's no way the killer could have entered a residence without a specific key. That means both of you went out in the latter half of the night, which is why you were attacked."
"What were you doing outside?"
Old Liu and Chen Nian exchanged a look. Before they could come up with a suitable excuse, Yan Jing pushed on with his analysis.
"In fact, we aren't done with the second of the five elements: the method. There's a loophole."
"That guy's preferred method is disguising himself as an acquaintance to launch an ambush."
"So why... why did he ambush you from the shadows yesterday, Old Chen?"
"He could have easily impersonated someone else to attack you. For example..."
"Me."
Yan Jing's mind flashed back to the figure he had seen outside the window right after the lightning struck. He stared blankly ahead before looking back up at Chen Nian and Old Liu.
"Is there something you guys aren't telling me?"
"Well..."
Old Liu subconsciously averted his gaze, unwilling to meet Yan Jing's eyes, while Chen Nian looked hesitant, seemingly trying to formulate a plausible explanation.
Yan Jing suddenly laughed.
"I get it now. I know exactly what that guy is trying to do."
"He's framing me. That guy wants to pin this all on me. Old Liu, Old Chen, I don't care what you two were doing last night, but remember this: that guy's Envy towards me runs deep. He's definitely going to—"
Knock, knock, knock!
The knocking cut through the conversation like a discordant note in a symphony. Everyone turned their heads at once.
Outside the window stood a dense crowd of people. Every single one of them wore a matching uniform, and pinned to their chests was a purple-gold triangular Badge.
They glared at the people inside with grim expressions, an oppressive aura of killing intent enveloping the entire house.
"Right on cue."
Ignoring the others' attempts to stop him, Yan Jing stepped forward and opened the door.
Standing outside was the cold-faced woman he had seen yesterday, along with the callow Youth beside her.
"Order Management Bureau."
The woman stated her affiliation, her tone flat and devoid of emotion.
"Yi Ji, correct? A resident spotted you wandering the streets late last night. We suspect you are connected to yesterday's murder. Come with us."
"Alright."
Offering no resistance, Yan Jing nodded.
The callow Youth beside her pulled out a pair of rusty handcuffs and clamped them onto Yan Jing's wrists.
A system notification rang in his ear:
[You have been restrained by the Order Management Bureau's Specialized Handcuffs. Don't be fooled by the rust—with your current strength, forcibly breaking free would be quite the struggle. After all, it looks completely famished.]
Yan Jing looked down at the cuffs on his wrists.
A row of white spikes had grown from the rusted inner ring, resembling the teeth of some creature. Saliva dripped from them, pattering onto the ground.
The moment Yan Jing tried to resist, those teeth would plunge instantly into his wrists, turning them into fountains of blood.
"Yi... Ji... Yi... Ji... didn't... didn't kill—"
Mantou stumbled toward Yan Jing, her face filled with desperate panic, but Yan Jing sharply commanded her to stop.
"Mantou, I'm fine."
"Go back inside. Be good. I'll be perfectly fine. I'll be back tomorrow."
He looked up at the frosty woman. Just a moment ago, when Mantou had tried to approach, genuine killing intent had flared in her eyes.
"Officer, I'll go with you. I know how you operate; you always follow the rules."
"Naturally."
At the mention of the rules, the killing intent faded from the woman's eyes.
She waved a hand, and two uniformed officers stepped forward, flanking Yan Jing on either side as they led him away.
Before leaving, Yan Jing took one last look at Mantou. Seeing her red, teary eyes, he curled his lips into a reassuring smile, signaling for her not to worry.
The Order Management Bureau worked with ruthless efficiency. Within seconds, they had evacuated and vanished, leaving behind nothing but dusty footprints on the floor and the three people remaining in the room.
Old Liu walked to the door and peeked his head out. Only after confirming that they were truly gone did he return, turning to the silent Chen Nian.
"Did you see it last night too?"
"See what?"
Chen Nian was still a bit dazed.
"Yi Ji, of course!"
Old Liu lit a cigarette.
"You claimed you didn't see the face of the guy who ambushed you last night, but you actually did, didn't you? Otherwise, you never would have gone out. You only stepped outside because you thought the person out there was him."
Chen Nian finally seemed to snap out of his stupor. He looked up at Old Liu.
"Did you not see him?"
"Of course I did! Why else would I have spent all that time testing whether he was the killer?"
Old Liu frowned, taking drag after drag of his cigarette.
"But based on our deductions just now, the kid can't be the killer. He's far too good at complimenting people."
Chen Nian let out a helpless sigh.
"I truly believed Yi Ji wasn't the killer, even yesterday when I didn't know the culprit belonged to the Envy system."
"Why?"
Old Liu was taken aback.
"Because there's no way Yi Ji could possibly hurt me. He's too weak."
Chen Nian's tone was incredibly calm, as if simply stating an objective fact.
"You should know this too. He's the weakest out of the three of us."
"That's right!"
Old Liu punched his palm with his fist, realization dawning on his face.
"Why didn't I think of that? With that kid's strength, how could he possibly land a scratch on me?"