This was the perfect chance to slip away and carry out the rest of his plan.
"Miss Olivia, I enjoyed our chat. But I have a few small matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave. Please, carry on." As Fan Daoyi spoke, his head lowered involuntarily.
He seemed shy, unable to meet Clark's eyes.
The shovel had been Clark's target all along, and now that she had gotten her hands on it as she wished, she naturally made no effort to keep him there. She merely nodded slightly and replied politely, "All right, go take care of your business."
Fan Daoyi had deliberately left the shovel for her. The pollen on it was colorless, odorless, and extremely difficult to detect, but its effects were astonishing. Its hallucinogenic effects were far stronger than the charm Clark specialized in.
What he wanted was a tool that would obey him absolutely, had no thoughts of its own, and could be completely controlled by him, just like Jiang Lin back then.
Come to think of it, he missed him a little. Delusion was a good ability; it really was a pity that he had simply died.
Clark weighed the shovel in her hand, brought it over to Sun Ruijie, and whispered in his ear, "Here, try holding it."
Clark understood the item to be capable of warding off some mental ability attacks. When Fan Daoyi had held the shovel, he had shown some resistance to her charm, but once he let go, he too had fallen under her ability.
Now, she intended to test that idea.
The idea held, and the hallucination took effect. She believed it could cancel out her ability, so Sun Ruijie, who was under her charm...
"Huh?" Sun Ruijie stared blankly as he gripped the shovel's handle. Holding a tray in one hand, he looked around in confusion, unable to make sense of the situation.
Clark quietly pulled the shovel back, and Sun Ruijie's gaze once again became entranced by her charm.
"Miss Clark, is there anything else you need me to do?" Sun Ruijie asked ingratiatingly. At a single command from Clark, he would carry it out without hesitation.
"No need." Clark's reply was cold, and her gaze did not linger on Sun Ruijie.
Meanwhile, Fan Daoyi went to meet Chen Yang, gripping the walking stick that fit his hand so well. When he arrived, Chen Yang was leaning against a wall. He tilted his head slightly and asked with a somewhat puzzled look, "What, did you use your looks to persuade that crazy woman?"
Fan Daoyi shook his head lightly. His tone was even, betraying little emotion. "No, I fooled her."
"You really are honest. I don't care about the process," Chen Yang said. "But based on what you've said, can you guarantee she won't become a variable?"
Fan Daoyi narrowed his eyes. "Actually, as far as I'm concerned, the only variable is you."
Then, a relaxed smile suddenly spread across his face. "Just a joke, to lighten the mood. I've always trusted my partners completely."
Dong—dong—
The clock chimed. It was the hour, the precise moment of the turning point.
The guest of honor at the banquet, the man people called the tyrannical duke, now made his entrance. He wore extraordinarily magnificent clothes, their gold and silver threads glittering brilliantly under the lights. Every detail spoke of luxury and nobility.
Yet his enormous beer belly was particularly eye-catching. The buttons over it had burst, unable to withstand the pressure of his protruding stomach. Despite efforts to sew them back together, they still would not fasten, leaving the front hanging open.
"I hope your idea holds." Chen Yang straightened up from the wall and started toward the duke with his camera.
As a reporter, he naturally had to record the duke's every word and action. Given how much the duke looked down on commoners, a little polishing might be all it took to produce a sensational story in no time.
As for why Chen Yang trusted what Fan Daoyi had said so much, that was thanks to his own ability.
A mental ability—lie detection.
Fan Daoyi moved among this group of mental ability users: one could detect lies, one could eavesdrop, one could control, and one could attack. Perhaps only he and the little fatty were simple-hearted.
Simple-hearted Fan Daoyi, who never lied—what an interesting title.
When the duke left his residence and entered the hall, Chu Yue began to act as well.
As Fan Daoyi saw it, the saboteur was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The person behind the scenes was generally the one who controlled how events unfolded. Their actions and influence were usually hidden, escaping the public's direct notice. They planned and drove events, always using carefully designed plans and strategies to subtly influence their course.
So this person behind the scenes probably wouldn't stand out. Perhaps they were simply an utterly inconspicuous figure, someone who held no major place in the whole story, a person outside its margins.
The most reasonable explanation was the flower shop owner's lover, the spark that set events in motion.
Now Chu Yue needed to find a suitable reason to establish whether that deceased "lover" had truly planned all of this.
First, the duke's character was known: he liked women, and liked young children even more. As it happened, the evidence in the reporter's hands consisted of photographs of the duke approaching young children.
He did his best to hide it, but some traces had still been noticed. On certain occasions, he would inadvertently show a special interest in young children, an unnatural longing in his eyes.
How terrible. How could such a terrible thing be allowed to reach other people's ears? If it were made public, his reputation and status would suffer a devastating blow. How could such a terrible thing be allowed to reach other people's ears? To protect his image and status, the duke would never allow this secret to be exposed, even if he had to stop at nothing.
Chu Yue concentrated on eavesdropping, while Chen Yang was responsible for keeping the duke occupied and drawing him out.
As the scenario they had envisioned played out, the duke indeed spotted the reporter Chen Yang at a glance. He made his way through the crowd, toasting the people around him one by one, his seemingly friendly smile concealing deep hypocrisy, until he finally reached Chen Yang.
"Mr. Duke, it has been quite some time."
Chen Yang spoke first, wearing an expression that seemed warm but carried a hint of arrogance. He also deliberately assumed the bearing of a superior. He straightened his back and looked firmly at the duke.
At that moment, he really did look a little like a man confident that he had leverage over the other party.
The duke huffed through his nose. Though angered by the reporter's attitude, he had no choice but to put on a friendly face. He smiled at the reporter reluctantly and said, "This is my birthday. I hope you'll report on it properly."
"Of course. Our work places great importance on timeliness, and also..." Pushing down his glasses, Chen Yang hid his cunning gaze behind the glare on the lenses. "And also truth. Those of us in this line of work hate lies."
Chen Yang deliberately put heavy emphasis on the word "truth." The corners of his mouth rose slightly in a meaningful smile.