Profiling

"Phew... I didn't expect to actually find a way to move around freely in a legitimate way," Lin Yu rubbed his face after walking out of the Coffee shop with Old Zheng and saying goodbye to the "Order" group. He looked at Old Zheng and asked, "So... where are Stiller and Nightless Sky Fire Apricot now?"

Old Zheng began, "They're investigating the 'Paris' case... Stiller is acting under the guise of 'Supervisor Arthur,' and he and Nightless Sky Fire Apricot have already located the private residence of Supervisor Tennyson of the Divine Power Group —the residence is currently under 'seizure and evidence collection,' but the two of them have already infiltrated it."

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow. "You infiltrated? How did you get in?"

Old Zheng shrugged. "Supervisor Tennyson is a typical 'technocrat' who rose to power in the City That Never Sleeps through Alchemy, so his private residence is naturally equipped with a sizable laboratory and also has 'dedicated Alchemy Pipelines' connected to his house."

Old Zheng had said all he needed to say, and Lin Yu understood roughly what had happened.

Although in the common sense of the people of the City That Never Sleeps, it is impossible for any "living being" to pass through an "Alchemy Pipelines," since the flow of high-concentration Alchemy Energy is an unavoidable "poison" for any life form.

But...

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot is clearly a counterintuitive character, an "exception" to the "common sense" of City That Never Sleeps.

"Then let's just go to Supervisor Tennyson's house and meet up with those two."

As Lin Yu spoke, Old Zheng nodded.

"Received, boss. Shall we contact Nightless Sky Fire Apricot now?"

"After all, if you don't use the identity of 'Supervisor Arthur,' it's quite troublesome to enter and exit the Outer Cities, isn't it?"

Lin Yu shook his head, interrupting Old Zheng.

"No need, Old Zheng, I've already left an 'Anchor Point' on Stiller."

As he spoke, Lin Yu grabbed Old Zheng —he had just led Old Zheng to a secluded alley in the Outer City.

This is also a blind spot for surveillance.

In this dark Alley, Lin Yu took out the [Mind-State Teleportation Gun], and then...

"Whoosh!"

The next moment, Lin Yu and Old Zheng arrived directly on the corridor of a luxury mansion.

Wow!

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot saw Lin Yu and Old Zheng suddenly appear, she cried out in surprise. The Metal Grappling Claw on her back cracked open at the center, revealing a cannon muzzle that was flashing red light.

Only after recognizing Lin Yu and Old Zheng did Nightless Sky Fire Apricot breathe a sigh of relief and lower her guard.

"So it was you, Arthur... and your stand-in Arthur Number One—how come you appear and disappear so mysteriously?"

Lin Yu laughed, "Just some strange [Item] from another world."

Stiller, however, was used to Lin Yu's sudden appearance. He looked at Lin Yu, nodded slightly, and stood at attention.

"Boss."

After exchanging greetings, Stiller immediately began to explain the current situation.

"This is the Inner City residence of Supervisor Tennyson, one of the victims in the case where President Paris was framed Lord Nightless Sky Fire Apricot the Alchemy Pipelines and are currently searching the residence."

Lin Yu nodded. "I've already heard Old Zheng this part, so... what have you learned so far?"

"Not yet," Stiller replied truthfully. "While we found many of Supervisor Tennyson's personal belongings at his residence, and even some classified documents related to the Divine Power Group projects he was in charge of, there are no clues about why he was killed."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot picked up where Stiller left off. "We've already explored most of his mansion—the study, the bedroom, the living room... even the kitchen and the refrigerator were searched by me and my double Arthur Two."

"I can only conclude that this guy almost never cooks for himself; his fridge is neatly filled with meal replacement blocks and powders."

"And he didn't even buy many different flavors, they were all 'plain and original'... Wow, I can't believe how boring this guy's life must be!"

"Nightless Sky Fire Apricot complained, clearly dissatisfied with how "boring"Supervisor Tennyson was."

Lin Yu could understand why Nightless Sky Fire Apricot was dissatisfied.

After all, for Nightless Sky Fire Apricot... infiltrating Supervisor Tennyson's mansion to investigate might be a slightly anticipated and "fun" thing for her.

However, upon entering and seeing the overly neat and tidy interior of the mansion, she was certainly somewhat disappointed.

After all, Lin Yu had already noticed upon entering and looking around that... the furnishings in Supervisor Tennyson's home were far too simple and orderly.

This is a two-story mansion. The entire house has no carpets or wallpaper; the floors and walls are made of simple, large, glossy stone tiles.

There were no decorations in the hallway, and all the doors were open. Each room contained only the simplest table, bookshelf, or bed, with very few items arranged neatly.

For a powerful executive with A-Class authority in the Divine Power Group, this house... could indeed be described as "simple and austere".

If it weren't for the view from the window that showed the house was situated in a garden-like residential area and was a detached two-story mansion, Lin Yu would have almost thought that Supervisor Tennyson was "penniless".

But...

To decorate a mansion worth roughly the equivalent of two lifetimes' income for an average company employee in such a minimalist manner, this Supervisor Tennyson, must indeed have some "eccentricities."

Old Zheng gave the same opinion—after just one glance, he issued a diagnosis for the deceased Supervisor Tennyson: "Severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, and probably also post-traumatic stress disorder... Although the residents here are not technicians, they must have experienced some kind of fierce battle on the front lines."

"He lives alone and doesn't even have a maid... This is extremely rare among high-level executives in companies in the City That Never Sleeps, so I think he must be the type who lacks a sense of security, has a very strong sense of boundaries and territory—he can't accept anyone living in his Village Chief, so he doesn't have a maid."

"He doesn't even invite guests much—although he keeps a guest room, it's clear it hasn't been used much; the edges of the bedding in that room are already quite wrinkled."

"And... since there are no servants, he probably does all the daily cleaning himself—this guy's standards for hygiene can't be described as 'patience' or 'cleanliness,' they're definitely in the category of 'obsessive.'"

"For Supervisor Tennyson, the process of 'cleaning' should provide him with some stress relief and relaxation."

"You just mentioned that the refrigerator is full of monotonous 'meal replacement products,' which shows that he doesn't usually pay attention to 'personal sensory' enjoyment and doesn't know how to relieve stress through 'enjoyment.' His lack of 'Socializing' and reluctance to invite guests over is also a reflection of this... But everyone needs 'hobbies' outside of 'work,' so naturally, his hobbies for relieving stress should be doing things that seem more 'self-disciplined and ambitious.'"

"That's why, in addition to his guest room and study, he even has a 'Gym' specifically for activities and exercise—just like cleaning, it's one of his ways to achieve 'inner peace.'"

Old Zheng casually analyzed the situation, and then he saw that Stiller, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, and even Lin Yu were all looking at him.

"Sorry, my Profession kicked in," Old Zheng said, rubbing his nose. "I've been rambling on a bit."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot shook her head, her eyes sparkling. "Not much, not much... Quite an impressive analysis, Doppelganger One."

"Supervisor Tennyson is indeed an alchemist from the 'Pioneer Team,' who participated in numerous sieges against the Remnants of 'Supreme Evolution' in the Great Wilderness, and has indeed experienced fierce 'battles.'"

"Although I don't know this guy personally, I've already looked up his information—he's indeed quite aloof among the senior executives of Divine Power Group."

"Although he has an open background with the Mercury Family, and although he is not Noble, his uncle is a member of the 'Rupert' family, a branch of the Mercury Family."

"But the fact that this guy was able to rise to the rank of A-Class supervisor is more like the result of a compromise between the Autumn Family and the Mercury Family — the Mercury Family needed someone from their own 'Alchemy Technology Department' to be the supervisor, while the Autumn Family felt that 'Tennyson,' a relatively aloof and quiet guy, was better suited to be the supervisor than someone from another Mercury Family faction."

"And after he took office, he did indeed focus on research and rarely participated in factional Struggles or non-technical activities within the company."

"In his underground private Alchemy Laboratory, we also found many of his unpublished alchemical research results and device studies—frankly, they are all very practical."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot spoke, Old Zheng stroked his chin and said.

"So, although we haven't found 'evidence' as to why he was killed, we've actually discovered new suspicious points."

"How could someone like this, a 'technocrat,' a 'veteran,' and someone with a clean record, become the person who liaises with the Universal Trade Association?"

"He and the Duke Rainbowlight's second son are definitely not 'conspiring' to betray each other's company interests."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot nodded and said, "I think so too... that's why I've been trying to find evidence or traces of his private contact with the Rainbowlight Family."

Lin Yu thought for a moment and asked, "Did you find his private Communicator —not the one he uses for daily life and work, but the kind that's clearly encrypted?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot shook her head. "There's nothing like that anywhere."

Old Zheng suddenly asked, "Did you search his private Gym in the basement?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot looked at Old Zheng, somewhat puzzled.

"Isn't the Gym on this second floor? There's no Gym downstairs... The entire underground is his Alchemy Laboratory."

Upon hearing the reply from Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, Old Zheng responded firmly.

Yes, there should be another one underground.

"The fact that you and Stiller didn't discover it precisely proves... that his Gym was hidden."