Deep in the Mist

"You were injected with Truth Serum?"

"... You know the answer already."

Is that why it looks like this in the morning and now?

Lin was unclear about the interrogation methods of the Moth Chaser. Qianqi had no physical injuries, but there must have been many cracks in her mind.

Since Qianqi is still here, instead of being executed or sent to the Deepest Place, it means that the interrogation results show that she has no problems.

"They're a bunch of lunatics." Qianqi's gaze was as cold as an icicle. "You're no different from them."

Two different unexpected events occurred on the same day, and Qianqi was involved in both, resulting in her being treated in a way that was not typical of a newcomer.

"I still need to check Prometheus's system. If there's nothing else, you can leave."

Qianqi stared at him coldly, as if he were an enemy.

The investigation has reached a bottleneck.

We've asked almost everyone we could, but there's still no progress.

Except for one person, namely the other one of the two people Elysia mentioned who wanted to see him.

To be honest, Lin was inevitably surprised when he saw Pardo's name, but he quickly came to terms with it.

Did she join the Moth of Fire by following the people he arranged to deliver supplies to her regularly?

However, when Lin went to find Pardo, he discovered something else.

Pardo has disappeared.

Lin's investigation of the surveillance footage revealed that Pardo had not come out of the room since entering it the previous night. Subsequently, the surveillance system of the entire headquarters was disrupted, which was the time when the database theft and Erwin's murder occurred. For a full five hours, the surveillance equipment was not operating properly.

At this point, there is a high possibility that there is a second victim.

Pardo left no trace, as if she had evaporated from headquarters. Even though Lin is monitoring the entire headquarters in real time, he has not been able to find Pardo.

Lin suddenly felt as if he were in a fog.

Everything around him was unknowable. Something was happening very close to him, but he couldn't see it. He could hear some minor sounds, but he couldn't see the whole picture.

He missed his "opportunity".

If he had agreed when Elysia asked him to meet Erwin and Pardo last night, would Erwin not have died, would Pardo not have disappeared, and would Lin have been able to find some clues?

If I had caught up with Qianqi this morning and asked her what had happened, would I have been able to notice anything unusual?

The mistake has already happened, and it's an irreversible mistake.

When exactly did it begin? Was it the moment she rejected Elysia? The moment she left the database?

No... it should be...

"Lin, do you need to rest for a while?"

The sound of Prometheus's voice, so close at hand, made Lin shake his head silently, but then he quickly nodded.

He couldn't tell if he was tired, but he had been on the go for a long time today, so he should be tired by now.

Sit down and organize your thoughts.

Lin returned to his room and listed all the information on the panel inside his helmet.

Elysia, Qianqi, Erwin, Pardo...

That's too little.

It's all meaningless.

So, is something missing?

"..."

A sudden idea flashed in Lin's mind.

Vill-V.

Last night, while performing her magic tricks, Vill-V also kept track of Lin's entire schedule, indicating that she had been paying attention to the whole ball.

Moreover, today, Vill-V specifically requested that he investigate this matter.

Does she know anything?

Without giving it much thought or considering whether his body had gotten enough rest, Lin got up and went to the Spiral Workshop.

However, he soon realized that he had been too naive.

Vill-V has also disappeared.

Off to my thesis defense

I have to get up early tomorrow to take the bus back to school for my thesis defense, so I'm asking for leave today. I'll update the 520 special when I get to school. After the defense the day after tomorrow, I might have other things to take care of.

The main storyline has a touch of suspense in the latest installment, but it's probably not the kind of plot most people are expecting, nor is it something like a human civil war that has already been written.

Chapter 131 The Depths of the Mist

September 13th.

When the impact of an event becomes so great that it cannot be resolved by an individual, it is only a matter of time before it becomes the focus of attention and receives intervention.

So when the second or third victim appeared in this murder case, the situation began to spiral out of control.

Vill-V, who was supposed to be secretly investigating the matter, had been pierced through the chest by a sharp blade. Her mischievous eyes lost their focus, and the pool of blood beneath her spread all the way to the entrance of the Spiral Workshop.

Lin, whom she had assigned, began investigating the cause of her death.

The artery in his chest was severed, and his entire heart was pierced. Judging from the wound, he was killed with a single stab from behind, just like Erwin, swift and decisive without any hesitation.

She particularly enjoyed sitting in her chair with a cup of coffee, watching all day as the large screen was filled with nothing but wantonly smeared blood and scarlet ERROR.

Lin expelled the air from his lungs.

Frankly, Lin couldn't even imagine that Vill-V would be killed.

She always seemed to be in complete control, with a clear understanding of interpersonal relationships and the Moth of Fire's system. If everything in this world could be compared to a game, then Vill-V would be a master player who knew all the rules, loopholes, and shortcuts.

But even the best players are still players, and every player will eventually lose.

"..." Lin coldly examined Vill-V's wound, but even with the most sophisticated instruments, he couldn't find anything strange about it.

Unable to determine the type of weapon, he knew every weapon the Firemoth possessed, but even so, it was impossible to pinpoint exactly what kind of wound each weapon could inflict.

Of course, Lin didn't pin his hopes on the wound; what he wanted to see was a message from Vill-V.

Based on his understanding of Vill-V, he knew that no matter what she did, she would always leave a "backdoor," and even if she were to be killed, she must have already planned it out.

"Lin... what are you doing?"

Prometheus's indifferent voice rang out from the side, but that did not stop Lin.

He reached for Vill-V's wound, a bloody cut that looked like a slice of sashimi prepared by a master chef.

Places that are too conspicuous have most likely already been inspected...

"What are you doing?"

Prometheus grabbed Lin's hand.

This caused Lin to turn his head and look at Prometheus.

Her face, as hard and cold as a diamond, hovered less than five centimeters from Lin's face, an inhuman feeling emanating from her unfocused pupils.

"...I'm looking for clues," Lin replied coldly, trying to break free from Prometheus's grasp, but he couldn't budge an inch.

That's normal. Lin hasn't fully recovered yet, and Prometheus's seemingly slender arms actually contain strength far beyond that of humans. As long as she doesn't want to let go, Lin shouldn't be able to break free.

"You are desecrating Dr. Vill-V's body."

"... If we don't do that, we won't find it."

"You wouldn't have done that before."

What should I do if I don't know how? Desecrate my friend's body? Or should I do it myself?

"That's just a misunderstanding on your part. I will do it if necessary."

Perhaps she was persuaded by Lin, or perhaps she was intimidated by Lin's unfamiliar and cold gaze, she slowly let go of his hand.

With his restraints lifted, Lin began his investigation.

Lin found what he wanted before he could mutilate Vill-V's body beyond recognition.

There was a small, almost invisible circular device in Vill-V's throat.

Has she implanted Black Box within herself...? That's really in line with her style.

After Lin handed the Black Box to Prometheus automatically began reading its contents without Lin's command.

She opened her palm, and the projection that appeared in her palm was a sound that had been denoised by She and a symbol of unknown meaning.

Perhaps because it was implanted inside the body, even after noise reduction, the recorded sound was still intermittent and muffled.

"You... so... you were aware..."

Even a short sentence is divided into several parts, and its meaning is completely unknown.

After that, the projected symbols began to flash at a high frequency, and Lin also understood their meaning.

Morse Code.

Without considering how Vill-V had recorded the Morse Code into the Black Box, Prometheus translated the entire message after reading it.

"Pollute."

What does this mean?

Consciousness pollution?

By combining what Vill-V said with the Morse Code, the message was obtained.

However, it cannot be confirmed that this is the original meaning. The recording is incomplete, and there may be other words or phrases after that phrase about consciousness. Furthermore, pollution is not related to consciousness...

But this word sent chills down Lin's spine.

The pollution of consciousness only led him to think of one possibility.

"Lin, I'm officially taking over this case."

Even though Lin worked overtime searching for clues, he still couldn't find any crucial leads when Kevin came to him and announced the fact.

The murderer was a calm, cunning, intelligent, and extremely patient person.

He can kill a person without leaving a single flaw, not even a millimeter of wound, and then destroy all the evidence.

Lin couldn't even discern the technique used.

Lin simply nodded silently in front of Kevin, who exuded an even colder aura than before.

This is not a problem that can be solved by individual ability. Searching within the area of power of the Fire Moth itself is the most correct thing to do.

So Lin told Kevin all the information, and Kevin patiently listened to it all.

Finally, he turned and left with a cold face.

"...what will you do?"

For no apparent reason, Lin asked this question.

"Lin, I know you've been through a lot lately." But Kevin's response wasn't the question he'd asked. "But if you can't handle it, either stay in your room or go see Doctor Mobius, instead of asking questions like this."

"..."

Strangely, Prometheus said something similar.

Has something really changed about him?

But what's wrong with this question?

"Execute the murderer after he is caught."

Kevin coldly uttered those words, then, as if he didn't want to say another word to Lin Fei, he led the others to conduct a search.