Arknights: Suika's Messenger Journey

This made no sense.

And this was an old district with a high population density. Many of the residents were elderly people who didn't need to work nine-to-five jobs, and Granny Wang had neighbors in front of, behind, and beside her home.

If the fire had started slowly, they would've noticed. They would've found signs before it got out of control.

There was no way it could've suddenly grown this large."

Suika's eyes were clear and pure. She'd spent a long time thinking in her room that afternoon, so when Hoshiguma asked, she was able to speak with ease.

The Ghostly Mist

"It just so happened that Granny Wang hadn't set up her stall today, then it just so happened that a fire started, and it just so happened that it spread incredibly fast...

There were too many coincidences piled together.

That was far too much of a coincidence. I don't believe it was one, so this definitely wasn't a simple fire."

Suika looked at Granny Wang's name on the board and finally stated her conclusion.

After she finished speaking, the room fell silent for several minutes. Only then did Hoshiguma pick up the chalk beside her and put a checkmark after the words "homicide" on the board.

"You're right. What we can confirm so far is that this wasn't a simple death caused by an accidental fire.

According to the forensic examination, the two people in Granny Wang's home had already been strangled to death before the fire began.

But the statements from the surrounding residents haven't yielded any useful clues.

You were close with Granny Wang. Do you know whether she'd offended anyone recently, or whether any strangers had come to see her?"

The reason Hoshiguma was being candid with Suika was because she'd noticed the maturity she displayed far beyond her age.

She knew Suika had been close to Granny Wang and wanted to see if she could find any new leads through her.

Suika fell into thought after hearing that.

Several minutes later, she raised her head.

"If I have to mention something, yesterday I received a letter for Granny Wang from the post office and delivered it to her.

That letter came from the border, where her youngest son was stationed.

A war had broken out along the border before, and she'd written him a letter because she was worried about him. This should've been his reply.

Other than that, Granny Wang's life was extremely routine. She set up her stall in the morning, packed it up at noon, went to the market in the afternoon to buy ingredients for the next day, and took walks on the street with her husband at night.

It had always been like that. It had never changed."

After Suika finished, Hoshiguma nodded as well. Her memories of Granny Wang were more or less the same as what Suika had described.

"A letter from yesterday? That could be a breakthrough. I'll report it to my superiors."

Hoshiguma wrote the matter down, planning to report it the next day.

Since this involved the military, the Lungmen Guard Bureau had no authority to investigate it. They could only report it upward, have their superiors coordinate with the military, and see what the other side had to say.

"Over the past few days, have you seen any strangers on the street?" Hoshiguma continued.

Considering how ruthless the culprit's methods were, Hoshiguma was certain it hadn't been done by a local. She wanted to see whether Suika had noticed any suspicious outsiders.

Suika thought back for a moment, then shook her head.

"No. This is a main road, after all. Lots of people come and go.

Unless someone deliberately exposed a flaw, simply walking down the street and scouting the area wouldn't attract attention."

There were no surveillance cameras on the street, so even after a murder, the Guard Department could only conduct the most primitive kind of investigation instead of using footage to find everyone suspicious who had passed through this street over the past few days.

Suika suddenly said,

"At noon, was there anyone among the people nearby whom you thought was suspicious?"

"You mean the murderer is still in the city?" Hoshiguma was somewhat surprised by Suika's judgment.

"You said yourself that the killer was ruthless. They carefully planned all of this, so how could they just leave after finishing? I think there's a good chance they were near the scene when the fire broke out..."

Suika recalled a theory she'd heard in her previous life: killers often liked to appear near the crime scene when the crime was discovered, observing everyone's reactions to satisfy their own twisted pleasure.

She didn't know who had killed Granny Wang's family, nor did she know why, but she felt there was a good chance the culprit had returned to the scene to admire their handiwork.

Hoshiguma thought for a while before saying,

"We recently received a batch of new equipment—body cameras.

Everyone wore them when we responded today.

After arriving at the scene, everyone spread out to drive away the onlookers.

If he really was among them, he would've been recorded..."

At that, Hoshiguma picked up her police uniform.

"That's a very good lead. Get some sleep first. I'm going back to the station!"

With that, Hoshiguma headed out, drove away, and vanished down the street.

After Hoshiguma left, Suika looked toward the ruins of Granny Wang's house.

"Although I don't know why you died, I swear that if I get the chance, I'll find a way to bring the murderer before you.

Dead or alive, I'll find them!"

Just as Hoshiguma arrived at the police station to check the camera records, Suika turned into mist and disappeared from the room.

Only after arriving at the burned-down house did Suika realize just how horrific the destruction was.

As far as the eye could see, aside from the four walls still stubbornly standing, everything inside the house—including the roof—had been burned to nothing.

In her mist form, Suika floated around the area. She circled the place once, found no useful clues, and prepared to leave.

Just then, a figure emerged from the darkness. Upon reaching the ruins, he began rummaging through the bricks and rubble as though searching for something.

Suika didn't leave. Instead, she continued floating around him, silently watching his movements.

"Damn it, why isn't there anything?" More than ten minutes later, the man cursed as he stood up. He cautiously examined his surroundings, and only after confirming no one was paying attention did he slip into a nearby alley.

Suika followed closely behind him.

Thanks to her current form, although the man was suspicious the entire way and looked back several times, he never saw Suika floating around him.

"Damn it, why does Lungmen have such thick fog too?" the man muttered curses as he walked, unaware that anyone looking at him now would see a cloud of mist surrounding him. Wherever he went, the fog drifted with him, making for an incredibly eerie sight.

Before long, the man slipped into a dilapidated house and immediately lay down to sleep.

Seeing this, Suika stopped concealing herself and took solid form in front of him.

The man, his eyes closed, felt a chill run down his spine. When he opened them, he saw a little girl standing coldly before him.

Before he could speak, the girl said,

"Tell me. What were you looking for at Granny Wang's house?"

"I... Aah..." Before he could answer, a sharp pain shot through his hand. Looking over, he found the girl gripping his wrist.

"I'll give you one chance. Tell the truth..." Suika stared at him with icy eyes and grabbed his other hand.

Although the little girl before him looked only around ten years old, her cold and decisive methods filled him with dread. Before he could organize his words, the same agonizing pain struck his other hand.

Interrogation by an Evil Ghost

"I'll talk, I'll talk... I just wanted to see if there was anything I could sell for money."

The man hurriedly spoke.

"Hm?" Suika looked into his eyes.

"The Wang Family's house burned down, but there should still be some things left.

Look at me, I'm a homeless man. I can't find money, so I thought I'd rummage through the ruins for scrap metal or something else I could sell."

Seeing that Suika looked ready to strike at any moment, the man answered rapidly.

"So that's how it is. Looks like I wrongly accused you..."

The man let out a breath of relief upon hearing Suika's words.

"Did you think I'd say that?"

Before he could even finish exhaling, Suika's next words plunged him into an icy abyss.

He tried to struggle, only to discover that the girl had merely placed one foot on his chest, yet he couldn't move at all.

"First, let me tell you something... I'm actually quite strong, so don't even think about running.

Second, I won't hand you over to the Guard Department, because you have to die.

Lastly, tell me everything you should. At least then, I can let you die quickly."

Suika's voice drifted eerily into his ears, making him feel suffocated both physically and mentally.

"Can I ask how you found out something was wrong with me, and how you followed me here...

I consider myself pretty capable at counter-surveillance. You definitely weren't behind me on the way back."

Seeing how completely Suika had him under control, the man gave up struggling. Still, he was curious about two things. First, how had this girl determined he was connected to Granny Wang's death?

Second, how had she followed him here?

He had several safe houses in Lungmen, and which one he went to was always a spur-of-the-moment decision. So she couldn't have been waiting here for him. She could only have followed him.

But he was certain he'd repeatedly checked behind him on the road. No one had been following him.

"How did I find out?

Just as you said, although the Wang Family's house was burned to ashes, there should still have been scrap metal and similar things left behind. It wouldn't be strange if a homeless man went there to collect them.

But several pieces of metal passed through your hands, and you threw them away. So you were lying. You weren't scavenging. You were searching for something with a purpose.

As for how I followed you, you don't need to know. You aren't worthy of knowing.

Now, are you ready to tell me what you know?"

As she finished speaking, Suika bent down and punched his broken hand. The spot she struck instantly turned into a bloody pulp.

"Let me remind you of something. If I think you're lying, I'll keep hitting you—from your limbs to your torso, bit by bit, until you're dead."

After saying that, she clenched her fist again.

The man's mind was on the verge of breaking under Suika's unreasonable interrogation methods, because the thing in front of him simply didn't listen to reason.

"I said it. Can you at least make it quick?" he asked through the pain.

"Of course. And that was a pointless question..."

With that, Suika's fist ruthlessly smashed down again.

The man instantly broke out in a cold sweat, his eyes bulging from the pain.

"I'll talk...

I was looking for a key.

Granny Wang kept all her letters in a lockbox. Last night, I was in too much of a hurry when I took the box, so I forgot the key.

The key was small, and it was made of metal. Fire wouldn't melt something like that, so I wanted to see whether it had been left in the ruins."

"Letters!" A flash gleamed in Suika's eyes.

"Whose letters?"

"I don't know. I only know that the letters contained the patrol routes along Great Yan's border, and they were extremely important to us." The man answered directly, hoping for a quick death.

"Border patrol routes... You're from Ursus!"

In just a second, Suika deduced where he came from.

It wasn't difficult to guess. Great Yan's borders met the Eastern Country, Ursus, and Kazdel.

The Eastern Country lay far to the northeast and was too distant from Great Yan. Patrol routes here would be completely useless to them. As for the Sarkaz, they wouldn't have any designs on Great Yan at all, because they were still mired in civil war.

Even in Lungmen, people often heard news of Kazdel's civil war between its two kings.

Ursus was different. They had clashed with Great Yan's border troops before, with quite a few deaths on both sides. They had every reason to want Great Yan's border deployment maps.

"That's right!"

"Then where's the box containing the letters?"

Suika swept her gaze around the room. There was nothing here except a bed. In the empty room, she couldn't see anything that even resembled a box.