"Boss?"
Anthony looked utterly bewildered at Li Wei's question.
"You can't pin this on me. I swear..."
"Enough. Spare me the act."
Li Wei rolled his eyes.
"I knew all along that you were here for this guy, right? Don't think I didn't notice. You came to the Salon Car not to flirt, but to give yourself an excuse to watch this man. His compartment was just a short distance from the Salon Car, so you could spot any move he made."
"You figured all that out, boss?"
"Imagine that. I am a detective, after all."
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"
"What was I supposed to say? I wasn't about to drag myself into some mysterious mess just because I had nothing better to do."
Li Wei looked at Anthony as though he were an idiot.
"If this hadn't dragged me in, I still wouldn't bother. Just give me a straight answer so I can figure out how to deal with this trouble."
"I swear, it really wasn't me."
Anthony knew this was no time to whine or play games, and his expression immediately turned serious.
"All right, since you've already figured it out, boss, I won't hide it anymore. My assignment was to watch this guy, but I absolutely did not kill him."
"Watch him?"
"That's right."
Anthony nodded.
"We received a tip that this man—Robert Hardment—had been secretly contacting foreign spies. He was heading to Bisbalu to make a deal with some organization at a banquet during the Steam Mechanics Expo. That's why I boarded this train. My job was to keep an eye on him and identify whoever he was dealing with... now the whole thing's gone to hell."
As he spoke, Anthony covered his face and let out a long sigh.
"If you were