Chapter 181

The first thing that caught her eye was still that familiar, headache-inducing workload.

"Hurry up, we need to see Ling soon."

After shaking her arms and stretching, Sakura threw herself into her work.

The Seven Thunders of Retribution did have an impact on her state of mind, but she could understand her companions' helplessness, and when she thought of her sister, all her troubles vanished.

Sakura became happier and happier as she thought about it. Once she finished reviewing this pile of documents, she would be able to see Rin.

Unfortunately, reality is cruel.

The clock on the wall ticked away. Sakura had been sitting there for a long time, her attention completely focused on the documents, her eyes never wavering.

But the remaining workload is still very heavy.

"Or... should we go find Rin instead?"

I checked the time and realized the amount of work I had to make up for if I didn't hurry.

Sakura did not hesitate to break down the door and leave.

If she leaves normally, there's an 80% or higher chance she'll be stopped by staff and forced to work overtime.

"I'm sorry, Ling got out of school an hour ago. I'll finish the rest of my work when I get back tonight."

Sakura's figure flickered around the base, cleverly diverting everyone's attention.

In order to save Rin, Sakura had a particularly memorable experience: infiltrating the Fire Moth base.

Unexpectedly, it came in handy again, this time to avoid work.

Fortunately, the journey was smooth sailing. Since her current identity was not that of an intruder but a high-level decision-maker, Sakura easily found her sister along the way.

"Sis, why do you seem a little distracted?"

Walking down the street, Ling asked while chewing on a candy lollipop.

"Is there?"

Sakura scratched her head, wondering if her younger sister had telepathic abilities.

"Yes, sister, your hands are shaking."

The two sisters held hands, and suddenly Ling squeezed them hard.

Sakura was also helpless.

The thought that the people at the base were probably looking for her, and that she might have to write a self-criticism when she got back, made her ears go weak.

Skipping work is fun for a moment, but working overtime is a nightmare.

"Sis, you haven't done anything wrong, have you?"

Rin looked up and gazed into Sakura's eyes.

I always felt that my sister was hiding something from me.

"It's nothing, just work-related issues and some disputes with colleagues. My sister can handle it."

"I see, my sister got demoted again."

Ling rolled her eyes at her silly older sister in exasperation.

Sister, it's a miracle the company hasn't fired you, with you running off like this all the time.

Ling suddenly felt that her older sister's company was unreliable. What kind of legitimate company would allow its employees to go out at will?

"Meow."

Suddenly, Ling's attention was drawn by a meow.

By the time Sakura realized what was happening, Rin was already pressed against the glass window of the pet shop, staring intently at the pet cats inside.

Upon realizing that her younger sister liked small animals, Sakura suddenly had another idea.

Sakura: "Pardo, could you give me one of your stray cats?"

Pardofelis: "That's possible, but why did you suddenly want to get a cat Sister Sakura?"

Sakura: "No, actually it's Rin who likes it."

If possible, Sakura would like to wait for Pardo to return so that she can take the Canned Food to Rin to play with for a while.

Pardo shouldn't be that petty, and as for the Canned Food's opinion, Sakura subconsciously ignored it.

However, due to the rarity of the Life Coin, this plan had to be abandoned before it even began.

The stray cats in Fire Moth are all Pardo's friends. If Sakura really wants to adopt one, she thinks it's better to say hello first.

Pardofelis: "That's possible, but Sister Sakura, what do you think of my proposal to build a cat food processing plant..."

The system of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers Council ensured that each member had considerable power. Except for projects related to Vill-V, minor matters such as those at the processing plant generally did not require the consent of multiple Flame-Chasers.

But while seeking benefits for his brothers, Pardo also adhered to his bottom line and never abused his power.

Sakura: "Hmm, I think I saw that proposal earlier, but it was rejected. I'll just put together a new one and get it approved later."

Pardofelis: "Hehe, long live Sister Sakura!"

Eden: "???"

Something's not right, Eden suddenly felt that something was amiss.

She was the one who funded the "Fire Moth" project; how did these two manage to openly plot in front of her?

Chapter 295 What did Chakravartin do to find the real culprit?

Pardofelis: "Long live Sister Eden! Building a cat food processing plant is a profitable business; Sister Eden won't refuse, will she?"

Eden: "... Never mind, last time Elysia suggested cutting Vill-V's budget by fifty percent, which resulted in a lot more funding."

Vill-V: "... Sigh."

Why should she? What did she do wrong?

In her heart, Vill-V cried out silently!

She simply used the funding to research Candy Tree. Why can other scientists develop Meat Bun Tree, but she can't develop Candy Tree?!

Mei cut her budget by 80% initially, and now Eden has cut it by another 50%.

Vill-V had no idea what she had done wrong to deserve such treatment.

[Q&A begins.]

[When the Flame-Chasers searched the archives, they were unable to find out anything that happened last night. Why is that?]

[A: The message has been deleted.]

[B: My space was frozen last night.]

[C: The archives were destroyed.]

[D: The Flame-Chasers are incompetent.]

Su: "Sure enough, all the information from that night has been lost. The murderer had already eliminated the risk of exposure when committing the crime."

This is something only someone who understands Flame-Chasers very well, has made thorough preparations, and can exert a considerable advantage in the Elysian Realm could accomplish.

Theresa: "The information was deleted? If I understand correctly, only the doll Klein has the authority to do that, right?"

Su: "Using normal methods, only administrators do indeed have the corresponding permissions."

In other words, there are also abnormal methods.

Destroying the archives directly is much easier than deleting the data afterward.

But destroying the archives would certainly cause a commotion, which would then attract the attention of the other Flame-Chasers.

Elysia: "Doing something like this is quite troublesome; it might be simpler to freeze space."

Kiana: "You call freezing space simple?"

Himeko always felt that its scientific concepts differed somewhat from those of the Flame-Chasers.

Freezing space—shouldn't that be a high-end topic that only appears in research institutes or similar settings? Why are you making it sound like a small-scale business?

Raiden Mei: "Which of those Flame-Chasers could do something like that?"

Elysia: "Too many."

Raiden Mei: "Huh?"

Mei wondered if she had misheard, or if Elysia's statement was inaccurate, or even if she was hallucinating.

Elysia: "There are so many, Kevin, Mobius, Apponia... Sue."

Seeing that Elysia was actually counting on her fingers, Raiden Mei felt a headache coming on.

With such outstanding Flame-Chasers them, I feel the suspicion of internal strife has increased.

Durandal: "So, it's possible that half of the Flame-Chasers could do this?"

Su: "Well, although I've been analyzing the ins and outs of the matter, upon closer reflection, I haven't even cleared myself of suspicion."

Within the Memory Body of the Previous Era Elysian Realm, Su understood just how much of an advantage her abilities possessed.

Many things that are impossible in reality can be done in the Memory Body Previous Era Elysian Realm.

Mobius: "I think the answer is already quite obvious. Compared to freezing space, some of us can even freeze time."

Sakura: "... Since it's true, I won't deny it."

She had demonstrated her ability to freeze time before, and even Kevin was stunned for a few seconds by her sudden move.

The atmosphere, which had been subtly easing, has now turned sour again.

Sakura herself realized that she seemed to have too many stains on her record, and it seemed that all the evidence pointed to her.

Bronya: "Bronya always feels that there are too many suspicious points about Sakura, as if they were added on by someone?"

It's unreasonable; it just doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it.

How could someone with such sophisticated methods leave themselves with such an obvious flaw?

Elysia: "Of course, we'll muddy the waters! No matter what the truth is, all the blame will fall on Sakura, and then things will spiral out of control."

Regardless of the truth, how many people believe in Sakura's innocence?

When all suspicions pointed to her, and Ying was unable to come forward to testify, the waters between Flame-Chasers and his ilk had already been stirred up.

Kiana: "I can already foresee you two fighting."

Chakravartin: "Sakura isn't the murderer, she's not the traitor!"

Here, it looks something like this.

After hearing Chakravartin's opinion, everyone was now deeply convinced that Elysia would die and the Flame-Chasers would fight each other.

If a fight doesn't break out, then Chakravartin has been switched!

[The timeout period has expired; lucky audience members will now be selected.]

[Congratulations to Pardofelis for being a lucky viewer.]

Pardofelis: "Huh? It's me again."

Sure enough, sometimes being too lucky isn't necessarily a good thing, like when the system picks a sucker... cough cough, a lucky audience member.

Pardofelis: "But it's alright, this time I'm absolutely confident, I'll choose B!"

Whatever the truth may be, one thing is certain: freezing space is the simplest option compared to deleting data or destroying archives.

Many people in the Flame-Chasers can freeze space, so it is the most likely scenario to occur.

[Correct answer.]

[Congratulations to Pardofelis for winning the event reward: Life Coin Trial Version.]

Pardofelis: "Hehe, this is much easier than getting supplies from Sister Vill-V, don't you think, Canned Food?"

Canned Food: "Meow."

Pardo placed the Life Coin Trial Version in the shop, nodded in satisfaction, and took out the silver coin Sakura had given her last time.

While counting the silver coins, they searched for the murderer who killed Sister Elysia.