I only trust you

Tiantian glanced around, then pointed into the distance and told Zhao Xun, "Over there."

With that, she ran in that direction first.

Zhao Xun followed close behind without asking any questions.

They found a more secluded corner to hide in and, by the dim moonlight, barely managed a rough look through all the documents they had obtained.

Zhao Xun quickly sorted them. "These are mine. The rest are yours."

He only needed to clear Ruby's name, and these few pages were enough.

Tiantian needed to expose all the Duke's crimes. The few pages he took would not affect her task of exposing every one of his misdeeds.

"Sure." Tiantian readily agreed.

Holding a large stack of documents, she turned toward the wall beside them. "I left a rope ladder here beforehand too. Let's get out."

"You go first." Zhao Xun did not move. "I still have something to do."

Tiantian glanced back at Zhao Xun, then laughed.

"What, you're cutting ties as soon as we're done working together?" She leaned closer to him, a teasing glint in her lively, catlike eyes. "Isn't that a little cold?"

"It was a pleasure working with you, but most of the time, I prefer acting alone." Zhao Xun pressed a finger against Tiantian's forehead and pushed her head away.

"All right." Tiantian did not insist. She nimbly climbed the wall and disappeared behind it.

The rope ladder hanging from the wall disappeared with her.

Only after confirming that Tiantian had left did Zhao Xun turn and run toward the Bamboo Grove.

If Tiantian's task really was to expose all the Duke's crimes, these documents should be made public in town tomorrow.

That would also help confirm whether Tiantian had lied.

Zhao Xun had barely run ten meters when a gunshot suddenly rang out from a distant building.

His steps did not falter, but he glanced toward the Duke's bedroom.

The person carrying a gun was most likely the Short-Haired Woman.

Firearms were tightly controlled throughout District Ten, and ordinary people could hardly find a way to buy one.

But Volunteers were different.

With official backing, it was perfectly natural for them to receive guns to improve their chances of survival.

The burly veteran player had never been a Volunteer in any group. Photos of every Volunteer had been made public, and Zhao Xun remembered them all.

So the shooter was probably the Short-Haired Woman.

Still, she could only have brought a very limited supply of ammunition aboard the Endless Train. She probably would not use her gun unless she had no other choice.

In other words, the Short-Haired Woman must have run out of options.

The question was whether a firearm could finish off the burly veteran player. After all, his special ability and special items were still unknown.

By the time he finished that thought, Zhao Xun had reached Sculpture.

He waved the few sheets of paper in his hand and told her, "This evidence is enough to prove Ruby's innocence. As early as tomorrow, everyone in town will know she was falsely accused."

"That's wonderful!" Sculpture was delighted.

She looked at Zhao Xun excitedly. "I never expected you to find the evidence so quickly. You're amazing!"

She felt both grateful to Zhao Xun and guilty.

She was grateful for all his efforts on Ruby's behalf, and grateful that he had kept his promise.

She felt guilty because, when Ruby had suspected Zhao Xun of having ulterior motives, she had not spoken up for him. She had even wavered and begun to doubt him herself.

It was the first time Sculpture had experienced such complicated emotions, and she felt an even greater warmth in her chest.

"It's too early to celebrate," Zhao Xun said, far calmer than Sculpture. "I'll try to make this evidence public before tomorrow morning. Until then, you need to keep Ruby safe."

Sculpture nodded solemnly. "Don't worry. I'll make sure Ruby stays safe."

Zhao Xun added, "You can only let Ruby appear in public again after I come back and tell you it's definitely safe outside. If anyone else comes to you, don't believe them, no matter what they say."

In case another player's task conflicted with his, it could not hurt to warn Sculpture to stay on guard.

"All right. I'll remember." Sculpture earnestly promised, "I only trust you!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Sculpture seemed to remember something. She told Zhao Xun, "Oh, right. Someone else came here tonight."

"Who?" Zhao Xun immediately asked. "When did he come?"

"Not long after you went to the Duke's study. A young man, not very tall..." Sculpture racked her brain for a while before finally finding the right description. "Oh, right! The person who was with you when we first met."

Zhao Xun narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was Shen Yalong.

It seemed that although the boy was timid, he was not entirely brainless.

He must have sensed something strange about Zhao Xun sending him away, then found a chance to come back and take another look.

"Did you talk to him?" Zhao Xun asked Sculpture.

"No." Sculpture shook her head repeatedly. "He leaned in front of me and looked at me for a long time, but I managed not to move. I didn't even blink!"

She sounded rather proud of that last part.

Zhao Xun catching her blinking before had been purely an accident.

The moonlight had suddenly emerged from behind the clouds and shone on her face. She had not adjusted to the abrupt change in light and had blinked instinctively.

Normally, as long as she did not want to be discovered, she could convincingly pretend to be an ordinary sculpture.

"You're impressive." Zhao Xun obligingly praised Sculpture, then asked, "Did he do anything else?"

"He walked around me several times, but he didn't find anything unusual, so he left," Sculpture answered.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Xun asked again, "Did he say anything? Talking to himself counts too."

"He did talk to himself," Sculpture said as she recalled it. "Mostly about how he couldn't see anything strange here, and why you'd sent him away. Things like that."

Zhao Xun relaxed.

Judging by Shen Yalong's behavior, he probably had not triggered the Hidden Mission.

Perhaps Sculpture's lack of movement had prevented Shen Yalong from noticing that she was different from an ordinary sculpture, so the Hidden Mission had not triggered.

Or perhaps, once one player triggered the Hidden Mission, no other player could trigger it again.

Hmm, I can't be sure of the exact reason yet.

Still, as long as Shen Yalong had not triggered the Hidden Mission, he would not affect Zhao Xun's plans.

"In any case, remember what I told you." Zhao Xun emphasized it once more, then added as a precaution, "I've been staying at Xiao Ai's house lately-she's the daughter of the couple who were murdered a month ago. If an unexpected emergency comes up, you and Ruby can both find me there."

Well, please send some votes my way~ Any kind of vote will do~