"Didn't you all take away his [ Cornerstone ]? A peacock that's been plucked can't fly."
"But I've also heard that the ten elites in the Strategic Investment Department are extremely united, standing together for the company's interests."
After finishing speaking on Sunday, he glanced in Blake's direction and saw an appreciative expression on the other's face, indicating that Blake's guess was probably correct.
"You could make your point more clearly."
"Does the [ Cornerstone ] presented by Mr. Aventurine truly belong to him?" Sunday asked the most crucial question.
Dr. Ratio sneered, "You doubt he'd entrust someone else's Cornerstone to you? You overestimate the unity of the Ten Stonehearts —that thing is more important than their lives."
"But you also know he's a crazy gambler. The more flamboyant he is, the more careful you need to be."
Upon hearing this, Dr. Ratio showed a rather surprised expression.
"I never thought anyone would think like him. Honestly, you'd better see a therapist."
" The Church has a current prayer pastor; should I call her over?"
"It was suggested by a concerned citizen Blake."
"I regret to decline."
"Give it to me... The box containing the Cornerstone is specially made; no one except the company's top executives and related personnel can open it... but I happen to be among them."
Under Sunday's watchful gaze, Dr. Ratio casually opened the box on the table and saw the golden Cornerstone.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Sunday, you guessed right."
"Ah... the golden stone, its color is exactly the same as the radiance of the Corpse of Qlipoth."
"Ugh, so vulgar," Blake commented. "That guy [ Diamond ] is so stingy, isn't he willing to give me a little more power?"
"This is exactly the excuse he's going to use to deceive you. He won't tell you: the Ten Stonehearts must carve the Cornerstone with their own will, allowing it to shine with unique brilliance."
"This stone belongs to the Topaz, and its other name is [topaz] -- not [ Aventurine ]."
Dr. Ratio looked at Sunday, "So, do you want to confront him?"
Sunday shook his head; he wasn't concerned with the golden Cornerstone: "No need for that now. I'm more interested in knowing where his own Cornerstone is."
"The safest place, a place you would never expect. Because he never intended to hide it... From the very beginning, that Cornerstone was already in your hands."
Both of them looked at the suitcase under the conference table at the same time.
If it weren't for Dr. Ratio's reminder, I wouldn't have thought of searching my luggage on Sunday.
"I see. This duffel bag... hiding Cornerstone more precious than life among a pile of cheap jewels, disguised as cash to be seized, does indeed fit that Mr. Aventurine's style."
"Then he'll make up some excuse, downplaying the real issue, to get your money back. It's a gamble, one he knows all too well; he's betting that one wrong move and you'll lose everything," Dr. Ratio continued.
"Learned professor, thank you for your help. As for the scoundrel... may he step back and suffer humiliation."
After seeing Dr. Ratio off, Blake casually picked up a Cornerstone and examined it closely.
Hmm... I've got an idea. In the future, we can give each Church resident an [ Eternity ] Holy Stone, which can steadily increase their physical strength.
A few hours later, a voice pulled Aventurine back to reality.
"You should wake up, gambler."
"Oh my god, I must have drunk too much SoulGlad... I didn't expect you to be back so quickly. So... did you find anything?"
Aventurine's tone was slightly weary, and Dr. Ratio's gaze fell on the clean bottle of milk tea on the bar.
"There's no alcohol in SoulGlad, let alone in this milk tea."
"Okay... this milk tea has a really strong aftereffect; it made me recall some past events, and it's quite upsetting."
Dr. Ratio stopped dwelling on the milk tea and got straight to the point:
Just as you guessed: nobody outside knows the Robin has been murdered, not even a single unfounded rumor. The TV is still broadcasting her ceremony rehearsal—probably a stand-in, everyone's dreaming.
"Of course. Who could have imagined that death would truly befall the beautiful dream constructed by the Family, especially since the victim was the leading lady of the [ Charmony Festival ]..."
Aventurine wasn't surprised to hear this and carefully put the milk tea cup away.
"To be honest, I didn't believe it before, and even tried it myself a few times—until I discovered that I really couldn't die. Whenever there's danger, I'm forcibly awakened by the [ Dream Pool ], as if I'd just had a nightmare."
That's why I'm convinced there's a bigger secret behind this.
"Then you should have heard of that Memory Zone Meme —when I went to the Oak Family to pull some strings for you, they were in a complete mess."
"The only dead Robin; I heard a stowaway also disappeared along with them."
Aventurine recalled Xing's reaction in the public rest area earlier, and it was very strange; she must have stumbled upon the scene where the stowaway disappeared...
"This killer is a complete madman... but I must say, the murder case is a great breakthrough; we can accuse the Family of dereliction of duty and use that as a pretext to get the company involved."
"But their methods are far more ruthless than I imagined; they even prepared Robin's double... This case will definitely be suppressed."
"What should I do? Let me think... This is a rare opportunity, and I can't afford to miss it. I have to be very careful..."
"Wow, you're something else, gambler. You're out of options again so quickly? Did you get that milk tea for free?"
Aventurine sighed, "Professor... I didn't feel much of an increase in power after drinking that milk tea. The item that sealed the [ Emanator's ] power was that crystal."
As his biggest bargaining chip at the moment, it certainly cannot be used casually.
This was the only bargaining chip that could get a figure Emanator rank to sit at the table. Where did that Nameless lady get such a rare item? Aventurine was increasingly Curiosity.
The Church of Eternity? It doesn't seem like it; the Chair likes to play with soap but doesn't like to drink milk tea.
"There are plenty of chips, but we have to be selective. The most straightforward one... has to be the Robin. Remember, the Masked Fools told me to find a mute as a friend."
" The Robin is what she calls a 'mute,' because dead people don't speak."
Aventurine fully trusted this first piece of advice; whether the Robin under his nose.
Dr. Ratio's lips twitched slightly. This guy had completely ignored the last two hints given by the Fool in the [ Tavern ].
In his view, seeking help from the Church would be much more efficient than playing detective games here. Unfortunately, the incident a while ago had put the relationship between the company and the Church in a very awkward position.
"A complete loss... The Robin's death conveniently landed you on the interrogation table."
"There are eyewitnesses at the scene, and the Family will tentatively believe your alibi, but from now on... you'll probably have to spend your time under the watchful eyes of hunting dogs."