"You..." Lagos said through gritted teeth, his face full of resentment.
Before he could speak, Xiao Jin immediately interjected, "We accept your conditions. I personally believe the assassination has nothing to do with you; it was a conspiracy to provoke conflict between the two sides."
The higher-ups tacitly approved, as the situation was beyond their control. Black Phantom was even stronger than rumored, easily taking down the headquarters' experts without even using his renowned Sniping. These people were no weaklings, but they were not on the same level as Black Phantom.
Just then, reinforcements finally arrived. Xiao Jin immediately ordered the soldiers to put away their weapons, spreading his hands to show their sincerity.
Seeing this, Han Xiao also put away his weapon and walked towards his residence. A passage was revealed in the crowd, and everyone was extremely tense.
Xiao Jin glanced at Lagos indifferently, then turned and ordered, "Clean up the scene!"
Lagos's eyes were practically spitting fire. A high-ranking member of his Main Family Faction reached out to help him up, but he shoved him away.
"He instinctively killed us, but he insists he's not the killer and should be reliable," Saqi whispered.
"Naive!" Lagos said coldly. "If he kills us, all forces in Overmela will be locked in a life-or-death Dark Net Organization. He's just putting on a show to clear his name!"
Upon returning to my residence, a notification appeared on the control panel.
[You have triggered an emergency mission [The True Culprit]]
[Mission Description: You have been caught up in a conspiracy, framed, and used as a pawn.]
[Task Requirements: Identify the True Culprit and complete the task. You only have one chance.]
[Reward: 1 random skill or feat]
Han Xiao's eyes flashed. "It's a puzzle-solving task, with only one chance to complete it."
There are many types of tasks, with puzzle-solving being a common one. Some tasks require players to act as detectives and collect clues, while other times clues are automatically provided, but they are often vague, leaving the player to make the final Choice.
After waiting for a long time without any new instructions, Han Xiao guessed that this mission belonged to the latter category. Considering Overmela's wariness of him, he probably wouldn't be able to get any clues.
"It's best to wait and see," Han Xiao thought to himself.
At the same time, the Bamboo Rain Guild triggered a different kind of quest.
"[The Upheaval in Overmela]: The head of Overmela has been brutally murdered, and the Black Phantom, who unexpectedly visits the area, becomes the prime suspect. However, he claims he is not the murderer and uses force to suppress dissenting voices. Although Overmela outwardly submits, some factions remain convinced that the Black Phantom is the killer. What secrets lie behind this?"
"There are five factions to choose from: Black Phantom, Main Family Faction, Xiao Faction, Red Isle Faction, and Northern Faction. Once a faction is chosen, it cannot be changed."
Rewards: Depending on contributions to different positions and the final result, a certain reward will be given, with a basic reward of 50,000 experience points!
Bamboo Rain Little Fei exclaimed, "At least 50,000 experience points!"
Fifty thousand experience points is a huge number for them; indeed, there are benefits wherever there are Black Phantom.
Which faction have you chosen?
"Black Phantom, I guess."
Me too.
The crowd echoed each other's sentiments. They knew nothing about Overmela, and Han Xiao had just annihilated Overmela's armed forces, so it was clear that following Han Xiao was the most reliable option.
Players from the Bamboo Rain Guild approached Han Xiao, expressing their desire to help.
Han Xiao was somewhat surprised. After thinking for a moment, he guessed that these players had received different missions. Their identities were different, and the requirements for triggering the missions were also different. Generally, missions would be triggered within the area where an event occurred.
"Then follow me for now."
In a corner, two people are having a conversation.
"Without provoking direct conflict, the seeds of conflict were sown in vain."
"Intelligence says that Black Phantom is bloodthirsty, but this time he actually showed mercy. It was a miscalculation."
"Fortunately, all the clues have been destroyed. As long as the truth cannot be found, Black Phantom will always be the prime suspect."
The next day, the Main Family Faction arranged a hasty funeral for Delo. In the following days, the atmosphere inside Overmela became increasingly tense and turbulent. Everyone seemed very busy, walking hurriedly, and the occasional glances exchanged between them were filled with unclear meaning.
Instead, Han Xiao became invisible, as if all factions had forgotten that he was still there. Apart from being monitored 24 hours a day, no one came to contact him.
Han Xiao sent players from the Bamboo Rain Guild to inquire about the situation, while he remained in his room, calm and collected. He had expected this to happen.
He's an outsider, and the prime suspect. Overmela isn't confident she can deal with him right now, so she can only handle him coldly. Even if Han Xiao wants to find clues, none of the factions will reveal anything. All she can do is wait.
But the wait was not meaningless; the factions began their own investigations and calculations.
Han Xiao pondered. Delo's death was very coincidental and suspicious. What would be the point of framing him for killing Delo? First, it would incite hatred between Overmela and the Dark Net Organization, in which case a third party would likely benefit.
Secondly, perhaps there was another purpose in killing Delo, and he himself might just be used as a convenient excuse. Given his status and strength, it was indeed an easy reason to frame someone and shift the blame. If the True Culprit framed someone to hide himself, then the identity of the True Culprit would likely be someone who could easily be seen as a beneficiary... Thinking about it this way, it seems that only factions outside of the Overmela Main Family Faction are most likely to be involved.
Han Xiao still remembered that the internal divisions within Overmela were very serious, and killing Delo was very likely an attempt to seize power and shift the blame onto him.
However, if we return to the first possibility, where the True Culprit is still a third party, it seems to explain the second possibility as well—inciting conflict Main Family Faction and other factions, causing Overmela to fall apart internally.
"Sigh, I don't want to think about it anymore." Han Xiao rubbed his temples.
Regardless of who the True Culprit is, he is invincible. As long as he remains inactive, it will only be the True Culprit who gets anxious. This mission cannot be long-term. The effects of Delo's death will appear in a short time, and then someone will inevitably slip up.
Inside a mansion, the high-ranking members of the Main Family Faction gathered together, and the atmosphere was very serious.
"The boss is dead, so who's in charge now?" said a burly man, Todd, Delo's younger brother.
"Me," Lagos said coldly.
Todd gave a forced smile. "Lagos, this isn't appropriate."
"What do you mean?" Lagos frowned.
"You should call me uncle," Todd emphasized. "My brother died a violent death. We're all family, and according to seniority, I should be in charge for now."
"Hmph, Father has only been dead for a few days, and you already want to seize power? Aren't you being a bit too hasty?"
Lagos said sarcastically, "Don't blame me for not warning you. Without Father's restraint, Xiao Jin and Saqi are harboring their own schemes. The position of the leader is vacant, and who knows what they'll do to seize control. Don't be fooled by their lamentation at Father's death at the funeral; they're probably secretly overjoyed."
Todd chuckled. "Don't put it so harshly. I was just worried that your lack of experience might lead to some mistakes. Since you think you're capable, then you can take charge. I won't compete with you. Tell me, what are you planning to do next?"
Lagos snorted, too lazy to investigate Todd's tone, and said, "The most urgent matter is to find out who killed Father."
Todd frowned. He felt the most important thing was to suppress the ambitions of other factions and regain control of Overmela, but it wasn't appropriate to express this idea in front of the higher-ups in his Main Family Faction. So he simply followed the lead and asked, "Any clues?"
Lagos's face was icy. "Black Phantom is the prime suspect. Not a single word he utters can be trusted. I've already contacted some people to gather the strongest assassins and mercenaries. Once they arrive, there's no need for pretense; just capture Black Phantom and interrogate him. I've spent a fortune this time; the people I've hired are renowned experts!"
"Maybe it really wasn't Black Phantom who did it," someone whispered.
Lagos glared at him and said coldly, "Then it must be Xiao Jin. That bastard is ambitious. He's been subservient to my father for so many years, he must be resentful. By the way, I heard that Black Phantom stayed at Xiao Jin's mansion for an hour on the night of the incident. Maybe Xiao Jin hired Black Phantom Black Phantom for a lot of money to assassinate my father, and then they colluded to put on a show."
Everyone was startled.