Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 158 - 78: Black on Black

Chapter 158: Chapter 78: Black on Black

"I came to the Yu Quan Baths with Mr. Mingyuan on our own dime to enjoy a vacation..."

"Stop with your recap of the previous episode."

Duan Mingyuan cut off Jiuyue’s behavior; only a quarter of an hour had passed since they left the house, and there was no need to be reminded of what had happened through a recap of the previous episode.

The reason they were so late was because they had to take care of Jiuyue’s tail, drying it off and then using a blow dryer.

After arriving at the scene, Duan Mingyuan finally understood what the service staff meant by "the person is gone"—it meant exactly what it sounded like: the customer in this cubicle had vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a pool of water stained red.

They had no choice but to confirm the identity of the deceased through the registration log.

As a scholar of Life Energy, Duan Mingyuan noticed that the victim had evaporated completely, not even leaving behind any Life Energy.

Lately, the killers they encountered were very efficient, not even giving victims a chance at the Resurrection match.

The first staff member of the bath who discovered the victim said that the victim had ordered a serving of grilled prawns. When the staff member brought over the plate, the victim was already gone, leaving behind only the pool now dyed red.

"The victim’s name was Polykovatos-Sai, Sai, in any case, one of the visitors who came to the Imperial Court with the Chamber of Commerce."

Jiuyue stared at the list for a good while but ultimately couldn’t remember the name of the Extraterrestrial.

"One of the deceased was called Li De, one of the fugitives on the run from the company, with a bounty of 73 million Bei. His partner was a rookie making his first appearance; his real name is unknown."

Clearly, there were differing opinions on the identity of the deceased, or it was a familiar face.

Having said that, the silver-haired girl flashed a formulaic smile at him and extended her right hand, "Nice to see you again, Mr. Mingyuan. I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself last time. I’m Cai Hui, an employee of the Cosmic Relations Coordination Department of Universe Company. After going back yesterday, I caught up on your many splendid deeds."

As she spoke, she didn’t forget to glance at the tall figure standing not far away.

The familiar pitch-black armor, and the face covered by the helmet.

In this long-awaited reunion, "Tian Yun" did not come over to talk, just silently guarded close by.

It seemed that after recovering the armor, the Cosmic Relations Coordination Department had found a new bearer for the name of Tian Yun.

Cai Hui in work mode seemed like a completely different person, calm and composed. Upon encountering Jiuyue, she merely glanced at her tail and then looked away without further interest, a far cry from the fan who had screamed wildly the day before.

"According to my studies, the method of death here seems somewhat similar to your ability."

According to intelligence collected by the company, those who die at the hands of Duan Mingyuan leave no corpse behind, not even Life Energy, instead, something inconspicuous left at the scene serves as a trace, and unless one witnesses the entire process, it’s impossible to know which item at the scene was the victim.

"Is this an accusation?"

"An accusation? Of course not. The victim was an infamous interstellar fugitive. Killing him would not result in charges, but rather a reward from the company."

That’s why she had stressed the bounty amount; to someone who was just recently bothered by overtime work, 73 million Bei was an astronomical sum, enough for Duan Mingyuan to squander for the rest of his life.

She went on to say, "Following procedure, after the body has been claimed, if we bring the half bottle of champagne that was beside the pool back to the company, the bounty could be paid out as soon as this afternoon."

"I’m not the killer, I’ve never seen him."

"I see."

Cai Hui pondered thoughtfully, "The train conductor with one eye mentioned that you are a realist and don’t intend to conceal murdering actions. However, in your last encounter with the members of Wangxu, they turned into goblets on the table."

Now, Li De and his accomplice had vanished without a trace, leaving only the half bottle of champagne and two goblets beside the pool.

Even the items left at the scene of the incident were so similar.

Cai Hui’s instinct told her that Duan Mingyuan was not lying, yet all the evidence left at the scene pointed toward him.

She persisted, "According to our intelligence, it’s very likely that Li De was the culprit behind the abduction of the Red Star Chamber of Commerce’s envoy. If it was indeed you who acted, the company wouldn’t make things difficult for you, but please disclose where the envoy was taken. This concerns more than just the relationship between Red Star and the Imperial Court; it concerns the safety of every person here."

"That’s also why we’re investigating this matter."

"You’ve also found out about Li De’s identity?"

Cai Hui was surprised; with the company’s network, they had worked overtime all through the night just to find out Li De’s identity.

"No, but we... have our ways."

In such circumstances, it was difficult for Duan Mingyuan to explain to Cai Hui the theory of "slacking off while enforcing the law," as that would make him appear even more like a killer who, caught off guard after a murder, could come up with nothing better than some hastily concocted excuse on the spot.

"Since you’ve found out about their identities, why didn’t you arrest them?"

Jiuyue demanded, able to testify that Mr. Mingyuan could not possibly be the killer.

Although if Mr. Mingyuan wished, he indeed could commit a locked-room murder case from a few cubicles away, it required absolute focus.

And she was quite certain that during the time they were in the cubicle, Mr. Mingyuan’s attention was on her and the mini sharks in the pool.

The shark swam around in the water for a while and then disappeared without a trace, which left her feeling lost for quite some time.

"When we discovered his whereabouts, he had already entered the baths. We were facing a criminal who had a 72 million Bei bounty on his head and who had escaped from the company’s pursuit many times. When he arrived, there were envoys from various planets in the bath, and acting rashly would have put all the guests in danger."

According to their original plan, they would have acted after Li De left the baths, but no one expected that this interstellar fugitive would be killed in the baths before they could act, leaving no body behind.

Moreover, this incident was much more complex than it appeared on the surface, so much so that she had to wonder if this was really just a terrorist act.

Why did Li De and his accomplice dare to take a vacation in a public place like the baths after abducting the envoy of the Red Star Chamber of Commerce?

From where did their confidence stem?

But now all clues were broken, and these questions had become mysteries.

"Let’s assume you’re telling the truth, that someone else has killed Li De and his confederate."

Cai Hui steadied herself, "That means right now, here in Yu Quan Baths, besides you, there is another person capable of killing Li De silently and efficiently, disposing of the bodies without leaving any trace."

What’s more, the company had no intelligence on this person at all.

"They had long intended to silence him."

Cai Hui concluded, "They called Li De here to kill him and shut him up."