A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 1231

Chapter 1231: Chapter 834: There is Only One Truth! (Many Smart Appliances are Actually Dumb Appliances) Chapter 1231: Chapter 834: There is Only One Truth! (Many Smart Appliances are Actually Dumb Appliances) “So starting today, she'll be living at the office?”

Looking at Li Shi following behind Duanmu Ai, Lumiaire curiously tilted her head, while Duanmu simply shrugged.

“That's right, I've discussed it with her agency. Until we find that killer, she'll just stay here temporarily.”

In fact, Duanmu could understand Li Shi's concerns. If the killer could make it all the way to her apartment and knock on her front door, that was a major issue. That apartment building had tight security, and it was impossible for outsiders to get in, but somehow the other party had managed to enter without being detected, which was clearly problematic.

For Li Shi, this was obviously terrifying–the whole point of living there was for safety, yet it had become unsafe.

What if she got kidnapped again?

Duanmu couldn't guarantee that this wouldn't happen, so after hearing Li Shi's request, she quickly thought of a solution.

Why not rent out a room in her own office to Li Shi?

Although Duanmu wasn't too particular, she still had standards for where she lived. Her office was in a three-story building: a seemingly shuttered cafe on the first floor, the office on the second, and the living spaces on the third. Since only Duanmu and Lumiaire used them, there were several vacant rooms.

Of course, such places generally came with some risks, but Duanmu wasn't afraid. In fact, the first floor, which appeared to be a closed cafe, was actually a gathering place for the Electronic Demon. The nearby Electronic Demons enjoyed themselves downstairs daily and also took on the responsibility of guarding Duanmu's door.

From this perspective, Duanmu's office was safer than the local government or the Prime Minister's Official Residence.

So Duanmu and Li Shi discussed it briefly and decided to let her move into the third-floor office, just picking any room to rent. Although the room was definitely smaller than her apartment, it had the necessary amenities and security. Hearing Duanmu's suggestion, Li Shi's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously, and that settled it.

Then the two returned to the apartment to pack up some belongings and later went to the office.

“Well, we do have enough vacant rooms…”

While saying this, Lumiaire handed over a key.

“Take this one.”

“I'll go tidy up my stuff first!”

Li Shi took the key and eagerly hopped upstairs with her luggage while Duanmu yawned and then sat next to Lumiaire.

“Was it tough? Any clues?”

“Um… I haven't found a connection between Li Shi and Shanye Anchor yet.”

“Yes, I asked too, and she said she doesn't know any Shanye Anchor.”

Duanmu frowned as she said this. She had initially thought that the victims of the serial killings were all related to the first victim, Shanye Anchor, but after asking Li Shi, the latter stated she had never met Shanye Anchor–Though as an idol, she was interviewed frequently, Li Shi would not have forgotten if Shanye Anchor had interviewed her.

“Not just Miss Li Shi, but the last victim also had no connection to Shanye Anchor.”

“That's troublesome. Is there really no commonality?”

“Well, there is one–they've all appeared on television.”

“Ha… What?”

Stunned, Duanmu paused.

“What do you mean?”

“That's what I mean, I investigated all the victims and discovered their only commonality was appearing on television, like…”

While speaking, Lumiaire opened a video showing Shanye Anchor being interviewed about an alleged affair with a politician.

“The next one is the second victim, who was interviewed as the first to discover Shanye Anchor's body.”

Quickly, another video opened, showing a uniformed woman describing to the camera how she initially discovered the body. Of course, the student was pixelated and her voice altered, but since Lumiaire was confident, it must be accurate.

“What about the third one? The… man?”

Duanmu wasn't keen on remembering the steamy bathroom and the figure in a jockstrap.

“Right here.”

Lumiaire opened a third video, which was evening news footage about delinquent teens disturbing the peace at night with their cars, and a blonde, angry young man running up and swearing at the reporter. It was probably him.

“Is it him?”

“Yes. As for Miss Li Shi, I guess I don't need to say more.”

“That's true, for an idol like her, not appearing on TV would be the news.”

Having heard Lumiaire's explanation, Duanmu rolled her eyes.

“So what now? There are so many people on TV every day; we can't possibly search one by one!”

“What about limiting it to this city?”

“That wouldn't help either… Really bothersome, I might as well go back to Subspace and see if I can find any clues there.”

Although a common ground was found, it was barely different from having no common ground at all.

“Right.”

After reviewing all this, Duanmu Ai then remembered.

“What about those guys from the Gang of Thieves?”

“Oh, the Great Judge isn't aware yet, but they are already dead.”

“Dead? How did that happen?”

It was undeniable, hearing Lumiaire's response startled Duanmu Ai as well; she had found it odd that the Gang of Thieves hadn't been causing any trouble these days but to think they were already dead?

“Yes, according to the conclusions of my investigation, one of the Gang of Thieves, Yoshikawa Yuki, died at home. At that time, Yugong Lian and Sakamoto Ryuji were there and were taken to the police station for questioning under suspicion of murder. During this period, Sakamoto Ryuji committed suicide, and Yugong Lian, due to mental health reasons, was hospitalized and later unfortunately fell from a building and died.”

“…What the hell is all this?”

Having listened to Lumiaire's report, Duanmu Ai was in disbelief. She had been thinking of biding her time for a bigger catch, but then the line had broken on its own?

And how had it broken?

Never mind, perhaps they had encountered something untouchable in the Subspace and ended up perishing.

Although she initially was greatly shocked by the death of the three, on second thought, Duanmu Ai didn't feel too surprised considering that many had died exploring the Subspace; these few were no exception.

“By the way, what about Takemaki Ann?”

“She seems quite normal, nothing unusual about her behavior.”

“I see.”

Though she didn't know what was up with Takemaki Ann, it seemed like she had escaped her suffering.

Well, good for her.

For specifics, it might be best to ask her when she goes to school.

On the first night back at the office, nothing particularly notable caught Duanmu Ai's attention. However, Li Shi was ecstatic, unable to calm down despite just having returned from the Subspace, she insisted Duanmu Ai show her around their room and fell asleep halfway through from exhaustion…Well, let her sleep.

The next morning when Duanmu Ai woke up, she was informed by Lumiaire that Li Shi had already gone to work in her agent's car.

It seems being an idol really is tough, even starting earlier than school.

For Duanmu Ai, returning to school didn't bring any notable changes, except for the desks of Yugong Lian and Sakamoto Ryuji being cleared out. However, for the other students, these two seemed not to matter much. Duanmu Ai talked with them a bit and found that they all believed those two had gotten into trouble and been caught. Given that Yugong Lian's violent past was widely known before his transfer, and the incident where Sakamoto Ryuji violently attacked Takemaki Ann, being witnessed by many, the absence of these two had largely been a relief for most classmates.

“Ah, Duanmu…”
Seeing Duanmu Ai appear, the previously despondent Takemaki Ann sighed.

“What's wrong? Are you alright?”

“I…no, it's nothing, just minor things…”
Takemaki Ann said, shaking her head. Following these events, she indeed felt some regret. Maybe if she had not left the Gang of Thieves initially, things would not have turned out this way. But unfortunately, it was too late to say this now, and she didn't think Sakamoto Ryuji and Yugong Lian would have committed suicide, but the evidence was conclusive, and she had no right to argue…

“Although I don't know what's on your mind, I think you should try to move on.”

Duanmu Ai reached out, patting Takemaki Ann's shoulder.

“After all, you still have your life, theirs might have ended, but yours continues, doesn't it?”

“Thanks…”
Hearing Duanmu Ai's comforting words, Takemaki Ann raised her head and revealed a smile.

Meanwhile, another scrawny boy in the class watched this scene, his eyes blazing with intense fire. He glared fiercely at Duanmu Ai, clenching his teeth.

This boy was none other than Mishima Yuuki–he had formerly been part of the volleyball club, and suffered bullying from a teacher. But with the emergence of the Gang of Thieves, his nightmare had ended, and Mishima Yuuki came to admire them deeply. He even created a discussion website about the Gang of Thieves, specifically for talking about their activities.

Although Yuggong Lian and Sakamoto Ryuji hadn't directly explained to Mishima Yuuki, he knew they were part of the Gang of Thieves. And because of that, he also knew Yugong Lian and others had secretly investigated Duanmu Ai, which subsequently led them to be caught and killed.

Yes, in Mishima Yuuki's eyes, they were murdered!

Murdered by Duanmu Ai!

He was certain that this ruthless woman had discovered the Gang of Thieves' movements, and deliberately used filthy tricks to frame and imprison them before killing them!

With these thoughts, Mishima Yuuki clenched his fists, teeth gritted tightly.

I won't give up that easily; I must avenge the Gang of Thieves. The Gang of Thieves helped me once, now it's my turn to help them!

Your conspiracy will not succeed–the truth will always be singular!

Staring at Duanmu Ai's figure, Mishima Yuuki made up his mind.

Chapter end

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