Only a single desk lamp was lit on the desk.
The light concentrated in the center of the tabletop, casting sharp angles on Yue Shi's lowered face.
He looked like a pale ghost.
A tablet lay open on the desk, Yue Shi's fingers sliding slowly across the screen.
Lists of personal information with clear ID photos scrolled by.
Some photos had already been marked with digital red crosses.
If a local from Cuifeng City were here, they would certainly recognize the people in these photos as prominent figures in the city.
Including business celebrities, political associates, and even relatives of high-ranking officials in the local Investigation Bureau.
“Wow, three massacres in one night. Truly a case of moral decay and declining standards.”
“As expected, those who dare to offend you won't come to a good end.”
Ghost's head phased through the desk from below, his voice particularly mocking.
The list in Yue Shi's hand was something Ghost had unearthed and compiled after hacking into the local network.
Those honored enough to be selected for this list were the “lucky ones.”
There were responsible parties from the local pillar industry, Silverwing Technology Group.
They had previously passed off inferior products as high-quality, selling low-grade robots to Yue Shi.
There were also several “white gloves” and “black gloves” who had deep connections with the high-ranking officials of the Cuifeng City Investigation Bureau.
“I didn't lift a finger to kill them.”
“The killer behind these massacres is someone else.”
Yue Shi's tone was flat and emotionless as his fingertip swiped across another photo on the list.
“That's true. You've been a shut-in these past few days.”
“Lately, violent cases in this city have surged. The crime rate is a bit abnormally high.”
“Robberies, homicides, kidnappings, massacres—they're happening almost every day.”
Ghost leaned in closer, testing the waters. “But I still feel like these things can't be separated from you.”
Yue Shi finally looked up at Ghost, his gaze innocent.
“We're inseparable every day. You should know exactly what I've been doing.”
“How can you slander an innocent man out of thin air?”
Ghost was slightly taken aback.
Admittedly, Yue Shi's current appearance was quite convincing.
Mainly because his character model was too good; even without any acting, everything he said seemed reasonable because of his looks.
If Ghost hadn't known his true nature long ago, he might have actually believed he was being framed.
Ghost thought about it carefully. Ever since arriving in Cuifeng City, Yue Shi had indeed behaved uncharacteristically, staying indoors and keeping a low profile.
Most of the time, Yue Shi stayed at this temporary foothold, behaving so well it didn't seem like him.
On the surface, he really hadn't done anything out of line.
But to say Yue Shi was innocent?
Ghost wouldn't believe a single word of it.
“Be that as it may, the abnormal spike in Cuifeng City's crime rate did indeed start the day you arrived,” Ghost insisted.
As the saying goes, when a child is quiet, they must be up to no good.
For someone who takes pleasure in doing evil to suddenly become law-abiding, he must be brewing something big!
It was absolutely impossible that he wanted to turn over a new leaf.
Hearing this, Yue Shi tilted his head slightly, a helpless and overly dramatic expression on his face.
“If you're going to put it that way, then I don't know what to say.”
“I'm defenseless against such accusations.”
Seeing his pretentious manner, Ghost was immediately one hundred percent certain that Yue Shi was definitely doing something in the shadows.
And his methods this time were extremely covert; Ghost hadn't noticed a thing.
A subtle chill crept into his heart.
“Besides collecting this list, is there anything else you need me to do?”
Ghost quickly changed the subject, suppressing the unease in his heart and trying to show his value.
He and Yue Shi usually went everywhere together, but this time, Yue Shi had completely bypassed him to stir up trouble silently.
This gave him a sense of urgency.
To put it bluntly, Ghost was afraid of losing his value.
Once he became useless to Yue Shi, given Yue Shi's unpredictable personality...
He feared he would be treated like trash and disposed of at will.
In fact, Ghost's worries were somewhat redundant.
As long as he didn't show malice or betrayal toward Yue Shi, Yue Shi would keep him around.
After all, this unique information lifeform could barely be considered an interesting collectible.
“I heard the Radiant Church has a base in this city.”
“Keep an eye on their movements.”
Yue Shi's attention returned to the tablet, his finger tapping the screen to bring up new information.
“Understood.”
Ghost didn't ask why he was looking for this mysterious religious organization.
He understood Yue Shi less and less now.
Then, Ghost brought up another matter.
“Headquarters has been making big moves lately, acting very decisively.”
“Many private transcendent organizations across various regions have been absorbed by headquarters through various means.”
“Even some Chaos Zones outside the cities, which have long been in a state of disorder, have been forcibly purged and had order re-established.”
“The Radiant Church is a relatively large religious organization, but their followers' movements have always been secretive, and they aren't usually that flashy.”
“Since headquarters' current style is so aggressive, do you think they'll move against the Church in the future?”
“They will,” Yue Shi affirmed without the slightest hesitation.
“The Chaos Zones and various private organizations have existed for many years. Headquarters used to mostly adopt an attitude of monitoring and limited cooperation, but now they're suddenly making such a big fuss.”
“Either headquarters has made a breakthrough in terms of power and possesses absolute suppressive force.”
“Or they've had a major technological innovation that allows them to control and eliminate unstable factors more effectively.”
“Otherwise, those arrogant private organizations and the desperadoes in the Chaos Zones wouldn't be so easy to talk to and wouldn't just submissively surrender to headquarters.”
Ghost's eyes flickered.
“Then aren't you in a lot of danger?”
“Headquarters is clearly consolidating power and resources right now, even going after a tough nut like the Chaos Zones.”
“A major wanted fugitive like you... once headquarters has a free hand, they definitely won't let you off.”
The corners of Yue Shi's lips curled up into a smile that seemed somewhat enchanting.
“So, I have to strike first.”
“Who won't let who off... that remains to be seen.”
Rate on N.U.
