Chen Sike's eyes trembled: "How is that possible?! I was right next to her at the time..."
Jian Yun chuckled, his gaze subtly turning dangerous: "Then may I ask, before Fan Mengqing died, where were you, and what were you doing?"
Chen Sike's face paled, his gaze darting around, but his tone remained stubborn: "I've told you so many times, we were doing our homework in her room, and then she..."
"Is that so?" Jian Yunxian leaned forward slightly, his long shadow enveloping the boy. "You were the only one present at the time. So, who do you think is the prime suspect in this case?"
The boy's breathing suddenly quickened: "I didn't!"
Jian Yunxian remained seated demurely on the sofa, smiling at him through her gold-rimmed glasses: "So what exactly are you doing? Are you really doing your homework?"
"What exactly do you mean?!" Chen Sike questioned, trembling. "What makes you so sure it was a homicide?! Are your forensic doctors just sitting around doing nothing? You know better than anyone whether I laid a hand on her or not!"
Jian Yunxian leaned back on the sofa, crossed her legs, and said calmly and gently, "The autopsy results proved that Fan Mengqing's hymen was intact and she did not suffer any violence before her death. Of course, we know this better than anyone else."
Chen Sike looked into his green eyes and seemed to be soothed, his emotions stabilizing slightly.
“You’ve protected her very well, knowing the boundaries of relationships before adulthood, respecting and cherishing her,” Jian Yunxian said gently. “So, after something like this happened, you must be more heartbroken than anyone else, right?”
Hearing this, Yi Heye rubbed the tip of his nose—before Jian Yunxian spoke, he had no idea that the two were a couple.
He has always been extremely insensitive to emotional matters, or perhaps he is too naive. In his eyes, walking is just walking, and doing homework is just doing homework. If the materials are not explicitly provided, he cannot make any deeper connections.
Just as he was wondering if Jian Yunxian was making things up, he saw Chen Sike's bloodshot eyes turn red again.
Then, the seventeen-year-old boy, his neck flushed, shed two tears of pain and resentment: "I watched her fall... I was terrified and immediately called an ambulance... but..."
Jian Yunxian looked at him patiently, then reached out and gently pulled him to sit down on the sofa: "I know you've done your best. Now all you have to do is tell us the truth, so we can give her the truth, right?"
Chen Sike could no longer control his emotions. He buried his face in his hands and began to sob softly.
Jian Yunxian spoke again, her gentle voice carrying a captivating allure:
"So, what exactly were you and Fan Mengqing doing back then?"
Chen Sike completely broke down and burst into tears:
"We were playing games...we were playing games in the room..."
Upon hearing this, Yi Heye, who had remained silent until now, finally revealed a slight smile—
Just as he had guessed.
Author's Note:
Mei: I'd like to get to know you better.
Wild Treasure: Get lost.
Mei Zong: You are very special to me.
Wild Treasure: Get lost.
Mei: I just bought a can of imported milk powder, but I can't find the owner.
Wild Treasure: I can!
————
There will be a second update.
Chapter 9, No. 009
Games, yes, games.
Even before seeing the information about the other deceased, Yi Heye had already made this connection—
The man who died after taking drugs at the bar had been to an arcade before his death. One of the deceased was a game tester, and high school students and shut-ins are also part of the target audience for games.
As it turns out, this was no coincidence.
Yi Heye stood up coldly, staring at the boy with a rather imposing gaze: "What game?"
Chen Sike looked up and saw those terrifying red eyes, and was so frightened that he choked: "N-nothing..."
Seeing the boy begin to tremble uncontrollably, Jian Yunxian quickly reached out and pressed Yi Heye back onto the sofa. Xiao Yunduo also swiftly snuggled into Chen Sike's arms, using her plump body to soothe the frightened boy.
The fat sheep nuzzled the boy's arm while baring its teeth at Yi Heye.
Yi Heye sank into the sofa in bewilderment, completely baffled as to why he was angry.
He, obediently silenced, watched helplessly as Jian Yunxian calmed the boy down and then asked the exact same question:
"Cisco, what game were you playing with Fan back then?"
Chen Sike's eyes darted away for a moment: "It's a VR game called 'LIFE'... lots of people are playing it..."
Jian Yunxian looked up at Yi Heye—according to the deceased's information, one of the projects that the game tester participated in before his death was this game, "LIFE".
Yi Heye tried to soften his tone: "Helmet?"
Chen Sike still didn't dare to speak, so Jian Yunxian translated, "Did Fan use a VR headset at the time? Is the headset still there?"
Chen Sike recovered and said tremblingly, "That helmet...it's mine...I brought it back after the accident."
After saying that, he stood up: "Wait a moment... I'll go get it..."
Watching the boy's retreating figure as he left the room, Yi Heye was even more puzzled—why couldn't he ask the exact same question?! Could it be that Jian Yunxian could hypnotize and brainwash humans?!
Thinking this, he became even more wary and cautious when looking at Jian Yunxian.
Jian Yunxian met his gaze, but not his emotions: "Sir, your eyes are so beautiful."
Yi Heye quickly turned his head away, his fist hardening again.
Chen Sike comes from a very well-off family.
His house was large and spacious, and the pure white decor made the already luxurious area appear even more expansive. Inside the living room, expensive massage chairs and meditation pods were readily available, while digital planters and electronic murals showcased the lifestyle of the wealthy.
This is Block B, an orderly, clean, and glamorous middle-class neighborhood.
Based on his property and income, Yi Heye could easily afford to live here, but for some unknown reason, he repeatedly refused the bureau's offer of a new house and always wandered alone in the crude and dark corners of District D.
When he came to his senses, Chen Sike, the rich man's son, had already returned to his room carrying a white helmet.
His expression was somewhat frightened, and he trembled as he handed the items to Jian Yunxian: "No...no, it couldn't have been my helmet that killed Xiaoqing, could it...?"
Jian Yunxian didn't give him an answer, but smiled at him gently, as if to comfort him, or as if to give him an answer. Her delicate emotions made Yi Heye feel ashamed.
Yi Heye was extremely annoyed—he was such a good actor; if it weren't for his professional competence, he might have been fooled as well.
The moment Jian Yunxian received the helmet, she handed it over to Yi Heye.
Yi Heye took the item and quickly inspected the data connector at the top of the device—this was the input terminal for connecting to the human brain-computer interface.
After a person undergoes craniotomy or subcutaneous injection of a brain-computer interface chip, a small hole is made in the head near the chip, and a brain-computer interface similar to a USB port is implanted to facilitate the connection of various data cables.
In order to control the prosthetic limb, Yi Heye had to make a small incision at the base of his right ear, but this did not stop him from hating the feeling of his brain being invaded, and also hating the foreign object feeling brought by the dust plug.
At the moment, Yi Heye discovered scorch marks at the top of the data connector that were almost invisible to the naked eye—marks that looked like those left by an electric current.
The trace was extremely small, yet it did not escape the hunter's microscope-like eyes.
Yi Heye took two photos, then calmly raised his helmet: "Investigation complete. Let's retreat."
He stood up under Chen Sike's shocked gaze and said emotionlessly, "The deceased died from electric shock, and the others will likely have suffered the same fate."
Behind him, Chen Sike's face turned deathly pale upon hearing this: "Was it...was it the helmet? Did my helmet kill Xiaoqing...?"
Yi Heye turned his head, looked at his expression, and frowned.
Yes, if you don't play the game, if you don't give her the helmet, she won't die.
The answer was actually quite simple, but Yi Heye glanced at the haggard-looking boy with bloodshot eyes, then looked away without saying a word.
He turned around, shutting the boy's tears behind the door, and quickened his pace to enter the elevator.
Just before the elevator doors closed, a short, black leg reached in to block them, and then Little Cloud's plump body squeezed in.
Seeing Jian Yunxian following leisurely behind him, Yi Heye realized that Xiao Yunduo was making such a big fuss to clear the way for her master.
Yi Heye frowned and looked at Jian Yunxian. At this moment, the man's expression was still calm and open, as if the delicate emotions just now were just a performance that would not end.
This is the disgusting thing about AI. Yi Heye irritably took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and held it without lighting it.
Jian Yunxian looked at him with a squinty eye and asked, "Aren't you going to investigate anymore?"
Yi Heye: "He died from a helmet, that's the truth, what's the point of investigating?"
Jian Yun chuckled and said, "You know what I'm asking."
Yi Heye knew, of course, that the case had only progressed to the most basic level so far, and the cause of death had been determined.
But deeper questions remain: Was it an accident or homicide? Was the selection of these individuals a coincidence or inevitable? Was the game they played connected to the case? If it was homicide, who was the killer, and what was their motive?
All of this remains to be seen.
Yi Heye irritably bit the cigarette in his mouth, the tobacco flavor creeping onto his tongue.
Yi Heye gently ground his teeth and said, "This is enough to prove that I am not the murderer."
As he said this, the image of Chen Sike's haggard and broken expression flashed through his mind, and the tobacco in his mouth suddenly tasted bitter.
Yi Heye, still frowning, threw the cigarette butt into the trash can: "I don't care about human affairs."
Seemingly sensing his unusual mood, Little Cloud took the initiative and rubbed against his trouser leg.
Yi Heye really doesn't like furry animals, but this time, he looked down and saw that Xiaoyunduo was looking at him with her bright, black bean-like eyes.
So, taking advantage of Jian Yunxian's inattention, he reached out and plucked a piece of its wool.
So soft. Yi Heye was greatly shocked.
Ultimately, he remained a cold-blooded hunter devoid of emotion. By the time he entered the parking garage, he had completely suppressed any budding emotions, leaving only the matter of hunting in his mind.
In front of the parking space, two small robots were diligently wiping Jian Yunxian's car. When they saw the car owner return, they played a cheerful song, "Wishing You Prosperity".
Yi Heye glanced at them out of professional habit, wanting to see if there was anything he could find fault with, but before he could get close, the little robots were frightened by his strong killing intent and scrambled to hide behind the pillars.
Jian Yunxian walked behind the pillar, put fifty yuan into each of the little robots' hands, and gently patted their heads as if to comfort them.
The little machine lit up with a cheerful blue light: "Thank you! Have a nice day!"
Yi Heye glanced back at him and heard the person behind him tease, "As a guardian, I've really sacrificed myself."