Chapter 141: The Clue Provided by Ainansi
The days at Elegant Estate were rather dull. Although the estate was fully equipped with recreational facilities, with the owner missing, no one dared to have fun with great enthusiasm, lest they be thrown out.
After a day and night of waiting, Yama Xun finally brought news regarding the Romantic Killer investigation. According to the police, three years ago, a wealthy woman's lover had brutally murdered her and fled with a huge sum of money. His whereabouts remain unknown to this day, and he has yet to be brought to justice.
His whereabouts were unknown, which meant the lead had gone cold again.
"Esteemed heroes, allow me to introduce you. This is Miss Ainansi."
That day, Yama Xun came up accompanied by a beautiful woman with hair like a waterfall. "She is Miss Yali's secretary. During the days Miss Yali has been missing, we have relied on her to manage things at the company. Otherwise, news of Miss Yali's disappearance would have likely leaked long ago, causing a huge uproar."
Ainansi tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and nodded politely to everyone. "Hello."
"Hello, Miss Ainansi."
Bang opened his eyes for a glance before closing them again to rest. Puri-Puri Prisoner gave her a cursory, uninterested look before his gaze returned to staring at King's body. King observed her curiously for a moment, then went back to racking his brain, trying to recall the game character on the poster: western leather boots, a rose in his mouth... What was that character's name? The Gentleman? The Groom? The Suitor?
Superalloy Darkshine... hadn't said a word from the beginning. He faced the sunlight, striking a pose, waiting for the audience's praise.
Chain Toad and Gunman fiddled with their own weapons out of boredom, paying no mind.
Child Emperor, sucking on a lollipop, said in a muffled voice, "Mr. Yama Xun, could it be that Miss Ainansi knows a clue about Miss Yali's disappearance?"
Since Yama Xun had brought Ainansi here, it was surely not for no reason.
Yama Xun shook his head. "Miss Ainansi doesn't know the reason for Miss Yali's disappearance either. However, she has been Miss Yali's secretary for over two years and knows her very well, to the point where she can even imitate Miss Yali's handwriting. We've been relying on her imitation of Miss Yali's handwriting, along with the company seal, to deceive the corporation's employees and ensure the news of Miss Yali's disappearance doesn't leak. Therefore, I believe that with her familiarity with Miss Yali, she might be able to discover some clues in Miss Yali's room."
"Alright then, please, feel free."
Child Emperor licked his lollipop and walked away. He had already carefully inspected the room and found nothing suspicious.
Ainansi's beautiful eyes stared at the rose and the ring on the table. Her willow-like brows furrowed as she said, "Mr. Yama Xun, the Chairman may not have been taken by the Romantic Killer."
"Hmm? Miss Ainansi, why do you say that?" Yama Xun asked eagerly.
King suddenly blurted out, "The Suitor!" That's right, the game character was called The Suitor. Its moves were as romantic and magnificent as its name—exceptionally elegant and beautiful.
He finally remembered.
He nodded in satisfaction, then inexplicably felt the air had gone a bit quiet. He looked up at the others and found everyone staring intently at him. Puri-Puri Prisoner was even drooling.
Child Emperor's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "That's right, I get it! Uncle King is right! This rose and the ring might not have been left by the Romantic Killer, but was a gift from one of Miss Yali's suitors! It was just accidentally left on the table, and combined with Miss Yali's disappearance, it led us to think of the Romantic Killer. But in reality, perhaps just as we speculated before, the person who abducted Miss Yali wasn't the Romantic Killer, but someone else." He looked at King and said with a grin, "Uncle King, is my analysis correct? Speaking of which, Uncle King's reaction time and reasoning ability are amazing! You deduced the conclusion based on just one sentence from Miss Ainansi."
Bang calmly glanced at King. *I've known for a long time that King's reaction speed is monstrous!*
For some reason, Puri-Puri Prisoner was drooling even more.
Superalloy Darkshine continued to face the sun, flexing his muscles.
"..."
King looked completely baffled. *Don't ask me, I have no idea what you're talking about.*
He looked up and continued studying the game character poster on the wall.
Ainansi said with some excitement, "Yes, this rose and the ring was likely a gift from one of the Chairman's pursuers. During my two-plus years as the Chairman's secretary, I have handled more than a dozen roses and rings for her."
Child Emperor's young face turned serious. "Hmm, that explains why the M.O. is different from the Romantic Killer's past crimes—because it wasn't the Romantic Killer at all. However..." His tone shifted. "This is all just our speculation. We currently have no evidence to prove our theory. Therefore, our next step is to investigate whether anyone has recently proposed to Miss Yali and gifted her a rose and a ring."
Yama Xun immediately decided, "Let's leave that sort of thing to the police. They're well-suited for that kind of work." After speaking, he turned to Ainansi. "Miss Ainansi, thank you for the clue you've provided. If you're busy, you can return to the company for now. I'll notify you if there's any news."
"There's no need, Mr. Yama Xun," Ainansi said, embarrassed. "I imitated the Chairman's handwriting to sign a leave request for myself. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you here at Elegant Estate for the next few days. I hope you don't mind. I also want to do my part in finding the Chairman."
Yama Xun was slightly taken aback. "Alright then, I'll have someone prepare another room."
Bang, who had been idle for half the day, suddenly opened his eyes and asked, "By the way, Mr. Yama Xun, do you have a martial arts arena here?"
"A martial arts arena? I'm sorry, there isn't one in Elegant Estate." Yama Xun sighed lightly. "However, there is a boxing ring. Miss Yali loves playing games and boxing; she says it's a great way to vent her stress. Do you need it?"
"Yes," Bang kicked the statue-like Superalloy Darkshine and said leisurely, "Superalloy Darkshine, come with me and help this old man loosen up his bones. It's not like we're helping with the investigation anyway."
"Huh?" Superalloy Darkshine stared blankly for a few seconds, then immediately struck a pose showing off his biceps. "Silverfang, look at my muscles, filled with explosive power. Are you sure you want to fight me?"
"I'm sure."
"Hmph, in a moment, I'll let you see my perfect body."
King had no interest in the match between Bang and Superalloy Darkshine. Puri-Puri Prisoner was even less interested. Child Emperor was already lost in his deductions. Only Chain Toad and Gunman excitedly followed them to be spectators.
The police were quite efficient, managing to clarify the origin of the rose in just half a day.
It turned out the rose was indeed not left by the Romantic Killer. It was a gift from one of Yali's suitors who had proposed to her the day before. She had left it on the table, which led to everyone's misunderstanding.
As for information on the Romantic Killer, it was temporarily unimportant. The main question now was, since it wasn't the Romantic Killer who abducted Yali, what was the reason for her disappearance? Was she kidnapped by someone else, or was there another reason?
"Now, we only have one clue left. That is, Miss Yali drove toward the coastal area of Z City. As for where she went... it's currently unknown. For now, this is all we have to go on."
Child Emperor said in all seriousness, "We need to follow the route Miss Yali took before she disappeared to find new clues."
(end of chapter)