Chapter 110: Sudden Mishap

Based on what Yan Jing knew so far:

Meng Shuangsheng had mentioned that Madam Yu, the leader of Dandelion Manor, hadn't shown her face in years.

According to Shen Youran's files, the mayor of Sleepland hadn't appeared before players in the last two years either.

The leader of Mad Amusement Park, Mr. Three, had left about three years ago.

And now, the First Ward Chief of Solitude Lane had been added to the list.

One or two absences might be a coincidence, but with so many major figures disappearing at once, that excuse was wearing thin.

One thing was certain: something must have happened two or three years ago to create this situation.

"Alright then, esteemed guests, please enjoy the food to your heart's content. We have other matters to discuss first."

Giant Mouth called for Meng Shuangsheng of Sleepland and the two newly arrived managers of Dandelion Manor, leading them out of the main reception hall.

Clearly, the announcements were over. All that was left was the haggling and the division of profits.

But right at that moment, an agonized scream tore through the main reception hall.

The crowd looked toward the front. A short-haired girl in a white robe was slumped over the main table. Her face had turned blue, her pupils were dilated, and blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth.

The sight left everyone in the hall stunned.

The two Dandelion Manor managers immediately rushed to the girl. Fleshy sprouts erupted from their hands, tangling into tentacles as they began pumping life essence into her chest.

It didn't take long for them to pause. Withdrawing their tentacles in unison, they shook their heads.

The girl was already beyond saving.

Seeing this, the main reception hall instantly burst into an uproar. No one dared to touch their chopsticks.

Some of the weaker-stomached VIPs bent over the floor, frantically gagging themselves to throw up what they had just eaten.

Giant Mouth, who had been about to leave, stopped in its tracks. The eyes hovering above that massive, bloody maw darkened as it spat out a command:

"Investigate this!"

The furious roar echoed through the hall. Very quickly, a group of high-level personnel from Sun-Swallowing Tower arrived. They ran an Anomalous Energy Detection sweep over the dishes on everyone's tables, and before long, they pinpointed the cause of the girl's death.

A high-level manager ran to Giant Mouth's side, whispering into an ear located above the massive mouth.

Giant Mouth's gaze grew even gloomier.

"Announce it."

The manager hurried onto the stage, cleared his throat twice, and spoke.

"Please remain calm, everyone. According to our scans just now, we only found foreign contaminants mixed into a single dish on the main table. This contaminant appears to be a toxin, which is what killed the inner world resident."

"Sun-Swallowing Tower deeply regrets this incident. To apologize to our esteemed guests, we have decided to... Moreover, we guarantee a thorough investigation to find the..."

What followed was a barrage of tedious, long-winded pleasantries. No one at Yan Jing's table was listening anymore; they had all gone back to eating.

When the food at their table was first served, An Ze, Lu Miao, and Chen Nian had all scanned it. They were perfectly confident in what they were eating.

"Officer An, I'd like to ask you something."

Yan Jing spoke up.

"Go ahead, Mr. Yi Ji."

An Ze scooped up a spoonful of fried rice from the table, popped it into his mouth, and chewed a few times before letting out a disappointed sigh.

He had tasted Yan Jing's fried rice; compared to that, this was like dirt next to clouds.

"That Disguiser who framed me last time—how is the interrogation going? Is that something you can share?"

Yan Jing asked.

In truth, there were still a few lingering mysteries regarding the Disguiser incident.

One of them was why the Disguiser had become so overwhelmingly jealous of the Cameraman after learning of his existence.

He hadn't had the time or opportunity to figure it out back then, but after coming to Sun-Swallowing Tower, he finally connected the dots.

Most likely, desire was behind the Disguiser as well.

For someone as easily jealous as the Disguiser, desire only needed to make him fall in love with her, then pretend to have feelings for another man. That alone would be enough to make the Disguiser throw his life away for her.

Hearing this, An Ze clapped his hands in sudden realization.

"Ah, I really should have given you an update, Mr. Yi Ji, since you were the victim. I just got so busy later on that it slipped my mind."

Then, he lowered his voice.

"The interrogation hasn't gone well at all. The guy is a tough nut to crack; he refuses to answer most of our questions."

"The Bureau Chief seems very invested in his situation and checks in from time to time. Thinking about it now, he probably wants to use him to find a way to the outside world. But..."

He shook his head helplessly.

"We basically got nothing out of him."

At that, he suddenly seemed to remember something and tapped his forehead.

"Oh, right. We did get something out of him."

"The Bureau Chief said the guy had an item on him that was very similar to his own ability..."

An Ze explained the item's uses in detail before continuing.

"I have no idea where the Bureau Chief got his intel, but he told us to pry the guy's mouth open and find out where that item went. We ended up using quite a few psychological methods on him before he finally slipped up while in a daze. He confessed that he hadn't taken the item with him; he'd left it in Sleepland."

"But when the Bureau sent people to the location he gave us, they didn't find anything."

"And then, when he heard that news, he got so worked up he started crying. Don't you think that's strange, Mr. Yi Ji?"

Yan Jing nodded.

"It's strange. Incredibly strange."

Leaning close to An Ze's ear, he whispered, "Once the banquet is over, I'll teach you a method, Officer An. You can go back and give it a try—it might just work."

"But if he does talk, I'd like to know if it's possible for me to meet with him. I have a few things I need to ask."

An Ze looked puzzled, but he still nodded.

"No problem, Mr. Yi Ji. The boss has been having a real headache over his case lately, so if I talk to her, it shouldn't be an issue."

"Thank you, Officer An."

Yan Jing smiled and nodded.

While the group was busy eating, a few high-level managers from Sun-Swallowing Tower suddenly approached their table.

"Excuse me."

The speaker was an old acquaintance of Yan Jing's—the woman with a mouth on her chin, the one in charge of assigning jobs to the players.

Right now, she was looking at everyone at the table with a cold, piercing gaze.

"Sorry to interrupt, but there are a few things we need to look into."

"Mm."

Yan Jing nodded.

He already had a pretty good idea of what they were here for.

"Go ahead."

The woman spoke.

"Which one of you is Yi Ji?"

"That's me."

Yan Jing stood up and pointed to the White One work tag on his chest.

"Here's my work tag."

"That's a temp tag for a tourist!"

The woman said sternly. Clearly, she didn't want Yan Jing to have any more ties to Sun-Swallowing Tower.

"Alright then. What can I do for you?"

Yan Jing asked with a smile.

The woman took a deep breath before speaking slowly.

"According to our tests, the deceased Miss Yu Yu'er died because of a plate of fried rice on their table."

"And after looking into the matter carefully, we've determined that you and your companions were the ones who cooked that fried rice, Mr. Yi Ji."

"Because of that, we have reason to suspect that you are the murderer."

"Please come with us!"