Chapter 82: The Gaze

The debate over whether it was a bomb or just her chest quickly came to an end.

Yan Jing steered the topic back on track.

"Based on what Old Liu saw, the waitress pulled out something resembling a bomb, and then he sensed a surge of Weird Energy."

"Right after that, the bomb went off."

Yan Jing's eyes were calm as he said, "First of all, there's a suspicious point here."

"Which is whether the surge of Weird Energy you felt was actively triggered by the waitress herself, or by someone else hiding in the distance."

"Do you remember, Old Liu?"

Hearing this, Old Master Liu furrowed his brow.

"I was a bit far away, and it all happened so suddenly. I didn't get a clear read on it..."

Chen Nian looked at Yan Jing.

"So, you think there's someone else behind this waitress."

Yan Jing nodded, sharing his previous speculations with the group.

"The residents of the Tower consider eating to be the entire meaning of their lives. Without outside interference, it's almost impossible for them to do something like blowing up the building."

Yan Jing said softly, "Rose once told me that if the Tower ceased to exist, they would end up either starving to death or being killed."

Chen Nian nodded.

"Then it's quite simple."

"We investigate the waitress's social connections and follow the trail to find any outsiders who recently came into contact with her."

He said flatly, "I'll go ask the Cleaning Department this afternoon to see what they think about the victim of the bombing."

"Because their main working area is the restrooms, they know a lot of the inside gossip among the staff."

Yan Jing nodded.

"Old Master Liu, you should also ask the other waitstaff if this waitress had been acting strangely lately."

"You got it."

Old Master Liu waved a large hand, gesturing for them to leave it to him.

"Next is the motive."

Yan Jing pointed at the stick figure in the center of the round table.

"Why did the person behind her want to bomb the Elder of Virtue Bridge?"

"Because the Elder of Virtue Bridge wanted to investigate the killer. This was a warning."

Old Master Liu answered without thinking.

It seemed like an obvious answer.

Yan Jing looked at Old Master Liu.

"But the result is that the Elder of Virtue Bridge didn't die, and the ones taking over the investigation are the much stronger Sleepland and Dandelion Manor. Moreover, rumor has it that a more powerful elder from Virtue Bridge, Elder Honesty, is currently hurrying toward the Tower."

"If I were the killer, I absolutely wouldn't choose to escalate the situation at a time like this."

"We all know that the major factions originally didn't care about this bomber at all."

"And Elder Kindness, who insisted on investigating, is nothing more than someone who can be easily handled."

After Yan Jing finished speaking, everyone at the table frowned.

Indeed, putting it that way, the killer had made a wrong move. Not only had they exposed clues, but they had also worsened the situation.

In fact, hearing Yan Jing's analysis, Chen Nian and Old Liu both felt that this bomber was a bit too stupid.

But... was that really the case?

Around the table, everyone sat with tightly furrowed brows.

Looking at Mantou's little face all scrunched up as she blended in perfectly with the others, Yan Jing couldn't help but find it amusing.

"Mantou, are you also trying to figure out who the killer is?"

"N-no..."

Mantou spoke up sheepishly.

"Mantou... d-didn't understand..."

She had been frowning from the very beginning because she was completely and utterly confused.

It wasn't just her; even the voice inside her body was dizzy and lost.

[Motives, methods, murder weapons... what the fuck is all this mess?! Damn it, I don't understand! Why not just kill them all!]

"S-sorry... Y-Yan... J-Jing... I'm... t-too stupid... I can't b-be of any help..."

Mantou's small face was flushed red.

"You aren't stupid, Mantou."

Yan Jing chuckled.

"Everyone has things they aren't good at. Mantou, you have a task of your own, too."

"R-really...?"

Mantou's eyes lit up.

"Yeah."

Yan Jing smiled warmly. "I have some things to take care of tomorrow, so I'm trusting you to keep everyone here safe."

"Mantou... w-will try her best!"

Mantou nodded emphatically.

"Everyone here, of course, includes yourself."

Yan Jing added an extra reminder. "Your safety is the most important of all, Miss Mantou!"

"O-okay... Mr. Y-Yan... J-Jing..."

Mantou's face grew even redder.

[Favorability +1]

The available clues were truly limited, so their discussion about the case could seemingly only go this far.

Before they adjourned, Yan Jing looked at Old Master Liu.

"Old Liu, do me a favor this afternoon..."

...

...

That afternoon, Yan Jing wasn't idle, either.

Since the bar's minimum performance quota hadn't been met, he, Rose, and One-Eye kept the bar open for the entire afternoon.

Of course, they weren't just running the bar.

"Wonderful, sir, truly wonderful. Thank you for the drink. I feel much better."

Several Virtue Bridge residents of the Kindness Pathway couldn't stop thanking Yan Jing.

This was because Yan Jing had claimed to deeply sympathize with the ordeal of the Virtue Bridge Elder.

To soothe the grief in the hearts of the Virtue Bridge residents, today's drinks were seventy percent off for them.

But there was a condition: a maximum of five people could enter the bar to drink at a time.

Thanks to the promotion by the man with the staring eyes and the kind-faced man, all the Virtue Bridge residents soon arrived at Rose Bar, lining up for a taste.

After serving the very last guest from Virtue Bridge, Yan Jing announced that they were closing early.

Rose locked the bar's doors and sat off to the side with One-Eye to rest.

Meanwhile, Yan Jing sat on the single-legged stool behind the bar counter, his eyes flickering in thought.

Nothing.

He had locked eyes with every single Virtue Bridge resident.

Yet he hadn't found the feeling of that morning's gaze from any of them.

That gaze from the morning had felt like it wanted to swallow him alive, filled with undisguised, brimming malice. But among all the people this afternoon, not a single one gave off that feeling.

A gaze like that couldn't be hidden. Yan Jing was absolutely certain, because the moment those eyes had landed on him, he had felt a certain thrumming quietly awaken within his body.

It hadn't been a conscious reaction of his own will; rather, this body of his had reacted uncontrollably.

The owner of that gaze must have known the Cameraman in the past.

And shared a very deep bond with him.

As long as Yan Jing saw that person's face again, he should be able to recover the corresponding memory.

To avoid being overwhelmed or missing anyone, he had deliberately limited their numbers. This ensured he could observe them carefully while also using Anomalous Energy Detection to make sure no one was carrying a bomb.

But there was no one.

Which meant... it was highly probable that the gaze had come from Dandelion Manor.

At this thought, he remembered the thick, heavy wall at Mad Amusement Park.

On the other side of that wall, at the very end of the Unstable Domain, lay Dandelion Manor.

Was there some connection between the two?

Beside his ear, the long-absent narration voice of the Ghoulish Life Role-playing Game grew louder once more.

[You are getting closer and closer to the dying wish of that dead man.]

[In the exact moment of his death, what was he thinking about? What did he want to accomplish? What was he so unwilling to let go of?]

[No one knows.]

[Perhaps, only you can know.]