The constable glared at Sampo. "Less chatter. Is it your turn to speak?"
"Ahem…" It cleared its throat, adopting a different demeanor toward Black Swan.
"I've heard that Lady Black Swan possesses extraordinary intellect. Surely, you can uncover the truth behind the 'Case of Lady Sparkle's Murder'!"
"Hm?" Black Swan looked at the constable and deputy with confusion. "The 'Case of Lady Sparkle's Murder'? Wasn't the victim Shamari from the Interastral Peace Corporation?"
The deputy quickly laughed it off. "You're mistaken, Lady Black Swan. The victim is clearly the head of the Goldhammer Family, Lady Sparkle Goldhammer!"
"Oh, so this is a little theater performance directed and acted by Miss Sparkle herself, unrelated to the actual case. Is 'Goldhammer' her surname?" Black Swan's gaze shifted to Sampo.
Sampo spread his hands. "Never heard of it. Probably made it up on the spot. I doubt 'Sparkle' is even her real name."
The constable coughed twice to steer the conversation back. "Today was supposed to be the day Lady Sparkle received three warriors under her command at the Goldhammer Mansion. But when the warriors entered, they saw 'Lady Sparkle's corpse.'
Lady Sparkle's head was smashed open with a hammer, killed on the spot… What a cruel atrocity!"
—
At this moment, the audience watching this bizarre scene began buzzing with discussion.
"What's this nonsense?"
"This is just too Joyous."
"Even Aha would be sitting down to watch this!"
Suddenly, a person wearing a smiley face mask and beach shorts shouted, "I'd be standing to watch!"
"Who the heck are you?"
"Forget it, ignore these performance artists. That said, Sparkle's really bold with this."
"I kinda want to see what Sparkle looks like with her head smashed open."
—
The deputy continued, "According to my investigation, the day before the incident, the three warriors were supposed to escort a shipment back to the territory. But they were ambushed by the Extinction Gang bandits on the way.
The three narrowly escaped death, barely surviving, but most of the goods were stolen. So, each of them had a motive to kill Lady Sparkle to avoid responsibility!"
Black Swan nodded. "So, it seems the three warriors acted together?"
At this, the constable and deputy fell silent. "…"
Sampo, noticing their silence, asked, "Case closed?"
"No, there can only be one culprit! Three culprits don't make a mystery… Wait… hold on…"
Sampo: "…"
"If it really doesn't add up, just let it go…"
"Got it! The three were fiercely competing for the second-in-command position, so their relationship was extremely tense. They couldn't possibly have collaborated! It must be one of them acting alone!"
"That doesn't quite make sense. Even if they didn't get along, still…"
The constable ignored Sampo's comment. "Please, Lady Black Swan, begin your investigation! The crime scene has many clues that will surely help you identify the true culprit."
Then followed a segment where the deputy introduced the suspects' information to Black Swan:
"Zorro is a fierce general under Lady Sparkle. During the fight against the bandits, he bravely resisted but tragically lost his right hand. He's now practicing writing and using chopsticks with his left hand. Quite pitiful."
"Zhongshan is a bit of a coward. When he saw the bandits, he turned and ran, only to crash into a rock, disfiguring his entire face. Such a shame—he used to be a rare handsome man in the city."
"Lastly, there's Ayou. This guy's greed knows no bounds. After narrowly escaping, he planned to pocket the remaining goods, claiming the bandits took everything. Zorro and Zhongshan were so furious they broke his leg."
—
At this moment, the mystery enthusiasts in the audience grew excited, eager to join in.
"There's actually a deduction part? Then I'm not holding back!"
"The earlier narrative was a bit shaky, but at least it gives us a three-way choice. When it comes to deduction, I'm a pro."
"This is a rare mystery film. It's like a three-choice case from Detective Conan!"
"It's not that simple. Anything involving Elation needs to be approached with caution."
"Exactly. Elation loves watching us analyze seriously while they get a laugh."
—
Sampo was dizzy from listening. "Wait, I'm lost… What's this left, middle, right stuff?"
The deputy completely ignored Sampo, asking Black Swan, "So, have you memorized it? Need me to go over it again?"
"No need, I've got it all."
Sampo: "Meow meow meow?"
The deputy gave a slight smile, speaking in Sparkle's true voice. "As expected of a Memor."
Black Swan obtained the case file and arrived at the scene with the murder weapon—a massive hammer.
"My goodness, this hammer's no light thing… This must be the weapon in the 'Case of Lady Sparkle's Murder.'" Sampo walked over and tried lifting it. "Whoa! This thing's heavy even with both hands. I can't imagine how Sparkle used it to hit anyone…"
"Miss Sparkle also used it to attack Mr. Shamari, didn't she?"
"Look, there's an ID—'Talent Motivation Department, Shamari'… Is this the victim's?"
Black Swan crouched down to pick it up. "When Mr. Shamari woke up, his belongings should have vanished from the dream along with him. This ID must have been placed by Miss Sparkle to prove she indeed attacked someone."
After collecting the two pieces of evidence, Sampo felt the clues were too sparse.
The next moment, Sparkle's mask appeared, declaring she had hidden more clues elsewhere.
Black Swan, helplessly transforming into Hanunu, obtained a device called the "Mutual Assured Destruction" button.
After taking it out, Black Swan examined its purpose. "Hm… What's this small device for? Can you explain? It looks like a button."
The deputy hurriedly stopped her. "Don't press it! Lady Black Swan, absolutely don't press it! This is the 'Mutual Assured Destruction' button left by Lady Sparkle. If you press it, Lady Sparkle will instantly go up in smoke along with all of Penacony!
At the same time, Lady Sparkle holds an identical button. If she presses it, you'll instantly go up in smoke along with all of Penacony!"
A question mark appeared above Black Swan's head. "That sounds… like there's no difference?"
"Indeed, there's no difference."
Sampo: …
Black Swan: "Oh…"
The constable suddenly interjected, "Aren't you going to ask why?"
Black Swan hesitated for a few seconds before asking, "So… why is that?"
"Because she's fair."
Sampo rolled his eyes. "What's wrong with you?"
—
At the same time, laughter erupted throughout the Interactive City.
"Hahaha, I knew it! This is the Star Rail vibe."
"Exactly. Constantly killing off characters doesn't fit Star Rail's style. Look how cheerful the atmosphere was before?"
"I prefer these lighthearted skits."
"Life's already exhausting. You finally connect with a character, and then they suddenly kill them off. Who can handle that?"
"So, can we still have fun deducing or not?"
—
Next, Black Swan found a Pom-Pom doll.
Black Swan studied the doll's appearance, lost in thought. "Leaving aside why it looks like the Astral Express conductor, is this doll related to the case?"
The constable explained, "You may not know, but in mystery stories, this is called a 'red herring,' meaning a 'false clue to mislead your thinking'!"
"I see. But by pointing it out so directly, doesn't that make it useless?"
"W-Well, we were worried you might miss Miss Sparkle's clever design and think she just tossed in a useless clue…"
Black Swan chuckled. "Thanks for your thoughtfulness. Then let's pretend we were misled by the 'red herring.' Hm… is this doll related to the case?"
"You don't have to give her that much face…"
After collecting all the clues, Black Swan combined the case file and evidence to begin her deduction.
"'Zhongshan' disfigured his face. Even if he retained his looks, he'd have to go around wrapped in bandages lately, right? That means he couldn't pass the Goldhammer Mansion's facial recognition system. So, Zhongshan is unlikely to be the culprit.
According to the deputy's testimony, Zorro's dominant hand was severely injured, to the point he's learning to live with his left hand. Wielding that giant hammer to commit the crime… that would be relatively difficult, if not impossible, for him. Zorro's suspicion can be lowered.
Thus, the culprit is clear."
—
The audience, watching this, felt like they were starting to grasp some clues.
"Black Swan's deduction skills are impressive."
"Meh, I could do that too."
"Wait, Black Swan seems like a detective. Haven't I heard that term somewhere?"
"Uh… let me think. I've definitely heard it somewhere, like…"
"It's Sam. The 'detective game' is over."
"Oh, right, right, right."
"Aren't you guys overthinking it? A line like that can connect to something?"
"This is an exclusive film. Why air it today? Don't you find that odd?"
"Isn't it because miHoYo was afraid we'd tear down the Interactive City, so they had to air it?"
"That makes sense."
—
Black Swan approached the constable. "The true culprit is 'Ayou.'"
The constable put on an exaggerated expression. "Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo—! Correct answer, as expected of Lady Black Swan! Per the game rules, I'll tell you the location of the next riddle."
Sampo waved his hand impatiently. "What? Another riddle? That's not what we agreed on."
"It seems the key to victory isn't the riddle itself." Black Swan looked at the constable with interest. "If we can't see through the true intent behind Miss Sparkle's bizarre actions… this chase may never end."
Sampo shook his head helplessly. "I've got to warn you, that Sparkle is a Masked Fool. Are you really trying to find logic in a Masked Fool's head?"
"That's exactly what I'm thinking. Even if there's no subjective pattern, behavior always leaves some commonality—memory doesn't lie. It may understand her essence better than the girl herself.
For now, let's follow her whims and head to the next riddle's location. Hopefully, we can get there before the Bloodhound Family. If possible, I'd rather not use my Memor abilities."
The scene shifted, and Black Swan and Sampo arrived at a new location.
Sampo looked at the mess on the ground and two odd creatures, muttering, "Wow… look at this chaos and those two weird things. This must be the place."
At that moment, a monster named the Sheriff spoke in a fluent London accent. "Oh, Detective Black Swan, Detective Sampo, you've finally arrived!"
Deputy Sheriff: "Without your help, we really wouldn't know what to do!"
Even someone as composed as Black Swan couldn't help but frown.
—
Not only that, the audience burst into laughter.
"My gosh, a London accent? I'm dying laughing."
"Hahaha, it's not just dying, I can't take it anymore."
"Black Swan's frowning. How outrageous is this dubbing?"
"My stomach hurts from laughing."
—
Sampo sighed helplessly. "Uh, why are you talking like that? Is this some art form old Sampo doesn't get…?"
The Sheriff looked stunned. "Talking? Is there something wrong with how we speak? Deputy Sheriff, is my manner of speaking odd?"
"Of course not, Sheriff. Your manner of speaking is as ordinary as the cat lounging on the apple tree in my grandma's backyard."
Black Swan: "This little theater has a modern flair."
The Sheriff began, "Let's discuss this perplexing case! The victim in this case is a galactic tycoon named 'Sparkle'…"
Sampo: "Sparkle again? Is she that obsessed with writing herself dead?"
"Oh, by the Elation!" The Sheriff slipped into Sparkle's true voice. "If you ruin my stage again, I swear I'll kick your butt hard!"
"Ahem… Lady Sparkle came to this clothing store to buy a new tie. But after entering the fitting room, she didn't come out for a long time.
The clerk checked the fitting room and found 'Lady Sparkle's corpse'! She was strangled to death while trying on clothes!
There are three suspects at the scene: Pepeshi clerk Ayou, Foxian gambler Zhongshan, and Intellitron tycoon Zorro."
Black Swan teased, "These three are old friends, aren't they?"
"All to make it easier for you to remember! This time, we even added racial details for clarity. Lady Sparkle is truly kind-hearted!"
"Lastly, based on surveillance footage, witness testimonies, and all sorts of miscellaneous evidence, the culprit is definitely among these three—and they are absolutely not accomplices."
Sampo rolled his eyes. "You've completely given up on making it coherent, huh?"
The Sheriff continued in a translated accent. "Oh, by the Elation, every word I speak to you sullies my noble, sacred soul!"
Then it addressed Black Swan again.
"Detective Black Swan, the archive room is this way. You can ask me for more details about the suspects. I'm confident you'll pierce the fog and find the one who killed Lady Sparkle."