"Ah... huh? That's pretty smooth!"
Zhu Yuan let out a soft sigh as the words slipped from her lips while she watched the siblings walk away. Just then, her phone rang, an incoming call breaking the brief moment of quiet.
"Hello, what's wrong with you today? You actually have time to call me in the middle of the day?"
Seeing who it was, Zhu Yuan couldn't hide her surprise. As far as she knew, the caller was always busy during the day.
On the other end, Hoshimi Miyabi spoke calmly, her tone unhurried.
"Hello. I'm looking through our graduation yearbook."
"Checking the graduation yearbook all of a sudden? You're not doing some strange training again, are you?"
Hearing that, Zhu Yuan instantly thought that Hoshimi Miyabi probably used to practice this kind of thing even during their school days, right in front of everyone.
And the result was exactly what she had expected.
"Yes, I'm practicing recalling the names of all our classmates from photos. By the way, do you still remember the graduation message you wrote for me? 'May you become a person who seeks true justice, and become the sharp sword of law enforcement that cuts through the evil night sky above the city.'"
"Wait, wait a minute... don't read it out so loudly. There are people next to you, right?"
Zhu Yuan felt her embarrassment about to explode. Having her former classmate recite her chuunibyou remarks so openly was simply too much.
The sense of social death was like someone digging up her old chat logs from her younger years. Thankfully, it hadn't escalated into a full public exposure.
"I apologize, but I'm very interested in this sentence. What's the difference between your 'true justice' and 'ordinary justice'? Is it like the difference between a real honeydew melon and a honeydew melon-flavored lollipop?"
"This..."
Zhu Yuan fell into deep thought upon hearing Hoshimi Miyabi's sudden question, yet the other party didn't stop there.
"Even though many people say they can't taste the difference, and the honeydew melons I buy are often not sweet, I still prefer a real honeydew melon. Just like how you pursue true justice. A honeydew melon is a honeydew melon; it will never become fake."
The moment she heard this, Zhu Yuan grasped what she was trying to say.
"Ha, are you trying to encourage me? Thanks, I guess. But wait, how did you even find out about my disciplinary action from the Public Security while you're over in HAND?"
Zhu Yuan was a little surprised that she already knew about it, as Hoshimi Miyabi explained things at an unhurried pace.
"Because the case involving Belobog Heavy Industries discovering the monster has now been handed over to the Hollow Special Operations Section 6. My intelligence officer reminded me that we might need you to come here soon to provide more detailed information."
"It's been handed over to you? That thing really was problematic!" Zhu Yuan said, clearly taken aback.
"Yes, that's why I contacted you. We found pieces of a man-made object, something like a mask, among the monster's remains. Residual human DNA was extracted from it."
Zhu Yuan was stunned by the revelation and instinctively pressed on.
"You already know who the monster in the monument was?"
"Unfortunately, aside from confirming through DNA that the deceased was male, we found no matching records after comparing it with all registered missing persons and criminals in the city. So it's also possible that he was someone without an identity from outside the city. But what do you think?"
Hoshimi Miyabi's rhetorical question carried an air of tense suspense.
"Since the culprit went through all that trouble to enter the Hollow and grab the evidence, the deceased has to be hiding something. At the very least, he wouldn't be a nobody."
Zhu Yuan pieced together what little information they had, and Hoshimi Miyabi agreed with her take. For now, there was nothing more to dig up.
After setting a time to meet in a few days, they hung up. Zhu Yuan put her phone away and turned to look at Qingyi beside her.
"Senior, sorry to keep you waiting."
She hadn't avoided Qingyi when making the call, so the latter had clearly heard the entire conversation.
"From what I heard just now, it seems there's been some progress in the evidence investigation on HAND's side?" Qingyi asked, her tone as calm as ever.
"That's right. We uncovered something important, but it also raised more mysteries. Let's talk after we get in the car. It'll be easier on the road."
Not long after, the two entered the vehicle and left the area.
That night, within a meeting room of a Public Security detention center located in the Janus District.
Perlman, who was present there, met his former secretary once again. They exchanged only a few brief words. After threatening her and sending her away, he was left alone in the room.
Soon after, the woman spoke quietly to someone through an earpiece, already planning their next move.
Meanwhile, Belle and Wise returned to the video store after eating out.
"So? After that luxury meal, are you finally full?"
Wise glanced at Belle. She was rubbing her slightly swollen stomach and answered with clear satisfaction,
"Satisfied, totally satisfied!"
"You really ate a lot. I was half-expecting you to throw up on the way back."
"Hehe~ don't worry. Even satisfied, a little 'milk' would go well later..."
Belle's words carried a heavy hint, and Wise looked a bit helpless. Ever since their relationship had been confirmed, his sister seemed to be getting more and more forward with her desires.
"Alright, it's getting late, so let's get some rest. Also, are you sure about it?"
"You already know, Brother, so let's go to bed quickly!"
Belle hopped into the bed and waved at Wise, clearly urging him to hurry.
The next morning, after Wise woke up, he went downstairs to organize the videotapes. The official trial for the Vision Corporation bombing case was only a few days away.
He also prepared some blank videotapes, planning to record the event. After all, this was a rare highlight for Nicole, and he didn't want to miss it.
Speaking of which, there seemed to be a special program airing today called 'Vision Corporation Bombing Case Public Trial Preview'.
Since he had nothing better to do and didn't know how it would turn out, he figured he might as well watch it.
The moment he sat down, Belle joined him and boldly placed her feet on his lap as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The TV screen showed the same sharp-tongued host as always, but Wise's attention was drawn to the enormous airship hovering in the background instead.
He was almost certain it would crash later, and that Perlman was somehow involved. With that thought in mind, he resolved to warn Nicole.
At that exact moment, as Wise reached for his phone, Nicole suddenly rushed into the video store, dragging Anby along with her.
"Anby, since when do you have the key to Wise's house? Forget it, we'll talk about that later. Hey, Phaethon!"
Nicole no longer had the mind to care about such trivial matters. Seeing her current state, and hearing her call him by his professional name, Wise immediately guessed that she must have something important to ask.
"Anby, Nicole, why are you here? Weren't you supposed to take the airship to the Supreme Court today?"
"It was supposed to be like that... but I think there's something I need to talk to you about. Otherwise, I won't be able to focus in court!"
Nicole then went on to explain the situation. It was about the hacker, Rain.
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