GAMMT - Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Bluffing Her!
Xie Keli, he was, of course, a pitiful person.
When the accompanying doctor on the airship announced the results of the examination, the expressions of several people present turned strange.
Qin Minfeng was somewhat disbelieving and asked again, "Are you saying he might have been violated by the bandits?"
The doctor glanced at him and grunted in affirmation, his tone somewhat gloating. "Although it wasn't successful, it was indeed close. There are scratch marks on his legs and waist. Plus, from my observation, the pants he's wearing aren't his; they should belong to someone else. The forensics team just told me that while this person was struggling, the biological tissue DNA from under his fingernails matched that of the jailer. The jailer's body was also found. It's estimated that this kid killed him in a desperate counterattack and escaped, which also matches the testimonies of the survivors."
The others listening found it both amusing and felt it was retribution, and even a bit of... "What a pity," a female prosecutor murmured. After speaking, she looked at Qin Minfeng, but found that he didn't have a particularly pleased expression either. Instead, he looked shocked and uncertain. But his eyes flickered, and he quickly said, "But didn't he kill all those bandits? If he was locked in a cage and almost violated by the jailer, how could he have managed to kill the bandits?"
This was a clear inconsistency. Qin Minfeng reacted quite quickly, and the others noticed it too. The female prosecutor raised an eyebrow. "He must be lying. He probably coveted the wealth in this bandit den."
"According to Imperial law, if he did indeed kill these bandits, the Bandit Suppression and Public Order Act guarantees he becomes the legal inheritor of the bandits' assets. The government has no right to take it over, unless it can be proven that he didn't commit the act, or the evidence is insufficient, or... he dies."
The female prosecutor's words were quite meaningful, and the others fell silent for a moment. Qin Minfeng mentally calculated the assets of this bandit den and suddenly understood. "He obviously doesn't have the ability to kill those bandits. This proves that the survivors' testimonies must be false. If they're giving false testimony, the only reason can be for money."
He sneered with a hint of disgust.
Zhou Linlang suddenly looked up at him, seemingly lost in thought. Then she said to the group, "Investigate according to procedure. Do what needs to be done. For now, don't jump to conclusions."
Qin Minfeng's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly recovered. He carefully observed Zhou Linlang and added, "Indeed, it's possible I've misunderstood him. After all, if he really did save people... it would make all my efforts seem useless."
He feigned a bitter smile. Seeing this, the others went over to comfort him, promising to investigate thoroughly and ensure Xie Keli's crimes were confirmed.
Qin Minfeng quietly observed Zhou Linlang's expression and saw that she had no reaction. She was very busy and wouldn't stay here for long, clearly not caring much about this matter.
She didn't care much about Xie Keli either.
It was probably because of her high position. She had met many people—the upper limits of experts and geniuses, the lower depths of scum and trash—she had seen plenty of both, so she was unfazed.
For a moment, Qin Minfeng didn't know whether to feel relieved or something else. In any case, he felt a bit strange, until the old man beside him said faintly, "This also means she won't pay too much attention to you. After all, right now you're just a somewhat outstanding young man on X5 Garbage Star. But this woman is of very high quality. Conquer her, make her your woman. Putting aside the practical benefits, the points alone would be enough to transform your aptitude again."
Qin Minfeng lowered his head. "That makes sense, but the more difficult it is, the more valuable the prize."
The corner of his mouth curled up slightly. He looked up again, watching Zhou Linlang, who had walked to a nearby window, one hand on her hip, making a call to the external liaison department.
She was probably hot; she had just taken off her jacket, revealing a form-fitting camel-colored knit sweater. Her neck was as slender as a swan's, and a strand of hair had escaped her full bun. An exquisite six-pointed star earring on her ear was understated and classic. The elbow of the arm holding her phone rested against her other hand, her head slightly turned. The sound of her voice... others couldn't hear it.
A secret soundproofing Arcane art.
Professional, cautious, restrained, showing no emotion.
After she finished speaking, she turned her head to look. Qin Minfeng had already lowered his head and was looking elsewhere, appearing shy.
Zhou Linlang had no particular reaction. As she put away her communicator, her fingers traced a circle in the air, then flicked, and with a final hook, it was as if she were untying an invisible knot.
Once this "knot of the soundproofing Arcane" was undone, the people outside could hear her speak.
"Prepare to depart for the Li Corporation's mining company."
The others all responded in agreement. But then Zhou Linlang looked at Qin Minfeng. "Little Brother Qin, you have no official business with us on this trip. Do you have somewhere to go? If not, we can drop you off in a safe zone in one of the towns under X5's jurisdiction, to prevent you from getting implicated by the people from Li Corporation."
Qin Minfeng was stunned and a little nervous. He had thought Zhou Linlang would take him with her. After all, he was a minor talent worth recruiting. The Zhou Family was large and influential, having cultivated many elites, and she should have been quite appreciative of him. Why wasn't she taking him? It must be because he hadn't displayed his talent today. He only had the title of a 4th level Arcanist, and she didn't know how fast he could cast spells, or that he didn't even need to chant!
Damn it, it's all that Xie Keli's fault. Why doesn't he just die!
Hearing this, Qin Minfeng calmly said, "Sister Linlang, you don't need to worry about me. Reporting Li Corporation was my own choice. I'm not afraid of being implicated; otherwise, I wouldn't have reported them in the first place. So I'm willing to go with you. Whatever storms may come, we'll face them together."
This was a rhetorical tactic, designed to subtly bring their relationship closer. Under the guise of bravery, he was trying to close the distance between himself and this department, creating a sense of being "one of them."
Many people felt his courage was commendable and that he was a talent in the fight against evil.
Zhou Linlang was silent for a moment, then turned her face away. "Very well, then."
Afterward, Zhou Linlang had someone take him to the witness room, placing him under protection. Although Qin Minfeng disliked this status, preferring to be a free agent who could approach her, he knew not to push his luck. So, on the surface, he accepted it gladly.
Just as Qin Minfeng was about to leave, a guard came over and relayed a message.
"The survivors are protesting that we shouldn't be holding Xie Keli like a criminal. They're requesting that he be given proper medical treatment... How should we handle this?"
Treatment was a given, but it was also true that they didn't particularly like him. Delaying things a bit to let him suffer wasn't a big deal to them. However, Zhou Linlang hadn't known about this. Hearing the news, she frowned slightly and looked at the female prosecutor and the others. The group looked embarrassed, stammering out explanations. The doctor, however, was frank. "I was busy just now. I'll go right away. Please don't be angry, ma'am."
Zhou Linlang lowered her eyes to a report and said coolly, "As a public prosecution department, we have external authority, but don't forget there are departments above us that conduct internal investigations. The methods of the financial oligarchs are not to be underestimated. If they catch even a small mistake and blow it out of proportion, not only will our efforts be wasted, but we'll also bring trouble upon ourselves. I hope you remember that personal feelings and social customs can never override the spirit of the law, especially when influenced by others."
After being reminded, everyone suddenly realized that this Xie Keli was actually part of a small branch within the oligarch system. At the very least, a portion of the Xie Clan's industries had good relations with the oligarchs, especially the Li Corporation.
If he died on the airship, their department would never be able to clear its name.
They had indeed been careless.
And the "others" Zhou Linlang mentioned naturally referred to the universally admired Qin Minfeng.
After the doctor and the others hurried out to treat the patient, the female prosecutor proactively reported her mistake to Zhou Linlang. Then she asked, "Ma'am, do you think this Xie Keli is fraudulently claiming the bandits' assets? Can we convict him? I remember that in Imperial law, the testimony of survivors is very important, sometimes more important than evidence."
Zhou Linlang had originally intended to hand this matter over to a couple of subordinates, but she also knew they despised evil and wouldn't want scum like him to get a reward for free. So she said, "Have the department's forensics team solidify the evidence. Prove that he lacked the means and the time. To a certain extent, that can overturn the survivors' testimonies, unless he has a reasonable explanation."
The female prosecutor's expression relaxed, and she happily accepted the order. Just then, she received a reply from the doctor: the person was awake and could be questioned.
"He's awake?"
Zhou Linlang was also a bit surprised. Originally, Xie Keli was a minuscule part of the case she was handling. Even if he was a scumbag who violated women, she couldn't set aside the Li Corporation case to focus on him.
But she had a strange feeling in her heart.
Qin Minfeng, Xie Keli... both seemed to have some connection to the Li Family on X5. They both appeared to be insignificant small-timers, yet the former held evidence that could impact Li Corporation, and the latter could also become a pawn.
"Yes, he's awake. Ma'am, would you like to go see him?"
"No, you go."
In a room so crude it didn't even have air conditioning—the civil servants from the Economic Department claimed it was broken.
Like hell I believe you!
Fu Chuan couldn't do anything about it. Who asked her to be stuck with such a trashy persona? She could only accept her fate and receive treatment in her weakened state.
She knew that Imperial law forbade using equipment to check someone's attributes without their consent. If discovered, it was tantamount to a provocation, and the other party had the right to attack in self-defense. So even if the doctor and the others had the equipment, they wouldn't knowingly break the law. Perhaps these people never even considered that she could be powerful.
For now, the treatment was mostly focused on her external injuries.
When they bandaged her, they didn't even use an anesthetic, just doing it roughly.
She had been woken up by the pain...
For a group from the Economic Department to despise evil so much, it was truly a blessing for the nation. But could it be that some people were influencing them?
Someone must have been reminding them that she was a rapist; otherwise, they wouldn't be so prejudiced.
Therefore, that person was also on the airship.
Criminals didn't need pity, so as soon as she woke up, she was interrogated without even a sip of water. Regarding the inconsistency in killing the bandits, the female prosecutor had sharply raised it from the start, asking how he managed to be violated, fight back, and wipe out the bandits outside all at the same time.
Such a technique was too difficult; please, enlighten them.
Fu Chuan suddenly realized that they were being so direct, interrogating her right after she woke up, precisely because they didn't want to give her time to think.
Fu Chuan decisively put on a stunned and nervous expression, stammering, "I... of course I had a way."
"What way? Sorry, but this involves a case, and we need to investigate according to the facts. If you lie and mislead our investigation, that's obstruction of justice, and you will be held legally responsible. I hope you think carefully."
The female prosecutor gave a slight warning. Fu Chuan was, of course, very clear on Imperial law. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "I just... used that method. You know, the... the mechanical horse explosion."
"Right, the explosion!"
Everyone was taken aback. The doctor looked at the female prosecutor, who shook her head slightly. The forensics department hadn't given their report yet, but they were currently investigating the scene of the deaths and conducting a physical analysis.
"How did you set it up? Was it set up beforehand?"
So Fu Chuan began her description again, exactly the same as what she had told the bandits, but she added a part in the middle.
"It wasn't until I entered the woods that I realized something was wrong. Because the clothes of the person hiding in the tree looked a lot like the bandit who attacked me, I thought to myself, oh god, have I walked right into a tiger's den? I was scared to death. So, while they were leading me to run in and attract the wolf pack, I secretly changed the permissions on the mechanical horse. I figured, bandits just want money, right? They definitely wouldn't give up on the mechanical horse. If they all gathered together and tried to harm me, I would activate the horse's program and blow them up."
If that was the case, it would indeed provide an alibi, allowing for the simultaneous slaughter of the bandits.
Coincidentally, at that moment, the feedback from the forensics department confirmed that the deaths were indeed caused by a mechanical horse explosion. Judging from the mechanical horse's motor and chip memory, there was indeed an explosion command. But nothing more could be found, because it was a self-destruct mechanism. It was unclear when it had exploded, so there was no way to determine the timing. They could only take her word for it, but for now, her story seemed plausible.
The female prosecutor's expression was not pleasant. "This kind of programming command doesn't seem very easy. You know how to do this?"
Although the records of X5's townspeople were separate from those of Imperial citizens, they had already applied for access before coming to investigate. Everyone's files were included, but the access hadn't been granted yet, and Li Corporation hadn't submitted them either.
But one could easily guess that the education on X5 didn't include such content, and this useless young master shouldn't have had any way of learning it.
So, how did he know how? And to have judged the situation so accurately and succeeded, no less.
"I didn't know how at first, but I'm a young master of the Xie Clan, right? They came to pick me up, so of course they and the horse had to listen to me. I asked that Adar for the permissions... He was afraid I'd mess things up, so he even brought up the screen to show me."
Fu Chuan's reason was very powerful.
The female prosecutor couldn't find any fault with it.
Method, timing, witness, evidence—it was all there.
The female prosecutor looked at the boy's delicate and handsome face, which always seemed to carry a hint of worldly shrewdness. Thinking of the girl Qin Minfeng had mentioned, who was raped and then killed, she felt a surge of frustration. She sneered, "Young Master Xie is truly a talent. You certainly have a promising future."
Fu Chuan pretended not to understand and said sheepishly, "Thank you for your blessing, sister. Could you call my daddy for me? Ask him to come pick me up."
Pick you up, my ass!
The female prosecutor said, "We don't provide the parent-child services from 'Where Are We Going, Dad?'"
Fu Chuan: "..."
As Fu Chuan stood there awkwardly, the female prosecutor and the others, unable to do anything with her, were about to leave. Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and Zhou Linlang walked in. Everyone else stood up. She sat down, leaning back with a lazy posture—the kind that showed a certain satisfaction with power and abundant professional confidence. She scrutinized Fu Chuan, casually placed a file on her long legs, and asked coolly, "The guard captain taught you the command, did he? Write it down again."
Someone beside her immediately handed over a pen and paper.
What's the big deal?
Fu Chuan glanced at the file in the woman's hand and saw the Li Corporation's logo on it. This meant it likely contained the files on Xie Keli that had been sent over.
In that case, Xie Keli's educational background would certainly not include programming commands... Even if the guard captain had taught him, he wouldn't have been able to learn it.
She had intended to change it to a simple language command, but just as she was about to write, her mind suddenly paused. Her fingers pressed down slightly, and she wrote out the programming command anyway.
Because she suddenly realized—this woman was bluffing her!
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