This woman was clearly no fool. It was unlikely she would make such a careless mistake as to openly reveal she possessed Yao's dossier. Unless it was deliberate.
A test. If Yao noticed the dossier and altered her response—simplifying the command sequence to match Oaks's supposed ignorance—it would be a dead giveaway that she was more than she appeared. While revealing a certain cunning to the inspectors might not be entirely detrimental, might even present opportunities, Yao's core nature was one of caution. Unforeseen risks, even those laced with potential gain, were to be avoided.
The female inspector, having glanced at the dossier, pounced. "You have no record of technical education. How could you possibly know this?"
Yao blinked, feigning confusion. "I don't know it."
"Then how—"
Yao adopted an expression of arrogant, unthinking privilege. "Can't I just memorize it? He told me not to touch it, he didn't tell me to get a degree in engineering." Her tone implied that rote memorization for potential blackmail or leverage was a perfectly normal pastime for someone of her station.
The inspector was momentarily speechless.
Zhou Linlang showed no particular reaction. She simply looked down at the dossier, flipped a page audibly, then lifted her gaze. "After assaulting the girl named Yao, you returned to the tavern. Was it to cover your tracks?"
Yao's heart tightened. She lowered her head. "No. I went to mourn her. We were in love…"
A wave of palpable disgust rolled through the room.
Zhou Linlang continued, her voice devoid of inflection. "So overcome with love that you forced yourself on her?"
"I… we didn't… it wasn't like that," Yao stammered, playing the cornered rat.
"Did you, or did you not, sexually assault her?"
Yao knew the autopsy report wouldn't show conclusive evidence of completed rape. "She was willing. But we didn't… succeed. So, technically, it wasn't assault."
"Why didn't you 'succeed'? Because she resisted? And then she died?"
"No! I didn't force her! It was consensual!"
"Then why does the report indicate restraint marks on her wrists and ankles?"
"How should I know? She was often abused at the tavern. Old injuries aren't strange."
"You were 'in love,' having a secret rendezvous, yet you enjoyed having two lookouts posted outside the door? Is that your particular taste?"
"I…"
Yao suddenly realized the trap. She was being led, forced into a defensive posture with rationalizations. That wasn't Oaks. Oaks would crumble, lash out, or retreat into bluster.
She shifted tactics, letting manufactured frustration bleed into her voice. "I don't know those two! Yao is dead, the case is closed! If you want to charge me, you need evidence!"
Zhou Linlang's next question was a knife slipped between the ribs. "You've never once asked who we are. Yet you seem entirely certain we have the authority to investigate this. Where did you get that information?"
Yao's mind stalled for a fraction of a second. Careless.She scrambled, forcing a sheepish, awkward smile. "Aren't you inspectors? She said so herself." She gestured vaguely at the female inspector. "Investigating me is within your rights."
Zhou Linlang offered a thin, knowing smile. "She did not specify we are a special task force dispatched from the provincial capital. There are no standing inspectorates on X5. You accepted that too readily, without question. Which means you already knew, or deduced it from your contact with the Li Conglomerate. However, the Li Group's report, in its effort to distance itself, did not omit the detail about the restraint marks on the victim. They wouldn't share such sensitive case information with you. Ergo, you deduced our arrival independently. The Li Conglomerate recently sent us an official communique, very carefully stating they had no involvement with you or the bandits. Therefore, you must have been in contact with them prior. You knew we were coming. So you pre-emptively coached the survivors, securing their testimony to claim the spoils. Correct?"
Yao's face fell, a mask of sullen defiance settling over her features. She opted for the classic fallback of the caught schemer: shameless greed. "I saved those people. The explosion evidence exists. Their testimonies exist. If you want to dismiss my contribution because of your personal biases, fine. I have nothing more to say."
She perfected the look of a vile, grasping opportunist, successfully turning the stomachs of everyone in the room.
At that moment, the door swung open. Qin Mianfeng strode in, a cold smirk on his lips. He was followed by one of the survivors, a young man who looked pale and shaky.
"My apologies for the interruption, 'Young Master Xie'," Qin Mianfeng said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But this survivor has come forward. He wishes to recant his earlier statement. He claims you instructed them, while you were 'dying,' to fabricate the hero narrative so you could claim the bandits' assets and share the spoils."
The young man couldn't meet Yao's eyes, staring at the floor. "I… I just found out. It wasn't you who saved us. And you're a… a rapist! I won't lie for you anymore! I'm telling the truth!"
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. The inspectors exchanged glances, a sort of grim satisfaction settling over them. Justice, it seemed, was about to be served.
Yao's face paled, then flushed with anger. She glared at Qin Mianfeng. "You!"
So, it was confirmed. The protagonist, Qin Mianfeng. His vision was narrower than she'd imagined, so fixated on harvesting points from a cannon-fodder side character like her.
She remembered the game lore: Qin Mianfeng, blessed with a harem protagonist's aura, entangled with numerous female NPCs. It had been a point of contention among players. Experiencing his hypocritical righteousness firsthand only deepened her disdain. A quick appraisal of his gear gave her a rough estimate of his level. Three? Maybe four? The game timeline suggested he'd reached Level 4 in under ten days. The timing was… suggestive.
"Seeking justice?" Yao sneered, her performance shifting to one of bitter, defeated accusation. "Only now that you have these inspectors backing you? Of course. A few days ago, you were a penniless nobody. How could you possibly stand against me, with my building, my money?"
She looked at the ring of hostile faces, at the recanting survivor, at the triumphant Qin Mianfeng. In her apparent downfall, she adopted a tone of reckless, final defiance. "But Yao's case is closed. And let's not forget—she was a slave. You have no grounds to convict me."
The audacity of the statement sparked fresh outrage. But with Zhou Linlang present, the others held their tongues. Qin Mianfeng seethed inwardly. Idiot! Insulting the inspectors like this! The Xie family won't lift a finger to save you now!
Yao wasn't finished. She jabbed a finger at the survivor. "As for the bandit lair inheritance… does one recanting witness speak for all fifteen?" She then turned her glare on Qin Mianfeng. "And you! You dragged this witness here yourself? You, with no official standing, interfered with a judicial witness, inducing him to change a legally sworn testimony? Haven't you watched any legal dramas? That's 'Unauthorized Influence of a Judicial Proceeding'! It's a felony!" She finally swung her accusing gaze to the inspectors. "Aren't you going to do something about him?"
Qin Mianfeng: "???"
The female inspector: "…"
A profound, awkward silence filled the room. Qin Mianfeng looked as if he'd been struck. The legal technicality had never crossed his mind.
"The investigation will proceed along established channels. That's all for now. Everyone out." Zhou Linlang's voice cut through the tension, devoid of judgment. The others filed out, interpreting her dismissal as a subtle way to let Qin Mianfeng off the hook without pursuing the interference charge.
Qin Mianfeng exhaled a silent breath of relief. He glanced back, noting that Zhou Linlang had instructed the guards to continue their watch on Yao. His heart settled. Good. She despises him. My plan worked.
Once alone, Yao leaned back against her pillow, all traces of panic gone. She picked at her sleeve, a cold smile touching her lips.
The protagonist. More impatient than I thought. So hungry for those 'points' he tipped his hand.
"Idiot," she murmured to the empty room. "Without that buggy old-man cheat system guiding him through the game's plot armor, he'd have died three times over in the early stages already." The memory of the wolf pack, undoubtedly his doing, sent a fresh ripple of anger through her. A fictional character made flesh, and he'd almost gotten her killed. That was a debt she wouldn't forget. If she couldn't kill the protagonist outright yet, she could at least… spoil one of his blossoming romances, block one of his easy paths to power.
In her private office, Zhou Linlang finished reviewing the dossier. She addressed her team, her tone measured and cool. "Fifteen consistent testimonies hold absolute weight against a single recanted statement obtained through unauthorized influence. The collective interest of a group, once aligned, forms a stable alliance. They won't all flip unless we offer a greater benefit, which would be illegal. In bandit suppression cases, the highest 'merit' is the preservation of civilian life. That is an established fact. The mechanical horses were registered under his father's estate. Command authority, whether exercised by him or his guards acting on his behalf, ultimately resides with him. Legally, there is no basis to challenge his claim."
She let the words hang. They had been chasing shadows, led by personal distaste, and worse, subtly manipulated by an outsider.
"If a single Oaks can tie you in knots," she continued, her gaze sweeping over them, "imagine what the meticulously prepared Li Conglomerate will do. Consider this a training exercise. Sharpen up. This will be a hard fight. Do not drop your guard. Even with evidence, evidence can be invalidated if the method of obtaining it is tainted. Understand?"
Just like the survivor's statement. If Qin Mianfeng hadn't personally fetched the witness, the flaw might have remained hidden.
The team filed out, chastened. Shortly after, Qin Mianfeng returned, offering a carefully crafted apology, his demeanor one of youthful earnestness mixed with remorse.
Zhou Linlang smiled, gracious and forgiving. "You're young. What you've achieved is remarkable. And your motives stemmed from a sense of justice for the victim. It's understandable. Don't worry about it."
Her tone was gentle, her attitude that of a benevolent superior. Qin Mianfan's remaining tension melted away. He bowed and left.
The moment the door shut, Zhou Linlang leaned back in her chair, all pretense of warmth gone. She picked up the case file from the day of Yao's death, her fingers tapping lightly on the page.
Thanks to that "useless" scoundrel's seemingly accidental barb—"a few days ago you were a penniless nobody, where could you oppose me?"—a question had taken root.
So, Qin Mianfeng, this seemingly brave, righteous, handsome youth… did he become a Level 1 Arcanist beforeor afterthe incident at the tavern?
"Judging by his current demeanor and capability, it was likely before."
If that was the case… The whole town knew Oaks was harassing Yao. Qin Mianfeng must have known. Why didn't he intervene earlier? An Arcanist, even a low-level one, could have easily dealt with a bully like Oaks, especially before the guards arrived. The risk would have been minimal.
He didn't. Only after the girl was dead did he become so… proactive. So publicly righteous. Jumping through hoops, overstepping boundaries. Compared to Oaks's blunt, monstrous "she was just a slave," Qin Mianfeng's performative virtue began to feel somehow… slimier.
"Trying too hard reveals the artifice. All that bustling about, all those calculations… disappointing."
Her voice was quiet, her eyes infinitely cold. She saw it now. Qin Mianfeng's displays of admiration, his helpfulness, his entire persona… it was all courtship plumage. That in itself was harmless, a young man's fancy. But when it was premised on a foundation of calculated,utilitarian hypocrisy, it became distasteful.
She looked down at her hands, then out the viewport at the streaking stars.
Did she look like a ladder to him? Something to be climbed?