Circle of Inevitability - Chapter 984: A Tranquil Night
Jenna’s mind instantly tensed up. She decided to placate Lumina and not give her the opportunity to go to Mushu Hospital, until Lumian returned around 7 or 8 pm the next evening.
She looked at Lumina and said sincerely, “The investigation into the hot pot restaurant shooting hasn’t ended yet. If you go to Mushu Hospital, you might be taken to the police station. Even if the police can prove you’re not related to Zaratulstra’s death, it will take a considerable amount of time. You’ll be detained for at least a few days, which could cause you to lose your job.”
Hearing the phrase “lose your job”, Lumina showed a not-so-obvious expression of fear.
“Yes, I should hide for a couple of days. After that, going to work disguised as a man shouldn’t be a problem.”
She had already been instilled with the setting of working as a security guard while disguised as a man.
Jenna didn’t dare to relax. She glanced at the curtains blocking the bright moonlight and said to Lumina,
“We can’t go to Mushu Hospital, but we can go to the rooftop to feel the breeze and relax a bit.”
“Okay,” Lumina said, an uncontrollable smile appearing on her clean and clear face.
Jenna first fixed the door lock, then took Lumina out of Room 2303 and to the rooftop via the elevator and stairs.
Throughout the process, she hid a mirror in each hand, using them to reflect light and create illusions to conceal herself and Lumina from the surveillance cameras.
Feeling the cool breeze that had lost its scorching heat in the night, Lumina half-closed her eyes and took two deep breaths.
She then walked to the parapet wall at the edge of the rooftop, pointed at the top, and asked for Jenna’s opinion, “Can I sit up there?”
“Normal people can’t since it’s very dangerous. But you’re fine, your sense of balance is very good, even better than acrobats,” Jenna wasn’t afraid of Lumina falling. She had enough ability to rescue her, so she wanted to see if the loophole hadn’t been patched yet, and if by constantly suggesting to Lumina that she had abilities beyond ordinary people, whether Lumina would actually possess Beyonder powers.
Lumina put her hands on top of the parapet wall and lightly jumped up, preparing to sit down.
Suddenly, her hand slipped, and she lost her balance, about to fall towards the ground a hundred meters below.
At that moment, she felt several invisible ropes pulling at her, helping her stabilize.
“Phew, that scared me to death…” She turned her body sideways, looked at Jenna who was already sitting nearby, and patted her chest.
She thought Jenna had caught her.
Jenna, who had lightly wrapped Lumina with invisible spider silk for protection, realized she had overlooked something.
This person was still under the negative effects of misfortune brought by the Circle of Binding. Even if she had gained excellent balance based on Jenna’s suggestions, she would fail due to extreme bad luck.
“Be careful,” Jenna specially cautioned.
Lumina responded tersely and nodded lightly.
She looked at the lit internal roads of the residential area below for a few seconds, then raised her head, casting her gaze towards the bright moon in the sky.
The moonlight and the city’s light pollution had hidden the stars from view.
Lumina supported herself with both hands on top of the parapet wall, quietly looking at the moon, completely absorbed.
After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly said, as if talking to herself, “A poem came to mind.”
She didn’t turn her head or look at Jenna, still gazing at the bright moon in the sky.
“What poem?” Jenna was enjoying the current peace and tranquility.
Lumina maintained her contemplative posture and said in a slightly ethereal voice, “Raising my head, I see the bright shining moon,
Bowing my head, I think of my hometown.”
…
At the Police Department, in a certain meeting room, the lights were still bright late at night.
Lun Xiande stood in front of the whiteboard, pointing at two photos and said, “We can make a judgment that this case involves supernatural powers. The killer, or rather the criminal group, can use mirrors and the mirror world behind them.”
One of the two photos was of the broken mirror in the changing room, and the other was of the shattered window in the private room where the victim was.
Officer Deng sat below, nodding lightly, indicating for Lun Xiande to continue.
“Therefore, those who were not in the hot pot restaurant’s main hall and were not under surveillance during the corresponding time period are all suspects and need further investigation.
“They likely went to surveillance blind spots, used mirrors they carried with them to sneak back into the hot pot restaurant’s main hall, waiting for the victim to return from the mirror world. If the victim returned, they would deliver a fatal blow. If not, it would mean their accomplices had already succeeded.”
Deng raised his hand, pointing out a flaw in Lun Xiande’s reasoning.
“It’s also possible that they were always lurking behind a mirror or a glass window, not having appeared in the main hall of Shujin Hot Pot Restaurant before.
“Judging from how well this group utilizes the mirror world, they didn’t need to send someone to the main hall of the hot pot restaurant in advance to wait by eating hot pot. They could have waited until the time was right, or received a signal, then entered the mirror world from afar, arriving at the predetermined assassination location. Look, the woman who walked out of the screen with Zaratulstra hadn’t appeared in the main hall before either.”
After speaking, Deng raised his palm and sniffed the tobacco pressed in his pipe.
“Yes,” Lun Xiande admitted that the captain’s point was valid. “But we still need to re-investigate those who left the main hall of the hot pot restaurant during that time period but weren’t recorded by surveillance cameras in the corresponding state at the time of the incident.”
“Remove the latter condition,” Deng thought for two seconds and said, “People who can use the mirror world can also deceive surveillance cameras. You should know that surveillance cameras record based on optical principles, and those who master mirrors are good at affecting light and creating optical illusions.”
After Lun Xiande nodded, Deng turned to Li En and said, “Tell us about the preliminary investigation results.”
Li En stood up, taking Lun Xiande’s place.
“So far, we’ve used dream interrogation on seventeen people without letting them notice anything unusual.
“Luo Shan: Very surprised about Zaratulstra’s death, couldn’t believe it.
“Zhou Mingrui: Very cautious about Zaratulstra, but also didn’t anticipate Zaratulstra’s death.
“Luo Fu: She left the main hall at the time and went to the ladies’ room. There’s no surveillance in the bathroom, but she was also very surprised about Zaratulstra’s death, clearly shocked.
“We initially listed these three as key investigation targets because they’re all employees of the Intis Group. They might have been instructed by some powerful figures within the Intis Group who don’t want a merger and reorganization, to assassinate Zaratulstra at Shujin Hot Pot Restaurant and disrupt the ongoing business negotiations. But none of them knew that Huang Tao and Zaratulstra were also in Shujin Hot Pot Restaurant, and Luo Shan and Zhou Mingrui never left the main hall…
“The preliminary conclusion is that they don’t have any issues.”
Deng expressed agreement, and Lun Xiande didn’t say anything.
After thoroughly discussing the case, Deng stood up and said to his subordinates,
“Currently, there are two key points. First, investigate the remaining suspects, including those mentioned by Lun Xiande and those with substantial motives. Second, find the woman who walked out of the screen with Zaratulstra. Although she didn’t attack Zaratulstra at the time, the fact that she came out of the screen itself is worth noting.”
“Yes, Captain,” Lun Xiande, Li En, and other officers stood up and responded.
Deng smiled and said seriously, “This involves foreign guests and major business activities. You’ve all worked hard. I’m going to report to Chief Yagates now.”
…
After looking at the moon and feeling the night breeze for half an hour, Jenna took Lumina back to Room 2303.
“Rest now, your body hasn’t fully recovered yet,” Jenna said, pointing to the bedroom.
Lumina, wearing her nightgown, opened the door and entered the bedroom. She found that the sick Franca had also woken up at some point due to her absence.
“Do you feel better now?” Franca had already learned from Jenna via WeChat about what the two had done.
Lumina looked at Franca and nodded with complex emotions. “Much better.”
Her emotions were complex because she remembered that Luo Fu and she were also in a romantic relationship.
Yet this didn’t affect her relationship with Jenna.
I thought I was just an ordinary yuri fan… How did the yuri circle become so messy? Am I really a player? Lumina sat on the edge of the bed and said to Franca,
“Let’s sleep, I still have to work tomorrow.”
Security guards worked in shifts.
Franca looked at Lumina and said with a smile, “Did you forget? You took two days off, Friday and Saturday. Your director, Grimm, approved it.”
Lumina blinked. “Oh, right… I forgot. No wonder I don’t have to work the middle shift today and can go directly to Shujin Hot Pot Restaurant in the evening…”
Looking at Lumina like this, Franca suddenly felt she was a bit adorably silly.
After the two in the bedroom went back to sleep, Jenna also lay down on the sofa, closed her eyes, and entered deep sleep.
After a while, her Astral Projection arrived in Luo Shan’s Shaman world. She saw the girl still guarding by the translucent barrier, having repelled a new round of attacks from the monsters.
From the corner of her eye, Jenna saw Franca’s Astral Projection wandering around in a daze like the other people around.
This indicated that Franca, due to her illness, had entered and then exited her consciousness.
Next, Jenna also found Lumina’s Astral Projection, who also lacked clear consciousness.
“She really isn’t a Beyonder…” Just as Jenna had this thought, she suddenly realized something.
Luo Shan must know!
It was hard to hide from her in the Shaman’s “domain”.
The next second, Jenna saw Luo Shan half turn her body and say to her, “So Zaratulstra was really killed by you guys.”
Luo Shan had seen Lumina’s Astral Projection, seen this beautiful woman who had walked out of the screen with Zaratulstra.
“Yes, we didn’t tell you earlier because we were worried the police might have special methods to confirm whether you were lying,” Jenna explained.
Luo Shan asked in confusion, “Wasn’t Luo Fu afraid of being caught lying?”
“She was hypnotized in advance,” Jenna didn’t conceal.
Luo Shan fell silent. After several seconds, she asked in a low, extremely difficult tone, “Is this… is this really a dream?”