Great! I'm surrounded by villains!-Chapter 370 - 289: Puzzle Game

Mr. Saintfield VI had died, and according to the explanation given by Doctor Duan Mingyuan, if one disregarded the terrifying expression of the deceased just before death, he could be considered to have died a natural death. For the Saintfield family, this was a bittersweet affair.

The old man had lived for 170 years, and of his contemporaries in the Shan Clan People, except for Morgan VII who had abandoned his body to dedicate his soul to the Digitalized World, all had been outlived by him.

Regrettably, this explanation seemed unable to convince the members of the Saintfield family.

That very night, the Consortium issued an order demanding that Fu Ling thoroughly investigate the truth, especially as they suspected the current Family Head’s death was related to the "coincidental" presence of Duan Mingyuan on the Eco-Ship. After all, this person had a long history of offenses, and the Shan Clan People still firmly believed he had blown up the flagship of the Silver Lotus family.

If Morgan VII did not lack a physical form, this man from Blue Star might have already become an individual in the universe who had taken out leaders of two different families.

That was an achievement not even the most legendary assassin would dare to dream of.

"Another mess on the ground."

By the time the video conference ended, it was already two in the morning. After she had settled the scholars who had come to attend the summit, she also had to face the questioning from the Consortium. Everyone on the video call had a stern face, grieved and angry about the death of Mr. Saintfield VI, but in reality, she knew very well that these people were secretly overjoyed.

Mr. Saintfield VI had occupied the position of Family Head for over a hundred years, and even individuals of younger generations had passed away. Now, the position of the Family Head was vacant, and what was more, the current Family Head had died unexpectedly without leaving any legally effective will.

Therefore, the core members of the Saintfield family all had the chance to pick up this godsend of a pie falling from the sky.

"I would bet that they are definitely secretly popping champagne in their rooms right now, saying that Mr. Saintfield VI died at an opportune time."

The bitterness in Fu Ling’s heart was genuine.

Her spirit was out of sync with the celebrations of the Shan Clan People. Upper echelon celebrations often meant torment for the subordinate departments.

As the newly appointed director of the Department of Life Sciences, Fu Ling became that unfortunate person.

Moreover, she had a bit of fondness for the late Mr. Saintfield VI, or more accurately, she supported his continued occupancy of the position of Family Head.

Although the old man was sometimes stubborn and difficult, he was, after all, more than 170 years old and didn’t usually cause trouble for them. However, once a new Family Head of the Saintfield family took office, God knows how many changes would come.

"And very unfortunately, Mr. Mingyuan, you have also become an object of this torment. Although the family has not yet conclusively blamed you, at least they hope you can prove your innocence."

Fu Ling looked at Duan Mingyuan with a sympathetic gaze; now they shared a common misfortune.

"To my knowledge, there are at least four factions within the Saintfield family hoping to succeed to the position of Family Head, and their competition has already begun. Uncovering the true details of the previous Family Head’s death and capturing the real culprit would give that faction a significant lead."

However, there was a simpler method than uncovering the truth.

—Pin the blame on Duan Mingyuan.

After all, in the perception of the Shan Clan People, he already had a history of previous offenses; him performing any other astonishing act wouldn’t surprise anyone.

Fu Ling felt that if Duan Mingyuan wasn’t particularly capable of fighting, the Shan Clan People might have already used him as a scapegoat and publicly executed him a hundred times over.

"We have ample alibis. Isn’t that enough?"

Jiuyue raised an objection.

This was clearly not in the spirit of the rule of law!

At the time of Mr. Saintfield VI’s death, they were meeting with parents—where would they find the time to sneak into Mr. Saintfield VI’s room and deal him a deadly blow?

"These days, an alibi means nothing."

Fu Ling spread her hands.

With the existence of supernatural abilities, killing someone remotely was child’s play.

Just as the advent of artificial intelligence had displaced many workers, the assassins of this era also faced even harsher tests.

If there was still an assassin who had to physically be at the scene to kill someone, it only meant he wasn’t cut out for the job, perhaps a better career choice would be at an electronics factory.

"Doesn’t that just mean they can spout nonsense and we have no way to prove our innocence?"

Jiuyue was indignant, looking utterly abhorred by the act of spreading rumors, having completely forgotten that she had once spread rumors about Duan Mingyuan being a cannibal.

"Unfortunately, at least for now, that’s just how things operate."

This wasn’t only happening to Duan Mingyuan; the Shan Clan People had already used the same methods to forcibly pin crimes on many others, therefore when they suspect you of committing a certain crime, you’d best have actually done it.

If needed, the Shan Clan People would hypocritically offer the accused a chance for a public trial.

They would be brought before the Tribunal, but the judges, the lawyers, even the defendants’ own advocates—they all belong to them.

Anyone with clear sight could see that this was just a formality; only those young idealists trapped in their ideals would naively believe in the fairness and justice of the trial.

Fu Ling could sense the Saintfield family weighing the pros and cons.

They were carefully considering the possibility that an infuriated Duan Mingyuan might visit their space station and then blow up their ancestral home, so for the moment they weren’t fully aggressive.

"Unless..."

Fu Ling’s tone shifted, "Unless you can find the real murderer."

"Mr. Mingyuan, say something, or should we just go blow up their space station?"

Jiuyue suggested.

She had long found the Shan Clan People distasteful. Before their visit to the Prison Planet, the media had for quite some time portrayed Duan Mingyuan as the actual leader of a terrorist organization, a tyrant, and an incurable murderer.

The good news was, Mr. Mingyuan was one of the few individuals with the strength to actually live up to these allegations.

Jiuyue had always felt that Duan Mingyuan had what it took to be a psychopathic serial killer, or even a real cannibal, no problem.

"I keep feeling that Saintfield VI’s reactions were a bit strange."

However, Duan Mingyuan ignored the conversation between Fu Ling and Jiuyue and pondered by himself.

When the old man was still alive, he didn’t pay much attention to his reasons, but looking back, Saintfield VI’s reactions after encountering the "黑泥" were too abnormal, and even the manner of his death differed greatly from traditional accounts of the "黑泥" incidents.

He didn’t experience the process of being doubted by those around him, left alone in fear, he just died.

It looked like he was scared to death.

He must have seen something terrifying before his time, extinguishing the already flickering flame of his life.

"Mr. Mingyuan, are you really going to catch the killer?"

"I have no interest in family affairs."

Duan Yuanming didn’t care about the Shan Clan People’s assessment of him and didn’t intend to fall into the endless trap of proving himself.

What really interested him was the thing that killed Saintfield VI.

It had appeared coincidentally after they had learned of the legend of the "黑泥", as if it had been arranged in advance.

"There’s a hint of the pleasure of solving mysteries now."

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