The Daily Life Of A Cyberpunk Magician

Chapter 524 - 279 Li Yuntang’s Realization_2
”No, not at all,” Li Yuntang shook her head, ”She used to say she despised gambling and drug addiction as if they were her mortal enemies.”

Jiang Shu: ”...”

”She always envied my life,” Li Yuntang continued, ”I know she loved the glamor of being in front of the cameras. I’m not sure if that counts as vanity, but I could feel that she was different from those driven by greed—she simply loved the stage. However, her fate had been sealed since the age of eighteen, starting from when she received the ’Make-up Artist’ Character Card. That’s why she chose to join the Deception Group, to become ’Mu Jin’, and even the flowers she liked were my favorites, weren’t they?”

According to the police report, Qiu Wanying’s identity was confirmed as ”Mu Jin,” a member of the Deception Group, and her death was also believed to be the work of other members of the Deception Group, due to internal conflict.

Besides that, there wasn’t much explanation, nor was there much inquiry.

The police station could not find the murderer or the reason; thus, this grievous street murder case was left unresolved.

”The police report did indeed say that,” Jiang Shu picked up from where Li Yuntang left off, ”And the police station was not wrong, but not entirely correct either.”

He had seen Li Yuntang’s inner thoughts through the Mind Reading Technique—she hadn’t deceived him or set any traps to mislead his judgment.

”Hm?” Li Yuntang perked up, knowing that what Jiang Shu was about to disclose was what she really wanted to know.

”Do you know Tang? Dick Tang, that once star of the police force.” Jiang Shu turned his gaze to his wristwatch and slowly opened an app, ”He is the mastermind behind the Deception Group—the ’Smiling Face.’”

”Tang...is Smiling Face?” This news also took Li Yuntang by surprise; it was hard to associate someone like Tang with a criminal organization like the Deception Group.

But upon reflection, since Tang had just a week ago established a new sovereign state within Black Wall, she could believe it.

”Yes,” Jiang Shu answered earnestly, ”Tang is the mastermind behind the Deception Group. He did this to undermine the entire police and judicial system of Lonely City, intervening at an opportune moment to capture the Deception Group and gain higher status and more power. For this, you can look at these materials.”

He displayed the chat logs between himself and Tang to Li Yuntang. Those messages were confusing, enough to deceive the entire police department, which was exactly what Tang had intended at that time. Thus, Li Yuntang naturally accepted this explanation.

”So why did he want to kill Sister Qiu?” Li Yuntang pressed on.

”Because Qiu Wanying was discovered by someone from the police side.” And Jiang Shu simply appropriated Tang’s story, ”Due to some accident, her true identity was discovered by the police, who then wanted to use her to lure out the mastermind behind the Deception Group. Tang was always very cautious, maintaining only single-line contacts, even Qiu Wanying didn’t know the true identity of Smiling Face.”

Jiang Shu had already constructed a complete logical chain in his mind, and so he continued, ”After that, Tang seemed to have realized that Qiu Wanying had been alienated by the police, so he personally came to the Seventh District to handle the related cases of the Deception Group.”

”He came himself? He’s very daring.” Li Yuntang frowned slightly, clearly sensing Tang’s decisiveness.

And she also knew of Tang’s involvement in handling the series of cases related to the Deception Group in the Seventh District. While investigating this part, she had harbored some doubts because all this time, Police Chief Tang had almost exclusively dealt with cases in the districts populated by the new nobles.

Coming to the Seventh District was unprecedented.

”Yes, the closer he was to the case, the greater his chances of intervening.” Jiang Shu’s voice remained calm, as if he was recounting something he had personally experienced, ”Soon, he realized the situation was unfavorable, and as the war in the Thirteenth District broke out, he chose to leave temporarily.”

He also said with some regret, ”In any case, once Tang realized that Qiu Wanying had turned against him, he ordered members of the Deception Group to assassinate her, thereby resolving the issue.”

”So, was the new Black Wall incident in the Fifth District also related to the Deception Group?” Li Yuntang had grasped the gist of it upon hearing this.

”It had a bit of a relation, yes. He was worried that he had been exposed, and that years of his efforts might collapse, so he quickly returned to the Fifth District and initiated the new Black Wall plan ahead of schedule, claiming the mountain as his own.” After Jiang Shu finished narrating, he did not pass judgment on Tang’s series of actions; he just shrugged, ”You know what happened after that. I just happened to want to travel to the Fifth District, and just happened to encounter the new Black Wall incident, and ultimately, with the help of various talented individuals there, managed to resolve the matter.”

Li Yuntang: ”...”

Jiang Shu hinted so obviously that he did not want to discuss the subsequent matters, so Li Yuntang did not bother asking.

For her, she had already received the answers she wanted.

”Overall, that is what happened,” Jiang Shu sighed, ”As for the matter regarding Qiu Wanying, I can only say, I make no comment.”

”Mm, I understand.” Li Yuntang knew that with Jiang Shu’s position in the police station, he certainly would not side with Qiu Wanying, a member of the Deception Group, ”I’m not trying to avenge Sister Qiu. After I investigated and uncovered her identity as ’Mu Jin,’ I had already given up on the idea of revenge. I just simply wanted to know the truth. After all, she had accompanied me for a long period.”

At first, she harbored thoughts of avenging Sister Qiu, but as time passed and she discovered Qiu Wanying’s identity as ”Mu Jin,” she merely sighed at the impermanence of life, no longer harboring thoughts of revenge.

”So... Miss Li, is there anything else?” Jiang Shu picked up the porcelain bowl in front of him, took another sip, having talked so much, he was a bit thirsty.

”Not much else, but thank you for telling me all this.” Li Yuntang nodded, then stood up to bow towards Jiang Shu.

”There’s no need, no need.” Jiang Shu quickly stopped her, ”This was something I had promised you beforehand. You lent me PR resources, I tell you the truth; it’s merely a trade.”

”I know, but still, thank you.” Li Yuntang smiled, ”After all, many people could lend you PR resources, but only you could tell me the truth about this matter.”

”You’re welcome.” Jiang Shu’s expression remained unchanged.

”Mm... I inquired around, and your new show will premiere this Friday night during primetime.” Li Yuntang seemed to still hold gratitude towards Jiang Shu, ”If you like, I can come as a special guest for the first show.”

After speaking, as if she did not want Jiang Shu to feel that her presence was charity, she added, ”Besides, it has been a long time since I’ve seen you perform magic. I quite enjoy that form of entertainment, and I would be very willing to see it up close.”

”Of course, if Miss Li could be a guest, I would be more than grateful,” Jiang Shu agreed without a second thought.

Having Li Yuntang as a guest for the first show would greatly enhance the promotional reach of his program.

The most obvious benefit would be elevating the Derivative Entries obtained from the Deception Technique. Furthermore, the more popular the show, the more money he, as the host, would earn.

On the eve of the official start of Sky Tower, he would not miss any opportunity that could help him make a fortune.

”That’s great.” Li Yuntang smiled again, and then, as if she had just remembered something, she casually mentioned, ”Speaking of which, a man as outstanding as Mr. Jiang really tends to attract the attention of women.”

”Hm?” Jiang Shu was somewhat puzzled, not grasping the meaning of Li Yuntang’s words.

”Before this, Sister Qiu had shown interest in magic or perhaps in the Deception Technique, and during those three months on set, you were always around her,” Li Yuntang continued, her eyes carrying a hint of depth, ”So I am a bit curious, why throughout she never showed any interest in you? With her personality... that’s nearly an impossible thing.”