Chapter 283 - Getting Closer to the Truth (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The woman in black was stunned for a moment.

“What did you say?” she asked tentatively.

“It’s nothing. Please continue.” Lu Siya extended a thin and long finger to tap on the table. She changed the direction of her questions and asked, “Has Mr. Jin said anything related to money recently? Such as the company competing for a major deal or something like that?”

“No.” The woman in black shook her head. “Old Jin was old. He couldn’t understand the newest spirit energy magnetic fields, and he often complained that the current runic symbols look like multiple earthworms squirming about. He couldn’t understand them. He was marginalized by his company, and even if it managed to get a major deal, it would have nothing to do with him.

“But now that you said this, I remember something. He did mention something about money. One night, he came back drunk but really excited and happy. He wanted to have sex the moment he got into bed.

“I was angry at him for being a gambling addict, so I kicked him out of the bed. Then, we ended up arguing.

“After arguing for a long time, he grew angry because of his shame, and he told me that in a month or two, he would have cleared all his debts, and he would even get rich. He told me to not come and beg him to keep me around anymore when that happened.

“But once he said those words, he looked really regretful. No matter how much I pestered him later, he refused to say anything about how he’ll clear his debt.”

“Did he?” Lu Siya’s eyes lit up. “I remember that Mr. Jin had quite a large debt; otherwise, he wouldn’t have pawned off the house. What could he do in a month or two that would allow him to clear all his gambling debt and even earn some money? Could it be that he planned to hunt Hell Beasts?”

“Him? Forget it!” The woman in black scoffed. “He was just a support-class superhuman. When he was young, he didn’t train hard, and many of his spirit meridians were in a mess because of his cultivation. His bones were even damaged because of the tremors from the heavy construction machines. Once he grew old, he couldn’t fight anymore. How would he dare to go to the wild and hunt monsters?

“Besides, the apartments in Blessed Paradise aren’t cheap. You cannot redeem them by just killing a monster or two.”

“Hmm…” Lu Siya appeared contemplative. She asked a few other inane questions before she finally said, “Ms. Zhou, aside from you said already, do you think that Mr. Jin has been acting strange recently?”

The woman in black thought about it seriously for a long time. She was just about to shake her head when Lu Siya brought out another thick envelope from her pocket. But she did not place it on the table. She just pushed it against her chest and watched her patiently.

The woman in black gulped. She thought about it for a moment before she said, “Recently, Old Jin has been acting strange in every way possible. Let’s just focus on how he acted half a month ago. There were a few times when he came back while stinking. It was not the smell of sweat that comes from working hard. It was a very pungent smell. I asked him what he did, but he said nothing about it and just went off to bathe. Does that count?”

“There are plenty of types of stenches,” Lu Siya said. “There’s the stench of corpses, excrement, monsters, something burnt, and the stench of rotting trash. Think about it properly. Did Mr. Jin’s stench resemble any of the stenches I just mentioned?”

The woman in black thought about it and answered firmly, “It was the stench of garbage. I remember complaining at that time that he seemed to have come back after rolling around in the trash.”

Lu Siya nodded and asked, “Then, which happened first? Mr. Jin coming back with that strange smell of garbage or him buying a biochemical pet while ignoring the fact that he’s allergic?”

“The smell came first,” the woman in black said. “After two or three days, he brought that creature.”

Meng Chao asked a few questions as well.

The woman in black stared at the envelope Lu Siya pressed against her chest and answered.

However, she only knew a limited number of things and she had already mentioned everything that she knew. Soon, she started repeating her answers incoherently.

“Thank you, Ms. Zhou.” Lu Siya finally pushed the second envelope forward slowly. “After a person dies, they will not come back to life. You have to be strong.”

“Thank you, I will.”

The woman in black took the envelope happily and started counting the money in delight.

With the help of money, she quickly and bravely left the trauma of her gambler boyfriend dying behind.

“I know what I need to do.” Once she finished counting the thick stack of cash notes, she smiled obsequiously at Lu Siya and Meng Chao. “I won’t tell anyone all that I told you two just now.”

“Please don’t.” Lu Siya said. “First, if the other investigators want to know anything, you won’t be able to hide the truth from them. The more you try to hide, the more you will reveal the truth. It’ll be easier for them to find out the answer that way.

“Second, we’re all good citizens who obey the law. It’s impossible for us to ask you to hide the truth and put a stop to the progress of the case.

“Third, and listen carefully to this. If anyone comes to you to investigate the case, you should tell them the truth. But if you don’t tell them that we came to find you, ten days later, I will send you an envelope as thick as this one, understand?”