Chapter 189: Butterfly Effect

It's not just Han Fei.

The Investigation Team's remaining three members—Shen Man Ni, Li Chen, and Chen Ke—also saw this highly trending news at that moment.

Moreover, the three, like Han Fei, all thought this was Xu Mo's doing.

They hadn't communicated at all.

Not even a glance was exchanged, yet they concluded the incident must be Xu Mo's.

After all… how could such a coincidence exist in the world?

Xu Mo had just arrived in Sakura Country yesterday.

That night, the Jin Country Divine Toilet caught fire!

A massive blaze turned the Jin Country Divine Toilet into ruins.

Could this be a coincidence!?

Even if they were beaten to death, they wouldn't believe it's a coincidence!

"Well done! Xu Mo, huh? Quietly pulling off a big deed…," Chen Ke said, unable to hold back as he watched the news.

"Is there any possibility—I'm saying if…," Li Chen scratched his head, "Did Xu Mo do this to make amends to Wang Ju?"

Han Fei: "???"

After a brief pause, Li Chen continued.

"I did the math; the moment the Divine Toilet burned lines up exactly with when we rescued Wang Ju from the trunk. Xu Mo, being meticulous, knew his act was a bit thoughtless, so he set off fireworks for Wang Ju as a penance."

"Stop spouting nonsense; there's still no evidence that this is Xu Mo's doing, so don't jump to conclusions," Shen Man Ni said abruptly from beside.

Hearing that, Li Chen instinctively prepared to retort.

"Isn't the fact right there? How could it not be…"

He stopped himself mid‑sentence, pulling the latter half back.

He then said seriously, "You're right; there's still no evidence that this is Xu Mo's doing."

Immediately after, he turned his gaze toward the camera.

"And, everyone, remember: without evidence, don't spread rumors. Don't believe rumors, don't pass them on, okay?"

He said this to remind the Water Friends in the Live Broadcast Room.

He urged everyone not to speak recklessly and not to cause trouble for Xu Mo.

Although the Investigation Team now stands opposite Xu Mo.

He still expressed great appreciation for Xu Mo's approach.

A place that housed a bunch of thoroughly wicked war criminals—seeing it burned is truly gratifying!

Glancing at the time, Han Fei stood up from his seat.

He waved his hand at the remaining three.

"Alright, alright, it's time. Let's board; we have to hurry and bring Xu Mo back. We can't let him run amok abroad; my eyelids keep twitching."

…

Sakura Country.

11 a. m.

Inside a high‑end hotel in East Meridian City.

Xu Mo was having lunch with the four of them.

His phone lay flat on the table.

What Xu Mo was browsing while eating was the news about the Divine Toilet fire.

"Hey, do you know anything about criminal psychology?" Zhou Qiaoqiao said suddenly, halfway through her meal.

Yang Jingxuan answered reflexively.

"I know, what's up?"

Zhou Qiaoqiao smiled, then glanced at Xu Mo's phone screen.

"From a psychological standpoint, after a passionate crime, there's a certain chance the suspect returns to the crime scene to admire his 'work.' It's said that revisiting the scene gives them great psychological satisfaction."

Hearing this, Yang Jingxuan, An Youyi, and Li Jiaxin all simultaneously glanced at Xu Mo's phone lying on the table, then smiled.

It all matched.

So their initial thought was correct; this was indeed Xu Mo's doing!

Of course, the few of them tacitly chose not to state the matter outright again.

After all, there's a camera!

They didn't want to cause trouble for Xu Mo, let alone for themselves.

The four's behavior fell into Xu Mo's sight.

Xu Mo was too lazy to explain further, merely shaking his head helplessly.

He was fuming inside.

At this moment, Xu Mo really wanted to figure out which turtle‑son was behind this!

It was done, and that's that; actually, doing it isn't a big deal.

Even though he saw the Jin Country Divine Toilet reduced to ruins, Xu Mo felt somewhat relieved.

But the key is…

This dirty water can't be splashed onto his head!

People sitting in a hotel, and a pot falls from the sky?

Who the hell can stand that!

He watched the news also to analyze whether Sakura Country's police could possibly catch the arsonist.

After carefully looking at the news.

Xu Mo felt relieved.

The clues left by that stupid thief are just too many.

Sakura Country Police will definitely be able to catch him!

Then the big, black pot hanging over Xu Mo's head can finally be taken off.

He put away his phone.

Xu Mo looked at the four of them and said seriously.

"No later than midnight tonight, these arsonists will be caught. I am innocent; time will prove everything."

"Umm… umm… umm…!" Zhou Qiaoqiao nodded vigorously: "We all know you're innocent! We believe you!"

Xu Mo: "???"

This attitude… is this believing him!?

"Sigh…," Xu Mo exhaled.

He was too lazy to give any further explanation.

Tonight, everything will come to light.

Xu Mo's confidence stems from a quick analysis he did while watching the news earlier.

The news reported that the scene contained large residues of alcohol, gasoline, paint and other flammable materials.

The Jin Country Divine Toilet being reduced to ruins also corroborates that the arsonist used a great amount of flammable substances.

After all, if there weren't many flammables, the Jin Country Divine Toilet couldn't have been completely razed.

The alcohol likely came from medical alcohol sold at a pharmacy.

Although gasoline can't be bought directly, one could fill up at a gas station and then siphon the fuel from the tank.

As for paint, it's even simpler; that stuff is very easy to obtain.

Judging from the large amount of flammable material left at the scene.

The arsonist, in order to gather these items, must have frequently visited pharmacies, gas stations, and paint shops.

Even if the arson wasn't a crime of passion but a premeditated effort that took a long time to collect the flammables, it would still leave traces.

Moreover, the incident caused such a stir that the Sakura Country authorities gave it high priority.

They dispatched a large police force to investigate, so the case‑handling efficiency will surely be high.

Therefore, Xu Mo dares to assert that as long as Sakura Country Police follow this lead and combine it with surveillance, they can identify the arsonist within at most a day.

Xu Mo set down his utensils and looked at the four.

"Since such a huge incident just broke out, the museum in Sakura Country is probably on high alert. Let's be cautious for the next couple of days to avoid walking into a gunfire zone. After two or three days, when the buzz dies down, we can act."

…

Just as Xu Mo had anticipated.

At a quarter past nine in the evening.

The arsonist was indeed identified.

Park???, male, twenty‑five, a West Eight Country citizen…

Qian???, male, twenty‑four, a West Eight Country citizen…

These are two West Eight Country nationals; according to the investigation, after setting the fire they took the nearest flight back to West Eight Country.

Sakura Country has publicly released the information on the two arsonists and has asked the West Eight Country authorities for an explanation, demanding that West Eight Country send the two criminals back to Sakura Country for trial.

It is worth mentioning that the motive behind their crime is laughably absurd.

The two were actually upset because a few Sakura Country people beat them up, and they committed the crime while drunk!

What's even more laughably absurd is that those Sakura Country people attacked for no reason simply because they had recently been snarled at by a West Eight Country person, so they got angry at any West Eight Country individual they saw and impulsively beat them!

Xu Mo was stunned when he saw the news.

So this is the legendary butterfly effect!?