Chapter 277: Acting or Brainwashing?

Chi Jinan finally stopped, released his grip on Ying Duo, and fixed his gaze on Cai Mao's face.

The murderous aura swirling around him made the busy gang members nearby involuntarily halt, cautiously surveying the information here.

"Cai Mao," Chi Jinan's voice was low, "when did you two first meet?"

Cai Mao's heart jumped; not knowing how much information Chi Jinan possessed, he could only be as vague as possible.

"Counting the days… probably about a month or so?" he deliberately stretched the time a bit.

"Oh?"

Chi Jinan squinted slightly, his eyes sweeping over Cai Mao's face, which was full of streetwise swagger and fear.

Cai Mao's acting was superb; the instinctive dread and flattery a small-time figure shows before power were displayed to the fullest.

But having seen many such people and working in the Heresy Tribunal for so long, Chi Jinan could sense Cai Mao's slight guilt, as if fearing he would discover something.

"More than a month…"

Chi Jinan chuckled lightly, the invisible pressure making sweat appear on Cai Mao's forehead.

"Which exact day? Any special place? The precise details?" Cai Mao's Adam's apple bobbed, his mind racing.

Which day exactly?

He couldn't remember that clearly!

He only recalled that it was the day Ying Duo first materialized in their bar, or that the demonic star kicked the door in and they noticed him.

Special person or event?

The special person was the green‑haired elder beside us, and the special event was that you kicked the door off its hinges!

But can I say that?

Saying it would directly link Ying Duo to that day, wouldn't it?

Although Chi Jinan might already suspect, confirming it with his own mouth was another matter.

"Well, it's been so long, my memory isn't great…" Cai Mao forced a smile, trying to be vague, "that day the bar was full of old acquaintances, business was decent…"

"Is that so?"

Chi Jinan's voice grew colder, his gaze sharp as a blade; he pulled a TruthStone he had casually taken from the interrogation chamber out of his pocket and waved it before Cai Mao.

The TruthStone now emitted an ominous red glow.

"Are you sure?"

Cai Mao's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat, just as he was racking his brain for a response, nearly unable to hold on.

"Boss! All the medicine's been distributed! Any other orders..." a lively voice interjected.

It was the grass‑green‑haired youth Cai Mao had sent to hand out the medicine; he rushed back excitedly, spotted Ying Duo standing beside Chi Jinan, and his eyes lit up instantly.

His admiration and delight were unmasked; he opened his mouth, ready to shout the name that was almost engraved in his heart.

However, before he could speak, a corner of his eye caught the conspicuous Heresy Tribunal emblem on Chi Jinan's clothing.

The youth immediately changed his tone and asked Ying Duo earnestly:

"Head! Why are you here?"

His casual, warm "Head" made Chi Jinan's eyebrows twitch ever so slightly.

He turned his gaze to the green‑haired youth who had appeared out of nowhere and asked:

"You call him 'Head'? How long have you known each other?"

The grass‑green‑haired youth, stared at by Chi Jinan, swallowed nervously but answered honestly.

"Known… maybe ten days? Perhaps close to twenty? Speaking of the day Head joined us, the bar's door was kicked off its hinges…"

As he spoke, he strained to recall, then suddenly seemed to remember something, his eyes widening sharply as he pointed at Chi Jinan and blurted out.

"Ah, I remember! You're the one who kicked the door off its hinges and hasn't paid yet!"

With those words, Cai Mao painfully closed his eyes, cursing that clueless kid eight hundred times in his mind.

Ying Duo suddenly spoke, "He repaid, the money's given to me."

The grass‑green‑haired youth immediately nodded, looking as if everything was fine.

"Oh, paying Head is fine; if Head takes it, it's as if we received it." His trust and obedience toward Ying Duo were almost blind.

Chi Jinan's gaze swept back and forth between Ying Duo and the youth; one was calm, the other eager, and neither showed any flaw. Cai Mao had already fled, claiming to go check the supply distribution over there.

Chi Jinan, holding the TruthStone, turned to the youth and asked, "Why do you call him that?"

was the same; Chi Jinan, holding the TruthStone, turned to the youth and asked, "Why do you call him that?"

"Do we even need to explain? It's just because of the boss's hair! Is it bright enough? Is it special enough? Our gang values a 'standout' look. That day after the Judge left, the boss was elected on the spot as an officer because of that hair!"

"Do I need to explain? Just by Head's hair! Is it bright enough? Special enough? Our gang values a 'stand‑out' look; that day after the Judge left, Head was elected on the spot because of that hair!"

"That day?" Chi Jinan caught the keyword, "The day I kicked the door, was he in your bar the whole time?"

"Of course!" the youth replied without hesitation.

The first tenet of the Entropy Light Cult: The Holy Son's words are certainly correct!

The Holy Son said he came that day to join their selection, so he must have been waiting there all along, thus certainly

"The boss is really impressive! Not only is his hair bright, his hands are skillful too! When the colored lights in our bar broke before, it was the boss who fixed them. That night the bar's lights were especially bright, and everyone said, 'Right?!'"

If it's not in his memory, then his memory must be faulty!

"Head's impressive! Not only is his hair bright, his hands are skillful! When our bar's decorative lights broke, Head fixed them; that night the bar was unusually bright, everyone said, right?!"

He spoke with solemnity, showing no sign of deceit; several nearby gang members, hearing

The TruthStone in Chi Jinan's hand remained still; it seems what he said was true, at least he subjectively believes his own words are true.

"Yeah, yeah, Head's got a knack for fixing lights!"

"The lighting that night was indeed great!"

Chi Jinan's TruthStone remained still; it seemed the words were true, at least subjectively he believed they were.

【61】 I recall that day when he arrived at the bar, he was nearly blinded by those garish decorative lights,

【62】 so before he got there the lights had already been fixed?

【63】 Were they repaired?

【64】 More importantly, Chi Jinan and his group

【65】 came abruptly, Cai Mao and his subordinates simply had no

【66】 time to coordinate their statements.

【67】 Chi Jinan hadn't

【68】 realized

【69】 that

【70】 he

【71】 had been subtly

【72】 had his concept swapped

【73】, because

【74】 the grass

【75】 green‑hair

【76】 also

【77】 indeed

【78】 true

【79】, but

【80】 just

【81】 slightly

【82】 shifted

【83】 the timing

【84】 only.

He always feels something's off, as reason and intuition seem to be freely sparring.

His intuition tells him that Ying Duo is definitely that "Flame City Cannon"; even though the gathered intel shows Ying Duo had no time to commit the crime, he remains unwavering in his belief.

But how can Ying Duo be so weak?

Maybe he should just act directly; after all, if he only killed an ordinary person, she wouldn't turn against him.

【System Prompt: Player 【Ying Duo】 invites you to join the party.】

Chi Jinan's murderous intent is beginning to become uncontrollable; Cai Mao only feels that just as he brushed past Ying Duo, his vision seemed to blur for a moment.

The long‑term scrappiness on the lower tiers has honed Cai Mao's sharpness, making him realize something; although he doesn't know where Ying Duo got the nerve to make a move in front of Chi Jinan, he still, after moving away from Chi Jinan, immediately chose to agree.

【System Prompt: NPC 【Cai Mao】 has joined the party.】

Then, Ying Duo sent a message to Cai Mao via the party channel, basically asking him to go to the Dream Illusion Bar later to deliver a message for him.

Actually, if possible, Ying Duo would rather have that grass‑green one do the work for him.

No way, Cai Mao's acting is even worse than his own subordinates!