Chapter 489: with translation of chapter title

No matter how you look at it, Bai Mu Yun seems to be the only clue in this room.

Speaking of which, how did he die?

Anyway, he wouldn't wake up, so Yang Yixie, out of friendship, turned him onto his back so he wouldn't bump into a corner.

Yang Yixie hadn't seen the report from the Field Operations Department; when Bai Mu Yun was brought over, they had also tidied up his "funeral appearance."

But the hole in Bai Mu Yun's head also clearly indicated his cause of death.

Bai Mu Yun, killed by gunshot.

Moreover, it was a close-range gunshot.

This is strange—given Bai Mu Yun's abilities, as long as he used an energy shield at close range, ordinary bullets could never pierce his shield.

But the 【Scouting】 skill found no trace of resistance on Bai Mu Yun......

Yang Yixie had not been immune to those seal-energy handcuffs either; he knew their effect was indeed strong, he could bypass them via a backpack bug, but Bai Mu Yun could not.

Without an energy shield, are Aberrant Arts practitioners and humanoid Aberrant Species treated the same?

That's not right either.

Given Yang Yixie's understanding of Bai Mu Yun, even in the narrowest space he should at least put up some resistance.

Surely he couldn't have committed suicide, right?

That also can't be; if Bai Mu Yun had any such tendency, he wouldn't have tried to switch jobs as Luo Jinyou once told him.

Originally he had planned to research with Luo Jinyou how to use this information to achieve his goal, but someone got there first.

In other words, before someone moved to kill Bai Mu Yun, had he already lost the ability to resist?

Ying Duo sat on the edge of the bed, head lowered, looking at Bai Mu Yun.

Perhaps because he is a consciousness entity, Bai Mu Yun left no traces of his death on his body, and Ying Duo could not judge his pre-death experience from these.

Anyway, let's leave it here for now......

Really, there's nothing to see; Yang Yixie prepared to go elsewhere to look, for example, try leaving this room.

Of course, take the iron spoon and basin along the way.

Yang Yixie looked at his fingers; a bit of something like pearl powder clung to the pads.

From different angles, it could even show different hues from deep blue to purple.

What is this?

He unconsciously frowned; this seemed to be where he had stood when he just straightened Bai Mu Yun.

He brought his finger to his nose and sniffed; there was a very faint fragrance, not floral; he rubbed his fingers, and the phosphor powder on the pads dispersed into finer particles.

Consciousness......

In this regard, Aberrant Arts practitioners are hardest to guard against.

The Field Operations Department is undoubtedly the best place to act against Bai Mu Yun, after all it's their turf and they're all their people, but Han Huan has no need to do so.

Bai Mu Yun had already defected to him; Han Huan did not deny it, meaning he considered Bai Mu Yun to have utilitarian value for him.

Fang Zhiyan's words also aren't necessary.

Besides them......

Intelligence Department?

Xie Jingnian? At the time Xie Jingye was present, but did she have a chance to act?

Besides them, who else was present?

A group of unnamed NPCs from the Field Operations Department, Sha Xu Feng, Die Yu Zhe.

As for the gun, Sha Xu Feng could also be possible?

Yang Yixie planned to go find Fang Zhiyan later to obtain the detailed file of Bai Mu Yun's killing.

If he happened to pick up some experience along the way, he could help him get revenge or something.

But Yang Yixie worries more about one thing: previously the Dome's conflicts were limited to internal departmental struggles, but what if an external force secretly intervened?

By the way, why did Sha Xu Feng and Die Yu Zhe defect to the Dome?

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"...... Do you even care?"

Sha Xu Feng looked at Die Yu Zhe speechlessly as he sat before the table, having specially gone out to buy an exquisite box and placed the broken-winged swallowtail butterfly inside.

"Do you know how useful this thing is?"

Die Yu Zhe looked at the mechanical swallowtail butterfly in the box with a face full of sorrow; its wings had completely dimmed, the light powder originally attached had all vanished, and in the end he reluctantly closed the lid.

"Useful? It's also what that guy gave; if it's broken, it's broken—if you can't fix it, just toss it somewhere."

Sha Xu Feng merely snorted coldly; Die Yu Zhe's Aberrant Arts combined with that butterfly indeed gave a great boost, after all it was a custom-made rune weapon for them.

"What if it could be repaired?"

Die Yu Zhe spoke as if hoping for luck, and at the same time placed the box somewhere safe.

"I recall only one wing was broken? Just find someone to reattach it and it's done."

Sha Xu Feng doesn't know much about these rune technologies; after all, he merely overloaded and folded the wings, so the damage probably isn't too severe.

"Have you ever caught a butterfly?"

Die Yu Zhe turned, leaning against the cabinet with arms crossed, looking at Sha Xu Feng.

"Whether with a net or by hand, it's fine if just some phosphor powder gets on it, but once the wing is broken, it can never fly again."

Butterflies are very fragile.

Each flap of its wings consumes itself; you see it flying so lightly, so airily, as if effortless, but in fact its lifespan is very short.

It seemed it could only not take off before, still able to rest briefly on Die Yu Zhe's shoulder, but because the rune circuit cannot be repaired, it will soon cease operation.

This swallowtail butterfly has been with him for too long.

"At least its mission is complete," Die Yu Zhe said ambiguously.

"When she handed it to me herself, she said it would be an extension of my consciousness, but perhaps precisely because it was tailor‑made for me, it is as fragile as I am."

"Oh, that's truly ironic."

Sha Yu Feng had no leisure to comfort him; instead he mocked him mercilessly.

Wasn't this, in fact, digging a pit for Die Yu Zhe early on?

In the past, Sha Yu Feng couldn't tolerate Die Yu Zhe, partly because that guy relied too heavily on his Aberrant Arts; if he had put any effort into physical techniques, at least his survival would have been assured.

But Die Yu Zhe wouldn't act, and Lingxiao at the time didn't advise him; instead he deliberately nurtured that mindset, never considering giving him any Rune device for self‑defense.

It seemed like concern, yet it subtly pushed them toward the abyss—ha... what a clever scheme.

Die Yu Zhe remained silent, merely placing the box he held somewhere.

As he had said before, its mission is already complete.

Sha Yu Feng's voice sounded somewhat grating in his ears, but Die Yu Zhe only occasionally laughed and replied a few lines.

Although he also wanted to find a chance to eliminate Sha Yu Feng, she wouldn't allow it......

Sha Yu Feng always sneered at her, calling her supremely hypocritical, yet he didn't realize that if she wanted to deal with him, it would be as simple as a flick of a finger.

If it weren't for lingering old feelings......