Chapter 2571: Dear Detective Mr. 23

Alswick, reeking of blood all over, returned to the room in the stronghold where he occasionally rested.

He backhandedly closed the door, preparing to remove his bloodstained coat and shirt for a quick clean-up.

No……

Someone!

Alswick reacted extremely quickly, reaching for the dagger at his waist.

But he still couldn't dodge in time; Jin Chen, who had lunged from behind, pinned him against the door, immobilizing his wrist, and the dagger fell.

"See you again, baby." The familiar voice sounded close to his ear.

"Damn it!" Alswick cursed through gritted teeth, his lungs nearly bursting with rage.

He could never accept being controlled again and again by the same person!

Thus he struggled desperately, twisting and using all his skill to try to fight back and break free.

But the result was no different from the previous times.

His bloodstained shirt was violently ripped off and tossed aside; he was firmly pressed against the cold door panel, his bare upper body feeling the chill of the panel and the warmth from the person behind him.

"You still won't learn, but then again, you are……"

Jin Chen's lips lightly brushed Alswick's ear, leaving faint kisses, then slid to the slight bump at the back of his neck and bit down.

"The infamous Crimson Gentleman Cromwell, and……"

He deliberately paused, then slowly uttered the second half: "The respected Inspector Alswick."

Alswick stared in disbelief, never expecting both identities to be exposed at once.

And when his daytime identity was mentioned, he inevitably thought of Cyril waiting for him in the cylindrical room.

That innocent, blond youth who relied on him completely.

Jin Chen knew him too well, sensing from Alswick's dazed state what he was thinking; the smile beneath his mask deepened, and his fingertips gently brushed Alswick's chest, where the tooth marks from last time remained.

Beneath his palm, a full arc bulged slightly, feeling the violent throbbing of the heartbeat.

"Who are you thinking about, my Inspector?" Jin Chen murmured ambiguously, "Even while in my arms, are you still thinking of someone else?"

"You damned bastard! Let go of me! I'll kill you! I'll chop you into eight pieces and throw you into the canal to feed the fish!"

Alswick cursed angrily, struggling with greater force than ever before, heedless of everything as he tried to break free.

Jin Chen ignored his curses, wickedly leaving marks on Alswick's neck and shoulder that invited lascivious thoughts.

"Answer me, baby." He persistently demanded, "Who are you thinking about? Hmm?"

Alswick's heart was filled with rage, yet his body shamefully reacted to the teasing.

He weakly lifted his head, his neck tracing a fragile line, his Adam's apple rolling.

In a daze, a chaotic and absurd feeling arose.

The powerful, dangerous black-clad figure behind him, who toyed with him at will, and the gentle Cyril in his mind… began to blur and overlap, causing him to feel an extreme sense of dizzy disassociation.

【Villain Heartthrob Value +5, total 55!】

Alswick again heard the soft whisper by his ear, just like Cyril's usual murmurs when emotionally moved.

"Alswick……"

Jin Chen bit his Adam's apple.

Alswick's green pupils contracted sharply, his body twitched once, feeling pain and numbness, like a fish stranded on shore, releasing killing intent.

Immediately, his vision went black and his body went limp.

Jin Chen scooped him up in a horizontal hold and gently placed him on the bed in the room, which wasn't spacious but was clean enough.

He leaned down, removed his mask, and placed a long, deep kiss on Alswick's bloodless lips.

"You should have rested long ago, my Inspector."

Jin Chen took out the griffin medal he had scavenged and pressed it into Alswick's loosely clenched palm.

Having done all that, he slipped out the window and vanished into the deep night of Beiya'er City.

He had already given Alswick plenty of clues and hints.

Now it's up to his Inspector to see if he can guess his identity.

——

The night was as dark as ink; Jin Chen leapt over the fence surrounding Zhuang Yuan and landed on the lawn.

Compared to daytime, the Zhuang Yuan estate at night obviously sees more stories unfold.

Jin Chen's purpose for this trip was precisely to probe the secrets hidden under the night curtain.

He had only just infiltrated when, before he could even reach the garden pavilion as originally planned, he discovered an unexpected target.

Butler Edgar carried a dim lantern, his steps slightly hurried as he left the side door of the main hall.

At this time, such behavior was obviously not normal.

Jin Chen did not follow him.

【Really stubborn, huh.】 Ling Gun Gun muttered quietly in his mind, 【Does this count as committing a crime against the wind?】

Jin Chen's lips curved slightly.

【The idiom was used well, showing improvement.】

【Hehehe,】 Ling Gun Gun felt a bit embarrassed yet a little proud, 【I think so too!】

Edgar was completely unaware of being followed from behind.

He walked along the small path to the double wooden door set into the hillside, skillfully opened the copper lock, and pushed the door open to enter.

It was the underground wine cellar of Zhuang Yuan.

Jin Chen slipped in like a fish, hiding in the shadows cast by the rows of oak wine racks.

The interior of the wine cellar was spacious, with a high ceiling, and the temperature was noticeably much lower than outside.

Edejia went to get wine; Jin Chen planned to get a clearer look at who his accomplice was when they traded, and, bored at the moment, he yawned and rubbed his slightly cold nose.

He leaned against the icy stone wall, thinking that beside or underneath the wine cellar was likely the ice room used to store winter ice.

Upon thinking of this, Jin Chen's body paused slightly, and he straightened up a bit.

Ice…

【Zero Egg, retrieve the previous case record's description of the poison Vincent was affected by and the manner of his death.】

【Ah! Okay, Host!】 Ling Gun Gun immediately responded, presenting the original storyline footage from that time.

……Not oral ingestion poisoning; the poison takes effect slowly, suggesting inhaled gas or skin-contact poisoning. However, subsequent surface examination temporarily rules out strong inhaled gas poisoning……

Jin Chen's eyelashes twitched, and he tilted his head.

At first, he and Aerruike did not delve deeply into this somewhat vague conclusion.

After all, Vincent was the son of a noble Count; at the time, the autopsy dared not damage the body too much, so a conservative conclusion was understandable.

But what if… it was ice?

Concentrate the poisonous liquid, freeze it into a thin sheet of ice, and place it somewhere—for example, inside a certain book.

When Vincent flipped to that page, his finger brushing over the text, the warmth of his fingertip would melt the ice crystals, allowing the poison to seep into his body.

After the ice melts, it leaves only a trace of water that quickly evaporates, leaving no trace.

Therefore, no poisonous food or utensils are found at the scene, which also matches the characteristic of the poison taking effect slowly.

In Vincent's study, the killer does not need to linger long to accomplish all this; they only need to know which book Vincent will read at night and look for an opportunity to place the ice.

Thinking this, Jin Chen once again turned his gaze to Aidejia, who was carefully selecting the hidden wine, decided to first leave the cellar and go look for a nearby ice room.