Chapter 911: Case Investigation

The next morning.

After cleaning herself in the master bathroom, Francia walked into the living room and immediately saw plastic bags piled high on the wooden dining table—each translucent white bag contained fried dough sticks, sesame balls, steamed dumplings, soup dumplings, regular buns, and other foods, alongside cups of soy milk and bottles of milk.

The aroma in the air made Francia feel both familiar and enticing; she blurted out in surprise:

“Who bought this?”

Didn’t even need me as a guide to help with communication?

Is this really a “foreigner” who’s been here less than twenty-four hours?

Lu Mi grinned and pointed at himself:

“Of course, me.”

Francia sized him up from head to toe:

“You bought all this breakfast at once—didn’t the vendors find it strange?”

“Not from one place,” Lu Mi said, glancing at Ludwig, who had bitten halfway through a sesame ball, revealing a hint of red bean paste inside, and smiled. “Later, one vendor did ask when he saw me carrying so much food.”

“What did you tell him?” Francia asked sharply.

Lu Mi chuckled:

“I said I was in pyramid selling.”

“...” Francia’s mouth hung slightly open, speechless.

“That vendor had the exact same reaction, then asked if I was joking,” Lu Mi kept his smile. “I said yes—I was actually preparing breakfast for my company’s team-building event.”

“Where did you even learn these terms?” Francia asked, looking slightly bewildered.

Lu Mi smiled:

“Aurora mentioned them before. I asked her, but didn’t understand. Last night, I finally figured it out online.”

“You’ve got quite the learning ability...” Francia murmured, lips twitching.

Already surfing the internet this fast!

Thank goodness this guy hasn’t learned to order breakfast via food delivery apps yet—what use would I be as a guide then?

Lu Mi said in an Aurora-style smug tone:

“I’ve already registered my QQ and a backup WeChat account. Once I finish the observation phase, I’ll try adding Mr. ‘The Fool’.”

“...” Francia thought of how this guy was, at his core, a genuine beauty who could switch into female form at any moment, and couldn’t help retorting, “Mr. ‘The Fool’ will think you’re selling tea leaves—he won’t add you.”

“What?” Lu Mi looked confused.

Finally, something this kid doesn’t know! Francia pulled out a chair and sat down, then tore open the soy milk’s seal, snapped a piece of fried dough stick in half, and dropped it in to soak.

Only after doing this did she “educate” Lu Mi and Anthony, who was silently eating breakfast, on basic internet knowledge—Jianna was still asleep, having been on night shift last night.

When she finished, Francia paused, then said to Lu Mi:

“Though you’ve adapted well, I still think you shouldn’t have made that joke while buying breakfast. That kind of remark sticks in people’s minds—and you’re still very handsome. The breakfast vendor definitely remembers you. That’s not ideal for our current plan of hiding our identities and observing covertly.”

“If it weren’t for that concern—fearing we’d become too famous and catch the Archangel’s attention—we could even start live-streaming to make money, and take Ludwig to a buffet!”

Lu Mi thought carefully:

“You’re right. I’ll be careful. Next time, I’ll have Anthony buy it.”

Here, Lu Mi sincerely complimented Francia:

“On matters like this, you’re even more meticulous than I am.”

Francia picked up a piece of fried dough stick soaked in sweet soy milk with her chopsticks, shoved it into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Only then did she half-close her eyes, sighing with blissful satisfaction:

“This is exactly how it feels...”

She paused, then said proudly:

“Of course, I’ve genuinely played the role of an ‘Assassin’—I’m not one of those ‘kill everyone who sees me and call it stealth’ assassins!”

After a while of casual chatter, Jianna got up and began eating the breakfast Lu Mi had earlier placed inside the “Traveler’s Satchel,” unseen by Ludwig.

At that moment, a knock came at the door.

Lu Mi and Francia went to open it, one behind the other, and found two police officers standing outside—the leader had a receding hairline and gray eyes; the one behind had black hair, green eyes, was strikingly handsome, but carried a lazy, carefree air.

Francia’s pupils widened sharply.

She recognized the young officer with emerald eyes.

That was the Major Arcana card, Mr. “The Star”!

Francia was about to greet him happily, then suddenly realized:

Mr. “The Star” was locked onto by the Archangel—each time he entered a dream, he was quickly ejected. This version must be merely the dream-image of “The Star” woven by Mr. “The Fool’s” subconscious.

“Good morning,” the gray-eyed officer smiled. “I’m Officer Deng, responsible for this district. You just moved in yesterday, right?”

“Yes,” Lu Mi did not hide it.

Even the police here know we moved in yesterday?

Trill’s police aren’t this efficient...

Officer Deng smiled warmly:

“Do you have a temporary residence permit...”

“Captain, it’s called a residence permit now,” the black-haired, green-eyed officer—presumably the dream-image of Major Arcana “The Star”—reminded him helplessly.

He’d clearly reminded him many times before.

“Haha, forgot, forgot,” Officer Deng chuckled at himself.

“We haven’t gotten around to it yet,” Francia answered quickly, fearing Lu Mi wouldn’t know what a residence permit was.

“Then when you have time, go to the police station across from New Capital Garden to get it. If you two lovebirds ever marry and have kids and want to enroll them in public kindergarten, you’ll need it,” Officer Deng said with a relaxed tone.

Already jumping straight to marriage and kids... Francia found it both funny and exasperating.

“Captain...” The “Star” officer beside Deng spoke up again.

Officer Deng smiled:

“Almost forgot—I came here today to ask you something.

“Call all your friends over.”

When Jianna, holding Ludwig, and Anthony arrived at the entrance area, Officer Deng pulled out a photograph:

“Have any of you seen this man?”

The man in the photo had dyed his hair and eyebrows a burnt yellow; his facial features were not sharply defined—he was clearly the Messenger Daniz.

“Yes,” Lu Mi answered, feigning thoughtfulness. “He handed us flyers last night. What was his name again?”

He turned his gaze toward Jianna.

Jianna, holding Ludwig, said:

“His surname is Da. I don’t remember his full name. He tried to recommend tutoring classes for children—I plan to visit one when I have time.”

Seeing Lu Mi and Jianna speaking like an old married couple with children, Officer Deng’s eyes flickered between the two of them, then between Lu Mi and Francia.

Kids these days...

“What happened to him?” Lu Mi asked curiously.

Officer Deng said simply:

“He didn’t return to his residence last night. His roommate reported him missing. We’re investigating everyone he contacted yesterday.”

Francia and Jianna suppressed the urge to look at Lu Mi; Lu Mi spoke words utterly true:

“He handed us flyers, chatted for a bit, then left.”

Officer Deng and the “Star” officer asked a few more details and took notes.

After they left and everyone returned to the table, Francia turned to Lu Mi and asked anxiously:

“Is the Messenger’s corpse still in that mirror?”

Lu Mi pulled out the corresponding mirror and checked:

“Still there.”

The mirror world still existed here, and Lu Mi could still enter and exit freely—but his ability to directly locate different mirrors had shrunk to five hundred meters. For mirrors already located, the distance between him and the target could not exceed ten kilometers, or he risked getting lost in the void tunnel.

Jianna nodded:

“Then the first hypothesis from yesterday can be ruled out.

“Key events unknown to Mr. ‘The Fool’s’ dream identity become real and continue evolving.”

The remaining two hypotheses were: either all dream figures contain fragments of Mr. ‘The Fool’s’ subconscious, or the Messenger’s death was carried out by the Archangel’s agents.

These two are not mutually exclusive—they could both be true.

Lu Mi grunted:

“If it was the Archangel’s agents, the corpse’s disappearance would confuse them too. Besides the police, they’ll likely be investigating the Messenger’s whereabouts—we need to stay alert.”

After discussing this for a while, Lu Mi glanced at the wall clock, long stopped, then out the window:

“It’s getting late.”

Francia pulled out her phone, lit the screen, and glanced at it:

“We should leave. Mr. ‘The Fool’ is probably heading to work soon.”

Lu Mi thought for a moment, then said to Francia:

“I’m worried taking a taxi might bring us into contact with Amon again. Last night, I found online that car rental is an option—though it costs more, it’s safer and more discreet.

“Can you drive?”

“I have a driver’s license,” Francia blinked. “The identity documents provided by Lady ‘Justice’ include one too.”

“I’m asking if you can drive,” Lu Mi emphasized, amused.

Francia flushed with anger:

I got my driver’s license in university, and before I even graduated, I came to Intis—where would I even find a car to drive?

If you’re asking whether I can drive, all I can say is that I have a license.

She felt that Anthony, immersed in the dream world, had already guessed she came from a different world.

Before Lu Mi could ask again, she said confidently:

“With a transcendent’s eyesight, hearing, reaction speed, and bodily coordination, plus my driving knowledge, I don’t think driving is a problem—didn’t you all master how to use chopsticks yesterday?”

“Then let’s rent a car,” Lu Mi decided.

Though Francard hated spending money, she remembered she could borrow even more, so she suppressed that feeling.

By the repayment date, perhaps we’ll have completed the task and left the dream!

…………

In a temporary parking spot across from a building.

Inside a gray sedan, Lu Mi and the others stared intently through the tinted windows at the white-collar workers entering the building, some hurried, some leisurely.

(End of Chapter)