A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1197 - Chapter 1197 Chapter 814 Gloom

Chapter 1197: Chapter 814: Gloom Chapter 1197: Chapter 814: Gloom For Duanmu Ai, causing trouble was as easy as flipping her hand. In fact, when she arrived at school early the next day, she could hear her classmates buzzing with rumors.

“Did you hear about the Phantom Thieves’ Sacrifice?”

“I saw it, they say that sacrificing the life of the chosen one can bring about justice… Oh, that’s really hard to say.”

“That’s just a rumor, right? How could the Phantom Thieves do such a thing?”

“But hasn’t there been talk that those people were forced by the Phantom Thieves to turn themselves in? It makes sense now, doesn’t it? Maybe the victims of those serial killings were murdered by them, and then others were threatened–if you don’t confess, you’ll be killed just like that, so they went and confessed one by one, right?”

“If that’s really the case, it’s too terrifying. Why would the Phantom Thieves do such a thing?”

“Who knows…”

Listening to the surrounding discussions, Duanmu Ai’s lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile. Yes, this was the strategy she had come up with. Duanmu Ai had Lumiaire spread some so-called “secret information” to a few third-rate newspapers and online platforms, claiming that beside the bodies in these serial murder cases were words written in black and red, “A Sacrifice to Justice,” and that the police were currently investigating a connection between the Gang of Thieves and the homicide cases…

Of course, all of this was baseless nonsense, but for those third-rate papers and websites, such news was explosively sensational. Some proactive reporters even went straight to the police station to inquire, but naturally, faced with such nonsensical questions, the police ended with no comment.

But you can’t stop people from making their own assumptions.

In just one night, people had conjured up a group of bizarre and terrifying thugs who murdered and upheld justice simultaneously–though there were many illogical points, humans are, after all, creatures of imagination. It’s easy to start a rumor, but hard to dispel one. What the Gang of Thieves says doesn’t count anymore.

Duanmu Ai could imagine how furious the Gang of Thieves would be when they heard these baseless rumors.

Indeed, she had seen it.

“Stop joking!”

As soon as she entered the classroom, Duanmu Ai heard a noisy disturbance, and then she saw Blondie, Sakamoto Ryuji, clenching his fists and glaring fiercely at a few classmates not far away.

“How can the Phantom Thieves be murderers based on your nonsense?”

“We were just discussing, that’s all.”

Faced with the roaring Sakamoto Ryuji, the few classmates were somewhat frightened and timidly gave their excuses.

“Besides, we think this theory makes some sense. Why else would the teacher turn himself in? He must have been afraid of being killed by the Gang of Thieves…”

“What did you say!?”

When he heard this, Sakamoto Ryuji was so enraged that he was about to pounce on them, but Yugong Lian and Takemaki Ann quickly grabbed him and dragged him out of the classroom.

Stupid idiots.

Watching the enraged Sakamoto Ryuji, a hint of scorn flashed in Duanmu Ai’s eyes. If such people could be part of the Phantom Thieves, it indicated that the quality of the Gang of Thieves wasn’t much either. It seemed that even without her intervention, their downfall was only a matter of time.

She could imagine that they were indeed very angry, yet Duanmu Ai was also sure that if this group had any brains at all, they would not likely take reckless action from now on.

In fact, just as Duanmu Ai thought, the Gang of Thieves was indeed very angry.

Especially Sakamoto Ryuji.

Just yesterday, he was proudly watching a TV special on the Phantom Thieves, praising how he and the others had brought down a famous figure. However, in the blink of an eye, with just one night’s sleep, public opinion had changed. The Phantom Thieves were now bloodthirsty murderers, and even the students in school who had been full of praise for the gang were now discussing whether these thieves were murderous demons–this infuriated Sakamoto Ryuji, yet he was powerless to change anything.

“Are you done causing a scene?”

Dragging Sakamoto Ryuji out of the classroom and into a secluded corner, Takemaki Ann immediately started scolding him.

“How can I hold back? Who knows which damn bastard started the rumor that we’re murderers! We aren’t murderers!”

“Just shut up.”

Watching Sakamoto Ryuji’s outburst, Takemaki Ann wished she could slap him into silence.

“Do you really want the whole school to know we are the Phantom Thieves?”

“Yes! Let everyone know, then we can prove our innocence!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you idiot!”

Takemaki Ann glared at Sakamoto Ryuji, fuming.

“We should lay low for now, at least until the serial killing case is resolved. Otherwise, no matter what we do, we’ll just end up taking the blame! You don’t want to be seen as a murderer, do you?”

“Damn it…”

Hearing Takemaki Ann speak, Sakamoto Ryuji gritted his teeth, huffing angrily before turning his head away.

“Ah…”

Watching Sakamoto Ryuji behave this way, Takemaki Ann felt exhausted. She had been classmates with him since middle school and knew all too well his reckless and unchangeable nature. But ever since he had awakened his strength and become a Phantom Thief, she had noticed he seemed even more extreme.

It seemed like because he had become a Phantom Thief, a Hero ridding the world of evil, he indeed considered himself superior to others…

Forget it, talking about this now is useless.

“Yugong, please keep an eye on him, we at least shouldn’t stir up trouble lately.”

“Okay, I know.”

Yugong Lian nodded in agreement and promised.

For the Gang of Thieves, this day had been almost unbearable; although it was just a rumor, an unfounded one at that, the fact that it was a rumor allowed everyone to discuss it freely without fear of exposure, and by the time classes ended, even Duanmu Ai had heard several new versions she had never imagined before…

Well, this shows how boundless the creativity of the masses really is.

Though Sakamoto Longshi was enraged, Takemaki Ann didn’t have the time to waste on such matters. After class, she went to the hospital to visit her good friend Shiho Suzui.

However, when Takemaki Ann arrived at Shiho Suzui’s hospital room, she saw someone she hadn’t expected.

Standing in front of Shiho Suzui’s bed was a girl, dressed in the same Shoujin school uniform and with long black hair just like her own… she was…

“Duanmu?”

Seeing Duanmu Ai, Takemaki Ann was somewhat surprised.

“Why are you here?”

“Kawakami Sensei asked me to come, to represent all teachers and students in visiting Shiho.”

Duanmu Ai spoke indifferently, her tone seemingly unchanged, and for a moment Takemaki Ann wondered why Duanmu Ai was asked to come but then she understood—-no matter what, others might feel guilty about Shiho Suzui, who had been hurt at school not just recently but had been ignored all along, leading her to attempt suicide by jumping off a building.

From this perspective, everyone was reluctant to visit Shiho Suzui, but Duanmu Ai had no such psychological burden. She had transferred to the school after Shiho’s incident, didn’t know her at all, and thus had no burden of guilt, so she was rather suited for this task.

“Well then, I wish you a speedy recovery, I’ll be leaving now.”

After nodding at Shiho Suzui, Duanmu Ai turned and left the hospital room, and Takemaki Ann unconsciously made way to the side. Duanmu Ai simply walked out of the room and disappeared into the corridor.

“Phew…”

It was only then that Takemaki Ann finally breathed a sigh of relief, sitting down on a chair, looking at her good friend.

“Shiho, are you okay, what did Duanmu talk to you about?”

“Nothing much, she just said she was representing the school’s teachers and students to visit me… Do you know her?”

“Yeah, she’s a transfer student, she came after you were hospitalized, so it’s normal you haven’t seen her, she’s in my class.”

“Really? A classmate? But you seemed quite nervous facing her?”

“Ah…”

Hearing her friend’s question, Takemaki Ann heaved a sigh. Her personal opinion about Duanmu Ai was somewhat complex; on one hand, Duanmu Ai was truly very beautiful and taller than average, even standing alongside boys she did not fall short. Takemaki Ann, being a model herself, could tell that Duanmu Ai was more beautiful and had more presence than any model she had ever seen.

But on the other hand, it was her demeanor.

Duanmu Ai was not someone who was easily approachable. Although she did nothing particular, Takemaki Ann always felt a chilling aura around her, and sometimes her gaze towards others was quite frightening. Takemaki Ann remembered an incident where Ryuji made a ruckus and offended her; she simply glanced at Ryuji, and he immediately shut his mouth.

Afterwards, Ryuji recalled feeling as if an invisible hand had gripped his throat, nearly choking him to death.

Takemaki Ann hadn’t talked much with Duanmu Ai, primarily because their personalities differed a lot. Takemaki Ann was normally quite lively, but Duanmu Ai always seemed quiet and rarely initiated interactions with others, although occasionally Takemaki Ann saw her talking with some students–however, it seemed she didn’t have many close friends at school.

Maybe I should communicate more with her?

Duanmu Ai was unaware of Takemaki Ann’s thoughts; actually, her only goal was to have the Gang of Thieves lay low for a while so she could free up some time to investigate a murder case. Although the heart-stealing Phantom Thief was a hot topic in society, the serial killings posed a much greater danger.

Dort had called her to inform that presently, all resources dedicated to scouting the Gang of Thieves had been suspended to focus on solving the series of murders.

Concerning this, Duanmu Ai also needed to prepare. The first thing she needed to do was… well, buy a large TV for her office.

Surely, she could claim reimbursement from the police department using the excuse of investigation work.

Thinking this, Duanmu Ai walked into a nearby supermarket and made her way to the home appliances section on the third floor.

They displayed various sizes of televisions, but there weren’t many customers around. However, as Duanmu Ai walked to the opposite side of the shelf, she witnessed a scene that surprised her.

She saw three students in Shoujin uniforms, talking quietly and then carefully looking around. Due to her professional sensitivity, Duanmu Ai naturally hid out of their sight behind a nearby shelf, then she saw the three exchange glances and walked towards the TV.

And then… they actually walked right into the TV!

“What the hell?”

It must be said, even Duanmu Ai was startled by this scene.

Could things like this really happen?