A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1227 - Chapter 1227 Chapter 832 Midnight Theater

Chapter 1227: Chapter 832 Midnight Theater Chapter 1227: Chapter 832 Midnight Theater Duanmu Ai arrived at the apartment fuming with rage, only to find Mr. Inoue, anxious as ants on a hot pan. Seeing Duanmu Ai, Mr. Inoue rushed up to her as if he had seen a savior.

“Miss Duanmu, you have finally come…”

“Now is not the time to talk about that.”

Duanmu Ai was in no mood for pleasantries with Inoue and gestured dismissively.

“What exactly happened?”

“Just like I told you before, I drove here this morning to pick her up, but she didn’t come down after a while. I thought maybe she was tired and still resting, so I came up to look for her and then discovered the room was empty.”

“Do you have a key?”

“Of course, I have a spare key just in case. Don’t you have one?”

“What do I need a key for? If I can’t get in, I’ll just kick the door down.”

“Uh…”

That was true.

Duanmu Ai complained, then glanced around.

“Did you call the police?”

“Of course not! If the police get involved, the media will know about it too! Then we’d be at a disadvantage! The company prefers to keep this as quiet as possible.”

“Fine…”

Duanmu Ai nodded, then examined the apartment more closely.

As part of her assignment, Duanmu Ai had lived here with Li Shi for a while and was quite familiar with the place. The living room, dining room, an almost unused kitchen, then a rather large bathroom, and finally the master and guest bedrooms. Duanmu Ai walked around all the rooms, gathering some clues in the process.

There was water in the bathtub, but it had gone cold, and there were no traces of any toiletries in the sink, suggesting that Li Shi might have been about to take a bath –which was normal. After all, unlike Duanmu Ai, who only appeared for ten minutes, Li Shi performed the entire show and probably felt tired afterward and wanted to relax. It wasn’t the first time Duanmu Ai had seen her do this.

The master bedroom’s bed was untouched, and a small bag was still thrown on the couch. Just from these observations, Duanmu Ai could piece together the situation from last night.

Clearly, after Duanmu Ai left last night, Li Shi was alone and planning to take a bath and rest, so she turned on the water and then probably watched TV for a while, as the bathtub was indeed large and took quite some time to fill.

Then, something seemed to happen, and Li Shi turned off the tap — this could also be deduced since, otherwise, the overflowing water would have flooded the apartment by morning.

Although Duanmu Ai truly disliked playing the detective, she had been in this line of work for sixty years and had some experience.

Most of the time, though, she preferred to leave the thinking to others.

Now the question was, what exactly had happened for her to turn off the water? Was it because someone came, so she could not bathe? That would be normal; unexpected guests might cause one to forget to turn off the tap. But the question was, who could have come last night?

With this in mind, Duanmu Ai looked at Mr. Inoue again.

“How many people know that Li Shi lives here?”

“Well… besides you and me, the boss knows, then the bodyguards we hired at the beginning, and maybe some tabloid journalists.”

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll come snooping around?”

“The security here is thorough; those third-rate tabloid journalists couldn’t possibly sneak in. Moreover, the neighbors are all from the circle; everyone helps look out for each other.”

Speaking of which, Duanmu Ai had also heard from Li Shi that she chose this apartment because it housed many people from the entertainment industry, including actors and singers. They all tacitly understood each other since they were in the same line of work and knew the importance of privacy. Those living here were famous, yet not so much as to own their detached mansions, so there was some interaction among them that could be helpful in case of any troubles.

That meant that suspicious individuals couldn’t possibly enter this building.

This was another reason why Mr. Inoue was reluctant to call the police, as Li Shi was only missing, not confirmed dead. Calling attention to the situation would force the police to investigate the surrounding residents, causing more issues.

“I’ve already adjusted Little Li Shi’s schedule, announcing that she needs rest these next few days due to overexertion from the performance… Please make sure you find her!”

“I would have done that without you saying so.”

Duanmu Ai frowned, her expression gloomy.

It seemed that matters on that front would have to wait.

After entrusting this matter to Duanmu Ai, Inoue hurriedly left; he had to apologize and notify others. He also needed to coordinate with the company about how to handle the media. That meant this matter was now solely in Duanmu Ai’s hands.

It was strange.

Duanmu Ai had gone through the entire room but found nothing unusual; she had also checked the surveillance footage, which showed many people entering but no one leaving with Li Shi–with such a large person, it would have been noticeable even if someone had knocked her unconscious and carried her away.

So, was she taken out through the window?

That seemed unlikely; this wasn’t a movie, where fantastical scenarios often play out.

Hmm…

Duanmu Ai stared at the living room TV–this one was a bit smaller than the one she originally bought for her office, but it was still big enough for a regular household.

Could it be?

There was no sign of Li Shi in the apartment, and ultimately Duanmu Ai had taken a look around before choosing to leave. However, she still had some doubts, not about suspects–she didn’t simply fail to find any, rather there were too many. After all, as a popular idol like Kujikawa Rise, the more beloved she was, the more she was hated, and her previous actions could well have been interpreted as someone wanting to harm her under the radar.

Probably.

But it wasn’t the Electronic Demon’s doing, at least Duanmu Ai didn’t sense the presence of the Electronic Demon nearby.

So who could it be? The apartment’s security system was comprehensive, Duanmu Ai had confirmed that, and casual visitors were not allowed entry, with only experienced security personnel on duty here.

“Oh?”

As Duanmu Ai was pondering, suddenly a voice came from nearby. She looked up and saw a man with squinting eyes standing not too far away, smiling and waving at Duanmu Ai.

“Hello there, Miss Duanmu.”

“Akechi.”

Duanmu Ai raised her eyebrows slightly and nodded slightly.

“Hello.”

“I never expected to bump into you here, is there something you need?”

“I just had some things to do and was passing by here, what about you?”

“I was about to head to the TV station to be on a show.”

“From here?”

“Of course, I live nearby.”

Akechi Goro was still carrying a case as usual, and he smiled at Duanmu Ai, then got into his car and drove away, while Duanmu Ai half-closed her eyes, staring at the disappearing figure of Akechi Goro, then shifted her gaze back. Meanwhile, above the gloomy sky, raindrops began to fall, turning into a downpour.

Better continue with my own work.

Little did Duanmu Ai expect that a clue would soon come knocking.

That very night.

“Good evening, everyone! I’m Kujikawa Rise!”

On the TV screen, the popular idol, now a swimsuit-clad high school girl, stood on a stage filled with a seductive, purplish-red light, smiling.

“Since advancing to high school this spring, I’ve finally become a high school idol! It’s wonderful! To commemorate, I’m taking on a quite incredible Challenge–The Strip Show!”

As she spoke, Li Shi twisted her body slightly, throwing a coquettish wink at the camera.

“Oh my, this is so embarrassing, but really, does our society actually allow high school girls to go this far? However, since I’m doing it, I intend to go all out. So, I plan to strip completely! Yaha, stay tuned.”

With those words, Li Shi turned and ran backstage, and at the same time, the TV dimmed.

“Oh boy… this is really something…”

Duanmu Ai placed her hand on her forehead, sighing helplessly, while Lumiaire looked on with a shocked expression.

“Is this… that idol lady? Has she also become a victim of late-night TV?”

“Yeah, luckily this thing can’t be recorded, otherwise just with this, Li Shi would be completely done for.”

It had been discovered earlier that recording was impossible; when the previous victim appeared, Lumiaire had tried to record it, but the recorded footage was just blank, showing nothing else. And it was the same with Li Shi; although having a popular idol on a late-night program wasn’t a good thing, this in itself also lacked evidence; probably nobody would take it seriously.

The precondition was for Li Shi to come out in time. Otherwise, even if it couldn’t be recorded, once rumors spread, it would have a significant impact on Li Shi’s current career. Especially since she had just gotten popular through her performances; if there was a problem now, all the effort would be wasted.

“No choice, I have to take action.”

Duanmu Ai stretched her body and walked over to the TV. Fortunately, this was just a “preview,” which meant that although Li Shi might already have entered the Subspace, she hadn’t yet been harmed. Once the “main feature” started, her situation would become much more perilous.

Hmm, in every sense of the word, whether as an idol or as a girl.

Luckily, knowing where she was made the task much simpler for Duanmu Ai.

“Well, I’ll be right back.”

With those words, she walked into the television.