The Daily Life Of A Cyberpunk Magician
Chapter 64 - 65: The Returning Spear

Chapter 64: Chapter 65: The Returning Spear

The Tablet Spirits jotted down the map of the interior of New Moon Hall; meanwhile, they had also quietly taken over the surveillance there.

Therefore, it was as easy as flipping his hand for Jiang Shu to bypass the remaining staff and police officers inside New Moon Hall.

Soon, he was standing in front of Shen Xuwan’s room. Facing the tightly closed brown wooden door, Jiang Shu did not hesitate.

He wasn’t here to launch a night raid at this time of night by avoiding Wolf; he had some matters to question Shen Xuwan about, privately.

He glanced at the nearby Tablet Spirit, and Xiao Jia understood, stepping forward to scan the electronic lock on the door.

First, deactivate the sound of the door-opening alert, then unlock the door. The lock spring popped out slightly, and the door cracked open. Jiang Shu immediately stilled.

Scanning the surroundings and seeing no one, he peered through the gap.

Bing: Man outside the door.

The living room lights were on, but no one was there.

Jiang Shu carefully pushed the door open, then tip-toed inside.

Although he was here on legitimate business, the fact that he was raiding a single woman’s private room at night made his heart pound with nervous anticipation.

The layout here was simple and elegant but also very warm, with delicate little designs of a woman’s touch everywhere.

He could hear the sound of running water—Shen Xuwan was probably taking a shower. But he didn’t feel embarrassed and began to look around.

"This is..." Jiang Shu murmured to himself as he looked at the family photo displayed in the cabinet.

The photo showed a family of four; the mother was in her prime beauty, and the daughter was cute and well-behaved. It was apparent that their family was very happy and harmonious at that time.

But at the heads of the slightly older daughter and the father, there was only emptiness—their images had been removed.

Why?

"You..." A puzzled voice came from behind him.

He turned around. Shen Xuwan was wrapped in a bath towel, rubbing her wet hair and looking at him. Through the towel, it wasn’t hard to see that she had a good figure, was tall, and had a skin as fair as that of an... oh, not eighteen, but a twenty-year-old young woman.

Jiang Shu promptly corrected ’eighteen’ to ’twenty’ in his mind since he had only seen twenty-year-olds.

I am a man of careful thought, he praised himself internally.

"So it’s you." Seeing him here, Shen Xuwan showed no surprise, rather a kind of sudden understanding, "You must be..."

"No." Jiang Shu said with a gentle smile, "I am not a fox, nor Devil Wind, and certainly not Ancient Snake. I am Jiang Shu."

"Hm?" Shen Xuwan reacted quickly, naturally rebutting, "What are you talking about? I don’t understand what you mean."

"There’s no one else here." Jiang Shu smiled again, pointing to the Tablet Spirits flying in the air and standing on the ground, "Moreover, they have taken over all connected devices here, so there’s no need to worry about eavesdropping."

"You..." Shen Xuwan started to speak, then stopped.

"They have simulated the scene of the venue with dynamic models." Jiang Shu’s words were light and breezy, "The conclusion is, it’s impossible to run in from outside of the venue, knock you unconscious, kidnap you, and leave the venue, all within two minutes."

"So let me guess, how exactly did they manage this?" He smiled, squinting his eyes, "The reason might be very simple—just omit one step."

"For instance, skip the step of ’running in from outside of the venue.’ It would suffice to hide inside the venue in advance." Jiang Shu continued, then casually asked, "Where do you think one could hide?"

"Me?" Shen Xuwan’s mood calmed down, she shook her head and gently smiled, "I don’t know."

"Behind the curtains? Or under that huge piano of yours?" Jiang Shu curiously said.

That piano was enormous; the base was fully enclosed. If someone were to hide inside, hmm, a fox might manage, but Devil Wind would be out of the question.

"Interesting." Shen Xuwan simply commented, "Is it just based on this that you suspect me of being in cahoots with Deception Group?"

"Of course not." Jiang Shu shook his head, he continued, "There’s one more thing."

"Hmm?"

"Let me think, if I remember correctly, on July 30th, around midnight, you were still teaching your apprentice, right?" he said with a smile. "Although you’re usually strict with your apprentices, teaching until midnight is quite uncommon, isn’t it?"

Shen Xuwan maintained her slight smile, poised and unfazed by the change in circumstances.

"Moreover, after sending the apprentice away after midnight, the Deception Group’s time of theft was early the next morning, from 1:29 to 1:49. The exhibition hall is very close to here, so at that time, you probably hadn’t slept yet," Jiang Shu spoke leisurely. "In such a quiet environment, I think it’s possible to hear the noise from over there."

"What if I say I didn’t hear anything?" Shen Xuwan looked at him with interest.

"No, no, no, I’m not asking whether you could hear it or not." Jiang Shu shook his head again. "What I mean is, would a fox, always so cautious and careful, tolerate such an accident happening? The most likely possibility is that he would make an immediate decision to abandon the theft."

"I know the fox very well," he said confidently.

Jiang Shu reached into his pocket. "So, at that time, you were here, waiting for someone from the Deception Group, right? If I’m not mistaken, you were waiting for this, weren’t you?"

He lifted the pair of bell earrings he held in his hand.

"!" Seeing the earrings in his hand, Shen Xuwan’s expression finally changed. "How... how did you get those?"

"So, Ms. Shen Xuwan, is it time to tell the truth?" Jiang Shu rolled the bell between his fingers in a carefree gesture that sent a shiver down Shen Xuwan’s spine.

"Put it down, don’t play with it like that!" she urged him anxiously.

"Knock knock knock—" The sudden sound of knocking on the door interrupted the two of them.

Jiang Shu and Shen Xuwan looked at each other with a "?".

"Ms. Shen? Are you there? I just remembered something I need to ask you," Wolf’s booming voice came from outside the door.

Jiang Shu: "???"

How come this guy is making a comeback?

"Hide quickly!" Shen Xuwan whispered urgently to Jiang Shu, walking towards a large cabinet in the corner of the living room. "Hurry up and follow!"

Jiang Shu hurried after her.

"Get inside." Shen Xuwan opened the cabinet door and pointed inside.

Jiang Shu immediately crawled in.

His visit this time could not be discovered by Wolf, and he couldn’t explain why the earrings were with him.

But suddenly, their movements halted again as the noise from outside vanished.

The two looked at each other with another "?".

"Rustle rustle rustle—" Footsteps came from outside. "Quick, this door, break it down!"

Before Jiang Shu and Shen Xuwan could react, there was a loud "bang" against the door, and many cracks appeared on the wooden surface.

It sounded as though Wolf had gone to find a policeman from downstairs to forcefully open the door. Judging from the situation, the wooden door would likely be ruined any moment now.

Was this brute really in such a hurry? Couldn’t he just ask the museum director for a keycard?

Jiang Shu cursed inwardly, then turned to Shen Xuwan and said softly, "Shout out quickly, it’s your house’s door!"

"It’s too late, there are so many people outside! I haven’t even changed my clothes!" Shen Xuwan was just as anxious. How could she show herself in this towel-wrapped, bare state?

"Bang—" As soon as Shen Xuwan finished speaking, the wooden door was forced open by Wolf and several policemen.

"Hmm?" Wolf looked around, failing to find Shen Xuwan, "The Deception Group actually made a comeback!"

With that, he strode out the door, followed by the sound of scattered footsteps.

Inside the wardrobe, their hearts relaxed slightly.

"Wait, search this room, the Deception Group might still be here!"

Their hearts instantly raced again.