Seven-thirty in the evening, aboard the massive passenger liner bound for the mainland, deep within the cabins.

"Wow, Lei, look! There's a swimming pool here too!" The young lady Rin, who had been dragging Lei around to explore, finally found something to her liking. Ahead, under the bright lights, a huge indoor pool was revealed before her eyes.

The entire pool was oval-shaped, nearly thirty meters long, and over a meter deep. The water appeared quite clear. Along the sides of the pool, numerous lounge chairs for resting were arranged, along with a counter serving drinks and snacks. Although night had fallen, there were still quite a few people in the pool, either splashing around or lounging by the edge.

"Haha, I didn't expect such a wonderful place on this ship. It wasn't a wasted trip after all," Young Lady Rin sounded quite excited, immediately tugging at the hand of the girl beside her and rushing forward.

"Swimming pool? What's that?" Lei tilted her head, clearly struggling to comprehend.

"Well, simply put, it's a place for splashing around. Don't the Sky City have one too? Though it's a bit different," Rin explained. While the pool in Sky City was more magnificent than this one, Rin actually preferred the current setting. After all, Sky City felt too deserted compared to this place; it completely lacked the atmosphere a pool should have.

"Cool, it feels very comfortable." Lei leaned over the edge of the pool, curiously dipping her hand into the water, a faint smile appearing on her face.

"Lei, you’ve never been to the swimming pool in Sky City before, have you?" Rin couldn't help but ask.

"Because I can bathe in the room," Lei shook her head.

"That explains it. Actually, swimming pools have many benefits. Experience it fully now."

"Mhm." Lei nodded, then leaned slightly forward, paddling the water surface with her hands like a child playing. An expression unique to the naturally dense lit up her features. "It feels cool and so comfortable."

As the girl leaned forward and paddled, leaning too far forward suddenly... Thump! Having tilted too far, she lost her balance and plunged headfirst into the pool... This splash even engulfed Bai Rui around her neck.

"Whoa!" Young Lady Rin was genuinely startled. To fall in like that—she truly was one of a kind! Before the girl could sink completely, Rin swiftly hauled her out.

"You really give people cause for worry," Rin sighed, holding the dripping wet girl. Such extreme natural density was almost an accomplishment in itself. "Before getting in the water, it would be better to change into a swimsuit first, okay?"

"Swimsuit?" Lei looked up, her face etched with confusion.

"Hmm, let me look..." Rin didn't answer, her gaze scanning the surroundings. Soon, she spotted a changing room not far away. From their vantage point, she could clearly see several rows of swimsuits displayed inside. "Found it, it's over there."

Saying that, she tucked the girl securely under her arm and hurried off.

A few minutes later, the two returned to the pool wearing swimsuits. As for Bai Rui, it seemed to dislike the water and stayed behind on the shore alone. Since this was Lei's first time, Young Lady Rin specifically found her a kickboard so that at least she wouldn't sink entirely.

However, Natural Lei wasn't someone easy to feel secure about. Even with the kickboard in hand, she tumbled off several times. Watching her clumsy attempts, Young Lady Rin felt utterly speechless.

"I really can't imagine how you manage to live if you were alone."

"Alone... would be very lonely," Lei replied earnestly.

"That's true." Rin smiled gently. Although Lei’s clumsiness was frustrating, her nature made it easy for people to feel protective, as if she had gained a delicate younger sister, much like when she was with Sakura.

"Well, considering age, she could already be my ancestor," Rin thought, a slight twitch appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"Hm?" Lei tilted her head in confusion.

"Nothing. Oh, do you want something to eat? I think I saw ice cream being served over there," Rin asked, waving her hand awkwardly.

"Mhm."

"Then wait for me here, and don't wander off, okay?" Rin cautioned, then left the pool area, jogging towards the counter with a slight smile. "A sister? That's not bad, actually..."

"Ice cream, swimming..." Lei’s face held a faint smile as if recalling something happy, and she continued trying to learn how to swim. But if she couldn't succeed even with Rin's help, how could she manage alone? At this moment, she couldn't even climb onto the kickboard; after struggling frantically for a while, she could only grip the sides, blowing bubbles in the water.

"Swimming is really hard. Are people who can swim all geniuses?" The girl felt utterly helpless.

"Um... swimming isn't supposed to look like that," Just then, a timid voice suddenly reached her ears.

Lei instinctively turned around. Standing timidly not far in front of her was a blue-haired girl in a swimsuit. Lei immediately tilted her head and asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Lilya," the girl replied softly. Then, twisting her hands together, as if gathering immense courage, she asked, "Um... could you tell me your name?"

"My name is Lei."

"Lei, okay, I'll remember that." The girl smiled slightly. "Um, if you don't mind, could I play with you?"

"Can you swim?"

"Although this is my first time in a place like this too, I know a little," the girl admitted shyly.

"You can swim? Are you a genius?" Lei was greatly surprised.

"Well..." The girl immediately adopted an embarrassed expression. "It's just that my older sister taught me a little before. I'm very slow; I'm not a genius at all."

"Chia, look at that person." As Lei and Lilya were chatting, a brown-haired girl lying on a nearby lounge chair suddenly widened her eyes and vigorously patted her companion's body, an expression of disbelief in her eyes.

The one she patted was a girl with long black hair, looking quite sultry, but her expression was decidedly languid; she didn't open her eyes, speaking weakly, "Shiska, what is it now?"

"There's no mistake, Chia. That girl is absolutely the Seven-Jeweled Tree we’ve been searching for—the final bloodline of the Mezlarance clan!" the girl called Shiska said with utter excitement.

"Seven-Jeweled Tree?" Hearing this, the black-haired girl immediately opened her eyes, her gaze shifting in the direction Shiska was pointing, and she said gravely, "That girl who almost got caught by us but then suddenly disappeared—the Seven-Jeweled Tree? Why is she with Lilya?"

"This is destiny! Seven-Jeweled Tree, you won't disappear this time, you hear?"

...

"How strange. We haven't even spotted a single suspicious person. Did they not follow us onto the ship?" Lin Luo felt somewhat disappointed as he left the casino area. Logically, with him being alone now, if the Jewel Hunters were present, they would most likely target him or try to capture Lei, yet no enemies had appeared so far, nor had any word come from Lei's side.

"Ah~~ I feel like I might have underestimated the Jewel Hunters a little." Deploying two massive lures—the chance to simultaneously annihilate a Contractor and capture the Seven-Jeweled Tree—and still failing to draw out the Jewel Hunters was frustratingly cautious.

Of course, there might be another reason: they might not believe he is Lei's Contractor, especially with Young Lady Rin nearby... Normally, a Contractor and a Holy War Angel wouldn't easily separate, so it would be natural for them to assume Rin was Lei's Contractor.

"If that's the case, it becomes more troublesome," Lin Luo frowned. If the enemy truly believed that, the only way to draw them out would be to isolate Lei alone. However, this method carried too great a risk and was not advisable; there was no need to take such a huge gamble for a few Jewel Hunters.

"But speaking of which, aren't the villains in the manga always so active? Why has everyone turned into cunning mice by the time they reach me?... Ah, never mind, I should go get a drink to adjust my mood."

Thinking this, Lin Luo’s spirits lifted, and he walked down a corridor toward the ship's lounge. Just as he passed a guest room, he suddenly caught a pungent smell of blood.

His steps halted abruptly. That smell of blood was definitely coming from the room next to him.

"...The smell of blood?" Lin Luo frowned. He activated his Perception Domain and probed the room. There were no signs of life inside. After a moment of hesitation, he reached for the doorknob. The door was locked from the inside. Of course, a lock of this caliber was nothing to him. A slight bzzzt of electricity flashed, and with a gentle twist, the door swung open.

The moment the door opened, an even more overpowering stench of blood rushed out.

When he saw the scene inside, even he was momentarily stunned. On the floor lay a man and a woman, both naked, each with a large hole ripped through their chests. Blood pooled everywhere, and some internal organs had even been pulled out, creating an extremely grim and terrifying sight. Both appeared to be in their mid-thirties, their faces frozen in terror and agony—it was clear they had not died easily.

"Damn it, I'm not that death god Edogawa Conan. Why is there a murder in front of me? And a locked-room mystery, too?" Having experienced countless storms, although he was startled upon first seeing it, he recovered his composure within a few seconds and started complaining.

"Alright, since I found it, you're lucky. I'll play Detective Conan for a bit and find the murderer for you." With that, Lin Luo stepped forward and crouched before the two corpses to examine them.

But just as he was about to squat down, the sound of rhythmic footsteps suddenly echoed from the hallway outside—not just one set, but perhaps a dozen.

Within a few seconds, the owners of those footsteps appeared at the door of the room.

"Ah!" A shrill scream came from a woman. When she saw the scene inside the room, the look of horror on her face was indescribable, something rarely seen outside of horror films.

"It's true, Chairman!"

"Murderer! Arrest him quickly!"

"Damn killer! He must be executed!"

"..."

After a brief silence, an uninterrupted barrage of accusations and curses flooded toward Lin Luo, but none of them dared to step forward, because before them stood a "murderer." These pampered nobles lacked the courage to engage in close combat with a killer.

"You say I killed them?" Facing everyone's accusations, Lin Luo didn't get angry but pointed at himself with genuine confusion.

"Are you trying to deny it? The evidence and witnesses are all here! You murderer, don't think you can escape justice!" someone roared angrily, their expression suggesting they wished to tear Lin Luo to pieces.

Lin Luo didn't know where the witnesses and evidence were, but by now, he somewhat understood. This was clearly a case of framing someone to take the blame. The killer first murdered the two people in this room, then deliberately drew others in when he arrived, pinning the crime on him. It had to be admitted, this was a remarkably clever move; with both the living and the dead present, there was no way he could escape the charge of murder.

And the deceased seemed to hold a respectable position—Chairman? He wondered which corner of the world this person governed.

But since arriving in this world, he hadn't offended anyone. Therefore, even if he used his toes to think, he could guess who would orchestrate such a thing: none other than the Jewel Hunters, whose target was Lei.

No wonder they hadn't made a move earlier; they were planning something like this all along. Using his curiosity and public opinion, coupled with "irrefutable evidence," this way, regardless of whether he was Lei's Contractor or not, he would be finished—and they wouldn't even have to dirty their own hands.

Brilliant, truly brilliant. Thinking this, Lin Luo couldn't help but offer the enemy a few words of praise.

"Well, since you've decided I'm the murderer, what do you plan to do next?" After figuring it out, Lin Luo faced the crowd at the doorway, spread his hands, and asked calmly.

"Uh?" The onlookers were momentarily stunned. They had seen arrogant murderers before, but this was the first time they encountered such a composed one. Normally, no matter how strong a killer's composure, they would be flustered in this situation.

Would Lin Luo be flustered?

Of course not.

Perhaps for an ordinary person, this was an unsolvable deadlock. It was clear the enemy had put considerable effort into setting the trap, but Lin Luo was no ordinary person. To the people of this world, the power he possessed was akin to a god's... Level 5 Railgun, Level 4 Atomic Decay, first-rate magic, the Reverse Rule that destroys everything, an incredibly resilient Dead Apostle body, and other miscellaneous abilities. What power in this world could possibly stand against him?

When a person's strength transcends the constraints of the world, then neither public opinion nor law can affect that person. Therefore, why would Lin Luo panic in this situation? Does a god need to care about the opinions of mere mortals?

Just as the scene entered a stalemate, a voice suddenly rang out from within the crowd: "The Captain is here."

Pitter-patter footsteps approached from a distance, and soon, led by a member of the ship's crew, a middle-aged man arrived at the doorway of the room. Lin Luo recognized this man—he was the Captain of this ship.

Upon seeing the scene inside the room, even the Captain, who had witnessed many upheavals, was startled. He first glanced at the two corpses on the floor, then looked at Lin Luo, and finally settled his gaze on the onlookers at the doorway, asking calmly, "What exactly happened here? Why is this the case?"

"Captain, Chairman Stephen has been murdered," one of the bystanders offered a redundant statement.

"My eyes can see that much. I want to know the specific sequence of events and who the murderer is. Does anyone have information?"

"It's him! He's the murderer!" someone pointed at Lin Luo again, having already made up his mind.

"Can you explain yourself?" However, the Captain didn't seem to agree with that assessment and inquired of Lin Luo.

"Well, it's not impossible," Lin Luo shrugged. The Captain's attitude was decent, so Lin Luo didn't need to be difficult. He stated the facts: "I smelled blood when passing by here coming from the casino. When I entered, I saw this sight, and then this group of passersby arrived."

"Nonsense! You're clearly the murderer!" The crowd started clamoring again.

Crack. A vein popped on Lin Luo's forehead. While he didn't care about the opinions of ordinary people, being falsely accused was certainly not pleasant. If it weren't to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, he wouldn't hesitate to throw them into the sea to feed the sharks.

"While I cannot confirm if he is truly the murderer, based on my experience, if the killing was done by him, he wouldn't be this calm under any circumstances," the Captain analyzed rationally. "And no one saw him committing the murder, right? Reaching a conclusion so rashly is unwise."

"Captain..." The bystanders seemed a little anxious.

Before they could finish, the Captain waved his hand. "This matter requires a proper investigation."

"But we don't have anyone suitable on board right now to handle this kind of thing," the crowd objected again.

"Captain, perhaps that person..." A crew member suddenly spoke up.

"Hmm, if it is that person, she could certainly handle it. Given the current situation, we have no choice but to ask for her help," the Captain considered and nodded. Then his gaze turned toward Lin Luo. "Sir..."

"Just call me Lin Luo," Lin Luo said with a smile. Although the crowd was annoying, this Captain was quite alright.

"Very well, Mr. Lin Luo, could you cooperate with us a little? If the person wasn't killed by you, I believe that person can certainly make a reasonable judgment and clear your name," the Captain said solemnly.

"No problem," Lin Luo nodded.

Hearing his agreement, the Captain waved, and a crew member ran off swiftly. In less than a few minutes, footsteps were heard again in the corridor.

"Miss, it's this way." Before the person even arrived, the respectful voice of the crew member could be heard.

Then, a tall, green-haired girl appeared before everyone.

When Lin Luo saw this person, the composure that hadn't wavered even if Mount Tai collapsed before him completely vanished, and he nearly cried out in shock... C.CV