The Legendary Mechanic

"You—" Lagos clenched his teeth in anger.

Before he could say anything, Xiao Jin cut in and said, "We accept your terms. I personally believe the assassination had nothing to do with you. It's a conspiracy intended to spark conflict between both parties."

The high ranked officials agreed in silence. Black Phantom was even stronger than the rumors said he was; he had defeated the strongest people in the headquarters without even using his sniping style that he was known for. These people were not weak, but they paled in comparison to Black Phantom.

The backup finally arrived at this time. Xiao Jin immediately ordered the soldiers to stay their hand, showing sincerity on their side.

Seeing that, Han Xiao put his weapons away and walked toward where he was staying. The nervous crowd parted and opened a path.

Xiao Jin gave Lagos a faint look before his head and ordering, "Clean the scene up."

Lagos was filled with fury. One of the high ranked officials from the Home Faction helped him to get up but was pushed away instantly.

"He could've killed us, but he insisted he's not the killer. He should be trustworthy," Se Qi whispered.

"Naive!" Lagos said coldly. "If he kills us, all of Alumera will become enemy with the Dark Net till the very end. He's doing this so that we won't suspect him!"

…

Having returned to his residence, the interface showed a notification.

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You have triggered an urgent mission [The Real Killer].

Mission Introduction: You are framed and dragged into a conspiracy, becoming a chess piece used by the people behind this.

Mission Requirement(s): Confirm the real killer and accomplish the mission. You have only one chance.

Reward(s): Random ability or talent x 1

_____________________

Han Xiao's eyes twinkled. "It's a puzzle type mission with only one chance."

There were many types of missions, and the puzzle type was rather common. Some required the players to collect clues like a detective, and sometimes the clue would be provided, but it was all rather vague. The final decision was to be made by the players.

There was no notification after quite a long wait. Han Xiao guessed this mission belonged to the latter type of puzzle mission. With Alumera's suspicion toward him, he probably would not be able to find any clues.

It's best to wait and see.

At the same time, Bamboo Rain Guild triggered a different mission.

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[A Shocking Change in Alumera]: The leader of Alumera was murdered. Black Phantom, who came to visit out of nowhere, became the biggest suspect, but he claimed to not be the killer and suppressed objections with his raw strength. Alumera might seem to have submitted, but some factions still strongly believed that Black Phantom is the killer. What information is hidden within?

There are five sides to choose from: Black Phantom, Home Faction, Xiao Faction, Red Island Faction, and the Northern Faction. Changes cannot be made after choosing.

Reward(s): Rewards will be given based on different stands and contribution. The basic reward is 50,000 experience points!

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"At least 50,000 experience points!" Bamboo Rain Fly exclaimed in shock.

50,000 experience points were an extremely large amount for them. There really were always benefits wherever Black Phantom went.

"What position will you guys be choosing?"

"Black Phantom for me."

"Me too."

Everyone agreed. They did not know Alumera very well, and Han Xiao had just defeated all of Alumera's military power. It was obvious that following Han Xiao would be the most reliable.

Players of Bamboo Rain Guild approached Han Xiao and expressed their willingness to help.

Han Xiao was surprised. He thought about it and guessed that these players had probably received different missions. With a different identity, the mission requirements that were triggered would be different as well. Usually, in an area where something happened, missions would be triggered.

"Follow me then."

…

In a corner somewhere, two people were talking to each other."

"The conflict did not happen. Our man died for nothing."

"The intelligence said that Black Phantom was a serial killer, but he held back this time. What a misstep."

"Luckily the clues have been destroyed. As long as the truth cannot be found, Black Phantom will still be the biggest suspect."

…

The next day, the Home Faction hosted a simple funeral for Darryl. The atmosphere within Alumera became tenser over the next few days. Everyone seemed busy, but when they looked at each other, their eyes were filled with unknown emotions.

However, Han Xiao had become almost invisible. It was like all the factions had forgotten that he was even there. No one approached him except for the constant surveillance.

After chasing the players of Bamboo Rain Guild away to seek information, Han Xiao stayed in the room with a calm mind. He had expected this to happen.

He was an outsider and the biggest suspect, but Alumera did not have the confidence to deal with him, so they could only leave him alone. Even if Han Xiao wanted to look for clues, none of the faction would give him any. All he could do was wait.

But the wait was not meaningless. The factions had started their own investigation and plans.

Han Xiao fell into deep thought. Darryl had died very coincidentally; what good would it do to frame him for killing Darryl? Firstly, creating hatred between Alumera and Dark Net would only benefit a third party.

Secondly, there were other motives for killing Darryl, and he was just used as a very good excuse since, with his strength and identity, it was easy to frame him. If the real killer framed him as a scapegoat, the killer would most likely be a party that would benefit from this—which had the highest possibility of being any of the factions other than the Home Faction.

Han Xiao remembered that the internal conflict within Alumera was very serious; killing Darryl could very likely be an act to seize power within the family.

But going back to the first possibility, the real killer would still be a third party, which also made sense in the second possibility—creating conflict between the Home Faction and other factions, leading to Alumera collapsing internally.

Sigh, I don't want to think anymore. Han Xiao rubbed his eyebrows.

Regardless, it did not matter who the real killer was. He stood undefeatable. As long as he did not make a move, the real killer would only become more and more stressed. There was no way this mission would be a long term one. The impact of Darryl dying would surface in a very short time, and by then, there would definitely be someone who would unintentionally leave some clues.

…

In one mansion, the high ranked officials of the Home Faction gathered, and the atmosphere was intense.

"Leader has died, who is going to be in charge now?" a tall, muscular man said. He was Darryl's younger brother, Todd.

"Me," Lagos said coldly.

Todd forced a fake smile and said, "Lagos, I don't think that is suitable."

"What do you mean?" Lagos frowned.

"You should call me uncle," Todd said in a more serious tone. "The lead—my older brother—passed away. We are all family here; I should be the one in charge according to precedence."

"Humph, only a few days since my father has died, and you're already seizing power, aren't you too impatient?" Lagos said in a mocking tone. "Don't blame me for not warning you, but without Father's suppression, Xiao Jin, Se Qi, and the others are all making their plans. The position of leader is now vacant, so who knows what they will do? They may have looked like they were filled with sadness and regret during the funeral, but they were probably laughing uncontrollably in their hearts."

Todd laughed sneered and said, "Don't say it like that. I was worried you'd make mistakes because you're inexperienced, but since you think you can do it, I shall not compete with you. Now tell us, what do you plan to do next?"

Lagos grunted and ignored Todd's tone. "Our top priority now is to find out who killed my father."

Todd frowned. He felt that the priority should be suppressing the ambitions of other factions and regaining control of Alumera, but it was inappropriate to express such feelings in front of the high ranked officials of the Home Faction; therefore, he stuck with the topic and asked, "Any clues?"

"Black Phantom is the most suspicious; nothing he says can be trusted," Lagos said coldly. "I have already informed some people to contact the strongest killers and mercenaries. Once they arrive, we won't have to be afraid anymore. We will just capture Black Phantom and interrogate him. I have spent a large sum this time; the people who are coming are all famously strong!"

"Maybe it really wasn't Black Phantom," someone whispered.

Lagos stared over and said coldly, "Then it has to be Xiao Jin. That asshole is very ambitious; he had been under my father for so many years, and he definitely was not satisfied with it. Right, I heard Black Phantom stayed in Xiao Jin's mansion the night the assassination happened. Maybe Xiao Jin hired Black Phantom with a huge sum to assassinate Father then put on a show together to fool the others."

Everyone was shocked.