Welcome to the World of the Strong [Unlimited Flow] 55

Chapter 55: The Birthday Banquet

The two of them arrived at the garden. Before they even walked in, they saw a crowd gathered in one place. If there were no surprises, the scene of the incident should be there.

Jiang Yu and Shi Jun walked over. As they got closer, they heard the maids whispering.

Although they were still gossiping, they were more scared.

“It’s so scary. How did the Ripper get into the royal palace?”

“Oh my god, he actually killed the third princess! Even someone of the third princess’s status can be so easily… then next, will it be our turn?”

“Wuwu… God, please don’t let it be like this. I… I haven’t lived enough yet.”

“It’s almost Her Highness the Princess’s birthday. Could this Ripper be targeting Her Highness the Princess?”

“How is that possible! Oh… but if it’s true, then…”

Jiang Yu was concerned about a different place from the maids. She asked Zhong Yu in a low voice, “Do you think this so-called Ripper is a misleading clue that has jumped out, or is it really related to the main mission?”

Shi Jun narrowed her eyes. “There’s no hurry. Let’s look at the corpse first.”

The two of them avoided the maids and quietly squeezed in.

Not to mention that the maids were all discussing in a panic at the moment, and no one had time to care about them. Even if they saw them, they probably had no reason to stop them.

After all, even they themselves had just secretly observed.

Although it was very likely that they would have nightmares after seeing it.

After squeezing through the crowd and entering, Shi Jun immediately smelled a bloody smell. However, this was not surprising. After all, at a crime scene, this was also normal.

She lowered her gaze and looked.

On the ground lay a young woman in a gorgeous dress with golden hair. She was covered in blood and lying on the ground. There was a huge wound on her abdomen, bloody, and it had stained a large area of the grass around her with a bright red color. She looked like a livestock that had been slaughtered and then casually thrown on the ground, completely devoid of the nobility she had in life.

Jiang Yu frowned slightly.

Although she didn’t know criminal investigation, nor did she know criminal psychology, but… she probably knew a little bit of a layman’s knowledge.

To kill a princess with such a method, at least to some extent and on some level, it should be able to show the psychological needs of this murderer.

Unlike Jiang Yu’s focus on observation, Shi Jun confirmed another matter.

That so-called Ripper, if there were no surprises, should be related to the mission, and moreover, it might be one of them.

A smile was on Shi Jun’s lips as she sized up the corpse with great ease.

It could be seen that some aspects of the modus operandi were very similar to a certain person in history, but…

The other party had his own reasons for doing so, and what was the reason for this murderer in the instance?

Shi Jun narrowed her eyes slightly, and a thought came to her mind.

Just then, a maid who had finally come to her senses noticed them and quickly came to their side.

“Oh my, how can a guest come here? Please go back quickly.”

Jiang Yu asked, “What’s the matter with the Ripper you were talking about just now? From what you mean, he seems to have existed for a long time.”

The maids looked at each other, as if they were not sure whether to say this or not.

One of the maids said, “You… haven’t you heard of his deeds?”

Jiang Yu then shook her head.

Before the guards arrived, anyway, they were idle. And perhaps it was also human nature. Although the maids were afraid to talk about the Ripper, they were also curious because of their fear, so they were very eager to talk.

So, one of the maids briefly explained to the two of them.

The Ripper first appeared eight years ago. At that time, he did not have this nickname, because at that time, the person he killed was a man, and the method was not to cut open the stomach, but… to cut off a certain organ of the other party.

But because after this, he quickly disappeared, so at that time, no one paid any more attention to this matter.

Until four years ago, two more corpses were found in a forest near the royal city. They were all women, and their stomachs had been cut open, so the name of the Ripper was spread.

Later, there were intermittent deaths of men and women. Although the state of death of the two sexes was different, the title of the Ripper was still fixed and widely spread.

But it was unknown if the Ripper was too sharp, or if the royal city guards were too incompetent. Therefore, the Ripper had never been arrested.

Fortunately, the frequency of the Ripper’s appearance was not high, so the panic it caused to everyone was actually not that great, and it only lasted for a period of time.

But until today, the Ripper had come to the royal palace, and the meaning was completely different.

The most noble people lived here, and there was the strictest defense. If even this place was breached, then everyone in the royal palace would be in danger.

Therefore, this was the reason why the maids’ reaction was so intense.

After hearing this story, Jiang Yu frowned slightly, because she really couldn’t connect this matter with the mission.

Looking at it alone, these were two completely unrelated matters. It was hard not to suspect that this was a misleading clue released by the instance to delay their time.

But… Zhong Yu didn’t seem to think so.

Jiang Yu thought for a moment, her brow twitching slightly.

It seemed that there was only one reason that could explain it.

Jiang Yu and Zhong Yu left the center circle, and then she asked softly, “This killer… is he one of us?”

Shi Jun raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Jiang Yu with a smile. “Why did you suddenly have this thought?”

Jiang Yu said, “Although I don’t know if a player can play such an NPC, but… it’s not impossible.”

“And often, the more it seems to be unrelated, the more likely there is some connection hidden in it. I think… we shouldn’t just abandon this clue.”

Although Jiang Yu had a bit of a gamble in her heart, but she didn’t know if it was the sixth sense she had honed after experiencing some instances, or if there was an intuition influencing her in the dark, but Jiang Yu always felt that this clue shouldn’t be let go of just like that.

Shi Jun smiled very faintly. “Then have you figured out who the other party is?”

Jiang Yu shook her head hesitantly.

Shi Jun said, “Don’t guess on the players.”

Then should I guess on the NPCs?

Suddenly, Jiang Yu had a flash of inspiration. “Could it be the princess?”

How could she not have thought of it? The time of nine years ago was clearly so sensitive!

But…

“What is the princess’s purpose? Is it just to vent? Or is it…”

Jiang Yu’s eyes flickered. “Is this one of the factors that makes her happy?”

Could it be that killing people could vent the emotions in her heart and make her happy?

And now that she was starting to attack the third princess, one of the characters in the incident, did it mean some kind of omen?

Would they be the next to be killed?

Jiang Yu couldn’t help but say her guess in a small voice.

She murmured, “But I think that even if we let her kill us all, her happiness value probably won’t reach the full score. So, whether we resist or wait to be killed, the mission can’t be completed.”

Shi Jun looked at her with a slight surprise.

She didn’t know if she had thought of Jiang Yu as too weak, or if the other party had grown too fast. To be honest, for Jiang Yu to be able to be so sharp and notice this point this time, it made Shi Jun a little surprised.

She had thought that it would take some more time.

Shi Jun’s lips curved happily, and she didn’t hide it.

“I think so.”

Although the other party had given her a positive answer, Jiang Yu still had something she hadn’t figured out.

For example, why could she get happiness just by killing people?

There must be something else that she had overlooked.

The motive for killing?

Jiang Yu’s fingers curved and touched her lips, and she fell into deep thought.

Then, she thought of the maid’s description.

Jiang Yu paused slightly.

“Could it be… the first time the princess killed someone was because… that man was going to… to her…” Jiang Yu’s eyebrows twitched, and then she denied it. “But that’s not right. If that’s the case, then the first person the princess should have attacked should be the player among us who played the role of the one who bought the princess.”

Shi Jun chuckled softly, and then said, “You’ve overlooked one thing.”

She looked up. “Gender.”

Jiang Yu frowned slightly, understanding what she was referring to. “But I thought… since we’ve already played a certain role, then age, gender, and these things should not be based on our real identity.”

Just like her identity was Ansel’s daughter, theoretically, she should be a little younger than the others, and the role of the man in the floral shirt was a gemstone merchant, so his age would also be older than them.

But these were all roles given to them by the instance.

Shi Jun smiled. “Then do you think… why did the princess not resist at the beginning, but later suddenly attacked and killed a man?”

“And why did Ansel let her go?”

“Why could the loan shark sell the princess with such confidence?”

Jiang Yu lowered her gaze and fell into deep thought.

Shi Jun didn’t intend to force her to think it through now. After all, she still had some clues that she hadn’t given to Jiang Yu.

Shi Jun’s lips curved. “Why don’t you think about it again? Why did she cut open the stomach?”

Jiang Yu frowned.

Soon, the guards arrived. They first isolated the corpse. One of the guard captains’ eyes were sharp and cold as he scanned the crowd. At the same time, he also noticed Jiang Yu and the others.

“Everyone, I’m sorry that such a thing happened in the royal palace. To some extent, this is indeed our incompetence in supervision. But on the other hand, I suspect that the Ripper may have the ability to disguise himself. He may be hiding among the crowd.”

In fact, this was just a judgment. After all, the guard captain had no evidence.

And the third princess seemed to have been dead for some time. From the time of death to the discovery of the corpse, it was enough for the killer to escape.

Besides… at that time, the maids in the garden were gathered together and were in a mess. It was not difficult to escape in the chaos.

If he had to be suspicious, to be honest, the guard captain was more suspicious of the few guests who had come to the royal palace.

After all, the Ripper had never appeared in the royal palace before. As soon as they came, the Ripper came.

After hiding his suspicion, the guard captain said, “Now, please accept our investigation.”

Without any surprise, as guests, they—not just Jiang Yu and Shi Jun who were present—were all invited for questioning.