Chapter 50: A Startling Clue

"Hello?"

"Mr. Chen, this is the Bubble Girl. Can we meet? I have something important to tell you."

On the other end of the line, Bubble Girl’s voice sounded somewhat anxious.

Chen Yu frowned slightly.

Mr. Chen?

That form of address caught him off guard. After all, just that night, she’d been calling him "Daddy" incessantly. Now, she was suddenly so polite—clearly, something was amiss.

Bubble Girl was currently ranked seventh on the leaderboard, and according to the rules set by the mysterious figure, she would be the target after next. Had she discovered something?

"Where shall we meet?" Chen Yu asked in a low voice.

"At the Western restaurant near Jiangcheng University. I’m here now."

Chen Yu glanced at Li Qing.

Li Qing immediately understood his intent and nodded.

"Alright, we’ll be there soon."

After hanging up, Chen Yu and Li Qing hailed a taxi and hurried toward Jiangcheng University.

On the way, Li Qing asked curiously, "What do you think she wants to talk to you about?"

"I don’t know, but it must be related to the case," Chen Yu replied thoughtfully. "Bubble Girl is actually very clever and has her own investigative methods. She must have found some important clue."

Li Qing nodded, deep in thought. "Could it be something related to the mysterious person?"

"Very likely," Chen Yu’s expression grew grave. "After all, she’s in the most dangerous position now. If she really found something, it might be the breakthrough we need."

Half an hour later, they arrived at the Western restaurant.

Bubble Girl was already waiting in a corner seat. She still wore heavy makeup, looking eccentric and completely out of place in the elegant setting. But Chen Yu keenly sensed a deep fear beneath her elaborate disguise.

He quietly activated the Eye of Insight.

Instantly, a data panel appeared above Bubble Girl’s head:

[Name: Lin Xiaoyu]

[Heart Rate: 95 (nervous, fearful)]

[Stamina: 45 (average)]

[Favorability: 35 (neutral)]

[Purity: 70 (quite good)]

Seeing a favorability score of only 35, Chen Yu was momentarily stunned. Damn! Only 35? Then what was that night all about? Was he just a mark? Anger surged within him. This woman had clearly been using him! The night's tenderness had all been an act.

"Mr. Chen, thank you for coming," Bubble Girl stood up, slightly surprised to see Li Qing. "And this is?"

"My assistant. Someone you can trust," Chen Yu replied simply.

No sooner had he finished than a sharp pain stabbed his waist—Li Qing’s delicate hand had twisted him mercilessly. Her gaze seemed to say: "Assistant? Since when did I become your assistant?"

Once they were all seated, Bubble Girl lowered her voice. "I found some clues about the mysterious one."

"What clues?" Chen Yu immediately grew serious.

"The night before Fat Cat died, I received a message," Bubble Girl said, carefully passing Chen Yu her phone. "The sender claimed to be Fat Cat’s friend and wanted to buy my investigation notes."

Chen Yu examined the phone closely. The content was simple, but revealed something crucial—the sender knew each contestant’s investigative methods in detail. They knew Bubble Girl’s talent for hacking and her tendency to use seduction to gather intel. Nothing escaped them.

"Who do you think it is?" he asked.

"I suspect..." Bubble Girl hesitated, glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before continuing, "I suspect the mysterious one is among the contestants themselves."

At this, both Chen Yu and Li Qing were visibly shocked. Damn! If that was true, things were far more complicated than they’d imagined. Chen Yu’s heart rate shot up.

"Do you have any evidence?" Li Qing asked nervously.

"The mysterious one knows everyone’s investigative habits inside and out. That’s not something you can glean from watching a live broadcast," Bubble Girl analyzed. "They can predict the police’s moves precisely, which means they’re very familiar with how the production team operates. Most importantly, they know all our weaknesses and secrets."

Chen Yu nodded. The logic was solid. The mysterious one not only predicted the police’s actions, but even anticipated his own thought process. Such a level of insight was impossible for an outsider.

"Who do you suspect?" Chen Yu asked in a low voice.

"I’m not sure, but..." Bubble Girl paused, debating whether to reveal her thoughts. "Sanada Gouichiro seems suspicious."

The name sent a jolt through Chen Yu. Sanada Gouichiro? The low-key contestant from Sakura Country?

"Why him?" Chen Yu pressed.

"When Fat Cat died, only he remained unusually calm," Bubble Girl recalled. "Everyone else, even someone as seasoned as Forner, was shaken. But Sanada... it was as if he’d known it would happen, maybe even a little excited."

Chen Yu fell silent. Sanada Gouichiro... There was something off about him. If he was the mysterious one, then tomorrow’s collaboration would turn into a deadly game. Yet, there was another possibility: perhaps this suspicion was exactly what the mysterious one wanted—to have everyone doubt each other so he could continue his scheme amid the chaos.

"Have you found anything else?" Li Qing asked.

"There’s one more detail." Bubble Girl grew even more tense. "During the live broadcast, the mysterious one mentioned a word—'game.' It reminded me of someone."

"Who?" Chen Yu and Li Qing asked in unison.

"Luo Xiangdong," Bubble Girl said solemnly, opening her ever-present tablet to an old newspaper clipping. "Back then, a reporter interviewed Luo Xiangdong. In that interview, he said his research was like a game. He even admitted to loving all kinds of logic games."

Seeing the article, Chen Yu’s pupils contracted sharply. This clue was crucial! If the mysterious one was connected to Luo Xiangdong, the whole case suddenly made sense.

"You mean the mysterious one could be the killer of Luo Xiangdong, the one I mentioned in my stream this afternoon?" Chen Yu’s voice trembled.

"Very likely," Bubble Girl nodded fiercely. "I even looked into it—back in university, Luo Xiangdong had a very close friend. And this person’s background is strikingly similar to Sanada Gouichiro’s."

"Who?" Chen Yu almost shouted.

"A student from the Computer Science Department at Jiangcheng University, in the same year as Luo Xiangdong," Bubble Girl replied, enunciating each word carefully. "Li Feng."

The name struck Chen Yu like a thunderclap. Computer Science? And the name "Feng"? There were several possible characters matching the pronunciation—Feng, Feng, Feng, or Feng. Anyone from those years in the Computer Science Department could fit. The name itself wasn’t unusual. But the real question was...

"What makes you think Li Feng and Sanada Gouichiro are similar?" Chen Yu pressed.

"Li Feng was an exchange student from Sakura Country," Bubble Girl said, her words dropping like a bomb. "He was very close to Luo Xiangdong. In fact, Luo Xiangdong gave him the name Li Feng! They were inseparable in school."

Chen Yu’s heart pounded. An exchange student from Sakura Country? Close to Luo Xiangdong? All these clues pointed to a shocking conclusion.

"Are your sources reliable?" Chen Yu tried to remain calm.

"Of course. I hacked into Jiangcheng University’s forum and spent ages digging up posts from that era," Bubble Girl said proudly. "Those two were famous back then—both pillars of their departments!"

Chen Yu’s mind raced to connect the dots. If Li Feng was indeed Sanada Gouichiro, everything made sense: he had the technical skills to hijack the livestream, he knew Luo Xiangdong well enough to kill him, he understood the production team’s inner workings because he’d always been involved. Most crucially—he had motive: revenge.

"Thank you for the warning," Chen Yu said, rising to his feet, suddenly comfortable with the distant relationship between him and Bubble Girl. With a favorability score of only 35, there was no need to be too warm.

"No need to thank me. I just want to catch the mysterious one as soon as possible," Bubble Girl replied with a wry smile. "Otherwise, in six days, it’ll be my turn to die." Her voice trembled as she spoke.

Chen Yu understood her fear. Anyone facing a madman who could kill at any moment would be terrified.

"Don’t worry. I won’t let him get away with it," Chen Yu said earnestly. "I will catch this lunatic myself!"

With that, Chen Yu took Li Qing’s hand and walked out of the restaurant. The hunger he’d felt earlier had completely vanished. Now, all he wanted was to find Captain Yan and have him investigate Li Feng thoroughly.

Outside, Li Qing couldn’t help but ask, "Do you believe her?"

"About eighty percent," Chen Yu replied gravely. "Bubble Girl may be cunning, but when it comes to life and death, she wouldn’t joke about something like this. Besides, her clues are too specific to be fabricated."

"So what do we do now?" Li Qing asked anxiously.

"First, we find Captain Yan and have him check Li Feng’s background," Chen Yu said, taking out his phone. "Then I need to study Sanada Gouichiro carefully. If he really is Li Feng, tomorrow’s partnership will be a deadly game!"

A cold glint flashed in Chen Yu’s eyes. If the enemy wanted to play games, he’d gladly oblige. With his system at hand, what was there to fear from a madman?

He checked his skill points—295 remaining, enough to buy some life-saving tools. It looked like tomorrow’s stream was destined to be anything but peaceful.