Volume 1 Chapter 9 Suspicion

Everyone present was shocked as they turned to look at Chuguang.

The counselor hurried forward. “Captain Zhou, are you sure there’s no mistake? Chuguang has never been the type to cause trouble.”

Zhou Wei shook his head. “It really is her. The testimonies match.”

Chuguang lifted her eyes, a trace of confusion flickering within them. “Captain Zhou, I admit I did enter the alley and did go to the fork, but I didn’t run left—I ran right.”

“Besides, I was only being chased by them. I never confronted them face to face. Where could their testimony come from?”

“I never faced them directly. How could they have seen me using the Nether Artifact?”

Her speech was clear and calm, her expression composed. “If you say so, do you have any evidence?”

The room fell into a heavy silence.

Zhou Wei listened carefully. “You never made eye contact with them?”

“Absolutely not,” Chuguang said firmly. “Those guys are notorious gangsters outside the school. Many people have been targeted by them. I heard about it and ran away as soon as I saw them. How could I look them in the eye? Unless I wanted to die, there was no way I would face them head-on.”

She spoke with unwavering certainty.

She was merely defending herself, her tone steady, refuting precisely while subtly questioning their doubts.

From beginning to end, she showed no trace of fear.

Truly a top student.

The counselor quickly added, “Chuguang is always low-key and never stirs up trouble. It’s unlikely she would provoke anyone. She hardly cares about anything beyond her grades and money.”

“That’s right, that’s right,” Shui Ying chimed in from behind Chuguang. “She’s even called a study machine, always topping our department’s rankings. She’s quite famous in our school.”

Zhou Wei raised an eyebrow. “Which college is she from?”

The counselor replied, “The College of Humanities, the Literature Department.”

In truth, it was a collection of extremely dry and tedious courses—ancient languages, modern languages, ancient literary history, modern literary history, literary theory.

It looked like a program designed to cultivate writers.

Yet the literature department rarely produced actual writers.

They were more like scholars who used words to examine everything in the world.

Someone from the Administration Bureau murmured, “Actually, it’s quite easy to tell.”

This time, Zhou Wei didn’t ask further. “You said you ran to the right. Do you have any proof?”

“Yes. I remember I was carrying a bag of wontons when I entered. The road on the right was so bumpy that I tripped and spilled them all over.”

Chuguang recalled thoughtfully, “Since those gangsters often hung around outside school, I worried they had been watching me for some time, so I deliberately avoided my usual direction.”

Zhou Wei’s eyelids lifted slightly. “Take a photo of her. When we get back, we’ll have that gang identify if it’s really her.”

“Understood.”

---

Zhou Wei came to make arrests, but he hadn't expected Chuguang to claim she never faced those men directly.

They had no evidence, yet they couldn't simply accept the gang’s one-sided accusations to conclude she attacked others.

Chuguang paused and asked, “Captain Zhou, I’ve always wondered—You said the Nether Artifacts are dangerous, but aren’t those gangsters chasing me dangerous too? Suppose I have a Nether Artifact. If I used it in self-defense when my safety was threatened, would that be illegal?”

“Strictly speaking, no,” Zhou Wei answered without hesitation.

“If it’s not illegal, then why come to the school looking for me?” Chuguang pressed. “Don’t say I’m useless. Even if I used it, it would have been purely for self-protection. You shouldn’t have grounds to come after me.”

Zhou Wei considered for a moment. “Not illegal, but that doesn’t mean you can abuse Nether Artifacts. If you have one, it means you have a way to buy them. You need to register with the bureau. Unregulated use of such partial powers can seriously affect public security.”

That statement gave Chuguang insight into the city’s upper echelons’ stance on Nether Artifacts.

They did not support them.

But they didn’t oppose them either.

In short, they couldn’t be used openly and legitimately.

Yet, she also sensed a hidden attitude—they apparently did not object to the private trade of Nether Artifacts.

Chuguang felt reassured.

Since the authorities don’t oppose the trade, that means the Nether Artifact market won’t be shut down anytime soon.

She could take advantage of this time to make several trips to the Nether Realm.

After a moment’s thought, she said, “Then you really should have them examined. When I ran, I saw their expressions were dazed, as if they were bewitched, blindly moving forward.”

“But there was nothing ahead,” she lied lightly.

If she could trade normally, she wouldn’t be afraid.

But all those Nether Artifacts were exchanged directly from the Nether Realm.

What if they asked her for a business license?

Could she say the goods were shipped straight from the source?

Better to keep a low profile.

Those gangsters, knocked out by the Nether Coins which contained energy that caused sensory disturbances for a period, she simply attributed their state to sensory issues.

Whether true or not, even they might not be sure.

The officials exchanged doubtful glances.

Zhou Wei nodded. “Alright, I understand. I’ll compare her with the gang back at the bureau. Please come with us to the police station and give a statement.”

“Okay.”

---

The counselor quickly stood up. “I’ll accompany you. Let’s go.”

Zhou Wei had no objections.

The students were at school, and the school was the primary guardian.

It was only proper for the counselor to go along.

Shui Ying was a bit scared. “Chuguang—”

“It’s fine. I’ll be quick.”

They drove all the way back to the bureau.

They got out and entered to give their statements.

A uniformed officer asked questions while Chuguang recounted the entire sequence of events.

During their testimony, a group of men were brought in.

Zhou Wei asked, “Is the person you saw back then her?”

They nodded vigorously. “Yes, I’ll never forget her. She was sitting on the wall, her eyes pitch black, as if she was staring at things that shouldn’t exist.”

Chuguang’s expression remained unchanged. “You’re lying. I never confronted you face to face. This is the only time. When did I ever sit on the wall?”

“No, no, no, I swear I saw you,” one man said frantically. “You have to believe me. I definitely saw her. She disappeared for a while, and we searched for a long time. I’m sure it was her.”

“Disappeared for a while?”

“Yes, it’s damn creepy. We saw her go into a dead end, but the next second she vanished.”

“How long was she gone?” Zhou Wei asked.

“A long time, about twenty-five to twenty-six minutes.”

After they finished speaking, they were locked up in a cell.

As they left, they saw the unchanging expression on Chuguang’s face—the same look as when she had sat on the wall staring at them.

One man said in terror, “Definitely, no mistake. It was her, this very person. I didn’t misidentify…”

Chuguang was silent for a moment. “Are you sure that was even a person?”