Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

"Mr. Navelette, it's such an honor that you've come to see my performance!"

“Mr. Linni, it is my honor to be able to watch your performance live.”

Navigette maintained an elegant gentlemanly demeanor and did not feel any sense of superiority because of her status.

His gaze suddenly rose, and in the VIP seat high up, a figure wearing a small top hat sat on the back of the chair and struck a pose.

Linni's gaze followed his. "Ah, Lady Furina has arrived too!"

Paimon looked up at the figure high above; from this angle, he could only see a head.

"She really came, but why does she look so proud and smug? Sitting so high up, can she really see the performance clearly?"

Jiang Bai thought Paimon was worrying unnecessarily. "Your worries are a bit excessive. No matter what, he's a god. How could he not see the performance?"

Paimon scratched his head, then flew down and sat down.

"That's true, we always forget that she's a god too..."

Chapter 861 Linni is very suspicious.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Linni returned to the backstage area to prepare.

The audience entered the venue one after another, and the seats were soon filled.

The opera house went dark, and as the music began, a spotlight shone on the center of the stage, where the great magician and his assistant made their dazzling entrance.

This is a magic show that lasts for one hour.

The various magic tricks were spectacular, and without using the "eye of God," these amazing tricks could be described as truly magical.

The performance quickly moved to its final segment, an escape magic trick involving an exchange.

The magician and a lucky audience member are locked inside a wooden box. After a one-minute countdown, they switch places, and the magic trick is considered a great success.

Jiang Bai originally thought he was just here to see a magic show, but the unexpected event came unexpectedly.

The water tank, suspended high in the air, suddenly crashed down, smashing the wooden box directly below to pieces and killing a magician's assistant.

A major performance accident occurred as a result, forcing the performance to be stopped.

"what happened?"

The accident happened so suddenly that neither Jiang Bai nor Navelette, who was standing next to him, had time to react.

All that could be seen was a hand emerging from the rubble of the wooden crate and the ground gradually turning red with blood.

The audience was completely unaware of the accident, assuming it was part of a magic show.

"Mr. Linni, now you're going to restore the stage, right?"

Linni was in a state of great shock, completely unprepared for this unexpected turn of events.

"how so……"

Navisette stood up decisively, her authoritative voice resounding throughout the hall:

"Performance suspended! Medical personnel, follow me! Security personnel, secure the scene, control all performers, and temporarily close the opera house entrances and exits!"

Funina, who was in the VIP section above, also stood up. She was a little flustered by the scene.

"You're right! If it was an accident, we must find out the cause. If it wasn't an accident, then you won't escape the judgment of the god of justice!"

Medical personnel and security guards arrived quickly to inspect the scene, and the audience remained in their seats in an orderly manner, awaiting the investigation results.

It didn't take long for the police investigation to yield results.

Navilette ascended to the high seat reserved for the Supreme Judge, rested his hands on his cane, and looked down at the crowd below, his booming voice resounding:

"The person inside the magic box has unfortunately died. The deceased was named Cowell, and was one of the supporting actors in the Linni Magic Troupe."

"The fireworks on the stage ignited the rope above the water tank, which was the direct cause of the tank falling."

"As for why the person in the box is Cowell instead of one of the previously selected audience members, that remains unknown."

"But after the search, the security team confirmed that the girl had vanished into thin air and her whereabouts were unknown."

"This situation is not simply a stage accident...it also exhibits many characteristics of a 'serial disappearance of young girls' case."

If the person who was crushed to death was the randomly selected lucky audience member, then the incident could still be defined as an accident.

However, many characteristics indicate that this was not an accident, but a malicious event deliberately created by human hands.

The machine, which was supposed to randomly select lucky viewers, would only stay at a fixed number no matter what it was done to. In other words, the so-called random selection was actually predetermined.

The burned rope had been tampered with beforehand, and the positions of the magic box and the water tank were too coincidental.

The fact that the deceased found in the box was an assistant in the magic troupe makes it even more bizarre.

The water goddess Funina accused Linni, claiming he was the murderer of this crime and also the perpetrator of the series of missing girls.

In response, Kong and Paimon enthusiastically became his agents, conducting investigations and defending him.

Jiang Bai didn't want to get involved in this mess. He wasn't very familiar with Lin Ni; they had only known each other for a few days, and he didn't really know her.

However, based on Linni's actions of helping them out of trouble, distributing magic bags, and treating them to meals, Paimon and Kong felt that Linni was a good person and that he had been wronged. With the idea that more people meant more strength, they forcibly dragged Jiang Bai along.

The trial was scheduled for one day later. In the meantime, they needed to investigate the truth of the whole incident and face Furness in court the following day.

"After all the twists and turns, I still have to go to court against that water goddess, Funina..."

On their first day in Fontainebleau, they almost ended up in court because of a special law, but Linni's insistence resolved the situation.

Unexpectedly, after some time, they still came to the courtroom, but this time as Linni's representatives.

Is this some kind of fate?

Jiang Bai rubbed his chin. Connecting all these things, it felt like there was an element of deliberate artifice involved.

Is it possible that Linni's appearance that day was not accidental, that he already knew the personality of the water goddess Funina, knew that she would make a high-profile appearance, and arranged for people to lift her up and guide her to say the words of judgment on the sky?

Afterwards, he reappeared and calmly resolved the crisis.

As for his purpose... perhaps he had planned this case all along, getting close to Sora and making a good impression on him, just so that Sora could become his agent today?

A renowned traveler as his agent might actually be able to help him get away with the charges unscathed.

But if that's the case, how can he guarantee that Kong won't find out the truth and discover that he orchestrated everything himself?

Moreover, this time the one facing off in court is the water goddess Funina.

Having witnessed countless trials, would she so easily let Linni go?

There are too many problems. For now, we can only take it one step at a time and see if we can find anything out.

Jiang Bai didn't tell Kong about his guess. These two guys were a bit too enthusiastic and kind. They had already agreed to become Linni's agents, so there was no point in saying anything now.

It would be better to focus on investigating the clues properly.

Linni sincerely thanked them, "Thanks to you for becoming our agent, we are very grateful! Now we can only rely on you!"

"Please!" Lynette echoed.

"Leave it to me!" Sora was still very confident.

"The premise of defending you is based on our mutual honesty. I hope you won't hide anything from us." Jiang Bai's attitude was indifferent; he didn't really like doing this kind of thing.

"Yes, I will tell you everything I know."

Accompanied by the security team, the group returned to the crime scene, where Linni explained the techniques used in the escape magic trick.

The method is actually very simple: there is a straight tunnel under the two boxes, which allows for quick travel back and forth.

Chapter 862 The Water of the Primordial Sea of ​​Conception

As for whether the lucky audience members were predetermined, Linni said no.

According to him, his assistant was in charge of all the props and such.

Including that random lottery machine, those fireworks, the water tank...

A grand magic show cannot have the master magician worrying about everything; the work of checking and setting up props belongs to the assistants.

Although the deceased assistant had not been with the company for long, he was diligent and hardworking, and everyone had a good impression of him. Linni also trusted him quite a bit.

“I remember that Cowell checked and set up all these props…” Linnie was also deep in thought.

If Cowell did all of this, then why was it in the wooden crate and then crushed to death?

There are too many things I don't understand, but we still need to continue the investigation.

Jiang Bai said to Kong, "Let's split up and investigate. We'll meet up in the lounge during dinner time to gather the intelligence."

"Okay, let's go take another look at the crime scene, question the security personnel, and then check out the tunnels..."

Paimon counted the things he needed to do on his fingers as he and Sora gradually walked away.

Only Linnie, Linette, and Jiang Bai remained present.

Linni watched them walk away with some worry when Jiang Bai suddenly said out of the blue:

Do you think our meeting was really a coincidence?

“Hey…” Linni was taken aback by his words, and then suddenly became nervous.

Have we been discovered?

However, so far there shouldn't be any flaws revealed.

He pretended to be nonchalant and asked with a puzzled look, "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"But after what happened today, and thinking back to how you helped us out of that predicament, it feels a bit deliberate. It's as if all this groundwork was laid to make us your agents today."

Jiang Bai looked directly into his eyes, his words getting straight to the heart of the matter.

At first, Mingming thought Jiang Bai had discovered his identity, but the more he listened, the more speechless he became.

He sighed deeply and said helplessly:

“This is the biggest stage of my life, and performing here is the greatest honor for me... To commit a crime in front of the Supreme Judge, in front of the Water God, in front of you, in front of so many powerful people, how is this any different from courting death?”

Lynette spoke up to defend her brother, "You overestimate him. He's just a magician; he doesn't have that kind of guts."

"That's hard to say; some people just enjoy challenges and thrills."

Jiang Bai's suspicions about them did not lessen because of their words.

The fact that the girl's disappearance case has remained unsolved for so many years speaks volumes about the bizarre nature of the crime. Perhaps the perpetrator was certain that no one would guess his method, which is why he dared to commit the crime again in front of so many people.

Twenty years have passed since the girl's disappearance. Although Linnie and Lynette are not the same age, no one can say for sure whether the perpetrator has a successor.

“I…” Linni had no idea how to explain.

Although there was indeed another purpose to holding this magic show here, they really didn't do this crime.

"What will it take for you to believe us?" Linni was ready to reveal his identity.

To his surprise, Jiang Bai did not intend to ask any further questions.

He waved and walked away, leaving only one sentence in their minds.

"Let's leave it at that for now. I'll look around first."

With the two main investigators, Youkong and Paimon, Jiang Bai planned to take the opportunity to tour the opera house during breaks in his investigations.

As for his guess, it's not really that important.

He just wanted to bluff Linni and see his reaction.

In retrospect, that initial encounter and subsequent rescue were likely deliberate attempts to get close. The reason behind it was probably a genuine desire to leverage the power of the renowned Traveler to resolve Fontaine's prophetic crisis.

As for the truth of this case, only a thorough investigation will reveal the answer.

Jiang Bai went backstage and found the guards from the security team.

"May I see the assistants and the deceased Cowell's personal belongings?"

Jiang Bai felt that his assistant had a big problem.

All the props were prepared by the assistant; Linni only did the final check, so the problem lies with the assistant.

"Yes, but two security personnel will need to be present to ensure the evidence is not lost. I hope you understand."

"I understand, I understand, that's only fair."