Honkai Impact 3rd, Paradise Typewriter isn't for making this kind of game.

After confirming that nothing was amiss, she recalled the commission she had accepted from the merchant known as "Grey Serpent".

"Rin, wait for me... I will definitely find a way to save you."

Sakura put the mask back on the table. Although she didn't know what the woman wanted, the late night was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity for an assassination.

The carriage was very quiet. At this time of day, most passengers were already asleep, and Sakura's long-standing assassination experience would not allow her to wake anyone.

She pressed herself against the wall of the carriage.

Under the cover of darkness, they inspected each room, searching for their target—Xia Yuan.

squeak-

Just then, the door to the room next to Sakura's creaked open, breaking the silence. Xia Yuan staggered down the corridor.

Upon seeing her target appear, Sakura pressed herself against the wall and held her breath, but Xia Yuan, who was swaying precariously in the corridor, walked straight up to Sakura.

"Huh? We've been discovered? How could this be..."

Chapter 243 Sakura's Inner Struggle

Sakura believed that her ability to hide herself had reached its peak, but she never expected that the famous detective featured in the newspaper would see through her disguise so quickly.

It has already been exposed...

Sakura is considering whether she should strike first.

Just as Sakura was about to draw the scabbard from her waist, which was wrapped in gray cloth and exuded a chilling aura, Xia Yuan had already grabbed the pair of exposed fox ears on Sakura's head.

The sensation from the fox's ears kept washing over Sakura's body and reaching her consciousness. Only then did Sakura realize that she hadn't put on her hood.

Although the fox ears are Sakura's only weakness, after undergoing training that is beyond what ordinary people can endure... even if someone grabs them, Sakura will not completely lose her fighting ability. However, the strange sensation constantly coming from the pair of fox ears on her head will make it difficult for Sakura to concentrate in battle.

"Doesn't a fully armed guard feel ashamed to bully a petite young girl?"

Xia Yuan questioned him sternly.

He unconsciously increased the force in his hands.

"Well....."

Sakura was somewhat confused by Xia Yuan's words. Was this famous detective sleepwalking and talking nonsense?

Sakura suppressed the strange sensation coming from above her head and decided to remain still and observe the situation first before figuring out the other party's condition.

As Xia Yuan fiddled with the fox ears on Ying's head and babbled incoherently... Ying's face gradually turned red, but Ying had good self-control, and soon... the blush disappeared from Ying's cheeks.

Without a doubt, the sleeping detective who was talking nonsense to himself was sleepwalking.

It's time to end things with him...

But Xia Yuan's subsequent actions and behavior revealed a hint of helplessness and surprise in Ying's expression.

The other person carried her in a princess carry and quickly ran towards another corridor on the train.

Sakura had never been held in someone's arms like this before, but the noise the other person was making might wake up many passengers on the train, and the assassination plan might have to be postponed.

She now even suspects that the famous detective is deliberately playing a trick on her.

But the other person's solemn expression and worried tone clearly didn't seem to be faking it; perhaps in his dream, there really was a monster chasing him.

Xia Yuan carried Ying, whom he was holding, to his own room.

"Clara, don't be afraid, it's safe here for now... Let me help you fix your injured ankle first."

The sleeping detective continued to spout nonsense as always.

Then... Xia Yuan placed Ying in front of the bed.

"Wait, correct the ankle?!"

Before Ying could react, Xia Yuan had already taken off Ying's boots, and with a snap... Ying's ankle was dislocated.

Sakura looked at the sleepwalking detective in front of her with a rather complicated expression.

Then, there was another click.

Sakura successfully corrected her dislocated ankle back into its normal position.

As Xia Yuan rambled on to himself, Ying hesitated to draw her sword. Despite being chased by monsters, he was willing to save a little girl he had only met once.

This reminded Sakura of her younger sister...

If I were to encounter a situation similar to the detective's dream, and if that little girl were Rin... this famous detective featured in the newspaper is very similar to me.

She simply couldn't bring herself to do it...

But what about her younger sister's condition? Sakura was caught in a dilemma and felt lost.

But then, Xia Yuan suddenly stood up, picked up the sword at Ying's waist, kicked open the door, and rushed towards the aisle of the next carriage.

"Die, you creature from the rift!"

The other party snatched his sword and shouted loudly in the carriage.

Sakura quickly followed, and Xia Yuan went straight to another compartment in the carriage, next to which was the name of [Qian Jie].

Amidst Sakura's incredulous and complex expression, Xia Yuan emerged from Qian Jie's room, carrying a blood-stained katana.

Xia Yuan slowly passed by Ying and returned to his room, where he lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep as if nothing had happened.

"this........"

Looking at the blood-stained katana leaning against the bed, Sakura didn't know what had happened in that room, but the train cook named Senjaku was clearly in grave danger.

The commotion was too loud; it will definitely wake up the people in the carriage.

The most urgent task right now is to clear herself of suspicion as much as possible, since Sakura can't explain that the murder weapon was her own katana.

As the other travelers prepared to dress and leave their rooms, Sakura wiped the blood off her katana, sheathed it, and disappeared into the shadows, quickly fleeing from Xia Yuan's room.

He witnessed everything that had just happened, which brought Him a long-lost sense of pleasure. To gain even more enjoyment... Ahab continued to spy on the intriguing young man, deriving even more amusement from it.

You slowly awaken from your slumber, whispered by the Star Goddess of Joy.

When Xia Yuan woke up, he felt relaxed for the first time in a long time.

He hadn't slept so comfortably in a long time. Could it be that red wine really does help with sleep? It seems he should ask Eden for more red wine in the future; he's sure the other person will be delighted.

Feeling refreshed, Xia Yuan got out of bed and stretched. He vaguely remembered meeting a white-haired girl named Clara in his dream. Uh... she seemed quite cute?

Aside from remembering that she had bare feet and that her little face was very cute... he couldn't recall anything else from the dream, except that Clara was incredibly cute.

"Hmm? Why would I have such a thought?"

Xia Yuan scratched the back of his head, somewhat at a loss.

"what--!"

"No, something terrible has happened! Someone's dead!"

Just then, a series of panicked screams outside the carriage shattered the tranquility of the entire carriage.

This also shattered Xia Yuan's memories.

Xia Yuan didn't have time to think much. He was about to grab the trench coat from the hanger and run out of the room when he realized that he had already put the trench coat on himself.

Xia Yuan didn't remember having the habit of falling asleep in bed without taking off his coat, but right now the most important thing was the panicked sound outside the room that sounded like Padofelis.

Could it be that something happened to Padofelis?!

Keeping his doubts about the person wearing a trench coat to himself, Xia Yuan pushed open the door and ran straight towards the source of the sound.

Chapter 244 The Man Lying in the Room Wearing a Chef's Apron

When Xia Yuan arrived at the room from which the screams were coming, the first thing he saw was Padofelis's panicked expression.

She was leaning against the wall at the edge of the carriage.

Padofelis pointed to the room in front of her, the brown-haired girl's petite body trembling violently.

Upon seeing Xia Yuan's arrival...

Padofelis, as if seeing a savior, as if grasping at a lifeline, threw herself into Xia Yuan's arms.

"Detective...the room...inside the room...blood...there's a person lying in a pool of blood!"

But Xia Yuan noticed that the brown-haired girl's hands were covered in crimson liquid, and bloody handprints remained on his trench coat.

The girl in front of me...

[Padoflis has been in and out of this room before.]

Xia Yuan temporarily draped his trench coat over Padofelis's shoulders, carefully placing the frightened brown-haired girl in a relatively safe location without disturbing the crime scene.

The girl's emotions are unstable right now, so it's not appropriate for her to ask the other person questions.

Then...

Xia Yuan took out disposable white gloves and shoe covers from his pocket and entered the open room in front of him. There was a shoe print left on the door.

These may be footprints left by the murderer.

Perhaps the murderer kicked the door open and broke in not long ago?

What kind of deep-seated hatred could exist between the perpetrator and the victim to lead to such a murder?

Logically speaking, given that his room wasn't far from the victim's room, why didn't he hear the noise and commotion caused by the door being broken down? Was he perhaps sleeping too soundly at the time?

Another question arose in Xia Yuan's mind.

Xia Yuan observed the nameplate on the side of the door. The nameplate read "Employee Only" and after "Employee Only"... wrote the name "Qian Jie".

The victim lying in the center of the room was the chef named "Qian Jie" who had accompanied the steam train.

He is also the prime suspect in the village arson case.

Xia Yuan stepped into the room and knelt down beside Qian Jie. A fatal wound pierced through Qian Jie's heart on his chest, where he was wearing a chef's apron.

It's hopeless...

Based on common sense, Xia Yuan believed that the other party had lost all hope and there was absolutely no possibility of saving him. But did the other party even wear a mask when he slept?

Just as Xia Yuan was about to remove the other person's mask...

Outside the room came whispers and murmurs, the other travelers who had come to investigate.

"Yuan...what happened?"

Wearing a monocle, Fu Hua was the first to squeeze through the crowd and arrive at the outermost edge of the crime scene.

"Someone was murdered in the room just half an hour ago, Hua... Let's cordon off the area. The murderer must still be on this slowly moving steam train."

Hua nodded solemnly.

She discovered that the victim lying in a pool of blood in the room was Qian Jie, the prime suspect in the village arson case, who had been murdered.

Fu Hua still had many questions to ask Qian Jie.

And so... the clue to the unexplained spontaneous combustion of his father's village ended there.

"Instructions received. This area has been taken over by the Tianming Police. Please do not approach the room. Thank you for your cooperation. Advisor Xia Yuan and I will begin our investigation and apprehend the murderer as soon as possible."

While Fu Hua was still stunned, Prometheus had already arrived outside the room, using the giant gauntlets on his sides and his body as a cordon to prevent anyone from approaching the scene of the crime.

Just then...

A woman with long pink hair and a sweet appearance rushed over. Her name was Alicia.. She was the chief conductor of this steam train and also the main person in charge of this steam train.

"Was it really Qianjie who was killed? My name is Alicia... I'm in charge of this steam train. Can I go in and see Qianjie one last time?"

With tears welling in her eyes, Alicia pleaded with Prometheus, but he remained unmoved.

"I'm sorry, the person in charge of the train, but no one is allowed to enter before Advisor Xia Yuan has investigated the cause of death... This would damage the crime scene, please understand."

"The person in charge?"

Hearing the sobbing and whimpering outside the room, Xia Yuan did not remove Qian Jie's mask. He slowly got up and walked to the train conductor named Alicia.

“Prometheus, let her in. I have some questions for the train's manager.”

Upon hearing Xia Yuan's words, Prometheus made way for him.

"What was your relationship with the victim who was murdered in the room?"

Xia Yuan inquired.

Alicia wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a delicate pink handkerchief, her voice trembling with sobs as she said: