Chapter 298

Chapter 272: Desire

“Of course, Mr. Detective.”

Afterward, Ed found a dancer who had a good relationship with Maria and began to inquire about the situation. Looking at the anxious dancer in front of him, he calmly asked.

“Excuse me, miss, did you see Maria between the second and fourth performances? You two went backstage together, right?”

“Um… between the second and fourth performances, let me think… After the second performance ended and we returned backstage, Maria seemed very happy when she left. I asked her what she was going out for, and she mysteriously said it was a secret and didn’t answer me. When she returned, the fourth performance was about to start, and due to the rush, she came back and immediately went on stage with us. I didn’t even have time to ask her what she had done.”

After pondering for a moment, the dancer spoke directly. Dorothy frowned slightly upon hearing this.

‘As expected, Maria went out after the second performance, not backstage. But the key point is that she left on her own, and she seemed quite happy? What was she up to?’

Dorothy thought this in her mind, and then she manipulated Ed to ask the dancer a few more questions, but she didn’t gain any useful information.

Afterward, Ed thanked the dancer for her cooperation and got up to leave the backstage. During this process, Dorothy began a round of contemplation, having not obtained enough useful information.

‘It seems… I still cannot figure out what happened to Maria between the second and fourth performances… Perhaps I can deduce this case from other angles.

‘First of all, Maria left the backstage alone and happily right after the second performance. Where she went is unknown, but since this was a premeditated assassination, her departure must have been arranged. She left so happily; if it wasn’t due to some extraordinary ability’s influence, it’s possible that someone called her out or that she had an appointment with someone else.

‘Another point worth noting is that Maria immediately participated in the fourth performance of “Crimson Mother” upon her return. At that time, she was already a Zombie Puppet, but she was still able to clumsily dance alongside others for a while before that. Although her movements were stiff, she kept up as a backup dancer and had no apparent issues in the eyes of ordinary viewers…

‘This is very strange; Maria, being a Zombie Puppet, had already died on a mental and spiritual level. Yet she could still dance, still accompany Adele, which means… the one controlling Maria, who is also the murderer, must know how to dance this piece. At least, they must know how a backup dancer should move to keep up with the overall choreography without any mistakes that could attract the audience’s notice…’

At this point, Dorothy finally recognized an important point: that the Zombie Puppet Maria was initially able to dance alongside others. Although her movements were stiff, she was not slow in rhythm. At that time, Maria was already dead; she could not dance on her own, so her controller was the one dancing through her.

So, the controller of Maria also knew the dance; they could perform the accompaniment for “Crimson Mother”!

‘The controller would also know how to accompany Adele, and it seems this dance is Adele’s new work, something that hasn’t been performed before… So that murderer, that controller being able to dance indicates… that the secret rehearsal of the dance by Adele has been leaked, perhaps there’s a mole in the theater?’

Upon drawing this conclusion, Dorothy immediately became startled, and then she manipulated Ed to go to the room where the police were holding Adele. After greeting them, she walked in and found Adele lying on the sofa in the closed room, reading a magazine.

“What’s up—great detective, do you have any progress?” Adele asked, crossing her legs, with her white legs peeking out from under the red dress. Ed then sat down beside her and spoke.

“Sort of. Now I have some speculations and would like to verify them with you.” Adjusting his hat, Ed said. He then relayed his suspicions about the mole to Adele, who furrowed her brows and shook her head.

“That’s impossible; it shouldn’t be someone from the theater causing issues.”

Adele spoke with certainty, and Ed directly asked.

“On what basis are you so sure? Since the Maria who danced originally was a Flesh Puppet, it means her controller will definitely know how to dance. Given that this dance was promoted as your latest work, it’s very possible that someone in the theater stole your dance knowledge.”

“Absolutely not! To prevent those gossip reporters and for absolute confidentiality, we didn’t rehearse this dance in the theater but at my personal venue. Therefore, even the theater staff wouldn’t know what ‘Crimson Mother’ is like.” Adele continued confidently. Upon hearing her words, Dorothy couldn’t help but tense up; the likelihood seemed low.

“Then… how likely is it that your private venue could have been infiltrated?”

“The likelihood is very low. Although the girls don’t know, I have complete counter-surveillance measures there. Whether it’s invisibility, small Flesh Puppets, ghosts, or wall-walkers—all were considered… If those guys could infiltrate there, I’d be done for.”

Adele said seriously. Listening to her, Dorothy felt somewhat exasperated.

‘To use such a secretive society-like place for choreography, how bold can one be… Is it really necessary to go to such lengths against paparazzi? Using so many extraordinary counter-surveillance methods…’

Dorothy silently protested in her mind, then she manipulated Ed to continue asking Adele.

“Is it also possible that some of the dancers in your troupe could be insiders?”

“That’s even more impossible. These girls have all been vetted by me; some of them are directly my ‘students,’ and I trust them.”

Adele responded. Hearing her words, Dorothy was stunned. She knew that the term “students” from an Extraordinary Being usually referred to other lower-tier Extraordinary Beings guided by this person. This indicated that Adele’s extraordinary level probably wasn’t low, and there were others in the troupe who were Extraordinary Beings she had personally guided.

“Trust can sometimes be an illusion.” Dorothy prompted Ed to remind Adele. She believed that mere trust couldn’t explain the problem; the mole could still be among the dancers.

However, Adele’s response was somewhat unexpected for Dorothy.

“Trust might become an illusion, but desire never does.”

“Desire?” Upon hearing Adele’s words, a hint of confusion arose in Ed’s voice, while Adele looked at Ed and smiled, continuing.

“Do you know why… those guys want to use Flesh Puppets to assassinate me? It’s because… of my ability. I can sense the desires in the hearts of others around me, especially… the desire others have for me.

“Whether it’s romantic desire or hunger… I can feel the desires of everyone around me, and killing intent, to a certain extent, is also a kind of desire, a desire to k*ll others…

“I can sense the desires of nearby Flesh Puppets, and when desires focus on me, my perception range becomes broader and more precise. So when someone within my sensing range has the intent to k*ll me, I immediately know their location.”

Adele explained slowly. After hearing her words, Dorothy fell silent. She manipulated Ed to speak.

“So, trying to assassinate you is a very difficult thing, and Flesh Puppets lack desire, lack killing intent, so they chose to use them to assassinate you…”

“Yes, if a Flesh Puppet approaches me with a kn*fe from behind, there wouldn’t be any killing intent; I wouldn’t sense it, because Flesh Puppets have no desires at all…”

Adele said languidly. As she spoke, she leaned closer to Ed, pressing her body against him and placing his hand on her exposed thigh.

Then she brought her mouth to Ed’s ear and whispered enticingly.

“It’s just like you; you have… no desire for me at all, Mr. Detective…”