Intelligence Across Time and Space

Chen Miemie returned to the shop and shared the night's conversation with the "Logic Pledgor" with her think tank.

Qinghua organized the new information and pinned it onto the evidence wall.

"So, the person behind [the Butler] isn't his father, the 'Logic Pledgor,' but another great scholar, the 'Stone Speaker'?"

"Is it possible that this 'Logic Pledgor' is lying?" Black Hole tried to join the think tank.

Unfortunately, its first hypothesis was immediately shot down.

Loop brought up the guest from that night: "Black Hole, do you remember Chunhua, who came to the shop tonight?"

"Of course I remember, what about him?"

"Then recall how Chunhua described and evaluated his rival from the Scholar Academy."

Black Hole began to think hard—

Back then.

Chunhua, eager to get the shop's help, answered every question without reservation.

[Huangyi]: "Chunhua, your rival Luo Lang has an excellent background and deep connections; even by just following the proper path, he could rise to a high position. Why does he work so hard?"

"Shopkeeper, perhaps I've only ever talked about our conflicts, which might have given you the wrong impression.

He and I are certainly not friends, but as a rival since school days, I admire him.

He's the kind of person who's born with good lineage, natural talent, abundant resources, and yet works harder than the average person. Frankly, in my view, his success was inevitable.

And as I grew older, I realized he's not a bad person at all.

Back in school, when he got jealous over a girl, he'd come straight to me for a fight—always one-on-one, never bringing along those sycophantic 'friends' of his, never pulling dirty tricks, and he'd own up to a loss without holding a grudge afterward.

At the Scholar Academy, in the first few years when we were worlds apart, he never came to mock or sneer at me, nor did he use his connections to sabotage me. It was only when I regained the strength to compete with him that he treated me as a rival again.

Sometimes I even think—if I had his advantages, I might not have worked so hard from a young age, nor would I have treated a powerless orphan as an equal rival.

It's true he wants to climb the ranks, but a big part of him genuinely wants to rid the city of the 'Lullaby Hummer' scourge."

"Mmm, sounds like a decent guy after all. But how could he be so sure you're a fake hero?"

"That has to do with his [Mystery]. As his rival, I'm probably the one most familiar with his abilities.

His [Mystery] is called [Logic Pledge]. He can pledge a portion of his 'common sense' or 'intuition' as collateral to temporarily gain extraordinary logical deduction or calculation abilities."

"So, as long as he activates his ability, he can deduce almost anything. The ability is a bit support-oriented."

"Yes, he doesn't use it often, because during the pledge period, he experiences temporary side effects—like being unable to understand metaphors or other figures of speech, losing his sense of direction, or failing to recognize his family's faces.

Still, he's truly impressive; he managed to develop this ability into combat support.

Without any intelligence, he can observe an opponent's moves from the shadows and quickly deduce their general abilities or even weaknesses. In group battles, his value exceeds that of a top-tier combatant."

"So, when he said you're a fake hero, he wasn't slandering you—he genuinely deduced it."

"Yes."

Black Hole ended its recollection and gave a brief summary:

"According to Chunhua, Luo Lang is actually upright in character and dislikes underhanded schemes?"

Qinghua nodded and casually scooped up Black Hole.

Previously, Qinghua had only been Bobo's caretaker, but lately, Bobo and Black Hole had been hanging out together all the time, so she'd taken on the role of Black Hole's caretaker as well.

Chen Miemie shifted to a more comfortable position on the sofa.

"People can change, sure, but traits that have held since childhood are still fairly trustworthy.

Luo Lang probably never even imagined I'd take his word for it.

No one could have guessed that we have a time-traveling informant here.

As the lifelong rival since their youth, no one knows him better than Chunhua.

For now, let's trust what he said. Next step: investigate this 'Stone Speaker.'"

"Since Luo Lang also knows the Stone Speaker is behind this, he'll be investigating too, right?"

"The Stone Speaker dared to use his son this way without being caught for so long—that means he has a way to deal with Luo Lang. The investigation won't go smoothly."

"Why don't we just grab a duffel bag, knock the Stone Speaker out, and drag him back for questioning?" Loop proposed the fastest method; she felt it worked quite well the last time she used it on [Cicada].

This brute-force method of solving mysteries might not be by the book, but its efficiency is absolutely astonishing.

Chen Miemie agreed with the plan: "Alright, I heard he does a lot of field work and rarely stays at the Scholar Academy. Tomorrow I'll scout out his residence. Next Eternal Moon Night, we'll pay him a visit and give him a knock on the head."

A fulfilling evening came to an end.

Early the next morning, Chen Miemie received a message from Gongshu Key, saying that the guild leader, "Mortar Granny," had invited him to lunch.

Chen Miemie gladly accepted.

At 11 o'clock sharp.

Chen Miemie's sedan chair arrived at the door of [Molting Clinic], where Gongshu Key was already waiting.

"Hey, Gongshu Key, why aren't the blood vessels on your face engorged today?"

"That's how I am when I'm hungry. Granny rarely cooks, so I skipped breakfast entirely and saved my stomach."

"Mmm? That obsessed? Is Mortar Granny's cooking really that good?"

"Of course—it's nothing short of divine delicacy."

"Come on, get in the sedan."

"No, you get out. I'll take you there—there's no address."

A guest follows the host's arrangements, so Chen Miemie followed Gongshu Key into the narrow alleys near [Molting Clinic], beginning a half-hour-long winding walk through the streets.

"Hey, hey, hey, Gongshu Key, what's going on? Why are you leading me back and forth through these alleys?"

"Hold on, almost there."

Another fifteen minutes or so passed.

Gongshu Key stopped in front of a dilapidated building.

"We're here."

Chen Miemie took a look. It was a two-story rundown structure, still built in the shape of a book, looking like it hadn't been maintained in decades.

"Are you sure this is the place? You know, if I sprinkled some spider webs around here, this could pass for a haunted house in the mountains," Chen Miemie said, reluctant to go in.

"Don't worry. If Granny hadn't invited you, you couldn't come here even if you wanted to. Take another look."

Chen Miemie turned his head again.

That shabby little building suddenly became brightly lit, and wrapped around the book-shaped structure was a massive serpent devouring its own tail.

Chen Miemie rubbed his eyes: "It changes just like that?"

Gongshu Key was already pushing the door open: "Come in. This is Granny's own shop."

Chen Miemie followed cautiously.

Above the door he crossed hung an old, weathered sign: [The Self-Devouring House].