The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 182 Suspect

In particular, the line "Her friends aren't good people either" instantly ignited his anger, making him almost laugh out loud: "What do you mean 'your friends aren't good people'? What nonsense!"

This unwarranted malice not only angered Song Liu, but also infuriated many of Su Ninglong's classmates. In their eyes, Su Ninglong might be a bit aloof and distant, and not very sociable, but as a friend, she was absolutely impeccable.

Even if you're just classmates, you can genuinely feel her good qualities.

The most compelling proof is the help provided in learning.

Especially in mathematics, anyone who encounters a difficult problem and asks her for help will always receive a clear and calm answer whenever she has time, and she never holds back.

As exams approached, her unique, well-organized notes, highlighting key points and serving as a "quick memorization tool," were shared free of charge in the class group, benefiting everyone.

This genuine effort stands in stark and glaring contrast to the empty slanders circulating online.

"This is outrageous!" Song Liu pointed at the screen. "Su Ninglong is not even of legal drinking age yet, how can they slander her for drinking without any evidence?"

Another classmate next to him frowned, his tone full of confusion: "'Gold digger'? They call this a 'gold digger'? Don't these people have some huge misunderstanding of the term 'gold digger'?"

To those who knew Su Ninglong's daily practices, the accusation was utterly absurd.

The wealthy Su is a place that ordinary workers would kill to get into the cultivation garden. It has comprehensive benefits, a bonus every six months, and robots are used to coordinate work and reduce the workload of workers in the manor.

Song Liu grew angrier the more she looked, feeling a tightness in her chest: "This is simply unbearable! They're practically saying you are...you are..." She took a deep breath and suddenly turned to the person in question who had remained silent, "Ning Long! Are you just going to watch them spout nonsense? Aren't you going to come out and clarify things?"

Su Ninglong, whose name was called, raised her eyes, her face showing an almost indifferent calm, even a hint of... inexplicable confusion.

"Clarify?" she asked softly. "Spreading rumors only requires talking, but refuting them takes a lot of running around, is time-consuming and laborious, and may not even be effective. Instead of wasting that energy, I might as well take advantage of this 'tailwind' and make some more money. Don't you think? Someone is advertising for me for free. Why not take advantage of the buzz?"

She does what she says.

As the protagonist at the center of the incident, she chose the most unexpected way to deal with it: she raised the price of the tea she was holding from two million star coins per tael to three million star coins.

That wasn't enough. Not long after, the price tag was refreshed again without warning, jumping from three million to four million.

This capricious price increase is practically a silent mockery and the strongest counterattack against that surging malice.

The more fiercely you criticize, the higher the popularity, the more people will pay attention to my product, and the more money I will make.

Consider it an equal exchange; use your spittle to trade for my real gold and silver.

Looking at the money in her account growing exponentially, Su Ninglong's thoughts drifted to more practical matters.

She was even seriously considering: "Should we use this extra wealth to provide the company's employees with two more cars? After all, we can't let down these people who have actually done things for me."

With her money growing exponentially, she was already thinking about whether to provide the company's employees with two more cars, so as not to let the people who worked for her suffer.

This thought reminded her of the management wisdom of the sect.

Large cultivation sects are often extremely generous to their disciples.

Needless to say, even the core inner disciples are provided with housing and transportation (such as spirit beast mounts or flying artifacts) by the sect.

However, this "benefit" is not without its price.

The core logic is that once a disciple chooses to leave the sect, the resources and conveniences provided by the sect will be immediately taken back.

It is this binding mechanism that ensures that the vast majority of disciples, both inside and outside the sect, maintain extremely high loyalty.

Su Ninglong believes that this management philosophy is also quite valuable for reference when applied to modern corporate governance.

As tea prices became increasingly outrageous, wealthy individuals joined forces to suppress empty and meaningless slanders, which eventually stabilized the price of tea.

Just as the uproar surrounding Su Ninglong's defamation was beginning to subside, the Star Alliance was hit by a second wave of impeachment.

The protagonist this time is the traitor Sun.

She appeared in front of the camera online, tearfully recounting the "hardships" of the past years, deliberately showing her injured face, and speaking in a trembling voice about her experiences of "endless overtime".

This performance was highly provocative, successfully portraying herself as an innocent victim whose academic achievements were ruthlessly appropriated by a powerful mentor.

The incident inevitably spread to the campus.

In history class, the podium remained empty once again. Ms. Furney was urgently called away for questioning again.

When will they be able to come back? No one can give a definite answer.

Looking at the empty podium, Su Ninglong understood that the storm stirred up by Assistant Sun was far from over; it was like a dark cloud, still heavily pressing down on the Star Alliance.

When the bell rang, the students did not disperse immediately, but gathered in twos and threes, discussing among themselves.

"Ms. Funi doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do that kind of thing."

“But Assistant Sun looks so pitiful,” another classmate chimed in. “And I’ve also seen the office lights often on late at night. Working overtime must be really tough…”

"Sigh, life is tough for working people. Teacher Funi is very capable, but if she really did something like that, it would ruin her reputation too much."

These comments, some questioning and some expressing regret, drifted into Suninglong's ears.

She had been silently packing her books when she suddenly looked up. Her clear, cool voice, though not loud, drowned out the surrounding noise: "How often does the IT department have its lights on at night? I go there frequently, but I've never seen Assistant Sun. It's usually just Teacher Funi working on the sacred artifact until late at night. Ten years..."

She glanced at the students around her. "If Assistant Sun really had such a lot of grievances and resentment, it's impossible for the staff who work with her day and night not to notice at all. Just listen to what Assistant Sun says. Of course, you can also choose not to listen to what I say."

After saying that, she didn't linger, picked up her packed things, and left the classroom.

Song Liu, who remained behind, made an exaggerated face at the group of classmates who had been discussing the matter, and mocked, "I told you not to use your brains and just parrot what others say. Gather more information and learn to analyze and judge. Think about it, the Key of Prophecy is supposed to be a classified project, but Assistant Sun jumped out so impatiently and completely exposed it to the public. Do you think her purpose is really just to complain about her grievances? Could she have something else up her sleeve?"

Next step? The students were taken aback by her question, exchanging bewildered glances. "Really? What could be the next step? Is she trying to force the Star Alliance to fire Ms. Funi?"

The moment this thought popped into someone's head, someone scoffed: "Assistant Sun is dreaming. Professor Funi's achievements weren't earned through her! Before we met Ms. Sun, Professor Funi was already a top expert in history."

Thinking about it this way, everyone's understanding became much clearer. They really shouldn't have so easily doubted Teacher Funi just because Assistant Sun gave a one-sided, emotional performance. Who was right and who was wrong, and the complex entanglements involved, were ultimately things the adults needed to sort out.

As students, the most important thing right now is to focus on our studies.

The chatter in the classroom gradually subsided.

Su Ninglong returned to the quiet courtyard in Yangzhu, her tense nerves relaxing slightly.

She walked to her usual spot, sat down, raised her wrist, and skillfully turned on the bracelet's screen.

A pale blue light illuminated her serene face as she stared at the densely packed information on the screen, lost in deep thought.

What was displayed on the screen was the core clue that she had painstakingly pieced together over six years.

The images and photos she captured at the scene of the horrific car accident six years ago have finally been matched with specific individuals.

This is a massive and complex screening process.

She first eliminated the ordinary residents who had lived near the Starship Building for many years; their presence was not surprising.

Then, it filters out passersby who panicked and instinctively moved away when the accident occurred.

After rounds of screening, a list of more than 300 people who seemed somewhat "unnatural" in the context of the time was finally drawn up.

Over the years, Su Ninglong has been like a patient hunter, conducting thorough background investigations and behavioral analyses on each of the more than 300 people.

Through meticulous investigation, the scope of suspicion has been significantly narrowed down, leaving only thirty individuals who remain troubling her and are highly suspicious.

Among these thirty people, three stood out like lighthouses in the dark, drawing her full attention.

Their unusual behavior was clearly visible in the surveillance footage. Ten minutes before the accident, the three of them coincidentally sat down in a coffee shop not far from the scene.

What's even more chilling is that while the tragedy unfolded and chaos reigned on the streets outside, the three of them remained calmly seated, showing no sign of panic. They even had faint smiles on their lips as they "enjoyed" the chaotic scene in the center of the venue through the glass window, as if it were just a pre-arranged drama.

Su Ninglong's gaze swept over the files of the three people one by one.

Bai Xuan's public identity is that of the owner of a waste recycling plant, which seems quite ordinary.

But Su Ninglong dug deeper and discovered that this person would secretly organize a group of people from time to time to participate in some strange activities that he euphemistically called "spiritual release" and "promoting family harmony".

A more in-depth look at his identity came from information provided by Arya's circle of friends: he was a former bishop of the Church of the Spirits and had a criminal record for being detained on suspicion of illegal fundraising.

This background suddenly amplified the suspicions surrounding him.

The other person was Yuan Xi, the former director of the weight loss program "Transformation Journey." He was backed by a large media company. On the surface, his profession seemed completely unrelated to the car accident.

Su Ninglong has not yet uncovered his deeper hidden identity. Perhaps he really is just a "pure" media person? But in that context, this "purity" itself is unusual.

The last one is Samar, the vice president of DI Company. The man in the photo has deep-set, exotic features, but his heavy dark circles make him look exhausted. Most noticeable is the headscarf he always wears. According to public information, he is known in the industry for his meticulousness and seriousness, bordering on harshness.

These three people have very different backgrounds, come from different planets, are not classmates, and have never worked together.

They currently live in different places: Bai Xuan lives in the eastern industrial zone of the Gemini main star, Yuan Xi lives near a media building, and Samantha lives in a quiet satellite city.

These three people, who had no connection whatsoever, coincidentally appeared in the same coffee shop at a specific moment six years ago, facing a sudden tragedy with the same "appreciative" attitude.

Su Ninglong's fingertips tapped lightly on the table. Coincidence?
She sneered inwardly, dismissing the idea with disdain.

This is not a coincidence, but more like a few key threads faintly visible on a carefully woven spider web.

For six years, Su Ninglong had been secretly keeping an eye on them.

However, the three of them behaved discreetly and inconspicuously, as if sitting together six years ago was just a coincidence and there had been no sign of them getting together again since, and their life trajectories seemed to have never intersected again.

But not long ago, this carefully maintained calm was shattered.

The surveillance report shows that the three of them were surprisingly seen at the same time in a secluded teahouse.

What's even more intriguing is that, around the same time, the principal of the Star Alliance also stepped into that teahouse.

Then, a chain reaction began.

First, Phoebe transferred schools, and then Assistant Sun switched jobs to a new employer.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Within the Star Alliance, a silent brain drain is taking place.

Key personnel are leaving one after another, and Assistant Sun is not the only one.

The list of those poached includes not only a few unknown hunters, but also people from legal teams, forensic centers, medical wards, and ordinary teaching positions.

Most alarmingly, the managers of the two research institutes were also poached, including one from Yunfei Company.

Su Ninglong's slender fingers unconsciously tapped the smooth, warm stone tabletop in front of her, producing a crisp, soft sound.

She went through the list:

Those hunters who were taken away were too insignificant to be a concern.

However, the loss of other positions, especially the management of the research institute and the people of Yunfei Company, is extremely intriguing.

She was well aware of the value of the research institute's management personnel.

Shen Zhaoming is a living example; these people are not without strength.

The reasons why they are "stagnant" in a certain position are complex. Perhaps they lack opportunities to showcase their abilities, perhaps their skills are not yet sufficient to take on a major responsibility independently, or perhaps the time is simply not right.

Various reasons may cause them to linger at a certain level, but this does not mean that they are mediocre.