Stop trying to control me, Miss Moriarty!

She was tall and slender, with long, golden hair that reached her waist. Her eyelashes, the same color, adorned her violet eyes, and a faint smile played on her lips, as if she had just finished watching the prelude to a long-awaited drama.

Because of her years of clerical work, her skin was sickly pale, and she had heavy dark circles under her eyes, but this did not affect her beauty at all; on the contrary, it added to her mysterious scholarly air.

The dim light illuminated everyone, but ignored her, leaving her alone in the darkness.

Without a doubt, the young woman who could naturally attract the attention of those around her simply by standing there was none other than Jessia Moriarty.

—The final boss in the company's new game, "Witch Detective Sherlock Holmes".

After fully understanding the situation, Lin Ai now feels extremely regretful.

He had long suspected that there were serious problems with the company.

For a story background copywriting position, they offer this fresh graduate a monthly after-tax salary of 1 RMB, six types of insurance, two types of housing funds, and thirteen-month salary. The probation period is only one month, and he enjoys fifteen days of paid annual leave in his first year of employment. Even the programmers work 2 to 955 without fail, and team building activities are even specially arranged on weekdays, with cash rewards for not attending...

Indeed, when looking for a job, you can't just look at high salaries and generous benefits; you still need to be down-to-earth.

"Excuse me, why are you shaking? Are you feeling unwell?"

Jessia tilted her head slightly, looking at Lin Ai with curious eyes.

To others, she looked as cute as a kitten.

But Lin Ai knew that this was the "Napoleon of the criminal world," the dark queen of the British underworld, a complete madwoman who almost destroyed the world by opening the gates of hell just to see Sherlock Holmes in a panic!

Getting her attention is definitely not good news.

In short, calm down first...

He forced a smile and pretended to be weak, clutching his head: "I feel a little dizzy, maybe it's low blood sugar."

Jessia's gaze lingered on Lin Ai for a moment, then she took out a thin glass tube from her pocket: "Here, please extend your hand."

Her tone and actions were very much like she was training a dog.

"Thank you, Professor." Lin Ai took the two sugar cubes and popped them into her mouth, expressing her gratitude in a muffled voice.

The sweetness is very pure.

Jessia smiled slightly: "You are indeed a bit too thin. Although this is highly regarded in London's wealthy circles, you should still pay attention to your health."

Lin Ai felt that there was something hidden in her words, but she could only bite the bullet and agree.

Jessia changed the subject: "If you're feeling better, continue with the reasoning."

"What are you talking about? The reasoning is over."

"No," she held up a finger and waved it in front of Lin Ai as if she were teaching a child, "The most crucial point is that the real culprit in this crime has not yet been found."

From the moment Professor Moriarty appeared, without any evidence, Lin Ai was 100% certain that she was the mastermind behind this murder.

But what kind of situation is this?

The mastermind behind this demanded that I help her expose the murderer?

He harbored his doubts, yet he could not escape Moriarty's ambiguous gaze and was forced to meet her eyes.

There seems to be no malice.

The fairy-like appearance and the little finger-wagging gesture in the fairy tale are even a little endearing.

"Um, Professor, I really don't know..."

No, you know that.

He sighed inwardly.

It seems there's no way to keep fooling around.

He then turned his attention back to the others and asked loudly, "Who was the first to discover the body?"

From just now, the warehouse, which inexplicably became the setting for the two actors' scenes, has returned to its original trajectory.

"It's me," a boy replied.

Lin Ai ignored him and continued, "Next, please have the classmates who were close to the deceased come forward."

Confusion reappeared on most people's faces, but thanks to their previous reasoning and Professor Moriarty's unspoken support, a few people began to step forward from the crowd.

— There were seven people in total, all of whom were women.

His gaze swept over them one by one, finally settling on one of them.

The girl had an ordinary appearance; she was the type who wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

But her wandering eyes and guilty expression were far too obvious; anyone with eyes could see it, and there was no need for further investigation…

Lin Ai held up her index finger: "It's you, isn't it?"

However, before the girl named could react, her companion stepped forward, glaring at Lin Ai: "What nonsense are you spouting! How could it be Anna?! She and Sarah are best friends!"

Others also started discussing it.

"Yes, she studies so hard."

"The two of them had dinner together yesterday."

"There must be a mistake, right?"

Lin Ai rubbed her temples.

Isn't this academy supposed to be full of geniuses? How come all we see here are idiots, blind people, and opportunists?

Moriarty's gaze remained fixed on him.

We have no choice but to continue.

"Once again, please remain silent until I provide an explanation!"

Lin Ai raised her voice to suppress the noise, speaking quickly but clearly: "First, based on the blood clotting state and body temperature, we can roughly estimate the time of death. You can verify this later, but I'll give you the conclusion directly here—Miss Sarah's time of death was approximately half an hour ago."

"And that's not enough time for the killer to dispose of the bloodstained clothes. Searching Miss Anna's bedroom or nearby trash cans will likely yield clues."

"Also..." Lin Ai paused, "Anyway, let's search first."

Actually, he had an even simpler and more direct way: just compare the fingerprints on the dagger.

However, the original work makes no mention of fingerprint applications, so let's leave it at that.

The female student nodded vigorously: "Okay! Let's investigate! Anna, don't be afraid! I believe you won't..."

"No need."

Anna reached out and grabbed her companion's sleeve, calmly raising her head. "Indeed... I did it."

She raised her right hand and slowly pulled down the cuff of her coat, revealing the glaring dark red bloodstain to everyone.

Then, she turned to Lin Ai, a pale and complex smile playing on her lips: "Impressive, Adler. No wonder you could do that so easily... But you've got one thing wrong."

Adler? This familiar surname gave Lin Ai a very bad feeling.

"Where did I go wrong?" he asked cautiously.

"If you don't mind... let me tell you a fool's story." Anna didn't answer directly. Her eyes were lowered, and her voice was hoarse and bitter as she began to speak:

Sixteen years ago, two baby girls were born in a village in the countryside near Westminster.

They grew up together, ran together in the fields, and studied together in the village school...

They naturally became the closest of friends.

However, as people get older, even the closest friends may have some disagreements.

Compared to her best friend who was eager to break free from the village and make a name for herself in London, Anna preferred to stay on her familiar land and live a peaceful and stable life with her family.

Moreover, she understood that she didn't have Sarah's brilliant mind and it would be difficult for her to get into the Royal Academy.

But Sarah always smiled and encouraged her, tutoring her at night and on weekends, lying with her under the stars, dreaming of the dazzling night view of the big city, and repeatedly expressing her wish to "go to London with Anna".

one more time.

Anna, who always followed Sarah silently, accepted her best friend's dream and began to work harder and harder to squeeze out every bit of her potential.

When Anna received her Royal College of London acceptance letter from the postman, she thought she was dreaming.

She was only pulled back to reality when that familiar and warm embrace, filled with excited cheers, enveloped her.

The academic pressure at the Royal Academy was far greater than before, but Sarah remained steadfast, gritting her teeth and persevering.

Anna firmly believed that her dull but wonderful life would continue forever.

On an ordinary day a year after enrolling—

Sarah no longer tutors Anna at night, and her conversations always inadvertently veer towards a newly enrolled boy.

The captivating glint in her eyes, the shy blush rising on her cheeks—

These were all people Anna had never seen before.

So, all her efforts and perseverance to this day—

What is the point of all this...?

"It's all...it's all because of you!" Tears streamed down Anna's cheeks, falling to the ground and mingling with the dust. "You're not innocent at all!"

"Why? Why aren't you dead!" She staggered forward, grabbed Lin Ai's collar suddenly, then collapsed to her knees, covering her face, as if all her strength had been drained.

"Why...why did you take away my only light...?"

Lin Ai looked completely bewildered.

Isn't it normal for a friend to date? Why would someone kill their friend and her boyfriend over something like this?

If you're not sisters, you seem to be going a bit too far.

He suddenly felt like he was being pricked by thorns, no, it would be more accurate to say that he was being pierced by a thousand arrows.

Looking around, every gaze seemed to be poisoned, as if they wanted to tear a piece of flesh from him.

Lin Ai: "¿"

What kind of person was the original owner anyway?

At this moment, Jessia, still wearing that smile, slowly stepped forward: "Classmate, why don't you go back to your dorm and change your clothes first? You still have to deal with visitors from the police station and the newspaper office."

"Also—" She leaned down slightly, brushed aside a strand of her golden hair, and whispered in Lin Ai's ear in a gentle voice that only he could hear, "Come to my office during your lunch break."