Chapter 651: Stormy Seas of the Red Sea (Part One) (Patreon)

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"Seriously, are you really head over heels for that female detective?" Schiller leaned against the bar, holding a glass of wine, and watched Chloe, who was conversing with the male detective alongside Lucifer Morningstar.

"You don't understand? That's what they call love..." Lucifer Morningstar also raised his glass, his eyes fixed firmly on Chloe. "You humans often say that love comes so fiercely, without reason..."

Lucifer Morningstar stood behind the bar, leaning his elbows on it, leaning forward, and lowering his voice. "If you help me win her over, I'll help cure your seasickness, how about that?"

"Not so sure, but suddenly I don't get seasick anymore," Schiller put down his glass, stood up, and turned to leave. However, Lucifer Morningstar stopped him, saying, "Don't do that. You just ruined our first meeting. You have to give me another chance, right?"

Schiller turned his head to look at Lucifer Morningstar, who was still holding his glass, staring straight at Chloe. Schiller flicked his finger against the glass, and Lucifer Morningstar seemed to snap out of it. Schiller sighed and said, "You're not actually smitten with her, are you? Constantine summoned a demon and set up a magic circle just to chase after a female detective. Quite a show..."

"Now, you're also eyeing a female detective. What's going on with you two?"

"You wouldn't understand..." Lucifer Morningstar took a sip of his drink, but his gaze never left Chloe. "The pure and noble essence of the opposite sex's soul has a fatal attraction for those of us who come from hell."

"That kind of purity and nobility attracts us, but at the same time, it stirs our desire for destruction. Pure, noble, and kind..."

Watching the shadow behind Lucifer Morningstar begin to flutter its wings, Schiller tapped the table with his glass, making a dull sound. Lucifer Morningstar snapped back to reality, shaking his head. "That's exactly it. I've fallen in love with her."

Rolling his eyes, Schiller said, "Well, then, go pursue your true love bravely. I'm leaving."

With that, he put down his glass, turned to leave, and Lucifer Morningstar didn't stop him. Instead, he stood behind the bar, deep in thought, evidently figuring out how to get involved in this case once again.

Just as Schiller had reached the side door of the bar, Chloe suddenly caught up with him. The female detective quickly walked up to Schiller and said, "Sorry, Professor, can I have a moment of your time?"

Schiller pursed his lips, glancing back at Lucifer Morningstar, who gestured and made a silly face. Schiller sighed and said, "Alright, Detective Chloe, what's the matter?"

At this point, Lucifer Morningstar walked up and said, "Hey, let's not chat out here. It's windy, and all the guests have scattered after the commotion. I have some food prepared that's going to waste. Why don't we have a late-night snack together?"

Chloe didn't refuse but looked at Schiller, who nodded and said, "Alright, give me another drink."

Lucifer Morningstar quickly went to mix the drinks. After a while, Schiller, Lucifer Morningstar, Chloe, and the male detective Dan sat on the sofa. Chloe furrowed her brow and said, "This case isn't as simple as it appears. The assassin who attacked the victim had an expensive wristwatch that doesn't match his spending level. I believe there's a darker deal behind this."

"A wristwatch?" Lucifer Morningstar frowned, rubbing his chin. He hadn't paid much attention to the assassin's appearance, as he hadn't expected a female detective to be on the case, so he hadn't noticed many details.

"I think you're overthinking it," Dan spoke up. "I believe it was a drug deal gone wrong, leading the seller to shoot the buyer."

"That doesn't make sense, Dan. You should know that if all of this were just a coincidence, with the victim happening to buy something from that drug dealer and then not paying, provoking the dealer to shoot him, why did the dealer's car get smashed and he ended up dead right after he killed someone?"

Chloe reached up and touched her hair. "The assassin's death wasn't accidental. It was someone behind the scenes trying to cover their tracks."

Lucifer Morningstar recalled the events. He remembered that right after the gunshot, there was a crash sound from a car accident. When he rushed outside, he found the car the killer was in had been wrecked by a large truck.

When he examined the assassin's corpse, he found that the killer had died from head injuries sustained in the car crash.

As mentioned earlier, Lucifer Morningstar was also a fan of deduction, a hobby cultivated by Schiller. At this moment, he instinctively analyzed, "The intersection in front of my bar isn't a regular crossroads. The direction from which the large truck that hit the killer came was from the east intersection. The angle formed by the killer's car with the street where my bar is located is obtuse."

"In other words, on his way here, his visibility should have been excellent, and he could see any cars on this road. There should be no accidents due to blind spots. I've been running this bar for so many years, and I've never witnessed a single car accident. So, it's highly suspicious that an accident occurred at this moment."

Chloe looked at Lucifer Morningstar in surprise. She had initially thought this bar owner was like those who frequented nightclubs, making untimely dirty jokes and causing trouble. But when he got serious, he could still provide useful information.

Chloe took out a notebook from her bag and looked at Lucifer Morningstar. "Do you know what the victim was doing at the bar?"

"Everyone comes to a bar for a reason, and that reason is to have fun and relax," Lucifer Morningstar took a sip of his drink and continued, "Delilah is no exception. Perhaps she came to confide in me about her troubles."

Chloe, ever perceptive, seized on this point. "And what troubles might those be?"

"She didn't say," Lucifer Morningstar shook his head. "There have been a few times when she seemed on the verge of saying something, but in the end, she kept silent. You might want to ask this psychology professor. He's had deeper conversations with Delilah."

Chloe turned her head to look at Schiller. Despite Schiller's understanding of Delilah's psychological state, he remained relatively cautious in his response, "She appears to be in a state of anxiety, possibly driven by a fear of making a choice. This mental state seems to have persisted for a while, possibly stemming from the pressure in an intimate relationship, perhaps brought on by the other party..."

"An intimate relationship?" Chloe pondered and then turned to push Dan. "You should head back to the police station now and see if you can find Delilah's personal information. If you do, give me a call."

As Dan left, Lucifer Morningstar became more proactive. He looked at Dan's departing figure and asked, "Detective, no offense, but it seems like you and your colleagues don't have the best relationship..."

Chloe frowned, apparently finding the question a bit offensive. Schiller intervened, "While we have this time, why don't we revisit the crime scene? Both Lucifer Morningstar and I are enthusiasts of deduction, and this experience of on-site murder investigation is invaluable to us. Working with an experienced officer like you is an honor for us..."

Upon hearing this, Chloe's expression softened slightly. She stood up, supporting her legs, and said, "Alright, I did overlook some aspects of the surroundings earlier. If you want to take a look, please remember not to disrupt the crime scene or the corpse."

"Don't worry. As a psychology professor, I've worked with the police before, and I'm familiar with these procedures," Schiller also stood up.

Just as the three of them were heading out, Chloe casually asked, "Professor, which university are you currently affiliated with?"

"Gotham University."

Chloe's hand on the door handle hesitated for a moment. She said, "It seems like you have more experience than I do."

Schiller smiled but didn't say anything. After the three of them went outside, Chloe went to inspect the intersection where the accident had occurred.

The female detective found that, as Lucifer Morningstar had said, the intersection had a clear field of vision. There were no blind spots typical of regular crossroads. Looking at the trajectory of the truck, the truck driver showed no signs of braking or turning; it had crashed straight into the victim's car.

The position of the assassin's corpse inside the car wasn't surprising in terms of the cause of death; it was head trauma. What caught Chloe's attention, however, were some strange marks on the corpse that looked more like movements made after death, rather than being placed there by someone.

Chloe, of course, couldn't fathom the idea of resurrecting the dead. She assumed it might have been the result of shockwaves caused by the car explosion, shifting the corpse, a phenomenon that had been observed before.

As Chloe pondered the identity of the killer, Schiller and Lucifer Morningstar huddled next to Delilah's corpse. Schiller whispered, "Why don't you resurrect her now and find out what happened?"

"Do you think I just resurrect anyone whenever I feel like it?"

"Isn't that the case?" Schiller asked.

"Of course not," Lucifer Morningstar glanced at Chloe in the distance and said, "The last time I 'resurrected' Angela, the policewoman's sister, it was because I altered the causal relationship from the timeline. With no cause, she naturally wouldn't have died. So, that couldn't be considered resurrection."

"Now, if I were to suddenly resurrect Delilah, I'd have to go to hell and retrieve her soul."

"Why don't you go?"

"Do you remember the female bartender who served you drinks earlier? She has been urging me to return to hell, and there were demons brought from hell trying to get me to return as well. I don't want to go back, so I'd rather not have too much contact with hell..."

Schiller remained silent. He held a reserved attitude towards resurrection. From a behavioral standpoint, death is a significant factor in many human behavior patterns. Once the deterrent of death is removed, it's unclear how human behavior will develop. Resurrection could also have a profound psychological impact on humans, not to mention in this world where, after human death, they either go to Heaven or Hell. Having experienced the landscapes of these two worlds, one's perspective would undoubtedly undergo significant changes.

Schiller wasn't clear about the nature of the relationship between Delilah and Lucifer Morningstar. At this point, it appeared that they might not have a particularly deep connection. In the end, Lucifer Morningstar had helped Delilah as a favor and hadn't invested any emotions in her.

Schiller crouched down, examining the location of Delilah's gunshot wound and the ground around it. After a thorough inspection, he said, "The person who acted was highly skilled; all the bullets hit the target's body, and there are no bullet traces on the ground."

Lucifer Morningstar squinted and said, "Regardless, Delilah is my friend, and I won't allow anyone to harm her on my turf. If we don't give those behind this a taste of their own medicine, I won't be able to keep my reputation on the West Coast."

"Previously, you mentioned that if I created an opportunity for you, you would help me understand the cause of my seasickness. Well, the opportunity has arrived."

Schiller stood up and looked at Lucifer Morningstar, who returned the gaze. Schiller said, "Delilah's troubles likely stem from an intimate relationship, possibly with her husband, boyfriend, or even her family."

"You can suggest to Detective Chloe that we investigate her family situation together. That way, you'll have more time to get closer to her."

Lucifer Morningstar was surprised by Schiller's suggestion, but then he shifted his gaze to the ring on Schiller's hand. He lifted his glass and took a sip, saying nothing.

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 652: The Roaring Crimson Sea (Part Two)