Chapter 210: Aventurine's True Plan! The Truth Unveiled!
"Or it must be someone in a high position within The Family. Unfortunately, the current situation limits further investigation."
"The conclusion is the latter."
"A traitor has appeared in Penacony's branch family. And this person is most likely one of the four family heads."
No matter how the audience speculated,
They never expected the plot to directly narrow down the traitor to just four people—
And at the level of The Family head!
----------------------
Just as the audience was shocked by the identity of the traitor, another piece of information about the death list, found by Acheron, which was covered up.
The details of those fifty-two deceased individuals.
Xia Wen did not deliberately hide it. Instead, like Gallagher, he openly revealed the clues within a dozen seconds.
However, in contrast to the former, he seemed more like a mere foil.
The live chat exploded, with more people discussing the suspicions surrounding the four great family heads.
This situation made Furina's small face in the screening room instantly droop.
On the screen, so many clues had already been uncovered, even the enigmatic death was nearly fully understood.
The audience had a premonition: these clues would eventually converge, and sooner or later, they would explode at a certain point.
But who was that person?
For the moment, the audience couldn't figure it out.
The most likely candidates were Acheron or the hidden Ratio shrouded in dark armor.
In the next scene, after Acheron and Welt left the mansion, the screen went black again.
A familiar memory surfaced.
"According to the Pier point Hotline, there has been a major breakthrough in the shocking 'Gold Fraud Case,' and the prime suspect has been arrested."
"This fraud case implicated multiple departments of the Interasteral Peace Corporation and the Intelligentsia Guild, leading to significant wastage of human and material resources and causing enormous financial losses for the company."
"The suspect comes from Sigonia and is one of the survivors of the Second Katica-Avgin Genocide."
"Under the directive of the Strategic Investment Department's supervisor, 'Diamond,' the IPC will properly handle the matter in accordance with the spirit of the charter and continue the investigation."
After the broadcast ended, a striking woman appeared on screen.
She was dressed in luxurious clothing, sitting high on a chair, looking down at the shackled and collared Aventurine below.
"As a slave, you shouldn't have resisted your master, yet you killed that man."
"No lawyer dares to defend you. Maybe you should try to plead for your own innocence?"
"And in your later fraud case, you caused such a huge commotion, yet not a single person profited from it—why?" Emerald's voice carried a hint of scrutiny.
"Madam, I have already obtained what I wanted."
"Being brought before you, beginning the next grand gamble."
Aventurine stared straight at Emerald, still speaking calmly, "The stakes are my life. I bet you won't send me to the execution ground. I want to meet your chief (chieftain), I have something to say."
"With just thirty Tanba, I can climb higher than you and hold more wealth than you."
"I bet you won't give it to me, so let's see who gets the last laugh."
This memory once again connected with previous ones!
Aventurine actually managed to escape from such an environment and even deliberately caused a huge uproar to attract attention from higher levels.
Was this his ticket into the Strategic Investment Department?
The audience was dumbfounded.
They never expected that this man could turn the tables with such absolute determination!
And he was even bolder!
He actually wanted to gamble with the IPC itself!
"Unfortunately, Diamond never meets anyone, so at this moment, I am the proxy."
"You're wrong. I will give you thirty Tanba, and far more than that—wealth, status, power..."
"The IPC will grant you everything you desire and everything you don't desire."
"Kakavasha is a good name, but... go, choose a new name, put on good clothes, and prepare to show your value to the world."
With that, Emerald finished speaking.
The memory ended here.
When the screen lit up again, appearing on it was Aventurine, now a high-ranking executive among the ten Stonehearts.
Around him, the oppressive presence of "Harmony" loomed.
"People can't always make the right decisions in life, but luck is always on my side—I have never lost."
"But then what?"
"After one grand gamble ends, am I just waiting for the next one?"
Aventurine touched his head, lost in thought.
Just then, a familiar, playful laugh echoed.
Following the sound, he saw—another Aventurine.
Without a doubt, this was an illusion.
"I must be going crazy..." Aventurine took a deep breath, but the illusion's taunts continued.
"Don't resist me like that. Don't forget, when you were strapped to the electric chair, who gave you the idea to escape?"
"In those unbearable days, who was there supporting you?"
"I am you. In fact, you understand yourself even better than I do—you know exactly what you want."
"You're dying. Even at death's door, you want to drag a few unlucky souls down with you. That's why you've prepared such a grand unveiling, haven't you?"
One thought after another, buried deep in his heart, was spoken aloud by the illusion.
Aventurine narrowed his eyes. "What the hell are you?"
"Kakavasha, I am your future."
The illusion laughed wildly.
Aventurine was silent for a moment, deciding to ignore it.
The suppression from "Harmony" was making his mind increasingly foggy.
While his head was still clear, he had to accomplish what he wanted to do.
But soon after, the illusion persisted, following him like a shadow.
There was even a second one!
A smaller Kakavasha.
Aventurine looked at the younger version of "himself."
He could barely recognize that it was once him.
The entire person's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
"You, your eyes?"
"This is impossible. In the entire universe, besides me, there can't be a second Avgin."
Just as Aventurine was about to ask a question, the young Kakavasha waved at him and disappeared.
"Wait!" Aventurine almost called out in panic.
However, it was useless.
.....
: Hiss... What does this mean? Three Aventurines?
: Damn, it looks like Aventurine doesn't even recognize his younger self. This is way too tragic.
: And why is Aventurine so calm in this situation, even after seeing hallucinations? It feels like... nothing matters to him anymore.
: Why does it feel like he's given up on the world?
: I think I smell incoming tragedy, but I'm not sure. Ratio, help!
: Aventurine is already miserable enough, and now he's seeing multiple illusions? This feels like a near-death experience montage.
: There's no way things are about to get even worse for him, right?!
....
As the bullet comments erupted in discussion, on the screen—
Aventurine, who was about to chase after Kakavasha, was once again blocked by his own phantom.
"Why are you still here?" Aventurine asked impatiently.
"Because your plan is utterly ridiculous."
The phantom chuckled teasingly. "You've always known—if The Family were truly compassionate towards every guest who came seeking help, the entire District would turn into a surveillance factory."
"You are a lone wolf. There is no backup for you here."
"So, the moment you entered the hotel, you took off your high hat and started begging around like a little dog."
Aventurine crossed his arms and looked at this ghostly figure calmly. "Compared to your words, even Ratio's sarcasm sounds pleasant."
Although they were clearly the same person, at this moment, they stood in opposition.
The audience grew even more confused, but they kept watching patiently.
"Perfect, since you mentioned that Ratio,"
"I particularly enjoy the thing you two have in common," the phantom suddenly chuckled.
"Especially the ending—a magnificent betrayal."
"When everyone assumes one thing, who would suspect that the truth lies beneath a carefully constructed illusion?"
....
: !!! What does that mean?
: Damn, there's actually a backup plan?!
: We got tricked again?!
: Damn, bro... Is this really about to turn the tide?
: But what's the point? Even if he deceives Sunday, what does he gain?!
....
The phantom's words instantly caused the comments to explode.
Just ten minutes ago, the viewers had still been lamenting Aventurine's fate, convinced that he had no chance of turning things around—at least, not on his own.
And now Mihoyo was telling them… this was all part of Aventurine's plan?
They got tricked again?!
One by one, the audience widened their eyes, not daring to miss a single word.
....
On screen, the phantom was still rambling on.
"Am I right? This is who you are."
"You've won so much, yet you're more afraid of losing than anyone else."
"Others only see you throwing money around at the gambling table, but they don't see the hands concealed beneath the cards."
"No wonder the tavern once invited you to join them."
Hearing the phantom's words, Aventurine let out a soft, cold snort. This time, he no longer hid anything.
Facing his future self, he revealed his true expression.
"To deceive others, one must first deceive oneself." Aventurine crossed his arms and said indifferently.
"Well said. So why did you refuse that invitation? You clearly had the chance to embrace joy."
The phantom asked curiously.
"Aren't you supposed to understand me? Aren't you my future self?"
"Figure it out yourself,"
Aventurine turned and started walking forward, continuing his pursuit.
He treated his conversation with the phantom as nothing more than entertainment.
"Hah, fine. But do you know who just disappeared here?" The phantom mocked.
"All I know is that it wasn't me." Aventurine didn't even look back.
At this moment, the audience didn't dare to blink, afraid of missing any critical detail.
After Aventurine had chased for a while, he arrived at a certain amusement park attraction.
There, scattered on the ground, was a yellow gemstone.
The audiences felt a sense of familiarity with this gemstone.
Wasn't this Aventurine's Cornerstone?
Before they could think further, the phantom reappeared and spoke again.
"What's wrong? Just seeing Jade's Cornerstone is making you this heartbroken?"
As the words fell, the bullet comments flooded the entire screen in an instant.
The audience completely lost it.
....
: ??? Isn't this Aventurine's stone?
: So everything said before was a lie? This isn't Aventurine's Cornerstone?!
: Jade's Cornerstone?! Then… what about the two stones he gave to Sunday?
: Damn, Aventurine, for real?! You actually won the bet?!
: What the hell is going on?!
: How did he fool the interrogation? Where is his real Cornerstone?
: So… Ratio's betrayal was part of the plan too?!
: Okay, I declare that the biggest clown in this episode… is us. Damn it, we got tricked AGAIN!