Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 256: But… how did you know?

“Mr. Ryan, did you notice anything?”

The site manager watched Ryan’s actions with a hint of confusion.

Ever since he brought Ryan to the scene, Ryan had been pacing around the area, occasionally bending down to inspect the ground, then looking up at the angle of the fall. He muttered to himself, his brow furrowed as if something was bothering him.

What puzzled the manager the most was that Ryan kept sniffing the air as he observed, as if he were trying to catch a lingering scent.

The manager had never seen anyone investigate like this before. He had worked with plenty of people, including seasoned detectives, but none of them had ever relied on smell to solve a case.

Ryan was meticulously scanning every detail, while Mia stood nearby, hands behind her back, enjoying the sun. She occasionally glanced at Ryan, and seeing that he hadn’t finished yet, she yawned out of boredom.

The manager had been standing there for a few minutes now, and his polite smile was starting to falter. Initially, he thought Ryan was some kind of expert under Miss Alice’s command, but now he was beginning to doubt that. Ryan seemed a bit… odd. Could he really be all talk?

The manager silently sized Ryan up, recalling the gruesome state of Dave’s body. He quickly bit his tongue, forcing himself to drop any hint of disrespect. The last guy who underestimated the situation ended up dead. He wasn’t about to make the same mistake.

Ryan had finished his inspection and had come to a preliminary conclusion. He called out to the manager a few times, but the man was lost in thought, staring blankly at him.

Ryan sighed, walked over, and gave the man a light tap on the shoulder, finally snapping him out of his daze.

“R-Ryan, sir, sorry about that. Are you done with your inspection?”

The manager nearly jumped out of his skin when Ryan touched him. He quickly straightened up, nodding and bowing, eager to please.

“Manager, is the workers’ dormitory in that direction?”

Ryan didn’t bother asking what the manager had been daydreaming about. He stood up, dusted off his pants, and pointed in a direction, asking casually.

“The workers’ dormitory…”

The manager quickly bowed again, following Ryan’s finger. But when he saw where Ryan was pointing, he couldn’t help but frown.

This was Ryan’s first time here, so if he had guessed the dormitory’s location correctly, it would’ve been impressive. Maybe he really could figure something out about this case.

But the problem was, Ryan was pointing in the complete opposite direction. The dormitory was to the north, and Ryan was pointing south.

And yet, Ryan’s face was full of confidence, like he had everything under control. This left the manager at a loss for words.

What was he supposed to say? If he told Ryan he was wrong, it would embarrass him. But if he didn’t correct him, they’d be heading in the wrong direction.

“Uh, Mr. Ryan, the workers’ dormitory is actually over here.”

The manager hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak up. He walked over to Ryan and gently nudged his hand in the correct direction, still wearing a flattering smile.

Mia, standing behind them, was barely holding back her laughter. She had been watching Ryan investigate from the start, and while he looked like he knew what he was doing, she had her doubts.

If Ryan really figured something out, she wouldn’t be needed. And if Ryan didn’t need her, how could she increase her standing in his eyes? That would be a disaster.

But thankfully, Ryan had even gotten the direction wrong. His entire assessment was probably off.

The thought that Ryan’s calm demeanor was just for show, and that he’d soon be begging for her help, made Mia’s lips curl into a sly smile.

“Come on, Ryan wouldn’t get something like that wrong. He’s just testing your knowledge, that’s all.”

Mia hummed as she sidled up to Ryan, pretending to smooth things over for him, but in reality, she was only making the situation more awkward.

“Y-Yes, Miss Mia is right. Mr. Ryan’s test makes perfect sense…”

The manager, being in charge of the site, knew the layout like the back of his hand. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have any business being here. What was the point of testing him?

Any respect he had for Ryan evaporated in an instant. To the manager, Ryan was just a troublemaker now.

“Maybe he’s just gotten on Miss Alice’s good side and now he’s here playing detective. But is being a detective really that easy?”

Mia giggled as she sidled up to Ryan, wrapping her arms around his.

Ryan glanced down at the little troublemaker, feeling a bit exasperated. He couldn’t understand why Alice had allowed her to tag along. Wasn’t she just here to cause problems?

“If that’s not the case, then what’s over there?” Ryan asked, still pointing in the same direction, unfazed by their reactions.

He had initially assumed that was where the workers’ dormitory was, since the trail of blood started here and led straight in that direction.

“That’s the temporary office for the site. I usually work there,” the manager explained.

Ryan nodded slightly, then immediately started walking toward the office.

He had thought it was the dormitory because the blood trail began downstairs and led directly toward that area, without any detours.

Normally, when someone gets injured, their first instinct is to seek medical help. If the injury is severe, their coworkers would definitely take them to the dormitory’s medical room.

But the manager’s explanation only made Ryan more suspicious. Why would someone who had been injured run toward the office instead of the medical room?

Alice had mentioned a possibility earlier: that the worker might have been planted, just like the guy who had stirred up trouble the day before. Their goal was to cause problems for Alice.

But now, something didn’t add up. If the worker had been planted, he should’ve fled the moment the job was done.

He didn’t go to the medical room, nor did he run away. Instead, he headed toward the office. What was he trying to do?

Ryan was determined to follow this lead, and Mia had no intention of stopping him. She shot a sharp look at the manager, silently urging him to lead the way.

Mia might have her own little schemes—letting Ryan struggle a bit before stepping in to help—but if anyone disrespected Ryan, she wouldn’t hesitate to put them in their place.

She had noticed the shift in the manager’s attitude and decided it was time to give him a little reminder.

“What are you waiting for? Do your job.”

Her gaze had turned noticeably colder. While it wasn’t as icy as Alice’s, it was still enough to send a chill down the manager’s spine.

The manager quickly swallowed his pride, bowed respectfully to Mia, and hurried to lead the way.

He rushed ahead, even going so far as to take Ryan’s bag from him. After his earlier misjudgment, he now treated Ryan with even more respect.

Ryan glanced back at Mia, puzzled. She blinked innocently, as if to say, This has nothing to do with me.

But that didn’t matter right now. The questions were piling up, and Ryan had a feeling that following this thread would lead him to the heart of the matter.

“When did you first notice the worker was missing?” Ryan asked.

“That night, when we checked the medical room’s report and saw that no one had gone in for treatment,” the manager replied quickly, spilling everything he knew. “To prevent any rumors from spreading, the person in charge did a quick headcount, and that’s when we realized there was no such worker on the site.”

So, it was that night. By the time they did the headcount, the worker had probably already disappeared. This answer didn’t really help move things forward.

Ryan was silent for a moment before shifting to another question.

“Is there anything valuable kept in the office? Or has anything gone missing in the past few days?”

As soon as Ryan asked this, he noticed the manager’s body tense up. His face turned pale, and when he looked at Ryan, there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

“Forgive me for asking, Mr. Ryan, but… how did you know?”

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PS:

Looks like Ryan’s onto something big! Between sniffing out blood trails and asking all the right questions, he’s definitely not just playing detective—he’s the real deal. But with Mia stirring the pot and the site manager acting more suspicious by the minute, you can feel the tension rising.

What exactly is this manager hiding? And why is Ryan so fixated on that office? Things are about to get very interesting…

If you’re loving the twists and turns, don’t forget to share with a friend—let’s unravel this mystery together!

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