Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

"In the Sloan Textile Factory incident, we demonstrated our ability to oppose the Liberal Party. You only need to send someone to slightly manipulate, and you can persuade Henry to abandon the Steam Council and turn to cooperate with us."

"Henry’s defection will certainly prompt Xavier to take action and launch the Great Stench ahead of schedule."

"Next, everything returns to the trajectory you and Prime Minister Ron set. You arrange for your Transcendent agents to deliver the evidence of the Conservative Party’s fabrication of the Great Malady to Connor and then, with the help of the Bright Lamp Report and us, cause the Conservative Party to exit along with the Liberal Party."

"Investigating the assassination case of Prime Minister Ron leads to the exclusion of one suspect after another—each excluded suspect, whether related to the assassination or not, suffers defeat as a result of our investigation."

"Only you have been consistently winning."

Olivia’s expressionless face suddenly breaks into a smile again, as she steps out from behind the lectern to the center of the stage.

"According to your inference, since I am the beneficiary behind all the events, then the murderer of Prime Minister Ron should be me."

Wu Chang nodded and said, "For a while, I thought so until I discovered that Prime Minister Ron is the secret sponsor of the Steam Council."

"Xavier has always referred to himself as the number one councilor, not because of any unique naming rules within the Steam Council, but simply because he isn’t the chairman. The real chairman of the Steam Council is Prime Minister Ron."

Upon hearing this, Olivia couldn’t conceal the astonishment in her eyes as she asked,

"How did you find out? Xavier could never have told you this."

Wu Chang crossed his legs and sat back with his hands on his knees, adopting the pose of a victor.

"It seems Raventon is a trustworthy ally. If he were the spy you planted by my side, reporting my movements to you in real-time, you wouldn’t have asked me this question."

"I often tell Raventon that I am an Inspiration Detective, seeking clues and making deductions that do not rely purely on concrete evidence."

Olivia shook her head gently, looking at Wu Chang with a hint of helplessness, "So is this what you guessed?"

Wu Chang denied it, "My inspiration, and your notion of vague intuition, have some small differences."

"For example, my inspiration allows me to see that even before the Extraordinary Steam Engine was born, you and Ron regarded Xavier as an advisor, and when Raventon led people to purge the Steam Council’s headquarters, you specifically used a complex problem to keep him in the workshop to protect Xavier."

Olivia’s expression was incredulous, identical to when Raventon first saw Wu Chang using inspiration.

"If you hadn’t spent the last five years in the New World, I would definitely think you were hiding in the shadows monitoring Ron."

"Sir Sean, tell me, what else have you seen through inspiration."

Wu Chang said, "I saw Prime Minister Ron leveraging Xavier for his research into steam rules and the differential machine."

"I also saw that before Ron made his move, he told Xavier the plan was out of control, asking him to first go to the New World and return after two months."

"He wants to send Xavier away and, when the dust settles in Stilan two months later, you can collaborate with Prime Minister Ron, take over Xavier, and let him continue to be used by you."

"Even before his death, Ron was considering your plans or rather, his and your plans. I am more inclined to believe he used his own death to trigger everything you planted than to think His Majesty murdered Prime Minister Ron."

"Only if he truly died could I and Raventon follow his death and expose all the deeds of the Liberal Party, Conservative Party, Charter Movement, and other organizations. This would lead people to realize that only by following Your Majesty’s leadership can Stilan move towards the future."

"Under the blessing of the First Law of Mysticism, people’s support for you will become the final piece of the puzzle completed by the differential machine, completely realizing your plan."

Clap, clap, clap.

This time it was Olivia’s turn to applaud Wu Chang.

Olivia chuckled self-deprecatingly, "I am starting to regret inviting you back from the New World. Your inspiration is far more terrifying than Julie imagined."

"Since you already knew all of our plans before today, why didn’t you stop me or actively join my plan?"

Since witnessing the Phantom’s resentment, Wu Chang had long known that Olivia would eventually make a big move.

Olivia and Xavier were both Plane Sons and mastered steam rules. Coupled with Prime Minister Ron’s ongoing research of the differential machine involving Xavier, deducing Olivia’s plan was straightforward.

However, he had no conflict with Olivia, so he didn’t bother to obstruct her, opting instead to watch the drama unfold from the sidelines.

After finishing his report, Wu Chang stood up from his chair, raised two fingers, and said,

"The reason for waiting until now to reveal everything is that I want to ask you two questions at this point in time."

"I can’t guess the answers to these two questions, and I want you to tell me the truth."

Suspectingly, Olivia asked, "Your inspiration can’t even see it?"

Wu Chang, rightfully so, said, "Inspiration isn’t omnipotent; what have you turned inspiration into?"

Olivia: ...

She felt that of all the people in the world, Wu Chang was the least qualified to say this.

She suppressed the urge to retort, adjusted her expression, regained her queenly authority, and said,

"Since you’ve never disrupted my plans, go ahead, what do you want to know?"

Wu Chang clasped his left hand behind his back and curled back his right middle finger placed before him, saying,