The old principal was evasive at first, but with Tao Qingqing present, the vampire's mental manipulation left him unable to conceal anything.
The old principal knew Ning Zhewan had been from that orphanage, as Ning Zhewan had found him. However, after some questioning, Ning Zhewan had let the old principal go and promised to keep his secret.
This surprised Wen Wen slightly. If Ning Zhewan could forgive this old principal, why couldn't he forgive others, especially since there were innocent individuals among those eight?
After the interrogation, Wen Wen used a memory clearer to make the old principal forget the encounter and then immediately headed to Ning Zhewan's rented apartment near Fudao School.
Logically, Ning Zhewan, having just resigned, should have had a high chance of returning home.
Unfortunately, Wen Wen found the place empty, with all valuables removed.
"Strange, where could he have gone?"
Wen Wen had originally thought finding an ordinary person like Ning Zhewan would be quite easy, but now he realized he had been too arrogant.
Following the scent, the trail went cold after passing a supermarket. Su Dan Novel Network.
Ning Zhewan's phone was also unreachable, so Wen Wen couldn't use Yan Biqing's ability to transfer.
Without the other party's exact location, the magic mirror couldn't find him either.
If Wen Wen had more time, he would certainly find a way to locate Ning Zhewan. However, the "Arbiter" was set to reveal the voting results and carry out the execution tonight.
There was no live broadcast in the Federation. Thus, the Arbiter must have pre-recorded the video and uploaded it. Although there were still a few hours until 6 PM, Wen Wen no longer had time for time-consuming search methods.
"If that's the case... then I can only wait and see. Perhaps Ning Zhewan has already been apprehended by the 'Arbiter'."
"But even if he was captured, I shouldn't be unable to find any clues. I've tried all the quick methods to find him, but none have worked... Could the 'Arbiter' be a superpowered individual?"
If the Arbiter were a superpowered individual, Wen Wen's interest would significantly diminish.
The difficulty of achieving everything through superpowers was entirely different from completing it solely through one's own abilities.
However, regardless of the Arbiter's identity, Wen Wen had been following this matter for so long that he intended to see it through to the end. All the answers might be revealed tonight.
...
In the evening, Tao Qingqing was dispatched by Wen Wen to search for clues about Ning Zhewan.
She was now a vampire in the Disaster Intermediate stage, capable of controlling a large number of bats to accomplish various tasks.
Given enough time, she could use those bats to conduct a thorough search of the entire Shenchuan City, marking every suspicious location.
This method was crude and time-consuming, but as long as the Arbiter was not a superpowered individual skilled in concealment, and if he was within Shenchuan City, Tao Qingqing was sure to find him.
As for Wen Wen himself, he naturally wouldn't engage in such tedious physical labor.
He was already sitting on the hotel sofa, connecting his laptop to the hotel's screen to watch the night's arbitration video.
The quartz clock on the wall slowly ticked, and when the hands pointed to six o'clock, the webpage refreshed, displaying a video.
Wen Wen took a shallow breath. After this video, some matters should become clear.
After a few moments, the black screen finally showed footage. This time, the scene was a slightly messy rented room. In the center sat a chair, on which sat the Arbiter, whose face was unclear.
Wen Wen's expression became slightly more serious. Although the Arbiter's location appeared to be just a rented room, an extremely complex pattern was drawn on the floor with a reddish-brown dye. The Arbiter sat precisely in the center of this pattern.
Wen Wen had never seen such a pattern before, but he was very certain it was a special rune with some kind of power. Judging by the complexity of the design, it was likely more than just conjuring a flame or summoning a minor demon.
However, no matter how hard Wen Wen tried, he couldn't discern anything unusual about the Arbiter. Every move he made indicated he was just an ordinary person.
"Hello everyone, I am the Arbiter. We meet again."
The Arbiter's voice was cheerful this time, as if he had encountered something joyous.
"Regarding Ning Zhewan, whom I mentioned last time, the audience's reaction was very enthusiastic. Only a minority of viewers considered Ning Zhewan to have some justification; the majority believed he deserved to die."
The voting results from last time appeared on the screen. The total number of voters was 8,425, with 1,120 believing Ning Zhewan did not deserve to die, and the remaining 7,305 believing he did.
Wen Wen nodded. He had already anticipated these results. Most of those viewers had placed themselves in the Arbiter's position, believing they had the right to decide the life and death of a stranger.
"Therefore, I will execute this Ning Zhewan."
Immediately, comments like 'He deserved to die' and 'Serves him right' appeared in the video's bullet screen.
"However, before that, there are a few things I wish to share with everyone."
The Arbiter remained silent for quite some time. If not for the slight tremor in his body, Wen Wen would have thought the video had frozen.
"This arbitration video will end here."
Upon hearing this, the bullet screen exploded, becoming many times more fervent than when Ning Zhewan was about to be executed.
People expressed their regrets, as if society would collapse without the Arbiter executing villains.
"As everyone should have noticed, every criminal I've executed was from Shenchuan City. I am also just an ordinary citizen of Shenchuan City. It took me three years to find evidence of the crimes of those previous criminals."
Three years?
Wen Wen's eyebrows twitched. Ning Zhewan had also spent three years searching for the orphanage contractor.
"With my abilities, I won't be able to find suitable individuals for execution in a short period. I am very happy and proud to have rid Shenchuan City of some scum."
"Therefore, this program will conclude after I execute Ning Zhewan."
"I am very happy that, in the final moments of my life, I could do something so meaningful."
A string of question marks appeared in the bullet screen. The Arbiter's words made it seem as if his life was nearing its end.
Wen Wen's eyes widened slightly; he had already begun to guess something.
"Now, let the execution commence!"
The Arbiter produced a revolver, then removed his hood and mask.
The face revealed caused a stir in the bullet screen.
Because...
This face was identical to Ning Zhewan's, who had avenged the orphanage yesterday, injuring innocent people in the video!
"To the over one thousand people who voted for survival, congratulations. In the end, you did not make the wrong decision."
Then, Ning Zhewan put the muzzle of the gun into his mouth. A gunshot rang out...