But in the end, Aventurine was still defeated.
He said weakly, like a deflated ball: "...Fine, just getting the gift money back is fine.
You should at least give me that.
A merchant without bargaining chips would probably find it hard to move an inch."
"Your compromise was quicker than I expected.
Unfortunately, compared to a merchant... a gambler needs chips even more.
I can give you the gift money, but before that, I want you to tell me personally—"
As Sunday spoke, he walked over to the box and leather bag in the corner, turned his head to look at Aventurine, and asked: "What exactly is stored in this box that you so decisively abandoned?"
Along with Sunday's question, his voice filled the room, carrying echoing and ethereal words: "Oh, soul of threefold aspect, please brand his tongue and palm with hot iron, so that he cannot fabricate lies or make false oaths."
[Jing Yuan: It's the power of harmony.]
[Herta: Interesting, twisting thoughts with words? No, it doesn't seem that simple.]
[March 7th: I don't understand, what's it for?]
[Robin: The power of the harmony Aeon is enough to expose lies.]
[March 7th: Oh! I get it, isn't that just a lie detector?]
[Robin: You could say that... it's not wrong.]
"What did you do?" Aventurine said through gritted teeth.
"Under the light of 'harmony', all evils have nowhere to hide.
I humbly ask the earth to cast down its light, and on behalf of the robe, I ask you.
From now on... you have 113 seconds to prove your innocence and gain my trust."
"What if I refuse to answer?"
Sunday lowered his eyes and said threateningly: "Then let's see—let's see if 'harmony' will refuse you."
Looking at Aventurine, whose complexion was somewhat poor, Sunday snorted coldly, then asked in a serious, ethereal voice: "May I ask: Do you possess a stones?"
"Yes," Aventurine uttered a single word from his mouth.
"A very concise answer.
You also understand the principle that 'the more you say, the more mistakes you make'."
Sunday smiled, then continued to ask: "When you entered, did you hand over the stones to the Family?"
"Yes."
"Does the stones you handed over to the Family belong to you?"
"Yes."
"At this moment, is your stones in this room?"
"Yes."
"Has your Memory not been tampered with or deleted in any form, including but not limited to the technology of the Garden of Recollection?"
"Yes."
"Are you from the Evians clan of Tzigania?"
Aventurine sneered, "Yes, you even know that."
"Do Evians not have any ability to read, tamper with, or manipulate their own or others' thoughts?"
"No, does that matter?" Aventurine's face gradually turned worse.
"Do you love your family more than you love yourself?"
This question made Aventurine silent for two seconds, then he said firmly, "Yes."
"All Evians perished in a massacre, is that right?"
"No."
"Are you the only survivor of the clan?"
Aventurine's lips trembled slightly, and his eyes revealed endless sorrow and confusion, as if he had used all his strength to squeeze out these few words: "Perhaps."
Then, Sunday threw out another sharp question, "Do you harbor resentment and wish to destroy this world with your own hands?"
Aventurine sighed for a long time, he lowered his head and murmured, "I don't know..."
"Interesting, then the last question."
Sunday's gaze was fixed on the person in front of him, as if he wanted to see the truth deep within his heart through his eyes.
"Can you swear that at this moment—'sha jin stone' is safely lying in this box?"
He deliberately emphasized the words "sha jin stone", with a hint of undetectable provocation in his tone.
Aventurine fell into a long silence, his eyes flickering, seemingly thinking about something.
However, Sunday let out a cold laugh, breaking the silence.
"Of course," Aventurine finally spoke, but his voice seemed a little lacking in confidence.
As he spoke, the two sat at the table, and Sunday slid the box from the table to Aventurine's front.
Aventurine was stunned, looking up at Sunday, seemingly not quite understanding what he meant.
"Open it, Mr. Aventurine... This is your last chance to uphold your reputation."
Sunday's words were full of sarcasm and disdain, he seemed to have already concluded that Aventurine was lying.
[Herta: He hesitated, which shows that he has swapped the sha jin stone.]
[March 7th: Allowing him to open this box, sure enough, he also thinks Aventurine wasn't telling the truth, or rather, Sunday has already taken the stones?]
[Yanqing: If he has already taken the stones, why didn't he choose to use it himself?]
[Jing Yuan: I guess, maybe he doesn't know exactly how to use the stones, it shouldn't be that simple to use this thing.]
Aventurine looked at the box for a long time, while Ratio turned his head away.
"Please," Sunday smiled and gestured with his hand.
Click—with a crisp sound, the box was slowly opened, but the scene that appeared next astonished him.
The box, which should have been full of items, was now empty!
Just then, Sunday walked to the table, gently unveiled the cloth covering something on the table, and asked with a smile, "Are you looking for... them?"
After saying this, Sunday reached out and lifted the cloth covering it,
And hidden beneath were a stone emitting a faint green light and another stone presenting a yellowish-brown color.
[Topaz: Topaz and sha jin stone, I would actually give my stones to you? It's unimaginable... Wait, so that's it.]
[Jade: A very beautiful trick.]
[March 7th: What are you all talking about? Why don't I understand?]
A sudden storm was sweeping across the entire galaxy, and this mysterious force called the "Viewing Room" plunged the Company into chaos.
Many of the Company's carefully laid plans were severely affected, and several core members of the Strategic Investment Department had to be urgently recalled to headquarters.
When they rushed to the conference room, a new round of viewing was just beginning.
In the tense atmosphere, everyone decided to put down their work for the time being, watch the film together, and try to decipher the hidden information and plans within it.
Initially, Topaz was incredibly shocked that she had entrusted such important stones to Aventurine to risk.
However, as the camera gradually zoomed in, she suddenly noticed something unusual—it didn't seem to be an ordinary sha jin stone, but Jade!
"It's Jade, right?" Topaz asked.
"That's right," Jade leaned back in her chair, took a sip of wine, and smiled, "What a brilliant setup, three chips are enough."
And Aventurine just looked at the screen, silently brainstorming in his mind.