"Plop!"

Hearing Lin Yu's accusation, the orange in Paris's hand dropped onto the coffee table.

The orange rolled around on the table twice, leaving a trail of intermittent water marks.

The expression on Paris's face was one of utter astonishment.

"My goodness... that is a very serious accusation, Mr. Furbollo. Surely there must be some misunderstanding about this matter?"

Paris's tone was extremely sincere, as if he genuinely had no knowledge of what Lin Yu was talking about.

Lin Yu looked at Paris. The other man hardly seemed to be acting.

But Lin Yu could still tell he was lying.

"As expected, those in superior positions are all naturally good actors."

Marveling at the other man's acting skills, which were a bit too professional for an amateur, Lin Yu continued to apply pressure.

"Are you taking me for a fool, Paris?"

"How many people in the entire Sleepless City can mobilize the Throne of Wrath... and on top of that, the Delta Team from the Security Department that came is your openly acknowledged direct faction!"

Lin Yu looked at Paris, used his hand to stop the orange rolling toward him, and continued, "You want to say this matter has nothing to do with you? Do you think I'd believe that?"

He tossed the orange back.

Paris deftly caught the orange and placed it back in the fruit bowl on the table.

"Well, I did indeed mobilize the Throne of Wrath to attack the Despair Train, and the Security Department's Delta Team was also dispatched..."

Paris said, still playing dumb and looking innocent as he spoke, "But I didn't go there to kill you... In fact, I didn't even know you were on the train."

Lin Yu watched Paris's tactic of retreating in order to advance and pressed on relentlessly, "Oh? You really didn't know I was on the train?"

Paris shook his head. "While the train as a whole is controllable and serves as the energy supply source for nearly seven percent of Sleepless City, it is indeed company property under the control and jurisdiction of Truth Corporation. As the CEO, I naturally have a certain degree of control over it... However, its interior is actually in a state of chaos."

"Since you were inside the train at the time, you should also know that the train's interior is essentially self-governed by the convicts exiled onto it. Their leader is a wanted criminal named Baron Coleman. Not only is he utterly vicious... but he is also in a completely antagonistic relationship with me."

Paris spoke earnestly, "From my perspective at the time, the Despair Train had a sudden accident. Dangerous intruders colluded with Baron Coleman to hijack the train with unknown intentions. So, from the standpoint of protecting company assets and maintaining public safety throughout Sleepless City, I naturally ordered the threat to be eliminated as quickly as possible."

Hearing Paris's words and looking at his expression of compassion, sincerity, and profound distress, Lin Yu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He took a small box from his pocket and stared at Paris. "Cut the bureaucratic nonsense here. This isn't a Truth Corporation press conference... It's fine if you don't admit it. Now, say this to this lie detector—'I did not know Furbollo was on the Despair Train and did not intend to take the opportunity to eliminate Furbollo.'"

Lin Yu said calmly, pressing to activate the [One-Statement Lie Detector].

He originally didn't know what Paris's attitude toward Furbollo was. He could only vaguely guess from Fu Luo's attitude toward Paris that the two were probably of similar status, shared a backer, but likely didn't get along very well.

So, Paris might genuinely not have known Fu Luo was on the Despair Train—if that were the case, the situation would be relatively simple.

Lin Yu would just need to follow the normal process. The two could settle it privately, Paris would pay a small price for his unintentional mistake, and finally, Lin Yu would simply have Paris escort him to Sleepless Sky Huole.

But the likelihood of that situation was very small.

Lin Yu still remembered what happened on the Despair Train at the time... Even though Baron Coleman controlled the Despair Train, Paris definitely had a fairly clear idea of what was happening inside.

Especially since he sent Stiller—through their brief interactions during this period, although Stiller seemed to still harbor gratitude for his former master and didn't mention much about Paris-related matters, Lin Yu could deduce...

Stiller definitely knew Fu Luo as well.

Therefore, it was highly likely that Paris subjectively wanted to kill Fu Luo.

It might not be some deep-seated hatred... For a superior who climbed his way up step by step and was ruthless and merciless, simply finding someone an eyesore and having an opportunity to kill them would probably lead him to act without hesitation.

Thus...

Lin Yu naturally prepared for this situation.

He looked at Paris, and Paris looked at the [One-Statement Lie Detector] on the table.

Then...

Paris spoke with certainty.

"I did not know Furbollo was on the Despair Train and did not intend to take the opportunity to eliminate Furbollo."

He said this with firm conviction.

Looking at Paris's demeanor, Lin Yu felt a moment of confusion.

Could it really be a misunderstanding?

Did this CEO Paris really not want to kill Fu Luo?

The next moment, the [One-Statement Lie Detector] emitted a red light and a sharp beeping sound.

"Beep, beep—"

This revealed that Paris was lying.

Both Lin Yu and Paris were stunned simultaneously.

Lin Yu spoke with some annoyance, "You knew it was a lie, yet you still dared to say it?"

Paris looked at the box and scratched his nose.

"I didn't know it would actually work!"

Lin Yu looked at Paris in astonishment, as if reassessing the CEO's intelligence level. "I told you it was a lie detector... Were you gambling that I was bluffing you?"

Paris spread his hands. "I underwent the 'Primary Emotional Control Modification Surgery.' Lie detectors that work through emotions, micro-expressions, and physiological changes are completely ineffective on me."

"How was I supposed to know your gadget was so advanced—does it operate on magic or something as its principle, from another world?"

Lin Yu nodded.

The two looked at each other in silence for a moment, then simultaneously laughed.

"Damn it, ah, damn it. Lord Huole indeed has discerning eyes. You really are a rare talent... It seems the evaluations I heard about you before were somewhat inaccurate—no, there was probably an element of you deliberately showing weakness and guiding them, right!"

"Someone like you, how could you possibly have a cowardly, arrogant, careless personality with almost no real combat ability?"

Lin Yu didn't correct Paris, just crossed his arms over his chest.

"So, you really did intend to kill me... Of course, that's actually unimportant."

"The key point is, you not only intended to kill me, but you didn't do it cleanly enough—I survived, and I caught you as the mastermind... So, admitting defeat and giving me some compensation is reasonable, right?"

The two maids returned at this moment, placing two cups of clear, transparent water in glass cups on the table.

Although it looked like plain transparent water, as soon as it was served, a rich scent of sweet orange filled the air.

Paris picked up his glass and gulped it down in one go.

"You're right. My skills were inferior, I admit defeat. I should compensate you!"