A somewhat overweight middle-aged man lay in a pool of blood.
When Yang Ming saw the body, several pieces of information flashed through his mind.
The deceased was a Baron from the Saka family and had been one of the more dazzling social stars of the evening.
Earlier in the evening, Viscount Godoy Saka had introduced Yang Ming to this person, who had responded with a perfunctory smile to the newcomer.
That was nothing unusual.
The nobles present, whether from the Saka surname or others, looked down on the somewhat mediocre Godoy, and under Godoy’s arrangement, Yang Ming, dressed in Godoy’s most expensive attire, did not look like someone of wealth and power.
Yang Ming paid no mind to these details.
Following the crowd upstairs to see the excitement, he took a closer look at the deceased, named Morlington Saka.
At first glance, there were two wounds on the body.
One wound was on the chest, pierced by a sharp instrument at the location, about five to six centimeters wide, deeply inserted, and the source of the blood on the floor.
The other wound was above the right eyelid, a neat Light Bullet penetration wound familiar to Yang Ming, accompanied by burn injuries on the inside.
Yang Ming was no criminal investigation expert, he could only make wild guesses.
He speculated that the presence of two wounds was probably because the killer had first inflicted heavy injuries on the deceased, then considering the barely adequate medical standard on Saka Star, thought this kind of injury was very likely to be survivable, so he pulled out a laser pistol and made a hole in the deceased’s head.
For humans, brain death also means complete death.
Saka Star is located within the Sherman Empire, has not experienced war or disturbances for years;
Although the social order is somewhat chaotic due to the economic downturn, and crimes occur frequently, most of these noble lords hardly ever face murder scenes in their daily lives.
Several young people glanced at the murder scene a few times before constantly retching in the corner.
Two emotionally weaker noblewomen delicately collapsed into the arms of young men nearby.
But most people were not panicked.
Thirty-two nobles with the Saka surname, eleven non-Saka nobles, more than twenty common guests, and thirteen waiters, all maintained basic composure.
Three elderly members of the Saka family stepped forward.
They began to stabilize order, demanding that young people immediately notify the Noble Court and local police.
An old man said authoritatively, "No one is allowed to leave this place until the police arrive!"
Another elder shouted,
"Whoever did this, come forward and admit it! Whether it is due to some personal grudge or any reason, this incident will bring shame to our Saka surname! I hope you will show some responsibility. If you dare to kill, why not dare to admit it?"
A noblewoman sighed, "It might be because Morlington was too flamboyant... over the years he indeed accumulated a lot of wealth, often said that noble status was useless, and that one still had to rely on one’s own abilities to live worry-free. It was supposed to be a happy occasion for him to come back to the gathering today, but..."
"Alright, secure the scene! Everyone, go downstairs! Leave some security here to watch!"
An old man shouted loudly.
Everyone surged back to the hotel’s lobby.
Viscount Godoy Saka had never seen such a scene, his legs went a bit weak, and Yang Ming proactively reached out to support his arm, walking with the crowd with an unchanged expression.
"Are you not scared, my dear nephew? This is a gruesome murder," Viscount Godoy Saka whispered.
Yang Ming replied softly, "This has nothing to do with us, uncle. Were you very familiar with this Baron?"
"He was about my age, and we were two grades apart in school. He had once stood up for me, against the rude nobles from other classes. He was a good person... roughly so, we haven’t kept in touch afterwards."
Viscount Godoy Saka clearly lacked some confidence when he said ’he was a good person’.
Yang Ming did not ask further.
He was not interested in the life and death of an Empire Baron.
Such Barons, in the Empire, could be found in great numbers, as long as taxes are high enough, and they are willing to , they could also get a similar no-benefit nobility title through some channels.
However, Yang Ming could not stay uninvolved, as the Noble Court would likely take control of everyone, and carry out a check one by one.
He and the secret of the Viscount next to him, could not be easily exposed.
Soon, Viscount Godoy Saka was called away to a small meeting.
Those attending were the three esteemed elderly ’Saka’, plus four mature and stable ’middle-aged Saka’;
The fact that the fallen Godoy could be called over also indirectly proved his nominal status within the Saka family.
About ten minutes later, Viscount Godoy returned to Yang Ming’s side.
This middle-aged man, facial expression troubled and eyebrows tightly furrowed, said softly,
"They asked who you are, and I told them the truth."
Unspoken words: Because a sudden incident occurred, they were concerned about the identity of new faces here, I admitted you are my illegitimate son, but requested they keep it confidential.
Viscount Godoy patted Yang Ming’s shoulder, continuing, "Don’t worry, you’ve been by my side the whole day, always within everyone’s sight, no one will trouble you, but later they will probably ask you to participate in an investigation."
Yang Ming frowned and asked, "The police aren’t handling this?"
"The police have already sealed off the hotel, and will send an officer later to assist us," Viscount Godoy said, "When they heard a noble Baron was killed in a murder, they shifted the responsibility within their purview to the Noble Court, the nearest vessel of the Noble Court will arrive in over an hour."