Zhou Chu nodded thoughtfully, then turned to walk out.

It's the same winding path we took to get here.

They had only gone halfway when they encountered three boys.

They were visibly stunned when they saw Zhou Chu.

But they quickly realized what was happening and stepped forward, blocking Zhou Chu's path.

This is……

Zhou Chu took a step back, looking at them warily, his hand already on the tree next to him.

If a conflict breaks out, break off a branch and see if you can break through.

"What are you doing in the silkworm grove?" The man in the lead frowned, looking scrutinizing. "Recently, many of the silkworms we've been raising have disappeared."

So that's what happened. Zhou Chu did remember that he hadn't offended anyone.

This kind of thing can be explained, and it's quite easy to explain.

“I just came in for a stroll because I had nothing else to do. There’s a young girl in here who can vouch for me.” Zhou Chu pointed into the woods: “She’s been here the whole time and can prove that I didn’t do anything.”

"Little girl? What does she look like?" The leading man still maintained a cautious demeanor.

"We'll know once we go in and take a look. She shouldn't have left yet." Zhou Chu pointed into the woods, indicating that they could follow him.

The leading man did not go in directly with him, but instead searched the ground.

I picked up a black wooden board covered in mud from the ground and wiped its surface with a tissue.

Sure enough, there was a line of text above.

“Silkworm breeding base, no unauthorized personnel allowed.”

"I really don't know." Zhou Chu shrugged, directly facing their questioning gazes.

"Then it was probably made by the little girl you mentioned."

Zhou Chu's heart skipped a beat.

After we went inside...

All I could see was a scene of devastation, with mulberry trees lying in disarray and the ground littered with the corpses of silkworm pupae.

The silkworms were still far away, but most of the silkworm pupae had been crushed.

Many silkworms that had only produced a thin layer of silk and were not completely wrapped up ended up flattened.

It was the kind of silkworm that had been crushed flat, with a patch of white blood spreading out.

The man on the left was furious and rushed forward to hit Zhou Chu, but was held back by the leader.

"Give me an explanation. Where is that little girl?" Of the three, he seemed the calmest, but it was clear he was barely suppressing his anger.

"I really don't know," Zhou Chu waved his hand.

The closer it got to this point, the clearer he became.

That girl must be the murderer!

"Is there any other way out of this mulberry forest?" Zhou Chu looked around.

It's hard to say if there's an exit, because it's surrounded by mulberry groves on all sides; if you're willing to go in, there probably is.

"You need to give an explanation for this, or this won't end here." The boy in the lead took out his phone, snapped a picture of the mess on the ground, and texted someone while saying, "This is the fourth time this month."

"Aren't there any security cameras around here?"

“It’s only on the highway outside, not inside the mulberry forest, and the highway surveillance cameras haven’t captured the murderer.” As he spoke, he seemed to have finished sending the message, then looked up at Zhou Chu with a gloomy face: “So you are the only suspect right now.”

"So, did something like this happen last week?"

"Wednesday."

“That’s it.” Zhou Chu breathed a sigh of relief: “I was away on a research trip all week, so it’s impossible for me to suddenly come back and kill your silkworms.”

"What if you have accomplices? That would just be your alibi."

"You also said that the murderer never took the main road outside, but I'm going to go out from there. Isn't that enough proof?"

"What if you forget your way, or you're just trying to provoke our Silkworm Academy?"

After hearing his analysis, Zhou Chu was speechless.

Does he think he's Conan just because he uses a bunch of self-righteous logic?

They acted like they were solving a case. If all police officers acted like this, the city would probably turn into Gotham City.

"Just give me your advisor's contact information, and I'll talk to him."

It's definitely going to be a mess with them.

Therefore, the best approach is definitely to contact their advisor.

Those who can become counselors must have some brains, right?

“Wrong.” The leading man shook his head. “I just spoke with your advisor. He told us to take you to the college building. He’s waiting for you there with your advisor.”

Twenty minutes later.

Gao Qinyi rushed into the Sericulture Academy building and ran into her studio.

The first person she saw was Zhou Chu sitting in a chair.

Opposite him was a middle-aged man, and behind the middle-aged man were several boys.

"Are you alright?" Gao Qinyi rushed to him, bent down, and touched his cheeks with both hands to check if he was injured.

I have to say, Sister Qin is really...

That's too proactive.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Zhou Chu's face turned red from being touched.

Even the instructor on the other side couldn't stand it and coughed twice.

"What are you coughing for? How could my Chuchu possibly care about your little bugs?" After confirming that he was alright, the first thing Gao Qinyi did when she looked up was to berate the middle-aged man: "He was on a research visit last week, with me. How could he possibly be bothered by your little bugs?"

The boys opposite were all dumbfounded.

Obviously, no one expected that such a pretty girl would have such a bad temper.

"Mind your manners." The middle-aged man frowned.

"Watch out for your mother. If you ever falsely accuse my family again... of being my student, I'll kill you."

At this moment, Gao Qinyi exudes girlfriend charm.

This is the Gao Qinyi he knows, the kind of bossy older sister he knows.

The instructor on the other side clearly looked sullen.

"Are you really his advisor?" he asked with a gloomy face.

If things had continued as they were, she should have said, "I am your father."

But she grabbed Zhou Chu and started to walk out.

The three male students opposite instinctively tried to stop him.

As a result, he was scared off by just one look from Gao Qinyi.

Like a lioness fiercely protecting her cubs, even though they might be able to handle her, they still don't want to cause her any trouble.

"Can't you be a little more assertive?"

As soon as they stepped outside, Gao Qinyi couldn't help but punch Zhou Chu lightly, then whispered in his ear, "You really didn't do it, did you?"

"Of course not!"

"That's good." Gao Qinyi touched her chest, then looked at her with a disappointed expression: "Can't you be a little more assertive? Since we didn't do it, why are you sitting there like a well-behaved child?"

"Do you know how I feel when I see you like this?" Gao Qinyi sighed and pinched his nose. "As long as you're upright, you have nothing to fear. Why do you care so much?"

Gao Qinyi was just that domineering back then.

She really hasn't changed at all.

But Zhou Chu just happens to like this kind of super strong woman!