Tears of Themis Episode 5: Sins of Cynicism (II)
Part 2 of the 3-part episode debuted on 13 Aug 2021. There are 15 scenes in Episode 5(II) made up of 8 story scenes and 7 debate battles (recommended power level 27669 – 37823). The story continues from where we left off with Hugh asking for your help to avenge his mother’s death. Spoilers ahead!
It is now 6 weeks before the defamation case by Heirson Health Products against Jasmine Kenders goes to trial. Artem receives a call from you requesting for leave from office to investigate further into Jasmine’s case with Luke. As he scans through the news, he receives notification of a doctorate researcher who had been arrested for development of a hallucinogen. The culprit is none other than Ian Johnson who had previously served as witness in Jasmine’s trial against Heirson.
You figured that Hugh‘s identity could be key to unlocking the mystery around Jasmine’s death hence you enlisted the help of Vyn’s medical center to conduct an assessment of Hugh’s cognitive abilities and hopefully be able to fish out more information from him. You apologise for the inconvenience caused to Vyn and he asked you to compensate his time by accompanying him to watch a play. You agree to do so. Luke informs you he will be late so you continue your conversation with Vyn. He discusses with you a model about the prisoner’s dilemma, a classic game theory, which can be used to elicit a confession from two accomplices.
At this moment Luke arrives flustered with Hugh in toll. He apologises for his tardiness as Hugh had insisted on wearing the same clothes rather than the ones you had bought for him. After ensuring that Hugh was properly handed over to Vyn’s care, you and Luke takes off to Opaline Village to continue your investigation. Luke asked Vyn to safeguard the cryptex which was built by Hugh with a warning not to lock them out of it. Vyn rebuts that he may very well solve the puzzle before you return back.
Before leaving for the village, Luke stops by the police station to obtain Jasmine’s files. He bought you breakfast and insisted that you consume it before leaving to prevent you from getting carsick as the trip to Opaline would be long. Just as you were about to tuck in, you received a call from Marius. He accuses you of being naughty for hacking into Big Data Lab the night before as he had traced the IP address to your residence. When you said that it wasn’t you, Marius was quick to guess that it was Luke who did it and his other accomplice. He grumbled about Luke going to your place and added that he would settle the score with Luke when they next meet. You also entrust Marius to help you with one part of your investigation.
Not too soon after you left the police station with Luke, Artem pulls up in front of the station. He makes a call to a Professor Church from the university to enquire about Ian Johnson. He also requested not to alert his mother about his call. He goes on to interrogate Ian but the latter refuses to speak to Artem, requesting for his attorney, Ingrid Rosworth from Baldr Law Firm. This raises Artem’s suspicion over their relationship and the credibility of Ian’s previous statement made in court against Jasmine. We are also introduced to Rosworth, a beautiful yet shrewd lawyer that Artem has a distinct distaste for. Rosworth refuses to represent Ian. Defeated, Ian confesses to amending his testimony as he had been blackmailed by Rosworth when she caught him dealing with hallucinogens.
When you arrive at the village, you were greeted with suspicion by Irvin Soong who refuses to speak with you. Instead, the village chief, Hans Weller, welcomes you to his place so that he can address your questions. To allay his suspicions over your visit, you claim to be Jasmine’s estate lawyers who had come to make some enquiries to facilitate the distribution of her assets. After observing Han’s ostentatious lifestyle and listening to his contradictions and blatant lies in his answers, you are sure that he was complicit to the murder of Jasmine together with Heirson.
Having obtained nothing of concrete from Hans, your next stop is Iker Lance. However you were thrown out of his place by his feisty wife Yvonne Wright, who accuses Jasmine for having an affair with her husband who has since left her to live elsewhere for almost a year. Irvin appears out of nowhere to give you the lowdown of what had transpired in Iker’s household and to clarify on Jasmine’s innocence. Yvonne caught Irvin speaking about her in front of her house and chases him away. She gives you another chance to talk to her and Luke manages to convince her to see the light. Yvonne then opens up about what she witnessed on the day of the accident and feels sorry that she did nothing to help Jasmine.
As you prepare to leave, Yvonne suddenly recalls hearing weird noises coming from the Heirson laboratory which should have stopped operations after it had been implicated in the pollution of the waters. She shares that the noises are only heard at night and this prompted Luke to check it out. He refused to let you follow him. As a highly trained special agent, he knew how to protect himself. You following him would serve more as a burden. However to allay your concerns, you requested to have a GPS locator so that you can trace his whereabouts.
While waiting for Luke to return from the investigation, you received a call from Artem. He shares with you his findings about Ian Johnson. After putting down the phone, Artem sighs to himself. He had never been so motivated to investigate into a case and surmises that he also wanted you to count on him to support you.
Meanwhile Luke infiltrates into the lab and true enough he finds it operational. He overhears some researchers complaining about developing a cure for stomach cancer and laments that without test subjects, it was near impossible to determine if the drug is safe. As Luke heads deeper into the lab, he comes across four empty holding cells. He notices a vial of substance in cell number 3. As he tries to hack into the cell, the alarms go off.
Back at Yvonne’s house, you noticed that Luke’s GPS signal had disappeared. Your blood froze and you frantically tried to call the police. In that moment, you hear Yvonne’s panicked cries that the woods surrounding the lab are on fire. To be continued…
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The case seems to be getting more and more complicated with multiple suspects all with their own motives for wanting Jasmine dead. There seems to be more than meets the eye with what actually transpires in the Heirson lab which we will uncover in the final part of this episode. My bet is that Hugh was one of the test subjects that Jasmine had rescued from the lab which explains the number 3 branded into his skin.
Separately, we see all the four male leads vying for your affection as they help you in various aspects of the investigation. Obviously Artem, Vyn and Marius aren’t too happy with Luke getting alot of alone time with you but agrees that he is best placed to accompany and protect you. Artem wants you to know that he can aid you with secondary line of investigation, Vyn wants to impress you with his intelligence and Marius is eager to impress you with his network. It is indeed a bit stressful to be in the center of everyone’s love and attention. However I have to compliment Marius’ voice actor for captivating me with his acting.