Chapter 7

(How did he die exactly?)

“Solving the case, solving the case. Come, raise the evidence higher, yes, that’s right… please, smile?”

Yang Ye raised the camera and focused it on Gu Liang, “Hey, don’t cover your face?”

Gu Liang placed the paper box on the side table before walking away. “You’re supposed to photograph the evidence, why do you have so many demands.”

* * *

Speaking of which, probably due to the simpler model they were playing, the hour that the system allotted for them to explore freely was actually over long.

Having concluded his search prematurely, Gu Liang returned to his room since he wanted some time to himself before the “centralised discussion”, and he needed to sift through the information he had carefully.

When he reached the second-floor landing and crossed Son Bai’s room, Gu Liang noticed that his door room was completely open. As he was passing by the open door, it could be seen that Son Bai was sitting on the sofa and resting.

The two pairs of eyes met. Son Bai raised the glass of water he was holding and took a huge gulp out of it before he greeted Gu Liang on his own accord. “Lawyer Zhang, have you found other clues? With regards to how Boss Bai ate the feigned death medicine, are there any results?”

“Still inconclusive. I’ll ask Girlfriend Huang in a bit to check if he’s made any new discoveries.” Gu Liang stared at Son Bai, “You actually dare to drink your room’s water now, aren’t you afraid that the prop has poison?”

Son Bai laughed in embarrassment before he took another sip.

Gu Liang studied him for a long moment. Without saying another word, he turned around and went back to his room.

Upon entering his room, Gu Liang realised that the eye piercing Yang Ye was sitting on his sofa in a loud and upright manner.

“What are you doing in my room?”

Since the single-person sofa was occupied by Yang Ye, Gu Liang could only sit on his bed.

Immediately after, he detected that his mattress had been moved.

He shifted forward to inspect his mattress before he turned his head back to gaze at Yang Ye.

— A piece of paper, which was also the fax with details about the insulin, was clipped between Yang Ye’s fingers.

Yang Ye’s actions made Gu Liang narrow his eyes.

The shape of Gu Liang’s eyes were exceedingly beautiful; his eyes were large with the inner corners drooping down slightly while the outer corners flicked up, and when he was perpetually emotionless, it looked quite chilly. Now that his eyes were narrowed, however, it brought about a sense of provocation and threat.

When he caught sight of Gu Liang’s reaction, Yang Ye chuckled, saying: “All of them were saying that they couldn’t find any clues in your room, which made me curious. So I decided to give it a try. For full disclosure, I was the one who found the insulin fax, and there’s even a scorched corner at the top. It seems like this was what you were burning when the system reported you.”

Gu Liang was too lazy to acknowledge him. He lay down on his bed again to sleep.

He realised that ever since he came out from the small black room, he found Yang Ye piercing to the eye whenever he saw him.

Yang Ye continued to speak. “However, how much insulin is needed to result in death and how long it takes for the insulin to act up, are clues that I have yet to find. Where did you hide it?”

Gu Liang rolled his eyes subtly. “The chicken soup wasn’t consumed. Is it even important?”

“Either way, I’m bored and I want to see if I can guess it out.”

As he did a brief survey, Yang Ye’s eyes landed on the poker cards in the dustbin.

He grasped something immediately. “Where did your poker cards go?” Yang Ye asked.

“Don’t know. I want to sleep.” Gu Liang replied.

Yang Ye adjusted his glasses as he said: “I get it, you dismantled the insulin’s box until it was the size of a poker card before you shoved it into the poker pack. This would result in a few additional poker cards that you can’t put back so you threw them away.”

“Afterwards, you placed the poker deck in the living room where it could be seen, which would cause the reverse effect where it won’t gain as much attention. When we were searching, Son Bai even opened it to take a look, but he didn’t discover it because he didn’t pour out the cards.”

Gu Liang could no longer put up with him. Sitting up from his bed, he looked at Yang Ye. “Did you come to my room to brush up on your sense of existence because you can’t find the murderer?”

During the investigation segment, every room had their doors open and anyone could enter them to search.

And whether it was having questions during the search, or players lumping on a few more questions, all these behaviours could not be more normal in all honesty.

In fact, Gu Liang knew he sounded unkind with the tone he was using, and some might even say that it was a little harsh.

His harshness probably stemmed from the fact that Yang Ye had discovered all the things he concealed and it gave rise to the notion that he was being challenged.

Gu Liang did not expect that despite the impolite words he spoke, Yang Ye would question him gently: “Are you worrying about me, and afraid that I’ll die if I don’t find the murderer?”

Gu Liang: “……”

— What kind of thought process is that?

Noticing Gu Liang’s response, Yang Ye laughed. He tugged at the fax paper in his hands before he reverted back to a normal expression. “I’ll stop joking around. Back to the main topic, who do you think is the murderer?”

“Didn’t you say Brother Bai?” Gu Liang raised an eyebrow.

Yang Ye said: “I said that to hoodwink Son Bai and see how he would react.”

“We’ll speak about it later during the centralised discussion.”

After pondering about it, Gu Liang only gave a line of comment before he lied down to rest.

* * *

Forty minutes later. At 4:30 in the afternoon, Gu Liang arrived at the centralised discussion room.

Since Boss Bai was already dead, Yang Ye flipped open his own card, thus publicising his identity as the detective.

Just then, the broadcast opened its mouth: “Welcome to the centralised discussion segment. Girlfriend Huang has no murderous intentions towards Boss Bai, she is the detective in this case. The real murderer of Boss Bai is among Lawyer Zhang, Maid Liu, Brother Bai and Son Bai.

“There is an interrogation room at the side of the centralised discussion room, the detective is allowed to ask players to proceed to the interrogation room for a one on one interrogation.”

After the broadcasted voice landed, the centralised discussion room sank into silence.

Seated in his own chair, Gu Liang rapped on the back of his chair gently with his fingers. Both his eyes were staring ahead in a state of perpetual emptiness.

As per usual, Brother Bai was reticent and had his head lowered, Maid Liu was very dignified, and Son Bai’s gaze darted left and right as if he could not sit still and he was finding someone to talk to.

Since no one was willing to start presenting their logical conclusions, the detective could only guide the rhythm.

“Before we expand on each person’s modus operandi, we’ll review everyone’s motivations to kill first.”

Yang Ye patted the table and coughed softly. He adjusted himself into a posturing that a detective should have before he said: “Everyone should already be aware of each character’s story and reason for killing, and I’ll be summarising them now.”

Having said that, Yang Ye pulled out a book and started sorting through the matters in earnest.

“Lawyer Zhang started staying here three days before the murder. Since Boss Bai likes working from home, Lawyer Zhang stayed in the villa to help him draft a contract. His desire to kill Boss Bai is mainly based on the fact that he wanted to protect Girlfriend Huang and prevent her from being encroached on by Boss Bai. Son Bai’s motivation to kill is driven by the need to seek vengeance for his mother, and similarly, Maid Liu wanted to avenge her older sister. As to whether Maid Liu is Son Bai’s little aunt or not, it is not necessary to investigate further. When all is said and done, both of them have the motivation to kill.

“Brother Bai started staying in the villa yesterday and he arrived the latest. Compared to everyone else, he is completely ignorant about Boss Bai’s dietary habits and is incapable of poisoning precisely. While he is Boss Bai’s older brother, he was raised by someone else ever since he was young and he was excluded from the inheritance. Brother Bai’s motive for killing should be for money.

“If my conjecture about Brother Bai’s motive for killing is correct, there is no need for Brother to elaborate further. Either way, everyone possesses strong murderous intentions in this scenario. The crux of it all still hinges on the time and method of killing.”

Yang Ye looked at Brother Bai, “Which is why I’ll ask you again, the feigned death medicine and the knife in the deceased’s chest, are those the tools you used to commit your crime?”

Brother Bai lowered his head, still refusing to speak.

Whenever he thought of the scene he was unwilling to recall, his shoulder would start shaking all over again.

Yang Ye paused for a moment before he tried to bring him around. He said, “You can admit that you stabbed him with a knife, it’s of no consequence. Currently, we believe that he was already dead when you stabbed him. Moreover, since he’s your younger brother in real life too, don’t you want to find the real murderer for him?”

When Yang Ye posited the question, Gu Liang did not look at Brother Bai but observed the remaining two people with scrutinising eyes instead.

— Maid Liu was expressionless while Son Bai stared at Brother Bai unblinkingly, and his expression seemed to contain some nervousness.

Gu Liang withdrew his gaze discreetly. After waiting for half a beat, Brother Bai finally chose to speak. “I used the knife. But it’s true that I didn’t kill him. When I stabbed him, he did not react in the slightest, he didn’t even make a sound. He didn’t eat my feigned death medicine and he couldn’t have fainted. If he was only lying there, sleeping, he should have woken up from the pain when I stabbed him. He should have screamed and shouted. But he didn’t. So, he must be dead by then.”

“Why are you so certain he didn’t eat the feigned death medicine?” Yang Ye followed up with another question quickly.

“The black-clothed NPCs were the ones who did the drugging in my stead this afternoon. Although I didn’t see him act, he must have followed the script. And my script wrote, in order to guarantee that nothing goes wrong, I drugged all the food with the feigned death medicine, including the chicken soup, and notwithstanding all the pans, bowls, ladles and pots. Not only did I want to knock Boss Bai out, I also wanted all of you to be unconscious, or else you might see me in the undertaking of the murder.”

“The food which Maid Liu had Son Bai deliver later was something she portioned off from every plate that the food was arranged on while she was in the kitchen. Correspondingly, the rice and dishes in the lunch box came in contact with the feigned death medicine. That’s what you said, wasn’t it? That Boss Bai didn’t drink the chicken soup or consume the rice and dishes? He wasn’t murdered by your poisons, and it’s only natural he didn’t ingest the feigned death medicine.”

“Noted,” Yang Ye gazed at him deeply, “When did you go and stab him? What are the exact words in your script?”

Brother Bai swallowed his saliva and he did not speak for a good while. The words he confessed just now seemed to have exhausted him of all his strength.

It took him a long time to muster some energy again. Then, he started talking. “At two in the afternoon. Since all of you were sleeping, it was an opportune time for me to act. Thus, I went downstairs to grab a knife from the kitchen before I went into Boss Bai’s large room. I was planning to conceal the knife first to check his current state. If he was truly knocked out because of the feigned death medicine, and had no ability to resist, I would stab him with the knife.”

Yang Ye: “And when you entered, what was his state like? According to the script, like before.”

Brother Bai thought back about it, saying: “If we’re following the script, upon entering, Boss Bai was lying on the table, unmoving, and it might be because he consumed my feigned death medicine. I could not allow the opportunity to slip by; grabbing hold of the back of his neck, I lifted his body off the table and he did not react in the slightest. Thus, I took out the knife and plunged it into his chest. Afterwards, I nudged him gently and he fell to the ground, front facing upwards.”

When he reached this point, Brother Bai shuddered.

Even if Boss Bai was genuinely dead by then, he could not deny the fact that he had stabbed his own biological younger brother with a knife.

Since he was being probed by Yang Ye, he had no choice but to recall the scene again, which caused Brother Bai to cover his mouth and dry heave uncontrollably.

There was drinking water and snacks in the centralised discussion room.

Upon seeing his response, Yang Ye poured a cup of water for Brother Bai and waited for him to calm down a little before he addressed everyone present.

“Hereafter, I’ll be summarising the timeline in relation to everyone’s method of killing for the case as a whole. Of course, my summary is built on the premise that everyone was telling the truth.”

Yang Ye started slowly: “Brother Bai was the first to act. At 11 o’ clock, Brother Bai went to the kitchen and drugged all the ingredients, pans, bowls, ladles and pots included, with the feigned death medicine. At 11:30, Lawyer Zhang planted insulin inside the chicken soup. At roughly 11:50, Maid Liu added the cinnabar mole which causes instantaneous death into the chicken soup before she brought it to Boss Bai’s room. However, the chicken soup was toppled and Boss Bai did not drink it.

“At 12 o’clock, we started gathering in the dining room. At 12:20, Maid Liu knocked on Boss Bai’s door but no one answered, so she returned back to the kitchen to prepare a lunch box that had an individual portion of rice and dishes. At 12:30, she made Son Bai deliver the food to Boss Bai. While Son Bai was delivering the food, he added white moonlight, which only flares up after three hours, on his way to Boss Bai’s room. Son Bai returned to the dining room at 12:40. Subsequently after, everyone stayed in the dining room.

“Because I consumed the feigned death medicine, I passed out, and Lawyer Zhang being punished because he left the dining room or anything related to that, is not part of the script content, and has nothing to do with the case plot so it doesn’t require any further investigation.

“At 1:30 in the afternoon, lunch ended and everyone went back to their rooms to sleep. At 2:00, Brother Bai retrieved a knife from the kitchen, went to the second floor and stabbed Boss Bai with said knife. At 3:10, Maid Liu discovered Boss Bai’s death.

“In summary, the chicken soup sent to Boss Bai contained insulin, cinnabar mole and feigned death medicine, but he did not drink it. The box of food that was delivered to him contained cinnabar mole, white moonlight, and feigned death medicine, but he did not eat it. However, Brother Bai claims that when he stabbed him, Boss Bai did not react in the slightest, and that he was definitely dead which means he did not die by the knife either. How did he die exactly?”

When Yang Ye finished speaking, no one uttered a word for a long time.

Son Bai surveyed the room from left to right. When he saw no one speaking, he seemed a little anxious.

Hence, Son Bai angled himself towards Yang Ye and chose to speak first: “Didn’t you say you suspected Brother Bai this afternoon? Since Boss Bai didn’t touch any of the poisonous substances, he can only be stabbed to death.”

Brother Bai stood up immediately. Glowering at Son Bai, he said: “I’ve explained it! When I was about to kill him, he was already dead! Since he didn’t consume the feigned death medicine, he couldn’t have fainted because of the feigned medicine! When I stabbed him, how is it possible for him to not even make a sound? Even if he didn’t have the time to resist, he should have woken up in pain, he should have wailed! But he didn’t! And that’s because he was already dead!”

Maid Liu made a comment from the side calmly, “Whether he wailed or made a sound, all these statements are entirely dependent on your mouth alone. The rest of us know nothing. This can’t be considered as evidence.”

“You… You…” Brother Bai could not utter a word. He sat back on his chair and gave Yang Ye a look brimming with despair. “Detective, I… I swear, he really didn’t make a single sound. He was definitely dead. Moreover… Moreover, he bled so little…”

After watching Son Bai and Brother Bai quarrel for a long while, even Gu Liang was feeling a headache building because of the noise.

A moment later, Gu Liang knocked his finger on the table surface audibly, finally deigning to speak. “Please keep calm. You are not the detective; even if you picked the wrong murderer, the only consequence you will receive is a lack of rewards from the system and you will not be punished. Which means to say, with regards to who the real murderer is and who is lying, it’s enough if everyone has a judgement in their own minds, and there’s no need to argue for who is right or wrong. The real murderer will most certainly lie, and you will gain nothing out of arguing.”

Tch, what he’s actually trying to say is that, you just need to be content with yourselves, and you don’t have to care about the life and death of the detective, right?

Yang Ye glanced at Gu Liang, eyebrows raising.

After Gu Liang said those harsh and heartless words, the centralised discussion room descended into silence.

Finding this completely pointless, Gu Liang shifted his gaze towards Son Bai instead. “Can I ask you a question? When you delivered the food to Boss Bai, what was his situation? Was he also lying on the table?”

The translator when reading your comments: I know what actually happened but I can’t say it x’D