Chapter 39.1
(Let us fabricate a story.)
After the two hours for the free exploration had pa.s.sed, the game entered the centralised discussion segment.
The centralised discussion room was situated in the teaching building of the Secondary School, and the furbis.h.i.+ng of the main hall was similar to that of the first two scenarios.
Apart from the main hall and one-on-one interrogation room, however, there were now six doors on the north side of the main hall, with each of the six players having their own individual resting lounge.
Perhaps due to the five hour-long centralised discussion this time around, every player had their own resting lounge.
There were snacks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages inside the resting rooms to replenish everyone’s energy and hydration levels.
By the time Gu Liang arrived, Li Xiao Yu and Liu Ran were already there.
After giving them a faint nod that could be considered a greeting, Gu Liang randomly chose a seat that was opposite of them before he flipped open a blank notebook and picked up a pen to record something.
The person who came in after Gu Liang was Princ.i.p.al Zha.
He was covering his forehead with a towel that he had gotten from somewhere as he tottered and stumbled into the room.
Upon seeing his condition, Li Xiao Yu scooted in the direction of Liu Ran hastily.
Princ.i.p.al Zha shot her a vicious look. “Afraid? Even if you’re afraid, I’m still going to sit by your side. All of you want to tie me up? Don’t want to let me cast a vote? Like h.e.l.l! The voting options are on the card, and the men in black can get me out of your restraints!”
Thus, Princ.i.p.al Zha happened to position himself opposite of Gu Liang when he sat down.
Unconsciously, Gu Liang raised his head and collided with his gloomy and poisonous gaze.
Gu Liang’s eyes, however, held its own chill, and he continued to hold his gaze without the slightest fear. At this moment, he heard footsteps travelling along the corridor outside the room, and following closely was Yang Ye and Xun Feng’s conversing voices.
When he heard Yang Ye’s voice while he was looking at Princ.i.p.al Zha, Gu Liang remembered the man on the train abruptly.
For all the years that Gu Liang had lived, he had never been looked that way before apart from the incident on the train.
And that man on the train was also the feminine sort.
According to Yang Ye and Li Xiao Yu, that person was a bottom.
Gu Liang remembered that when they were at the police station, that person even said: “It’s not what you think police comrade, I never thought of doing anything to him. I can’t do that either. I simply felt that he looked handsome and I wanted to try and seduce him in a moment of impulse. I’m a 0! I’m serious!”
Therefore, Gu Liang believed that even if h.o.m.os.e.xuals were attracted to him, it was impossible for him to be treated as the feminised other.
But the words that Princ.i.p.al Zha said just now made him realise that his old conjectures were misconstrued.
Honestly speaking, he did not understand the h.o.m.os.e.xual circles at all.
Right, what did Yang Ye say in the cellar again?
“It couldn’t be because you like me…”
Was it possible that he liked Yang Ye?
If he were to use another perspective, if someone were to like Yang Ye, what would they find attractive about him?
His career? Well, he was a rich third-generation company president, his career was well-founded while he was young. Dependable.
Figure? He served the military, possessed a fine physique and hands, was capable of catching evildoers when he had nothing to do. He gave people a constant sense of security.
Interpersonal relations.h.i.+ps? Enthusiastic and magnanimous, he was quite decent.
Appearance? His eyes were long, narrow and with its own magnetism, his nose was straight. He looked a little fierce when he was not smiling, but looked quite appealing when he smiledk2026;
Such a person was definitely attractive to females.
Unfortunately, he was gay.
Was he attractive to boys then?
The men that would like him… would be bottoms?
In the span of time where he was contemplating, Yang Ye had walked into the centralised discussion room, pulled out the chair beside Gu Liang directly, and stretched his long legs to plop himself down soundly.
“What were you thinking about just now?” Yang Ye asked him.
Gu Liang: “Thinking about a problem.”
Yang Ye: “Oh? And what have you concluded?”
Gu Liang replied in a placid manner: “Through a process of logical reasoning and judgement, a negative conclusion has been reached.”
Yang Ye’s heart skipped a beat, his sixth sense conveying that something was awry. Thus, he opened his mouth and asked: “What was the problem? Why was a negative conclusion reached?”
Gu Liang: “Nothing really, it doesn’t concern the case.”
Meanwhile, Xun Feng was a step behind Yang Ye in entering. Just as he sat down, the system broadcast rang out.
“The time allotted for the free exploration of《 Undying Town 》has ended, the centralised discussion segment will commence immediately after, the time limit is 5 hours.
“Presently, a plot reminder will be announced. The plot setting of this story is related to witchcraft. This witchcraft is called “Undying Spell”, which will cause everyone to enter a vicious cycle of mutual slaughtering. In the midst of it all, the person who died first is the trigger of the curse.
“Because [Shroud w.a.n.g] went back home to visit his relatives, he was not in his shroud shop when the witchcraft took effect, and he was not affected by the witchcraft as a natural consequence. Hence, [Shroud w.a.n.g] is the detective of this case. Hope that everyone can find the real murderer smoothly!”
When the broadcast ended, Gu Liang observed everyone in the room slowly as he sat in his seat.
Princ.i.p.al Zha was sitting opposite of Gu Liang, and upon meeting Gu Liang’s gaze, he pulled the corners of his lips into a false smile, and even made an offensive hand gesture that held heavy insinuations. While he seemed to be teasing Gu Liang, his gaze was too poisonous and vicious as if he was hatching some scheme.
On the left of Princ.i.p.al Zha was Li Xiao Yu and Liu Ran.
Although some dejectedness could still be perceived from Liu Ran, his general att.i.tude was significantly better than the encounter Gu Liang had with him in the first scenario.
Li Xiao Yu, on the hand, was writing and drawing in her book with her pen in hand, which made her look like a good student who was writing her dissertation with in seriousness.
Yang Ye was seated on Gu Liang’s right. His gla.s.ses framed his slightly stern gaze as he observed everyone with a sweeping glance. Immediately after, he lowered his head to scrawl something into his notebook briefly to do the final review of his notes.
Lastly, there was Xun Feng.
When Gu Liang leaned backwards and turned his head towards Xun Feng, the psychologist was looking at Gu Liang as well.
There was some probing intent in Xun Feng’s gaze and his eyebrows were furrowed together.
Perhaps it was because from the viewpoint of the psychologist, he could clearly sense that there was something off about Gu Liang’s emotions.
Gu Liang twisted his head back to its natural position to avoid Xun Feng’s gaze.
At this moment, Yang Ye stood up and propped up his gla.s.ses before he addressed everyone present: “It’s better if I guide the rhythm. Everyone should have heard the system declare the script settings. Under the influence of the witchcraft, all of you mutually slaughtered each other, which caused everyone’s timeline to become comparatively messy. In consideration of the fact that only my timeline remained constant and normal, I will be summarising the story that has unfolded in the past few days right now.
“From what we know now, every person has died twice, and everyone has two corpses correspondingly. After every person was killed, they proceeded to forget the fact that they had killed someone after they revived, thus they went on with their own established plan and killed the person they wanted to murder again. Hence, the second cycle of killing is merely a repeat of the first cycle in actuality. Therefore, I only need to summarise the entire story timeline once.”
Having said that, Yang Ye picked up his notebook from the table and flipped a page. He said: “In chronological sequence of that day, the first killer was the coffin shop’s Boss Meng, at 6 in the morning, he killed Princ.i.p.al Zha at the school field, and buried his corpse in the sand pit.
“The second was School Senior Feng, Neighbour Liu was poisoned by her at 7 in the evening, died at 8, and his corpse was hidden in the coffin shop.
“The third instance was where Neighbour Liu strangled Boss Meng to death at 9 o’ clock at night, and proceeded to bury him in the backyard of w.a.n.g’s shroud shop.
“Fourthly, at 9:30 at night, BBQ Li poisoned Beggar Ding, and with some time calculations, the poison flared up at 10:30 for Beggar Ding, which led to his death.
“The fifth killer… the fifth killer for the time being, is Princ.i.p.al Zha. He used the gas to kill BBQ Li. BBQ Li, what was the approximate time when you went to find Princ.i.p.al Zha?”
Liu Ran answered: “After giving the poisoned barbeque to Beggar Ding at 9:30, I began to close the stall. And when I reached Princ.i.p.al Zha’s house, it wasn’t 10 yet. Where the gas poisoning is concerned however, 20 minutes should be sufficient in killing someone? I probably died slightly before 10:30. If we want to confirm the time of killing based on when the gas was released, then Princ.i.p.al Zha should have acted at 10 o’ clock.”
“Sure.” Yang Ye said, “The reason why I used the phrase ‘the fifth killer for the time being’ is mainly because we’re still not certain who killed School Senior Feng. Despite that, I had a detailed conversation with School Senior Feng prior to this, and she stated that she went to the small alleyway around 10 o’ clock at night. Therefore, we can eliminate Princ.i.p.al Zha as her killer, because Princ.i.p.al Zha was releasing the gas then.
“Lastly, from the point of view where the NPC has made a direct disappearance, we can deduce that the deceased in this case must be Beggar Ding.”
Upon reaching this point, Yang Ye placed his notebook back on the table. Laying his palms flat on the table, he regarded everyone and said: “Okay, this is the full summary of the entire story. Does anyone have any issues with what has been presented?”
Xun Feng was the first to toss out a question. “After the first cycle of killing occurred, everyone has to revive before the second round of slaughtering can begin. Therefore, every homicide will lead to and thus form a closed circle. All of us have essentially agreed on this point. But the problem we currently have is, how was the second round in the cycle broken?”
Li Xiao Yu could not resist cutting in: “The cycle of death is related to witchcraft. Are you trying to imply that the murderer is aware of this spell, and happened to be the person who broke the spell as well?”
Xun Feng nodded. “There’s that possibility. Although everyone killed someone in the first cycle, neither of us were the real murderer because the deceased resurrected too. Whereas in the second cycle, the deceased didn’t resurrect because the spell was broken. Therefore, the real murderer might be the person who broke the curse. But if the curse was broken, why was Beggar Ding the sole deceased?
“Or perhaps, it’d be more accurate to say that there is something odd about his death in the second cycle. However, the state of his two corpses are the same, wherein they were poisoned to death, which makes it rather strange.”
Everyone shared similar sentiments to the doubts that Xun Feng voiced.
Hence, the occupants of the room sank into deep contemplation, and none of them spoke for a period of time.
And frankly speaking, the questions that the players raised were already brought to Yang Ye’s attention by Gu Liang back at the cellar, save some minor differences.
Back then, he had challenged Yang Ye with a look, saying that if Yang Ye could not answer these questions, he would have no way of justifying the fact that he was the murderer.
Yang Ye picked up his pen, twirled it between his fingers once before he glanced at Gu Liang from his peripheries. Then, he put his pen down, not uttering a single word.
It was as if he had become an authentic dog-headed detective who could not answer any of those questions.
After some time pa.s.sed, someone abruptly spoke, and it was Princ.i.p.al Zha.
“No clues related to witchcraft? There were clues in my house!”
Laughing coldly, Princ.i.p.al Zha stared at Gu Liang and said: “My mother left me a pocket watch, and there was a written line that she concealed inside— the ancestor of that coffin shop seems to be capable of witchcraft, if you interact with them in the future, you should be more careful.”
Once Princ.i.p.al Zha said those words, the hands that Xun Feng placed on his knees clenched into fists, and Yang Ye’s complexion visibly darkened.
Liu Ran’s eyebrows furrowed together subconsciously, and his chair sc.r.a.ped backwards a little as he reclined.
School Senior Feng shot a surprised and worried look at Gu Liang.
“That’s why…” Princ.i.p.al Zha took off the pocket watch around his neck, unclasped the cover to retrieve a piece of paper before he placed it on the table. Then, he patted the table, inviting everyone to scrutinise it.
Since Li Xiao Yu was sitting closest to him, she unfolded the paper immediately. After a slight pause, she said, “He… He’s speaking the truth. He was tied up the entire time just now, this evinced object can’t be falsified.”
Standing up, Princ.i.p.al braced his entire figure on the table and leaned over to peer at Gu Liang who was sitting opposite of him. “Although I don’t have any clues to explicate what the specifics of the witchcraft are, nor can I explain why and how Beggar Ding and School Senior Feng died, but the only person who has a.s.sociations with the witchcraft is only you. The murderer is you. What about it, pretty little white face, if you sleep with me, I can reconsider if I want to give you my vote.”
Without waiting for him to finish his words, Yang Ye began to move towards him. Gu Liang, however, was the first to stand up this time around.
The long table was not wide; lurching his body forward, Gu Liang aimed his sights at Princ.i.p.al Zha’s face and punched him with a closed fist.
“f.u.c.ker, I gave you face and you don’t want face!”
Princ.i.p.al Zha gripped onto the table and he leapt on the conference table directly. With a few steps, he reached the front of Gu Liang and he lifted his leg, intending to kick his face in.
Unfazed, Gu Liang took hold of his ankle and dragged it towards him forcefully, causing Princ.i.p.al Zha to lose his balance. His entire body toppled onto the table instantaneously. issuing a loud bang as the back of his head impacted the table.
Gu Liang inclined his waist and used his elbow to pin his throat down, thus exerting a ruthless pressure which nailed him to the table surface. Princ.i.p.al Zha issued a pathetic cry in response, but Gu Liang’s other hand was equally vicious as he struck at his cheekbone.
In an instant, Princ.i.p.al Zha felt that his own cheekbone and nose bridge had been beaten askew.
After a.s.saulting Princ.i.p.al Zha, Gu Liang did not utter a word as he continued to exert pressure from his elbow point. Additionally, some unveiled threat seeped into his frigid gaze, like he was conveying that if Princ.i.p.al Zha were to spout more filthy words, he would directly lay waste to his throat.
The movements that Gu Liang executed were akin to clouds and moving waters. After witnessing it, Yang Ye acknowledged that he was not bragging in the past, he really did practice a little.
Truth to be told, Yang Ye was quite gratified by the fact. He then went to the interrogation room to find some rope, tied Princ.i.p.al Zha to the chair, and used a paper wad to stuff his mouth without the slightest hesitation in his actions.
The scene before him looked rather familiar, and it reminded Gu Liang of Son Bai.
In the first scenario, when Son Bai wanted to hurt Gu Liang, it was Yang Ye who helped Gu Liang and trussed Son Bai up.
And in the process, Yang Ye’s arm was injured by the dagger, causing him to bleed a fair amount.
Coincidentally, Yang Ye happened to have his sleeves rolled up, which allowed Gu Liang to see the scar on his arm when he glanced at him.
Noticing Gu Liang’s gaze, Yang Ye stared back at him.
In the instant where their four eyes collided, Yang Ye gave Gu Liang a grin.
Gu Liang nodded his head slightly in response before he adjusted his s.h.i.+rt collar and released a soft exhale. With an expressionless visage, he sat down as if nothing had transpired.
After ascertaining that Gu Liang was fine, Yang Ye gave everyone his signature smile which resembled the spring wind and rain. “Okay, let’s continue solving the case. Does anyone have any thoughts regarding what Princ.i.p.al Zha just said? Either way, I feel that the matter can’t be this simple.
“The murderer is decided by who knows the spell? The plot took such a long time to unfold, and yet it’s that simple? Is that even possible?”
Li Xiao Yu voiced her agreement as well. “I’m of the opinion that it can’t be that simple too. The peculiarity of this script concerns time resets, thus the case solving should be hinged on the time of things. The spell probably has its a.s.sociations to time as well. I think we should carefully outline everyone’s timeline first.”
Liu Ran thought about it and said: “Apart from the problem of time, there’s still another pertinent problem, because we haven’t found any concrete clues regarding witchcraft. What are the conditions required to break the spell, and thereby allow Beggar Ding to die a true death? Right, Gu Liang—”
Liu Ran directed his gaze towards Gu Liang: “Since your family knows witchcraft, do you know the specific details of the spell?”
Yang Ye’s heart tightened and he opened his mouth in an attempt to say something, but Gu Liang s.n.a.t.c.hed the initiative first and answered swiftly: “I do.”
Once Gu Liang’s shortly worded answer landed, Yang Ye’s eyebrows scrunched together immediately.
Xun Feng, who was originally giving Princ.i.p.al Zha an affronted expression at the side silently, also snapped his head towards Gu Liang upon hearing that, gaze deep with meaning.
With a calm countenance, Gu Liang said: “I’ve already informed the detective of this matter. However, if I were to say it out now, it might allow the murderer to find something useful, so I’ll leave the exact explanation for later. Everyone should be arranging their timelines first. Detective, what do you think of this?”
Despite the ball that Gu Liang threw over without any prior warning, Yang Ye had no choice but to receive it.
Yang Ye paused for a moment before he said: “Yes, yes, Gu Liang told me about it early on. I agree with his suggestion; now is not the time to declare it. Therefore… why don’t we start with the one-on-one interrogations directly?”
Yang Ye gave Gu Liang a sidelong glance before he moved his gaze towards Xun Feng, who was seated on his other side. He gestured in the direction of the interrogation room with his head. “Neighbour Liu, let’s go, you’re coming with me first.”
Gu Liang raised his left brow, shooting Yang Ye a look.
However, Yang Ye simply pretended that he hadn’t seen his gaze, and walked towards the interrogation room without turning his head back once.
Xun Feng rose to his feet. Instead of heading to the interrogation room directly, he chose to hold onto the back of Gu Liang’s chair.
That made Gu Liang turn his head back and meet Xun Feng’s questioning eyes.
Gu Liang did not say anything, merely shaking his head.
Xun Feng issued an inaudible sigh before he finally entered the interrogation room with Yang Ye.