Highlighting the Detective's Personality

As night fell, everyone in the stockade gathered. Zhou Hao, acting as the host, sat in the center of everyone. Beside him was Ye Zi, and standing in front of them, glaring at each other, were Xu Shan and Ma Hongyun.

Zhou Hao glanced at the two of them and asked, "Is the evidence back?"

Ma Hongyun said with a dark expression, "The person is back, but there's no evidence."

"Hmph, I knew you were framing me," Xu Shan snorted coldly.

He seemed quite confident!

Zhou Hao first looked at Xu Shan, then shifted his gaze to Ma Hongyun, asking, "Did something happen?"

Ma Hongyun gritted his teeth and nodded. "My people are back, but Hei Zi's mother wasn't kidnapped. No one even went to her place during that time."

Xu Shan smiled subtly, but the smile quickly disappeared. He then curled his lip and said, "I think some people are trying to frame me, aren't they?"

"Don't get too cocky. Big Brother was definitely killed by you," Ma Hongyun stated with certainty.

Xu Shan shrugged and spread his hands. "Then show me the evidence. Otherwise, you're framing me, the guilty party crying 'stop thief'."

"You..." Ma Hongyun pointed at Xu Shan's nose, about to curse him out.

Just then, Zhou Hao spoke up. "Alright, if there's no evidence, then there's no evidence! As long as the killer is dealt with, that's fine."

Xu Shan's mind went blank. He looked at Zhou Hao in alarm and asked warily, "What do you want to do?"

Zhou Hao shook his head and sighed. "Originally, this is your business, and as an outsider, I wouldn't want to interfere, nor should I. But Ye Zi and I hit it off. Since he asked me to help him find the killer, I'll help him out. It's also a way to give Ye Zi an explanation."

As he spoke, he placed his hand on Ye Zi's head and ruffled his hair, messing it up.

"What do you want to do?" Xu Shan asked again.

He had a vague sense of foreboding.

Zhou Hao continued to speak to himself, "Killing usually requires a motive. So, for you all, what was the motive for killing Shi Po?"

He cast his gaze towards Ma Hongyun and said, "You go first. What motive did Xu Shan have to kill Shi Po? Tell me any motive, and I'll make my own judgment."

He pointed at Xu Shan as he spoke.

Ma Hongyun was stunned for a moment. Snapping back to reality, he immediately pointed at Xu Shan and said, "He and Big Brother went to the Tomb of Opportunities before. He must have gotten something good inside. It must be that he wanted what Big Brother obtained in the Tomb of Opportunities. Furthermore, the day before Big Brother died, he drank with Big Brother. It's entirely possible he poisoned him."

Zhou Hao nodded slightly and then asked out of the blue, "What kind of place is the Tomb of Opportunities?"

"Huh?" Ma Hongyun was slightly taken aback. On the Sky Dome Continent, there were people who didn't know about the Tomb of Opportunities? Especially a powerful individual, that was a bit strange.

But he didn't have time to think about it now. He explained, "The Tomb of Opportunities can be considered a type of secret realm! However, the Tomb of Opportunities is no ordinary secret realm. The reason it's called the Tomb of Opportunities is twofold. Firstly, the time and place it opens are random. Encountering it depends entirely on luck, which is the 'opportunity'. Secondly, there are countless treasures within the Tomb of Opportunities. Treasures from the lowest to the highest grade have appeared there. It's a place that even powerful individuals dream of, reflecting the word 'opportunity'. After years of statistics, the continent has divided the Tomb of Opportunities into nine grades, corresponding to nine realms. The reason for this division is that there are restrictions on entering the Tomb of Opportunities. For example, a Level 1 Tomb of Opportunities can only be entered by those in the Mortal Embryo Realm, and a Level 2 Tomb of Opportunities can only be entered by those in the Mystic Embryo Realm, and so on. Big Brother and Xu Shan entered a Level 3 Tomb of Opportunities, which perfectly matched their Mystic Body Realm cultivation."

Ma Hongyun's last sentence revealed a hint of envy. However, this was understandable. After all, who wouldn't want to go to a place where they could obtain opportunities like this?

After hearing the explanation, Zhou Hao became quite interested in the so-called Tomb of Opportunities. He asked curiously, "Can you get relatively high-grade treasures in a Level 1 Tomb of Opportunities?"

Ma Hongyun didn't understand why he was asking, but he still answered, "Yes, you can. It's rumored that someone in the Mortal Embryo Realm obtained a cultivation technique in a Level 1 Tomb of Opportunities and then soared to great heights. Conversely, even a Level 9 Tomb of Opportunities will yield some junk, but the probability is much, much, much lower compared to a Level 1 Tomb of Opportunities..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hao became even more interested in the Tomb of Opportunities.

Ma Hongyun could see Zhou Hao's interest and added, "Unfortunately, you can only take one treasure from the Tomb of Opportunities per entry. As for whether it's good or bad, that truly depends on luck."

Zhou Hao nodded slightly, deciding to learn more about it later. This was not the right occasion to ask such questions.

He nodded slightly and returned to the main topic. "The motive is plausible."

As soon as he heard these four words, Xu Shan immediately became agitated and interjected, "Although Big Brother and I are not blood brothers, we are closer than brothers. How could I covet Big Brother's treasures? This is utter nonsense."

Zhou Hao glanced up at him and raised his hand to signal him to calm down. "Calm down. This is just a motive, it doesn't mean it was definitely you. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Although he was ninety percent sure that Xu Shan was the culprit, since he was going to provide an explanation, he had to have solid proof.

Ma Hongyun chimed in, "Exactly, why are you in such a hurry? Could it be that you're guilty and trying to cover it up?"

"Heh~ We don't know who the thief is yet," Xu Shan said sarcastically.

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Zhou Hao immediately tapped the table beside him.

Ma Hongyun and Xu Shan instantly fell silent.

After the scene quieted down, Zhou Hao slowly said, "Xu Shan, tell me what motive Ma Hongyun had!"

Xu Shan had already prepared his response and immediately said crisply, "Ma Hongyun openly declared that he wanted to take the position of stockade chief. Everyone knows this, and he often disagreed with Big Brother. If he didn't kill him, then who else could it be?"

"Are you completely giving up on framing the Tiger Fiend Stockade? You're just slinging mud at me," Ma Hongyun said through gritted teeth.

Xu Shan paused, momentarily speechless, then said, "I... I also suspect the Tiger Fiend Stockade, but now I suspect you more."

He just realized that he had been so certain about framing the Tiger Fiend Stockade earlier, and now he was suddenly turning his attention to Ma Hongyun. The shift was indeed a bit too quick.

But it wasn't a big problem; he just needed to stick close to Ma Hongyun.

"You don't need to argue anymore. I already know the motives; your reasons for killing are all valid. Now, tell me what you were doing during the time Shi Po died! Do you have alibis?"

After Zhou Hao finished speaking, he quietly asked Ye Zi, "Do you have any snacks like sunflower seeds? Go get some."

Ye Zi nodded and then went to get the sunflower seeds.

Zhou Hao never expected to be a detective one day. Of course, he wanted to experience it. In TV shows, movies, and anime, those detectives were really cool and always had a certain flair.

He felt that sitting here and just listening dryly didn't suit his detective persona. It would be more fitting to solve the case while eating sunflower seeds, showcasing his individuality.

Hmph, let the great detective Zhou Hao crack this case!

He thought about it and felt a bit chuunibyou.