The Hidden Matter

"A locked room... that might not be the case."

After Fu Luo made his judgment and conclusion, Lin Yu refuted him instead.

"Don't forget, Sherlock, this isn't some Genuine Deduction, based on our value system... this is 'Setting-based' mystery."

The term "Setting-based" refers to mystery works with a story background featuring special settings, supernatural or surreal forces.

The Instance world of "Death game" is undoubtedly filled with various supernatural elements.

Even though the City That Never Sleeps looks like a near-future society, and "Truth Company" looks like some kind of tech company...

But in essence, it is still built upon the completely counterintuitive and supernatural power of "Emotion Conversion".

They even believe in Deity!

But Fu Luo remained calm in the face of Lin Yu's reminder.

"I am well aware of this, Zhu Ming, so I did not ignore this possibility, but rather reached this conclusion after re-evaluating based on existing 'logic' and known conditions."

"The reason I determined this to be a 'locked room murder' is precisely because, even with the most advanced technology, after a suspect was identified at a higher level, we still couldn't find a second suspect, or even provide evidence that a second suspect might exist."

"This is enough to show that... with their existing 'knowledge,' they believe that no one else can bypass their 'detection' through more advanced technology or some kind of loophole."

Fu Luo his straw hat back on and started speaking while adjusting the brim.

"All the locked rooms are not real locked rooms; they are hoaxes constructed using some kind of trick," he said Leng Jing. "Since their own Investigation Department has made its judgment, I believe it is not some more advanced technology at work, but some kind of 'trick'."

Seeing the confident Fu Luo, Lin Yu felt he could perhaps slack off. "Since you're so sure, then I'll leave it to you, Great Detective."

"I'm not good at solving mysteries... especially crime-solving like this, which is far beyond my capabilities."

As Lin Yu spoke, he walked over to Pankto, who was waiting nearby, and stood with his arms crossed against the wall.

Pankto frowned.

"This lab looks so familiar."

"Of course you look familiar. You were the one in charge of sealing off the scene and collecting evidence back then," Baron Coleman sighed. "It's precisely because you were the one who sealed off the scene that I believe no one deliberately destroyed evidence that would be favorable to me or that other people were present during the on-site investigation."

At this Fu Luo had already walked to the side of the deceased Reed Christopher.

This is an elderly man with completely white hair. He is lying face down on the lab table with his arms outstretched.

Blood flowed down his body and pooled at his feet.

"It looks like a sudden, unexpected stab wound—just one stab, a fatal wound, but not immediately fatal."

"The victim was standing at the time, and was probably very focused on doing something... This angle suggests he was observing the reaction of the reagent."

Fu Luo spoke, he stood by the table, mimicking Reed Christopher's stance and posture from back then.

"Then, at that very moment, he heard two footsteps behind him—there was only one person in the lab, so Reed's first reaction was surprise and he wanted to turn around."

"But the movement of turning around was too slow, and the body was only slightly tilted—which caused the blade to be slightly skewed, and the end of such a sharp cut was somewhat 'cut open,' creating a discordant effect."

"But the killer was indeed professional; this slight deviation did not affect the knife's precise entry into his right back—a single stab piercing the base of his lung and a major vein."

"So, Reed no longer had the strength to turn around. His body went limp, and he braced himself against the table, trying to keep from falling, struggling to lift his head—in front of the lab table was that sealed metal door..."

"Reed should have known he couldn't escape. As a high-ranking executive at Truth Company, he was intelligent and knowledgeable about the human body... So, when he looked at the door, he wasn't trying to run away, but rather trying to use the reflection in the door to see the killer's face clearly."

"But unfortunately, he may or may not have seen it. In any case... Reed Christopher was no longer capable of leaving any useful information—rapid blood loss and lung injury left him with no strength left to write anything in blood or anything like that. He just lay there on the lab table and died."

Fu Luo said, then let out a breath.

"The murder reconstruction is complete. There's nothing particularly special about the method... just a sneak attack from behind. The only commendable thing is that the strike was too clean, unlike a first-time murder, and the Dagger also seems to be used by a specialized combatant."

Fu Luo looked at Baron Coleman, who sighed.

"Yes, I received similar training... Although I never worked in the field operations department, before joining Truth Company as arranged by my family, I ran away to the lower district of City That Never Sleeps during my rebellious phase and joined gangs."

"There, I learned how to kill... I became quite skilled with knives and fists."

Lin Yu suddenly realized. "Oh, no wonder you were suspected. This method of murder is also in line with your style."

"That's not all," Fu Luo said, his eyes sharpening like never before as he turned to Baron Coleman. "Anything else, Baron?"

"You're still hiding something very important, aren't you?"

Baron Coleman remained quite calm despite what Fu Luo said.

"How do you know? I don't think I've hidden anything very important or related to this case."

He countered with a question to Fu Luo.

Lin Yu listened to Fu Luo's words and immediately believed the Detective.

Upon hearing Baron Coleman's question, Lin Yu immediately chimed in to Fu Luo.

"You've already laid out your Memory so openly, why aren't you even more honest?"

"We're here to help you investigate the Truth; concealing information will only make our investigation more difficult."

As Lin Yu spoke, Baron Coleman remained silent.

"I really didn't hide anything."

He said it again.

"I'm not an idiot, Your Excellency," Fu Luo, adjusting the brim of his straw hat. "Even though all the evidence pointed to you as the sole suspect at the time, you just mentioned... that before the company convicted you, almost all of 'Reed Christopher's' relatives and friends considered you the murderer. You must be hiding a crucial point."

"Compared to objective evidence, what enables 'insiders' to make a near-certain judgment must be something more subjective, something that may not even be recorded in the archives..."

Hearing Fu Luo say that, Lin Yu also realized what was going on.

"It's 'motive'!"

"They must think you're the murderer because you have some kind of motive!"