Collaborative Fraud

With Lotus spreading the word, the remaining six suspects also gathered in the room where Lin Yu and Fu Luo were.

The room, which was originally quite spacious, suddenly felt a bit crowded.

Li Hua and Good Night stood at the door like two gatekeepers, with He Hua standing guard not far beside them.

The remaining people were evenly distributed in front of the sofas, cabinets, and beds in the room.

Huang crossed her arms and said, "Calling us all over here doesn't seem like a second round of questioning... Have you found the murderer yet?"

Fu Luo nodded. "Of course, everyone, I called you here for this very reason."

Seagull rubbed his hands together. "Gathering all the suspects together and then announcing the real culprit... How ceremonial! Just like Detective Conan!"

Lin Yu shook his head. "I called you all here not for the sake of ceremony, but because the number of murderers... or rather 'Accomplice' is not just one."

"Just like the case in one of my favorite mystery novels, Murder on the Orient Express," Fu Luo picked up where Lin Yu left off, cleared his throat, and announced the answer, "You are all... the murderers!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the expressions on the faces of the six people changed simultaneously.

Huang frowned slightly, Hundred Refined Steel cursed, Paper Kite Yuan looked up at the ceiling, King Ming looked somewhat surprised, Kres spat.

Seagull reacted the most violently.

"What? This accusation is outrageous!"

"You're suspecting all six of us at the same time?! Even if you're members of 'Order,' you can't make such baseless accusations!"

The Seagull spoke with a hint of righteous indignation.

Lin Yu shook his head. "It's not you, it's the other five."

The Seagull was stunned.

"Huh... Why are you being so hasty? You're not trying to scam me, are you?"

Kres also spoke up, "'Order,' we come from different organizations, some even with different stances, why would we conspire to do this?"

Lin Yu seemed to have anticipated this question and answered calmly.

"During the interrogation, apart from that Seagull over there, most of you shared a common trait."

"You don't seem to be in a hurry to prove your innocence, nor have you raised any suspicious points about others."

"It's as if you've implicitly reached some kind of consensus."

Huang coldly replied, "That's merely your subjective conjecture. Just because we haven't accused anyone else, does that mean we're accomplices?"

King Ming chimed in, "That's right, that's not very precise... You agree, Gambler?"

He even bypassed Fu Luo and Lin Yu, looking directly at Li Hua.

Li Hua adjusted his glasses. "This case is being handled entirely by 'May May' and 'Sherlock'."

Fu Luo looked at King Ming.

"There's no accusation, of course we have evidence... because although you all seem to have no connection, your only point of intersection is the victim in this case— Carrot."

"I admit I have a grudge against him, but I've already explained," Huang said calmly. "I had no intention of killing him... and apart from me and Hundred Refined Steel, no one else here has any connection with him."

"But you've all been members of the 'Player Mutual Aid Society' before," Lin Yu said calmly. "The reason you and Hundred Refined Steel had a past that could be described as 'hatred' with Carrot is because your loved ones died in the same Instance as him."

"But... why were your loved ones in that Instance with him? Of course, it's because they were members of the 'Player Mutual Aid Society,' just like you."

"The same goes for Kres, Paper Kite, and King Ming over there."

"You may not have had direct contact with 'Carrot,' but you all witnessed the best period of the 'Player Mutual Aid Society.'"

Lin Yu waved his phone. "Or rather, a significant portion of the Player have reached 'Tier 3' have witnessed that 'Player Mutual Aid Society' due to their seniority."

"Should I check your past comments on the app?"

"Let's skip it," Kres interrupted Lin Yu, "But as you said, probably half of the veteran Player have joined the 'Player Mutual Aid Society,' so why are it the five of us?"

"At least I, King Ming, and Paper Kite had absolutely no motive to kill Carrot."

Fu Luo shook his finger. "Let me correct you. According to the definition in criminal psychology, the motives for murder are divided into self-interest motives, sexual motives, revenge motives, escape and fear motives, political motives, and psychopathic murders."

"You just didn't have a motive for revenge, but if the three of you were involved, it could be explained by motives of self-interest, politics, or psychopathic killing."

Lin Yu added, "And that's only in the case of 'murder'... If you're just acting as 'accomplices' and 'Accomplice,' then your motives will be clearer... As long as you're reliable, that's enough."

"The mastermind behind this has found you and, by exploiting your feelings for the 'Player Mutual Aid Society,' along with various other factors, has made you suitable Accomplice."

"For example, regarding the actual benefits promised to you, King Ming might simply be there to help Huang... As for Paper Kite, perhaps only Xingyi simple persuasion is needed."

Paper Kite awkwardly raised her hand. "Don't make it sound like I'm a born psychopathic killer. I admit I'm a little abnormal, but I don't consider myself to be at all antisocial."

"I've been a dedicated member of 'Order' for over a year, how could I possibly kill someone just because someone said a few words to me!"

Lin Yu nodded. "Indeed, but... the charge I'm going to bring against you isn't murder, as I said, you're Accomplice."

Paper Kite frowned. "Even if it's assisting in murder, I wouldn't just come to help so easily."

"So what you assisted in wasn't murder," Lin Yu sighed. "All five of you are Accomplice, but only Accomplice. None of you are the real culprit or the mastermind."

Huang looked at Lin Yu: "That's an interesting point, but tell me, who's the real culprit?"

"Who can convince us to do everything?"

Lin Yu sighed:

"So, your only connection is the 'Player Mutual Aid Society,' that old 'Player Mutual Aid Society.'"

"The mastermind behind all this, the one who persuaded you, is, of course, the only surviving member of the 'Player Mutual Aid Society' era..."

"And it is precisely 'Carrot' himself."

Lin Yu spoke calmly, Seagull laughed, "What a joke! Another suicide? How could a veteran Player like Carrot commit suicide!"

Good Night rubbed his hair and smiled helplessly, "Xi Ba, that was just confirmed to be a fake suicide... how come there's a real suicide now? Are you kidding me?"

However, judging from the unanimous silence of the remaining five people, Good Night's expression gradually became serious.

"Are you serious? Really committing suicide? That's impossible!"

"Could it be the Psychology Society causing trouble again?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "No, the crimes I've accused them of committing as 'Accomplice' from beginning to end are not 'aiding and abetting murder'."

"It's 'collaborative fraud'."

"This group of people worked together, and under Carrot's instructions, they faked Carrot's death date and cause of death, creating a hoax that they tried to deceive everyone."

"Making his original natural or accidental death... appear as a murder that occurred on the eve of the auction."