You Killed Her?

When a cat gets angry, it usually pops out its claws to scratch people.

Bad Luck wanted to do the same. When it came to its senses, it realized it had been tricked. Its fur stood on end, and it nimbly jumped back onto Yu Xing's lap. Its paw pads tapped twice on his jeans before it pushed off.

Yu Xing watched as the black cat almost leaped onto a sensitive area he couldn't casually touch. He ignored the intense black aura emanating from it and reached out, grabbing Bad Luck by the scruff of its neck. He tossed it unceremoniously towards the witch, "You're not even afraid of me. But with such a fierce ability, why did you take on such a useless form?"

"I don't know," the witch replied, catching Bad Luck. She inwardly agreed with Yu Xing's description of the black cat's abilities.

Bad Luck, indeed, had formidable power.

She stroked Bad Luck's fur, her eyes shifting slightly, "Why a cat? Perhaps its owner would know."

"You're not its owner?" Yu Xing glanced casually at the witch, seemingly unfazed by her beauty. "Never mind, I don't care. Three questions, ask away."

"Alright, I'll start asking," the witch said, placing her hands on the constantly rotating star chart and fixing her gaze on Yu Xing. "First question."

"Do you remember how old you are?"

Yu Xing's eyes curved upward, a half-smile playing on his lips. "Of course, I remember."

The witch continued, "Second question. As you recall it now, can you still feel the despair of being deceived 'back then'?"

"I remember," Yu Xing said, crossing his legs.

"Third question. How many years have passed since you decided to seek revenge until now?"

Yu Xing tilted his head, thinking. "It should be... seventy years."

"...So you're an old monster," the witch stated matter-of-factly.

"Yep, much older than you~" Yu Xing grinned brightly. "Come on, call me Ancestor~"

Witch: "Ancestor."

Yu Xing: This kid is so honest.

The exchange with the witch wasn't long. Yu Xing got up and walked out of the inner room, the witch following him.

"You have completed this project," the witch nodded to the two people waiting on the sofa. "The clue is that the murderer was not present when the body was discovered in reality."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jue was the happiest.

He had already stated that he was by the sports equipment room at the time, so he was definitely considered present.

This alone eliminated his suspicion of being the murderer.

Zhao Yijiu's expression remained unchanged; this clue was useless to him.

Yu Xing felt bored.

Even as a suspect, his perspective wasn't as good as a detective's, and the murderer had a wider range of options. But with these three clues, he was almost done with his victory condition.

After releasing the clues, the witch added, "You all respect time, so I'm willing to give you some small gifts in my personal capacity."

Under their gaze, she walked barefoot gracefully to the display table and ran her finger along its edge. "You can each choose one item from here."

Perhaps Zhao Yijiu's indifference was too obvious, so the witch added, "They are not useless."

Hearing this, Yu Xing leaned over and picked up a brush from the display table. It had a black handle, was engraved with a green flying bird, and had a white wolf's hair brush head.

"I like this one," he said. As soon as he finished speaking, the witch took the brush from his hand, carefully placed it in a black gift box that appeared from nowhere, and handed it to him with a solemn expression—

"Gifts should have packaging."

"Oh, how filial," Yu Xing muttered.

Zhao Yijiu looked at him, confirming he hadn't misheard. Did he just say "filial"?

He shook his head and casually picked a black pearl that looked ordinary. Wang Jue chose a small model of a grandfather clock. Both were nicely wrapped by the witch.

They left the Time Cabin with their small gifts. After only a few steps, they looked back to see the entire cabin had vanished from its spot.

It was as if it had never existed.

"So magical, this project was actually this easy," Wang Jue said, patting his chest belatedly, then beaming with joy. "We were lucky!"

"Were we?" Yu Xing looked around and yawned. "I lied."

Zhao Yijiu: "?"

"Among the three questions, I lied about one of them," Yu Xing said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It took Wang Jue a moment to realize that Yu Xing meant he would be plagued by Bad Luck, not that breakfast was really delicious.

"Then..."

"So let's split up. If you stay with me, you might get implicated. Hmm... neither of you are the people I'm looking for. I've wasted enough time, I need to go find those three." Yu Xing put his hands in his pockets and smiled at Zhao Yijiu and Wang Jue, his tone being one of notification, not negotiation.

"See you later, bye-bye~"

"Then you are!?" Wang Jue's eyes widened as he watched Yu Xing's unhesitating back. The words got stuck in his throat.

He felt a pang of disappointment. Noticing Zhao Yijiu was still beside him, he decisively shifted his target, directing his gaze, craving confirmation, towards Zhao Yijiu. "Then he's the detective!"

Zhao Yijiu nodded.

Wang Jue, having received confirmation, began to speak to himself. "Among the murderer, the deceased, and the detective, only the latter doesn't need to worry about others guessing their identity. If he's the detective, then neither of us can be the murderer. But I'm curious, who is the deceased?"

His gaze shifted to Zhao Yijiu. "The detective was with you from the start. Actually, I don't think you're the deceased card. Otherwise, the murderer who knows the detective's identity would definitely notice you, and Yu Xing wouldn't be that foolish."

Zhao Yijiu nodded again.

"To protect the deceased, detectives won't directly reveal their names. Even if everyone knows who the deceased is, if they are protected, and their identity is known by more than three people, the game will fail. Hmm... our best bet is to find out the identities of the detective and the murderer. That way, we can punish the murderer without harming the deceased," Wang Jue said, his eyes sparkling.

Zhao Yijiu nodded once more.

This young man had assigned himself a role. What else did he need to say?

"So what do we do now?" Wang Jue asked.

"Since Yu Xing is the detective, it's risky for him to go find those three. If the murderer gets a chance to kill him, they'll immediately learn the deceased's identity. Let's collect all four clues we need to complete. If he's still alive by then, we'll go find him," Zhao Yijiu finally spoke, then walked in the opposite direction.

Unseen by him, as he turned away, Wang Jue's expression grew much colder. He glanced in the direction Yu Xing had left.

"Do they really think I'm easy to fool?" Wang Jue murmured silently, a smile playing on his lips as he followed.

Yu Xing walked towards the direction of the large revolving chairs, hoping to run into the other three.

Based on the information he had so far, the closed attractions were:

Roller Coaster: Participants were himself and Zhao Yijiu.

Claw Machine: Participants were Zhao Yijiu, Wang Jue, and himself.

Time Cabin: Same as above.

Carousel: Wang Jue and Xie Ze.

Ferris Wheel: Ling Heng and Chen Jiu.

Large Revolving Chairs: Ling Heng, Chen Jiu, and Xie Ze.

When they entered the Time Cabin, the other three must have entered at least one more attraction. This meant only five open attractions should remain in the amusement park.

He walked through half the park, and Alice's face was everywhere, even on the signs for the public restrooms.

Passing through the central Alice Square, Yu Xing looked up at the time.

1:20 PM.

This meant that one hour and twenty minutes had already passed since the game officially began its four-hour period for finding identities and completing tasks.

He mused, feeling no sense of urgency, walking and resting, until he finally encountered Ling Heng, Chen Jiu, and Xie Ze coming off the roller coaster.

So the roller coaster was also closed. The remaining attractions were the Mirror House, Ghostly Creatures, Spinning Teacups, Bumper Cars, and the Children's Playground.

However... he raised an eyebrow. The expressions on those three's faces seemed rather unpleasant.

Seeing the three standing with their hands on their hips from a distance, Yu Xing found it amusing and walked over. Noticing someone approaching, Xie Ze, pale-faced, glanced at Yu Xing and couldn't help but blurt out, "Damn it..."

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow. "Damn it?"

I just got here. What bad thing did I do for you to say that to me?

Chen Jiu also looked at him, eager to join in. "Damn..."

Ling Heng frowned and coughed as a warning.

Chen Jiu immediately changed her words. "Da... da-da."

"What 'da-da,' I'm a potato too," Ling Heng said, catching his breath. He reached out and tapped Chen Jiu's head. Yu Xing could tell his breathing was uneven, as if an internal organ was injured. "Didn't I tell you not to curse?"

"I didn't curse, I stopped myself," Chen Jiu emphasized, covering her head with one hand while her other arm was bleeding profusely.

Ling Heng shook his head helplessly and then said to Yu Xing apologetically, "Sorry, you must be a bit confused."

"Yeah, I'm confused while being force-fed dog food," Yu Xing nodded with certainty.

Chen Jiu: "Oh, this."

Next, Ling Heng explained to Yu Xing what had happened.

When the three of them got off the large revolving chairs, Ling Heng and Xie Ze developed a strange, intrusive sensation in their stomachs that interfered with them at any moment.

Their condition had deteriorated. They had intended to ride the teacups, but the teacups required four people to start. The haunted house required two. And they had just sent Wang Jue over to Yu Xing and Zhao Yijiu, so they couldn't gather enough people.

Ling Heng and Chen Jiu also felt too awkward to push Xie Ze away. The couple had pretty good tempers, so the closest attraction became the roller coaster.

Then another problem arose: Xie Ze was afraid of heights.

At this moment, Xie Ze deeply missed Wang Jue. If Wang Jue were here, he wouldn't have to experience this kind of attraction... So, seeing Yu Xing arrive just as he finished the roller coaster, Xie Ze despondently wondered why Yu Xing hadn't arrived sooner and couldn't help but curse.

He wasn't targeting anyone in particular; perhaps... he was targeting himself.

The reason for the couple's unpleasant expressions was that Chen Jiu had been injured on the roller coaster, and she couldn't lift her right arm.

Naturally, the group didn't share any clues and were suspicious of Yu Xing's reason for coming.

Yu Xing forced a smile. "One of the clues I got was about the murderer. I feel like I can't rule out Zhao Yijiu. He's always been very cold and professional at work, and I've always been a little afraid of him."

Seeing the change in their expressions, Yu Xing quickly added, "Oh, I'm not saying he's the murderer. I'm just having a hard time ruling out his suspicion, so I wanted to come find you and see how things were on your end."

"Sure, now that you're here, we can ride the teacups," Xie Ze said, clutching his stomach. He looked like he was about to throw up. He wanted to say more but finally waved his hand. "...Sorry, I feel nauseous. I'm going to find a place to throw up."

With that, he ran towards a patch of flowers.

"He's so pitiful," Chen Jiu sighed.

"My stomach feels weird too, aren't I pathetic?" Ling Heng immediately replied.

Yu Xing glanced at them.

A minute later, Xie Ze returned, adjusting his appearance. He looked significantly weaker than before.

The spinning teacup ride and the mirror house were close, almost adjacent. As the four headed to the teacup ride, no one mentioned what the next attraction would be.

It seemed they all wanted to default to posing as suspects requiring four clues.

The sign for the teacup ride was unremarkable. It stated that pairs who spun for five minutes would receive a clue, and all four participants were needed to start it.

When it came to pairing up, Xie Ze grabbed Yu Xing's arm. He shot a dramatically pained look at Chen Jiu and Ling Heng, who had been glued together the entire time, and then looked at Yu Xing with a mournful expression. "Ugh, why are there couples in this deduction game?"

"Alright, I get it," Yu Xing said, willingly sitting in the same teacup ride as Xie Ze.

The atmosphere around the teacup ride was genuinely romantic. The macaron-colored decorations were the only sanctuary in the entire amusement park. Even Alice's image was only printed on the sign.

The teacup ride was shaped like a giant cup, with cushioned seats inside. Yu Xing felt so comfortable once he sat down that he wanted to doze off.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to sleep right now. He watched as the ride slowly started, the teacup spinning at a comfortable speed.

Danger could arrive at any moment.

"Wow, this is the first time I've had so much fun in a deduction game. It feels like a paid vacation," Chen Jiu's happy voice came from the adjacent cup a few seconds later.

"Be careful, don't get hurt again," Ling Heng advised worriedly.

Yu Xing's sharp ears twitched, and the corner of his mouth curved into a smile.

Xie Ze, extremely close to Yu Xing, sighed while rubbing his stomach.

"What's wrong?" Yu Xing asked cheerfully. "I bet you have a girlfriend, you just can't see her during a deduction game. It's not that big of a deal."

Xie Ze ran a hand through his hair, his expression troubled. "I did, but now I don't. She broke up with me because she said I was too busy with work and didn't spend enough time with her."

Yu Xing: "And you agreed?"

"Of course, I didn't want to agree. We've been together for years, but she was very insistent, so I..." Xie Ze looked like he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

But Yu Xing wasn't that kind. After hearing Xie Ze's answer, his smile widened.

Lowering his voice, he leaned close to Xie Ze's ear, his rising tone carrying a hint of ambiguous danger. "So you killed her?"