Page 12

"I arrived at the villa before 8:00 p.m., as we had originally agreed. I saw the victim, Ying De, and Doctor Zhen there. After we chatted for a bit, Doctor Zhen went upstairs, and Professor Lu arrived. We talked for a while longer, then Professor Lu went upstairs as well. Around 8:30, Second Generation and Basketball arrived, so I went upstairs to rest.

"At 9:00 sharp, we gathered in the dining room and began dinner.

"At 11:00, the dinner ended. I stayed behind to help Basketball Qiao clear the dishes, then went upstairs at 11:30. At some point—I don't know when—I saw the victim on the stairs and exchanged a few words with him. But I couldn't tell whether he had been going up or down at the time.

"When I woke up in the morning, I heard the news of his death."

It was an unremarkable self-introduction.

The noteworthy part of Lawyer Jin's account came only after he had finished everything. As if he had just remembered it, he crossed his hands and added, "Oh, right. I remember one detail. When I first arrived at the villa, the victim was coming downstairs, while Doctor Zhen was in the kitchen."

But everyone knew that the victim's room was on the first floor.

Lawyer Jin offered some of his own thoughts. "I can't be sure whether the victim went upstairs to meet someone, or whether he entered someone's room for some ulterior purpose."

Zhen Liu had actually noticed that detail too. But because he later found a note in his room from the victim asking to meet him, he had assumed the victim had merely gone upstairs to deliver the note. Yet Lawyer Jin had opened up an entirely new line of thought. What if there had been someone else upstairs at the time? While the three of them talked downstairs, that person could have climbed out and left, then pretended to enter through the front door.

As for how that person could have climbed down from upstairs, it was hard to say for now. The storm had raged all night, and many sounds had been drowned out by thunder and lightning. Zhen Liu made up his mind to inspect the yard carefully later.

When Lawyer Jin mentioned that the victim had appeared upstairs more than once, he watched everyone's expressions closely. He had deliberately brought up that information to determine whether everyone's side quest was the same as his. From the looks of it, it probably was. Everyone had received little notes arranging private meetings, though the agreed times differed.

In other words, there was a strong chance that this was one of the side quests no one wanted others to know about.

Lawyer Jin had no intention of exposing it. He merely wanted confirmation.

But...

There were five people in this house. There would always be someone whose thought process differed from everyone else's. As the old joke went, back when travel and communication were slow, one might go an entire lifetime without meeting a lunatic. But now there was the internet; going online was like entering a mental institution. Basketball Qiao, who had always said whatever was on his mind, tore away the pretense on the spot.

"Oh, come on. What ulterior motive? He was threatening people, wasn't he? Don't tell me none of you received his little notes."

Although this was only Basketball Qiao's second murder mystery game, he looked no different from a complete beginner. He had no idea what should or should not be said.

Everyone fell silent.

But Basketball Qiao could not read the room at all and continued, "The victim had dirt on every one of us and threatened us into doing things for him. I was just his errand boy. Otherwise, why do you think I was so obedient? He used to be a gossip reporter, so he must have had plenty of dirt in his hands. None of us could escape him."

The paper-thin pretense everyone had already understood was punctured just like that.

This was one of everyone's side quests—conceal exactly what leverage the victim had over you, and do not let anyone learn your secret. (1 point)

Lawyer Jin's probing had been meant to find out whether he was the only one being threatened.

And that one point depended on everyone's tacit understanding. You didn't expose my weaknesses, and I wouldn't expose yours. Everyone would peacefully join hands and earn that point.

But Basketball Qiao did not see it that way. "What's there to hide? It's obvious he was threatening us. Otherwise, would a germaphobic doctor put up with him? Would a professor raise a glass to him out of respect? If a lawyer had a physical altercation with him, wouldn't he sue him into the ground?"

"Wait, when was there a physical altercation?" Zhen Liu had no choice but to interrupt Basketball Qiao.

This was information none of them had known.

Basketball Qiao answered readily, "When Second Generation and I arrived. Second Generation was in the kitchen with the butler then, so he probably didn't see it. The three of us were in the living room. The victim and Lawyer Jin were watching TV. The victim suddenly whispered something in Lawyer Jin's ear, and Lawyer Jin got angry on the spot. They started arguing, then the victim got physical."

The victim provoked him first, yet the victim had also been the first to throw a punch.

That was pretty strange.

Zhen Liu finally understood. That was why, when Basketball Qiao had introduced himself earlier, Lawyer Jin had interrupted under the pretense of correcting Zhen Liu's surname. He had wanted Basketball Qiao to skip over the part of the story that only Basketball Qiao had witnessed.

But Basketball Qiao could be distracted for a moment; that did not mean he would forget it forever. Now he had brought it up again.

This matter probably had little to do with the victim's death, at least not directly. Lawyer Jin had wanted to hide it because it related to his side quest. He did not want everyone to notice the clue about the television.

And that was the beauty of a smart home. Find the corresponding time, and they could learn exactly what had been playing on TV.

As the most experienced player present, Lawyer Jin should have been the first to notice the side quests. Unfortunately, he had never imagined that he would be the first to expose a clearly directed clue, all because of a novice.

The sudden turn caught Lawyer Jin off guard, but he still managed to maintain his persona. "Yes, the victim and I had a misunderstanding, but we later shook hands and made peace. That was also why I went upstairs. I applied some medicine to my wound. But that doesn't mean I would kill him. You all saw it—I couldn't beat him at all."

Though it was somewhat embarrassing for a man to admit it, it did indeed lessen Lawyer Jin's suspicion. The difference in their physical strength was enormous, which was fatal—unless he had used poison.