Newbie Scenario: Class Reunion (15

All that could be said was that Second-generation Zhao had really... gotten far too immersed in his role.

Lawyer Jin had indeed given the deceased Class A Poison, but that was before Lawyer Jin's conflict with the deceased that night. He had not decided to kill because of that conflict; he had come prepared with the poison from the start, with murder already in mind. The conflict with the deceased had been the accident. Before that accident, the poison had already been slipped into the deceased's drink without anyone noticing.

The point of Lawyer Jin remaining in the living room was not to deal with the recordings, either. He wanted to make sure the act of poisoning had not been captured on camera.

He had not put the poison into anything. He had dissolved it in water and smeared it along the inner wall of the cup.

...A very

palace-intrigue

style of poisoning.

Those wineglasses Zhen Liu had found strange earlier, the ones that had suddenly appeared, had been brought out by Lawyer Jin. After the deceased drank from them, Lawyer Jin diligently went to wash the glasses, preventing anyone else from being poisoned and destroying the evidence.

In short, if Lawyer Jin had successfully poisoned him, then the deceased's time of death was around two in the morning. But if someone else had caused the deceased's death, then the deceased must have died before two. Anyone who acted after two was temporarily safe.

Newbie Scenario: Class Reunion (15

Zhen Liu had not yet sorted out who had acted after two, but judging from everyone's introductions at the beginning, when they had been least guarded, Basketball Qiao was very likely the last one to make a move.

No matter whether Basketball Qiao was truly calculating or not, his level of suspicion was bound to decrease.

Of course, everything still had to be based on facts. Before clear evidence emerged, Zhen Liu would not completely set aside his suspicions toward anyone. Including himself.

There were two kinds of poison in the deceased's body. One was a sleep aid. It was not yet known who had administered it. What was certain was that Lawyer Jin had given him Class A Poison, while Doctor Zhen... had given him Class B Poison.

Like Lawyer Jin, Doctor Zhen's actions this time had also been premeditated for a long time.

Doctor Zhen had gotten the idea from a foreign crime drama and applied the poison to fabric. Yes, fabric. More precisely, he had soaked the clothes in poisonous liquid beforehand, then waited until the material had fully absorbed the toxic liquid before having them delivered by express courier to the deceased on the day of this Class Reunion.

That was also why Doctor Zhen had deliberately photographed his trunk. He had been laying the groundwork before arriving, preparing proof for his future self that those clothes had not been brought by him.

Doctor Zhen's original plan had been this:

Class B Poison took a long time to take effect. After all, it had to seep through the skin and into the body. Theoretically, if the deceased did not engage in strenuous exercise or sweat much, he would die at the breakfast table the next day, collapsing in full view of everyone. Everyone in the villa would become witnesses proving that Doctor Zhen had not acted.

That was also why Doctor Zhen had arrived at the villa so early. He needed to make sure the deceased had truly worn the clothes he sent.

Unfortunately, plans could not keep up with changes.

Lawyer Jin had given the deceased Class A Poison on the same night. The combined result of the two poisons was that Class B Poison took effect faster. It was like a race: whichever poison ran faster, the person who administered it became the murderer. But as for which poison would take effect first under their mutual interaction, even Doctor Zhen did not dare guarantee it.

The only thing Zhen Liu could be certain of was that the deceased had died no later than around two in the morning. If someone had killed the deceased before two, then Lawyer Jin and Zhen Liu were not the murderers.

As for which situation it was, that would depend on the timeline they pieced together next.

Three hours later, the long Black Room session finally ended. Second-generation Zhao immediately called for an Early Referendum, his impatience written plainly across his face. Still, he was not entirely confident about what the final result would be. He kept looking toward Zhen Liu, hoping that Zhen Liu's crucial vote would miraculously change.

But miracles were called miracles precisely because they were almost impossible.

Zhen Liu was not going to change his mind. He avoided meeting Second-generation Zhao's eyes as much as possible, only wondering inwardly why Second-generation Zhao was so certain Professor Lu would vote in favor. Had they talked about something when Second-generation Zhao visited Professor Lu in the Black Room?

But it did not matter how Professor Lu voted. Zhen Liu and Lawyer Jin would definitely not agree. This was destined to fail.

After the proposal for an Early Referendum was raised, an option button appeared before each person, visible only to them and the audience. Green meant agree, red meant refuse, and the results were announced on the spot.

Three to two.

Zhen Liu had just been about to say that he was not surprised by the numbers at all when he realized he should, in fact, be a little surprised. Because the "three" here did not mean three votes in favor, but three votes against. In other words, only Second-generation Zhao and Basketball Qiao had agreed to the Early Referendum.

Professor Lu had returned to Zhen Liu's side, just as he had promised.

Lawyer Jin was stunned. Had that fight he had with Professor Lu earlier knocked the other man's brains loose?

Second-generation Zhao also wore an expression of utter disbelief. He had visited Professor Lu after Doctor Zhen, and the two of them had been getting along quite well then. He had thought there would be no more surprises. How could this...

Professor Lu shrugged and said to Second-generation Zhao, "Sorry, I'm just someone ruled by love."

His expression did not look remotely like he was genuinely sorry.

He was in love, and he was proud of it!

Once Lawyer Jin confirmed that Professor Lu had truly refused, his entire body started trembling again. He felt utterly exhilarated, as if he could burst into song right there about liberated serfs singing praises. Although he knew perfectly well that Zhen Liu and Professor Lu had made that choice not because they had taken his side, he still felt great.

Seeing Second-generation Zhao, who had "betrayed" him, suffer a similar "betrayal"—was there anything in this world more delightful?